CHAPTER 29
Detective Thornton crossed the sidewalk in three long strides. “Miss Brown, do you have a minute?”
I paused, glancing over my shoulder. “I do, and I’d like to have a word with you too.”
He appraised me in an entirely different way and, gauging from his expression, he’d seen the display with the Carmichaels and Alex. In this moment, I didn’t care. My heart was laden with burden for the family and Lucy. My inconvenience during this ordeal paled in comparison to what her mother and father were going through. I wrestled with the portrayal her mother laid out, the contrast between the Lucy before her addiction and the Lucy I knew.
I motioned for the detective to join me in my car. I started the engine and blasted the air-conditioning to combat the thick humidity we were experiencing. The detective had difficulty folding his large frame into my compact car. He moved the seat back as far as it would go and closed the door. It was the first time I’d been in such close quarters with this man.
I got right to it when he closed the door. “When you ran the toxicology report, did you check for long-term drug use?”
He angled his body toward me. “For someone who wants to be left alone and kept out of the fray, you sure have thrown yourself headlong into the muck.”
“I said I’d help, and I will. I am.” Squaring my shoulders, I decided he deserved an explanation. Sure, he’d believed me capable of despicable things before. And in his line of work, with all the horrors he’d seen, why shouldn’t he? He didn’t know me, and his job was to close cases the best way he knew how. Was he crooked? God only knew. In this instance, I would trust my gut and say not at present. He could’ve built a case and thrown the book at me. Left the island and left the case for the prosecution to sort out. Through all of this, I’d had many epiphanies that shed light on myself and others in my life.
“Life isn’t always black and white, Detective. Years ago, I believed that gray was invented by those who didn’t want to abide by rules and created their own realities as they saw fit. But it isn’t that simple, is it?”
He shook his head.
“Our mutual acquaintance, Roy Calhoun, would put money on you being dirty.”
The detective adjusted the vents in front of him, pointing them at his face. When he turned to face me, his gaze was serious. “Like you said, there’s a lot of gray in life. But I haven’t been, nor will I ever be, a dirty cop. Some would say different. There’s always controversy surrounding men in power. Take your father, for instance. He’s a good man and a good sheriff. He has heart, and that’s a quality that makes him perfect for this island. Though, in the opinion of some, that quality can cloud judgment and be a weakness.”
“You call it weakness. I call it strength. Once one loses the love for their fellow man, they lose their ability to govern them. Each person has their own story, has lived their own journey. They’ve loved and lost and hurt. What makes one worth more than another? I care what happened to Lucy. Care deeply. And until the person responsible pays for the crime, no matter who they are, she’ll never be able to rest. Nor will her parents ever find closure.”
“We’re not that different then. You have your reasons for wanting the culprit behind bars, and I have mine. Either way, we’re on the same side here and now.” He waited and I gave him a solid head-nod, and he returned it. Oddly, in this car, he and I found common ground. Still, the issue of trust hadn’t been established, but we were close. Perhaps I could share the call from Paul and handle it delicately, without alerting the killer to his involvement. I needed to be sure, since I’d be risking another person’s life. A person I cared for.
“You spoke with Alex last night. Did he seem agitated or unhinged?” He adjusted his position again.
And now we were venturing into deep, dark, shark-infested waters, and instantly I recoiled.
“You said you want the person responsible charged. This is the way we go about it. I will find the one responsible. And I’m convinced the robbery and murder are connected. This crime is way too sophisticated to have been pulled off by a local. I don’t believe Alex is the mastermind behind any of this, but I still have my reasons to suspect his involvement. Beauty wields a lot of power. If Alex is innocent, we’ll rule him out.”
Put up or shut up, Marygene. “I’ve known Alex my entire life. He’s a lot of things, but a crook he isn’t. He’d never steal from anyone, much less his neighbors.” I rubbed the space between my eyebrows with my index finger. “But . . . he isn’t himself. Like you, he believes himself to be good at his job. Can you imagine what it would be like to think you knew someone, only to find out later you’d been manipulated into marrying them, they had a drug problem, and then they were murdered right under your nose?”
“Like I said, beauty wields power.”
I nodded. “He’s frustrated by the Carmichaels. According to him, they believe he’s involved. And Mrs. Carmichael, Lord bless her, is in shambles. That’s why I asked about the hair samples to see if her drug use might’ve been embellished. She believed it was the reason her daughter wasn’t herself. And why she fell for some lowlife who aided in her addiction and attempted to use her to gain access to her trust fund.”
