Seagrass Pier

by Colleen Coble

  “No centipedes allowed in my garden,” Kalianne assured her.

  “What about cats? Mommy hates cats.” Josie looked to Elin for confirmation.

  “That’s right.” She shivered. “You’ll protect me from the kitties, won’t you?”

  “I’ll shoo them away.” Josie seemed in no hurry to get out of Kalianne’s embrace.

  Watching them, Elin smiled. They could be very happy here with some support from Kalianne.

  Josie finally wiggled to be let down. “I’ll find my sand shovel.” When her feet hit the ground, she ran for the house and disappeared inside.

  Elin picked up the beach towel and her Superman comic book to follow her daughter. “We’d better see what she’s up to. Who knows where the shovel is. She’ll have the entire contents of her closet in the middle of her bedroom.”

  Kalianne smiled and pointed to the comic book. “Superman? I have nearly all of them from the seventies. My dad collected them, and he gave them to me.”

  “You lucky girl. I pick them up whenever I run into them. I don’t have anything near a complete collection.”

  “Wouldn’t it be nice to find a real man like that?”

  It bothered Elin that her thoughts immediately went to Marc at the phrase real man. She had no interest in him that way. She glanced at her mom, who already looked more engaged and interested in life. It would be great to have Kalianne around.

  TEN

  The ice-cream shop wasn’t busy on this Monday afternoon. Sara glanced around the room and didn’t see Elin and Josie, but then, she was about ten minutes early. As she moved toward a corner table to wait, she heard her name.

  “Sara.” Ben’s blue eyes warmed when he smiled up at her. Assigned here from Florida, he hadn’t been in his new position long. He was the new head of IT. She hadn’t had much contact with him yet and didn’t even know his last name. In his late thirties, his blond hair had a casual cut. He was out of uniform and in khaki shorts and a light blue polo.

  “Have a seat.” He indicated the chair at his table.

  “I’m waiting for a friend, but I’m a little early.” She glanced at the door before she sat down.

  “Good work on that rescue last week. When I heard there were two kids aboard the sinking boat, I feared we’d have a fatality or two. The youngest was only two, right?”

  She nodded. “It was pretty tense. Seas were running at twenty feet. The parents stayed calm though, and that helped.”

  His smile made her feel like she was in a spotlight. Was he flirting with her? Her cheeks warmed, and she couldn’t force herself to look away. It had been awhile since such a handsome guy showed interest.

  “Can I get you some ice cream? Or you can share my banana split.”

  “I’d better wait for my friend.”

  He leaned forward, his gaze intent on her face. “You’re good at your job. I like that. I hope you don’t think I’m being too forward, but I wondered if you’d want to go to dinner with me. Maybe take in a movie or something on Saturday. If you’re free, that is.”

  Feeling tongue-tied, she glanced down at her hands. Josh wasn’t making any moves in her direction. Wasn’t it time she moved on from a hopeless relationship? Not that there had ever been a real relationship between them. She didn’t owe him anything.

  Ben’s eager smile dimmed. “Earth to Sara.”

  “Sorry, you took me by surprise. I’d like that, Ben. There’s a new Star Trek movie hitting the theater in Kill Devil Hills.”

  His grin returned full force. “I’m a Trekkie myself. You’re the local here, so you pick where we go. You have a favorite restaurant there?”

  “Do you like Mexican? Bad Bean Baja Grill is good in spite of the unfortunate name.”

  He laughed, a nice sound that warmed her heart just a little. The bell above the door jingled, and she waved to Elin and Josie. “My friends are here. I’ll see you Saturday.”

  He rose and stared toward Elin and Josie. “Elin, I didn’t expect to run into you today.”

  Josie rushed to hug him, and Elin took her turn receiving a hug. “Ben, how great to see you again.” She turned to Sara. “Ben is Tim’s half brother. He introduced me to Tim actually. I didn’t realize you two knew each other.”

  Ben sent an amused smile Sara’s direction. “We just met since I moved to the island.”

  A warm feeling settled in Sara’s chest. It felt good to know Elin approved of this new guy in her life.

