by Blythe Baker
“You know dealing with those things is part of co-owning a B&B,” I reminded her. “I can’t always be here to smooth out problems with the guests.”
Page shrugged and started walking back toward her room. “It’s time for my nap,” she mumbled as she left. I grinned and put the kettle on.
Jasper’s feet were clean and dry now, so I let him follow me when I left the kitchen. I read through Liam’s contract and rubbed Jasper’s belly with my foot as I relaxed on a sofa and sipped my tea. Even if I couldn’t tell if the contract was fair and legal, I wanted to know what I was getting myself into. It said basically what Liam had told me, that I would be talking about the island’s history and its impact on the B&B. I was agreeing that the footage they took belonged to the filmmakers, who retained the right to use it in marketing materials as well as in the documentary itself. It was boring but straightforward, and I was delighted to have my reading interrupted by a call from Mason.
“Hey, pretty lady,” he said.
“Hi, Mason! How’s the mural for the art show coming along?” I asked.
“Oh, it’s slow going,” he laughed. “The wall is prepped, and the base coat is finally dry, so I started sketching the picture this morning. I’ll spend the next few days sketching it out before I even begin the painting phase.”
“I guess that’s why it takes so long,” I said.
“Yeah, well… So, what’s going on at the B&B?” he asked.
“Not a lot,” I said. “You know how they’re filming the historical documentary about the pirates on the island, right?”
“Yeah!”
“Well, one of the guys making the documentary is staying here. His name is Liam, and today, he asked if he could interview me for the documentary.”
“Oh, wow! Are you going to do it?” he asked. I could tell from his voice that he was as excited about it as I was.
“I was just reading over the contract,” I told him. “Jose Sandoval is going to let me know what he thinks, but if he says it looks good, we’ll do the interview tomorrow. Liam said he wants to take me out on the pirate ship if the weather cooperates!”
“That would be so cool,” he said. “I gotta admit I’m a little jealous about the ship.” I laughed in response. “So, tell me about this Liam fellow,” he said after a minute.
“Well, I don’t really know much about him. He’s here filming the documentary, and the groupies that are staying here think he’s cute.”
“Do you think he’s cute?”
“Well, I mean, he’s tall, with lots of muscles. Dark hair, pretty green eyes…” I smiled as I teased him.
“So, he’s dreamy, then.” Mason tried to sound forlorn, but I could hear the smile in his voice.
“Definitely. But you know what?”
“What?”
“He’s got nothing on you.”
He laughed and teased me a little more about the “handsome documentarian” staying with me. We chatted for a few more minutes, and I felt better about doing the interview now that Mason knew about it. I hadn’t realized how guilty I was feeling about my attraction to the filmmaker until Mason teased me about it, and I felt more comfortable about everything when we hung up.
I had long ago set Mason’s picture as my phone background and now I stared at his image for a few minutes, before putting the phone away and taking Jasper for his afternoon walk. Something told me Jasper would need a bath when we got back. I probably would, too.
That evening, after getting the lawyer’s okay, I signed the contract, and I gave it to Liam when he came in. “It doesn’t look like the weather’s going to cooperate,” he said, frowning. “I’d really hoped to get you out to the ship. It’s pretty cool.”
“I really would have liked to see it,” I said. “But that’s all right. It’s better not to risk all that equipment. We can do the interview with the ship in the background.”
“I was thinking the café in town would be nice,” he agreed. “The patio is covered, so we could still sit outside.”
We agreed to meet late the next morning, and he gave me one of those swoon-worthy grins before going off to bed. I took a deep breath, repeated Mason’s name a few times, and said, “Let’s go, buddy,” to Jasper as I made my way toward my room, hoping for an uninterrupted night of sleep.
I didn’t get it. For the second night in a row, I dreamed of wild storms and Mrs. Harris’s prophecies of doom.
