Chapter 32

Peter pulled the launch up beside the boat. Quickly tying the two boats together, he took off his jacket and reached his hand to me. I took it and climbed back to him and Emily, where he engulfed me in his jacket, warm from his body. Under its cover, I rolled down the bodice of my dress and let a wave of heat nourish me.

“Take Emily to the beach at Monomoy,” said Peter, switching boats with me. “It’s two minutes that way. I’ll call an ambulance and Andy. I’ve got Mrs. Sterling.”

Tinker, who had been sitting victoriously on Mrs. Sterling’s body, jumped back onto the launch with me.

Emily moaned.

“Got it,” I said, and took off.

“Tell me how Mrs. Sterling killed Simon,” Emily said as I drove the boat as quickly as I could without bouncing her around.

“Let’s think lovely thoughts?” I said.

“I’m having a baby! In a boat,” said Emily. “Keep my mind off of things.”

“OK,” I said, stroking her hair as I drove. “Where to begin? The murder was a combination of love and greed. I realized from a picture that Mrs. Sterling loved Simon and had spent a lifetime repressing her feelings. When Simon arrived this weekend, all of her feelings came back.”

“But he’s so icky,” said Emily.

“As it turns out, he was a good guy,” I said.

“Keep talking,” said Emily. “What happened next?”

“The afternoon that Mrs. Sterling arrived,” I said, “she saw Joe in conversation with the Hellers. She asked them what they’d said, but they wouldn’t tell her. Later, she saw Joe leave Simon’s room after he’d given the real ring to Simon in a ring-for-land swap. I don’t think Mrs. Sterling knew what was up between them, but she’d been wanting to bust Joe for something. Frank saw her knock on Simon’s door immediately after Joe left. I’m sure she confronted Simon ferociously as she tried to find out what was going on, so much so that after she left he hid the ring, just in case. I should have noticed the candle had been tampered with, but I was so worried about getting the new unity candle done. I only figured it out when the tobacco smell hit the chapel.”

“Easy mistake,” said Emily, breathing loudly.

“Rookie mistake, and you know it,” I said.

“Happens,” she said. “Keep talking. I think I might be having a contraction.”

She squeezed my hand hard, so I kept talking.

“When Simon was heading out for his walk an hour or so later,” I said, “Mrs. Sterling was reading the paper in the lobby and heard him talking to the Hellers. She probably heard him compliment their good work, so she Googled them. Once she figured out they were jewelers, she got more suspicious about Joe’s chat with them. The sad thing is that she didn’t know she was the source of their secrecy.”

I started to make those pregnancy breathing noises that I’ve seen people do on TV. Tinker curled up at Emily’s feet for support.

“Mrs. Sterling went to town and took out cash, which she used to bribe the Hellers. They told her that Joe commissioned a copy of the ring, no more. Later, she ascertained from them that Jessica was wearing the fake. She jumped to the conclusion that Joe had sold her daughter’s ring to Simon and had given her the fake one to unwittingly wear. She never, ever, imagined that Jessica was in on the deal. That night, after tossing and turning, she went downstairs to confront the men at the card game. The game was over, however. Joe and Tony had left. Bill had punched Simon, and he was waiting for Gina to arrive. They were alone in the Card Room.”

“Wait. Simon was having an affair with Gina?” said Emily.

“I know, can you believe it? He wanted the ring for her.”

“This is all about Gina Ginelli!” said Emily. “To think I was considering asking Neal this morning if he liked the name Gina.”

At this point she squeezed my hand again, so I kept talking.

“Mrs. Sterling told Simon in the Game Room that she knew Joe commissioned the ring and that he was in on it. She demanded he tell her everything, which he refused to do. Then she offered to pay him for the ring. He refused.”

I breathed some more. Emily joined me. To my relief, as we neared closer and closer to the shore, I heard sirens. Peter had gotten through to the hospital.

“Why did Mrs. Sterling kill Simon?” Emily said.

“As Bellamy said, a crime of passion. I think she lost it,” I said, finishing my story as we pulled to the shore. “She picked up the candle and hit him with the anger of all the years of feeling scorned by him, and all her fears about her daughter marrying the wrong man. The problem was, however, that she killed him without finding out where the ring was.”

“So, along with Jessica and Joe,” said Emily, “Mrs. Sterling was looking for the ring all weekend?”

“Yup,” I said.

“I’m having a baby!” Emily cried, and smiled as two EMTs ran to the water’s edge with a stretcher.

“I know! And you’re so cool!” I said.

Another EMT arrived with a stretcher as Emily was whooshed away. I realized that one was meant for me, and that the blood from my forehead was flowing freely. As the ambulance door shut on me a minute or so later, my last view was of the colors of the sails in Nantucket’s harbor. I decided that next year I’d kick off the season with a FIGAWI line to celebrate the colors of all of the sails. We pulled away with me in one ambulance and Emily in another. Tinker warmed me with a sweet purr. I checked him for bumps and bruises, but, luckily, he had nine lives and had escaped without injury.

Moments later, the doors opened again. My cousin Kate was standing before the emergency entrance looking worried. Peter came running toward us from the parking lot.

“The police have Mrs. Sterling,” said Peter. “Andy was on the scene, along with Bellamy.”

“What happened to your head?” Kate said.

Peter followed us into the hospital, explaining the events of our chase to my cousin as she cleaned my wound and checked me for any broken bones of which I thankfully had none. Once I had a ridiculous bandage on my forehead, Emily’s doctor poked her head into my room and said that Emily wanted to see me. My headache—in fact, any ache from the tension of the day—melted at her invitation. Peter could barely keep up with me as I headed to the maternity ward.

A pink balloon was wrapped around the doorknob of her room.

“It’s a girl,” she said when I opened the door.

Neal was beside her. He kissed his wife and baby, who cooed at him. She was a beautiful bundle.

“Neal’s furious with you,” said Emily.

“Furious,” said Neal.

“I’m so sorry,” I said.

“My wife takes her job too seriously,” said Neal. “I depend on you to keep her from getting into more trouble than she already does. I know that’s impossible because I know the both of you, but you two really crossed the line. My daughter was out there on the seas.”

“Your daughter,” said Emily, looking the proud parent.

Neal smiled back at her.

We all peeked over the pink blanket in Emily’s arms to gush over the rosy-cheeked bundle she held.

“You want to tell her?” Neal said.

Emily looked at me.

“We named her,” she said. “Victoria.”

“Well done, Neal,” I said.

“Victoria Stella,” said Emily.

I cried. Emily cried. We hugged until the nurse came in and told me and Peter we had to leave. There were loads of Wrights who would be happy to pick us up, but we walked out of the hospital, where Tinker was waiting for us on a bench, and called a cab.

“Feeling better?” he said.

“I think I’m going to skip the Sterlings’ reception,” I said. “Sorry this wasn’t a better date.”

“This was an awesome date,” said Peter. “This is like the best date I’ve ever had. Don’t you think?”

I laughed. “I guess it was,” I said.

“You guess?” he said, putting his arm around me.

“No, I know,” I said. “It was pretty darn good.”

“If you want a more traditional first date, however, we can do that,” he said, kissing my bandaged forehead. “How about we go to FIGAWI’s closing party tomorrow night?”

“It’s a deal,” I said.