Luke drove the sleepy streets of Summer Harbor on Tuesday afternoon. The ferry to Folly Shoals launched from here. Like his own hometown, charming cottages stair-stepped up the hills overlooking the crescent-shaped harbor, and with his window down, he could smell the lobster roll stands out on the wharf.
There was an outfitter on the outskirts of town he’d forgotten about yesterday, and it wouldn’t hurt to stop and show the picture folded up in his pocket. He parked on the side of the clapboard structure and got out. A sea breeze lifted his hair and carried the tang of sea salt as he went around to the storefront. He pushed open the wooden screen door and went inside.
A few tourists carrying cameras around their necks browsed the aisles of tents and propane grills. The peninsula was part of Acadia National Park, and rusticators would be descending all summer. A baby sleeping in his father’s arms made Luke smile. An unfamiliar longing struck him as he watched the little one sucking his thumb. He’d likely never have a child to hold, not with caring for his father. He turned away and went to the desk.
Approaching the clerk, he pulled out the picture of Claire’s attacker and passed it over the scarred wooden counter. “This fellow look familiar at all?”
The clerk, a young woman with a harried expression, reeked of tobacco. She barely glanced at it before shaking her head. “Never saw him before.”
“Look again. He’s local, I’m sure.”
She redid her ponytail with brusqueness. “Look, don’t be a dubber. Unless you’re a cop, you need to leave me alone to take care of my customers. I don’t want to get fired.” Looking past him, she gestured to the person behind him. “Next.”
He stepped out of the way and glanced through the window. Isabelle worked across the street. She hadn’t given them much of a description of Jenny’s secret boyfriend, but maybe this picture would jog her memory. He dodged tourists and exited the shop to hurry across the street to a clapboard building painted blue and white. Through the window, he saw Isabelle pecking away at a keyboard.
He stepped inside and approached her desk. “Isabelle, you have a minute?”
Jenny’s best friend looked a little less upset today than she did on Sunday. Dressed in a yellow dress, her brown hair was a riot of curls around her face. Luke passed the picture over, and as she studied it, a frown began to form between her eyes.
She handed it back. “I think this is the guy Jenny was seeing. Like I said, I don’t know his name, but she showed me a selfie of the two of them on her phone. I’d swear it’s the same guy.”
His pulse sped up. Finally, some kind of lead. “You have any idea where he lived? He can’t be local to Folly Shoals or someone there would know who he is, and I’ve been hitting dead ends.”
“They often met at Bar Harbor so maybe he lived on the other side and it was the central place. Jenny never said. She didn’t want to meet him in town in case Andy caught them.”
“Was it only that she didn’t want Andy to know about this guy, or could he have been married too?”
Isabelle chewed her lower lip. “I think that’s what started the trouble between the two of them. He always took her to some little hole-in-the-wall where they wouldn’t be noticed. You know, like a dimly lit bar or something. She began to push him a little and ask if he was ashamed of her or something.” She held out her hand. “Let me see that picture again.”
Luke pulled it back out. “Would you say it’s him for sure? Do you see any differences at all?”
She carried it over to the big plate-glass window and studied it. “This looks like a painting.”
“It is. Claire painted it. It’s the man who attacked her.”
Her mouth twisted. “You’re still helping that woman.”
Luke tapped the picture. “I think this guy killed Jenny, and Claire is his next target.”
Isabelle’s eyes narrowed before she shrugged and looked back at the picture. “Jenny’s boyfriend looks older than the guy in this painting. There’s more gray in his eyebrows and hair. And his skin is more weathered.” She handed it back. “But the resemblance is there.”
“Thanks. Now I just need to put a name with the face. Thanks. I’ll leave you to your work.”
Back in the bright sunlight, he squinted and pulled out his sunglasses. Maybe he should head down toward Bar Harbor and beyond. Maybe he’d find some information in Blue Hill. It was worth a try.
He rounded the corner and stopped in his tracks when he saw his truck sitting on its rims. Even from here he could see the slashes in the tires. Coincidence or a warning?
Kate savored the comforting taste of buttery lobster bisque on her tongue and smiled across the table at Claire. Her half sister. She had a sister. It was almost too much to take in. And they were out of the sight of prying eyes. Even if their father came in, he wouldn’t look out here. She peeked at the door just to make sure. All clear. They had the entire patio to themselves.
Kate took a sip of her iced tea, then put it back on the table. “So tell me about yourself, Claire. Do you have any siblings?”
Claire shook her head. “I’m an only child, unfortunately. I used to pretend I had a sister, but Mom and Dad never obliged by providing me with one. How about you?”
Oh how Kate wanted to let the truth just spill off her tongue. She swallowed and shook her head. “Just Mom and me.”
