Trouble on the Books

by Essie Lang

  She smiled with a tilt of her head in acknowledgment.

  “You do realize you were in danger last night, right?”

  She nodded. “Although I was just as worried about what might have happened to the houseboat.”

  “Well, if it had drifted out into the main channel, which was highly likely, you could have grounded on a rock or an island or been hit by a freighter.”

  “But my houseboat has lights. I’d have been seen, wouldn’t I?”

  “The police report stated that the lights were off. Do you remember turning them off before going to bed?”

  “No, I always keep the ones at the corners of the top deck on. How could that have happened?”

  “Well, you’d better have them checked. And you’d better stop questioning people and keep your eyes open when you’re on your houseboat. Are you staying there tonight?”

  She nodded. Yes, she would, she decided on the spot.

  “Do you want any company?”

  She looked at him to see if he was joking, but it was hard to tell.

  “No, thanks. I’m sure I’ll be fine. I’m assuming the State Police will keep up extra patrols. And who would be foolish enough to try something a second time, knowing that?” She hoped she was right.

  “Well, call any of us if you’re at all worried. You have my home number.” He stood, then paused. “Look, if I told you that I think you might be onto something with your theory, would you back off and leave the investigating to me?”

  Did he really want an answer? She thought about it and nodded. At least she’d try to back off.

  “I don’t want anything to happen to you.” He touched her shoulder briefly and then sauntered in the direction of the dock.

  Shelby sighed. Things were certainly getting complicated around here.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Thursday morning, Shelby groaned as she woke to the sound of a boat motor close by. She felt the gentle action of a wave washing against and under the houseboat. She opened one eye and glanced at the clock. Six AM. Who was out on the water at this hour? A fisherman, that’s who, she reminded herself. Or someone with menacing plans.

  She leapt out of bed, sending J.T. flying to the floor. She’d forgotten he’d spent the night inside again. She looked out the windows and saw a large black cabin cruiser slowly navigating the channel. She knew that boat. It was moored on the next dock over. Certainly no one who was planning to do her or her houseboat any damage. She felt the stress in her shoulders and did some stretches, trying to find some relief.

  The tension continued to bother her as she got ready for work. She guessed the trauma and loss of sleep the night before had been all she’d needed to ensure she didn’t lay awake listening for noises the next night. She’d slept deeply and, clearly, awkwardly, if the knots in her shoulders were any indication. Sleep was good, but she could sure use a massage.

  She stopped in at the main bookstore before heading for the shuttle. Trudy had left a message late the afternoon before that there was a box of new books that needed to go over to the castle. If it wasn’t too cumbersome, Shelby would take the box with her. If it needed more muscle, she’d leave it for Cody. He was doing a half-day shift that day. She tried lifting it. She could manage.

  “How’s Edie doing?” she asked Trudy once she’d tried lifting the box and decided to leave it.

  “What do you mean?” Trudy looked up sharply, concern in her eyes. “What’s going on, Shelby?” She straightened the collar of the pale-blue blouse she was wearing, the color a perfect match for her eyes.

  Shelby shrugged. “I haven’t seen very much of her these past few days. She seems to prefer short telephone conversations that she can control rather than longer chats where I could possibly ask questions. About my mom in particular.”

  There, she’d said it. Would Trudy take Edie’s side? Would she tell her what Shelby had said? Did she know anything about her mom?

  Trudy sat down behind the desk and looked thoughtful. “Do you think you might be feeling a bit sensitive?”

  “No, I’m not. I’ve gone over it all in my mind several times. Ever since I asked Edie a bunch of questions about my mom the other night, she’s always busy when I try to talk to her. Even too busy to have supper with me, it seems.”

  Trudy smiled. “We know why that is. She does have a certain male distraction in her life these days. But about the other, maybe you need to let Edie be in charge of when to have such a discussion.”

  “Did you know my mom?”

