by Robin Shope
“What is going on?” Wynn cried.
A chorus of voices rose, and above it all she heard the word, murder. No one would speak with her, however. Wynn ran to her jeep and drove to Aunt Roxie’s house, ignoring the speed limits. Pulling into the drive next to the cottage, she spotted the Bible study women’s vehicles.
Wynn shot out of her jeep and flung open the back kitchen door.
“Roxie!” Wynn hollered.
“Living room, dear!”
Wynn knew she appeared as a crazed person with her windblown hair, the scratch on her cheek and her clothing in disarray. She noticed the blood on her blouse. Not wanting to alarm anyone, she stopped in the doorway of the unlit hall, unseen.
Roxie set her teacup onto the saucer. “There you are Wynn. We’ve been looking all over for you. There’s some terrible, terrible news. Come in. There is much to tell you.”
“Then you know what happened to Doug? That’s why you’re all here at this time of the evening?”
“Wynn, there’s blood on your shirt. And what happened to your face?” Roxie jumped to her feet.
“Compliments of the arresting officers.”
“What are you saying?”
“I was with Doug when it happened.” Wynn shook with rage.
“You were with Doug?” Roxie’s sympathy quickly turned to anger. “Tell me you’re kidding.”
“I spent the day with Doug on the mainland and was still with him when the police took him off the ferry, in handcuffs.”
“Look at the suffering he caused you. Faith, would you please get my first aide box. It’s in the kitchen next to the stove.”
“Yes.”
“No Faith, don’t. I’m OK.”
“Why did you go to the mainland with that man? I told you never to have anything to do with him!” Roxie balled her hands up into a fist.
“Roxie, I’m no longer a little girl. I make up my own mind what I should and shouldn’t do.”
“Maybe they bumped into each other.” Sheri inserted.
“That’s actually true. We met while crossing on the ferry.” Wynn wasn’t backing down. She’d match Roxie’s intensity. “It’s not the first time I’ve been with him.”
“How can you speak to me in this way?”
“Doug is a good man. Did you know that he even speaks highly of you, Aunt Roxie? He has no clue that you degrade him at every opportunity.” Wynn’s hands shook with rage. Her cheek throbbed.
Owl’s firm hands touched her shoulders. “What’s happened to Doug? Why did the police take him to the mainland?”
“Because they found Boone’s body.” Roxie said, looking at Owl.
“Oh, no. But what does that have to do with Doug?” Wynn’s voice rose with despair.
“The body was on Doug’s schooner!” Roxie exclaimed.
“That can’t be true!”
“It is.” Roxie folded her hands together.
“Then someone else placed his body there. But I don’t understand. Boone was hit by a car, right? So why are they arresting Doug?”
“Someone thinks it might be murder.”
“What?” Wynn looked around. It was only then she noticed Jackie wasn’t there. “Where’s Jackie? Is she OK?”
“Agatha is with her at the morgue, identifying the body,” Faith said. “We’re all upset with the news, but let’s not jump to any conclusions for Jackie’s sake, as well as Doug’s. Let’s also remember that Owl is Doug’s aunt and she has concerns of her own. When we are together, this needs to be a place of comfort and peace. No accusations. No division.”
“I agree with Faith,” Sheri chimed. “This is a highly charged atmosphere and the last thing we need to do is to turn on one another.”
“Let’s take a deep breath and sit down.” Faith patted an armchair for Wynn.
“No more negative talk about anyone. Roxie, do you agree?” Faith asked.
“Agreed.” Roxie sat.
“And Wynn, be softer to your aunt.”
“Now then, let’s do what we are really good at. Praying. Together.” Faith held her hand out to Owl. Owl held her hand to Roxie. Roxie held her hand to Wynn. Wynn held her hand to Sheri and Sheri took Faith’s.
“Bind us together Lord in one accord, be of one mind. Let all the anger and tension in this room melt in your Presence. May we be a source of hope and comfort to Owl whose nephew has been taken into custody. Lord, may Jackie find peace at this time of her husband’s passing. Lord, may Roxie and Wynn hold each other up in prayer and allow for all misunderstandings to be resolved and let the truth come out. Let the truth also come out about who murdered Boone. Be with Doug in his hour of need. And may we have love for on another that passes all understanding.”
“Amen.” They chorused.
Wynn wondered what truth Faith was referring to.
“There’s something you all don’t know. Something I haven’t told anyone, including Doug.” Wynn hesitated.
“What?” Sheri asked. “Would you like to tell us now?”
“I found Agatha’s brooch on Doug’s schooner a few days ago. You know that one she wears at her throat and is always touching?”
“Where is it now?” Roxie asked.
“It’s at the Tree House.”
“What are you saying, Wynn?” Owl wanted to know.
“I’m not saying anything. I don’t want to accuse someone who might be innocent, as Doug has been.”
“So, what? What does Agatha’s brooch prove, Wynn?” Roxie asked.
“Anyone and everyone has access to Doug’s schooner. I have no idea how that brooch got there, but however it did, whether by Agatha’s hand or another’s, I found it there.”
“OK, let’s play the devil’s advocate. Let’s say Doug is guilty. Sorry, Owl. What would be Doug’s motive for killing Boone, anyway?” Faith asked.
The women looked around the room at one another.
“Money?” Sheri asked.
