by Jill Sanders
She felt a shiver on the back of her neck and glanced back just in time to see Adam turn away and walk back into the house.
“I always loved living here,” Rowan said as they walked down the empty street. Most of the guests had followed Sarah and Ben and had quickly left, which left the streets empty and dark.
“I would have loved having a family like yours and Sarah’s.” She glanced over to see the bright lights from Sarah’s mother’s house. She knew the house which sat across from it was Rowan’s. It too was brightly lit up at the moment.
“It must have been wonderful growing up so close to family.”
“It had its moments.” He stopped and turned towards her. “You never answered my question.”
She waited and raised her eyebrows in question.
“Where did you grow up? I hear a little bit of south in your voice.”
She nodded, feeling the lump in her throat tighten. “Mississippi,” she answered quickly.
“I’ve never been.” He turned and started walking again. “Do you have family there still?”
She shrugged. “Some.” She followed him towards a bench near the edge of his side yard. When she sat next to him, he leaned back and put his arm behind her shoulders. He’d sat like that for most of the evening. She supposed he was trying to gauge how she would react. Either that, or he was trying to make a statement that he was interested. Either way, she felt comfortable leaning back against his strong arm.
“Any brothers or sisters?” He continued his questioning.
She shook her head, wishing she could think of another topic.
“I always wished I had a brother,” Rowan said.
Lilith turned slightly. “You had Sarah.”
“Having a cousin as a sister doesn’t replace the desire to have a brother to play ball with.”
She smiled. “I’m sure Sarah would have—”
His chuckle stopped her. “Yes, she was a tomboy up until a few years ago. Actually, she’s one of the reasons I wanted a brother so bad.”
“Oh?” She leaned back again.
“I could never win against her. If I had had a brother… maybe the two of us could have beat her in something.”
She chuckled. “She’s come a long way.” She glanced down the dark street and worried that her friend wouldn’t have as much time for her anymore. Sarah had been the one person to snap her out of her past. Her mind wandered to how much she’d needed her friend when she’d first moved to Silver Cove. Sarah had been the one to get her the job at East Haven. The one who had saved her. The only one she trusted with the truth. “So much has changed, so much is about to change.”
“Still, she’ll always be the same ol’ Serenity.”
She smiled. “You know; she hates that name.”
He chuckled. “Why do you think I use it?”
She slapped at him playfully. “You love her.”
“Of course I do.” He tilted his head and the streetlight played off the blond curly hair. “She’s pure.” His smile faded slightly as his eyes moved to the big house. “Not too many people are like that anymore.”
“No.” Her eyes followed his. She could see shadows moving around in the house and felt guilty once more for not helping with the cleanup. “I really should…” She started to get up.
“Are you seeing anyone?” His question stopped her. She glanced down at him, unsure how to answer. “I only ask… well, I have this thing. For my work. It’s in a few weeks and… I’ve really enjoyed your company tonight.”
She smiled and nodded. “Me too.”
“Would you go with me? It’s kind of formal and…”
“I’d love to. Let me know what day and I’ll make sure I have the night off.”
His smile grew. “I’ll walk you back.”
His arm wrapped around her waist again as they walked. When they reached the house, the front door slammed open and Adam rushed out. “We could use some extra help in here,” he blurted out.
Rowan started to walk up the stairs, but Adam stopped him. “No, we have this.” She noticed that his accent had retreated slightly.
“It’s no problem at all…”
Just then his aunt stepped outside. “There you are Rowan. The car never came to take the Willamses to the airport. Would you mind driving them? They’re going to be late if they wait any longer.”
Lilith felt relief flood her. The last thing she wanted to do was spend the next hour watching Adam and Rowan go toe-to-toe with one another.
“Sure.” He frowned. “I’ll be right there.” He turned to her when his aunt disappeared back into the house. “I’ll see you…” His eyes moved over her shoulder and she realized Adam was still standing there, waiting for her. “Later,” he said quickly, then frowned at Adam. “Night.”
“Au revoir,” Adam said, curling his lips up, which looked more like he was showing off his teeth than smiling.
“What do you need from me?” she said when they were the only ones left on the porch.
“Help loading my car.” He frowned down at her dress. “Did you bring a change of clothes?”
“Of course.” She sighed and started to reach for the door, only to have him yank it open for her. “Fine. Change first, then meet me in the kitchen.” He waited for her to walk through before disappearing towards the back of the house.
Lilith climbed the massive cherry staircase and headed to the third floor of the old colonial home Sarah had grown up in. She’d loved listening to stories of how her great-great-grandfather had built it for the woman he’d loved.
Lilith had spent her first year in Silver Cove living with Sarah on the third floor of the massive place. Even now, the place felt like home to her, more so than any other she’d had before.
She remembered seeing Rowan around all the time, but when she moved in, she sawless and less of him. She knew he’d been going through a hard time. She’d gotten into town a few months after his girlfriend, Lori Thomas, had died. No one in the family, or the town for that matter, had wanted to talk about it, so she hadn’t pried. She wasn’t sure if they would keep her around if she went poking her nose into their private business.
