I’d never had this conversation with Adrienne. It had always been a sensitive subject, so I didn’t press, but to hear her tell it had me enthralled.
“Sometimes at home, I’d answer questions before my mom or dad voiced them.” Her face turned solemn. “I could hear them comparing me to my younger sister, whom they had after they adopted me. They tried not to show favoritism, but it was always there. It drove a wedge between us, and I pulled away emotionally to cope.” She smiled sadly. “We became virtual strangers after I left home. Gloria, Hayden’s aunt, was the first person I trusted with my secret, and she made me feel accepted.” Adrienne looked at me with love in her eyes. “Hayden is the one who really bears the burden of it with me.”
“It’s not a burden, sweetie, unless I’m contemplating something bad.”
Chapter Eight
A baby’s laughter filled the house as I walked down the hall toward the nursery. A dirty diaper folded in on itself shot out into the hallway. I stopped in my tracks as the stench formed an impenetrable wall between me and it. Soon another joined it, then they started shooting out like they were coming from a machine gun. I looked around for something to gather them into, but they kept coming. The mountain grew higher. I jerked open the closet door, and they rained down on me like a rockslide.
I screamed for Adrienne, but she didn’t come. The laughter grew louder. The diapers were coming even faster and filled the hallway top to bottom. I turned to run from the avalanche, but my legs moved like they were in slow motion. I rode a wave of stinky diapers unable to stop the tide. They quickly surrounded me and forced me against the window. I watched in horror as it began to crack.
“Hayden, honey, wake up.” Adrienne’s hand was in the center of my chest. I took a deep gasping breath as I opened my eyes. “It was a bad dream, that’s all.”
“Oh, Adrienne, it was bad.” I sat up and wiped at the sweat on my face. “The baby was trying to kill me with diapers.” A soft snort gave way to a chuckle, then a laugh. She pulled me down to lay beside her.
“This baby will love you.” She put my hand on her stomach. “It’s so little. There’s nothing to be afraid of.”
“Little?” Adrienne’s stomach was huge, and I often wondered if she was carrying a litter. “You’re all baby, honey.”
“Your mom said you were only seven pounds ten ounces. That’s not all that big…of course, I have no way of knowing what I weighed.”
“Your adoptive parents had to have had some sort of documentation. Didn’t they ever tell you?”
“I don’t remember,” Adrienne said softly.
I rolled onto my side and took her hand in mine. “Was it hard talking to Kristen today about your past?” She was quiet for a moment. I wished I could see her face.
“Not really. It was kind of exciting. I don’t feel so alone anymore.” Though I knew what she meant, her comment stung. I felt her fingers against my cheek. “Let me rephrase that. I feel less of a freak now that I know someone else can sort of do what I do.”
“You’re not a freak. Well, you can get freaky between the sheets, but you’re not that kind of freak.” I smiled when my response got a chuckle.
Adrienne sighed. “It seems like forever since we’ve gotten freaky. I miss those marathons we used to have.”
“And now, we’re gonna have to wait until the baby grows up and moves out before we do it again…shit, we’ll be ninety. Don’t expect me to still be able to do the acrobatic stunts then.”
“We’ll just have to be creative and quieter.”
“But I love those coyote howls you do.”
“Baby, that’s you.”
“Oh, yeah,” I said with a laugh.
Adrienne yawned. “Can we sleep again now?”
“What? Just the mention of sex makes you sleepy? I’m so screwed.” Adrienne didn’t respond, and a minute later, I heard the steady rhythm of sleep breathing.
*******
Normally, when guests are at the inn, Adrienne and I hustle to take care of all their needs outside of meals, which were Iris’s domain. However, with Adrienne in the last weeks of her pregnancy, Iris had mobilized our staff to handle things in our stead. I greatly appreciated not having to shoulder the demands, but I missed not having something to distract me. Adrienne didn’t sleep well at night and took catnaps throughout the day, and this left me with free time on my hands, which frankly, was dangerous.
