Seagrass Pier

by Colleen Coble

  On Wednesday morning, he met her and Josie at the bottom of the stairs. “Things have been stressful lately. I recommend a little R & R for all of us.”

  She wore a cute tan sundress splashed with orange flowers. Her curly hair was caught up on top of her head, and she looked about twenty. Her eyes brightened. “What did you have in mind?”

  “It’s a surprise.” He put his hand atop Josie’s head and looked at Elin. The real surprise was she didn’t shoot him down. “I guarantee you’ll all like it.”

  She tipped her head to one side. “Do I dare trust you?”

  Josie danced around her. “Yes, Mommy, yes! I love surprises.”

  “Your mommy does too. She just doesn’t know it yet.”

  A hint of color stained her cheeks. “Give me a hint.”

  “It involves wind and sand.”

  Josie antics grew more energetic. “Yay! A day at the beach!”

  “Not exactly. Grab your flip-flops and let’s go.”

  For the first time, a hint of worry swam in Elin’s eyes. “What about Mom?”

  “She’ll love it too. She’s already down by the boat.”

  “You left her alone? Marc, you have to learn you can’t do that.” Elin brushed past him and hurried to the window where she peered out. “I can’t see her.”

  “That’s only because you can’t see the harbor well. She’s standing guard over the sunscreen and sunglasses.” He opened the front door. “Come on, we’re wasting daylight.”

  The smile started to return to her face. “Okay.” Taking Josie by the hand, she exited and hurried down the walk toward the harbor.

  Marc locked the door behind them, then jogged to catch up with her. “There’s Ruby, right where I left her.”

  “Gramma!” Josie tore her hand from Elin’s and raced to join the older woman standing beside the boat.

  Ruby’s eyes were bright when she turned to face them, and Marc saw the way Elin relaxed. What must it be like to always be conscious of danger lurking around the corner? Not just for her but for her mother and Josie.

  He picked Ruby up in his arms. “Let’s get you onboard.”

  She giggled like a girl as he splashed through the water with her, then set her on the middle seat before going back to shore for Josie. His daughter practically climbed his leg like a tree when he reached for her. He set her atop his shoulders and gave her a ride to the boat. Reaching under the seat, he extracted her flotation vest and cinched it around her.

  “Don’t forget Mommy.” She settled into the seat beside her grandmother.

  “Oh, I won’t.” Smiling, he waded back through the knee-high waves to Elin, who was staring at her sequined sandals with dismay.

  “I’m going to ruin my new shoes.”

  “We can’t have that.” Before she could protest, he scooped her up too.

  Her arms came around his neck, and he caught the scent of her perfume, a light and sweet smell that made him want to hold her closer. Her hands touching his skin felt soft and tentative as if she couldn’t believe she was in this situation. Her eyes widened as she stared up at him. The moment seemed to stretch out forever as he stared back. Something changed inside him as he studied the faint blush on her cheeks. Awareness flickered to life in the depths of her clear aqua eyes. Something indefinable shifted between them, and he had to force himself to set her in the boat when he reached her seat.

  Her long lashes swept down and obscured her expression when he set her down. “Thank you.” Her voice went husky.

  “No problem.” He vaulted into the motorboat and settled at the helm, then fished his key out of his pocket and started the engine.

  He reached for his water and took a gulp to quench his suddenly dry mouth. Turning back around, he gazed at his three passengers and pointed. “We’ll be there in five minutes.”

  He couldn’t turn back around fast enough after finding Elin’s gaze on him. The engine responded to the throttle and zoomed quickly toward the stretch of beach in the distance. At the time when he’d come up with this idea, a beach all to themselves seemed a fun idea.

  “Kite flying?” Elin wound her fingers around the ball of string and couldn’t hold back the incredulous laugh that burst nervously from her throat. “I haven’t flown a kite in years.”

  “I thought so.” Marc looked entirely too smug and handsome as he helped Josie get her kite up in the air. “I’m going to teach you to be spontaneous.”

