Island of Deceit

by Candice Poarch

  “Don’t worry about that. I’ll look after it as if it were my own,” she said. “I’ll have it transferred to my friend right away.”

  Barbara took the money out of the backpack, stored it in her briefcase, and handed his backpack back to him. Again, Elliot didn’t respond to her as if he knew her true identity. She’d probably be as dead as Sarah by now if he knew. All the pictures Dorsey had stopped when she was a senior in high school with long hair and braces. She had no fear that he knew what she looked like.

  “I’ll call as soon as I have any information,” she told Elliot, and showed him to the door. She thought about Harper. He and his officers were always driving all over the island. “And, Elliot, just in case someone saw your car in my driveway, why don’t I just say that you were here to pay for Minerva’s hair.”

  “That works for me,” he said, and Barbara closed the door after him.

  After he left, Barbara counted the money and took stock. It was a rainy morning and no one was walking along the beach. She looked across the road to a partially wooded area. She shivered. She was so isolated. The next house was down the beach. She wished she had a garage instead of a carport. Assuring herself she was alone, she drove to the bank and placed the money in a safety deposit box she’d rented months ago.

  Once that was done, Barbara released a long breath. The money was in her hands. Finally. She had at least enough to pay back the five people she knew, not the amount Elliot took, but enough for them to be comfortable. Much more than was stolen from her grandmother.

  Dorsey’s estate came to Barbara. She wouldn’t keep her grandmother’s share. Dorsey would forgive her. Barbara wasn’t one to sneeze at money, but she’d earned enough that she really didn’t need it as desperately as the seniors she’d encountered.

  She felt like seeing Harper, but she didn’t want to depend on him. She was with him every night as it was. She knew he sensed her unrest, that she was uneasy about something. She was surprised he hadn’t pushed her for answers.

  At home, it all felt anticlimactic. She’d accomplished her goal. She could leave, but where would she go? She didn’t have a job to go to.

  Barbara called Lambert’s daughter’s California number and left a message. Cassandra had said she retrieved her messages daily. She couldn’t take the chance of leaving a message on a cell with Minerva in the house. She was sure the woman snooped. She could easily pick up a cell phone and toggle through the last numbers called.

  The holidays. She and Harper hadn’t talked about what they were doing for the holidays. Thanksgiving was next week. He would probably visit his family in North Carolina.

  Had her grandmother lived, they’d probably be traveling by now. Spending Christmas in Germany or England.

  Barbara sighed. She never expected to meet a man like Harper. Her marriage had been so brief that she thought she’d never go for it again. But yet…Harper was everything she’d ever wanted in a man. He was considerate. He cared. That was what touched her heart most. That he was good to her. She didn’t have to be skinny or put up pretenses except for the strictures she imposed on herself. He was satisfied with her and didn’t expect her to change for him.

  And she’d given him nothing but lies. He’d never forgive her when he found out what she’d done. Barbara didn’t know what to do or where she belonged.

  She gazed out toward the ocean. It was drizzling and the waves were peaceful. There was something special about watching the ocean from Harper’s place. Sunday night he’d started a fire outside and they’d snuggled beneath the blankets.

  I don’t want to lose this, she thought.

  Barbara sighed. At least Liane was arriving Saturday. It would be good to have her friend close by. Except Liane had made reservations to stay in the B&B and wouldn’t let Barbara talk her out of it.

  Tuesday morning, Harper drove to Trent’s place. He opened the door before Harper knocked.

  He looked surprised to see him. “Morning, Sheriff. What can I do for you?”

  Harper nodded. “I just keep wondering why a young man would settle on an island with no entertainment. Especially one from D.C. where the partying is hard.”

  Trent seemed to relax a fraction. “Is there a law against a person getting a little R and R?”

  Harper studied him. “I saw you running near the Stones’ the other morning.”

  Trent shrugged. “I like to keep in shape. I met up with Barbara near the marsh the other day, too. I don’t always run in the same place. It breaks the monotony. Are there specific places where I should and shouldn’t run?”

