“You heading out?” he asked.
Pop told him no. Millie offered him a brownie.
“I’m supposed to make you leave,” the chief said, through a mouthful of chocolate decadence.
“Aye.”
“It’s going to be a bad one. Might be a few news crews drive through to take a look-see tomorrow, reporting before Hailey hits.”
“But they won’t stay. They’ll head to the beach towns for their live reports. Ocean makes a better backdrop.”
Bandit stood on her hind paws and stretched up to look at the chief’s badge, deciding if she could find a way to steal it. He reached down to give her a pat. “So true. There’s nowhere here for them to bunker down anyhow, even if they wanted to.”
Pop nodded.
“What’s this I hear about Devil’s Tail,” the chief asked. “Avery says the storm surge could blow it open?”
I was amazed by how fast gossip traveled in an otherwise unhurried town. Pop relayed Avery’s hypothesis to the chief and finished by adding that we couldn’t get the wreckage cleaned out in time. There was no way.
The chief adjusted his baseball cap, scratching his head. “Lot of old farm and tractor equipment around here. There’s even a dragline parked behind Duckies. Some of it might still work.”
“Nobody to man it, though. Just us. Avery’s on a job and can’t get ‘ere. Folks are busy preparing for Hailey.” Pop shook his head. “Half the people are already gone, anyhow. And the rest of us aren’t supposed to be ‘ere.”
The chief nodded to himself. “So you’re staying, then?”
“Aye.”
“Need anything, give me a shout. I’ll be at the station till this thing’s over.”
Pop agreed and the chief continued on his rounds. We couldn’t help but ponder the possibilities of what might have happened if we’d gotten the ship wreckage out of Devil’s Tail when we first found it. But Pop was right. Now was too late.
Justin tried to lighten the mood. “Hey, Pop. Maybe you should offer a few bedrooms to the storm-chasers. You can open a boardinghouse.”
“What you ought to do, Cuddles, is turn this place into a bed and breakfast,” Millie said. “It’s sure big enough.”
“Cuddles?” Justin burst out laughing, head thrown back for a moment.
“That’s a great idea, Millie,” I said. “Cuddles B and B. The cozy place to stay.”
Pop pointed a finger at us. “Don’t you two start, or I’ll sick my attack dog on you.”
Flush stretched out on his stomach, near Justin’s feet, occasionally sniffing the air in hopes of a fallen morsel. “Your attack dog seems a tad lackadaisical this evening.”
“Pop’s a good cuddler,” Millie said, defending the nickname. “What’s wrong with calling him Cuddles?”
Justin finished chopping vegetables and stirred something on the stove. “Not a thing. It’s just, ah, a surprising nickname, is all. And speaking of surprises, where is that letter you found, Jax?”
It was the first time he’d ever used the short version of my name, and a sense of delight made parts of my body tingle upon hearing it. I pointed to the kitchen table, where we’d left the old papers.
While Pop grumbled about everyone making fun of his nickname and Justin read with obvious awe, I opened a bottle of white cabernet and Millie decided to feed the animals. “Hey, I’ve seen something like this in a magazine,” she said, holding one of Flush’s big bowls up to the light with both hands. “A vase. Ivory white with dragons stamped in it, just like this. And a band around the rim.”
Justin finished the letter and read the poem aloud, perhaps envisioning its green-eyed author. “The place is found, a peaceful sound. Until we go, I give thee bolle. A sign, soon thou are mine. Like the serpents, we are strong. As two, there is no wrong.” Justin rubbed a temple. “So he had a place picked out for them to live. And told her to be strong, like the serpents on the bowl…; what did you just say about dragons, Millie?”
“I saw a vase in a magazine that looked just like these dog food bowls,” she repeated.
“Which magazine?” I asked.
“Don’t recall. One of those antiques magazines. The article was on old porcelain from China, and how it’s going for big bucks at them auction houses in New York, like Chrissy’s.”
“You mean Christie’s? And Sotheby’s?”