  Ben rested his hand on Sara’s shoulder and gave it a little squeeze. “I wish I could stay and chat, but I need to get back to work.”

  The three of them stepped to the counter to order their ice cream. Elin studied Sara’s face. “I sensed some chemistry between the two of you.”

  Sara’s smile felt too big, and her pulse still thumped against her ribs as if she’d just run two miles. “Maybe a little.” She shut up until they had their order and were seated at a table in the far corner.

  Elin scooped up pecan and caramel with her ice cream. “Okay, what’s the deal? You are smiling like you just won the lottery.”

  Sara frowned at her. “Since when do you get something other than a hot fudge sundae?”

  Elin looked down at her sundae. “Hot fudge didn’t sound good today.” Her brow furrowed, then cleared. “Don’t try to change the subject. What’s going on with Ben?”

  A giggle tried to bubble up in Sara’s chest, but she stuffed it back down. “He asked me out.”

  Elin reached over to wipe up a dribble of ice cream down Josie’s front. “Did you say yes?”

  “Um, I did.” Sara took another bite so she didn’t have to say more. She’d never been good at hiding anything, and Elin knew her too well.

  Elin’s eyes widened. “Seriously, you’re going out with him? What about Josh?”

  “That ship sailed a long time ago. If it was ever in the dock. Josh is never going to get over his fear of commitment, and my birthday is coming in two weeks. Do you know how hard it is to think about turning thirty without a prospect in sight?”

  “You don’t need a man to be complete. You’re the most self-sufficient person I know.”

  Sara gave a heavy sigh. “Maybe that’s the problem. Josh doesn’t think I need him. Is it too much to hope he might be jealous if he sees me with another guy?”

  Elin took another bite of her sundae. “Josh strikes me as the type to use it as verification he was right and all women are fickle.”

  Sara slumped back in her chair. “You’re probably right. Maybe I should cancel.” She straightened. “No, I will not. I deserve a life, a family. I’m not waiting around on Josh any longer. It’s amazing you know Ben. What can you tell me about him?”

  Elin looked down at her ice cream. “Well, I dated him for a little while. Then he introduced me to Tim, and it was all over. I always felt a little guilty about that. You’ve heard me talk about Kerri?”

  Sara nodded. “Your coworker friend.”

  “She was married to him for about a year, but it didn’t work out. So be cautious, okay? Ben doesn’t seem the type to settle down. At least he didn’t with Kerri.”

  Sara’s bubble of happiness deflated. “It’s just a movie and dinner. Now let’s talk about something else. How did Sunday go with Marc? He came over after church, right?”

  “Yes.” She glanced down at Josie, who was nearly finished with her ice cream. “Honey, you can play with the toys in the corner for a little while if you like.”

  “Yay!” Josie scrambled down from her chair and raced over to the small table and chairs that held crayons and toys.

  “I didn’t get a chance to tell you what I found in my Bible at church. Marc thinks kids were playing. I’m worried it’s more sinister.” She pulled a scrap of yellow paper out of her purse.

  Sara stared at the words. “ ‘I found you.’ That does sort of sound like kids playing hide-and-seek, but under the circumstances, it still feels off. Have you seen anyone out at Seagrass?”

  Elin shook her
head. “I’m having a security system installed though. I’ve been jittery ever since I got this.” She glanced at her watch. “I’d better go. Mom should be done at the doctor’s by now. That new aide is such a big blessing. She came early enough to fix breakfast.”

  “You can use the help.” Sara watched Elin gather her belongings and her daughter, then head for the door. It was only when her friend was gone that she realized she still held the scrap of paper.

  It wouldn’t hurt to get it analyzed. She knew someone who could tell if a child wrote it.

  Elin got her mother and daughter settled for the night. After the day in town, they were all tired, so she didn’t even have to read Josie a story. Leaving the door cracked a bit, she headed to the living room where she took the herbal remedy she’d gotten from Amy. Maybe it was her imagination, but she was feeling better since she started it. She curled up with a suspense novel, maybe not the best choice of reading material with her current state of mind.