  Her cheeks heated. His statement indicated he planned to be around for a while, that they were going to have some kind of relationship. And what had happened between them when he carried her to the boat? The frisson of awareness she’d felt had shown in his eyes too, and his arms had tightened around her.

  The wind yanked at her kite, and she ran out some string to let the breeze carry it up toward the puffy clouds scuttling by. Her kite was a Wonder Woman one in red, white, and blue. He’d brought Josie a princess one, and her mother ran along the lapping waves like a kid with her dolphin kite. Elin’s worries slipped away like the tide.

  Josie’s kite was in the air, and Marc let her handle it by herself after showing her how to keep it floating. He jogged to the top of a sand dune with Elin. “Looks like you need help.”

  His warm hands closed over hers, and her knees went weak. She lost her balance on the soft sand and sat on her rump. The wind yanked the kite up, and she lost her grip on the string. She and Marc grabbed for it at the same time, and he fell onto her.

  The air rushed out of her lungs, but it wasn’t as much from his weight as from the feel of his skin against hers. She hadn’t been this close to a man since Tim died, and the sensation felt . . . nice. Too nice, in fact. She snatched her escaping breath back and jumped to her feet.

  He got up too, brushing the sand from his bare legs. Her gaze followed his big hands to the muscular curve of his thighs and calves. She turned away quickly. What on earth was wrong with her? This was Marc. Not some new suitor who would welcome her unruly thoughts.

  THIRTEEN

  So he just turned and walked off?” Elin couldn’t believe Josh was so pigheaded. “What did you do?” The sand was warm on her bare feet. A gull fixed its black eyes on her and stared, probably waiting to see if she would drop a crumb for it.

  Sara stooped and picked up a perfect shell, then dropped it in her bag. “Came here for sympathy.” Her laugh was forced.

  The scent of rain hung in the air from the dark, low clouds overhead. The women walked along the cove just north of the pier where driftwood and shells collected. Elin had been glad to leave Marc’s suffocating presence at the cottage. Ever since their kite outing yesterday, she’d found herself uncomfortable around him. What if he noticed the way she looked at him? She’d die of embarrassment.

  “I have a feeling this was the final straw.” Elin couldn’t blame her. Sara had been more than patient.

  Sara’s eyes glistened, and she nodded without saying anything. She probably couldn’t discuss it without letting the tears fall. Elin wished she could talk some sense into Josh. “I’m sorry, Sara.”

  “I’m okay.” She sighed and reached for her purse. “Oh, and that note you got at church? I had it analyzed. It was likely written by a male in his thirties or forties.”

  Elin swallowed. “So it wasn’t a kid.”

  “I’d hoped it was. Try not to worry.”

  “Let’s talk about something else.” Elin forced a smile. “You have your big date on Saturday. Have you run into Ben any more?”

  Sara shook her head. “I saw him from a distance yesterday, but he didn’t see me. I’m trying to look forward to it, but right now I wish I could cancel it and stay home. I’m not sure I’m ready. I don’t want to get into any kind of rebound relationship. Talking to Josh today, I realize it may be a long while before I’m over him.”

  “I think you should go. Maybe he’ll see you or hear about it, and it will make him jealous.”

  “You said you were worried it would prove to him that wo
men are fickle.”

  “It doesn’t sound like you have anything to lose though.”

  Sara picked up another shell. “That wouldn’t be fair to Ben. Besides, I don’t think Josh cares enough to be jealous. He was able to walk away today after I told him I loved him. That tells me everything I need to know.” Her throat was choked.

  “I guess so.” A crate scraped against the rocks just offshore. “Hey, look at that. What do you suppose it is?” She waded into the water toward it before the current carried it back out to sea.

  Sara waded out with her. “We had a rescue earlier this week, and I saw one of the men aboard throw a couple of boxes over. It was right out there.” Sara pointed offshore. “This might be one of them.” The two women steered the crate to shore, then dragged it onto the sand. “We’ll need a crowbar to get it open.”

  Elin turned toward the house. “I’ll go ask Marc to bring one.”

