She was astounded to find her hands shaking slightly. She paused for a second and took a deep breath to steady her nerves and then opened the bag.
“Dang, that’s a lot of money.”
Mumbling to herself, she used one finger to fan the stack of hundred dollar bills she found inside the bag. Holding her hand steady, she aimed her camera, and took a couple of pictures and on impulse texted them to Aiden. As she finished, she heard a sound that caught her attention, it wasn’t the pleasant sounds of the birds she had been enjoying earlier. As she listened, she realized it was coming from a distance, but not too far off. It took a second for her to identify the sound as the slamming of a car door before she heard the sound of a second door slamming. She realized she would be in full sight of anyone that walked the path from the parking lot to the lighthouse. Megan wasn’t so sure that this was a very good idea. It might be a couple of lovers wandering down to the beach to enjoy an evening walk, or someone coming to collect the bag she still held in her hands. That thought, along with the memory of what had happened to Mary when she stumbled onto something she shouldn’t have, propelled Megan into action. She closed the bag back up and returned it to the box, being sure to place some of the papers inside the box over the top of it. As she put the padlock in place, she remembered just in time not to push it into the locked position. She made sure there was no one in sight, and then moving with care, but with haste, made her way back down the stairs to the ground level.
Once she was on the ground level, she saw there was nowhere to hide from the approaching voices coming up the path. Her only option would be to go over the rope that separated visitors from the lighthouse and the rocks that lined the sea wall. She started towards the rope, ready to do what she had to stay hidden and safe. She grabbed the rope to steady herself as she raised her leg to climb over, but stopped midway. An old memory flashed in her mind and she contemplated the lighthouse, hoping she was right. As a member of the Citrus Beach historical committee, she knew of a safe place to hide, but only if a key to the private quarters of the lighthouse was still in the spot known to those members. She took the chance and let go of the rope, hurrying to the narrow doorway. Megan reached up and under the metal plate that proclaimed the light house a historical site. She felt around until her fingers grasped the cold metal of the key.
She pulled it from its hiding spot, scraping her knuckles on the metal plate in her haste, Megan rammed the key into the lock and gave it a rough turn to unlock the deadbolt that separated her from safety. The bolt slipped into its open position, and she opened the door to let herself in. Once in, she closed the door behind her and re-locked it.
Megan forced herself to calm down as she leaned against the door, closing her eyes she took deep breaths and counted to ten. Feeling her heart slow its rapid rhythm, she opened her eyes and tried to make out the interior of the room. It was much darker in here, there were few windows in the quarters and with the sun setting it was hard to see anything. With a tug she had her flashlight back out of her pocket and she turned it on. Careful to keep the beam aimed low so it wouldn’t be seen from outside, she looked around. There was little furniture, the décor mimicked how the original light keepers might have lived, and she moved around the room without difficulty.
Now that she was calmer, her curiosity eclipsing her need for self-preservation. Wanting to see who would show up at the light house, and if it was any of her suspects, she decided to listen to any conversations they might have. Discovering one of the narrow windows was at foot level to the first landing, she dragged a chair over to it. Pushing hard on the corners, she managed to crack it open, enough to hear the crash of the waves on the rocks. Megan hoped that she would be able to catch any voices. She got back down off the chair and inspected the small desk right under the window. Using the flashlight she shined the light on the papers on the table and found more comment cards and brochures used to educate visitors on the lighthouse’s history. With a sigh, she saw nothing that would help her in any way.
She would have to rely on her hearing rather than her sight, she tossed the brochure down. As it landed, the backside faced up and Megan saw the words Lighthouse Cam.
“The heavens are smiling on you now, girl,” she told herself.
She opened her phone and breathed a sigh of relief to find she had great reception. Using the phone’s Internet access she entered the site for the lighthouse cam. As she waited for the site to open, she remembered how last season the high school seniors had made it their final class project to start and monitor a website that would a run constant feed of the lighthouse and its visitors. As she had hoped, the site was up and still running. Briefly she wondered if anyone still monitored it, but it didn’t matter, what mattered is that she had a clear view of the light house and its immediate surroundings from two different directions. She climbed back up on the chair to listen in on anyone who climbed to the landing. Megan held the phone in her hands, watching for what would happen next.
Chapter 31
As Megan’s vision adjusted to the low light and small screen she was watching, Lucy was rubbing her eyes in frustration. She couldn’t believe how much shopping one woman could do in a small town, and how long she could take to do it. Rita seemed to have visited every retail shop in Citrus Beach and tried on every piece of clothing in her size. Once she took so long that Lucy wandered into the shop to be sure Rita hadn’t slipped out the back door. She hadn’t, and she was not only taking up each shop-keeper’s time, but seemed to go out of her way to irritate them and be rude. Then Lucy remembered that Rita always acted like this; her behavior was nothing new.
By 1:00 pm, Lucy was grateful when Rita pulled into the diner for lunch. She waited for the other woman to enter the building and find a seat before she followed her inside. With her head low, she moved quickly to the back booth and took a seat. Deciding that she didn’t want to talk to anyone, she kept her sunglasses on to avoid making eye contact with her fellow diners. As she sipped the drink Susie brought her, she puzzled over Rita’s stop at Aiden’s office.
