Footprints in the Sand

by Mary Jane Clark

  Deciding she would accept Brad O’Hara as a friend on Facebook because he was an actual friend of Kathy and Dan’s, Piper clicked on Brad’s profile picture, instantly enlarging it as his Facebook page came up on the screen. Brad had chosen to post a Fabio-type picture of himself. Suntanned, shirt off, hair tousled as he gazed confidently into the camera.

  Piper squinted to get a closer look. Nothing covered the tattoo on his forearm. A woman’s face was drawn in dark, indelible ink. Tears fell from the woman’s eyes.

  Chapter 14

  At the last minute, Roz Golubock had called Nora to decline the dinner-party invitation. She was just too tired. Instead she would eat at home by herself.

  After supper Roz carefully wrapped the barely touched chicken and stowed it in the refrigerator. She loaded the dishwasher with a single plate, glass, fork, knife, and spoon. She hand-washed the pots that had held the uneaten brown rice and brussels sprouts. Finally, scrubbing the white sink until it sparkled, Roz looked forward to the next day.

  Tuesdays she went to the Women’s Exchange, where she worked as a volunteer. People consigned or donated their furniture, ceramics, glassware, china, artwork, books, and clothing, which were pounced on by bargain hunters. Profits went to supporting the arts in the form of grants and scholarship programs. To Roz it was a win-win-win. She got to be around beautiful and interesting things, socialize with nice people, and raise money for wonderful causes. She loved it.

  Switching off the light in her tiny kitchen, Roz thought she might watch some television before heading up to bed. Though she was very tired, she dreaded climbing the dark stairs by herself. For the last several nights, she’d been restless. Usually a sound sleeper, she kept waking up, listening for any noise.

  Before she drew the drapes in the living room, Roz looked out the sliding glass door at the Gulf of Mexico. Lightning zigzagged through the sky. She thought of Sam whenever there was a storm. They used to sit together out on the lanai and wonder at the jagged electric bolts that shattered the darkness. Even when there was no rain or wind onshore, there could be lightning shows out over the Gulf. Tonight, though, there were gusting winds and sheets of rain pounding down.

  She could imagine Sam saying, This one’s a beaut, Roz.

  When she and Sam had first bought the town house, they’d been thrilled to get the end unit. They enjoyed their neighbors in the small complex, but they also liked the privacy afforded by being the last one. The long stretch of palm trees, sea grapes, and other tropical foliage that separated the town house from the Whispering Sands Inn property was like their own private nature preserve.

  Weather permitting, they walked the beach every morning and swam in the therapeutic Gulf waters each afternoon. Sam had his golf, and she had her book group and volunteer activities. At the end of the day, they would have their cocktails before dinner and watch the glorious sunsets. Roz missed Sam, missed him deeply, but she knew she was lucky to have had a wonderful marriage for thirty-nine years. She tried to focus on the happiness, not the loss.

  It was hard sometimes, though. And since the other night, when she’d seen the man carrying the woman over his shoulders as he disappeared into the foliage, Roz had ached for Sam. He would reassure her. Sam would know what to do.

  Roz kept thinking about it. Had the man swept the woman off her feet in a romantic gesture? Had the couple merely been playing? Had the woman been drunk? Or had it been something more sinister and dangerous?

  She’d watched and waited, leaving the window only once to go to the bathroom. After a long time, the man finally came out of the foliage again. But he was by himself.

  She hadn’t been able to see his face but saw him open the trunk of his car and toss in a shovel.

  Roz was sure that was what she’d seen.

  Chapter 15

  He couldn’t sleep. He got out of bed and went to the window. His heart raced as he watched the flashes of lightning. The thunderous boom that followed almost immediately signaled that the storm was right on top of them. He prayed it wouldn’t last too long.

  This was the first storm since he’d buried her. Was the hole deep enough? Could the winds and rain expose the grave? Would the pounding surf rise high enough to wash away the sand?

  He’d picked a spot far from the shoreline, up near the vegetation line. There was less traffic there. The morning walkers took their strolls at the water’s edge, stopping to pick up seashells and sand dollars washed up on the beach. Sunbathers, too, stayed closer to the water, where they might feel the ocean breeze and easily go for a dip when they got too hot. It seemed that only the sea turtles tried to make it to the vegetation line. The mother sensed that her eggs might have a better chance of survival the farther they were from the seawater that could wash out the nest.

  Thankfully, it wasn’t turtle nesting season now. It would be several months before the daily turtle patrols began again. For now no volunteers scanned the beach every morning, alert to signs of turtle tracks and mounds of disturbed sand.

  As thunder boomed again, he felt his chest tighten. He turned away from the window. There was nothing he could do now. He certainly couldn’t fight Mother Nature.

  He lay down on the bed and closed his eyes, but his mind continued to race. He wished it had never come to what it had. He wished he hadn’t had to kill Shelley, yet he was relieved she was dead. She wasn’t going to make any more trouble.

  He was pretty certain Levi wasn’t going to present a problem. The stricken look on the kid’s face almost made him feel sorry for him. And the way Levi had promised not to tell anyone what he’d seen and pleaded for his sister’s life had been truly pathetic.

