Gloria's Legacy

by Robin Alexander

  “I really like Elaine. We had some one-on-one time after you left. Talking with her is like talking to an old friend. She makes me feel comfortable.” Adrienne pulled us to a stop. “I can’t bring myself to call her ‘mom.’ Whenever I consider it, I get anxious. I don’t know how she’ll feel about that, and I don’t know how I really feel about it.”

  “Don’t you hear her thoughts?”

  We began walking again. “I hate to admit this, but I got a little nosy and tried. I couldn’t get anything. She admitted to doing the same thing. She thinks that subconsciously we’re not willing to go there yet.”

  “I suppose it makes sense. What about Kristen’s?”

  “Elaine and I can hear her very clearly. She’s terrified, and Stinslin is all she can think of. We’ve tried distracting her, but she can’t concentrate on anything else.” Adrienne exhaled loudly. “Okay, we’re getting back on Stinslin. Let’s pick another topic.”

  I pulled a key from my pocket and unlocked the kitchen. “The only thing we need to be talking about right now is what we want with our ice cream.”

  Adrienne had eaten healthy since the moment we started trying to get pregnant, so I made no comment when she piled her bowl high with bananas, ice cream, and chocolate fudge. My own bowl looked much the same, but I added half a jar of maraschino cherries. We giggled as we took our hedonistic delights to one of the tables in the bar that faced east so we could watch the sun rise.

  “Walking and eating ice cream at four in the morning. You’re such a rebel,” I teased. “What will you do next—cut short a nap?”

  Adrienne’s response was to steal a spoonful of cherries. “I don’t think Dr. Sonjay meant for me to be totally bedridden. Besides, my lower back feels a hundred percent better after our stroll. This is so good,” she said before her expression turned serious. “I’ve considered myself lucky since the day you came into my life, but I haven’t realized just how amazing you are until I talked to Elaine. She’s lived her whole life alone, unable to find a love that matched my father’s. It’s difficult for us to find someone because of what we can do. Hearing another person’s thoughts is often painful.” She waved her spoon at me. “I know when you’re aggravated with me before it even shows on your face, but I also know you love me with all that you are. I have something special in you, and my talks with Elaine have really reminded me of that.”

  “I’m glad to know that you realize how freaking fantastic I am,” I said with a grin.

  “You are fantastic.”

  “No. Freaking fantastic. There’s a distinction.”

  Adrienne leaned over and smacked me on the lips. “You’re freaking crazy. I’ve been thinking about something,” Adrienne said as she turned serious. “I want to change my name.”

  I sat up straight. “To what—Vaughn? That doesn’t have a ring to it at all. Adrienne Vaughn.” Those eyes that so easily telegraphed love sent another message. Idiot.

  “I want my last name to be Tate. I want to legally change it, so we’ll all have the same last name.”

  “Adrienne Tate,” I said softly, loving the way it rolled off my tongue. “Let’s start the process today.”

  She kissed me again. “Which brings us to the baby’s name. We still haven’t come up with anything.”

  “For a boy, I like Drew. And hey, if it’s a girl, it can still be Drew.”

  “I know you love the Saints, but we are not naming our child after the quarterback. Now be serious.”

  I was. “Okay, what are your choices?” I asked, still holding out for Drew.

  “I like Aidan for a boy’s name. It’s kind of a combination of our names.”

  I did like the sound of it. “And for a girl, are you going to suggest Haydrienne? I may have to veto that, but Drewden or Haydrew does sound appealing. Oh! What about Breesden?”

  Adrienne rolled her eyes. “What about Kaia?” She held her hand up to stop me. “Don’t say Kaia Drew, or I will kill you.” She shot me a saucy grin. “Like my rhyme?”

  “Did you just pull that out of thin air or your a—”

  Adrienne stuffed a cherry into my mouth. “It’s Hawaiian and means child of the water. I think it’s appropriate considering we live on an island.”

  “I like it. I think that’s a keeper.”

  Adrienne nodded. “Okay, start thinking about middle names, and Drew cannot be one of them.” She opened her mouth to say something else but stopped. I watched as her eyes narrowed for a second, then she said, “Hair.”

  “What?”