Chapter 5
I awoke to thunder Saturday morning. The air was heavy, and I struggled to shake off a sense of foreboding and get myself moving. Jasper barked in frustration, wanting to get on with his morning walk. I opted for our shortest route, just taking him around the yard, and then used a towel to wipe off his paws as well as I could before feeding him. I didn’t have time to give him another bath, especially since it was going to rain all day, and he would need another one before the day was through. I choked down a piece of dry toast, took a rushed shower, and went out to greet the guests at breakfast.
I confirmed the meeting time with Liam and disregarded the dirty looks the college girls shot at me. Mrs. Harris came downstairs, but I made sure she sat far enough away from the Prestons that they couldn’t hear her muttering about dark clouds and curses. I ignored Ms. Greenaway’s sharp responses to Jacob’s questions, though her uncharacteristically bright yellow dress caught my eye for a moment. I was surprised she owned something so cheery and was shocked that she was wearing it.
When everyone was finished eating, I tidied up the dining and living rooms and helped Blaire clean the rooms upstairs, finishing with just enough time to change before rushing to the café for my interview.
At the café, while Liam got the equipment set up, a young woman who introduced herself as Claire asked me to sit off to the side. She began putting makeup on me. She explained that the camera makes faces look different than they look in person, so the makeup she was using would help me look like myself on camera.
When Claire was finished, Liam had me sit facing the café so that the ship would be visible behind me. The storm had died down a bit, but the waves were still wild, and they provided a dramatic backdrop to my interview. I was glad that Liam had clipped a microphone to my sweater so that I wouldn’t have to shout to be heard over the Gulf.
Liam smiled encouragingly at me as Claire got the camera rolling. He asked me to say my name and what I did on the island. He eased me into the interview, asking about how Page and I happened to buy a B&B on an island that wasn’t well-known outside of South Texas. I was right—his handsome face and gentle personality made him easy to talk to, and before I knew it, he told me that this would be his last question.
“What is your favorite thing about living on Sunrise Island?” he asked.
I paused. “There are so many things I love about it. The people, the history. There’s something magical about an island that was originally populated by pirates and smugglers—it just delights the imagination. Pirates have a role in all of the holiday celebrations, and Talk Like a Pirate Day is a huge deal, of course. There’s a parade and a costume competition, and everyone cooks pirate-inspired dishes like Peg Leg Stew to share at the Pirate Ball. Everyone has fun with the history, which makes living here such a pleasure. But my favorite thing?” I shrugged and gestured behind me. “I guess that would be the scenery. It’s just so beautiful here that I can’t imagine ever wanting to live somewhere else!”
After wrapping up our conversation, Liam wanted to film me standing and looking out at the sea, a clip to use as a lead-in to my interview, so I leaned against the café’s railing and tried not to feel awkward. I gazed out at the ship and let my mind wander. I laughed when a gust of wind sent a sheet of rain at me, and Liam nodded at me to keep going, so I turned back to gaze toward the ship.
The impressive vessel bobbing out on the waves was beautiful. Long and sleek, it would have moved quickly through the water if it hadn’t been anchored in place. I traced my eyes down the side of the ship. As I was admiring the
waves rocking against the boat, something caught my eye. I tried to look closer, but it was far enough away that I couldn’t be sure what it was. I glanced over at the camera just as the idea popped into my head.
“What kind of zoom does that camera get?” I asked. Claire answered with technical details that I didn’t understand. “I assume that means a lot?” I asked, and she and Liam grinned and nodded. I pointed toward the boat. “See if you can get a look at what’s in the waves next to the ship.”
The woman turned the camera and adjusted various buttons, looking for what I’d spotted. When she found it, she gasped. “I think…it’s a person,” she said. “And they’re not moving.”
I pulled out my phone, dialing Shep down at the police station, as I jumped over the café fence and ran toward the beach. I stopped short of the water, realizing there was no way I’d be able to swim out far enough to save the person.
