by Lyndsey Cole
“I don’t know what you think I can do to help,” Hannah said. “Why doesn’t Rochelle just pay Nate and get him out of her life?”
Mack laughed which caught Hannah by surprise. “You obviously don’t know Rochelle. She’d never part with that much money, even if her life depended on it.”
“What about you? You could try to find Nate and make a deal.”
Mack shook his head. “I don’t have access to Rochelle’s money. Her father was a smart SOB. He set up her inheritance so no one else can touch it. Even if we get divorced, I get nothing. All this—” Mack’s arm swept around the tack room, “the house, the barn, the land, the horses—all belongs to Rochelle. She holds the whole deck of cards.” His eyes pleaded with Hannah. “I hoped you could talk some sense into her. The two of you spent all that time in the kitchen last night so I thought maybe you had earned her trust.”
“My advice, Mack, is to find that missing money. Do you have any ideas where it could be?”
“Not really. That’s the real reason I wanted to talk to you. Would you search for it?”
Cal stepped between Hannah and Mack. “Wait a minute. You want Hannah to risk her life for you and Rochelle? Get in between a convicted criminal and a possible murderer?”
“Murderer?” Mack asked. “What are you talking about?”
“Al. Revenge. You have to suspect that Nate had a strong motive to kill Al,” Cal yelled at Mack.
Mack clamped his mouth shut.
Cal grabbed both of Mack’s arms. “If you don’t think Nate killed Al, it has to be because you think someone else did.” He shook Mack. “Who, Mack? Tell us what you know.”
“I . . . I don’t know anything. You should leave.”
Hannah crossed her arms and leaned on the wall between two saddles. “No. Not until you tell us what you know.” She watched Mack’s eyes look everywhere but at her. They traveled across the wall, down to the floor, stopped, then back to a spot near Hannah’s feet. She looked down. “What are you looking at?”
“Something is missing.” He slapped the side of his head. “Of course. It makes perfect sense. This is Rochelle’s favorite spot, surrounded by horse stuff, the smell of leather, the sound of the horses in their stalls. Hiding it in plain sight makes perfect sense. I’d never look in here.”
“Hide what?” Hannah moved closer to Mack. “The money?”
“If she had it, this would be the perfect hiding place.” He pointed to a space under one of the saddles. “Her fancy box, which I assumed held all her special horse tools, was always right there. She kept it locked which was odd but she must have known I wouldn’t care one way or the other about anything connected to her precious horses.”
“And she usually kept this room locked?” Hannah asked.
“She did. She must have been in such a hurry to get her box out of here, she forgot to lock it up again.”
“Or, if that missing box was filled with money, once she took it there was no need to lock the tack room anymore,” Hannah suggested.
Mack ran his fingers through his thinning hair. “The phone call, her disappearance, and now her special box is gone, too.”
“Do you think she took the money and went to meet Nate?” Cal asked.
Mack had the look of someone who was about to have his whole world fall apart.
“If she did,” Hannah said. “Will he kill Rochelle once she hands over the money?”
Twenty
Hannah and Cal left Mack to help Emma with whatever needed doing in the apartment. He clearly needed something to take his mind off his worries.
“Let’s drive by Joey’s house to see if anyone is there with him,” Hannah suggested.
“I suppose a drive by won’t hurt, but don’t ask me to stop because I won’t.”
Joey’s house wasn’t too far from the marina so when Cal drove by slowly, and no vehicle was in the driveway, Hannah encouraged Cal to pull into the marina. “Maybe you can get back into your boat.” That wasn’t exactly what she cared about but she did wonder if she could see the ocean side of Joey’s property.
Cal pulled into the marina parking lot just as Deputy Pam Larson was walking to her car. She stopped.
“I wonder what she’s waiting for,” Hannah said. “Not us, I hope.”
Cal parked and they both climbed out of Cal’s truck. Hannah tried to look casual and avoid Pam. It didn’t work. Pam walked right over and stood in front of them.