Lucy was trying to figure out in her mind just how Rita got around Aiden security system without setting it off, alerting the security of the breach. She didn’t stay inside the office long enough to do any major snooping, so she must have known exactly what she wanted when she walked to the door. Lucy had a pretty good feeling that the papers Rita held in her hands when exiting the office were something to do with the Wheeler estate and her claim on it.
Lucy wished that Aiden was still in town, she would have loved to have seen him confront the other woman when he found out about her actions. She decided that even though Aiden wasn’t there to do anything about it, he should be informed about what was going on and she sent him quick message on her phone telling him.
Watching Rita interact with the other patrons in the diner was rather amusing. It was clear that she was picking who she wanted to talk to and dismissing those she didn't think were up to her caliber. She went out of her way to be polite to the mayor when he walked by, but when her old classmate, now the garage owner, said hello she completely ignored him. Susie was dropping off Rita's bill at her table when the door to the diner opened and in walked Kim Heart.
As usual Kim did a quick visual scan of the diner to see who was there and with whom. When she caught sight of Rita, she made her way straight to the table and pulled out a chair to sit down without being asked. That didn't seem to bother Rita at all, she actually seemed pleased when Kim joined her.
"This can only mean trouble, the two of them together at one table," Lucy told herself.
The two women whispered back and forth to each other for a couple minutes, and then Rita stood up, grabbing her purse in one hand and Kim's elbow with the other, and moved towards the front door. Lucy waited until they got in Rita's car, leaving Kim's behind, and then she rushed out the door. There was no way she would miss out on finding out what the two of them were up to.
She drove a couple car lengths beh
ind, keeping them in her line-of-sight, but out of their vision. Lucy couldn't believe her eyes when Rita's car pull into the public library and park. It was the last place she’d ever expect Rita to stop at. She watched the women get out of the car and made note of the fact that Rita carried the manila folder in her hands she had taken from Aiden's office. Whatever was in the folder, she was going to share with Kim. Lucy sat in her car for a few moments to give them time to get into the library and get themselves settled.
Reaching over to the passenger side of her car, she grabbed the notebook that she always kept with her. Deciding at this point that the sunglasses and hat would probably make her stand out more than camouflaging herself, she threw both onto the seat and headed into the library. When she was inside her eyes adjusted to the lower light and she went immediately to the reception desk. She was thrilled that one of her friends, known for her love of gossip, was sitting at the desk
"Hi Kathy. Did you happen to see Kim Heart walk by? I thought I had seen her and I wanted to ask her a few questions."
"Hey there, Lucy. I haven’t seen you in here for a couple weeks, how are you doing?" Not waiting for an answer, Kathy quickly filled her in on where she might find Kim Heart.
"Your timing is perfect, she just walked in a few moments ago. She is with Rita Thomas, and they sure seemed to be chummy. I'm pretty sure they headed back to the records room. You should be able to catch them there. That is, if you want to be around Rita Thomas."
Kathy had gone to school with Lucy and Rita and was well aware of the antagonism between the two. She not only knew it, she understood it. More than once, she had been a victim of Rita's cruelness. Lucy gave a weak smile at her comment and shrugged her shoulders as if to say she couldn't get around the fact she was going to have face Rita.
With a wave of her hand, Lucy headed off toward the records room, not wanting to add anything that can be used in Kathy's daily gossip. The woman was a dear friend, but a bit lonely and tended to gossip with anyone who would listen.
Lucy reached the records room and peeked inside the door. Luck was with her, Rita and Kim were seated at a table in the back and between their table and the door was a large bookshelf holding county records. It was perfect to hide behind, close enough to listen to their conversation and tall enough to keep her from their view.
"I'm telling you, Kim, my claim is legitimate. And between you and me, once I get my hands on my inheritance I'm selling everything. I don't need to honor Mary's wishes. This town did nothing for me, and I'll be glad to leave again to get on with my life."
"Are you sure about all your facts, Rita? Mary's lawyers are excellent, the best in the county, and I'm sure they’ve examined every loophole that could ever come up about the estate and its donation to the town. Don't get me wrong, I'm more than happy to run your story and hear your point of view. But I have to protect myself too. That means I have to confirm that your facts are correct before I stick my neck out."
"Oh, I'm sure, Kim. You write the story from my point of view and it'll be your ticket out of this small town. Why, I even have plenty of connections with some of the larger newspapers. If you play it my way, I'll be more than willing to open doors for you."
Lucy held her breath as she waited for Kim's answer. Kim was an ambitious woman, and she was looking for bigger things than Citrus Beach, but she wasn’t vicious. Yes, some of her stories were exaggerated and her facts may not always be correct, but when the town and the local area had suffered a great loss she was right there to help out. Lucy wanted to believe that Kim had better character than Rita.
"Well, I'm not committing to anything until I read over your information and ask you a few questions. If everything pans out, great. And I will come to you to get those doors open, Rita."