We’d gone down for breakfast, then watched as some of the guests went to the beach and the rest boarded the van to tour the monastery ruins at Mount Alvernia. I walked Adrienne back to the house where she curled up on the couch and went to sleep. It was time to bug Colie. Cellular signals left a lot to be desired on the island, and he did not answer his phone, so I paid a visit to Kristen.
I found her again on the bluff looking out over the water with a pensive expression on her face. “You weren’t at breakfast this morning. Did you draw again last night?”
She shook her head. “I didn’t draw at all. Nothing came to me. I think my mind was too clouded by the conversation I had with you and Adrienne yesterday. It made me think about things.”
“Like what?” I took a seat on a rock beside her.
“My Aunt Elaine’s comment about the family insanity.” Kristen cocked her head to the side and looked at me. “That statement really got into my craw yesterday, so I called her this morning. We didn’t talk long because I kept losing the signal on my phone, but the conversation left me with more questions than answers.”
“What’d she say?”
“She sounded weird. She kept asking me where I was and what I was doing here. I lied and told her I was on vacation with friends. She didn’t sound like she believed me. I asked her what she meant when she made the comment about the insanity, and she said it was time I knew the truth. Then I lost my signal.”
“You called her back, right?”
“I did, but I couldn’t keep a signal long enough to talk.”
“That’s all you talked about? You didn’t tell her what’s going on?”
Kristen shook her head.
I grabbed her by the arm. “We’re going to the bar, and you’re gonna call her again.” The hair on the back of my neck prickled, and my insides quivered. I had no idea why I was so convinced that an important piece of the puzzle lay with her aunt.
I handed Kristen the phone when we got to the bar, and as she dialed, Colie walked in with a worried expression on his face. “I need to talk to her.” He nodded in Kristen’s direction.
“As soon as she gets off the phone. Any news?”
Colie held up his cell phone, and there was a picture of a man getting off a stump jumper plane. He held up Kristen’s drawing for me to compare the two. Though the picture was taken at a distance, there was a striking resemblance.
“She’s not answering,” Kristen said as she walked up. I heard her gasp as she looked at Colie’s phone. Her face turned ashen, and I didn’t have to ask if it was the guy. Kristen fell into a chair and rocked back and forth. Colie and I exchanged worried glances. “That’s him,” she said shakily. “He’s here.”
“Ms. Waverly,” Colie said in his official tone. “You never met this man before the day you saw him on the Riverwalk?”
“No.” Kristen shook her head and met Colie’s intense stare with one of her own. Seconds ticked by before either of them spoke.
“Do you know his name?” Colie watched her intently.
“We never spoke. He walked over to me while I was busy drawing. I was focused on the image I was creating.” Kristen shivered but kept her eyes on Colie’s. “When I looked up, he was thumbing through my things. I snatched my sketches away from him and I ran.”
Few people could get away with lying to Colie. I’d tried on a couple of occasions just to see if I could, but he always got me. I’d always thought that Adrienne had helped him in my case, but Colie was an expert on reading body language.
Kristen was nervous, that much was obvious. But he
r gaze did not dart back and forth. She didn’t fidget under his scrutiny.
Colie nodded and exhaled loudly. “Hayden, have a seat.” He sat, as well. I have a contact at the American FBI. I’ll send him the sketches, but until I hear back from him, my hands are tied. I can’t arrest this man based on what we have to go on.” Colie tapped his phone, bringing back the picture of Kristen’s nightmare. “This man is staying at The Cove, but we still have to keep you out of sight,” he said to Kristen. “That means no going into town or leaving the inn for any reason. I think it’s best that you stay with me and Iris and separate yourself from the other guests.”
“She can stay with us. We have an extra room, and Adrienne would enjoy the company.”
Colie chewed his lip for a second and nodded. “I’ll have some of my friends stand watch.”
Colie’s “friends” were just that. They had no training in law enforcement, but they had helped out before when we had trouble at the inn. Anyone who didn’t belong here would not get through, and I took comfort in that.
“We’ll have to lie to the rest of the guests,” Colie continued. “Mention in front of them at dinner that you took Kristen back to the airport. That way, if our guy questions any of them in town, he’ll think Kristen has left.”
