“Where have you been? You know, there are plenty of bonny young women around this town that would love to have your job.” Gerry’s voice crooned with a hint of a Scottish lilt, which intensified when he was upset. “Don’t think for one second that I wouldn’t ... what?” All at once, his expression changed to shocked concern as he noticed the terror in her eyes. “Addie, what’s wrong? What happened?”
God, she wished her emotions weren’t so transparent around him, but she had to admit the experience had been so frightening she probably looked like a scared rabbit. She could feel her bones secretly shaking under her skin. “Please, Gerry, I know I’m late, but I had, ah ... um ... an accident with my truck.”
“An accident? Are you hurt?” He placed his hands on her shoulders and eyed her up and down as if checking her over for some sign of bruising or cuts.
For a few seconds Addie just stood there stunned by his reaction, holding her breath.
“Breathe,” he ordered, still holding on to her shoulders.
She let out a long puff of air. “No, no, I’m okay, I didn’t hit anything, but ... I almost did ... a man. I had to swerve to miss him and almost ran my truck off the cliff.”
“You almost hit a man? Where? Is he okay?”
Addie was tongue-tied, not sure what to say. The sounds of the small bar and grill became unusually deafening and swirled in her head. The customers’ chatter, the music from the jukebox, the clang of dishes in the kitchen, the swoosh of water spraying in the dishwasher all clouded her thoughts. Her head spun from the sounds, the room felt as if it were closing in on her, and she had trouble getting a grip on reality. The experience had been so frightening yet so unbelievable, like another bad dream. If she were to tell Gerry she didn’t know if the man was okay, he would think she was irresponsible. If she told him the man vanished, he would think she was crazy.
“He seemed to be okay. He didn’t have any trouble getting around.” A half-truth, she figured, was better than an all out lie.
“Okay, then, and you’re not hurt?”
“No, I’m fine,” she said, straightening her spine.
Gerry’s face softened in relief as he released her and stepped back. She didn’t want to talk about it anymore and moved away from him. Trying to sound cool and collected, she added, “I’m a grown woman and I can take care of myself. You needn’t get so worked up about things.”
Addie knew Gerry to be a caring man. A bit over-protective, but caring none-the-less. Gerry Briden was a tall, handsome man of thirty-nine, thirteen years her senior—a detail he sometimes liked to affirm, thinking it gave him the right to treat her as though she were a child. He swept his hand through his short, dark, wavy hair, and bulging ridges protruded from under his rolled-up sleeves. Addie thought that Gerry proved her aunt had impeccable taste in men.
He stood with his hands on his hips, his concern settling into impatience. His full-lipped mouth curved up on the right side when he spoke, accentuating his subtle Scottish accent, which Addie knew many women found irresistible. “Well then, if you’re okay, pull yourself together now and get to work. We have a bloody busy afternoon yet. Rob was in here earlier and said he saw a tour bus headed this way while he was on his morning patrol. Those people are going to be thirsty and hungry.”
She heard the irritation in his voice and winced.
Tour buses always brought in a couple dozen hungry and thirsty tourists. The last thing Addie needed was a bus full of people. God, why this morning of all mornings, when I have so much on my mind?
She thought of Rob, the chief of police, then of the man she may have hit, and in her mind, saw him lying on the side of the road, dead. She wondered if the chief would soon discover a body somewhere along the highway while he was on patrol.
“Rob ... Chief Thompson was here? When?” How could she have been so stupid? She really hadn’t checked the side of the road very well. Her breath caught in her throat as she thought of the man bleeding to death in a ditch somewhere, unable to answer when she called out to him. She just left him there, helpless. She froze, staring at Gerry, unable to hide the horror on her face.
“Come on now, you’ve never let a bus full of tourists get to you before. What’s really going on?” Gerry threw a dirty bar rag into the bin, retrieved a clean one from the shelf behind him and looked at her with a bemused expression. “Have you had another nightmare then?”
