Gloria’s Secret

by Robin Alexander

  “I had to think about beignets the entire time I was talking to the sales clerk.”

  “I had no idea,” Adrienne said with a pleased smile and a kiss. “You must be getting better at blocking me out.”

  “Only when I’m doing something like this.” I pointed to the bracelet.

  “I’ll never take it off,” Adrienne said with another kiss and placed a small box in my hand. “You’re really going to get a kick out of this.”

  I opened the box and laughed. The bracelet inside was thicker and slightly masculine, unlike the delicate one I’d given her. And bore the same inscription.

  “You did well keeping me from your thoughts. I had no idea you were getting me the bracelet. And believe it or not, the inscription just came to me,” Adrienne said as she slipped it on my wrist.

  That night when we made love, there were no broken bones…but Adrienne did end up with a bruise on her calf, compliments of the cast.

  Chapter Sixteen

  The next day began like any other. Adrienne spent the morning with Iris ordering supplies and food. I went over our finances, hoping to stretch every extra penny I could find. The inn was quiet, our staff had already prepped and cleaned the cottages and were enjoying their time off. It was peaceful.

  We enjoyed lunch with Iris and Colie, and the group got even bigger when Myra and Shelby dropped in. Both were thrilled to hear of Iris and Colie’s engagement and the conversation around the table was all about planning the wedding, until I asked Shelby about my leg.

  “How long until I can wear a boot or something and get rid of these crutches?”

  “What did the treating physician tell you, Monkey Chops?” Shelby asked.

  “Nothing. He said to follow up with my regular doctor, and that would be you.”

  Shelby pressed her thumb into the soft tissue peeking out from my cast just before my toes. “You still have a lot of swelling. I’d need to look at the report and the X-rays if you have them.”

  “We made sure to get all of that,” Adrienne said as she stood. “I’ll run to the cabin and get it for you.”

  She gave me a kiss after I thanked her for making the hike for me. Had I known it might be the last kiss I’d ever get from her, I’d never have let her go.

  Iris served dessert, and I was halfway through my key lime pie when a cold feeling washed over me. Adrienne was not back yet. My heart felt like icy fingers were clutching it, and I shoved back from the table, violently scrambling to get on my feet. Everyone looked at me in shock.

  “What is it, Hayden?” Iris asked as she stood.

  Sweat began to pour down my back, and I felt like I was going to pass out. “Adrienne, she—”

  Colie sprang to his feet and ran from the bar in the direction of our cottage. The other three looked at me bewildered.

  “Adrienne should have been back by now, something’s wrong.” I began moving as fast as I could, and Shelby sped past me leaving Iris and Myra to help me. “Don’t wait on me, go,” I grunted.

  Iris made a sound that was a cross between a whimper and a sob and began running toward our cottage. Myra ignored me and stayed by my side. I was moving as fast as I could until one of my crutches caught in a patch of sand and sent me sprawling to the ground. I cried out in agony, not because of my injuries. I knew something was wrong, and I couldn’t get to Adrienne fast enough.

  Myra rolled me over and grabbed the front of my shirt, pulling me to a stand along with one of the crutches. While I balanced, she grabbed the other and we started again. My heart broke as I heard voices calling Adrienne’s name just ahead of us. When we reached the clearing, I saw Iris standing in front of our cottage holding something silver in her hand. It was the bracelet I’d given Adrienne the night before.

  I’ll never take it off played through my mind as I approached.

  Shelby and Colie screamed for Adrienne as they combed the area around our cottage. Colie would yell her name, then scream something into the phone clamped to his ear.

  When I made it to Iris, I sank down on my wounded knees and wrapped my arms around her waist. “She’s gone, I can feel it,” I said with a tortured sob.

  Iris knelt down so we were eye level and grabbed the front of my shirt. She shook me hard and pulled me close to her face. “Where?”

  “I don’t know, but I know she’s not here. Something’s wrong. I can feel it,” I wailed.

