Lauren smiled. The romantic tale had always captivated her, and she’d stitched that family square many times in her life. Did her father still have some of those old quilts up in the attic?
The sound of laughter drew her out of the past, and she climbed the stairs with some trepidation. Despite Charlotte’s warm invitation, Lauren wasn’t sure how well she’d be received. It had been a long time since she’d been a friend to any of the women, and she was fairly sure some of the older ones would judge her harshly for not having come back to visit her father before now.
Her steps slowed as she reached the top. There were at least thirty women milling about the big room. The tables, usually covered with quilting fabrics, now boasted pink tablecloths and vases of flowers. The sewing machines had been pushed against a wall and a large of tower of presents filled one corner.
“I’m so glad you came,” Charlotte said, greeting her with a smile. Charlotte wore a pretty floral dress with a light sweater, and her blond hair hung loosely around her shoulders. “I was afraid you’d chicken out.”
“I was tempted. There are a lot of people here.” Baby showers, like so many other events in Angel’s Bay, were a community affair.
“Let’s find Kara,” Charlotte said, grabbing Lauren’s hand.
The warm contact felt both familiar and right. Just like when they were in kindergarten, Charlotte was taking her hand and telling her it would be fine. And just like before, Lauren wanted to believe her.
Kara broke away from a trio of women when she saw Charlotte and Lauren approaching. Her brown eyes sparkled with what appeared to be genuine delight. “Lauren, you came! Charlotte told me she invited you, and I’m so happy you’re here.” She gave Lauren a hug.
Lauren felt a little awkward as she hugged her back. She and Kara had gotten close when she’d begun seeing Shane, but after everything that had happened, Lauren wasn’t sure how Kara felt about her.
“I’ll get you some punch, Lauren,” Charlotte said. “Can I spike it for you?”
“Absolutely.” She had a feeling she was going to need some alcohol before the afternoon was out. When Charlotte moved away, Lauren smiled at Kara. “You look great.”
“Liar. I look like hell,” Kara said, resting her hands lightly on her enormous belly. “But I appreciate the effort.”
“I was so sorry to hear about Colin.”
Kara gave her a small nod. “Thanks.” She glanced down at the package in Lauren’s hands. “You didn’t have to bring me a present. You just got into town.”
Lauren handed her the small box that she’d decorated with a yellow bow. “It’s the music box that your mother gave mine at her baby shower for me thirty years ago. I always liked listening to it when I went to sleep, and I thought it might be nice to return it to your family.”
Kara opened the music box, revealing a ballerina spinning to a soft melody. “This is so sweet. My mother loved the ballet. It was her greatest disappointment when I hung up my tutu. And God knows Dee would never put one on,” she added with a laugh. “Maybe my daughter will take to dance.” She smiled at Lauren. “Colin will love this. He likes things that connect to the past, to our circle of friends and family. I can’t wait to show it to him.”
“I’m glad you like it.”
“I do. So, do you know everyone here?”
Lauren glanced at the crowd, many of whom were casting interested looks in her direction. “There are some familiar faces, but definitely some new ones. I seem to be drawing a lot of attention. I really don’t have to stay.”
“Are you kidding? I was not looking forward to being the focus today. It’s been a long three months, with every action being constantly analyzed and judged. Now everyone will be talking about you instead of me. It’s a welcome relief.”
“I’m glad I can help,” Lauren said dryly. “But I’m sure people aren’t judging you.”
“The people who believe Colin will recover want me to stay strong and positive, and the people who think I’m crazy for believing that my husband will ever get better want to see signs that I’m cracking. The truth is, sometimes I feel optimistic and other days the doubts overwhelm me, and then I feel guilty, because I can’t lose faith.” She paused and drew in a deep breath. “But today it will be about you, and quite frankly, Lauren, that is the best present you could have given me. I do feel a little sorry for you, though.”
“Yeah, I can tell.”