  The only other complication was the old lady in the town-house window. What should he do about her?

  He soothed himself asleep with the hope that Shelley’s body wouldn’t be found. Without a body, there was no crime.

  Tuesday

  A woman’s tongue

  is the last thing about her that dies.

  AMISH PROVERB

  Chapter 16

  Valentine’s Day . . . Four Days Until the Wedding

  Piper was awakened by a knock on the door. At first she was disoriented, but quickly it came to her: Sarasota and Kathy’s wedding. They were going downtown this morning for the dress fittings. She had to get up.

  She rolled out of bed and went to the door, opening it a crack. A bellman stood in the hallway holding a tall vase of pink roses.

  “For me?” asked Piper, smiling brightly she opened the door wider. “Hold on a minute. Let me get my wallet.”

  The bellman stepped into the room and set the flowers on the dresser.

  Piper pressed a couple of singles into his hand. “Thank you,” she said. As soon as the door closed again, she unsealed the small envelope attached to the arrangement.

  HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY, PIPER

  LOVE, JACK

  She smiled as she studied the card, realizing that it was the first time Jack had actually written the word “love” to her. He had yet to say the word. Neither of them had. But Piper had sensed it was coming. She closed her eyes and inhaled the sweet scent of the roses.

  She wondered where it would go with Jack. Piper knew he wanted to go further, and in many ways she did, too. But her last foray into love, and the ones before that, had ended with disappointment. Piper was afraid of making another mistake.

  Deep in her heart, she acknowledged that love involved taking risks. Being guarded and closed was not the route to happiness. By nature she was open and affectionate. Yet something inside her warned her to be cautious.

  Piper laughed out loud at that thought. Her father was always complaining that she was too fearless for her own good, const
antly warning her to be careful. Little do you know, Dad, how careful your little girl can be.

  Several of her friends had already gotten married. Now, at twenty-seven, Piper was making wedding cakes, watching more couples pledge to spend their lives together. Were they brave? Did they analyze everything the way she did? Or did they just know and merely follow their hearts?

  Piper did know one thing: Jack Lombardi was already her best friend.

  She walked over to the window and looked outside. It was still raining. Though the lightning and thunder had stopped, the sky was gray and there were whitecaps on the water. She watched a big brown pelican circle before making a clumsy landing on the Gulf. Once settled, the bird floated gracefully, rising and falling with the waves, undeterred by the raindrops.

  After a quick shower, Piper started to pull on a pair of jeans but thought better of it. Instead she took her favorite leggings and a light blazer from the closet. She had no idea what Kathy would be wearing this morning or where they’d go for lunch, so she thought it best to dress in something that would be appropriate anywhere.

  When she was ready, she proceeded down to the inn’s small café, where a continental breakfast was being served. Her parents were already there, lingering over their coffee.

  “Hey there, lovey,” said Vin when he saw her.

  “Happy Valentine’s Day, you two,” said Piper as she kissed both her parents on the cheek.

  “How’d you sleep?” Terri asked.

  “I died. Nothing like sleeping to the sound of the ocean.”

  “The thunder didn’t keep you awake?” asked Terri. “It did me.”

  “Nope,” said Piper, pouring herself a bowl of cereal. She took a banana and a container of skim milk from the buffet table.

  “I don’t think you should leave your windows wide open at night, Piper,” said her father. “You’re on the ground floor, and anybody could climb right in.”

  “Okay, Dad,” said Piper as she peeled the banana. It was easier to agree than to argue. She was accustomed to her father’s preoccupation with safety. Why cause him any more worry than he already had? Piper sometimes wondered what it must be like in her father’s mind, always looking three steps down the road to the dire possibilities ready to beset everyone and everything. It exhausted her to think about it.

  Terri put down her empty coffee cup. “What time is your appointment for the dress fitting?” she asked.

  “Kathy is picking me up at ten,” said Piper. “Afterward we’re going to go out for lunch, if she’s still up for it. What are you guys doing?”

  “Nora wants me to come over and look at her dress,” said Terri. “Then I thought I’d go and buy the ingredients for the cake.”

  Piper looked concerned. “I could do that with you later this afternoon, Mom,” she offered. “Why don’t we plan on three o’clock?”

  “Great,” said Terri. “I’ll meet you back here at three.”

  Piper turned to her father. “What about you, Dad?”

  “Dan asked if I wanted to come over to Mote. He’s giving a lecture today on sharks and other dangerous sea life.”

  Piper smirked. “Wow, that’s just screaming out your name!”

  “Laugh if you want, Piper,” said Vin. “But it’s always good to know as much as you can about something that could hurt you.”

  Piper flipped through a magazine as she waited in the lobby for her cousin to arrive. From time to time, she looked toward the entrance. She was surprised to see the young man with whom she’d placed the order for the hex sign at Fisher’s gift shop the day before. He was carrying in a stack of white cardboard bakery boxes. His brow was knit in concentration.

  “Hi,” said Piper as he got close to her chair.

  He stopped and looked at her uncertainly. Piper could tell he didn’t immediately recognize her.