  The evening held a bit of a chill, so she pulled a red chenille throw over her legs and opened her book. Something creaked and she looked up. Just the house settling or the wind. She turned the page of her book. Another sound came to her ears, a scratching sound as though someone was running his fingernail along the chalkboard in the kitchen.

  A shiver ran down her spine, and she kicked off the throw. Even though she told herself it was nothing, the hair on her arms stood at attention. She got to her feet and grabbed a poker from the set at the fireplace. Wielding it like a baseball bat, she tiptoed toward the kitchen and winced when a floorboard squeaked under her feet.

  The scratching in the kitchen stopped, and she heard the screen door slap against the doorjamb. At least that’s what it sounded like. She froze, then retreated, reaching for the phone on the end table. There was no 911 on the island, and would the police even believe her? Without thinking, she dialed Marc’s number.

  He answered on the first ring. “Elin?”

  “I think there’s someone in the house,” she whispered.

  “Lock yourself in the bedroom with your mom and Josie. I’m on my way. Go now. I’ll stay on the line.” A door slammed and an engine started.

  She took comfort from the fact he was coming. She tucked the poker under her arm, then rushed up the stairs to Josie’s room. Holding the phone to her ear with her shoulder, she scooped Josie up. Her daughter didn’t stir as she carried her down the hall to where her mother slept.

  “I’m in my mother’s room,” she whispered. She shut the door and locked it, then slid to the wood floor and sat with her back to the door. She cradled Josie to her chest.

  “I’m nearly to the harbor.” His voice was urgent. “I’ll lose you out over the water, but I’m coming. Do you have a weapon?”

  “Just the fireplace poker.”

  “Better than nothing.”

  She heard his feet slapping something solid, and his breath was labored. A thud sounded. “Are you on the boat?”

  “Yes. I won’t be able to hear you in a minute, and I have to navigate out of the harbor. I’ll be there in twenty minutes.” His voice began to cut out.

  Twenty minutes. That seemed so long. She didn’t hear the rest of what he said because his voice was too garbled. She ended the call and pressed her ear against the door. Nothing.

  She had difficulty regaining her feet with Josie in her arms, so she grabbed a blanket off the end of her mother’s bed and laid her daughter on it. She tiptoed to the window and gazed down into the yard. The tiny back-porch light pushed back the edges of darkness by only a few feet. Darkness shrouded the rest of the yard, and she saw no movement. Maybe the intruder had left.

  She hadn’t heard a boat approach her remote point, but maybe he’d cut the motor out in the bay, then rowed to shore. Or maybe he’d taken the longer dirt road. Was that the distant rumble of an engine? It was too soon for Marc to be here. A yellow glow of a boat light showed the craft moving away from shore.

  He was gone.

  She sagged against the wall, then went to take Josie back onto her lap. The little girl hadn’t stirred, and Elin’s mother still slept soundly. At least they wouldn’t be awake the rest of the night the way she would. What had the man been doing in the kitchen, and why hadn’t he come after her in the living room? Did he just intend to scare her to death?

  Or maybe it was just a thief looking to steal something. It might have nothing to do with Laura’s murder.

  She wanted to explore the kitchen and see if he’d left anything behind, but she wasn’t about to do so by herself. There was no reason to be stupid. The man could have left a booby trap behind. Or a bomb. Who knew?

  It seemed an eternity before she heard the sound of another boat engine. She laid Josie on the blanket again, then rushed to the window and looked out to see Marc tying up to the pier. He ran toward the house, and when he reached the back-porch light, she saw he had a gun in his hand. The tightness in her chest eased. She opened the bedroom door and rushed down the stairs, where she threw open the door and launched herself against his chest.

  He stiffened, then his arms came around her and his hand smoothed the back of her hair. “Hey, it’s all right. Did you see anyone?”

  His male scent was like armor around her, and his embrace was a shield. She told him about the boat she’d seen. “I’ve been afraid to go into the kitchen.”

  “Good. I told you to stay out of there just before we got cut off.” With his arm around her, he steered her toward the sofa. “You stay here while I check it out.”

