“LOOK TO STARBOARD at two-o’clock,” Mitch called out, planting his feet on the upper deck of his boat for balance. “We’ve got a friendly fin whale checking us out.” He pointed toward a wave where a giant whale was arching gracefully through the water.
“Wow!” Bennett’s tow-headed nephew, ten-year-old Logan, jumped up and down.
“Hang on, buddy.” Bennett drew his arm around the boy, bracing them against the starboard side of the vessel while they marveled at the magnificent creature. He was pleased that Mitch had found a whale for Logan to see.
Bennett was taking care of Logan while his sister and her husband had a short trip to Phoenix for a golf tournament. After the morning rush at Java Beach, Mitch often took out private charters in the afternoon for whale watching on his vessel, which was a sport fishing boat that he’d equipped with long benches and inside seating to accommodate charters.
“Fin, or finback, whales are the second largest whale in the world,” Mitch said to Logan. “That one’s about 65 or 70 feet.”
“Whoa, for real?” Logan’s big blue eyes widened.
Bennett laughed. “For real.” Being out on the water, feeling the sun on his shoulders, and breathing in the fresh salty air was a balm to his soul. From childhood, his life had been centered on the ocean, and he couldn’t imagine ever living too far away from it.
Mitch eased back on the throttle to get a better view. “There’s another one, just below the birds.” He pointed to a spot beneath a flock of birds that were following the whales.
“Pretty smart birds,” Bennett said to Logan. “They know the whales are in search of plentiful fish, so they follow to scoop up their leftovers.”
“This is awesome,” Logan said.
Bennett tousled his hair. He loved spending time with his nephew and felt as close to him as if he’d been his own son. He and Jackie had been trying to have their first baby when she had become ill. Just as they were becoming excited about the baby, she’d lost the child, and they were plunged into the fight for her life against choricarcinoma, a rare cancer that had developed in the abnormal pregnancy. And then he’d lost Jackie, too.
Logan turned his face up to Bennett’s. “Do you know everything about the ocean, Uncle Bennett?”
“No one does. Did you know marine biologists are still finding new forms of life?”
“That’s cool. I’d like to do that someday.”
“Maybe you will,” Bennett said. “I have a buddy who studies dolphins. That means you have to keep up the grades, buddy.” His child would’ve been about Logan’s age now. He and his sister had been excited that their children would grow up together, but life had a different, devastating plan for him. To compensate, Bennett had been putting money aside to help with Logan’s education, or whatever he wanted to do.
The fin whales crested along beside them, matching their speed and observing them. After a while, the two great mammals disappeared into the blue. As Mitch turned for home, a small pod of dolphins joined them.
“Bottlenose dolphins, port side at nine o’clock,” Mitch pointed out. “Looks like ten, no twenty.”
Logan’s excitement ratcheted up again.
Laughing, Bennett pulled out his phone and snapped a photo for his sister, Kendra, and her husband. They’d love that.
Mitch cruised along while the dolphins kept pace. “Hey Bennett, I met the two sisters who are converting the old Las Brisas estate into a bed-and-breakfast. Didn’t know you’d found a buyer for the place.”
“I didn’t. That’s Jeremy Marin’s widow.”
“Yeah? Which one?”
“Ivy.” As much as he tried, he couldn’t get that woman out of his mind. Maybe it was because she reminded him of a girl he’d once had a crush on so many years ago. Her name was Ivy, too, and she had those same bone-chilling eyes that this Ivy had. Eyes you couldn’t look away from. He guessed that must have been a popular name for green-eyed baby girls. He’d seen that girl on the beach a few times when he’d been surfing, and at a beach bonfire. He’d even written a song about her and played it on his guitar for her in front of her friends, but she had to know it was for her. When he’d finally mustered the courage to ask her out, she’d suddenly vanished. It wasn’t the first time he’d been ditched, but it had hurt.
Bennett took off his sunglasses to clean the saltwater spray from them, and as he did, he wondered about that girl and Ivy. He shook his head and shoved his sunglasses back on.
“She can’t run that house as an inn without a zoning change,” Bennett said. “And I doubt that’s going to happen soon enough for her. But she can still rent out rooms on iBnB. ”
“Sure had a crowd of people over this weekend to help her fix it up.” Mitch paused. “Her sister’s nice looking, too. Shelly called, and I delivered coffee and pastries for the crew.”
Bennett slid on his sunglasses and peered over the rim. “Sounds like you’re interested in her.”
Mitch gazed toward the horizon. “Maybe I am.”
“Be careful. With a sister like Ivy, you don’t know what she’s like. Could be lying in wait like a rattlesnake.”
Mitch let out a hearty chuckle. “And just when have you seen a rattlesnake lie in wait?”
Logan swiveled his head between them with interest. “Have you, Uncle Bennett?”
“As a matter of fact, I have.” Bennett pushed his hat back on his head. “Sometime back, one of my clients cleared out an old date palm grove near Palm Springs to build a golf course. The rattlesnakes that had been growing fat on field mice in search of sweet dates for decades were suddenly displaced. They slithered out to the nearest food sources they could find, which had the neighboring community up in arms.” Bennett glanced at Logan, who was making a face. “Well, you can just imagine.”
“Geez, don’t gross out the kid.” Mitch screwed up his face. “Besides, I don’t know how you can equate that story to Shelly.”
“She and her sister have been displaced, too. For all you know, they’re lying in wait. Looking for husbands.”
