“How will I know if you don’t tell me?”
“It said, ‘Sundial. Five. Two.’”
“That’s it?” It sure wasn’t much to go on. “Do you think it ties in with my mother’s death?”
“The more important question is, do you believe it ties in?”
She gave it some thought. How many people possessed a coded message? And perhaps it would explain her father’s inability to let go of the past. But what was her mother doing with a coded message? What was she involved in?
“Annabelle, what are you thinking?”
The concern in Grayson’s voice drew her from her thoughts. “I honestly have no idea what to make of this. I’ve got more questions than answers.”
“Then if you’re willing, I think we should follow the clue. It will hopefully give you some peace of mind.”
“I...I don’t know. What if it’s something bad? I’m not sure my family can take any more bad news.”
“If you want, I can investigate on my own. And if I think it’s something you should know, I’ll tell you.”
Her gaze met his. “You’d really do that for me?”
He nodded. “You are stronger than you give yourself credit for. And you deserve the truth.”
He was right. She could do this. She slipped her hand into his. “We’ll do this together.”
“Good.” He squeezed her hand. “Do you know where we can find a sundial?”
She stopped to think. A sundial? Really?
“Annabelle, please tell me you know of one.”
Her mind raced. And then it latched on to a memory. “There’s one in the garden.”
“What garden? Do you mean the palace gardens?”
She nodded. “It’s overgrown with ivy now. When I was a kid, my cousins, my brother and some others would play in the gardens. It’s a great place for hide-and-seek. Anyway, we stumbled over the sundial.”
“Do you remember where it is?”
The gardens were immense. It would take a long time to search them without some direction. But she was certain that with a little time, she could lead them to the sundial.
“Come on.” She started off toward the palace at a clip.
It was only when they reached the palace gates that she realized she was holding his hand. She assured herself that it was just a natural instinct and the action had no deeper meaning. After all, he’d made his feelings for her known. Rather, that should be, he had made his lack of feelings for her known.
She quickly let go and pretended as though their connection had no effect over her. Just stay focused on the note and the sundial.
Annabelle led them straight to the gardens and suddenly it all looked the same. Sure, each geometrically-shaped garden had a different flower. But then she recalled the ivy. That’s what she had to search for. They walked all through the gardens. Each path was explored. No turn was left unexplored.
“I don’t understand it,” Annabelle said. “I know there was ivy here at one point.”
“Don’t worry about the ivy. Try to remember if the ivy was near a wall. Or was it out in the open? Was there a statue nearby? I noticed there are quite a few scattered throughout the garden.”
She closed her eyes and tried to pull the memory into focus. It had been a lot of years ago and she’d never suspected that she would need to know where to find the sundial.
“Maybe we should ask someone,” Grayson said.
Her eyes opened. “No way. We’re so close. And I don’t need my uncle or father finding out what I’m up to.”
“But you’re a grown woman. What can they do to stop you?”
She smiled at his naivety. “You obviously have forgotten that my uncle is the king. If he says jump, people ask how high? And my father, he’s a duke. He’s the one who stuck my security detail on me. There’s a lot they can do to make my life miserable. I’d prefer to avoid as much of it as I can.”
“Okay. Point taken. But what are we going to do if you can’t remember where it is? Or worse, what are we going to do if it has been removed?”
“I highly doubt that it’s been removed. If you haven’t noticed, my uncle doesn’t like change.”
“It sounds like you two have a lot in common.”
She stopped walking and turned to him. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means that you stay here and let them influence your life instead of getting out on your own.”
“I left Halencia and my father’s home to come here. I can’t help that he sent his security with me.”
“But you didn’t go very far, did you? I mean how much different is your uncle’s home from your father’s? They both keep a close eye on you.”
She didn’t like what Grayson was implying. “That’s not fair.” And worse, his accusation had a ring of truth. “What do you want me to do? Abandon my family like you did?” There was a flinch of pain in his eyes. She hadn’t meant to hurt him. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”
“No. You’re right. I did leave my family. Maybe they didn’t deserve the way I cut them out of my life. Maybe I should have tried harder.”
“And maybe you’re right. Maybe I took the easy way out by coming here.” Which went back to her thought of visiting the United States. “And once this mystery is unraveled and the South Shore Project is resolved, I just might surprise you and go on my own adventure.”
“What sort of adventure are we talking about?”
And then it came to her. “That’s it.”
“What’s it?”
“An adventure. It reminded me that we were role-playing. The sundial was on the helm of our ship.” She started walking.
“And...”
“And it was next to a wall that overlooked the sea.” She smiled at him. “Thanks.”
“Sure.” He looked a bit confused. “Glad I could, uh, help.”
They made their way to the far end of the garden where there was a stone wall. They walked along it until they found the sundial.
“It’s here!” Annabelle was radiating with happiness.