  “No, I didn’t. When I married Robert, he got a job in Phoenix right away, so we moved there. Your dad got married after I left. Then my husband died fourteen years later, so I brought the kids back here and tried to get my life in order. You and your dad had moved by that point.”

  Shelby reached out to touch Trudy’s arm. “Oh, I’m sorry. I had no idea. I didn’t mean to bring up painful memories.”

  Trudy patted Shelby’s hand. “You haven’t. It’s been quite a while now, and I don’t mind talking about Robert at all. In fact, it’s nice to have him pop up in a conversation every now and then.”

  “You talk about him to your kids, also, I’ll bet. My dad never talked about my mom. I always thought it was because he missed her so much that it hurt to talk about her. But that can’t be Edie’s excuse too. I was hoping to get some answers now that I’m back.” Shelby felt the frustration returning but was determined not to get whiny when talking to Trudy.

  “As I said, let Edie drive that conversation. By the way, she’s coming in shortly to work for a couple of hours. Now”—she glanced at her watch—“you’d better put your running shoes on if you want to catch the shuttle.”

  Shelby gasped. “Oh, wow. I didn’t realize what time it was. Thanks, Trudy. Hope it’s a busy day.”

  “The same to you. Will you please flip over the OPEN sign on your way out?”

  Shelby waved and did as asked, then practically ran all the way to the dock. She’d just stepped on the shuttle when it started pulling away. She did a mental dance of relief and pulled her jacket closed. The wind had turned cooler overnight.

  She stayed inside the boat for the entire ride over and then walked quickly up the path to the castle. By the time she’d opened the store and put the coffee on, Cody had appeared.

  “Sorry, but I missed the shuttle,” he said.

  “So how did you get here so quickly?”

  He grinned. “My secret. Okay, maybe not. I saw Matthew Kessler at the dock, getting into his boat, and bummed a lift.”

  Shelby wondered briefly what Matthew had been doing on shore but decided it probably wasn’t any of her business. But she did wonder if he had been at Edie’s house. She smiled at the thought.

  “So, guess what we talked about,” Cody said, pulling up one of the stools behind the counter.

  Shelby looked pointedly at the stool and Cody said, “Oops.” He grinned and disappeared into the back room, reappearing a few seconds later, Swiffer duster in hand. He began dusting the countertop, all the while sneaking glances at Shelby. Finally, she gave in.

  “Okay, I give. What did you talk about?”

  “Smuggling.” Cody looked pleased with himself.

  Shelby hid a smile. She admired his enthusiasm and dogged determination. “I’d imagine his response hasn’t changed much. He thinks it’s totally impossible and silly for us to be thinking about it.”

  “Well, sort of. But, he didn’t say totally impossible. Get this. It was more like ‘improbable.’ So I came back with all these dynamite possibilities, and he sure changed the topic quickly.” Cody folded his arms and leaned back against the counter.

  “What sort of things?” He had Shelby’s attention.

  Cody glanced around the still-empty store and leaned a bit closer to Shelby. “What if there’s a smuggling ring from farther along the coast and the grotto is a safe point on the route? Like, supposing a Coast Guard ship appears in the distance. Head for the grotto. Or what if the grotto is a
n exchange point? Like, the smuggler drops his shipment of illicit goods inside there, and another boat comes by to pick it up. If it’s done in the dead of night with no long gaps in between, it seems totally over the top but cool.”

  Shelby considered what he’d said. “I think you might have a future in organized crime,” she admitted with a smile. “Never tell your dad I said that, though.”

  Cody chuckled, but before he could continue, a young couple dressed in heavy jackets, the man carrying a toddler, entered the store. Shelby nodded at them and offered them some coffee to help them warm up. They accepted with relief, and Cody went off to get their drinks.

  Shelby kept meaning to get back to their earlier conversation, but when Cody wasn’t busy chatting up customers, he was busy shifting boxes in the back room, or finding things to do that kept him close to the door. The fact that he kept looking out into the hallway every hour on the hour led Shelby to believe he might have a crush on one of the volunteer tour guides. Possibly the very attractive but nerdy-looking high schooler with the shiny braces. Good choice, Shelby thought.