“But what if he leaves? We can’t let him leave the island now that he’s here.” I paled at the thought of him killing someone else.
“I’ll take care of that. But your job, Hayden, is to keep Kristen hidden.”
I heard scratching and looked over at Kristen. Her hand was moving across a page as she stared off into the distance. A woman’s face gradually began to take shape.
“Do you know this woman?” Colie asked Kristen excitedly.
Kristen blinked and looked down at the pad. “No,” she said, sounding bewildered.
Colie gently took the book from Kristen’s hands and studied the sketch for a moment. “This woman is traveling with him.”
*******
Kristen was shaking like a leaf as she gathered up her things from her cottage. She was stuffing her toiletries into a bag when she stopped, and I heard a tiny whimper escape her. I put a hand to hers. “Go sit down. I’ll do this.” She walked mechanically from the bathroom while I finished packing her things. I found her standing by the door holding her suitcase when I came out. “You’re not alone, honey. You’re among friends who’ll protect you.” She took a shaky breath and nodded.
We loaded her things into the golf cart, and I sped off, hoping that we wouldn’t run into any of the guests coming in off the beach. When we pulled up in front of the house, Adrienne was watching us from the porch. From the look on her face, I knew she had been in my brain. She confirmed my suspicions when she wrapped Kristen in her arms and led her into the house.
“I’ve already straightened up the guest room, love. Would you put her things inside?” Adrienne moved Kristen toward the couch.
When I came back into the living room, I heard Kristen saying, “This is really real. He’s here.”
I watched as Adrienne gently stroked Kristen’s tear-soaked hair from her face. She had such a loving way about her that it stunned me. I sat and watched them, marveling at how Adrienne could take a perfect stranger into her arms and make her feel comfortable. “You can stay with us as long as you need to,” she said. “Nothing will happen to you, I promise.”
Our house phone rang, and I got up to answer it. An automated phone service requested I confirm our appointment with the obstetrician the next day. I followed the prompts and hung up, anxious to hear more of what Kristen had to say.
“I feel like such a burden,” she was saying. “I’ve invaded your lives and brought a killer into your midst.”
“We’ve dealt with killers before.” I waved a hand like it was a common occurrence. “You’ve come to the right place.” Kristen looked up at me like I was insane.
“It’s a long story. We’ll explain later,” Adrienne said with a smile. “But Hayden’s right. You’re exactly where you should be.”
The phone rang again, and this time when I answered, it was Iris. “Meet me outside,” she said and hung up.
“Be right back. Iris wants me.” I went downstairs and looked around. Iris emerged from the bushes holding her iron skillet. “We should just trade that thing in and get you a gun.”
She waved it menacingly. “Dis skillet saved your life, girlie. Don’t make jokes. Is the girl okay?”
“Adrienne’s upstairs rocking her like a baby. She’s fine.”
Iris toyed with a lock of my hair and smoothed it against my shoulder. “I love you, you know.”
I smiled. “Yes, I know. You wouldn’t get as mad at me if you didn’t.”
She smiled, too, then turned serious. “Take no chances dis time. Adrienne needs you, we need you. My bones are talking. Dey say dis is going to be bad. Dis man is the storm. He causes terrible damage wherever he goes.”
My bones didn’t speak to me like Iris’s did. My bladder did, though, and I wanted to wet myself when I heard the tone of her voice. “No chances dis—this time.”
Iris nodded. “Colie has people on the way. Some are already here. Dey will stay out of sight and watch closely. I’ll bring dinner up when it’s time.”
She turned to go, and I caught her by the arm. “You promise me not to take chances, either. Teddy needs you, and I really need you. You’re like a mom to me.”
Iris grinned. “I’m too young to be your momma, but if I were, I’d have eaten you at birth like the wild animals do their young.”
“You say the sweetest things sometimes. It’s no wonder I love you so much.”
She gave me a tight hug and headed down the trail. My heart leapt into my throat when a huge black man suddenly appeared behind her and kept pace. I looked around and another dark face moved from behind a tree. “Hello, Hayden.” He waved and smiled.
