Several hours later, just as dawn was breaking, the police, FBI, CIA and who knew how many other agencies Bailey couldn’t identify cleared the house. Sanderson and Claire were both taken into custody and escorted to the hospital. They were expected to survive their injuries, which was a good thing because there was a lot of information the government needed to get from them.
Henry had been taken in for questioning since he was the one who’d pulled the trigger. He was also the one who’d called the sheriff to come out. Meanwhile, Doc Jennings was in town and had agreed to stay with Henry’s wife until he returned.
Finally, everything was quiet at the house. Bailey turned toward Ed as they stood in the living room, a fire roaring and coffee in hand.
“I still don’t understand what was in those letters that was so important,” Bailey began, needing to resolve this case before she thought about anything else. “And all the chemicals, the equipment, the photography lab. None of that makes sense.”
Micah had shown up, and he’d taken the letters with him. He wasn’t the one who’d visited her sister. It must have been one of Sanderson’s men.
“The letters contained microdots,” Ed told her, rubbing her arms.
“Microdots?”
Ed nodded. “They’re so small they look like a period at the end of a sentence. Yet, when they’re examined with the right equipment, there’s actually a lot of valuable information located in that small little dot.”
“That sounds like something from a spy movie.”
“Well, my dad was in the spy business. Some things you see in Hollywood are actually true.”
“So your dad was making the microdots using the equipment up in the hayloft?”
Ed nodded. “You’ve got it. Those microdots had information on Reginald Peterson, the hostage. The proper people at the CIA will be investigated, as well. But the good news is that Sanderson and Claire will be going away and won’t be able to hurt anyone else. If they’d gotten their hands on that information, they would have been able to hold it as leverage over high-ranking members of the CIA. It would have been trouble. Big trouble.”
“What do you think will happen with Reginald?”
“I think with this information we’ll be able to negotiate his release. There are enough agencies involved right now that there’s a lot of accountability. No one will be able to get away with anything.”
Bailey shifted to face him better. “Ed, I need to explain something to you.”
He shook his head. “You don’t have to explain.”
“I want to. Please. A man—Sanderson, I now know—dragged me into a room that first night you were here. He told me if I didn’t find the information that he would kill my sister and her family. I didn’t want to risk her life.”
“You did the right thing.” He hooked a hair behind her ear and put down his coffee mug. “I think you were really brave.”
He took her mug from her hands and set it beside his. Then he turned back to her and cupped her face with his hands.
“I didn’t feel brave. I was just trying to survive. And I felt awful the whole time. It’s not my personality to hide things like this from people, especially from people I care about.”
“You care about me?” Ed asked.
She let out a soft laugh. “You can’t tell?”
“That’s good. Because I care about you, too.” He leaned closer.
Bailey’s heart sped and her skin tingled.
His lips just brushed hers when the doorbell rang. They pulled back from each other and let out a nervous laugh.
“Who now?” Ed asked.
“I’m not sure I want to know.”
He sighed and, as he let go of her, he almost seemed reluctant to step away. Bailey stayed where she was, part of her conditioned to expect the worst.
No, everyone was behind bars now, she reminded herself. The danger was over and she could relax.
A familiar voice rang through the house and, a moment later, Doc Jennings stepped inside. He tipped his head toward her. “Bailey. Good to see you.”
“You, too, Doc. Is everything okay?”
The doctor nodded. “Henry’s back and he’s with his Florence now. I wanted to stop by and offer you a proposition.” He sucked in a deep breath. “Bailey, I’m sure you’ve heard this already, but I’ve been thinking about retiring for a while now. I want to move to Texas and be with my grandkids, but I can’t leave the island here with no medical personnel. I wondered if you might be willing to fill my shoes.”
“I’m no doctor. I couldn’t replace you,” Bailey insisted.
“No, but you’re a nurse. You’re a good nurse. You could oversee some of the ailments people around here deal with. Maybe you could even go back and become a physician’s assistant or nurse practitioner. I think you’d do a wonderful job here on the island. It’s obvious you love the residents, and they love you.”
Bailey glanced at Ed. “I’m flattered. I really am. But I’m going to need to think about it. There are other considerations, after all. Places to live, making enough money to live on.”
The doctor nodded. “Of course. Think about it. I’m sure we could work something out.”
He nodded toward Ed again and then stepped back. “I’m going to be going now. Let me know what you decide.”
When Ed closed the door, he stepped back over to Bailey, picking up right where they’d left off. “What do you think about that?” Ed asked.
“It’s something to consider. But there are so many details to think about.”
“You could stay here,” Ed said, his eyes twinkling.
“At your father’s house? Your house now, I suppose.”
“Maybe not right away. Maybe you stay at one of your friend Samantha’s cabins for a while.”
“A while?”
He shrugged. “I’ve been thinking about a career change for a while now. Maybe I can make Smuggler’s Cove my permanent residence.”
“And do what?”
“I’m not sure yet. But I’ll figure it out.”
She crossed her arms. “Practice law?”
He shifted. “About that...”
“Yes?”
“I did go to law school, but I was recruited by the CIA to work for them. I just used the attorney job title as a cover.”
“Great. I’m starting to fall in love with a spy.”
Ed pulled her closer. “What was that?”
She bit her lip, wishing the words hadn’t popped out. There was no taking them back now, though. “I’m falling in love. It’s true.”
“I’m glad to hear that, Bailey, because, as crazy as this sounds, I’m falling in love with you, too. I can’t imagine my future without you. I really, really want to see where this goes. You and me.”
A smile cracked her face. “I like that idea, too.”
Ed pulled her close, and his lips covered hers.