Breaker''s Reef

  He was quiet for a moment. “Not really, since everybody was kind of in a tailspin about the death. But I’m sure it was noticed. I was just doing my job, though.”

  “So what part is Cape Refuge playing in the investigation?”

  “Well, since she was from here, Chief Cade has us doing a lot of legwork talking to friends and trying to retrace her steps the few days before her death.”

  “Do you have any leads?”

  “Dozens. People have been calling tips in all day. Cade’s had to turn most of them over to the GBI, but we’re following up on a few. Hey, I’ll be happy to talk to you anytime. Keep you updated.”

  Sadie managed to smile. “We pretty much stay on top of things, since Blair’s dating Cade. He tells her what he can. And what he can’t tell her, she usually hunts down on her own. Sometimes I think she would make a great cop. She has an instinct for crime-solving.”

  He breathed a laugh. “It’s not as easy as it looks, you know. People have all these ideas about cops from watching TV. It’s actually a whole different thing.”

  “So does it take a lot of training?”

  “Ten weeks at the academy.”

  “I thought it was longer. No wonder you can be one so young.”

  “Chief Cade hired me even before I went for training, so I had the job when I got out. But it’s not just the training that makes you a good cop. It takes a gut instinct, and a certain amount of courage.”

  “I guess so.” She could see he was proud of his job. It was probably warranted. “That gut instinct helps in reporting too. I don’t know if I have it or not. I guess that’s why I mostly get stuck with the mundane reports of local happenings. Boring stuff. But Blair said I could do some on the murder, since I knew Emily. I’ve been talking to people all afternoon.”

  “Guess you have an advantage, since you knew her.”

  She wouldn’t have called it that, but she supposed it was true. “I guess. People might tell me things that they wouldn’t say to Blair. Not that most people want to confide in me, either.”

  “Yeah, I noticed you were pretty much a loner at school.”

  She shrugged. “I’m a little older than the kids in my class, since I dropped out for a couple of years. I’m eighteen.”

  “Then you’re only a year younger than me. I thought there was something different about you.”

  She smiled, surprised he’d given her any thought at all. “There’s a lot different about me.”

  “Well, that’s what makes you special.” He looked down at the grass blades he sat on, tore some up. “You know, I always wanted to talk to you in school. But you looked so self-contained. Like you didn’t need anybody else. I was afraid I’d get shot down.”

  “Shot down?” She stared at him. “Me, shoot you down? I would never do that.”

  “You wouldn’t? Then we ought to go out sometime.”

  Sadie caught her breath. Had she heard him right? Could he really be interested in her? “That’d be nice,” she managed to say.

  “How about a movie or something? Say, tomorrow night?”

  He was serious! “Sure. Do you know where I live?”

  “Hanover House, right?”

  “That’s right.” How much did he know about her? Everyone at Hanover House had a sad, tangled past. Did he realize she was no exception?

  “How about six thirty? We can probably find a seven o’clock flick.”

  Sadie shook her head. “I can’t go that early. I need to go to the prayer service for Emily after her funeral. But I can go after that.”

  “All right. I’ll pick you up from there.”

  “Aren’t you going to the service?”

  “No, I don’t think so. Sounds a little morbid.”

  She sat there for a moment, awkward and uncertain. She couldn’t wait to tell her mom, pick out something to wear, practice how to wear her hair. She got up and dusted her jeans off. “I have to get home now. My mom started a new job today, and I know she’ll want to tell me all about it. She’s working for Marcus Gibson, the author.”

  “No kidding? He’s my favorite. Have you read his latest?”

  “No, I haven’t read any of them.”

  “You should. They’ll blow your mind.”

  Sadie wasn’t sure she wanted her mind blown.

  Scott offered her a ride, but she declined and walked back home, up Ocean Boulevard, along the busy street. She felt a little guilty for getting a date out of a terrible tragedy like Emily’s. But it wouldn’t hurt to go out with him.

  Her step was lighter as she hurried home, anxious to share her news.

