That was Smith Anderson, she realized.
She drew back before he spotted her, wondering what exactly he was doing behind the building. A moment later, his words drifted out to her.
“I don’t want anyone in town to know about this,” he grumbled. “It will cause my likability factor to plummet. The last thing I need is to give people time to start a petition or something.”
What in the world . . .
“Well, they’ll get used to it,” he continued. “Life goes on, and no one can control everything that goes on around them. You just have to learn to live with it.”
There was a pause in the conversation. He was obviously talking on the phone, and the other person was responding to him now.
Cassidy would love to hear what the person on the other end was saying.
“You need to make this deal happen.” Smith’s voice rose. “You need to convince the powers that be that this move would be great for Lantern Beach. Not everyone who comes here wants to rent a house or stay in that dinky little inn. The island needs to change with the times.”
What exactly was he planning? The tone of his voice made it clear that he not only felt passionate, but that he was also angry. Maybe controlling. Power hungry.
All those things raised warning flags in her mind.
Smith Anderson hadn’t come here to buy himself a house.
“I’m building that hotel if it’s the last thing I do!”
Yep, he wanted to build something bigger.
As footsteps stormed her way, Cassidy ducked behind her ice cream truck. She peered out in time to see his stiff gait, his red cheeks.
He was someone to keep an eye on. Did he have anything to do with this mystery? Maybe. Maybe not.
Only time would tell.
Chapter 9
Cassidy paused outside Ty’s door at the clinic and raised her hand to knock. Before she could, the door flew open.
Renee stood there.
The woman’s eyes brightened when she saw Cassidy. “You were here earlier. The volunteer, right?”
“I’m Ty’s neighbor,” Cassidy reminded her. If the woman had forgotten that quickly, she really did have issues. Maybe she’d had a memory lapse, and that was why she thought she was still engaged.
“You’re the one who found him?” She stepped outside and closed the door behind her. “I guess I owe you a thanks.”
Cassidy shrugged, unsure what to say. She hadn’t helped Ty because of Renee, but Cassidy wasn’t going to quibble over something that minor. “It wasn’t a problem.”
“If something had happened to him, then he and I would never have a chance to try again. So it is a big deal—a big deal to me.” Something that tried a little too hard to sound like sincerity dripped from her voice.
Then Renee’s words hit her.
“Trying again?” Cassidy repeated, certain she hadn’t heard correctly.
Then again, maybe Cassidy was the one confused here. She’d thought she knew Ty. She thought he’d made his feelings for her clear. But maybe deep inside this whole time, he still cared about Renee. Maybe they had been talking. Maybe he wanted Renee to show up here.
Maybe he was one of those guys.
Her heart ached a little at the thought.
“Things didn’t end well between us. It’s a shame when something beautiful ends on an ugly note. Ty has always loved me. And he always will. That’s what he said.” Renee’s words were pointed, as if she wanted to get her message across loud and clear.
The blood drained from Cassidy’s face. “He told you that?”
Renee giggled. “Isn’t he great? He’s a real man, not the kind who likes to give up on people or relationships. He told me how important forgiveness is, as well as second chances.”
That last part sounded like him. Ty had made plenty of mistakes, but he had a good heart and always wanted to do the honorable thing. Did he consider it honorable to fulfill his previous commitment to Renee? It didn’t make sense to Cassidy, but maybe he viewed his engagement as a commitment that hadn’t ended.
Cassidy cleared her throat. “So you’ll be sticking around here?”
“Oh, no. Not if I have anything to do with it. I think we should start over somewhere new. Maybe New York City. Probably somewhere smaller, though. Atlanta? LA would be totally out of the question.”
Cassidy almost couldn’t stomach the thought of Ty leaving. Which was ridiculous. Because Cassidy had to leave one day.
She hated it when her emotions got the best of her. And that’s exactly what they were doing right now. They were volleying back and forth, back and forth, between logic and emotion, between reality and desire.
“You’ve talked to Ty about this?” Cassidy finally asked, shifting her weight from one leg to the other as she tried to figure out how to proceed.
“Oh, we’ve been talking and talking. It’s been great. It’s almost like we were never apart.”
Suddenly, Cassidy’s confusion turned into anger. Protectiveness. Justice. At the moment, it didn’t matter what he’d decided. If Ty truly did or didn’t want to get back together with Renee. What mattered right now was that Renee had deeply hurt Ty. Cassidy didn’t want to see that happen again.
She stepped closer, and Renee’s smile dimmed. “You may fool other people with your Little Miss Innocent Act, but not me.”
“You’ve got me all wrong.” Renee’s gaze sliced through her. She obviously did not appreciate being questioned.
“Oh, I doubt that. How you left Ty was deplorable. If you hurt him again, then I suggest you never show your face around me or you will regret it.”
Renee gasped and stepped back. “Regret it how?”
Cassidy recalled the stash of guns that she had. The training she’d been through. Of course, she would never employ those things on Renee, however tempted she might be.
Instead, she said, “I might use some information I’ve learned here as a hospital volunteer to make your life miserable.”
“I thought you said you were his neighbor.”