Several people stopped in front of my car, glancing through the windshield oddly at the company I was keeping. I smiled and waved as if everything was perfectly normal. Just me and my good buddy, Detective Thornton.
In his usual fashion, he ignored them. “From the hair samples we were able to determine Lucy frequently used drugs.”
I nodded. “Then it’s completely possible she injected herself and overdosed. Perhaps her ex used her to gain access to account numbers and gave her the filled syringe, knowing she couldn’t resist. She’d be out of the way and he could keep all the money for himself. It fits the profile drawn by her parents. He obviously never left the island. He could’ve easily changed his look and hid among the tourists. We wouldn’t be the wiser.”
“I need to speak to the Carmichaels again.” His hand went to the door, and I reached out and wrapped my fingers around his forearm. He glanced at my hand.
I pulled out my phone. This sounded far more complicated when I spoke it aloud. I blew out a breath. Here and now, my best chance to save Paul was sitting next to me. No longer suspecting he had anything to do with the robbery, I hit play on the voice mail from Paul’s kidnapper. Every visible muscle in his body went tense. He checked the time and date on the message and listened to it again.
“They called again. I answered it the second time. Paul sounded petrified, and they threatened to kill him, slowly and painfully, if I didn’t cooperate or if I called the authorities. Obviously, now, with us sitting here out in the open for the world to see, I’m not equipped to handle any of this. And I’m tired. So very tired. I just want everyone to be safe. For people to refrain from killing one another and let me get back to baking and helping out at my support group.” I shook my head and met his scrutinizing gaze. “I’m just a diner owner who loves a great dough and making people happy with good food. My father nearly died of a heart attack, my ex is struggling to find his way, and my best friend and I were nearly killed. The guy I was seeing has been abducted, and the lunatics are calling me! I’m at my wits’ end here, and I’m hoping, no, I’m trusting you’ll be able to handle this delicately and another person doesn’t die.” I slumped down in the seat and rubbed my face.
To my surprise, he put his hand awkwardly on my shoulder. The act made me feel more lonely than comforted.
“I’ve brought in more of my team to aid on the investigation. This will end and your life will resume some sense of normalcy. Would you be willing to wear a wire and have your phone tapped and your cell records released?”
We were back into uncomfortable but necessary territory, and I agreed.
* * *
Javier stood on my back deck when I got home. No doubt the detective sent him right over. I’d still insisted I wanted to work with him. I noticed Javy when I crossed the threshold and stumbled over a flat envelope shoved through my antique front door mail slot. I’d kept it purely for aesthetics, and it wasn’t usually used by my postal worker. I smiled through the glass door at him. My comfort level with him made the ordeal easier. Thankfully, I’d begun to feel a bit better physically. Emotionally, not so much. I’d take what I could get.
“Hey.” I slid open the back door.
“Hey, yourself.” Javy’s steely gaze searched mine. “You want to explain?”
I moved aside for him to enter. “Do you really need me to? I’m sure Detective Thornton gave you every single detail.”
“I’d like to hear it from you. I mean, you and I are a lot closer, or so I thought. Hearing all of this from my superior disturbed me.” Javier made himself at home and sat in the living room while I used my tissue to pick up the flat unmarked mailer and deposited it on the counter. Deep breaths did nothing to slow my heart rate. Having doubts about my actions would be pointless. It sucked that your heart didn’t always comply. The mailer surely held the instructions, and I had no idea if the abductors were privy to my actions.
I went to the fridge and pulled out a pitcher of peach tea. “Want a glass?”
“No, thanks.”
Taking my time, I filled a glass with ice and tea. “I’m in over my head here. The detective was there, and as I struggled to the surface for a breath of air, I let it all out.” I told Javier everything I had told the detective. “He’s having the voice mail analyzed now by his tech-savvy guys. Did you know, by a simple signature from me, they can access my phone records and gain access to all my voice mails? It’s all in the cloud.” After a few long sips, I placed both pitcher and glass on the bar.
“It’s a virtual kind of world.”
I nodded. “I guess. I sure hope I did the right thing and Paul doesn’t pay the price.” I pulled the band from my hair and rubbed the sore spot on my head. “Hey, could you find out the identity of a person by a hair sample?”
“No, why?”