  “I was in your shop yesterday. I ordered the marriage hex sign?” she reminded him.

  The teenager nodded. “Oh, yes. Do not worry. I am going to work on it today.”

  Piper laughed. “I’m not worried. I didn’t expect it to be done that quickly.”

  She loved to observe people. It helped her as an actress. She never knew when she was going to steal a mannerism she’d noticed and bring it to a character she was playing. She studied the young man’s face. His worried expression made her want to reassure him. What was troubling him? She couldn’t even speculate. She had no idea what went on in the Amish world.

  She gestured to the boxes he was carrying. “Are those pies from Fisher’s?” she asked.

  “Yes,” he said. “I deliver them fresh every morning.”

  “Yum,” said Piper. “My family loves them. It’s great to know we don’t have to drive all the way over to Pinecraft. We can just have them here. I hope one of those is peanut-butter cream.”

  The young man smiled a little bit. “Yes, and Dutch apple crumb and southern pecan.”

  “I’m never going to fit into my bridesmaid’s dress,” Piper said with a groan. “Whatever. Kathy will have to deal.”

  Out of the corner of her eye, Piper saw Kathy walking toward them across the lobby. As she drew closer, Piper could see that her cousin’s eyes were bloodshot and the skin beneath them was puffy. Either Kathy hadn’t slept well or she’d been crying—or maybe both.

  “I see you’ve met Levi,” Kathy said.

  “Yes . . . well, we haven’t actually been formally introduced.” Piper stuck out her hand. Levi put the boxes down on the table and returned the handshake. His palms were clammy.

  “Nice to meet you,” he said politely, immediately picking up the boxes again. “Well, I better get going. I have other deliveries to make.”

  Piper and her cousin watched as he walked toward the café.

  “He’s nice,” said Piper. “But he seems so serious.”

  “Levi is a good kid. And so is his sister, Miriam.”

  “Is she the one who served dinner last night?” asked Piper.

  Kathy nodded. “Mm-hmm. She cleans house for Mom and helps some of the other people in the town-house complex. They’re both totally honest and such hard workers.”

  “It must be rough being an Amish teenager,” said Piper. “Everyone else their age is out partying and doing things they don’t want their parents to find out about.”

  “Don’t worry about Levi, Piper,” said Kathy. “He’s having fun. He’s in the middle of that period when the young people go wild and experience the outside world before they settle down into the Amish life for good. The other night I saw him at the Beach Club, and he was downing those beers like a champ.”

  Chapter 17

  Sitting at his computer and working on the payroll, Walter realized that he was in rough shape. Without Shelley to assist him and with Kathy taking time off this week and next for her wedding and honeymoon, he was going to have to do the heavy lifting of managing the inn. That was going to keep him from focusing on his expansion plans.

  There was nothing he could do about it. The last thing he’d want to do was deny Kathy the freedom to enjoy this special time in her life. Neither did Walter want to disappoint her mother. Things were going so well between them. He didn’t want to do anything that might jeopardize that relationship.

  He leaned back in his chair and put his loafer-clad feet up on the desk. All and all, he was content. He really enjoyed the time he spent with her Nora, and the prospect of Kathy as a stepdaughter pleased him greatly. He’d never married or had children of his own, and he’d come to regret it. He’d always been so driven. Now he was trying to have a more balanced life and was finding that he liked it. Sharing meals or catching a movie with Nora, having someone to talk with and care about had enriched his days and nights.

  Still, Walter knew himself well enough to realize that he was first, last, and always a businessman. He pulled out the property survey fro
m the drawer, spread it across his desk, and studied it. Each red X marked his progress. It excited him that his persistent attempts to persuade the town-house owners to sell him their property were coming to fruition. He already had six signed contracts. There were four more to sew up before he reached his goal.

  The economy was on his side. Across the state there were far too many properties for sale and far too few buyers. Things weren’t going to change overnight. Another few weeks wasn’t going to alter the real-estate market. He knew he could afford to be patient.

  Walter rose from his large desk and walked to the window. He noted with satisfaction that the rain had stopped. Though some was necessary and inevitable, too much rain certainly wasn’t good for business.

  Suddenly it occurred to him that it was Valentine’s Day. He reached for his phone and scrolled through the listings till he came to the florist’s number.

  “I’d like two dozen red roses delivered to Mrs. Nora Leeds,” he said.

  It was of utmost importance that he stay in Nora’s good graces.

  Chapter 18

  Kathy walked out of the fitting room. Piper’s mouth dropped open and tears welled up in her green eyes.

  “You’re a goddess!” she gasped. “Kathy, you are so beautiful!”

  “Do you like it?” asked Kathy.

  “Like it? I love it!” said Piper.

  The dress was strapless, setting off to perfection Kathy’s shoulders and décolletage. The bodice was ruched. Beneath it, soft white organza flowed gracefully, creating a slimming A-line silhouette. A sweeping train was attached to the back of the dress.

  “Gorgeous,” said Piper. “Just gorgeous. But there’s one little thing.”

  Kathy’s wide smile disappeared. “What? What’s wrong?”

  “What about the train?” asked Piper. “You don’t want it dragging behind you in the sand, do you?”