“I’ve been a waiter, myself.” Josh nodded. “It happens.”
“Apparently not to Chase. He went ballistic.”
“How so?”
“He didn’t raise his voice, thank goodness, but I could see the anger in his eyes. He basically called the guy incompetent and told him he had gotten people fired for less than that. It was pretty awful.”
“So, what did you do?”
“I…I just let it go. I mean, I figured the offence was worse than I realized because Chase is ordinarily so nice to everyone.”
“Kate.” Josh shook his head. “A person who is nice to you but brutal to the waiter is not a nice person. It’s pretty much a given.”
Her eyes creased and she bit down on her lip. “You don’t think that…” She paused to blink away threatening tears. “That he could have killed anybody…do you?”
“It doesn’t really matter what I think. What do you think?”
Inhaling deeply, she stared up at the wispy clouds, as if the answer might be written there. When it clearly didn’t appear, she leaned forward and wrapped her arms around herself. “I just don’t know what to think.”
“It’s okay, Kate.” He rested his lower arms on his knees to get closer to her. “Anyone would feel that way if they didn’t have all the answers. The only way to get rid of those doubts is to find out the truth about what happened to Emily and Trina. But that’s going to take some time.”
“No.” She shook her head, tears running down her cheeks. “I don’t have time.”
“Why not?”
“Because I…” She swallowed hard, as if the words she’d been about to say had burned her throat. She ran her hands over her face. “I can’t postpone the wedding. And if I found out Chase was guilty, I don’t know what I’d do.”
“You’d move on. Don’t be foolish, Kate. You can’t marry him not knowing what happened.”
She shot to her feet. “I don’t want to know.”
“Yes you do.” Standing, he grabbed her arms and dipped down to catch her gaze. “I know you do. I know you want to look into the eyes of the person you’re about to marry and know that you can one hundred percent trust him with your life. I know that, because that’s what everybody wants.”
She looked away, unable to argue. “But…” Her voice sounded weak. “How can I possibly find out for sure…?”
“I’m here to help you.” An idea struck and took hold. It might not give them all the answers, but it would at least provide a starting point. Confident that she wasn’t going to run, he let go of her arms. “What kind of clothes do you have?”
She stared at him like he’d sprouted a second head. “What?”
“I mean, do you have anything more casual?”
“I…brought a pair of jeans with me. They’re old and worn-in, but they’re my favorites so I couldn’t get rid of them.”
“Perfect.” He gave her an assessing look. “You do know you look prettier without all that make-up, right?”
Her hands flew to her cheeks. “I didn’t take the time yet this morning. I—”
“Then don’t. I like you better this way.”
An endearing blush crept across her face. “What are you getting at?”
“Do you trust me?”
Her forehead creased. “Is that a trick question?”
“I don’t play tricks.” Grinning, he took the cap off his own head and plunked it onto hers. “Trust me with this one thing. If I’m wrong, you can stay sequestered here for the rest of your life if that’s what you want.”
The blush quickly paled, and her eyes widened in fear. “I can’t…I mean, I don’t…”
He resisted the temptation to push back the wayward strand of blonde hair that draped her smooth cheek.
This was a calculated risk, but he had a feeling it was one worth taking.
Chapter 16
Downtown Friday Harbor bustled as it had the day before—no surprise for a Sunday at the beginning of the tourist season. As Kate slipped cautiously out of Josh’s car, she adjusted his cap on her head, pleased that no one seemed to be paying her any attention.
Stepping up onto the curb, she caught a glimpse of herself in a shop window. Except for the blondeness of the few strands of hair sticking out of the cap, she looked more like Kathy than Kate. The thought comforted her.
And it didn’t hurt to know that Josh preferred her that way too.
“Remember…” Pocketing his keys, Josh joined her on the sidewalk. “I can do most of the talking if you want me to. You don’t have anything to worry about.”