“I need to talk to you, Cal.” Pam leaned on Cal’s truck with her arms crossed and one ankle over the other. She was not going to be ignored. “Joey Hines said you threatened his father the night Al was murdered.”
Hannah’s stomach suddenly turned to lead.
“What? I already told you I went to Al’s house and let him know what I thought of his parenting style, but I didn’t threaten him.”
“You didn’t tell him Joey would be better off without him?”
“Well, I think what I said was that since Al obviously wasn’t being much of a dad to Joey, he’d be better off without him. It wasn’t a threat, I was stating a fact as I saw it.”
“Was Joey at the house when you got there?” Hannah asked Cal.
“He was leaving. I suppose he could have heard part of the conversation. I didn’t pay that much attention to him. But I do remember that when I left, his car was gone.” Cal’s fists were closed tight. “I didn’t kill Al. When I pulled into the marina that night, you were here, Pam. After I left my boat Wednesday morning, I hadn’t been back since.”
Pam dropped her arms. “I had to ask. Your alibi checked out with the owner of the hardware store. I wanted to know if your story matched with Joey’s. You can go back to your boat. We’re all done and everything’s cleaned up.”
“Wait,” Hannah said. She touched Pam’s arm. “What about Joey? Where did he go when he left his house that night?”
“He said he went back to the Lowes’ farm to pick up some stuff he forgot in the barn. I haven’t had a chance to talk to Rochelle or Mack Lowe yet to confirm his story. Why? Do you know something, Hannah?”
“About Joey? Only that I wouldn’t trust him as far as I could throw him, but I suppose that doesn’t mean he’s a murderer. Too bad he’s got an alibi.”
Cal started to walk down the dock toward his boat while Hannah was still talking to Pam. When he was far enough away, Pam lowered her voice and asked, “What did Caroline say?”
“You haven’t talked to your father yet?”
Pam shook her head.
“She’s not worried and she’s not moving to another location. She thinks Nate is bluffing about doing anything to report her. She thinks that he’s using the threat to make the rest of us nervous.”
Pam chuckled. “Caroline is something else. She has more nerve than anyone I know. I can’t think of anything that would rattle her.” Pam scrunched her lips to one side. “Except if she found out that you were in some sort of danger. Then she’d take one of her thick mystery books and clobber whoever tried to harm you right over the head and knock him out cold.”
Hannah smiled. It was rare for Pam to let her guard down around her and even rarer for Pam to talk about violence.
“And you know what?” Pam asked.
Hannah waited.
“I couldn’t do a bloomin’ thing. Everyone thinks Caroline is already dead. She could commit the perfect murder, I guess.”
“I can’t believe you’re thinking along those lines, Pam.”
“You shouldn’t be. With all the evil I see, sometimes it would be easier if justice happened without the benefit of all this investigating.” Pam shook her head. “Enough of this.” She stared deep into Hannah’s eyes. “Don’t you dare ever repeat what I just said. Those thoughts are going back where they belong.” She made a motion of zipping her lips. “It’s been one of those days, I guess. Now, get out of here. Go join your boyfriend before he finds someone else to hang out with.”
Hannah felt her chin drop. Who was this person? Tha
t was the longest conversation she’d ever had with Pam; and possibly the most civil. But what stuck out the most was Pam’s comment of Cal finding someone else. This on top of Ruby’s advice. Was something going on with Cal that she didn’t know about?
As Hannah walked on the dock toward Cal’s boat, like usual, she read the names on the backs of the other boats. There were usually a few new boats, even at this time of year. Sure enough, a cute little boat, a few down from Cal’s, caught her attention—Sail the Seas. Was Cal getting antsy for an adventure? His boat beckoned with the advice, Seas the Day. She decided she’d better pay attention to that advice.
She jumped from the dock to the back of Cal’s boat and took the two steps down into the cabin. “Cal?”
He turned around and smiled. His blue eyes that made her feel like she was looking into the ocean warmed her face. He ran his fingers through his sandy blond hair. “What did you and Pam chat about? Are you finally finding some common ground to bond over?”
“Yeah, something like that. Cal?” she said his name again.