  CHAPTER 10

  Sheila had just come in when Sadie got home, and she chattered in the kitchen with Morgan and Blair. Sadie hurried in to share her news, but her mother was mid-story.

  “Hey, baby. Come here and listen to this. Mr. Gibson shows up an hour late from camping out, and then he walks into the ocean fully dressed in camouflage gear, boots and all, and swims until I can’t see him anymore. Comes back in an hour later, dripping wet, and heads off again. I didn’t see him the rest of the day. Meanwhile, I’m typing this dictation he did in the woods last night, an extremely creepy narration of this killer who’s stalking someone he’s planning to kill. And I keep feeling like he’s going to sneak up on me.”

  Sadie shivered. “Are you sure you’re comfortable being there all alone?”

  “So far. He hasn’t really bothered me. Practically ignores me. I think it surprises him every time he realizes other people actually live in his world.”

  Sheila put Caleb into his high chair and got him a cookie from the pantry. She smiled up at Sadie. “So how was your day, baby?”

  “Terrible. I went to Emily’s visitation.” She glanced at Blair. “I talked to a lot of people, got a lot of quotes.”

  Blair turned back to her. “Anything we can use?”

  “No hard facts. Just comments from friends and mourners.”

  Her mother looked at her. “Sadie, until this killer is found, you don’t need to be out walking around at night.”

  “She’s right,” Morgan said. “You could have used the car.”

  Sadie lowered into a chair and contemplated her mother’s newfound sense of authority over her. She’d never given her parameters before—not until she’d come to Hanover House, and watched how Morgan and Jonathan drew limitations.

  Sadie got a cookie and took a bite. “What would you think if I’m with a cop when I go out?”

  Morgan and Blair turned to look at her, and Sheila frowned. “What cop? Cade?”

  Sadie grinned. “No, Scott Crown. He kind of asked me out.”

  Blair grinned, but Morgan was clearly troubled. “The new cop? How old is he, Sadie?”

  “One year older than me. He’s nineteen. And Cade thinks he’s trustworthy enough to be upholding the law.”

  She could see Morgan was searching for a reason to keep her from going. She never liked for her to date, since Sadie had shown poor judgment in her choices before. It was as if she was sure of Sadie being led down the proverbial “wrong path” again. Blair looked triumphant, though, and Sheila seemed to gauge both of their reactions, before reacting herself.

  “He’s the one who found Emily’s body yesterday,” Blair said. “Seems like a nice guy. Cade wouldn’t have hired him if he weren’t.”

  “Still,” Morgan said. “Sadie’s in high school. He’s already out, probably has his own apartment.”

  “I won’t go there,” she said. “I know better than that. We just want to go to the movies.”

  She saw the struggle on Morgan’s face, but finally, her mother saved the day. “When are you going, baby?”

  “Tomorrow night.”

  “Then we need to go through your closet and figure out what you’re gonna wear. No hand-me-downs for a first date. Has to be something nice if you’re going out with somebody important like that.”

  Sadie looked at Morgan, and saw that she was biting back her reservations.
She’d deferred to Sheila, and Sheila was letting her go.

  She hoped it didn’t cause problems between them.

  The front doorbell rang, and Sadie heard the door opening. “Anybody home?”

  Blair came out of her seat. “In here, Cade!”

  He appeared in the doorway. “How’s it going?”

  Everyone greeted him, and Blair went to reach up and kiss him. The sight of that did Sadie good. Blair and Cade—two of her favorite people on the island—deserved each other.

  “Just the man we needed to see,” Sheila said.

  Sadie noted a flicker of something as Blair turned to look at her mother. Blair clearly thought Sheila had a crush on Cade. The truth was, Sadie thought so, too.

  “Oh, yeah?” Cade smiled.

  “Yeah. Sadie has a date with Scott Crown tomorrow night. Should we let her go?”

  “Mom!” Sadie felt sick. What if Cade went back and ribbed Scott about it, or worse, chewed him out for dating a school-aged kid? She wanted to crawl under the table.