  Adrienne grabbed my arm. “He keeps trophies. Locks of hair from the women he’s killed. That’s why in Kristen’s drawing, he’s holding a lock of hair.”

  I was taken aback at the sudden change of topics. “Stinslin?”

  “Yes.” Adrienne nodded as she stared off into the distance. “Red, his victims all have red hair.”

  “Are you hearing this now?” I asked as chill bumps covered my body and made my scalp tingle.

  “He’s awake.” Adrienne put a hand to her forehead. “He…” She growled in frustration. “I lost it.”

  “It’s okay.” I took her hand in mine. “The thing about the hair, that’s good.”

  A line formed across Adrienne’s brow. “We can’t let him leave this island. He’ll kill again. We both know this.” She looked down at our joined hands. “I know that you doubt sometimes. Colie does, too.”

  I had no choice but to be honest. Lying to Adrienne was an impossibility for me. “I…just…sometimes I wish I could believe that Kristen is wrong, even though in my gut I know she’s not.”

  “Why do you want to believe she’s wrong?” Adrienne asked, though I suspected she knew the answer.

  “It’s like you said, we can’t let him leave the island. Without proof, Colie can’t legally hold him here.”

  “And you’re afraid that someone will…make him disappear.” Adrienne looked at me warily.

  “If it was self-defense, I’d have no problem, but most of the islanders are our friends and are very protective. Colie’s inner circle is privy to just about everything we know…” I sighed. “You know if he managed to sneak onto the grounds and they caught him, he’d turn up missing.”

  Adrienne nodded, her expression grim.

  “Would you…would you be okay with that?” I asked, hoping she wouldn’t say yes. Stinslin was a monster, but could we in good conscience allow someone to exact their own form of justice?

  Adrienne exhaled and rubbed her stomach. “I have a lot at stake here. You, the baby, Kristen, and…Elaine. Not to mention everyone else we consider family. I’m not going to mince words. I’d sleep a lot better knowing he was at the bottom of a blue hole.”

  Frankly, I would, too, but I could not fathom the unthinkable unless he put one of us in obvious danger. “We need one piece of tangible evidence and we’ve got him—legally.” I shook my head. “I don’t like the idea of you hearing his thoughts. You have enough stress to deal with. I wish Elaine or Kristen could come up with something.”

  Adrienne cocked her head to the side. “What I just said bothered you.”

  I looked down at the table. “Adrienne, my own thoughts bother me. Sometimes, I wonder if he made it onto the grounds and I had a weapon in my hand if I could take him out. Could I pull the trigger?” I began tearing the stems off the cherries. “Could you?”

  “Yes,” she said without the slightest hesitation. “If Stinslin were on our property, he would be here for one reason alone and fair game.”

  “He’s not a buck or a bear,” I said angrily. “As vile as he is, we’re not allowed to kill him. If we do that, we’re criminals in the eyes of the law.”

  Adrienne pushed her bowl away and took my hand. “No one is lining up to kill him, honey. What I’m saying is if he comes here, we will do what we have to, to defend ourselves.”

  “I believe all our friends, Colie’s people, feel the same, and that’s exactly what would happen. They would become judge, jury, and executione
r. What if someone did do exactly that? We’d have to keep it a secret. A horrible secret that we’d all have to live with, and what about Colie? He has an obligation to uphold the law. Could we expect him to keep that secret, as well? It’s all just a jumbled mess.”

  Adrienne stroked the back of my hand with her thumb. “I understand what you’re saying, and to an extent, I agree. But, honey, I have family here, you and the baby, Iris and her family, and now, Elaine and Kristen.” Adrienne exhaled in frustration. “I have it all, and I want to protect it.”

  And so did I, so why was I so ambivalent? Why was I so torn and everyone else seemed so resolved? A few years ago, Colie would’ve had to lock me up to keep from hunting Stinslin down and putting a bullet in his ass.

  Adrienne tapped into my thoughts easily. “You’re not the same woman you were when you came here. We all pick on you about the decisions you make, but you’re not rash anymore, just clumsy.” She smiled. “Honestly, I think you’re worried about what you would do more than anyone else. I know you love me and our family here, but you’re more cautious about your decisions because you have a baby on the way.”