“Your father’s dead?”
Kate twirled a long red strand of hair. Why on earth had she ever dyed her hair this color? It looked atrocious. “He never married my mom, and after a while, he just quit coming around.”
Claire winced. “I’m sorry. That had to have been hard.”
“I got used to it. My mom and I have blueberry barrens about fifteen miles out of town.” Kate dropped the linen napkin and bent to retrieve it. “Where did you grow up?”
“North Carolina. But we moved to the Boston area when I was in my teens. I love the energy of the city, and I bought my own place on the Atlantic five years ago when I got out of college.”
Claire said it so nonchalantly, as if it were such a common thing to have your own multimillion-dollar house in your late twenties. Kate couldn’t imagine such complacence. “Wow, you must have gotten some kind of high-powered job right out of school to afford a house out there.”
Claire’s face went pink, and she reached for her iced tea. “Well, I guess it’s more accurate to say Dad bought it and deeded it over to me. I work for the family company, Cramer Aviation. I’m CFO now, but I’ll take it over when my father retires. Mom wants him to retire next year, but I can’t see him sitting around doing nothing.”
A stab of envy lodged in Kate’s chest. Claire’s life was all planned out while Kate had no idea what she even wanted out of life. With her health, she’d been afraid to dream. “It’s safe to say your parents doted on you.”
“It’s not as appealing as it might sound. They have a lot of expectations. I’ve gone along with it most of my life, but I’m not sure it’s what I want to do anymore.”
“What would you do if there were no expectations?”
“That’s funny. A new friend just asked me the same thing.” Claire’s eyes went dreamy. “I don’t know. Anything except be cooped up in a high-rise office where every day is planned around meetings and making sure the company exceeds its financial goals.”
Kate tried to imagine Claire’s regimented days and shuddered. Though she didn’t make that much money on the blueberries, she was out in the sunshine and fresh air, and every day was different from the one before it. She glanced toward the door when a shadow fell into the courtyard. Her next breath froze in her chest when she saw their father standing there. A slight widening of his eyes was the only reaction he gave to seeing her there with Claire.
Claire waved and called to her father. “Dad, there’s someone I want you to meet.”
His face went white, then a forced smile crept into his face and he came toward them. “I expected to find you in your suite, Claire. You begged off going with Ric on the boat until tomorrow because you said you were tired.”
Her smile faltered. “This is Kate Mason. She lives in the area and runs some blueberry barrens with her mom. Isn’t that the most interesting thing you’ve ever heard? I just like saying it. It sounds so different and exotic.”
“Pleased to meet you, Mr. Dellamare.” Kate kept her voice pitched low and pleasant, though it took every bit of strength not to leap up and blurt out the truth to sweet Claire.
Her half sister didn’t deserve having such a liar for a father. Kate could only imagine the hurt in Claire’s face when she found out how many lies he’d told her over the years. And what about Mrs. Dellamare? Her pain would be even greater when the truth came out. Kate didn’t want to hurt anyone. She just wanted her family to know she existed and to see if they could love one another. Was that so wrong? She could easily love Claire, and she believed Claire could feel the same way if their father didn’t interfere.
But the way his nostrils flared indicated he wanted nothing more than to see the back of her. She narrowed her eyes and glared back. “Claire and I just met today. She’s a lovely girl. You’ve done an excellent job raising her.” She lifted a brow so he knew she was thinking, But you didn’t do much about raising me.
“Thank you, I’m very proud of Claire.” His eyes were flat above his smile.
Kate blinked at the sting in her eyes, but she forced back the moisture gathering. He hadn’t had any part in her life, and she wouldn’t allow him to make her feel shame. “Why don’t you join us?”
Her father didn’t sit. “Your mother wasn’t feeling well so we had the boat drop us off. She wants to talk to you. Go on up and I’ll take care of the bill.”
Claire sprang to her feet, then paused and sat back down. “Tell her I’ll be up as soon as I finish lunch.”
He nodded. “Don’t be too long. I want to tell you about a conversation I had with Ric.” He smiled down at Kate as if he wished her anywhere but with his daughter, then walked away.
Claire waved off a honeybee. “I suppose I’d better go soon. We’re in the middle of important merger discussions.”
“And I imagine you’re concerned about your mother. Does she have a chronic illness?”
Claire picked up her iced tea. “Only if you call being unable to cope with life an illness.” She shook her head. “I don’t know why I’m telling you all this. You’re very easy to talk to.”
Kate picked up her spoon for another bite of bisque. Her admiration for her half sister grew as she listened to the description of Claire’s goal to bring about a merger with another company. With every word, she found she wanted to be Claire’s confidant all the time.