Vanessa and Brent listened in silence. Their expressions changed to incredulity, then to shock as they realized their mother had been murdered.
“But maybe she just found that cave,” Brent said.
Vanessa shook her head. “The boat, Brent. The boat had to have been deliberately scuttled. Otherwise, it would have been found nearby on the shore. Even if she pulled it ashore and then found the cave and the tide dragged it back to sea, it would have been found closer to the ruins. Not where it was.”
Tears slid down her cheeks, and she kept her head down. Libby wished she knew the best way to comfort her.
“Exactly,” Alec said. “We also have to wonder about Nicole now.”
If only Libby had had more time to talk to Nicole that day. So many regrets. “Nicole loved caves. The last time I talked to her, she said she’d found a new cave with something exciting in it. Before she could tell me what that was, the men appeared.”
“Did you happen to hear Mr. Rooney talking to your mother?” Alec asked.
“Mr. Rooney? You mean that investor guy?” Vanessa asked. “He took us to dinner in Duck one night. You should have seen his yacht!”
“He was trying to impress Mom,” Brent said. “Kept telling her that she and Dad could travel the world, have a house wherever they wanted.”
“You didn’t like him?” Libby asked.
He shrugged. “Not so much. Mom didn’t either. When he tried to pressure her to talk to Dad, she told him to take her home.”
“Why did she agree to go to dinner in the first place?” Alec asked.
“You know how Mom was. She didn’t like to hurt anyone’s feelings. And he’d come all that way to talk to Dad.”
“Why didn’t he call first and make sure D-Dad was home?” It still felt strange to say Dad.
“He did,” Vanessa said, her tone implying that she didn’t appreciate any criticism of her father. “But Daddy got called out at the last minute. One of his businesses in California burned, and he went to make sure the employees were taken care of.”
“So your mother tried to placate the guy by talking to him herself.” Alec put his hands in his pockets and paced. “Did you hear what he wanted?”
Brent shrugged. “What they always want. This strip of land on the ocean. I think this is the guy that Poe represents. He offered ten mil.”
Libby bit her lip to keep from telling him the offer had gone up.
“Did your mother seem tempted?” Alec asked.
Vanessa shook her head. “Mom never wanted to leave the island. She didn’t care about yachts and travel. It was all Daddy could do to get her to go to Virginia Beach from time to time.”
“She was a homebody,” Brent agreed.
“And it’s not like Daddy was hurting for money,” Vanessa added. “He gave her anything she wanted.”
“Did they know the state was talking about putting in a ferry system?” Libby asked.
“Oh yes,” Vanessa said. “Daddy made several trips to try to talk down the proposal. He was determined not to let them ruin our island.”
“How did you feel about that?” Libby asked, glancing at Brent so he would know she wanted to know what he thought as well.
Brent shrugged. “Dad didn’t care much for progress, but lots of younger men like me would like to see more jobs. Even tourism would pay a steadier wage than fishing does at times. And what is there here except fishing?”
“Is that why you were going to sell this place?”
“Maybe. If I could have sold it and started a shipbuilding business here, it would have brought in jobs.” His grin was cold. “And it was a lot of money.”
Just when she thought she could warm up to the guy, he turned everything around again. Libby had no idea how to read Brent.
“Come along, Poe,” Lawrence said. He glanced at his daughter. That color dress made Katelyn’s skin look like a pumpkin. An unfortunate following after fashion.
Poe rose from the Rooneys’ dinner table. “I’ll join you in the game room in a few minutes,” he said to Katelyn. “All right?”
“I’ll be waiting.” Her flirtatious glance lingered on him.
Lawrence led the boy to his office. Closing the door behind him, he approached the desk. “I can tell something is on your mind. Has something gone wrong?”
Poe sat in the chair across from the desk. “There’s a rumor that Nicole Ingram is dead.”
“What? Did you do something to her?”