“Yes!” she wanted to scream but, “No,” she lied, considering that the whole morning had been one long, continual nightmare. She wanted to tell him about the man disappearing into thin air, but then thought it sounded too crazy. Maybe she did just imagine him, or maybe he had been part of her nightmare. Maybe.
“Um ... nothing’s going on. I’m just tired and the idea of a full bus, well, I guess I’d better get busy.” Addie grabbed a wet rag, wiped up some beer spills from the bar and tried to shake the image of a dead man on the side of the road from her mind.
“Good, we don’t have time for fucking around today.” Gerry turned to pick up a case of beer, then proceeded to stock the mini fridge in the bar area.
It was all so ridiculous. The man must have been a figment of her imagination, a manifestation from her nightmare. No one could just disappear, and she convinced herself that if the man had been real, and in fact hurt, he would have been there when she got out of the truck.
Addie tiptoed by the kitchen, located beside the back door and behind the bar. The room, newly outfitted with state-of-the-art equipment, emitted a silvery shine. Jared poked his head out the door as she passed.
“Hey Addie,” he chuckled, looking relieved to have Gerry pick on her for a while instead of him.
“Morning, Jared,” she mumbled. God, please don’t make me have to talk to him. On top of everything else, dealing with Jared right now would just be too cruel.
“Addie, wait,” Jared called after her. “There’s a bunch of us getting together for a campfire tomorrow night at the beach, would you like to come?”
Jared had asked her out before, but she’d always managed to come up with an excuse. He stood there—bar rag slung over his shoulder, his curly-blond hair hanging over his forehead—looking hopeful. He had a nice face, nice body ... well, great body, Addie corrected, but she always thought of him more as a friend and didn’t want to start a relationship with a coworker. Besides, she’d felt there was something between Jared and her friend Darcy, one of the waitresses, although they both denied it whenever she asked them.
“Um, sure,” she said and turned to walk behind the bar. He’d caught her off guard, damn it, and she hadn’t been quick enough to come up with a good excuse on the spot.
He beamed, his face a mixture of shock and excitement. “Really ...? Sweet. I’ll pick you up around seven. Dress warm—even though we’ll have a fire, it’s still going to be frigid down there.”
She paused for a moment, searching for the right words, not wanting to hurt his feelings. It was weird enough to go with him to a campfire—a campfire with other people—quite another to be picked up by him, too much like an actual date as far as she was concerned.
“Why don’t we just leave from here? Then we can use my truck and you won’t have to worry about drinking and driving,” she said, pleased with her quick thinking.
Jared frowned down at the grill as he fiddled with something in a pan, and tucked a blond curl, which was forever falling out, back under his cap. “Oh. Ah … yeah, sure, if that’s what you want.”
Something brushed Addie’s arm and she turned to see Darcy, her best friend, standing with her arms crossed and tapping her right shoe.
“What's taking so long with my order?”
“Working on it, Double D,” Jared snapped back at her.
“You’re going to the campfire tomorrow night, right?” Addie said, turning to Darcy with a pleading smile as she fastened her black apron around her waist, wrapping the long ties around twice so the bow wouldn’t hang down to her knees. Then she slipped behind the bar.
“The three of us can all ride down together. There’s plenty of room for our beach chairs and the truck has a comfy back seat.”
Jared frowned. “Yeah, just what we need. Sure, Double D, come along; we could always use a third wheel.”
Addie cringed. The term ‘Double D’ not only referred to the name, Darcy Delacroix, but also to Darcy’s bust size. She knew, without a doubt, that Darcy absolutely, unequivocally, detested the label and Addie never wanted to be in the line of fire when Darcy caught someone using it.
“Shut up, Jared,” Darcy scowled. “Unlike you, Jared Kane, I never have any problem getting dates, you worm. Go on now,” she gestured with her fingers toward the kitchen, “slither back into your little hole and stop calling me Double D, or I’ll rip your tongue out.”