“Huh.” Mitch rotated his shoulder and shook his head. “When did you get this cynical?”
“I’m not cynical.” Bennett stole a sideways glance at Mitch. Or was he? He’d been through so much with Jackie, but he was hurt, not cynical. “Do I come off that way?”
“Not usually,” Mitch replied. “Relax. Ivy’s got you upset is all. Can’t blame her for wanting to earn some money in this economy. My mom was like that after my dad died. Did anything she could to keep us afloat.”
Mitch pointed ahead. “Sea lion straight ahead off the bow.”
Logan let out a yelp and scrambled to the front deck to get a closer look.
Bennett laced his hands behind his neck and lifted his face to the sun. “Sure appreciate you taking Logan out. Means a lot to him. But we probably need to get back. Tomorrow’s a school day.”
“For all of us,” Mitch said.
After Logan got a good look at the whiskered sea lion frolicking among the waves, they were back underway toward Summer Beach.
Bennett’s sister and her husband had a cottage near the beach. After he and Mitch had dropped off the tired little boy, Bennett took the beach road back, which led past Las Brisas. As they neared the property, he slowed and peered from the window. The yard had been cleaned up.
Loud music filtered from the house. He glanced at Mitch beside him. “I see what you mean. The place is looking better, especially since—”
A scream ripped through the night, piercing the loud music coming from the kitchen.
Mitch whipped around. “What the heck? Turn around.”
Bennett already had the SUV in reverse. Through the open windows, a chilling scene was playing out in the kitchen.
A shadowy figure had what looked like an ax raised and ready to strike. Bennett’s heart hammered with outrage.
Screeching to a halt, Bennett bolted from the car with Mitch at his side. The two men raced across the sandy lawn and burst into the kitchen before skidding to a stop.
“What’s going on here?” Bennett roared. He’d been ready to pounce on an intruder, but it was only Ivy and Shelly. He strode across to Ivy and grabbed a sledgehammer from her hands, furious that whatever these two were up to had scared the daylights out of him.
“What are you doing?” Ivy yelled, pushing safety glasses up over her head.
Mitch caught Shelly’s hand. “We heard a scream. Are you okay?”
Shelly burst into a cascade of laughter. “We’re taking down that brick wall.” She tapped her phone and turned off the blaring music that was coming from a set of speakers.
“At this time of night?” Bennett felt Ivy’s chilling glare on him.
Jutting out her chin, Ivy took a step toward Bennett. “Mr. Mayor, is there a rule against that, too, in your town?”
“There’s a law against disturbing the peace, which the police assiduously enforce,” Bennett said as evenly as he could. “This is a quiet community. Why all the screaming?”
“We were just having fun,” Shelly said with a mischievous glance at Mitch. Her eyes lit as she gestured toward an old blueprint spread out on the counter. “Look what we found.”
Mitch followed Shelly, and she tapped her finger on the drawing. “There’s a lower level down there. It’s been bricked up, and we’re about to find out why.”
“Know anything about this?” Ivy stood before him, irate.
“Can’t be a basement because this house is too close to the shore.” A flush crawled up Bennett’s neck. Claire hadn’t included any such information in the listing description, and he’d never thought to look at the plans. Had he been negligent?
He leaned the sledgehammer against the wall and looked over the plans on the counter. An idea dawned on him. “The house looks like it’s built on a hill. It’s possible that dirt was mounded up over that lower level to create a sort of cellar.”
“Doesn’t that strike you as odd?” Ivy jabbed her fists to her waist. “And shouldn’t you have told me about this?”
“I didn’t know, and I don’t think Claire knew either.” Bennett felt himself grow warm under Ivy’s intense gaze. Why did she have this effect on him?
Ivy pressed her lips together. “This isn’t a spectator sport. Helps us out or get out.”
Bennett jerked his chin toward the brick wall. “That’s a big job for you to handle.”
“I’ve got this,” Ivy said, hefting the large hammer.
“Please, let me.” Bennett rested his hand on hers. After a moment of hesitation, she released her grip, letting Bennett take the sledgehammer from her. He had no doubt that she could handle this job, but what kind of a man would he be to sit by and watch?
She slipped off her protective eye goggles. “You should wear these.”
Bennett adjusted the safety glasses and lined up the large hammer on the wall. “Right about here?”
Ivy raised a shoulder. “Go ahead.”
“That’s perfect,” Shelly said, hopping from one foot to another with excitement. “Do it!”
Bennett reared back and brought the sledgehammer down hard against the brick wall. The old wall shuddered from the shock, spewing dust and crumbling brick.
“Hit it again,” Shelly cried out, clapping.
Once again, Bennett brought the hammer down, making a small hole in the center of the wall.
Waving the dust away, Ivy stepped closer. Flicking on the light on her phone, she held it to the opening and peered through. “There is something in there,” she said, her voice rising. A fine layer of dust settled on her hair.
Ivy sounded excited, and it was all Bennett could do to keep from brushing the dust from her hair. She was easily the most vexing woman he’d come across in all his years in real estate and as mayor of Summer Beach.
“Step back, and I’ll make an opening for you to get through.” Bennett was curious to see what was behind the wall as well.
What had Mrs. Erickson kept concealed here, and why? Bennett knew that local residents often speculated on the long-vacant house, conjuring stories. At the annual graduation bonfire on the beach, teenagers told stories of ghostly inhabitants, but to his knowledge, there wasn’t any truth to them.
Or was there? What could Mrs. Erickson have been hiding?