  Sara frowned. “Wait, he’s here? You didn’t say anything about it when I called for you to meet me. I wouldn’t have pulled you away.”

  “There was a break-in Monday night.” Elin told her friend about the scare. “So he insisted on moving in.”

  “He’s staying with you?” Sara’s expression turned worried. “He thinks the threat is that serious?”

  “I was going to go to Tidewater Inn, but Libby had no open rooms. Full-on tourist season.”

  Sara stopped tugging on the top of the crate. “So you think it was the same guy who killed your donor?”

  “Yes. It’s creepy the way he’s playing with me.”

  “Could it be someone else? Someone who gets his kicks out of scaring women? That’s all he’s done so far.”

  That gave Elin pause, and she shrugged. “It could be anyone. An article ran in the newspaper about my cell memories, remember? Someone could have read it and decided to start scaring me. I would love to believe it wasn’t the murderer, and this guy is just some sick jokester.” She remembered the Scrabble letters and shuddered. “It doesn’t feel that way though. I’m sure it’s him.”

  “That was in the article too. He could be playing to everything he knows about your memories.”

  “It feels like the same man though. What if he decides silencing me isn’t enough and goes after Josie or Mom? I have to help find him and put him behind bars where he can’t hurt anyone else.”

  “Have you tried pulling up even more memories?”

  Elin shivered at the thought. “I don’t know how to do that. I try to remember more, but it’s all blank.”

  “What if you got some of that cologne and maybe a man’s red sweater? You could go out on a boat with them and see if they trigger anything else. I’ll help you. It’s worth a try.”

  Elin found it hard to breathe. “It’s terrifying when the memories come. I hate them. But I don’t want to just wait around for him to try again either. I guess I’m game to try it. I’ll have to go to Virginia Beach or a bigger city to find the cologne. It’s uncommon. I ought to check on my house too. A college student is housesitting, and I haven’t heard from her for a few days. I have visions of the place being trashed during a party. She’s supposed to be keeping it clean for real-estate showings.”

  “I’m ready to get away for a day. I’m off tomorrow. We could run over to Virginia Beach, check on your house, then shop a bit.”

  “Okay. I’ll see if Kalianne can keep Mom. She’s not a good traveler. And my sister, Abby, wants Josie for a couple of days.”

  “Let’s leave about nine. I’ll meet you at the dock with my car.” Sara squinted toward the house. “Your knight in shining armor is outside.”

  “I stopped believing in fairy tales a long time ago. Life never seems to turn out the way we expect.” She started for the house. “I’ll see if we can find a crowbar.”

  Marc waved at her, and she wished she could stop her pulse from galloping every time she was around him. Why was that happening when she’d never looked at him that way before?

  The two women stood close together as though they were talking about something personal. Sara’s smile seemed forced as he stopped in front of them.

  Marc held up the crowbar. “Took me a minute to dig it out of the garage. This the box?”

  He eyed the crate at their feet. It bore no distinguishing marks and seemed a typical storage unit. At first the top resisted his attempts to open it, but the crowbar finally slid under the lid and popped it loose. He pried it off the rest of the way with his hands. The inside seemed to be filled with only shredded rubber, but he flung the wet packing material out of the way to reveal plasticcovered, white, oblong packages.

  “Heroin,” Sara said. “I thought they were drug smugglers. I should see if they caught the one who jumped overboard. I can identify him.” She pulled out her cell phone. “Oh wait, this doesn’t work here.”

  “Go closer to the house so it logs on to the Wi-Fi. Then you can use it.”

  Sara nodded at Elin and walked toward the house to deal with her call.

  Marc shoved his hands into his pockets. “I checked into your break-in. The police located the skiff used to come out here—at least they think they did. It was the same type as one stolen from the dock in Hope Beach, and it showed up onshore down the sand from Tidewater Inn.”

  “Did Libby or Alec see anything?”

  He shook his head. “Alec is the one who found the boat, and he called it in.”

  “Why do they think it’s the same one?”