Addie was sure Jared felt the sting from Darcy’s glare as he slunk back into the kitchen. Darcy followed Addie out to the bar and set her tray down on the long L-shaped, walnut counter. The fifteen cushy stools around it would soon fill up once the tour bus arrived, as would the six tables along the front windows. They always went first, leaving the four square tables in the middle of the room unoccupied, except for busy days like today. Darcy gave Addie the drink order she needed for her table, but as Addie turned to fix the cocktails, Darcy caught her by the arm.
“Maybe you should just tell him you’re not interested, since he’s too dense to understand subtle rejection. Then you wouldn’t have to play these silly games. He’s a grown man, he can take it.”
Addie glanced back in Jared’s direction to make sure he wasn’t listening. “Yeah, well, silly to you. I’m not as cold-hearted. I’ll handle it my way, thank you very much.”
“Suit yourself. Hey, tell me about this guy you almost hit. Who was he?” Darcy picked up a cherry and plopped it into the glass Addie just filled with Coke and placed it alongside the pint of draft on her tray.
“Oh, um, I don’t know, I don’t think he’s from around here. I’ve never seen the guy before and he left before I could check on him.” Addie winced as the words slipped past her lips and hoped Darcy hadn’t caught them, knowing she’d probably think she was crazy. How could a guy just vanish anyway? She really wished she could get the image of that man out of her head.
Addie wanted to confide in Darcy since she was Addie’s closest friend—actually, the only friend she had made since she’d moved to Whisper Cape. It wasn’t easy for Addie to make friends. She’d spent most of her life moving from city to city every year and learned early on it was better not to get too close and risk the heartbreak of having to say goodbye.
Darcy was gregarious and candid and Addie found her amusing and fun. She was also very attractive and had a great following of the opposite sex. Her dark hair, short and straight, spiked out at one side in a stylish manner fitting her slender face and making her huge blue eyes seem even larger. Darcy was the one Addie trusted most to confide in about any of her problems, but this time she felt it best to keep the bizarre event to herself.
“Well, whoever he was, I’m sure he’s glad you didn’t hit him.”
“Yeah, me too,” Addie mumbled, relieved when Darcy hadn’t noticed the slip about the guy leaving before she could check on him. Her stomach was still in knots as she replayed the event in her mind and considered the possibility that the whole experience was a remnant of her nightmares. People didn’t just disappear. Did they?
Chapter 3
The bar and grill filled up quickly with hungry and thirsty tourists, just as Gerry had predicted. The place was packed, but it didn't bother Addie. She was grateful for the busy day. It kept her mind off the horror of the morning and allowed Gerry no time to give her any more grief about being late.
By the time the lunch crowd dwindled down to just one customer, Addie was exhausted. She sat at the counter, Darcy beside her with two steaming bowls of clam chowder and hot buttered rolls.
Addie scooted her stool closer to the counter. Drawing in the delicious aroma, she eyed her friend appreciatively and settled in to enjoy the soup. “Mmmm, looks good, thanks. I didn’t realize I was hungry until now.”
“You’re welcome. Now, eat before you pass out. Jared spiced this up just the way you like it.”
“Hmmm … I don’t know what I’d do without you to look after me.”
“You’d probably starve to death.” Darcy smiled as she scooped up a spoonful of the creamy, hot soup.
“Yeah, you’re right.” There was more truth there than Addie cared to admit. She often went without eating simply because the thought just never occurred to her. She was thin by any standard, but never to the point of worry.
“Hey, I almost forgot. You missed it,” Darcy said.
Addie sunk her teeth into the soft buttery roll. “Mmmm … butter,” she said with a blissful grin. “Missed what?”
“With all the commotion about your near accident, I didn’t tell you about the new police lieutenant Chief Thompson hired.”
“Oh?” Addie stiffened at the mention of the Chief of Police.
“Yeah—he came in here this morning with the chief and ooooh, he’s tall and muscular, has dark hair, and gorgeous brown eyes.” Darcy sighed at the memory.
Addie relaxed and smiled. Darcy’s many infatuations dominated most conversations. “Hmmm, he sounds yummy. How old do you think he is?”
“Dunno. Maybe early thirties. Just so there’s no mistake, I’ve got dibs.”