“Yep. Picture of that vase looked just like this bowl.” She dumped in two cups of dry food and returned it to the floor. Flush shoved his snout in and chomped away. Like magic, Bandit appeared to wait for her food, and Millie fed the raccoon, too, before leaving to check on the cats.
“Pop,” Justin called. “Where’d those bowls come from?”
I answered. “They’ve been around forever. Pop said they came with the house.”
Justin watched Flush eat. “Emerald Eye gave her a gift of a bowl, or perhaps a set of bowls…; and wrote, be strong like the serpents…;” He looked up sharply. “Jaxie, a serpent is the same thing as a dragon.”
Flush finished eating from one bowl and slurped noisily from the other. I grabbed the empty one and brought it to the table. While Justin examined it, I powered up my laptop and went online to some high-end auction sites. After ten minutes of searching under porcelain, I found a photograph of pottery that looked just like Flush’s bowl, except it was a slightly different shape. A glassy-looking pale ivory piece decorated with dragons and flowers, and rimmed with a metal band, it was known as ‘Ding’ ware. The description said the porcelain was made during the Northern Song Dynasty in southeast China. It came from a private collection and sold for one million, one hundred and twenty-one thousand dollars. I aimed the screen toward Justin and pointed. He looked back and forth between the bowl and the computer screen while I gingerly picked up Flush’s water bowl, dried it, and set it next to the first one. Fingers flying, Justin searched Yahoo for Ding ware to learn more.
“Could they be?” I whispered, when he’d finished and leaned back to drink his wine.
“They fit the description of Ding ware. The markings on the bottom, the engraving, the color, the copper band around the rim. If they are, they’re several hundred years old and they’re certainly worth some money. It’s unbelievable, but there’s not even a chip on these bowls.”
“So maybe Emerald Eye thought they were pretty and presented them to Aldora as a gift. But where did he get them?”
“I’d imagine they were plundered from a ship. Or he may have bartered for them. Trade goods from many countries, including the Far East, were brought to the new world to decorate homes and use as barter.” Justin took another look at the bowls, shook his head, and stood up. “Care to join me outside while I grill the steaks?”
We sat in folding patio chairs and drank wine while he tended to the meat. The night was strangely still, but the air between us almost vibrated with a tension caused by words unsaid. I certainly wasn’t going first.
“I need to apologize,” Justin finally said, and the discord evaporated like helium in a popped balloon. “I dismissed your feelings about Lester because I took the position of a company executive instead of a friend. But I’d much rather have you in my life as anything other than an account executive!”
“Anything?”
He laughed boyishly, as though unsure if his apology would work, and I wanted to wrap myself around him. It was working.
“Okay, not anything. I wouldn’t want you to be just a good friend who fed my fish while I was out of town, for example.”
“You have fish?”
“A saltwater aquarium. But my point is that I want to be much more than friends, Jax. And much more than just coworkers.”
“How big of an aquarium?”
He started to answer, but pulled me to his chest instead. The embrace felt good and we stood entwined for several delicious seconds before he stepped back to look at me. “Aaron told me he felt you’d gotten too personally involved here, and asked me to help get you back into the groove at work. He wa
nted the old Jaxie back. The one who worked hard and partied hard and never questioned a directive.”
I did a half-hearted shrug in acknowledgement, but wanted to hear more.
“I still don’t know what we’ve gotten ourselves into, but I do understand why you couldn’t just ignore it. Hell, I can’t ignore the information you found on Lester. Pop is the closest thing to a father I have.”
I smiled. “Oddly enough, me too. I feel like I’ve known him for years instead of weeks. And if I had a father, I’d want him to be somebody just like Pop.”
“If he had a daughter, he’d want her to be just like you.”
I drank some wine. He flipped the steaks. Flush came outside to investigate the tantalizing smell of sizzling beef.
“I’m sorry, too,” I finally admitted. “I owe you an apology for being such a standoffish bitch for so many years. In retrospect, it was really unnecessary.”
“Yeah, I’m not so bad once you get to know me. Am I?”
“You’re pretty great.” I actually thought so, and wasn’t just flirting. “By the way, what did Aaron say when he found out I came back here?”