  Adrienne had been missing for six hours, and it was growing dark. Colie had people combing the inn and the entire island. CatIsland was small, but there were so many places one could hide or be hidden.

  I sat in the bar, my teeth chattering despite the heat. I’d thrown up lunch and refused to let anyone get near the cuts and abrasions that covered my hands and knees. I’d demanded that anyone who could walk hunt for Adrienne until she was found. I would tend to myself.

  I cursed the cast on my leg that prevented me from joining the search. At one point, I’d tossed the crutches to the ground and tried to walk on the cast. Iris had found me in the brush half-crawling and calling Adrienne’s name. She and Shelby dragged me back to the bar and set me next to the phone, then Iris said something that cut me like a knife.

  “You’re in no condition to help with the search. You’ll only slow us down.”

  Tears and sweat poured off my face and threatened to extinguish the cigarette that I drew shakily to my lips. The phone rang, making me jump, and I snatched it up on the first ring. “Hello?” I rasped, hardly recognizing my own voice.

  “Hayden?” my mother asked. “What’s wrong? Are you sick?”

  My mouth felt like it was filled with cotton. I cleared my throat and tried to speak, but it came out all jumbled. “We’ve been having problems at the inn, Adrienne is missing.”

  “Did she leave you?” Mom asked, misunderstanding what I was trying to say.

  “No, Mom,” I said with a sob. “Somebody took her.”

  There was a brief silence. “I’m coming, honey. I’ll call you from my cell phone when I’m on the way to the airport.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Hayden,” Mom’s voice was firm, “get control of yourself. You can fall apart after we’ve found her, and we will find her.”

  I’m not sure what time it was when Iris and Myra returned to the bar. Myra had whip marks across her face, apparently inflicted by the foliage while she ran through it. Iris looked as though she’d aged twenty years. There were bags under her eyes and deep creases around her mouth. They both were sweating profusely as they dropped into chairs on either side of me.

  “Colie says the search will go around the clock. He has policemen coming from Nassau that will be here in the next couple of hours.” She abruptly stopped talking and grabbed one of the bottles of water scattered on the table in front of us. She downed half of it in nearly one swallow.

  “They’re going to set up a command center at Colie’s station and fan out over the island,” Myra finished.

  I didn’t say a word. I couldn’t. Adrienne was out there somewhere, it was dark. I wondered if she was afraid, if she was hurt. I wished I possessed her gift and could hear her thoughts, but I couldn’t. All I had was the cold feeling that began the minute she disappeared.

  Myra reached over and put an arm around my shoulder, as Iris snatched up the phone that had begun ringing. My ear perked listening while I prayed for good news.

  “Yes, I’ll tell her. One of us will be there to pick you up when you land.” Iris paused and listened for a moment as tears filled her eyes. “Thank you,” she whispered and pressed a button to end the call.

  “Dat was your mother. Dey were able to get a flight out tonight into Nassau but won’t be able to get a flight here until da morning.”

  I nodded and tears began anew as she reached over and clutched my hand. “You need to sleep. I’ll stay here with the phone in case anyone calls.”

  “There’s no way I can do that.”

  “How about you stretch out on one of the lounge chairs?” Myr
a suggested. “Iris and I will lay down with you. We can keep the phone close in case it rings.”

  I looked at them both. They were exhausted, so I agreed. The three of us pulled chaise lounges close together and lay down. Minutes later, I heard Myra’s steady breathing and knew she was asleep. I looked over at Iris, who stared at the ceiling; a tear trickled out of her eye and ran down her face into her hair.

  “I didn’t like Adrienne the first time I met her,” Iris said softly. “Gloria was immediately taken by her, and I guess there was a part of me dat was jealous. But it didn’t take long for dat girl to push her way into my ol’ heart.” Iris turned and looked at me. “Now she’s my child.”

  I reached over and clutched Iris’s hand. Nothing else needed to be said, we were both in agony.