Poe shook his head. “It wasn’t me. Her shoes and cover-up were found, and the authorities are presuming her dead.”
“That’s not catastrophic, then. They can’t blame us for something we didn’t do.” He eyed Poe. “We didn’t have anything to do with this, correct?”
Poe shook his head. “Libby doesn’t believe it. She’s tenacious. She’s got a search-and-rescue dog team there.”
Lawrence dismissed the concern with a wave of his hand. “The dog can’t tie us to something we didn’t do.”
“True enough.” Poe inhaled and leaned forward. “That’s not all though. The cellar has been found. And Tina’s remains.”
Lawrence bolted out of his chair. “You said no one would ever find her. We should have dumped her body in the ocean.” His scowl darkened. “This is your fault.”
Poe spread out his hands. “I agree I should have just hauled her body from the cellar when I found it there. But at the time, I was afraid the discovery of her body would heat up the investigation and derail our plan. If they thought she drowned, the hunt would die down. And that’s what happened.”
“Is there anything you aren’t telling me? You didn’t kill her, did you?”
“Absolutely not. She must have fallen and hit her head. She was dead when I found her.”
“You’d better not be lying.”
Poe held his gaze. “I’m telling you the truth. If you have doubts about me, now is the time to say so.”
Lawrence looked away and shook his head. He didn’t want to alienate Poe when things were going so well with Katelyn. “The problem now is what do we do? Investigators will be poring over that cellar.”
“They may not find the cache.”
“I’d rather not take the chance,” Lawrence said.
“What do you propose?”
“I don’t know yet. I’ll have to think about it.”
Poe relaxed in the chair. “I have an idea.”
THIRTY-SIX
When Delilah served the Tidewater Inn guests after-dinner coffee, Alec gestured to Zach and they stepped outside. Over the meal, Alec had caught Zach staring at Libby quite often. Did his nephew see the attraction between them?
“School will be starting soon,” Alec said, stooping to pick up an unbroken conch.
Zach folded his arms across his chest. “I’m not going back to school, Uncle Alec.”
“Now, Zach,” Alec began.
“Don’t try to talk me into it. You know I just want to be a fisherman. It’s an honest profession. I don’t need college to catch fish. I already know the ocean like the back of my hand.”
“I know you do. But the world is changing. What happens if the fishing falls off? It’s a hard life, Zach. I’d like to see you have something else to rely on. There’s plenty of time to try different things. You don’t have to set your course right now. At least go to two years of college.”
Zach’s chin jutted out. “I don’t want to. And you can’t make me.”
The boy—no, Zach was a man now—was in charge of his own destiny. Much as Alec wanted to insist on college, how could he know what was best for Zach? How could any man know what was best for another man? There was no denying that Zach was a natural-born waterman. He was in his element when he rode the seas. His dad, Alec’s brother, had been the same way. It was probably why he’d been so hard for their father to handle. Zack, like Darrell, just wanted to be back in Hope Beach.
Alec made one final attempt. “What about online classes? Just a couple to keep learning
.”
Zach hesitated. “I’ll think about it.”
“That’s all I ask.”
“I don’t know what classes I’d even take though.”
“What about something like marine biology? You’d be good at that, and you’d be helping the ecology.” A flicker of interest in Zach’s eyes encouraged him. “The Banks have some challenges to face. Maybe you could be part of finding help.”
Zach had quit listening. His gaze went past Alec, and Alec turned to see Libby heading toward them with a newspaper in her hand. She looked pale and upset.
“Something wrong?” he asked when she reached them.
She held out the newspaper and he saw it was a New York paper. “The story has been picked up. Front page.” She opened the paper to reveal a picture of Nicole.
“I’m sorry,” Alec said. It had been a total miscalculation to get Earl involved. The reporter was probably rejoicing at all the interest and might even follow up with more damaging articles.
“I should have expected it,” Libby said.