Under the watchful eye of the dog, Justin turned off the gas and removed our dinner from the grill. “I didn’t tell him. I’m not sure he knows either one of us is here. Although it would be my guess that Lester has already been in touch with Aaron to relay what happened at the council meeting.”
“If that’s true, I’m surprised that Aaron hasn’t called me. Even though I am on vacation.”
He pressed his thumb into each steak to test it, then sprinkled some seasoning over them. “Jax, we will deal with the boss and Shine Advertising when we get back to Atlanta. Right now, we’ve got a storm to deal with. You do realize that we aren’t going anywhere for a few days? A storm of this size hits, the roads will be blocked with trees and downed power lines. Not to mention flooded out. Power will be out, so no stoplights or electric.”
“We could flood here? Pop’s house is on a hill.”
“Possibly, depending on the surge and how much rain Hailey dumps.” He studied me and must have seen worry reflected on my face. “There is still time for you to get out of here, Jaxie. Nobody is going to think any less of you for evacuating. In fact, Pop would be relieved if you got on the road tomorrow morning. So would I.”
“What, and miss the hurricane party?” I said. “Besides, I can think of worse things than being stuck in the same house with you for a few days.”
I stood close enough to see his pupils dilate.
Inside, Millie had cleared off the table to set it. Flush’s bowls were back in their regular place on the floor, one filled with water. And the three hundred year-old letters were on the counter, stuck inside a recipe book. Justin served the steaks, along with sautéed asparagus and baked potatoes, and a loaf of French bread. I poured more wine, and we all sat down to eat. Without any preamble, I told Pop and Millie what we’d discovered about the bowls.
“Huh,” Millie said. “So them bowls could be worth a few million dollars? You think we ought to put them away so they’ll be safe? I can find something else for Flush to eat out of.”
“They’re safe right where they are, Maddie,” Pop said. “Dog’s been eating out of those bowls since he was a pup. And they didn’t get broken when somebody rummaged through my house, either.”
He had a good point. We left the bowls where they were and forgot about the impending storm and enjoyed our steaks.
Afterward, the four of us played poker. Eventually, Millie and Pop said goodnight and disappeared to his bedroom. On the other side of the house, Justin and I went into mine. I took off everything except my undies and a cotton tank top, and he stripped down to a pair of boxers. Although we were nearly nude, a yearning to know more about each other overrode the desire for sex. Lying in bed, we laughed and talked for hours, probing each other’s thoughts and dreams, until I dozed, wrapped in his arms. I’d just fallen into a deep sleep when Pop rapped on the door. It was one-thirty in the morning. My boss was on the phone, he said, and wanted to talk to me. Wrapped in a robe, I took the handset and sat in a chair, near Justin. Pop didn’t seem surprised to find the two of us in the same bedroom.
“Aaron?”
“Jaxie. I’m sure I’ve awakened everyone by calling at this hour. I found out what happened at the council meeting, and I must say, I wasn’t entirely surprised to hear that you’d returned to Rumton.”
I knew my boss would learn of the meeting sooner or later and wondered who’d called him. It was probably Lester, since the two of them had struck some sort of agreement, after Lester showed up to save the day. But I never would have guessed the news would make Aaron angry enough to call in the middle of the night. He must have been fuming. “Aaron, I should have told you what I did at the council meeting. I didn’t even realize I was going to stand up and talk, until the last minute. But the information I learned about Lester kept weighing on me, and I had to come back to Rumton, to do something.” I took a deep breath, wondering if I’d be looking for a new job next week. “I hope I haven’t…; well, I just hope my job isn’t in jeopardy over this.”
“This isn’t about losing your job, Jaxie. That’s not what’s at stake here.” He sounded both agitated and tired. Maybe worried, too. “I never should have given you this revitalization assignment to begin with.” I heard a sucking sound as he took a long pull from a cigar. “It never should have come to this.”
“Come to what?” I asked, but he didn’t answer.
“Aaron? What are you talking about?” I persisted.