  We lay there for a long time until I felt Iris’s grip loosen a little. I glanced over at her as her eyelids fluttered. She was fighting sleep. Exhaustion soon took her down and she fell into restless oblivion. My eyes never closed. Instead, I looked out into the tropical forest willing Adrienne to return to me. By sunrise, it hadn’t happened.

  The bar was quiet. I was alone again after Iris and Myra ate breakfast and rejoined the search. I could no longer just sit and wait. Instead, I wandered the paths around the cottages hoping I could find something, anything that could lead me to my love. I noticed that each of the cottage doors stood open. I made my way to the first, unconcerned that there might have been someone inside waiting to do me harm. Nothing seemed out of place. I checked each cottage and closed each door until I came to the one Adrienne and I shared.

  My heart felt heavy as I crossed the threshold. The room had been torn apart. Our mattress had been turned and pushed from the box spring. Clothes littered the floor; the contents of our closet had been emptied. All our toiletries had been taken from the cabinets and thrown on the bathroom floor. I looked at it all without emotion. Whoever had done this could have burned the thing to the ground and I wouldn’t have cared.

  “Hayden,” Myra said softly, slipping into the room behind me. “Are you okay?”

  “No, I’m not.”

  She walked over to me and wrapped an arm around my waist. “Iris’s place looks just like this,” she said. “Except there are holes in the wall. Someone was incredibly angry.”

  Adrienne was alive, I could feel it. And maybe whoever took her was hoping she’d tell him where to find what he was looking for. That part worried me the most. What lengths was he willing to go to extract that information?

  “There’s someone in the bar to see you,” Myra said, drawing my attention back to her. “Come with me.”

  When we reached the bar, I was shocked. Mom had said she was coming, but I never expected to see the entire Tate clan. I’d forgotten to pick them up, but Myra had taken care of that.

  They all gathered around me in a tight group hug. When we pulled apart, Dad was the first to speak. “Me, Jeff, and Wanda are going with Myra to help with the search. Your mom is going to stay with you.”

  As long as I could remember, Dad had never taken a family vacation with us. There was seldom a day that he didn’t go into his office and often worked on holidays. But now he was here, a place he swore he’d never step foot, and he was here to help Adrienne and me. I grabbed him and held on with all my might, a hug that he returned with equal fervor.

  “Everything’s going to be okay, honey, you’ll see,” he whispered into my hair.

  I gave Wanda and Jeff hugs, as well, and Jeff was kind enough to tell me that I needed a shower.

  After Myra and her search crew departed, Mom made coffee and we sat down.

  “Myra told me what she knew, but I’d like you to tell me what’s been going on around here.”

  I looked at her and noticed how wind-blown her hair looked. It was full of the bugs I’d encountered the first time I’d come to the island.

  “You have a bug.” I reached over and plucked one from her hair. “Well, maybe a few.”

  “What are these things?” Mom asked in disgust as she joined me in pulling them out of her hair.

  “I have no idea, but I’m certain they come from hell.”

  “Your dad got hit in the mouth with one and we had to pull over while he threw up…pansy.” Mom grinned.

  I wanted to laugh but couldn’t muster the strength.

  “Hayden, tell me,” Mom said as she pushed some of my tangled hair behind my ear.

  “Someone has been vandalizing the inn. We think it might be connected to our former handyman.”

  “Has he been questioned?”

  “He’s dead.”

  “Oh.”

  “We did it.”

  Mom’s eyes grew wide and her mouth dropped open. She opened and closed it a few times before she could speak. “You murdered someone?” she asked with a shake of her head.

  “It was either us or him. It was self-defense. He stole money from his former employer, then killed a man that had come looking for him. Adrienne and I figured him out and he knew it. He took us hostage and was trying to get off the island when Iris took him out with her skillet.”

  Mom took a sip of her coffee, then a deep breath. “How does this tie into Adrienne’s disappearance?”

  “Hank hid a lot of money around the inn. After his death, Adrienne and I recovered what was left and donated it to the medical clinic. We think someone still believes there’s money hidden and they’ve come to collect.”