I sat on the sofa and attempted a smile. “That would have been too convenient for my life. I found black hairs in Alex’s drain. It might be his, but I found some hair dye on the tile underneath the sink.” Admittedly, this was all getting to me, and I probably sounded desperate and reaching. I didn’t care.
He moved next to me and wrapped an arm around my shoulders. “Hair cannot be positively matched to a specific person.”
“Are you sure?” I leaned in to him.
“Fairly positive. To tell us much of anything in an examination, it must contain the root pulp. During a struggle, hair that’s been ripped out by the roots will contain nuclear DNA. This hair was probably hair that shed during the coloring process. It won’t contain the correct DNA.”
Here I’d hoped I’d found something of consequence. Nothing that I expected could be used in a court of law, mind you, but maybe a clue that would point us in the right direction. On the other hand, Betsy would be thrilled to know her shedding problem wouldn’t be credible evidence to frame her. I’d been right to ask for help.
Javier sat straight and strong. Confidence oozed from his pores, making me wonder if he ever struggled with anything, and feeling guilty that I wanted to borrow some of his strength. Or at least bask in it for a while. I opened my mouth and told him everything. All that happened at Alex’s. My conversation with the Carmichaels in more detail. I even let him in on my fears.
After a few long minutes inhaling his scent and feeling safer than I had in a long time, I got up and went to retrieve my purse and the mailer. I used a paper towel to pick up the mailer this time. Javier maintained his silence. There was something about him that reminded me of Eddie. It was his demeanor. Like Eddie, he brought a palpable calm to the room. I sat back down, keeping some distance between us. I played the voice mail. He needed to hear it firsthand.
Javier sat forward as Paul’s voice came over the speaker. His body tensed as if he were prepared to leap into action at any second. He played it three times, listening closely. “Did you speak to Alex about this?”
I shook my head and handed over the mailer. “I’m guessing these are the instructions. I have latex gloves in my purse if you want them.”
He didn’t comment. He simply held out his hand for my gloves. I handed them over. Betsy had insisted I keep some with me, and she carried some as well. Clearly, we had a problem.
Javier struggled to get them over his hands, but they were on enough to keep his prints from transferring. I moved closer as he ripped open the tab and dumped the contents out. A key clattered onto the table, tagged with a safety deposit box number. A printout with instructions, along with a time and date I was to retrieve the contents of the box and where I should deliver it.
I sucked in a breath. A sticky note attached to a picture of the inside of the diner read, You’ve been naughty. One more misstep and boom! All the hairs on my neck stood at attention.
I leapt to my feet. “I have to call Jena Lynn. We need to evacuate the diner!”
Javier took the phone from my hand and threw it on the sofa.
“What are you doing?” I wailed. “That maniac is going to blow up my diner with my family inside!”
Javier took me by the shoulders and peered into my face as he spoke calmly and assuredly. “We need to call Detective Thornton and have him issue a quiet evacuation of the diner. If we create a pandemonium, they might set the bomb off.”
I held on to Javier’s forearms. My eyes stung. “Oh God, what if—”
He gave his head a firm shake. “No. We aren’t playing the what-if game. This was a threat to ensure you follow their instructions, when Paul wasn’t enough. They had to threaten what you hold most dear. Your family and your business. They won’t do something stupid and ruin their most valuable leverage.” Javier navigated me to the sofa, where I perched while he made the appropriate phone calls.
Yes, I believed his actions were correct. Reacting could prove disastrous in a situation such as this. And I wasn’t planning on risking anyone’s life by betting on the crazy people behind all of this. Still, I prayed nothing went horribly wrong. Mr. Forest’s words ran through my mind and, for the briefest of moments, I did wish they’d blow up. All the horrible, evil people who had the audacity to threaten me and mine. Acting with a cool, level head would always prevail. I tried deep breathing while Javier moved through my space. The way he was looking under tables and in lamp shades, I suspected he was concerned my place had been bugged.
Mama appeared beside me and took my hand. She sat there, and her presence calmed me slightly. I didn’t say anything when she started speaking. I listened to every word she said. Every bit of advice I took to heart. My mama had drawn a line in the sand. She would do whatever it took to help me, even if it meant tying herself to this island for the rest of her existence. Putting herself aside for me now, after all these years, proved people could change if they chose to. The last thing she whispered to me hung in the air long after she’d faded. “Trust this one, my sweet girl. He’s seen enough and lived enough life to understand the nature of people. He’s on this island for a reason.”