When Shep answered and I gave him a hasty explanation, he told me to meet him on the pier and then he hung up to call around and see which local fishermen were close enough to come help.
Liam produced a hand-held camera from somewhere and joined me on the pier. He recorded the scene as two boats, presumably responding to Shep’s calls, rocked over the waves and moved toward the ship. Minutes ticked by with agonizing slowness. In my head I kept hearing Mrs. Harris’s words: An evil time is upon us!
I didn’t even realize it was still raining until Shep walked up and handed me an umbrella. I hadn’t heard his arrival.
Despite the rain, a crowd gathered to watch the small boats head toward opposite ends of the ship. I could see a few men leaning over to search the water, and I could tell the moment they spotted the person floating among the waves. One of the boats moved closer, and everyone aboard leaned over to pull the body onto the boat. Across the distance, it still looked like the rescued person wasn’t moving.
Both boats came toward the pier, and I focused on keeping my breathing steady as I waited for them to arrive. I shivered, certain that something wasn’t right, and it wasn’t just that they’d pulled a body out of the water. The heaviness I’d felt that morning returned as I waited, and I tried to figure out what memory was niggling at my mind.
As the boat approached, I could see that one of the men was attempting to resuscitate the body, but it had been in the water so long that I knew they wouldn’t succeed.
I hadn’t realized until now that Shep had called in Ward and Shanda, a local pair of doctors. I fell back into the crowd as the sheriff and doctors jumped onto the docking boat. The doctors took over the resuscitation efforts, working for several minutes before Ward stood and shook his head. The other boat started back up and headed back to work.
Everyone on board the rescue boat stood in a circle, looking at the body and talking quietly for a few minutes. I started pushing my way toward the front of the crowd. I wasn’t sure why, but I needed to see the body.
Catching sight of the bright yellow gown, my heart sank and I realized what about the body had looked familiar.
Chapter 6
I climbed down onto the boat as Shep was saying, “She’s not local. We’ll need to call around and see if anyone has gone missing.”
I hurried forward, knowing that I needed to make sure I was right before saying anything. The grey hair had come loose from the tight bun she normally wore, and the pursed lips and glaring eyes were relaxed, making her bloated face almost prettier than it had been in life.
“No need to call around, Shep,” I said. “This is Ms. Greenaway, and she’s been staying with Page and me.”
Someone on the pier gasped, and I looked up to meet Liam’s shocked expression. He handed the camera to Claire, who continued filming the scene, and climbed down onto the boat.
Shep cleared his throat. “Piper, what can you tell me about this woman?” he asked.
“She’s the nanny for one of the families staying at the B&B,” I told him. “Not a very nice person—she seemed to rub everyone the wrong way.”
Liam nodded in agreement. “She was kind of a pill.”
“How do you mean?” Shep pressed.
I said, “She was just sour—nobody could do anything right. The other guests were too noisy. The little boy needed more sleep or exercise or vegetables. Mrs. Harris—well, you can imagine that interaction. They’ve only been here for the past couple of days, but in that time, I never heard a nice word come out of her mouth.”
“Anything else you can tell me?” Shep said.
“Not really. Just that she got into it with pretty much everyone she came across.” I sighed and glanced over at Liam, who smiled comfortingly.
“I’ll need to talk to everyone staying with you and try to get an idea of what might have happened. Can you get everyone in one place back at the B&B?” Shep asked.
I nodded.
I gave Shep the Prestons’ information and accompanied Liam back to the café, where his rental was parked. Claire stayed behind to continue filming as the doctors moved the body to the dock and into a body bag. I waited while Liam loaded the camera equipment into the backseat. We rode back to the B&B in silence, thinking about the dead woman.
When we arrived back at the B&B, Ray Preston was just hanging up the phone at the front desk. Elizabeth looked shell-shocked, and she glanced around as if waiting for someone to tell her what she was supposed to do. Trying not to be overtaken by the Prestons’ shock, I looked around, feeling that something was still off. Page was leaning against the wall near the kitchen door, and Blaire was sitting on the steps. Liam had joined Mrs. Harris on a sofa, and Ray and Elizabeth were staring blankly at one another.