They both rushed over to the historic sundial. It was made of some sort of metal that was tarnished and weathered. It was propped up on a rock. And just as Annabelle recalled, it overlooked the sea.
“What else did the note say?” Annabelle asked.
“Five. Two.”
“What do you think that means?”
“If I have to guess, I’d say five down and two across.”
They both looked at the sundial. There was nothing there but the big solid rock and the sundial. Annabelle tried moving the dial, but it was not meant to move.
“Try the rock wall,” Grayson suggested, already scanning the area for any sign of disturbance.
Together they worked for the next hour trying each and every stone, but none of them would give way.
Annabelle kicked at the wall. “This is pointless.”
“Hey, don’t give up so easily.”
“Why not? It’s obvious that none of these rocks are going to move. There’s nothing here.”
He had to agree. He didn’t think this was the spot. But the note had been so specific. If they could just find the right sundial.
“What makes you think the sundial is here in Mirraccino?” Grayson asked. He couldn’t shake the thought that Annabelle and her mother had lived in Halencia and she had found the note in Halencia, yet they were looking here in Mirraccino.
“It’s a gut feeling, plus the fact that my mother was murdered here in Mirraccino. It’s going to be here.” She turned back to the rock wall. “What am I missing?”
“Is it possible there’s another sundial around here?”
Just then the butler, Alfred, came up the walk. “Oh, there you are, ma�
�am.” He sent her a puzzled look as she stood in the dirt next to the wall. And then in polished style, he acted as though nothing were amiss. “The king would like to know if you and Mr. Landers will be joining him for dinner.”
Annabelle glanced at Grayson. She didn’t know where their relationship stood and she had absolutely no idea if Grayson would even be here come dinnertime. And more than anything, she didn’t want to stop for dinner. She wanted to keep hunting for the other sundial.
“I had plans to take Lady Annabelle to dinner,” Grayson said to her utter surprise. “But if that’s a problem, we could go another time.”
“No, sir. Not a problem. I will let the king and staff know that you have other plans.” The man turned to walk away.
“Alfred, do you have a moment?” Annabelle made her way back to the sidewalk with Grayson right behind her.
The butler turned to her. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Grayson and I were just talking about the sundial. Do you know how old it is?”
“No, ma’am, I don’t. It could very well be as old as the palace.”
“See,” Annabelle turned to Grayson, hoping he’d play along. “I told you it was really old.”
Grayson’s eyes momentarily widened before they went back to normal. “Yes, you did. I just love all of these historical artifacts. Sundials happen to be a favorite of mine.”
“Alfred, do you know of any other sundials on the island?”
The butler paused for a moment as though surprised by the question. She hoped he would give them the clue they needed to find the next piece of this puzzle that her mother had left behind for her.
“Actually, ma’am, there is one other. It’s in the old park in the city.”
“That’s wonderful.” Annabelle couldn’t help but smile. The butler watched her carefully and then just to cover her tracks, she said, “I’ll have to show it to Grayson before he leaves the island.”
“Anything else, ma’am?”
“No. Thank you.”
The butler nodded and then turned and strode off.
“Do you think he suspects anything?” Annabelle asked. Her gaze trailed after one of her uncle’s most trusted employees.
“Does it matter? You didn’t know about the other sundial, right?” When she shook her head, Grayson added, “Without you asking him about it, we might never have found it.”
“You’re right.” She just couldn’t shake this feeling that she’d made a mistake. “Let’s go into the city.”
“You know, I wasn’t lying when I said I wanted to take you to dinner this evening.”
“Oh, but I thought you said you didn’t want to get involved.”
“It’s dinner. I want to make it up to you...you know, for the way I acted last night.”
“So what does this mean? Have you changed your mind?”
“How about, I want to be your friend?”
Friends? That wasn’t so bad. There were even friends with benefits, but that was for another time. Right now, she wanted to find that sundial.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
FIVE DOWN. TWO ACROSS.
“This is it! This is it!” Annabelle struggled not to shout it to the world. Instead, her excitement came out in excited whispers.
She worked to loosen the stone just as her phone rang for about the tenth time. And again, she ignored it. After dinner in the city at a small Italian restaurant, she’d grabbed Grayson’s hand and snuck out the back while Berto waited for them by the front door.
With the darkness of evening having settled over the city, they’d been able to move quickly down the sidewalk. It was only a five minute walk to the oldest park in Bellacitta.
The hard part was searching in the dark for a sundial. Thank goodness cell phones also made good flashlights. And Grayson found the sundial on the north side of the park near a rock wall.
Once again, her phone rang. And just like before, she ignored it.
“Aren’t you ever going to answer that?” Grayson asked.
“Not until I’m ready.”
“Annabelle, this isn’t safe. You shouldn’t have ditched your security detail.”
The truth of the matter was that she felt bad about slipping away without a word, but knowing Berto’s allegiance was to his employer—her father—what else was she to do?