Kara grinned. “So before everyone descends on us, what’s going on with you and Shane?”
“Nothing,” Lauren said, trying to quell the hopeful gleam in Kara’s eyes.
“Shane told me he saw you. Any old sparks still lingering?”
“Did he say there were?” She mentally kicked herself for asking such a thing. She felt like she was back in high school again.
“Shane doesn’t say much, but I know you meant a lot to him.”
“At one time, but there’s nothing between us now.” She tried not to think about how they’d almost made love on the beach the day before.
“That’s too bad. I always thought you were good for each other. You softened him up, and he brought you out of your shell.” Kara gave Lauren a speculative look. “Maybe you should give him another chance. Fate has brought you back together again, and you’re both single, right?”
“I am,” she admitted, “but fate didn’t bring me back here. I came home to help my father.” Lauren was relieved when Charlotte returned with her punch, interrupting their conversation. Charlotte was accompanied by a slender brunette Lauren didn’t recognize.
“This is Jenna Davies,” Charlotte introduced, as she handed Lauren a glass of punch. “Jenna has only been in Angel’s Bay a few months, but she’s related to Gabriella, the baby discovered after the shipwreck.”
“Really?” Lauren echoed in surprise. “That means you’re related to Rose Littleton, too. She was a descendant of Gabriella.”
“She was my grandmother,” Jenna replied. “Unfortunately, I never met her. She passed away before I came to Angel’s Bay. Apparently Rose gave my mother up for adoption, so I wasn’t aware of her existence until a few months ago. But I’m slowly getting caught up with the Angel’s Bay history, and it’s kind of fun to be tied to one of the original settlers of the town.”
“I remember Rose and my father poring over old family journals,” Lauren said. “My great-great-great-grandmother Leonora was on the ship, and my dad was obsessed with the family history.”
“We’re going to teach Jenna how to make the Gabriella quilt square so she can take over as the official descendant,” Charlotte interjected.
Lauren smiled. It was a tradition that the Angel’s Bay story quilt be reconstructed by the descendants of the survivors whenever possible. “That’s great. Are you a quilter, Jenna?”
“Not even close. I’ve taken two classes and I’m all thumbs.” She paused as her cell phone rang. “Excuse me, I need to take this. I’ll talk to you later.”
Lauren took a sip of her punch, feeling the kick of bourbon. She met Charlotte’s smiling eyes. “You are a very bad girl, Charlie.”
“You’ll thank me later.” Charlotte turned away from Lauren as two older women engaged her and Kara in conversation.
Lauren glanced across the room, recognizing Dina from the café, Dina’s daughter Liz, Mrs. Stevens and Mrs. Hooper, who had both been friends with her mother, Mort’s daughter, Leslie, and . . . her heart skipped a beat as she saw Lisa Delaney.
Lisa had auburn hair and dark eyes that stood out against her pale, freckled complexion. She was dressed in black, which accentuated her extremely thin body and the lines around her eyes and mouth. She looked so much older now, not at all like the young girl who had spent so many hours sitting on Abby’s bed that Lauren had considered her a second little sister.
Lisa’s parents had split when she was five, and she’d ended up with a mother who was more interested in finding a second husband than taking care of her daughter, so Lisa had spent most of h
er free time with Abby.
Lisa looked up and caught Lauren staring. Her smile faded and she looked somewhat torn, as if she knew she had to say hello but didn’t really want to. Lauren could understand her ambivalence. After Abby died, Lauren and her parents had shut Lisa out; she’d reminded them of the girl they’d lost. It wasn’t fair, but it had happened.
Lisa squared her shoulders, excused herself from her conversation, and headed over to her. “Lauren, I heard you were back. How are you?”
“I’m good. How are you?” Lauren inquired.
“Great. How’s your father?”
“His health is slipping, as you probably know.”
“Yes, I’m so sorry.”
Lisa didn’t sound sorry. She sounded uncomfortable and looked like she’d rather be anywhere else than engaged in this particular conversation.