“Famous last words.” She forced a smile. Although a massive weight had lifted from her shoulders when she’d admitted her trepidations to Josh, she remained unconvinced that launching their own personal investigation into Chase’s past was going to do any good.
Besides, unless she filled Josh in on the rest of her story, he would never understand the extent of her fear. If they uncovered information that confirmed Chase’s involvement in either Emily’s death or Trina’s disappearance, Kate would be back at square one—terrified for her life with nowhere to hide. Maybe she would be better off remaining blissfully ignorant.
Except for one thing. All the bliss had drained out of this situation.
She pulled in a fortifying breath and kept pace with Josh. He was right. If she had to dive out of the frying pan, it was best to know the temperature of the fire.
As they neared the gallery, the pink flier in the window taunted her. Her courage faltered. “Are you sure this is a good idea?”
“You said Marion was Trina’s closest friend. If anyone knows anything, it’s probably her. And besides…” He held open the door. “It can’t hurt to ask.”
“Great.” She crossed in front of him to enter the shop. “More famous last words.”
Inside, only a few patrons milled about, much to Kate’s relief. Marion stood behind the counter, studying a clipboard and paying no attention to anyone. Kate’s knees buckled. Good thing Josh had such broad shoulders, because she might have to duck behind him if this woman decided to take a swing at her with that clipboard.
Dipping her head toward Marion, Kate spoke just above a whisper. “That’s her.”
Josh nodded, then headed to the counter a little more briskly than Kate would have preferred.
Marion glanced up, a friendly if insincere smile appearing where a scowl had looked so at home the day before. “What can I do for you?”
Kate let out a breath. So Marion didn’t recognize her. Freezing up, she looked to Josh for support.
He put on that sweet smile that would soften even the meanest disposition, or so she hoped.
“My name is Josh Collins.” He gestured toward Kate. “You met my friend Kate yesterday.”
Marion’s expression morphed like an apple drying in the sun. “Yes, I remember.” She looked down her nose at Kate, as if simultaneously recognizing her and disapproving of her casual appearance.
Wishing now that she had at least put on some lip gloss, Kate tried for a nonthreatening smile.
Marion’s hand went to her throat, where she fingered a large, probably locally-crafted necklace made of colorful gemstones. “I believe I said everything I had to say to her then.” With an end-of-discussion finality, she lowered her head and scribbled something on the clipboard.
Josh’s confidence didn’t seem to waver. “We’re hoping you can tell us something about Trina Cole.”
Peering over the top of her glasses, Marion’s features sharpened. “This wouldn’t be a good time. Everyone in town is upset.” She fired a pointed glare at Kate. “Why can’t people like you stop bringing trouble to our community? After what happened last night…” Shifting her gaze to what she could see of said ‘community’ just past the gallery window, she let her voice trail off cryptically.
“Wait a minute,” Josh looked confused. “What happened last night?”
Marion gave him a distasteful look. “If you want to know, you can buy
a newspaper.” She glanced nervously at her other customers. “All I know is, it’s not going to be good for business if things like this keep happening around here. I don’t know why people think they can come to the San Juan Islands to escape their troubles. All they seem to do is bring their troubles with them.”
“Oh,” Josh persisted. “But I—”
“I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”
“But if we could just—”
“Please.” She scooped up the clipboard and stormed back to the room Kate assumed was her office, shutting the door with such force that the paintings on either side clattered against the walls.
Kate let out a breath. “What do you suppose she was she talking about?”
Looking uncharacteristically stymied, Josh shook his head.
“A couple of sheriff’s deputies were shot and killed last night.” An airy female voice drew them both around.
Jocelyn, the clerk who had helped Kate with the sculpture, stood behind them, her eyes darting between them and the office door.
Kate exchanged a look of alarm with Josh. “Killed? That’s awful…”
“Right here in Friday Harbor.” Jocelyn spoke in a low tone, as if Marion might actually hear her consorting with the enemy through her closed door.
Josh looked concerned. “What on earth happened?”