  When she got home that evening, Shelby tried doing housework. She even sat down with J.T. on her lap and flipped through a couple of magazines she’d picked up earlier in the week at the pharmacy, but she couldn’t concentrate. Edie was on her mind. Although they hadn’t been close before Shelby had arrived in town, in just a short period of time she’d come to rely on Edie and felt she’d finally found home. But she hadn’t been prepared for the way Edie had been treating her lately. There was an elephant in the room, of that Shelby was certain. She needed to confront her aunt and try to get things back on track, not only for her own peace of mind but also for the store.

  Shelby quickly got changed and did a fast walk up the hill to the family house. She knocked on Edie’s front door and went over in her mind everything she meant to say. When the door opened, she could tell by the look of hesitation on Edie’s face that her aunt probably realized what this visit was all about.

  After they’d settled at the kitchen table, each with a mug of coffee and a fresh cheese scone that Edie had baked earlier in the day in front of them, Shelby began.

  “I know you’ve been avoiding talking about my mom, but I have questions, Aunt Edie, and I need answers.” She eased her grip on her mug and told herself to relax.

  Edie sighed. “I know. And I can tell you I’m flaming mad at your dad. It’s not my place or responsibility to be having this conversation with you. He should have done it himself a long time ago.”

  “Well, he didn’t, and I’m sorry, but I need to know. Mainly I need to know why it’s such a big deal. All I want is to know what she was like. I haven’t heard anything about her, what she liked doing, who her friends were, even what she looked like. There were no photos of her on display in the house. I know Dad was blown away when she died, and I guess I can understand that he didn’t want reminders of her around because it was too painful, but that’s not fair to me.”

  She knew she sounded like she was pleading; in fact, that’s exactly what she was doing. She stared at Edie, willing her to answer all her questions.

  Edie held her look and Shelby felt encouraged.

  “No, it’s not fair,” Edie answered after a few moments. “I totally agree. I always believed he’d taken the wrong track in handling this, but you know your dad; he was stubborn and could not be told what to do.”

  “And he’s gone now. It’s time for me to know.”

  “Yes, it is, and I’m so sorry to be the one to tell you.”

  “That’s okay. I mean, I know she’s dead. Nothing could be worse than that.”

  Edie took a long drink of coffee and slowly put her mug down. “It’s much worse than that. Your mom isn’t dead, honey. She left when you were three years old. She ran off with a wealthy banker from Georgia and never looked back.”

  Shelby sat, stunned. She couldn’t process what she’d just heard. It didn’t make sense. “That’s not true. Dad said she was dead.”

  “He couldn’t accept what she’d done. He’d fallen head over heels in love with her and was still in love with her when she left. And even more than that, he didn’t want you to know she’d just left you both.”

  Shelby felt like she’d had the air sucked out of her. Her mind went blank for a few seconds and she felt herself gasp for air. I won’t cry. “She hasn’t tried to get in touch and find out anything about me? Not once?”

  Edie shook her head. “No, Shelby. I’m so sorry. A few weeks after she left, she sent me the papers for the store, signing over her share to you. We had started it together, you know. It was my dream, but I needed some help. Merrily wanted something to do, and your dad wanted to keep her happy. So, she invested her own money in it. She came from a fairly well-off family but was disinherited when she married your dad, you know. She started out all eager and thought of the store as an adventure, but she soon tired of it and I ran it by myself. I guess it was on her mind, though, as were you, because she signed it over, but that’s the last we ever heard from her.”

  Shelby stood and walked to the window, staring at nothing. “My mother didn’t want me?”

  Edie got up and went to put her arms around Shelby. “I’m sorry, Shelby. I know how it must hurt. And you’ve got to understand that your dad was only doing what he thought was best for you. He thought a three-year-old should not know those particular facts. I wanted him to tell you once you’d gotten older, but he wouldn’t budge, and I couldn’t go against his wishes.”