When she reached Sarah’s old room, she felt like crying when she saw how empty it was. She’d helped Sarah and Ben move all her stuff out weeks ago. They had bought a gorgeous place a few blocks away,a two-story Victorian home.
Lilith had always dreamed of living in a place half as nice as what Ben and Sarah had purchased. Maybe someday, she said to herself as she changed into her jeans and sweatshirt.
Her mind drifted off to the image of herself walking through large double doors, past an entry hall full of expensive furniture, kicking off her shoes as she relaxed back on a massive sofa.
She sighed as she closed her eyes and imagined a glass of wine, the crackle and warmth of a fireplace as snow drifted down outside the large picture windows.
“You’re taking too long.”
Hearing Adam’s voice behind her caused her to jump. Spinning around, her hand still over her heart, she glared at him.
“If you’re in such a hurry…” She hadn’t expected to see worry in his eyes. Anger, yes, but worry, no. “What’s wrong?” She took a step closer.
“There was a break-in.” He frowned down at her.
“Where?” she gasped. “East Haven?” He nodded and she felt her head spin. “The supply shed again?”
He shook his head. “No, the kitchens. The wine cellar to be exact. I’m heading there now.”
“I’ll go with you.” She gathered her overnight bags. She’d planned on spending the night here, in Sarah’s old room, then returning to the resort first thing in the morning. But now, she wanted to get back and check on everything. After all, she hadn’t even been in charge of the resort for a full hour.
“Oui.” He nodded and reached to take the bag from her hands. “Is this all?”
She nodded and slid on her jacket.
“What about cleaning…”
&nbs
p; “I left Rob in charge to finish up.” He held the door open for her.
He followed her downstairs in silence. When she slid into his front seat, she closed her eyes and thought about calling Sarah to let her know. She had been twirling her cell phone between her hands and when Adam slid in next to her, he broke into her thoughts.
“Don’t,” he said after getting behind the wheel. “They don’t need to worry. We’ve got this.”
She turned to glare at him. “She has the right to know.”
“And she will. After she enjoys her honeymoon. Would you want to worry the entire time you were in Maui?”
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “No.”
“Bien.” He backed out of the driveway and turned down the road, heading towards the dock to the private island.
“Why do you do that?” She turned slightly towards him.
“Quelle?”
She chuckled when he answered in French. “Lay it on thick?”
“I don’t know what you mean.” His eyes remained glued to the dark road.
“Your accent gets deeper around women.” Her eyes narrowed as she looked at him. “Just who are you trying to impress?” She thought about it for a moment. “Brittany sure seemed smitten with it.”
“Qui?” She was silent, so he answered in English. “Who?”
“J’ai compris,” she said, I understood you, in perfect French.
“You know French?” he asked in his native tongue.
“Some.” She turned to look out the window and watched the darkness pass by quickly.
“Why have you not said so before?”
“You never asked.” She wanted to cross her arms over her chest, but stopped herself. She knew the move showed that she was uncomfortable, and she didn’t want to look vulnerable in front of him.
“There is a lot I would like to ask,” he said as he pulled into the dock area. Jerry, the ferry driver, was already waiting for them.
“Evening,” he said as Adam pulled onto the dock. “Heard about the trouble and thought you two wouldn’t be long.”
Adam sighed. “Anyone come and go lately?”
Jerry shook his head. “Just your crew for the big party,” he said, locking the gate behind them.
Lilith got out of the car and followed the men to the top of the ferry, where they continued to talk about the break-in as if she wasn’t there. Adam asked him questions she hadn’t even thought to ask.
She leaned back against the railing and watched the moonlight flicker on the water as the boat made its way across the channel towards the private island that hosted East Haven Resort, the only other place she’d ever deemed her home.
Chapter Two
There was little that truly pissed Adam off. Reckless destruction was one of them. He felt his blood boil when he saw all the broken glass and the spilled wine on the floor of the big cellar.
“It’s not that bad,” Lilith said beside him. He turned on her.
“Not that bad?” He almost shouted it. “Half a dozen bottles of Château Lafite Rothschild, Pauillac along with several bottles of Dom Perignon are gone.”
She shrugged. “Is that bad?”
“Is that…” He broke off and took a moment to steady himself. After a few cleansing breaths, he nodded. “Oui, très.” He glanced around and took stock. “Plus, it appears more are missing.” He stepped over the broken glass and the red liquid staining the cement floor. Counting, he felt himself grow even angrier. All in all, there were over a dozen bottle missing.
He turned back towards the two police officers standing just outside the cellar. One was around his age with sandy blond hair, steel-blue eyes, and a strange grin on his face, as if he were in on a private joke. The other was a few years older, stockier, with thick dark hair and a mustache that most men would envy. He’d seen both men around town before.
“More than fifty thousand in damages,” he supplied. He watched Lilith sway and reached for her. “Easy,” he said under his breath. “Maybe you should go sit down.”