Lucy listened to the rustling of papers as Rita showed Kim what she had stolen from Aiden's office. Unfortunately they lowered their voices, and she wasn't able to hear any more of your conversation. Deciding that she was conspicuous if they were to get up from the table and walk out, she left the room without being noticed. Grabbing a random book off the fiction shelves as she walked by, Lucy settled herself into the reading area which was conveniently right by the exit so that she would be sure to notice the other women when they left.
*** Aiden glanced down at his phone and was surprised to find a message from Lucy. Excusing himself from the woman across from him, he read the message. He wasn't surprised by what he read. As a matter of fact he was rather expecting it.
After Aiden had left Megan that morning, he took the golf cart over to the plane parked on the landing strip. The pilot, Sam, was waiting for him, and after saying good morning, told him they would leave momentarily. Walking up the stairs and into the plane, Aiden was surprised to find he had company.
"Well, don't just stand there with your mouth hanging open. Grab a seat so we can get moving."
"Isn’t this a pleasant surprise, ladies? Good morning Charlotte, Carol."
The two women grinned at each other, pleased that they had surprised Aiden. As he sat in his seat, Charlotte held up an old, yellowed photo album.
"I think that the pictures you'll find in this book will answer many of your questions about Mary Wheeler's family and the consequential lineage. Since time is of the essence in getting this matter solved, I decided to come with you to Jacksonville. We can talk on the flight and I'll answer as many questions as I can for you."
"I appreciate your help, Charlotte. And what's your excuse for going to Jacksonville, Carol?"
"Oh, I don't need an excuse, I just felt that a shopping trip was needed. So I invited myself along for the ride."
The three of them laughed, they were all aware of how much Carol loved to shop. She was a master and could easily teach a class in retail 101. Aiden took the seat next to Charlotte and buckled himself in, ready to avail himself of any information that Charlotte was willing to share. Within minutes Sam had the plane up in the air and headed for Jacksonville.
Aiden opened the photo album and slowly turned each page, seeing the progression of time played out in the personal photos of Mary Wheeler's ancestors. He examined each one in detail, but could see nothing that stood out for him. As he reached the last page, he turned his head towards Charlotte for a clue as to what he was supposed to be looking for in the batch of pictures.
“Let’s go through this again, shall we? And this time there are a few photos I would like you to give special attention. And compare them to these two photos that I pulled from another album, Rita’s family album.”
Charlotte handed Aiden the two photos with a sly smile. He had the feeling she would blow Rita’s declaration of Wheeler heritage right out of the water. And knowing her, he knew she would make him figure it out for himself, even though she was right there with all the answers he needed.
“OK, I’m assuming that this one is of Rita and her nanny or her mother?”
“Yes, that is Rita’s natural mother. She died right after Rita turned four, and Rita was raised by relatives. This is one of the few pictures of Rita’s mother, I doubt if she has even seen it herself.”
“And this older photo?”
“That picture is of Rita’s great-great grandfather and Mary Wheeler’s great-great grandfather. The two were devoted friends even though they were from different class structure. Class structures that in those days did not mix very often.”
Aiden took another glance at the two photos. One showed a young Rita holding hands with a beautiful women of Spanish descent. The second showed two men in their early twenties standing in a pineapple grove. It was easy to see they were on good terms, but one was dressed in a gentleman’s attire of the times and the second in clothes of a field hand. The second man was of Spanish descent.
“Rita doesn’t look much like her mother, does she?” he asked.
“No, it’s hard to notice her Spanish heritage, unless you know what to look for. And Rita’s mother was the first women in a couple of generations to reflect the deep
Spanish traits of her family. It’s easy for someone looking at Rita’s family pictures to forget her heritage. Her surrogate family was typical Caucasian, and her grandparents had the same look. Turn the pages of the album back to about the middle and go over it again, Aiden.”
Charlotte flashed him with a smile that would rival the Mona Lisa. She knew he had an inkling of what she was trying to show him. It would only take him a couple more passages through the captured moments of time before he would clearly see what she would not come right out and tell him. She would not air anyone’s dirty laundry, but she would let him know if he was on the right track. The visit he planned to the state’s office of records would confirm what he would find.
Carol and Charlotte watched as he flipped the pages back and forth, occasionally looking at the two photos in his hand. They knew at the precise moment when he discovered the truth, and grinned proudly at each other, like parents watching their son take his first step.
He asked few questions, working the answers out for himself as they flew up the coastline to the state capital. Once they landed, he asked the two women if he could take them anywhere, but they could see for themselves that he was anxious to get the proof that would confirm his discovery. Waving him off, they agreed to meet for lunch before heading back to Citrus Beach.
The lunch they shared was in one of Charlotte’s favorite restaurants, and from the preferred treatment they received, it was clear that she enjoyed the specialties often. Aiden had confirmed most of his guess work about Rita’s past with the information he obtained from the hall of records. Once he knew what questions to ask, it was smooth going, and what he wasn’t able to find actual proof of, Charlotte could fill in the blanks. Their lunch dragged out as they discussed the case, and before they knew it, Sam was phoning Carol to confirm their departure time.
Murder at the Geo-Cache...A Citrus Beach Mystery (Citrus Beach Mysteries Book 3) Page 19