She and Berto were friendly, but he’d never let that get in the way of doing his job. And he was very good at what he did. She’d make sure to protect him from her father’s wrath and somehow make this up to him.
“You do know that they’re able to trace the cell phone signal?” He glanced around as though expecting an army of royal guards to arrive.
“I know I told you that my father keeps a close eye on me and my activities, but relax a little. I don’t think even he’d go to that extent. At least, not yet.” She smiled at Grayson, hoping to put him at ease.
He didn’t return the friendly gesture. “This isn’t safe. What if your father is right and there’s a real threat on your life? And your bodyguard, I’m sure he won’t be happy about you giving him the slip.”
“He never is. And besides, I have you to protect me.”
“Wait. You’ve done this before?”
“Ditch Berto to go treasure hunting? No. Ditch him so I could have some semblance of a normal life? Yes. But not very often—only for really important things.” She’d gone through a bit of a rebellious stage as a teenager, but unlike her brother, she’d realized there was more to life than partying. She’d wanted an education and a career. So she’d settled down to study and bring up her grades.
“I don’t like this.” Grayson glanced into the shadows. “We’re going back.”
She pressed her hands to her hips. What was it with the men in her life bossing her around? She’d been hoping Grayson would be different. “I’m not leaving here until I do what I intended.”
His hard gaze met hers. For a moment, there was a mental tug of war, but she refused to give in. She had a plan and she was going to see it through to the end. She owed her mother that much.
“Okay.” Grayson conceded with a frown. “But we have to hurry up.”
That was good enough for her. She turned and counted out the rocks, but when she went to remove the stone, it wouldn’t budge. The tips of her fingers clenched as tight as possible and she pulled, but it wouldn’t move.
“Come help me. This rock is stuck.”
Grayson glanced around. “You know if we’re not careful, we’ll be going before that judge for our own crimes.”
“What crime? All I’m doing is moving a stone. And I promise to put it right back.”
Grayson sighed but he moved next to her and wiggled the stone out of its spot in the wall. “See. Nothing to it.”
She glared at him. “That’s because I loosened it for you.”
“Uh-huh. Sure.”
Any other time, she’d have continued the disagreement, but not today. The important thing was solving this clue. They looked at the stone, but they didn’t see anything suspicious about it. It looked like your basic stone. So what now?
Annabelle wasn’t about to give up. She moved to the wall and in the dark, she ran her hand around the hole in the wall until her fingers felt something smooth in a groove. The more she ran her fingers over it, the more she realized that it was plastic. She pulled it out.
“It’s here!”
“Shh... Do you want us to get caught?”
“Sorry.” Annabelle glanced around but there was no one in this part of the park.
Grayson replaced the stone in the wall and joined her on the sidewalk. “Let’s go.”
“Don’t you want to see what it says?”
“It’s too dark here. Let’s go back to the palace and read it there.”
<
br /> There was no way Annabelle was waiting any longer. Just then her phone buzzed again. She figured she’d better get it before her uncle called out every police officer on the island to search for her. She withdrew her phone. She didn’t get a word out before Berto started shouting at her. She could hear the worry in his voice. She apologized profusely and promised it wouldn’t happen again.
“So how much trouble are you in?” Grayson asked as she disconnected the call.
“I’m not.” When she met the disbelief reflected in Grayson’s eyes, she said, “Okay. Maybe just a little.”
“And I’m sure your father will hear about it. What will you tell him?”
She grinned at him. “The truth.”
“The truth? I didn’t think you wanted your father to know about the note.”
“Who said I was going to mention that? I was going to tell them that I wanted some alone time with you.”
“Oh. Good idea. That will make him happy,” Grayson said sarcastically.
And then without any warning, Grayson leaned down and pressed his lips to hers. At first, Annabelle didn’t respond. Where had that come from? She’d thought he didn’t want this. Perhaps all day he’d been trying to tell her that he’d changed his mind.
Annabelle had no idea what was up with him but she wasn’t going to complain. She enjoyed feeling his lips move over hers. And soon she was kissing him back. Her heart thump-thumped in her chest.
Perhaps he truly did regret what had happened the other night. Maybe it was a lot to compute for both of them. And the evening had been beautiful...in a way. A walk in the royal gardens. Dinner in one of the local restaurants. And now a walk through the park beneath the stars.
Okay, so maybe that hadn’t been exactly how the day had unfolded, but who said she couldn’t use some creative license and remember the fun parts. And with Grayson’s lips pressed to hers, this was the best part of all.
When he pulled back, she looked up at him. “What was that for?”
“So you don’t have to lie to anyone. When they ask why you slipped away, you’ll have a very good reason.” His voice was warm and deep.
She wasn’t quite sure what to say. In that moment, she wasn’t sure she trusted herself to speak. Her heart was still beating wildly in her chest.
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