Cassidy let out a cynical laugh. “I’m not even going to acknowledge that. But I will end with this. People with integrity don’t run away so they don’t have to face the consequences of their actions.”
“That’s so insulting.”
She thrust the paper bag into Renee’s hands. “And here are some cookies for Ty.”
She turned and walked away before she said anything more she’d regret.
“Are you in love with him?” Renee called.
Cassidy? In love? The thought was ridiculous.
So ridiculous that she didn’t bother to acknowledge the remark, nor did she admit to herself that her heart felt a little broken.
“Who was that?” Ty asked, eyeing Renee suspiciously.
“Oh, just the volunteer from the clinic. I mean, your neighbor. Yeah, that’s right. Your neighbor. She dropped these by.” Renee handed him a paper bag, but she didn’t look nearly as perky as she had earlier.
He glanced inside and saw some cookies there.
“My neighbor?” Ty said. Cassidy had been here? “She didn’t stay?”
He’d been hoping he would have a chance to see Cassidy and catch up. What exactly had Renee told her? His stomach churned at the thought.
“She said she had stuff to do at home and couldn’t stay.” Renee plopped back down beside him and filed her nails.
Couldn’t stay? Disappointment bit into him.
He desperately wanted time alone. Or time with Cassidy. But no more with Renee. The woman was on his last nerve, and she wouldn’t take a hint. Or even a direct statement, for that matter.
“On a separate note, there was some scary-looking guy out there,” Renee said.
“Scary how?”
“I don’t know. He has this huge tattoo on his bicep of some type of snake. What kind of people hang out on this island?”
“Interesting.” She seemed to be changing the subject for some reason.
“Okay, w
ell, I’m just going to go ahead and turn in for the night. I’m bushed after the flight and renting a car and coming here to find you like this.” She grabbed a blanket embellished with oversized pink and red hearts.
“You really don’t have to stay,” Ty said.
He didn’t want to stay either. He couldn’t stand the smell of the clinic. Was already tired of the food. He missed Kujo.
“Oh, you couldn’t pry me away with a crowbar.” Renee smiled.
That was what he was afraid of.
“Do you care if I watch The Bachelor? It should be on in reruns,” Renee said, grabbing the remote.
He couldn’t think of anything he wanted to watch less. But if Renee watched her show, she might stop talking for a while and give him time to gather his thoughts.
He picked up his phone from beside his bed and considered calling or texting Cassidy.
But explaining this situation needed more than a phone call or text message.
He let out a sigh and leaned back.
Tomorrow, he decided. Tomorrow he would make things right. First, he needed to get a little more of his energy back because it was going to take a lot out of him to get through to Renee.
Once back at her house, Cassidy sat down at her computer. The sun had set, and darkness had descended on the island. The cottage felt surprisingly lonely, and she had no idea why. She was always here by herself.
But, tonight, Ty was at the clinic and Kujo was at Mac’s for the night.
Apparently, the dog was doing great in his training and was officially deemed an expert cheese finder. The thought made Cassidy smile.
But her grin faded as she thought about her conversation with Renee.
Had Ty really told the woman he still loved her? That he wanted another chance?
Though Cassidy had already tried to sort through the thoughts and questions, they came back again. Ty was the honorable type of guy—maybe he wanted to see their relationship to completion. Or maybe this wasn’t about honor—maybe he still loved the woman. Renee was beautiful and perky. Maybe he hadn’t gotten over her.
Ultimately, those tumultuous thoughts were the real reason Cassidy felt so alone right now. And that wasn’t okay. Her heart was never supposed to get involved in all this.
She came here with a mission, and she’d somehow lost her focus. However, she couldn’t deny that her temporary life here seemed so much more fulfilling than what she’d left behind. She was going to have to grapple with those realizations sometime in the future. But now wasn’t the time.
Cassidy sighed. She really needed to concentrate on something else.
She pulled out her phone, and found the photos she’d taken of those papers Serena had found. She typed the first name into her search bar. Kat Bolton.
Cassidy squinted at the results. Though the name didn’t seem that common, a surprising number of people had that moniker. She scrolled through the first ten but didn’t find any information that seemed to link the name to the raft that had washed up.
She typed in the next name. Trina Smith. Cassidy didn’t have much hope for better luck with this search.
And, as suspected, she didn’t find any good leads.
The third name was Rose Alvarez. Cassidy scrolled through the results, stopping at one article.
Rose Alvarez. Age nineteen. Arrested for sale and distribution of drugs in Charleston, South Carolina.
The woman in the mug shot had dark hair and tan skin that indicated a possible Latino heritage.
Could she be the same person whose name was on this paper? Perhaps the woman had gotten involved with something illegal, like the chief had suggested. Were these names a list of contacts that the occupants of that raft were supposed to make once they hit land?
Cassidy shook her head. She didn’t know.
Yet she couldn’t stop thinking about the boat. Couldn’t stop ruminating on the questions in her mind. Perhaps thinking about someone else’s problems was more intriguing than remembering her own. Or maybe it was because selling ice cream wasn’t her calling.
Her cell phone rang. Her secret one.