“No.” She jerked her arm away. “Fifty…” She shook her head as her eyes roamed over the wet floor. “Who? How?” She closed her eyes.
“Lilith…” The younger officer whom she’d met several times on the mainland cut into her thoughts. She remembered his name was Carl at the last second.
“Yes, Carl.” She turned her back on Adam and gave the man her entire attention.
“You said there are only five people with keys to the cellar?” He moved closer to her.
“Yes…” She gulped.
“Oui,” Adam stepped in, but she quickly put her hand on his arm to stop him.
“Sarah left me in charge,” she said in a low tone.
“Oui, but this is my—”
“I’m in charge,” she growled out. “Why don’t you compile a list of what is broken or missing for these gentlemen?” She turned her back to him.
“That would be helpful,” the other officer said, his eyes going over the floor. She didn’t know his name and couldn’t remember seeing him before. “I’m not sure what we can do if someone has already drunk…”
“No,” he interrupted. “The bottles taken are more valuable. Someone knew what they were doing. Most likely they will be trying to sell them, not drink them.” He glared at the man. “I will keep my eye...”
“You should leave this to the professionals,” the younger officer added.
“Can you tell the difference between a bottle of Armand De Brignac Brut Gold Champagne and a bottle of Sutter Home?” he chided.
The man looked at him like he was speaking a foreign language, then nodded slowly. “Fair enough, but contact us if you find anything.” He pulled a card out of his pocket and handed it to Adam, who pocketed it, then turned to his task of making a list as Lilith walked out of the small room followed by the two officers.
Over the next half an hour, he touched every bottle at least once, rotating them and making sure his list was as accurate as possible. He was thankful one of the first things he’d done when hired was to spend a few days taking inventory.
“Well?” He hadn’t heard Lilith and stopped himself from jumping. He turned towards the door to see her standing just outside the thick glass door.
“If my tally is correct, we are out more than fifty thousand. It appears whoever did this couldn’t carry as much as they had hoped.” He nodded to the now clean floor.
She closed her eyes and leaned against the doorway. “Who else has access to the keys?” she said once her eyes opened again.
“Besides you, Sarah, and myself?” She nodded. “Rob, Tara…” He thought about it. “There is an extra key locked in my drawer. When I let Joseph go last week, I took his key.”
“Joseph?” She stood up. “He was the only one unaccounted for tonight.”
“It’s in my desk drawer,” he said, then walked past her, making sure to lock the thick door behind him. He’d spent some time cleaning up the mess so everything was back in place.
“Could he have made a copy?” she asked behind him.
He glanced over his shoulder. “No, it’s marked…” He pulled out his key and frowned at the “Do not duplicate” printed into his own key.
“That doesn’t stop a lot of places from making a copy.” She followed him into his office.
The key was where he’d left it, locked in his top drawer in the small office behind the kitchen.
“No, no one in town—”
“I’ve made a copy of several keys in town like that one.”
His eyes narrowed. “Where?”
“At Adler’s.”
“The hardware store?” She nodded.
He sat down and opened the bottom drawer, then pulled out the file on Joseph. When he found what he was looking for, he leaned back and closed his eyes and silently cursed.
“What?” she asked, walking over to lean on the edge of his desk.
“I said…” His eyes opened and he realized what he had actually said a
nd shook his head. “Nothing.” He tossed the file down and nodded. “Joseph worked at Adler’s before coming to us.”
She glanced down at the paper. “I’ll call…” She started to get up, but he stopped her by putting a hand on her leg.
“No, I’ll do it.” He reached into his pocket with his other hand, not wanting to move the other from her knee, especially since she hadn’t shoved it away.
He punched the keys on his office phone and waited, his hand still resting lightly on her knee. He wondered how long she would let it rest there.
When he started talking, she stood up and walked to the other side of his small office while he relayed the information to the officer.
“Well?” she asked after he’d hung up.
“They are going to swing by and check up on Joseph.”
“Wasn’t he the one with his own boat?”
He nodded. “One of the officers went to school with him and remembered going fishing with him. That’s one of the reasons I hired him. He wouldn’t have to bother Jerry too much.”
She walked over and sat in the chair across from his desk. “What now?”
“We wait.” He opened his bottom drawer and pulled out his own bottle of wine, then held up a plastic glass for her. When she nodded, he poured them both a glass.
“Do you think he’ll still have the wine?” she asked in between sips.
“I don’t see why not.”
“Where does one go to sell expensive wine?”
“The internet,” he answered quickly. “Most wine buyers don’t check the serial numbers on the bottles.”
“Seriously?” She sat up a little. “They have serial numbers?”
He nodded. “When each bottle is worth several grand…” He stopped when she almost choked on the sip of wine. He moved over quickly and took her glass from her and forced her to stand up until she had her breathing back under control.
“Sorry,” she mumbled as she shook her head. “I just assumed…”
“What?” He waited, then handed her the glass so she could take another drink of her wine.
“That he’d stolen a lot of bottles instead of—”