“Uh-huh.” He gave her his full attention.
Hannah felt heat rise in her cheeks. This was harder to do than she realized. Since her mouth was suddenly full of dry cotton balls, she let her feet close the short distance between them. She wrapped her arms around his waist and felt his arms pull her close.
His cheek rested on the side of her face and she felt his warm breath tickle her neck. “What’s wrong?” he murmured.
“I don’t want you to leave Hooks Harbor.
Cal chuckled. “And what gave you the idea I’ve got plans to leave?”
“Ruby . . . and Pam.”
He squeezed her tight. “I’ll have to thank them.”
“Me too.”
They separated and Cal opened his small fridge. “I’ve got some leftover pizza.”
“From when? You haven’t been her since Wednesday.”
“Right. I would have eaten it if you hadn’t reminded me of that. How about we get some takeout and go back to your place?” His hopeful expression made Hannah’s heart melt. “I’m not ready to sleep here yet anyway. It still feels a little creepy.”
“Sure.”
Cal grabbed the remaining cold beers to bring along and they jumped up the two steps to the deck of the boat.
Hannah hopped to the dock, landing face to face with . . . Nate Allen. Cal landed next to her.
She gasped.
His lips stretched from ear to ear, distorting his scar into what looked like a second crooked grin, but no emotion reached his eyes. “Fancy finding the two of you here. It must be my lucky day—two for the price of one.”
Hannah burrowed into Cal’s strong arm around her waist. She straightened, squared her shoulders, and tilted her chin up. If Great Aunt Caroline taught her anything, it was to not show any weakness. Or fear. She felt both but was determined not to let Nate Allen have the satisfaction of seeing either.
“How’s Joey?” Hannah asked with what she hoped sounded defiant and fearless.
Nate’s brows quickly jerked up. Hannah was proud that she managed to shock him with her question.
“The little slug might be smarter than his double-crossing father—might be—I haven’t made a final decision yet.” Nate nodded to Cal.
“We’re heading to get some pizza. Have you eaten yet?” Hannah asked as if Nate was actually on her list of someone she liked to socialize with. His position on that list was at the bottom, but wasn’t it better to stay close to your enemy?
“No thanks. I’ve got plans but before I meander on my way, I was wondering if you had any idea where the snooty Mrs. Lowe has gone off to?”
“What do you want with Rochelle?” Hannah asked.
“It’s personal. I’ve driven by her farm several times and that fancy SUV she loves is never there. Since you had your bonding dinner with her, I hoped you might be able to point me in her direction.”
“Do you think we are some sort of friends? I have no intention of telling you anything.”
This time, when Nate smiled, little wrinkles appeared at the edge of his eyes. “No, Ms. Hannah Holiday. We are far from friends but we do want the same thing, don’t we?” He tilted his head as if taunting Hannah to react.
“And what’s that, Mr. Nate Allen? That you are planning to leave Hooks Harbor? Because that’s about the only thing I think we could possibly have in common.”
Nate laughed. “You do provide me with entertainment on my journey here. And, I’ll give you that particular common desire, but there is something else.” Nate’s eyes shifted to Cal before he looked at Hannah again. “I was thinking more along the lines of your Great Aunt Caroline’s safety.”
Hannah felt Cal’s hand tighten on her waist. She felt his breath on her neck when he turned to look at her. Hannah never blinked or moved her eyes from Nate’s face, determined to follow Caroline’s advice and not let him have any power over you. “Caroline is safe and she’s hoping you’ll drop in for tea.”
It was Hannah’s turn to smile when Nate’s mocking grin turned into a scowl. “You managed to surprise me . . . but be careful what you wish for.” With that, he turned on his heel and clomped off the dock.
“Hannah?” Cal pulled her around to face him. “What was that all about?”
Hannah let the tension from facing Nate seep out of her muscles but a different tightness gripped her heart. “There’s something I need to tell you, but not here.”
Twenty-One
Cal and Hannah walked down the dock to Cal’s truck in complete silence. Tension sizzled around Hannah. The ocean seemed to be trying to absorb Hannah’s worries as the waves subsided to nothing.