She retrieved it and saw that it was Samuel. She quickly put the phone to her ear. “Twice in one day? What’s the occasion?”
“Cassidy, your parents contacted me today after we talked,” he said.
They’d finally noticed she was missing, huh? Perhaps the excuse that was going around—that Cassidy had taken an extended vacation—didn’t ring quite true to them. It had only taken six weeks.
“Okay . . .” She braced herself for what he might say.
“They’re very concerned about you, and they’ve hired a private investigator to find out more information.”
Her lungs tightened. “They did what?”
Her parents had more money than they knew what to do with. That meant they’d hire the best in the business. They’d give him cash to fly where he needed and to do whatever necessary to track her down.
“You heard me.”
She’d almost told her parents that she was going into hiding. But her absence wouldn’t disrupt their lives—she was surprised they’d even noticed. Instead, she’d told friends and colleagues she was taking a sabbatical. The fewer people who knew what she was really doing, the better.
“Do you know who the PI is?” Cassidy asked, trying to flesh out the situation in her mind.
“Ricky Ernest.”
“Ricky Ernest?” Cassidy couldn’t believe it. She’d dated Ricky one summer during college. Why in the world would her parents hire him?
Calm down, Cassidy. Just because they hired him doesn’t mean he’ll find you.
“Be careful,” Samuel warned. “I’d hate for this guy to ruin our plans.”
“Yeah, so would I. Maybe you should tell my parents to call him off. Tell them I’m out of town working a case or something.”
“I don’t want anyone to link me with your disappearance,” Samuel said. “It’s too risky. Don’t worry—we’ve covered our bases. This guy shouldn’t find you.”
Cassidy hung up, but she didn’t feel nearly as certain as Samuel.
Cassidy had decided to sleep on the couch that evening, hoping she’d be more alert and wake quickly if anything happened during the night. Namely if someone decided to raid her ice cream truck again.
Her bet paid off. At 2:30 a.m., a noise sounded downstairs. It was ever-so-slight. Whispers. Soft footsteps.
The sounds were so faint, Cassidy wondered if she’d imagined them. But she hadn’t. The whines and taps were real.
Cassidy grabbed a gun from a compartment hidden in a kitchen drawer. She tucked it into her waistband and slowly—quietly—crept outside. She paced softly down the steps. Just before the bottom, she paused and crouched.
Someone was definitely in her truck, stealing her inventory.
Though Cassidy wanted to pounce, an internal voice told her to wait.
So she did.
It was too dark to see what was going on or how many people were here. Part of her suspected some of the local kids were up to mischief. Another part of her hoped for more—hoped for a connection with that raft.
Maybe it was just wishful thinking, though.
Finally, the scurrying inside her truck stopped, and two figures emerged.
Through the darkness, Cassidy thought they were women, but she couldn’t be certain.
The thieves started to depart from Cassidy’s place, moving toward the small stretch of woods between her street and the next row of beach houses.
Cassidy decided to follow.
Keeping her pace measured, she stayed behind them, careful to remain in the shadows.
As she reached the woods, she wished she’d taken time to pull on some shoes. But she hadn’t so she needed to contend with that. She only hoped she didn’t step on any snakes or sandspurs.
Though the maritime forest here was only a thin sliver, it was still thick with scrubby little plants and short, bushy trees. Based on the tracks Cassidy saw in the
sand near her house, raccoons and maybe some fox called this place home, not to mention the biting flies, mosquitoes, and ticks.
As she dodged a low-lying live oak tree, a branch snapped beneath her feet.
The women in front of her paused.
Cassidy slipped behind the trunk, scolding herself for not seeing the branch. Well, she had seen it, but she’d thought it was a root.
The women whispered before taking off in a run.
Cassidy carefully stayed behind them, desperate not to lose them.
She stopped at the abandoned house she’d noticed on her ice cream route earlier this afternoon.
Those women were staying here, she realized. That’s why something had looked different. Because it had been. The grass had been trampled by the house’s new—and perhaps uninvited—residents.
Cassidy froze, trying to formulate her next plan of action. She didn’t want to spook them. But something told her these women needed her help.
Carefully she wandered through the thick underbrush until she stood at the base of the stairway leading to the front door. She stared up, beyond the rickety boards in front of her. There was no easy or good way to do this. Whoever was inside was frightened. Would be on edge. Might even be ready to attack.
But Cassidy couldn’t turn back now.
Quietly, she climbed until she reached the second story deck. She pressed herself against the exterior wall and peered through a window. It was no use. Blinds and curtains covered the glass.
As she looked down, something at her feet caught her eye. She squatted down, touched a pool of liquid there, and put her fingers to her nose. A metallic scent filled her nostrils.
Blood.
Once you smelled it, the odor became unmistakable.
Someone inside this house was injured.
Cassidy had to do something.
Swallowing hard, she gripped the door handle. To her surprise, it turned. With a touch of hesitation, she pushed it open.
She sucked in a deep breath at the scene on the other side.
Three women sat in the living room, all huddled around a hurricane lantern that spilled light around it.
Lantern Beach Mysteries Box Set Page 42