  Cade looked from Sheila to Sadie, as if he didn’t quite like the idea. But then he shrugged. “He’s a good man. I wouldn’t worry too much.”

  Sadie breathed a sigh of relief.

  He turned back to Blair. “Can I talk to you out back for a minute?”

  “Yeah, sure.”

  As Cade took Blair’s hand and led her out to the backyard, Sadie turned back to her mother. Sheila was watching them with a trace of longing in her eyes.

  If she was interested in Cade, maybe it was a good thing. Maybe it meant that her tastes had changed. And since Cade wasn’t exactly available, maybe it would keep her from making any mistakes with other men.

  There were worse things than setting her sights too high.

  So what did you want to tell me?” Blair asked as they stepped into the backyard.

  Cade pulled her to the side of the house, and leaned down to give her a crushing hug. “That I missed you. I saw your car here and wanted to see you for a minute before I go back to the station.”

  It was too good to be true, having Cade care about her this way. She felt small, protected, in his arms. “I miss you, too. Are you going to be working all night?”

  “Until late. We had the computer training session today, which slowed me down, so I still have all our local leads on Emily’s murder to process. I’ll drive by when I start home, and if your light’s on, I’ll stop. That okay?”

  “The light’ll be on.”

  She smiled up at him, wishing they were more than just an item. If they were married, she wouldn’t have to fall asleep with her light on, hoping he’d come by. He would come home to her, and crawl into bed next to her. And he’d be there when she woke up.

  But Cade hadn’t spoken much of marriage just yet, and neither had she. The very idea of his being in love with her in the first place was a blessing she’d never expected. Wouldn’t he wake up any day now and realize how repulsive she was, with the burn scars that marred the side of her face? Wouldn’t he realize there was a reason no one had snapped her up before now?

  But he didn’t seem repulsed. He seemed enchanted.

  Headlights lit up the drive next to them, and they saw Jonathan pulling his pickup into the driveway. Cade let her go, and she stepped back.

  Jonathan got out of the truck, wearing a pair of dress slacks and a button-down shirt. His fisherman’s wardrobe had been relegated to the back of his closet once he was sworn in as mayor, but Blair knew he would never get used to “office-wear.” He looked tired, but he was grinning as he came toward them. “Hey, don’t let me interrupt anything,” he said on a chuckle.

  “You weren’t,” Blair said. “I was just going in.”

  Cade grinned. “I’ll see you later tonight.”

  She smiled and nodded, then headed back inside. Later tonight couldn’t come soon enough.

  Jonathan didn’t follow Blair inside. Instead he closed his door and leaned back against the truck, crossing his arms. “So, Cade. Just what are your intentions with my sister-in-law?”

  Cade returned his best friend’s grin. Jonathan had asked him that dozens of times in the last year, and Cade always evaded. But Jonathan knew his intentions. If he didn’t, he was blind. “I have to go.”

  Jonathan caught his arm. “One day you’re gonna answer that question.”

  Cade couldn’t hide anything from him. They’d been closest friends for over fifteen years. Jonathan had seen Cade with every date he’d ever had. He’d critiqued his relationships in college, advised him through romances in his twenties.

  “Never mind,” Cade said. “When something happens, you’ll be the first to know.”

  “I want to know before,” Jonathan teased. “Come on, Cade. You’ve got it bad. The question is, what do you plan to do about it?”

  “I’d tell you, but then I’d have to kill you.”

  Jonathan laughed. “So you do have plans?”

  “I have plans. But you’re not exactly confidant material, since you’re married to her sister.”

  “Hey, my lips are sealed, man.”

  They heard the back screen door slam, heard Sadie’s voice talking to Caleb on the porch.

  “Go ahead, she can’t hear you.”

  Cade just stared at Jonathan for a moment. Finally, he caved. “All right. But if word gets out, I know where you live.”

  Jonathan moved closer to hear Cade’s secret.

  CHAPTER 11

  Marcus Gibson wasn’t home to greet Sheila when she reported for work the next morning, but he hadn’t forgotten her. He’d left a note taped to the door, addressed to Sharon.