I’d come to trust Javier, and it was rooted deeply. That Mama agreed gave me more confidence in my discernment. Still, she puzzled me with the statement that he was here for a reason. My phone rang, and my sister’s face showed up on the screen. I glanced at Javier, who gave me permission to answer it with a nod.
“Jena Lynn, are you okay?”
“Marygene, oh my God! We’ve received a bomb threat! The diner is swarming with plainclothes officers.” Her voice shook. “They’ve evacuated our entire side of the square. It’s bedlam.”
“I’m sure. Are you home yet?” I couldn’t help the tears. Hearing my sister so shaken up rent my heart into pieces. This was all happening because of me, because I hadn’t followed the instructions. I needed her safe.
“I’m driving there now. Honey, are you okay?”
I sniffed. “I’m fine. Don’t worry about me. Just go home and snuggle with Olivia and Zach.”
“You come over too. We need to be together at a time like this.”
Boy did I want to. “I’ll try. The detective will want to speak with me first.”
“Right. Okay. I just pulled in and Zach’s here.”
I let out a silent thank-you. “Good. That’s good.”
“Love you, stay safe, and get over here at your first opportunity. I don’t care what time it is.” Jena Lynn recovered enough to use her mama voice on me.
“I will. Love you too.” The second I hung up, I nearly collapsed.
Javier scooped me up in his arms. “It’s okay. We’re going to get this guy. I swear it.” Determination and anger shone through in his tone. I held on to him and sobbed until nothing was left inside.
My cottage was swept for recording devices. And if anyone was watching the house, they wouldn’t know the detective, his crew, and Javier were inside. They came to my cottage on the beach side as discreetly as they could manage, anyway. We’d been over the plan about a dozen times, but still, it was hard to fathom I was in this position and would be the one entrapping the evil person behind these heinous crimes. Eddie would have never allowed me to do anything like this, and once he got word, he’d be mad as the devil. Still, it was our best chance.
I stared at my reflection in my bathroom mirror. I’d taken a hot shower and just finished drying my hair. My eyes were a tad red from crying, but the release had been warranted. I felt a little lighter.
A light rapping at the door caused me to pause with the comb in my hair. “Are you dressed?” Javier’s soft accented voice broke the silence. “Everyone’s gone.”
I put the comb down and slid open the pocket door, putting me face-to-face with the handsome man who had been by my side since this whole ordeal began. The one who sat with me while I waited to see if my father would make it through surgery, who tried to help me even at the risk of his own career. I recalled his earlier words. One day you’ll stop wasting your time with the wrong men and see the right one standing in front of you.
“You okay?” He brushed a strand of hair from my forehead lightly with his fingertips.
“Yes, and I think I’ll stop wasting my time with the wrong men.” I slid my arms around his neck and slanted my mouth over his.
He crushed me to him and, for a long few moments, we were totally lost in each other. Until he abruptly jerked away and put half a room between us.
“Damn. Your timing is god-awful.” He ran a hand over his mouth, and I could tell he was struggling to keep his distance. His eyes kept glancing from me to the bed. He pointed a finger at me. “We’ll revisit this at a better time. When you’re not vulnerable and are thinking clearer.”
I shrugged. “Suit yourself.” I turned and walked into the kitchen, desperately in need of a glass of wine. Anything to numb the anxiety niggling within me.
“Do you want to talk about tomorrow? Have any questions you want to ask that you didn’t feel comfortable asking the detective?” Javier asked as I pulled the bottle from the fridge.
“No, Deputy Reyes.” My tone was thick and a little husky. “I’m going to indulge in a glass of wine and try to settle my thoughts. I would have chosen to indulge in you over the wine, but you said no.” I poured a glass and offered him one.
“I didn’t say no. I’m being respectful of your situation.”
“How chivalrous of you.” I walked past him and out onto my back deck. The sounds of the ocean and the salty air swirled around me as I sipped chardonnay. Tomorrow would be here before I knew it, and I needed to settle my nerves.
“I didn’t say no, Marygene.” Javier joined me on the deck.
When I thought of Paul, I should have felt guilty, but I didn’t. Even though he’d been all over Lucy while we dated, until he was safe I should be more respectful. And would. It also wasn’t fair to Javier. “I know you’re right. I’m not in the best headspace at present, and I was just making light of jumping you.”
Javier took my face in his hands and kissed me lightly on the lips. His breath danced on my lips. “Jump me any other time, mi corazón, and I swear things will turn out differently.”