Addie laughed. “Not fair, you get all the good men.”
“I do not. Well ... maybe. Anyway, his name is Duane—Lieutenant Duane Whelan.”
“You’ve got that look in your eyes again.”
“What look?”
“You know, the one that says, ‘I wonder what he’s like in bed.’”
Darcy laughed. “Well, at least I’m healthy. When’s the last time you thought about a guy?”
“I don’t know.” Not since her nightmares, she thought. She wasn’t sure she could trust a man enough to let him know about them, especially here in this small town. None of the guys she'd met attracted her anyway, and the ones who were just visiting, passing through, didn't appeal to her because Addie didn't want a meaningless fling. If the right man were to come along she might be tempted, but she couldn’t allow herself that luxury just yet, not until she found out what happened to her father. Maybe the nightmares would stop after that.
“Yeah, now that’s unhealthy,” Darcy said.
“Please, let’s not go there.”
Gerry returned from the kitchen and started counting out the cash drawer. “Addie, when you’re finished eating would you mind cleaning the mirror for me? I splattered a wee bit of cream all over it earlier and I need to get this money in the bank.”
“No problem.” Gerry liked a clean and sparkly bar, always bragging about how far it had come since he’d purchased it a little over a year ago from an elderly couple who’d had trouble maintaining it. Gerry renovated the old run-down building and expanded the eating area to seat more customers. Adding a deck for an outside eating area overlooking the ocean, he turned the restaurant into a great local hangout as well as a popular tourist attraction.
“So why were the chief and his new lieutenant here this morning anyway?” Addie asked.
“Oh, shit, you didn’t hear. They found a dead woman this morning on the outer edge of the old Tully farm. Her body was so mangled they couldn’t even identify her. Scary, huh?”
Addie nodded and thought of her father's death. “Yes, scary. Did they say what killed her?”
“They’re not sure but they think it could have been a mountain lion or some other animal, but they won’t know anything until after the autopsy.”
“A mountain lion?” Addie thought about that, then remembered the mysterious man, and wondered if he’d had anything to do with it.
“Maybe we shouldn’t go to the beach tomorrow night,” Addie said.
“We’ll be okay. Besides, mountain lions don’t like fire and they won’t come near the water.
”
“What if it wasn’t a mountain lion?”
“Not to worry, we’ll have men to protect us and keep us warm.”
Addie frowned.
Darcy smiled, scooped up another spoonful of soup, and motioned to the door leading outside. “Hey, speaking of warm, I can’t wait until those heaters for the deck arrive. Any word on when they’ll get here?”
“Gerry said sometime this week, if we’re lucky.” Addie, grateful for the change in subject, added, “Let’s eat out there as soon as they come, okay?”
They looked forward to using the new deck; it extended off the dining room and curved around the back, overlooking the best location around for whale watching. Gerry had installed a barrier of Plexiglas standing eight feet high that surrounded the entire deck, protecting the area against the strong coastal winds, but heaters were definitely a necessity.
“Absolutely. So, what are you planning to wear tomorrow night? You can borrow my new pink blouse if you’d like. Do you want me to help you with your makeup?” Darcy smirked as she reached over and started to fuss with Addie’s hair, pulling it up in back to see what she might be able to do with it.
Addie swatted Darcy’s hand away. “Cut it out! There’s no way in hell you’re touching my face or my hair, and what is this incessant desire of yours to always want to dress me?”
“I just think you should explore some colors other than black all the time. The Goth look is okay for awhile, but don’t you think it’s time for a change?”
“The Goth look?” Addie asked with a half-laugh.
“Yeah, you know, all dark and spooky.” Darcy wiggled her fingers in the air trying to look scary.
“Thanks,” Addie choked out, suddenly self-conscience about her appearance.
“Oh, come on, Addie, you know what I mean. You know you’re really pretty, I just think you could look a bit sexier if you wore something other than black T-shirts and black pants all the time. You’ll never get a boyfriend if you don’t make any effort.”
Whisper Cape Page 2