Hearing my worried tone, Pop remained in the doorway, and Justin pulled on a pair of jeans and came to stand beside my chair. Aaron’s sigh traveled through the line. “I had other reasons for suggesting the pro bono project, and it should have been a win-win situation. Good for everyone. I believed what Lester told me, and had no idea what he was really up to. It isn’t good.”
So he’d known Lester all along, before he ever sent me to Rumton, just as Justin thought. I punched the speakerphone button on the handset so everyone could hear. “I don’t understand. Lester is a friend of yours?”
“No, not what you’d call a friend.” Aaron laughed, but it came out as an ugly snort. He spoke slowly, deliberately, like someone who’d drunk too much booze and was making an effort to speak legibly. “It’s true that Lester is a businessman. But he’s also a con artist.”
“Aaron, will you please tell me what’s going on?” I was getting agitated.
He snorted again, took a drink of something and we heard another long pull from the cigar. “Ah, hell. I’ve already written a resignation letter, anyway. The other partners can split my share of the firm. Doubt I’ll even be missed all that much.”
He stopped speaking, but I just waited. Justin and I eyed each other, listening. Finally Aaron took a deep breath. “I had good intentions, Jaxie, I did. I sent you in to stir things up and generate some interest in the town, to increase property values. I knew Lester planned to buy land for a residential development. At least that’s what I thought he wanted it for, until Riley told me otherwise. Anyway, in exchange for me running interference with the people, we were going to work out a pre-agreed upon price per acre that he’d pay. A fair price. A win-win. But then I learned that he’d gone behind my back and started acquiring options at ridiculously low prices. So I fired back by sending you in. I told Riley to keep an eye on you, but at the time, I didn’t know that he was already helping Lester. Lester had bought the mayor’s loyalty.” He sighed. “It’s all complicated.”
“So you and Lester and Riley were all in on this thing to begin with,” I said. “Which means Riley was murdered.” I put my finger to my lips to keep Justin or Pop or Millie from talking. I was afraid that if Aaron knew he was on speakerphone, he’d stop talking.
The boss went on talking as though I hadn’t even mentioned Riley’s death. “The best way to increase market value of any property, Jaxie, is to increase the number of buy
ers interesting in acquiring it. I knew that if anybody in the firm could do that, you could. And in the process, maybe do some good things for the town. But mainly, I wanted to make sure that everybody who hadn’t already sold would get the best price for their land, including me.”
My spine went straight. “You?”
“I’m the one who told Lester about Rumton to begin with, and its development potential. Hell, it’s an undiscovered gold mine, really. I run across a lot of people with money, and they’re always on the lookout for the next foreclosure, or hot stock tip, or land deal. When I learned that Lester wanted undeveloped property in South Carolina, thinking of the money I’d make on the deal made me too blind to see him for what he is. An outright crook.”
Justin’s hands were clenched into fists and he was staring at a spot on the floor. Had he known all along that our boss was using me? “Why didn’t you just tell me the truth?” I said into the phone.
We heard ice cubes clinking in a glass following by the sounds of swallowing. “Tell you that I wanted to use the firm’s resources to put more money in my own pocket?”
My stomach churned. Aaron had been my mentor, and I always thought I wanted to be just like him one day. And then I had to ask. Had to. “Did Justin know what you were up to,” I demanded and immediately wished that I hadn’t. The look of hurt that washed across Justin’s features answered me before my ex-boss did.
“No, of course not,” Aaron answered, his words thick.
“What does Lester plan to do with Rumton, Aaron?”
“We can talk about that later. It doesn’t matter now anyway, because it won’t happen. I’ll see to that. What does matter is that you and Pop both are in danger and you need to get out of there, right now. Tonight.”
I pounced with blatant sarcasm. “Oh. Well, then. Thanks so much for your concern, Aaron. It’s mighty righteous of you to call and let us we’re in danger. Here in backwoods little Rumton, we don’t watch the news, you know. I mean, who would’ve ever guessed that a giant hurricane is coming, if you hadn’t called to warn us?”
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