“Let’s pick up pizza and then I’ll explain everything,” Hannah said, breaking the unbearable silence.
Cal pulled into the pizza parlor. “The regular?” he asked.
“Whatever you like is fine with me. Is it okay if I wait here?”
“Sure.” Cal slammed the door. It was more than obvious that he didn’t like this mysterious turn of events.
Hannah called Jack. After he answered and they finished with the usual back and forth greeting, Hannah said, “I have to tell Cal about Great Aunt Caroline.”
Silence met her ear. A long silence. “Are you still there Jack?”
“I’m here. What happened?”
“Nate found us and blurted out about Caroline. I had to face his threat which opened up a conversation about her. I have to explain it to Cal. I’m afraid he thinks I’m keeping some terrible secret which will undermine our relationship.”
“It’s your call, Hannah, but I’m worried that this secret could be exploding out of control. I won’t say anything to Pam just yet that Cal knows now, too.”
“Cal will keep it to himself. He won’t want to jeopardize Caroline, and it could help in the long run.” She tried to convince herself that this was a good idea. “You know, one more pair of eyes keeping watch over her. I’ve gotta go. Cal is coming back to the truck.” Hannah slipped her phone into her pocket just as the steamy cheesy aroma filled the truck.
She smiled at Cal. “I’m ravenous.”
He started the truck. “Your place?”
“No. Drive past the marina and take a right on Lookout Lane. Meg’s brother owns a secluded cottage we can visit.”
Cal quickly glanced at Hannah but didn’t say anything. After Hannah directed him to the driveway for the cottage, Cal carried the beer and Hannah led the way through the dark with the pizza box. Curtains covered the big front windows but small bits of light seeped around the edges. Hannah was relieved about the light. She wasn’t sure if Caroline would be asleep already.
“Is anyone here?” Cal asked. He stood so close behind her she could smell the salty ocean aroma that seeped from his clothes over the cheese and pepperoni.
“Yes.” Before Hannah opened the door, she turned to face Cal. “Keeping this secret was never my idea and, as a matter of fact, I didn’t even know about it unt
il this past summer.”
“I don’t like secrets, Hannah. If we’re going to move forward together, I don’t want to ever think there are secrets between us.”
“I know. That’s why we’re here.” She smiled. “I think you’ll understand in a minute.”
Hannah turned the doorknob and pushed the door slowly. She peeked inside. Caroline was curled up in her normal spot on the couch with Fred next to her.
“Come in, Hannah. You too, Cal.” She put her book down. “Ah, you’ve brought beer and pizza. Perfect. Meg always brings something too healthy for me. A greasy, cheesy piece of pizza will be a welcome change. I hope you have pepperoni and sausage on there, too.”
Hannah entered first and put the pizza on the coffee table before she turned to look at Cal. He remained in the open doorway, his mouth open, his normally tan face as white as Caroline’s hair.
Caroline laughed. “Close your mouth, Cal. Come in and close the door, too, before someone sees me in here. It seems as though everyone has suddenly taken an interest in this boring old lady.”
Hannah took Cal’s hand and pulled him inside. She closed the door.
Cal looked at Caroline, then at Hannah. “This is your secret? How . . . ?”
Caroline waved her hand as if to push his shock and questions away. “Let’s eat that pizza before it gets cold. And you brought beer? I certainly won’t let Meg know about that.” She chuckled happily. “Isn’t this exciting, Fred? Some new interesting company for a change.”
Cal settled his lanky frame onto the flowery patterned easy chair, kitty corner to Caroline’s couch. Hannah set plates, napkins, and the bottle opener next to the pizza box and beer. She flipped the box top open. “It looks like you got your wish, Caroline. Here’s the biggest slice of the meat lover’s pizza.”
“I’m guessing Cal made this important decision about which pizza to buy.” Caroline tipped her beer bottle toward Cal. “Thank you.” She pulled a small bit of cheese off the pizza and let Fred lick it off her fingers. “Such a wonderful surprise,” she said before she put her full attention into eating.