  And she was right. I’d kill or die to protect Adrienne and my loved ones, but leaving her behind to raise our child alone scared me. I’d never felt so vulnerable in my life.

  “We weren’t supposed to get on this topic,” Adrienne said. “There are three of us who have insight. Maybe that’ll keep us one step ahead. It has so far.”

  “No more talk of Stinslin tonight. Let’s get out of here before Iris comes in for breakfast. She won’t be happy that we violated her kitchen.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  “You violated my kitchen.” Iris stabbed me in the chest with her finger. “I found cherry stems on the counter, and you have the key.” All the staff in the bar made a hasty retreat.

  “Adrienne has a key, too.” I grinned and backed up.

  “She’s carrying a baby. I can’t beat on her. You can take the beating for the both of you.”

  I held up a finger. “Go easy on me. Adrienne doesn’t want me hurt. Have you seen Colie this morning?” I asked, knowing he stayed at the jail to keep watch on Stinslin.

  “He came in for breakfast and went back to the house for a shower.” Iris picked up an empty glass from one of the tables. “He wants to meet with you here, so don’t run off.”

  Despite Iris’s protest, I helped her and one of our staff members clean up after breakfast. Most of our guests were exploring the island with the exception of BJ and Audrey, who ordered breakfast in their cottage. When Colie arrived, we had the bar to ourselves.

  “Stinslin is free. I had to let him go.” Colie watched my face carefully. I assumed he was waiting for me to explode.

  “I know you couldn’t keep him indefinitely. Did you ask him if he planned to leave?”

  Colie seemed somewhat relieved by my calm demeanor. “I had Odis take his things from The Cove. Whit packed his belongings up and had them in the office. He was very serious about Stinslin not returning.” He grinned. “I set him up at Allain Crenshaw’s cabin. Allain gave Stinslin a better rate than he was getting at The Cove.”

  “Well, he’s going to do one of two things—leave or try to find Kristen.”

  Colie shot me a worried glance. “In his drunken ramblings, he said he knew she was on the island, and he wasn’t leaving without her.”

  My stomach twisted into knots. “Adrienne heard something this morning. She said Stinslin was thinking about his trophies. He keeps a lock of hair from his victims, and they’re all red.”

  Colie tapped his temple with his index finger as he thought. “It may help. I spoke with Kristen’s landlord this morning. There are no signs of a break-in at her apartment. That puts me back at square one on the picture and how he got his hands on it. I’ve put off talking to Kristen about it.” Colie shook his head and sighed. “She’s been under so much pressure, I didn’t want to add to it by telling her I thought her home might’ve been ransacked.”

  A cold chill ran down my spine. “Maybe the picture belonged to the other woman in it. Do you want me to ask her who the woman is?”

  “Hayden.” Someone put a hand on my shoulder. I frowned when I realized it was BJ. “Audrey and I would like to go birding this morning. Iris says all the drivers are booked with excursions.”

  I was trying to come up with an unlucky soul I could bribe into taking them when Colie said, “Take them, Hayden. Use the time to relax. We have everything under control.” He smiled at me when he noticed the glare I was sending his way. What he was really saying was, Let me do my job and you do yours.

  “Good, we’ll be ready in thirty minutes,” BJ said as she sauntered off.

  “There aren’t enough banana trees on this island to keep you safe from my wrath, Colie. You’ll pay for this one.” I continued to glare at him as he stood with a grin.

  “Enjoy your day.”

  *******

  I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing out loud as I watched BJ’s head bobbing in the backseat. I never slacked up when I left the pavement, and the Jeep skidded across the sand and into the woods. Her complaints bounced off me as I took us up the trail that ran near Crenshaw’s cabin. BJ and Audrey could watch birds and I’d watch Stinslin.

  “Are you intentionally trying to realign my spine?” BJ asked as I pulled to a stop.

  “Not at all. If I go any slower, we’ll sink into the sand.” BJ didn’t buy my lie and huffed as she grabbed her binoculars and a bottle of water.

  “I’m not as stealthy as you and Audrey. I’ll stay with the Jeep, so I don’t scare your birds away.”

  “Good idea.” BJ stalked up the trail with Audrey fluttering behind like a butterfly.