“I’m glad you’re here,” Lauren said. “I was looking through some of Abby’s things last night, and remembering how much time you used to spend at our house. I thought you might want something to—”
“I really don’t want to talk about Abby,” Lisa interrupted. “It’s still so painful. I miss her every day. She was like my sister.”
“I know.” In the face of Lisa’s comment Lauren was hesitant to bring up Devlin’s suspicions, but she didn’t know how long she’d be in town, or when she’d have another opportunity to speak to Lisa. “Mark Devlin told me about the movie he’s making based on Abby’s death. He mentioned something to me, and I’m sure it doesn’t mean anything, but it got me wondering.”
“That man is making up lies,” Lisa said abruptly. “You shouldn’t believe anything he says, Lauren.”
“I’m not inclined to believe him, but he told me that you and Abby were seen sitting in a car outside Coach Sorensen’s house the Saturday night before Abby was killed. It didn’t make sense to me, because you told the police that you and Abby stayed in that night. And if you were out, I wondered whose car you were in, since neither of you could drive.”
Lisa hesitated, shifting her weight from one foot to the other as she crossed her arms. “We were in Jason Marlow’s car. We were just driving around town; we weren’t spying on anyone. I don’t know what that woman was talking about.”
“Jason Marlow?” She had a vague recollection of the guy. He’d been a year younger than her and very close to Colin and Kara. “I don’t remember you mentioning his name.”
“Really? I’m pretty sure I gave the police the name of just about every boy we’d ever spoken to.”
Was that true? It had been a long time since the investigation, and Lauren certainly hadn’t been privy to all the details. “I know you didn’t mention that you left your house that night.”
Lisa shrugged. “It wasn’t important.”
“Do you know that for sure?”
“Good grief, Lauren. Why are you grilling me?”
“I’m just trying to understand what was going on.”
Anger simmered in Lisa’s eyes. “Nothing was going on. Look, I had promised my mom that we’d stay in the house that night, but we snuck out for a while. I didn’t say anything back then because I didn’t want to get in trouble. It was two nights before Abby died. It didn’t have anything to do with anything.”
Lisa’s words reminded Lauren of what Shane had said when he’d claimed that his errand at the lawyer’s office hadn’t been relevant to Abby’s death. And the woman who had spoken to Mark Devlin had suddenly come forward now because she was divorced and she could speak freely.
How many people were holding on to information they didn’t deem important? Or that they hadn’t revealed because they were afraid whatever they had seen would get them into personal trouble? Was it possible that Mark Devlin’s movie was actually bringing new evidence to light?
“You should have told the police, Lisa. You should tell them now.”
“Why would I need to tell them? Jason Marlow is a police officer. He knows what we were doing that night.”
Lauren was surprised. “Jason Marlow is a cop in town?”
“He has been for years. Mr. Devlin is just stirring up trouble, Lauren. We weren’t spying on the coach. Why would we? We were riding around town that night, like we did a million other nights, like you and Shane used to do, and all the other kids in this town. I don’t know why you’re bringing this up now.”
“I hadn’t realized there was anything I didn’t know about that night.”
“Abby was a good girl, Lauren. She didn’t drink much. She didn’t do drugs or hook up with random guys. She certainly didn’t get into the kind of trouble you did when you hopped on the back of Shane Murray’s motorcycle,” Lisa added. “I still think Shane is the most likely suspect. I know you don’t want to hear that, but most people believe he did it.”
Lauren shook her head. “He didn’t.”
“He offered Abby a ride on his bike, but he didn’t take her to the high school. He took her to the Ramsay house. He tried to hit on her, and she said no, because she wouldn’t betray you. Shane got so angry he killed her. Everybody knew about his temper. He was always getting into fights at school. That’s what happened, Lauren. Shane Murray killed Abby. And he should have paid for it a long time ago.”