  “I’m curious about the shooting. Andrew Stone was shot a while back. They must talk about it in the beauty parlor.”

  Trent nodded. “Practically everybody who comes in.”

  “And I noticed you have a record.” The record was sealed, and without a court order Harper couldn’t get to it.

  “Not lately. I was still in high school. I haven’t gotten in trouble since then.”

  “You led me to believe you’d just gotten out of the military when, in fact, you got out seven years ago.”

  “Sheriff, I didn’t shoot that man. Now, unless you have anything concrete…”

  “I’ll be around,” Harper said, with the warning that he’d be watching him closely.

  Trent tried to use all the D.C. cool he possessed as the sheriff watched him leave. Maybe it was time he left the area. Move to the mainland, as the locals call it, and keep a watch from there. But being here was a lot more convenient. And he couldn’t leave without his mother’s money.

  Except for that high-school incident, Trent didn’t have a record. He made sure of that.

  Harper sat at his desk, tapping his pen against the blotter. Earlier, on his way back from Trent’s, he considered dropping by Barbara’s place to steal a kiss or something. He drove past. But the Stones’ car was leaving as he slowed down to make the turn. It wasn’t Minerva, but Elliot. What was he doing at Barbara’s place? He let Elliot pull out in front of him but didn’t turn into Barbara’s drive. He followed Elliot until he turned off at his home, then drove back to the precinct.

  Barbara had a lot of secrets, which made him uncomfortable. The Stones couldn’t be into anything good. And they weren’t the kind of people he wanted her mixed up with.

  His intercom rang. “Harper, a Ms. Houston is here to see you.”

  “Houston?”

  “She’s Mr. Lambert Hughes’s daughter.”

  “Send her in.”

  Harper stood as the woman entered the office. She was a pretty woman in her late fifties.

  “Have a seat, Ms. Houston.”

  “Cassandra, please. I have a feeling we’re going to be spending a lot of time together.”

  “Oh?”

  “It’s come to my attention that my father’s caretaker, Minerva Stone, is a swindler.”

  Harper frowned. “You have proof of this?”

  “No, but my source was good.”

  Harper frowned. “Who is your source, Cassandra?”

  “I can’t tell you that. But the person warned me to get rid of Minerva before she fleeces my father out of his life’s savings, the way she has several other seniors.”

  “And have you fired her?”

  Cassandra sighed, shaking with frustration and anger. “He won’t let me.” A tear rolled down her cheek.

  Harper grabbed a box of tissues and set it on the edge of his desk. “Just take your time.”

  “I am so angry. He is in love with her,” she said in outrage.

  Harper wondered if it was a case of a daughter hating the fact that her father could fall for a woman who wasn’t her mother.

  “It’s like she’s his girlfriend instead of his companion. My God, I just don’t understand it. It’s like she has a spell on him. Is there anything I can do?”

  “There isn’t a law against falling in love. Do you have evidence that she’s stolen money from him?”

  “No, I finally talked him into giving
me power of attorney, so he no longer has control over his money. This way she can’t steal from him, but I’m worried about him emotionally. And I thought you needed to know about these people.”

  “I’m glad you came to me.”

  “And I also discovered she’s married to Elliot, and she and my father are acting like married people. It’s shameful. My God, if he could have sex at ninety, they would.”

  Harper straightened in his seat. “I need names. People who the Stones have robbed? Can you get them for me?”

  “I’ll try.”

  When Cassandra Houston left, Harper ran the Stones’ names through other databases before he called the FBI’s confidence unit.

  It also gave him the connection to Sarah. Sarah had money on her. Five thousand wasn’t anything to sneeze at.

  The next day, after Barbara exercised on Harper’s equipment, she drove home. When she got there, Naomi was sitting in her car waiting for her.

  She opened her door and climbed out. “Can you get that bag out of the back seat for me and bring it inside?” the older woman asked.