  Shelby couldn’t stop the tears, nor could she bite back the words. “But what you’re saying is that my mom didn’t want me. And my dad didn’t tell me. I can’t believe he’d do that.” She pushed Edie away. “I can’t believe you’d do that. I trusted you. Both of you. You betrayed me, and now I have no one.”

  She grabbed her purse and ran out of the house, doing a quick march to the end of the street. She stopped and leaned against a white picket fence once she’d rounded the corner. Her tears were flowing fast and furious. Pretty soon she was gulping for air, but eventually she felt herself calming down. No wonder Edie had avoided any questions Shelby had tried to ask all this time.

  What now?

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Shelby didn’t sleep much that night, not after learning the upsetting truth about her mom. But it was better that she knew what had really happened, although she had no idea what to do with that knowledge. She’d felt devastated when she’d gotten home, and after a large glass of red wine, she’d tried putting it all out of her mind. But it wouldn’t go, and she knew she had to deal with it. Her mom hadn’t wanted her. Still didn’t, apparently, or she would have tried to contact her over the years.

  Well, that was just fine with Shelby. She was tough. She was independent. She’d been brought up by her dad to think for herself and not rely on anyone else. But how could she rely on anything her dad had said over the years? He’d lied to her about one of the most important things in her life.

  She stood up, displacing a contented T.J., and started pacing. What if she tried to contact her mom? Maybe Merrily Cox, or whatever her name was now, had tried but her dad had blocked her attempts? Maybe he’d even told Merrily that Shelby was dead, just like his other lie?

  No, that was just too far-fetched. She could imagine him cutting off all ties with his former life. That would be the extent of it.

  But what about her mom? What to do?

  She finally crawled into bed just before dawn and stole a couple of hours of sleep. She tried not to think about any of it while she got ready for work. It took two cups of strong coffee before she could even think about what to wear.

  When Shelby arrived at the castle bookstore, she was surprised to find Barry Pellen waiting outside the door. No, this was not what she needed this morning. However, she did wonder how he’d arrived. She figured he must have his own boat. Somebody else with special docking privileges?

  “Good morning. You’re here early. Are you i
n need of a book?” Shelby asked, signaling to Taylor to start the coffee once they were all inside.

  Barry stood just inside the door and looked around the shop. When Taylor had disappeared into the back room, he said, “This is very charming. I’m sure you do a good business over here.”

  Shelby glanced around, trying to see it through a land developer’s eyes. What did a small room, crowded with shelves and books galore, mean to a land developer? There was certainly no land to develop. The fact that the large bay windows looked onto the verandah meant there was usually activity to look out at. But there was definitely no potential for expanding the space or even opening a door to the outside. She knew. Edie had already explored that possibility.

  She eventually nodded. “Good enough to continue on each season. What can I do for you?” She was beginning to feel a bit uneasy. He obviously wasn’t in need of a book.

  He approached her and said in a softer voice, “We need to talk.” He glanced toward the back room. “Perhaps we can take a walk around the gardens? It’s a pleasant enough morning.”

  “That would be fine, but I need to grab my coffee first. Would you like some?”

  He shook his head. “No, I’ve had more than enough already.”

  Shelby nodded. She probably had too, but she walked to the back room and quickly explained everything to Taylor, hoping Barry didn’t have super-hearing.

  “Are you worried?” Taylor whispered.

  “Not really, but I am curious.” She filled her mug when the coffee had finished dripping, then said in a louder voice as she headed for the front, “I’m going out for a short while, Taylor. I shouldn’t be long.” Or if I am, send reinforcements.

  She forced a smile for Pellen and indicated the front door. He walked through and kept going until he was outside on the castle verandah, knowing she would follow. They walked down the stairs and Shelby pointed to the right, away from the grotto and toward the flower beds that might be receiving some care from Matthew that morning. She hoped. She wasn’t quite sure why she felt uneasy around this man. Their last talk had been pleasant enough, but whatever he had to say must be important if he would come to the island to see her.