“Well, hey, Odis, good to see you.” Colie’s people moved fast, and I felt the chill bumps that Iris’s chat evoked begin to fade.
Chapter Nine
“Why are you dressed like that?”
Kristen looked at me as though I were an idiot. “I’m a key.”
“To what?”
She shrugged. “Even I don’t know the answer to that.” She giggled and pointed to my stomach.
I looked down and realized it was as big as Adrienne’s. “Oh, no, this is all wrong.”
“You’re pregnant,” Kristen said in a sing-song voice and danced in a circle.
“I am not.”
“Bun in the oven.”
“Stop it. Adrienne is pregnant, not me.”
“Knocked up.”
I felt around my stomach, trying to decide if it was real or not when Kristen gasped. I followed her gaze to the horizon and felt my chest tighten. A dark cloud blocked out the sun as it raced toward us. I clutched my stomach as I began to run as if I could somehow protect the baby inside.
Someone put a hand to my head. “Where are you running off to?” It was Adrienne’s voice.
I awoke breathless and looked at her, then ran my hands over my stomach.
“You kicked all the sheets and blankets onto the floor. Wherever you were going, you were in a big hurry.”
I didn’t bother to share the details of my dream as we showered. As the warm water hit me in the face, the dream drifted into the deeper recesses of my mind. And that’s where I wanted it to stay.
*******
Kristen looked like a child whose mother was leaving her when Adrienne climbed into the Jeep with me that morning for our trip to the doctor. We couldn’t take her with us and risk Alvin Stinslin catching sight of her. Colie had done research and put a name to the terror who had besieged us. I expected his name to be Satan or something along those lines. Alvin Stinslin didn’t seem to match the dark heart of a killer.
“We won’t be gone long,” Adrienne said to Kristen, who stood with Iris. Two men stood behind them, and I knew they were safe. For good measure, Coli
e instructed Odis to chauffer us to the airstrip and accompany us to Nassau where we’d visit the doctor. He seemed to be thrilled with the duty. He’d sported a wide grin since greeting us.
He didn’t seem comfortable, however, with going inside the doctor’s office when we arrived and opted to wait outside. I think I made him and Adrienne nervous with my fidgeting. Every time we went to the doctor, I got a little crazy. I knew it was silly, but I was so afraid she was going to tell us something was wrong, and on that day, she did.
“Have you ever noticed that these kind of look like a toucan?” I held up a plastic speculum.
“Quit digging in the cabinets and sit down,” Adrienne said with a half grin.
I turned on a light and shined it in her face. “Where were you nine months ago?”
“At a clinic getting inseminated, and as I recall, you dug around in their things, too. You’re gonna get into trouble when Dr. Sonjay comes in.”
“I’m gonna make you a chicken.” I grabbed a rubber glove and was blowing it up when Dr. Sonjay walked in. She glanced at me and shook her head like she fully expected me to be doing something stupid.
“Adrienne, your blood pressure is just a bit higher than normal,” Dr. Sonjay said as she went over her chart.
Adrienne shot me a look before saying, “Business at the inn has been stressful lately.” I started to do a nervous dance. “I think if you checked Hayden’s, it would be higher than mine at the moment.”
Dr. Sonjay smiled at me. “Calm down, Hayden. This isn’t anything uncommon. It just means Adrienne needs to change her habits until the baby arrives.”
“What does that mean?” I asked as blood pounded in my ears.
“It means she needs to stay off her feet.” Dr. Sonjay focused her attention on Adrienne as I squirmed. “I’m not saying complete bed rest, but you need to stay home and relax. I’ll have Shelby monitor your blood pressure more often. Have you made your reservations yet? July twelfth is fast approaching. ”
The plan was to stay in Nassau a week before the due date. Adrienne and I were in agreement that we didn’t want her to go into labor on the island and have to endure a boat or plane trip to Nassau possibly in the middle of the night. Depending on the condition of the baby, Dr. Sonjay would consider inducing labor on or after the twelfth.
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