  He didn’t want to have to tell her, but someone would spill it to her anyway. “They found your name carved in the side of the boat with a skull and crossbones beside it. Your full name.”

  She shuddered and took a step back. “Sara had an idea about trying to jog my memory. She wants us to go out on a boat with the killer’s cologne and a red sweater.” She hugged herself. “It scares me though. What if she takes over more and more?”

  He didn’t like the way the color drained from her face. “‘She’? Who do you mean, Elin?”

  “Laura. I’m becoming Laura.” She rubbed her forehead. “I see things she saw, like things she liked. Sara thinks I haven’t noticed how much I’ve changed, but it terrifies me. What if I lose who I really am?” She swallowed hard and turned to look out to sea.

  He followed her gaze out over the whitecaps. There was a boat, just barely visible at the horizon. He put his hand on her shoulder. “Traits can change like the sea, Elin. You might like coffee now or hate oldies, but you’re still you down inside. Your daughter is the most important thing to you. You would do anything to help your mom. You love your job of matching organ donors with recipients because you feel such purpose in helping others. Quit worrying about extraneous things, honey.”

  Something flickered in her eyes at the endearment that slipped out, but she turned toward Sara before he could identify if it was irritation or warmth.

  “Did they catch the smuggler?” she asked Sara.

  Sara shook her head. “And they think he might be dangerous. The drug boat is registered to Devi Long, a known drug smuggler on the run from the authorities in Florida. He is believed to have killed at least three men so far, but he’s eluded the authorities at every turn. Here’s his picture.”

  She turned her phone around to show them a good-looking Asian man in his forties.

  “He leaped overboard just offshore here and swam this way,” Sara said. “You both need to be careful. He could still be lurking about.”

  “It’s possible, but I’d guess it’s far more likely he had someone pick him up. Did the Coasties find any sign of him when they searched here?” He’d seen them picking through the seagrass and brush for a couple of hours before getting back on their cutter and cruising off.

  Sara shook her head. “No sign at all.”

  The wind lifted Elin’s long red hair and blew it across her face. She swiped it out of her eyes. “Could this Long have been the man who broke in the other night?”

  “No. He swam ashore yesterday. The break-in
was on Monday night.” He understood where Elin was coming from. Any other intruder wouldn’t be nearly as terrifying as Laura’s murderer finding her.

  “Oh, right.”

  She looked so small and scared standing there on the beach in her bare feet. The sundress she wore showed off tanned arms that looked eminently touchable. He averted his gaze.

  “We’ll find the guy, Elin. I won’t let him hurt you or Josie.” He glanced at his cousin. “Elin says you have an idea about helping her remember more details about the killer. Smart. I could wear the red sweater and cologne.”

  Sara tucked a honey-colored lock behind her ear. “That’s a little too threatening, I think. Let’s just try having her smell the cologne and touch the sweater. We don’t want to scare her to death. We could go out tomorrow night after we get the cologne. It was nighttime, right?”

  Marc had studied the file over and over. “About midnight. Moonless night, too, so really dark.” He glanced overhead. “Should be a good night for it. It’s supposed to be like this for the next three days.”

  Elin’s face showed she was anything but excited about it. “Just stay close to me, okay? If I start having an intense flashback, I’ll need you two to bring me out of it.” She swallowed hard. “Sometimes they’re pretty scary.”

  He wished they didn’t have to put her through it, but they had to find this guy. Sooner or later he was bound to find a soft spot in their defense.

  FOURTEEN

  Finally the house was empty. Kalianne would be undisturbed for the entire day since Elin had gone to Virginia Beach. Once Kalianne was sure Ruby was sleeping soundly in her chair, she headed to the hall bedroom with a flashlight. Where on earth should she look first? The house was old. Were there even any guarantees it was still here?

  She wanted to check Marc’s room first, mostly because he intrigued her. Though she’d put on her most seductive smile and tried her best, he hadn’t noticed her as more than a fixture. He had eyes only for Elin, which peeved Kalianne a bit since the woman was at least eight years older than her.