  “Of course.”

  Barbara retrieved the tote. Naomi was a little slower getting up the steps, but she climbed without assistance.

  “Have you been waiting long?” Barbara asked.

  “Not long,” she said, breathing hard. “You’ve got a lovely view from here. I always loved this home.”

  “I love it, too. Can I get you something to drink or eat? I have coffee, tea. Even a coffee cake I made earlier.”

  “Coffee with cake will hit the spot.”

  Barbara set the items on the table and dished up the cake, handing it to Naomi.

  “I haven’t had coffee cake like this since your grandmother left here,” Naomi said, taking a bite.

  “My grandmother?” Barbara asked.

  “Yes, I remember Dorsey well. She was closer friends with my sister, Anna, in school. I know she’s passed away. She’d written me that she was eager to return here, and that you were going to bring her back to live here with her.”

  Barbara nodded.

  Naomi laid a hand on hers. Her gentle, caring touch moved Barbara. “I’m glad you decided to move here. You’re family and you should be here.”

  “I don’t have any family left.”

  “That’s where you’re wrong, honey. This is where your ancestors came from. They arrived here almost four hundred years ago. Your history is here. You belong here. Dorsey was my second cousin. Her husband was also a descendent of one of the original islanders.”

  Barbara gazed at her. After her grandmother’s death, she didn’t feel she belonged anywhere, much less had relatives.

  “It’s one of the reasons I convinced you to work on the Founder’s Day committee. I wanted you to gather your family’s history and display it. I’ll help you, of course. I have lots of information on your grandfather’s side, as well as your grandmother’s, and I’ll give it all to you. When your great-grandmother died, I saved the information for whoever might return to the island. But you’re here now and it’s all yours.”

  “I didn’t know that.” Barbara was stunned. “Dorsey didn’t believe in dwelling in the past. She never talked about life here.”

  “She was young when she left, but your roots are here, honey. I didn’t want to bombard you with information as soon as you arrived. But you’re also one of the women responsible for the family heirlooms.”

  “Family heirlooms?”

  “The golden bowl, doubloons, and old coins. You, Alyssa, and Gabrielle are the ones responsible for their fate in this generation. You have to decide who gets it for the next. Anna was responsible for it and she picked the three of you to carry on the torch. But for right now…”

  Puzzled, Barbara shook her head. “Wait a minute. I’ve heard people mention the bowl.”

  Naomi explained the heirloom’s history. Barbara was astonished that she was part of this amazing history.

  “But the one that originally belonged to this family is missing. I just hope we can find it. It’s been in the family so long.”

  “It’s amazing that you’ve kept it this long.”

  “And a shame if it isn’t found. But I’m holding out hope that it will be.”

  Barbara nodded.

  “And I hope you’ll be here for Thanksgiving,” Naomi said. “It’s always at my house and I’d like you to join us. Of course, this year we’re holding it at Cornell’s restaurant. It’s large enough for the entire family to dine in comfort. I tell you, it’s nice having a grandson who owns a restaurant.”

  “Thank you for inviting me, but…”

  “And, of course, Harper is invited, too. He’s going to be here. With all the trouble, he wouldn’t dare leave.”

  Barbara didn’t know that. “I was going to say that my friend from New York is visiting.”

  “Bring her, too. Bring anyone you want. What’s a few more mouths in my group?”

  CHAPTER 11

  Tuesday night, impatience seemed to spring from every pore in Trent’s body. Nothing pleased him. He’d worked out on his equipment. He’d watched TV until it bored him to tears. He’d even gotten on the phone to talk to his sister and mother, and it made him feel even worse.

  He wanted his mother’s money and he wanted to move on. The sheriff wasn’t watching the house as closely as before. But the man was suspicious of him. He needed to get the money and get out of there fast.