  I chuckled as I pulled out my own pair of binoculars and found Crenshaw’s cabin. There was no movement at all. Stinslin was probably sleeping off his hangover. He obviously didn’t sleep very well in lockup, especially if Adrienne was hearing his thoughts before sunrise. I watched the cabin and surrounding area for a while and grew bored.

  I didn’t know what I hoped to find, but I thought if I could just see him, I’d feel better. Knowing he was in the cabin and not stalking my home would be a comfort. I made my way slowly through the thicket and down the slight hill, hoping to get a closer look. My cell phone went off in my breast pocket and nearly gave me a heart attack. The ID said it was my home phone. “Shit, I’m so busted,” I said aloud and pressed the button to ignore the call. If I was going to get an ass chewing, I’d make it worth my while.

  I tried singing the lime in a coconut song in my mind to block Adrienne from my thoughts but couldn’t remember the lyrics, so I made my own. You put the lime on the doughnut and smear it all around. You take a bite of the doughnut, it takes away your frown. My phone rang again. I groaned before I answered.

  “What are you doing?”

  “I took BJ and Audrey on a birding trip, remember?” I said, thinking I was talking to Adrienne.

  “You promised Adrienne that you wouldn’t do anything foolish.”

  “Elaine?”

  “Yes.”

  “Dear God, you sound just like her.” I wondered for a second why Adrienne wasn’t the one calling. “Is she okay?”

  “Yes, she’s sleeping, and you’re a lousy lyricist.”

  “You cut me deep, Elaine. I thought we were—”

  “Hayden, he’s watching you. I hear his thoughts.”

  I peered around a tree and saw a small opening in the blinds snap shut. It gave me chills from the top of my head down to my toes. “Well, thank God I have cell reception, I might’ve—”

  “I know.” Elaine cleared her throat. “Please get out of there. He thinks you’ve lied to him. What if he tries to use you to get to Kristen?”

  “I’d never let that happen. He’d have to kill me first.”

  “I know that, too, and that’s exactly the point. Find BJ and Audrey and get out of there. And, Hayden, call me when you’re safely on t
he road.”

  I laughed softly as I backtracked up the hill. “You’ll know when I’m on the road, you don’t need me to call.”

  “Do it anyway. I’m a hair’s breadth away from calling in reinforcements, and that will entail waking Adrienne.”

  “Elaine, you play dirty just like your…Adrienne.”

  She chuckled softly. “Be safe. I’m—”

  I lost my signal. I made my way quickly through the brush looking over my shoulder for Stinslin, expecting to see him pop up at any moment. When I arrived at the Jeep, I blew the horn a few times to catch the attention of BJ and Audrey. After five minutes of waiting, neither showed. I glanced down at my phone and noticed with disdain that I still had no signal.

  “Figures, I traipse downhill into the forest and get reception, but on top of a hill where I should at least get something, I have nothing,” I said aloud, hoping my own voice would calm my nerves. I stared warily down the trail where I’d last seen BJ and Audrey. I didn’t bother trying to be quiet. I yelled their names at the top of my lungs not caring who heard. I didn’t want Stinslin to think I was alone if he hadn’t noticed.

  I’d walked a quarter of a mile in thick brush wondering where two retirees had found the strength to make the hike. Neither one responded to my calls. I filled my lungs prepared to yell again when a familiar figure stepped from behind a tree. My blood ran cold.

  “Well, hello there…Hayden, is it?” Stinslin asked. He rubbed at the stubble growing along his jaw. “I’m terrible with names.”

  “So it’s you renting the Crenshaw place?” I asked as nonchalantly as I could. “Allain told me he rented it, but I thought you were staying at The Cove.”

  Stinslin swatted at something biting his arm. “You were at The Cove last night. You know I’m not welcome there anymore.” He looked up at me with cold eyes. “I suspect you know a lot of things. You play it cool, though,” he said with a smile that quickly faded. “I know she’s here, and I won’t leave without her.”

  “Whit is a hothead. He says a lot of things he doesn’t mean. I didn’t realize he really put you out.” I backed up a step pretending to swat at a bug and looked desperately for something to defend myself with. I felt like Stinslin could hear my thoughts as clearly as Adrienne often did.