The woman shook her head. “There was an incident at a home down on the waterfront. The police aren’t saying much until they finish investigating. So far all we know is that two officers died at the scene and two others have been hospitalized.”
Kate’s hands went to her face. Was it possible that Joe could have somehow caused this?
Josh was apparently thinking more like an investigator than she was. “Did it have something to do with the bomb scare yesterday?”
“My guess is yes.” Jocelyn flicked her gaze to the office door. “Nothing ever happens around here, then all of a sudden…” She opened up both hands like either a flower blooming or a bomb exploding.
Kate felt faint. Marion had implied that the shooting was somehow her fault. But if Joe had found her, he wouldn’t waste time playing games or doling out warnings. He would come after her. Unless some poor police officers had tried to stop him. Could he have somehow had the wrong address on the wrong island? She shuddered at the thought.
“Was anybody else hurt?” she asked meekly. Like maybe a woman who could have been mistaken for her?
Jocelyn shook her head. “Not as far as I know.”
“I’m really sorry to hear about the deputies…” Josh consulted her nametag. “…Jocelyn. But we were hoping Marion could help us understand what happened to Trina Cole. She was close to her, right?”
“Trina was her best friend.” She gave Kate a consoling look. “But I’m sure Marion won’t ever talk to you. She’s pretty unhappy about this whole situation.”
Josh nodded. “I’m sure it must be hard for her to see Chase moving on.”
She waved a dismissive hand. “She has no use for him. None of us do.”
“Oh?” Kate traded a cautious glance with Josh, not sure if she was ready to hear what might follow that statement.
Jocelyn’s eyes brimmed with remorse. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean—”
“No.” Kate gulped. “Go on. Please.”
Jocelyn nodded. “It’s just that everyone around here knows he’s not exactly ethical in his business practices.” She glanced around then leaned forward, as if to indicate they should huddle if they wanted to hear more. “There’s talk that he greases palms to get his drugs pushed through the testing so they can get FDA approval and start earning profits faster.”
Kate felt the bagel she’d eaten earlier at the Shaw Island General Store do a flip in her belly. “People say that?”
Jocelyn shrugged. “I guess you have to resort to that sort of thing in order to make money like he does. And we’re grateful that he spends some of it on local art. That’s how he met Trina, you know.”
Kate grappled with this new bit of information. “By buying art?”
“Yes.” Apparently noticing Kate’s look of confusion, she clarified. “Trina worked here when she first moved to the islands. Back in…I think…about 1990. That’s how she and Marion became friends.”
“I see,” Josh encouraged her to continue. “So Mr. Cole was a customer here?”
“That’s right. Apparently, he liked Trina’s work and he asked her to go out to see the house he was having built on Shaw.”
An uncomfortable feeling gnawed at Kate. This acknowledgment that the man she was going to marry had experienced not just a life, but a love life before she was even born was unnerving to say the least. She glanced at Josh, certain that he was thinking the same thing.
If Jocelyn noticed her discomfort, she didn’t let on. “Chase wanted her to advise him on which art pieces to buy. From what I hear, most of the art she placed is still in his home.”
Kate thought about what she’d seen so far of the artwork in their house. The Native American and Pacific Northwest paintings and pottery. The intricately carved masks. The chandelier. Trina had chosen all of it.
Jocelyn’s face crinkled. “It’s so sad that Marion wouldn’t sell you the seahorse. It just seems like it belongs in that house.”
Kate twisted a glance at the window where the sculpture had stood the day before. Seeing that it had been replaced by a multi-colored vase, her heart sank. “Did she sell it to someone else?”
“She put it in her office.” Jocelyn’s brows formed a knot in her forehead as she looked back at the closed door once again. “I don’t know why she’s holding onto it. She knows its value, all things considered.”
Maybe it was her ignorance about art, but Kate wasn’t quite following Jocelyn’s thinking. “I’d be happy to pay her what it’s worth.”