  She shook her head. “I want to see. It sounded like he was scratching his nails on the chalkboard.”

  She clung to his arm as they advanced to the kitchen. He reached over and flipped on the light. Scrabble tiles lay on the kitchen table. They spelled out a chilling message.

  Death.

  ELEVEN

  Marc couldn’t tear his gaze from the ominous word on the table. He pulled out his phone and snapped a picture for proof. “I’m going to take this with me. You don’t want your mother to see it. Josie can’t read so she wouldn’t know what it said, but it might upset your mom. I don’t think you should stay out here alone.”

  When her chin jutted out, he knew he was in trouble. Her aqua eyes flashed and she shook her head, then moved to the cabinet where she took down a jar of Jif. She opened the lid and grabbed a spoon, then began to lick it off the spoon.

  He took a step closer to her. “Look, I know it’s upsetting to think about moving when you just got here, but I don’t think it’s safe.”

  “You believe me now. Or do you think I did this myself to get sympathy?”

  He hadn’t even considered the thought, but he allowed it to linger a moment before he rejected it. Elin wasn’t the kind for histrionics. Her ice-princess persona liked control, and her first impulse had been to grab a fireplace poker and attack. Whoever had spelled out the word on the table was dangerous.

  “You could stay at Tidewater Inn. That’s a nice place, and we met Libby at church on Sunday.”

  The last of the peanut butter disappeared, and her spoon clattered into the sink. “I am so tired of running. If he can find me here, he can find me anywhere. I don’t know what to do or where to go to get away from him.”

  He nodded. “It took me twenty minutes to get here. I could have found all of you murdered in your beds. At least in town or out at Tidewater Inn, you’ll have other people around. People who could help if you screamed. I’m calling Libby.”

  “All right.”

  Libby answered right away, and he explained the problem.

  “I wish I could help, but we’re full for the next month. Could someone stay with her? Maybe some of the Coasties? Or a friend? There are five bedrooms in that house, and she’s surely only using three. Tell her I’m praying for her.”

  “I will.” He hung up the phone and turned to face Elin. “No room. You have a spare room?”

  She nodded. “There is one upstairs and another one down the hall,
both with their own bathrooms. I’d thought about taking the downstairs one for my master, but I wanted to be near Josie in case she cried in the night.”

  “I’m moving in.”

  She gasped. “You can’t do that. I-It would cause talk.”

  “Rumors won’t kill you. That man might. I don’t want anything to happen to my daughter. Besides, your mother is here. It will be perfectly respectable.”

  All the way out here on the boat, he’d been tormented by what he might find. What if the guy had murdered them all? He kept seeing visions of Elin’s red hair splayed out on the floor and an even redder slash across her neck. Of finding his daughter dead. “I’ll move my stuff in tomorrow, but in the meantime, you can show me the room.” When she opened her mouth, he shot her a look. “I mean it, Elin. Nothing you say could make me leave here tonight.”

  “All right.”

  Her sudden capitulation shocked him, but he followed her when she turned and headed to the living room.

  She went to the hall by the entry and flipped on the light. “This way.”

  His feet thudded on the gleaming wood floors as he went down the hall behind her. He peeked into the room. A king bed covered in a blue-and-white quilt dominated the large room. The pale blue walls made him think of a perfect day at sea. Seascapes hung on the walls, and a thick white rug anchored the bed. He nearly whistled at how beautiful it was. “Nice.”

  A soft smile lifted her lips. “I love this house.”

  “I hope your room is as nice as this. Pretty spectacular.” When he turned back around, he nearly knocked Elin over. He grabbed her by the shoulders and steadied her. “Sorry.” She didn’t step back and neither did he.

  She looked up at him. “Thanks for coming. I didn’t know who else to call.”

  “I’m Josie’s father. Of course you should call me.” He cleared his throat, which had gone dry. Why was he suddenly seeing her from a different perspective? She’d always been too icy and controlled for him. The elder of the two girls, she had always been too focused on herself and what she wanted. When he settled down, he wanted someone with empathy and a carefree spirit.