  “Why didn’t the company that Hank worked for demand their money back?” Mom asked.

  “They’re drug runners, and most of them are in jail.”

  “Most of them?” Mom shook her head again. “So some drugged-up fiend has been vandalizing the inn, and now has possibly taken Adrienne?”

  Guilt descended on me like a vulture, ripping and tearing at my insides. If I’d have taken this seriously, maybe Adrienne would be sitting here with me instead. My eyes burned, but there were no more tears left to cry.

  “Hayden Marie,” Mom said softly, “why didn’t you tell me this?”

  “I was afraid that you’d really hound me about selling the inn over Christmas and we were having such a good time.” I hated that my voice sounded small, like a child.

  Mom nodded her understanding but didn’t say anything for a few minutes. When she did speak again, she changed the subject. I figured she needed a while to digest what she’d learned.

  “When I told your dad that Adrienne was missing and I had to come here to be with you, he really surprised me. He immediately began making flight arrangements and called your brother. The next thing I knew, we were packing. I really expected an argument and told him as much, but he told me that he needed to be here for you.”

  Before I could comment, Colie and two men in crisp white uniforms walked into the bar. He introduced the two officers to me, and I introduced them all to my mother.

  Colie knelt down in front of me and clasped my hands between his. “You know we haven’t found her yet or that would have been the first thing I would have said.”

  “I know,” I said sadly.

  “We haven’t found any ransom notes and no one has contacted us, and I know you haven’t gotten any calls because you would have notified me, right?”

  “Of course.”

  “Hayden, we don’t have any leads right now. We’ve questioned all the staff, and no one knows a thing, but I don’t want you to give up hope.”

  “I understand.”

  “I just wanted to come and explain in person that we’ll continue to search for her, and if you get any calls, I want you to notify me immediately.”

  “I promise.”

  “And promise me this,” Colie said with a kind smile. “Iris tells me that you’re not eating or sleeping. Promise me that you’ll change that.”

  “I’ll promise I’ll try, but I can’t make any guarantees.”

  Colie and the officers went back to work, leaving Mom and me alone once again. She looked at me with a mother’s compassionate
eyes.

  “How about I make you something?”

  “I’ve been nauseated since this whole thing began. I don’t know if I can keep anything down.”

  “Then maybe some crackers,” Mom said as she stood.

  I showed her around the kitchen and pantry. She made us a snack and sent me back to the bar to sit down. A few minutes later, she joined me and I managed to eat a few crackers.

  “This place is beautiful.” Mom nibbled a banana. “I can see why you love it so much.”

  “You haven’t seen the half of it. Maybe after our snack, we can walk around a bit. Maybe we’ll find something that no one else has noticed.”

  “After this snack, you’re going to lay down for a while, then you’re going to bathe, then you can show me around.”

  I opened my mouth to protest, but I knew it was futile to argue, and frankly, I didn’t have the strength.

  After we ate, I did as my mother instructed and lay down. I refused to go back to my cottage, afraid I’d miss something, so we struck a compromise. I stretched out on one of the chaise lounges and closed my eyes. My mother sat next to me, stroking my hair, as she did when I was little. Though I fought it, sleep took hold of me and pulled hard until I had no choice but to submit.

  Chapter Seventeen

  “You have the key, use it.”

  I recognized the voice instantly, though I couldn’t see anything. The familiar scent of Gloria’s perfume was strong. “What key?”

  “At your fingertips.”

  I think I sat straight up before I was fully awake. Sunlight filled my eyes, making me temporarily blind, but I could still smell it. That musky scent that Gloria made for herself by combining two of her favorite perfumes.

  “You’ve only been asleep for thirty minutes,” Mom said and tried to push me back down. “Sleep a little longer, honey.”

  “I can’t,” I said as I squirmed away from her.

  “Hayden…”

  I snapped at her before I could stop myself. “I said I can’t. Adrienne is out there somewhere and I can’t just lay here and sleep.”