“Where’s Jacob?” The question escaped my mouth before the thought had fully formed in my mind. Everyone looked sharply at Elizabeth as she gasped and promptly fainted, dropping to the floor with a crash. As the others tended to her, I pulled out my phone and dialed. “Shep? You’d better get over here quickly. The Prestons’ little boy is missing.”
Chapter 7
Shep arrived less than half an hour later, bringing Shanda along with him. The female doctor brought Elizabeth upstairs to her room for an examination. Liam had retrieved another small camera from his room and was recording the proceedings as unobtrusively as he could. Shep asked everyone to wait in the living room, and then pulled me into the front room.
“What’s going on here, Piper?” he asked quietly, scratching the stubble he’d forgotten to shave off for the past few days.
“The dead woman, Ms. Greenaway?” I began. I didn’t want to say too much without making sure he was listening. His mind tended to wander. “Ray and Elizabeth Preston have a nine-year-old son, Jacob. He was with Ms. Greenaway. We know that she’s dead, but no one knows where the boy is.”
Shep nodded. “Right. I’ve called the mainland, and they’re sending some folks over to help us look for him. They’ll send the ferry on an extra trip, so they’ll get here soon. We’ll want to talk to everyone later, but for now, I think our focus has to be on finding the boy.”
I nodded slowly. “All right. Jasper and I will help look. Blaire will want to look, too. Page can take care of things here.”
I followed Shep back into the living room. Liam had set the camera on one of the windowsills, where it could capture most of the room. “We’ll need to talk to all of you individually about the dead woman later this evening,” Shep said. “But for now, our focus is on finding the boy. When was the last time any of you saw him?”
Ray looked up. “My wife and I saw Jacob this morning around 8:30. We were saying goodbye before leaving to explore the island. We left him with Ms. Greenaway, but I’m not sure what their plans for the day were.”
Page spoke up. “She and Jacob left for a while, but they came back around 10:30. They were in the living room for at least fifteen minutes. I took Jasper out, and when I came back in, they were gone.”
Mrs. Harris rocked back and forth without saying anything, so Liam chimed in. “The last time I saw him was at bre
akfast. I left to interview Piper at the café, and then…well, you know what happened then.”
“Is there anything particular on the island that might have caught his attention? Any place he might have gone?” Shep seemed impatient.
“On this island?” Ray said, clearly dismayed. “Definitely not. I can’t imagine what anyone does on this island.”
Shep stared at the man for a moment before shaking his head and looking at me. “I have to go down to meet the ferry soon. Could you post something on the community social page online, so that everyone knows to keep an eye out for the boy?”
I nodded. “Then, I’ll take Jasper out looking. Maybe we can all split up and check different parts of the island?”
Everyone but Mrs. Harris nodded.
“Great,” Shep said as Shanda came down from talking with Elizabeth.
“I gave her a sedative, so she’ll be out for several hours. She has no ideas about where her son might be,” she said, glancing at her watch. “I have to get back to the clinic. Ward is escorting the body to the mainland when the ferry arrives so that the medical examiner can perform an autopsy.”
“I’ll drop you off there on my way to the ferry, then,” Shep said, leading her out. “Oh,” he added, turning back. “I think you all know that you need to stay on the island? Don’t leave until I okay it.”
We all agreed, and Shep gave a wave as he left. After posting the information Shep requested online, I grabbed a map from the front desk and spread it on the table in the living room. The others gathered around. I drew three lines across the length of the island, splitting it into four sections from north to south.
“Okay, Blaire, Ray, Liam, me,” I said, pointing to the different areas. “Go through your area, searching anywhere a little boy might be hidden. Tell everyone you see and try to get more people searching. Ray, do you have a picture of Jacob?”
He nodded and pulled out his phone.