A shiver ran down Lauren’s spine at Lisa’s forceful words. It was the exact scenario that the cops had painted all those years ago, the one that made her doubt him. But she’d known Shane better than anyone. She never should have given in to her doubts.
“Shane did not kill my sister,” she said firmly. “He’s innocent and he always has been, and I should have said that a long time ago.”
As Lauren finished speaking, she realized a hush had come over the room. At some point she and Lisa had become the center of attention.
“Lisa, you need to go,” Kara said, as she and the other Murray women stepped forward with blood in their eyes. They wouldn’t stand for anyone talking bad about Shane in their presence.
Guilt flashed in Lisa’s eyes. “I’m truly sorry you overheard that, Kara. I spoke without thinking.” She set down her glass of punch and left.
“Maybe I should go, too,” Lauren suggested.
“No, you’re staying,” Kara said firmly. She glanced at her mother and grandmother. “I think it’s time to open presents. Don’t you?”
A murmur of approval broke out and the group began to chatter again as Kara’s mother and grandmother headed toward the gift table.
Kara turned to Lauren with gratitude in her eyes. “Thank you for saying that about Shane.”
“It was the truth, and long overdue.”
As Kara left to open her presents, Charlotte moved to Lauren’s side. “It looks like you’re the life of the party.”
“I told you that you shouldn’t have invited me.”
“Every baby shower needs a little drama. I can’t believe Lisa said that to you about Shane. She was certainly worked up.”
“She thought I was attacking her, because I asked her what she was doing the Saturday night before Abby died.”
“Why would you ask her that?”
“That movie producer made some comments to me, and I wanted to follow up on them.” Lauren paused. “Do you remember Coach Sorensen?”
“Of course. Half the girls in school were in love with him. Why do you ask?”
Lauren shrugged, not wanting to create any further speculation.
“You’re making me really curious,” Charlotte said.
“Is Mr. Sorensen still teaching at the high school?”
“Yes, in fact I’m doing a health lecture in his biology class on Tuesday. He’s still very good looking and very married. Erica had their third child about four months ago.” Charlotte paused. “You’re really getting pulled into the past, aren’t you? Are you sure you’re prepared to deal with all that again?”
“I don’t think I have a choice. I’m just afraid . . .”
“Of what?” Charlotte prodded.
“That I’ll find out I didn’t know
Abby at all.”
“You knew your sister. Don’t let someone else’s doubts become yours.”
“It’s hard not to. I’d accepted that we were never going to have answers. But now everything has changed. Now I have to know what happened.”
“That may not be possible, Lauren. The case went cold because there weren’t any clues.”
“That’s what I thought, until Mark Devlin came up with something the police didn’t. Now I wonder what else got missed—what other secrets people are keeping.”
“Then start mingling,” Charlotte said. “Because if there’s one thing the ladies in this town do well, it’s gossip about other people’s business.”
TEN
The baby shower yielded no secrets, which was a relief, since Lauren was still trying to absorb the new information she’d learned. She’d enjoyed reconnecting with old friends and being part of the community again, though. It surprised her how easily she’d fit right back in.
Upon returning home, she’d spent several hours cleaning out her father’s kitchen, restocking the cupboards, and getting rid of all the expired food items. She’d washed the floor, scrubbed the inside of the refrigerator, and made a nice dinner. Her father had seemed to enjoy the fresh grilled halibut, green salad, and vegetables. He’d taught her how to clean and cook fish when she was a small girl, and for some insane reason she’d wanted to impress him with her cooking skills.
Of course, the best part of her meal had been the fresh berry tart with lemon cream that she’d whipped up. Lightly dusted with sugar, it had been pretty as a picture.
Smiling to herself, Lauren started the dishwasher, then went into the living room. In his bedroom, her father was singing along to one of his Italian opera CDs and seemed in a great mood. She’d decided to table his medical issues and living situation for one night, and it had been a good decision. It had been nice to spend time with him without being in conflict.
On Shadow Beach Page 12