  He’d already broken into the Stones’ one night and found absolutely nothing. That particular night he noticed Minerva and Elliot strolling across the yard to Mrs. Claxton’s house. They talked about the dinner invitation they’d received from her. And as usual, Andrew went into Norfolk. Trent spotted him walking toward the ferry earlier when he was on his way home from work.

  Under the cover of darkness, Trent approached the house and slid inside unnoticed. It was easy work getting into the door using his lock picks. Even after the robbery they hadn’t done a thing to increase security. Trent chuckled. An amateur could get in there without much effort.

  His mother hadn’t improved at all. She still refused to get out of bed except to use the rest room and to take baths when his sister forced her. And here the Stones walked around like they were good citizens.

  Trent started searching in the bedroom, rifling through the closet, under the bed. His anger built as he shifted the mattresses off and slit them, just in case money was hidden in there.

  Ordinarily, he wasn’t destructive. His mother wouldn’t approve, but the Stones destroyed lives. He felt justified in destroying their belongings. Let them see how it felt to have their home invaded. He knocked lightly on walls for false doors. He looked behind the cheap pictures.

  There was nothing in the Stones’ bedroom. He went to Andrew’s bedroom next and gave it the same treatment, although he didn’t expect to find anything there. The house was small. Only two bedrooms. No garage. He checked the living room, the kitchen, and the utility room. The money wasn’t anywhere. He even climbed to the attic, pulling down the rickety stairs and shining his penlight on dust bunnies.

  He didn’t think they had the brains to put money into an offshore bank account or to trust banks that much. Well, if it was there, then somebody had better get it. And he couldn’t fathom them burying it in the yard.

  Elliot was known for his killer temper. He’d killed a guy back in D.C., but the police never even suspected. He didn’t want Elliot on him when he left. The man would definitely come back to D.C. to kill him. Trent had never committed murder and wasn’t about to start now.

  Frustrated, when he was about to leave, he gazed out the window to make sure no one was about. He saw someone dressed in black hiding in the bushes. He wondered if the person had seen him enter. Too short and overweight to be Andrew. Smaller than Barbara. My God, it was a woman. Could it be Barbara? People looked smaller dressed in black. Did she sneak away from the sheriff to rob the place? Was there a falling out among thieves?

  Gl
ancing around, the person started to the door.

  Trent made a hasty retreat to the front door. Damn it. He didn’t like going out through the front. But he quickly scanned the area, saw that it was clear, and stole out into the night. He made his way around the back and hid in the bushes for a while. In a couple minutes the woman came outside. Trent followed her for a mile to a path. She got in a boat and rowed out a short distance before she started the motor.

  The way the woman moved reminded him of Sonya. She was in the bar a couple of times when he went there and they’d had drinks together. So why was she here?

  Since Trent was already going in the direction of his house, he continued on home, wondering if this woman had lost money to the Stones, too.

  Barbara climaxed on a scream.

  “I love you,” Harper said, hovering above her.

  Shocked, she could only stare at him. They say you could never believe a man’s profession of love in the throes of an orgasm, but Barbara believed him. Had felt it even before he said the words.

  When she remained silent, Harper moved to the side and gathered her into his arms.

  “Harper, don’t get serious about me.”

  He kissed the side of her mouth. “Baby, it’s already too late for that.”

  Barbara shifted to look directly at him. “But…I don’t even know if I’m going to stay here permanently.”

  “Why not?”

  “I don’t know what I’m going to do. I never promised you I would stay.”

  He blew out a long breath. “When are you going to trust me, Barbara?”

  “I trust you.”

  “Don’t lie to me. Don’t lie in my arms and lie to me.”

  Barbara grabbed the sheet and scrambled to the other side of the bed. Standing, she wrapped the sheet around her. “I’m going home.”

  Harper snatched the sheet away, leaving her standing naked—as naked as he was looming before her.

  “Coward. You’re not going anywhere. You’re afraid of something, Barbara. So, if you go home, I’ll just have to sit in the damn car in your yard all night instead of getting the sleep I need.”