“Of course.” Jocelyn smiled kindly. “But it is a little awkward to appraise, considering how we acquired it.”
Josh’s demeanor remained patient and conversational. “And how did you acquire it?”
“Oh, it was anonymously donated to the gallery. It just showed up one day with no return address and no information attached.”
Josh furrowed his brow. “That seems strange.”
“Very.” Jocelyn turned a sympathetic eye on Kate. “I’ll see if I can talk her into selling it to you. It just isn’t healthy for her to be hanging onto it.”
“Not healthy?” Kate asked.
“No. You know.” She lowered her voice. “The reminder of Trina.”
A chill passed through Kate. Why would that particular piece remind Marion of Trina?
Jocelyn straightened a display of brochures on the counter, as if fulfilling a need to look busy. “That’s why Marion put it in the window. To draw the tourists into the gallery.”
Kate flicked a questioning look at Josh, who tweaked an eyebrow in response.
Jocelyn seemed to take their reaction as cause to defend her last statement. “It might seem opportunistic, but business is business. If it hadn’t been for Trina going missing when she did, Marion would have lost the gallery.”
Kate frowned. What would Trina’s disappearance have to do with Marion not losing her business?
The whoosh of a door opening stopped Kate’s question before she could ask it.
“Jocelyn.” Marion charged out of her office, still studying her notes on the clipboard. “Did you finish the press release for the group art show…?” She glanced up. Seeing Josh and Kate, she halted and her demeanor turned stony.
“I’ll get right on that, Marion.” Looking like she’d been caught with her hand in the cookie jar, Jocelyn scurried away.
Slowly narrowing the space between them, Marion hugged her clipboard. “What are the two of you still doing here?”
“We were talking to Jocelyn about the seahorse sculpture.” Josh’s tone remained confident. “My friend here is still interested in it. Would you mind showing it to us?”
Kate shot him
a look. What was he up to?
Obviously wondering the same thing, Marion lowered her chin and countered him a look over the top of her glasses. “It’s not for sale.” She shifted her weight from one lace-up granny shoe to the other. “Now, please leave.”
“Thank you.” Josh put his hand on Kate’s elbow. “But if you change your mind, let us know.”
“I won’t.” Marion slapped the clipboard onto the counter. “See that you don’t come back.”
Standing outside a moment later, Josh let out a long breath. “Well, that was strange.”
“I’ll say.” Kate hadn’t exactly expected a warm reception, but now she felt more confused than ever. “What do you suppose Jocelyn meant by Marion not losing the gallery because of Trina’s disappearance?”
He shook his head. “The best I can figure is people heard that Trina used to work here, so that attracted the curious.”
“Maybe. But I think there’s more to it than that. And it has something to do with the artist who puts flecks of gold in her glass.”
“Flecks of gold?” Josh’s gaze narrowed. “Are you talking about the seahorse?”
“And Chase’s chandelier.”
“Wow, you’re observant.” His mouth lifted in an admiring smile. “You think they were made by the same person?”
“I don’t know much about glass art, but they sure look like it.” She tried to ignore the campfire his smile sparked in her chest. “And for some reason, the seahorse reminds Marion of Trina.”
“Plus Trina picked out the chandelier. What do you suppose it all means?”
She shook her head. “Probably nothing. I bet we’re wasting our time chasing down a rabbit trail.” She turned to head back to the car. “Now I’m hungry and sleepy, and my leg hurts.”
“Fine, Dr.Watson.” Josh’s mouth twisted as he made a show of matching her hobbly pace. “Let’s scout out a drive-through while we plan our next move.”
“Careful, Sherlock.” She tossed him a playful look. “Someone might mistake us for friends.”
The crooked smile she won with that remark made her blush. And she’d been warning him to be careful.
“Hey, it’s not like I’m suggesting a date. Not quite.” A twinkle glinted in his eye. “Well, almost.”
Tide Will Tell (Islands of Intrigue: San Juans) Page 12