  Since it gave her instructions on what to type today, she assumed the note was for her. She hoped he’d get her name right when he wrote out her paycheck.

  The note directed her to the key hidden under the mat. Why hadn’t he just left the door unlocked? Did he think there was more security in a note and a doormat?

  Amused, she went in, found the latest tapes among the clutter on his desk. As she began to type, his dictation threatened to put her to sleep. He spoke in a rumbling monotone, with less inflection than Ben Stein in The Wonder Years. How he’d managed to teach college students was beyond her. They must have had to pop caffeine pills just to keep their eyes open.

  Background noise of chirping crickets and squawking birds broke up the monotony, along with the occasional sound of a car engine or the ocean. Finally—thankfully—she got to the end of the tapes and decided she would go ahead and start typing the old, out-of-print book he’d given her to enter into the computer.

  Thank heaven she could type it from printed copy rather than the drone of his voice. As she did so, she found herself getting involved in the story. The protagonist was a teenage girl who had a stalker following her, watching her through windows, recording her every step. His obsession grew more threatening on every page, building to the climax, when he captured her. After a significant struggle that lasted three chapters, he shot her, then dumped her body in a boat, and set it free to float downriver—

  She stopped typing and picked up the book, read that scene again.

  I arranged her carefully in the bottom of the boat, her knees bent, her feet crossed. Her fingers lay curled against her face, as if she’d lain down there for a nap, and bled out while she dreamed.

  I launched the boat downriver, knowing that someone would find her soon. It was important that they knew. Part of the thrill.

  It was just the way Emily Lawrence’s killer had disposed of her, right there in the pages of Gibson’s book!

  “You’re still here, are you?”

  The writer’s voice from the doorway startled her, and she yelped and swung around. He stood there, dripping with sweat again, but this time instead of camouflage, he wore a gray pair of sweatpants and a white threadbare tank top, with a towel around his neck.

  “I didn’t hear you come in.”

  “Did you finish the dictation?”

  “Yes. It’s a
ll done.” She touched her chest, trying to calm her breathing. Her heart was racing. “I was starting on the out-of-print books.”

  “Start on them tomorrow. I need to work and I want to be alone.”

  Relief flooded her. “All right. Just let me save what I’ve been doing.”

  She made a mental note of the incriminating book, then said a nervous good-bye.

  He gave a vague nod. “I may not be here when you arrive tomorrow. I haven’t been sleeping at home. I’ll leave the key under the mat again.”

  She didn’t want to ask where he had been sleeping. “All right,” she managed to choke out.

  She got out of there as fast as she could and practically ran until she was off of his street and back on the main thoroughfare. She hurried along Ocean Boulevard, until she came to the police station.

  She wished she looked a little better as she stepped into the air-conditioned building and looked around for Cade.

  He wasn’t in the small squad room, but she saw his detective, Joe McCormick, sitting at his desk, glued to his computer.

  “Hey, Joe.”

  He looked up, then got to his feet and tucked his shirt in better. “Sheila, what brings you here?”

  “I wanted to talk to Cade.”

  He looked a little disappointed, which surprised her. Had he hoped she’d come here to see him?

  “I’ll get him.” He headed to Cade’s office, and she watched him until he was gone. He wasn’t a bad-looking man. His shaved head had put her off at first, but now that she knew him, she thought it looked kind of suave. She wondered if he did it to hide baldness, or if he simply liked the Bruce Willis look.

  Joe came back out, Cade following. As attractive as Joe was, Cade was more so. He looked like a calendar model of a hero in uniform. It was a shame that he belonged to Blair.

  “Sheila, what are you doing here?”

  “Can I talk to you, Cade? Actually, maybe I should tell Joe too.”

  Joe’s eyebrows came up. “Sure, let’s go in here.”

  He led her into the interview room, Cade following behind them. Once again, she wished she’d gone home to fix herself up before coming here. A little perfume wouldn’t have hurt, or even a little deodorant after walking here in the heat. She finger-combed her hair.