“Can I see it?” Zach asked, holding out his hand. Libby handed it over and he studied the article. Zach handed back the paper. “I’m sorry.”
“Thanks, Zach.” Her eyes narrowed as she stared at him. His Adam’s apple was bobbing, and he didn’t meet her gaze. “You are on the water a lot. Would you keep an eye out for anyone suspicious? There were two men. One was in his forties with a cap pulled low over his eyes. He had a beard. The other was in his late twenties. He had blond hair and it looked like he hadn’t shaved in a couple of days. He might not always look so scruffy though.”
“We did a police sketch. That might help,” Alec said. He gave a curious glance at his nephew, who seemed unusually still. “Stop by Tom’s office and take a look. Keep your eye out for the men.”
“You’re sure she’s dead?” Zach asked.
Alec shot a glance at Libby. She seemed to be holding together all right. “As sure as we can be without a body,” Alec said. “I think I know where the men dumped her.” He told Zach about the spot offshore from the old ruins.
“I don’t want to accept it,” Libby said, her voice quiet. “One minute I’m resigned to it and the next I’m sure she’s still out there waiting for me to find her.”
“I get out there some. I’ll keep an eye out,” Zach said. “You think the men were local?”
Alec frowned. “I don’t, no. I would vouch for every resident male on the island. This isn’t the kind of thing our people would do.”
Zach put his hands in the pockets of his denim shorts. “I guess people can hide their true natures sometimes.”
An uncommonly perceptive comment from his nephew. Alec sometimes despaired at how little progress he felt he was making in shaping Zach. But hadn’t he been the same way when he was Zach’s age?
“One of my friends is having a party on the beach,” Zach said. “I thought I’d go.”
“Be careful.” Alec wanted to add don’t drink, but he knew Zach would hear the implied admonition in his voice. Not that it would matter what he said. Zach would do what he wanted to do. All Alec could do was pray.
Zach nodded and jogged to his old pickup.
“Zach is a good boy,” Libby said. “You need to trust him a little.”
“I do trust him.”
“Your tone didn’t indicate much trust.” She turned to stare out to sea. “I keep thinking that there’s something I could have done to stop them from taking her.”
“It wasn’t your fault,” he said gently.
She turned back toward him with a pained expression.
“God is in control of life and death and everything in between, Libby. We can drive ourselves crazy by thinking of all the what-ifs in life.”
Her eyes were luminous with tears. “I just feel helpless.”
Did he make the first move or did she? He wasn’t sure, but the next thing he knew, he was holding her with her face buried in his chest. It was the most natural thing in the world to press his lips against her fragrant hair.
Libby could feel Alec’s heart thudding under her ear. She wanted to preserve this moment and stay in the safe circle of his arms. Right now it felt as though no harm could come to her. She’d stood on her own for so many years that she hardly knew what to make of this desire to be protected and nurtured.
His hand moved in a caressing motion down her hair, and he pressed his lips against her forehead. “You’re a special person, Libby,” he whispered. “I love how fiercely you treasure family. You even care about Vanessa and Brent when they’ve been nothing but cold to you.”
“Vanessa is warming up.”
The scent of man and sea was an intoxicating mix. She burrowed closer to the solid warmth of his chest. If she lifted her head, he might kiss her again. Part of her wanted that, but the fearful side kept her cheek firmly pressed against his shirt. If he kissed her again, she might lose her heart completely. Right now, if she walked away from this place, she might survive. If she gave too much of herself away, it might destroy her. And she didn’t know what the future held.
His arms gripped her shoulders and he created a small space between them. His fingers tipped her chin up. She closed her eyes and held her breath. His lips were warm and persuasive, and she dropped any pretense of holding on to her dignity. It was too late to hang on to her heart. She kissed him back with all the depth of feeling she didn’t know she possessed. The beat of his heart sped up under her right palm, trapped under her. She exulted that she moved him as much as he moved her. Whatever was developing between them was something they both felt.
He pulled away. “Want to go for a walk along the beach?”
She nodded. That was safer than being pelted by feelings she had to resist. They strolled along the dense sand, hand in hand. The companionable silence lulled her. She didn’t feel the need to fill it with chatter.
He stopped by a fallen tree, pulling her down with him to sit. The moon glimmered on the water and the salty breeze from the ocean lifted her hair in a sultry caress. “I haven’t kissed a woman in a long time. I didn’t want you to think I was some kind of Lothario.”
She had to smile at the anxiety in his voice. She hadn’t even considered that he might worry about that. “Thanks for telling me. I don’t even know the last time I went out with a man. I’ve been too focused on my career.”
A smile tugged at his lips. “Glad to hear it.”
“What about Zach?” she asked, hoping he wasn’t offended by the question. “I got the impression I interrupted an argument.”
His smile faded. “You did.”
“I’m sure he’s still hurting from his parents’ death.”
“Dave was a fisherman too. He had a charter boat based in Hatteras. Zach was with him all the time until he died. That’s all the kid has wanted to do—be on the water. He wants to be a commercial fisherman. My parents couldn’t control him. I think he wants everyone to know how miserable he is.”
“So you took him?”
“He landed in jail for vandalizing the school the day before you showed up. So yeah, you could say he’s been a handful.”
“You were doing your duty,” she said.
“It’s more than duty. I love the kid. He and I have always been close. Right now, he’s pushing me away, but I think that’s starting to change.”
“He’s a good kid.”
His glance was warm and tender. “I think so. When he first got here, he was sullen and distant, but he’s coming around. He loves the sea. Being a waterman is therapeutic.”
“Waterman?” She liked the romantic sound of the word.
“It’s what we call men out here who make their living off the water. Fishermen, ferry workers, charter-boat owners.”
“So you’re a waterman too?”
“We all were. Me, Darrell, even my sister, Beth, works with the sea. She’s a marine biologist,” he said. “Guess I shouldn’t come down too hard on Zach. It’s in our blood. He can’t help it.?
??
“You don’t want him to be a waterman?”
“I want him to have something to fall back on. Fishermen have a hard life fighting weather and tides all the time. They’re at the whim of the capricious ocean. When you came out, I was trying to talk him into taking some online classes. He doesn’t want to go away to college.”
“Maybe he feels safe here. And closer to his parents.”
Alec slipped his arm around her waist. “Yeah, I guess so.” His lips grazed her forehead. “Why aren’t you married? A girl as beautiful as you is usually taken early on.”
He thinks I’m beautiful. “I’ve never been close to marriage. I guess I’ve been afraid to trust anyone. Dealing with my mom’s instability has made me cautious. I’ve never even had a steady boyfriend. We moved around so much that there was never a chance to develop any kind of relationship.”
“You think you can trust me?”
She stared into his face. “Can I?”
“I’m a man of my word, Libby. I’d like for us to see where this relationship might go. Are you game?”
“I think so,” she whispered.
His lips found hers again and she turned off the warning in her head.
THIRTY-SEVEN
We generally don’t allow guests in the library,” Delilah said, unlocking the glass-paned door. “You’re hardly a guest, of course, but I wanted you to be aware that there are many valuable books in here.”
Libby stepped into the room and inhaled the aroma of old books. Her aunt, Alec, and Bree were right behind her. Their presence would make the job easier, though she would have gladly spent hours here alone. There was nothing she liked better than to delve into history. She slid her glance to Alec and back again. Their earlier walk on the beach still lingered in her heart.
“Do you need me to show you around?” Delilah asked, her tone indicating she hoped to be released.
“No, I’m sure we’ll figure it out.”
Libby glanced around the large room. There were floor-to-ceiling oak shelves on two walls, a desk on the wall with the window, and a library table against the other wall. The floors were polished oak. The wood hadn’t been stained, and the naturally light color was attractive.