“Doug has all the money he will ever want. Not only did he sell his very lucrative Chicago business, but he inherited a huge sum from his family which he has never touched. Not a dime of it. Besides he’s the least materialistic person in the world,” Owl said.
“Could he be in love with Jackie? Love triangles are dicey,” Roxie said.
“Never. If he loves anyone, it’s that woman he was engaged to a while back. What was her name?” Faith looked up trying to remember.
“Clara,” Wynn said.
“That’s right!”
“What is his motive, then?”
“None.”
“That’s right, none.” Wynn agreed with Owl.
“Well, we will have to wait on evidence, you know. But I agree with Faith that we cannot jump to conclusions. The man is innocent until proven guilty.” Sheri surmised. “That’s just how things work, even on this island.”
“Who could have done away with Boone and stashed his body in the schooner?” Roxie asked.
“And why?” Owl asked.
“Ladies, we have a lot of praying to do.” Faith smoothed her skirt.
Roxie went into the kitchen. She returned with a frozen package of peas and handed it to Wynn.
Wynn held it to her face and smiled at her aunt. “Thanks.”
The women embraced one another before saying goodnight. Wynn was passed around in the same circle they had prayed in, from hug to hug. She loved these women, and she loved Aunt Roxie, too.
Roxie held Wynn’s face in her hands. “Forgive me.”
“For what?”
“For all the words I’ve spoken that have been less than kind.”
“Then forgive me as well.” Wynn pulled out the key to the security deposit box and pressed it into Roxie’s hand. “Goodnight.” She avoided her aunt’s gaze. She couldn’t bear to see disappointment in them. Wynn walked out to her jeep, expecting her aunt to call her back and read her the riot act. But Roxie didn’t.
The porch light went off, as did the kitchen and living room lights.
Wynn started up the engine when she saw the bedroom light go on. At the Tree House, Wynn opened all the windows to the night air. This morning was so filled with promise and it ended filled with blame.
The air was humid and Wynn lay in bed listening to the quiet shifting of the trees moving in harmony with the rhythmic tide from the shore.
“OK, God, it’s me again. I think I need to start forgiving some people. It’s time. Sometimes, I line up all those I am mad at and just shoot hatred at them. It feels really bad. I don’t want to do that anymore. Help me know how that works. I don’t want to be angry with Roxie, but she’s so hard on everyone. When I heard all the things she said about Doug, it occurred to me that I have been pretty tough on Roxie, on my mom, and You, too. Can You forgive me for that? And exactly how does forgiveness work?”
20
They sat beneath the old McIntosh apple tree on timeworn Adirondack chairs.
Wynn was drenched with perspiration. As she reached for a bottle of water, her gaze connected with Roxie’s—but only for a moment. There was so much she desired to discuss, yet she was unsure of how to start the conversation.
Clearly, Roxie was furious with her for prying.
“I know I betrayed your trust. I probably need to move out of the Tree House.”
“There’s a biology position opening at the local high school. I’d love to see you apply. I have a lot of pull with the school board.”
“It’s really not necessary.”
“They pay good benefits. In a few years, you’ll be thirty and its time you realize the joy of good benefits.”
“Not sure teaching is my forte.”
“Of course it is. It’s in your blood and mine. The island is pricy, but you may live here as long as you like, and never pay anything. You’re written into my will as sole beneficiary. Someday you will own this place.”
Wynn sat dumbfounded over Roxie’s offer and her not so veiled hint at something. “I don’t deserve your generosity...”
“It’s what I always planned. I’m not about to change my mind.” Roxie crossed one leg over the other and impatiently swung her leg.
“This is where my apology is supposed to go. I am very sorry, Aunt Roxie—about everything.”
“I have been thinking about this all night. Not only have you snooped through my belongings, you also raided my security box. I hope you’re satisfied with your findings.”
“Stumped. I’m stumped.” Wynn glanced at her aunt. “Why all the pictures of me? Why stow them away and not put in an album in your cottage?”
“I didn’t want you to get the wrong impression that I was spying on you, or something. “
“But isn’t that exactly what you did?”
“I wouldn’t call it that. I would call it watching you grow up. Besides, I had to keep my distance because of the court order.” Roxie’s hand flew up to her mouth.
“Court order?”
Roxie looked towards the sea. “It was your mother’s doing.”
“What a drastic action to take.”
“It was.” Her voice hummed against her throat.
“What happened to make my mother resort to a court order?”
“Nothing. Really, nothing.” Roxie became more agitated.
“People aren’t granted restraining orders for no reason.”
“My turn to quiz you. What would you call going through my belongings?”
“Research.”
Roxie burst out laughing. “Touché. Thanks for the laugh. I really needed it right now.”
“Why didn’t you just come back into my life?” Wynn wanted to know. “Once my mother was gone you had free reign. My uncles wouldn’t have objected.”
“You don’t know that.”
“You could have gone to court and gotten things overturned. My mother was no longer there to stop you. I was…abandoned.”
“I don’t know. Maybe I was afraid you would turn me away. Besides, you had excellent caretakers with your uncles. Another change wouldn’t have been good for you.”
“What aren’t you saying?”
Roxie shook her head.
“You’ve given me a boatload of excuses ever since I’ve come back to the island.” Wynn closed her eyes. “My life is filled with murky shadows. I need to get at the truth. It’s so close, but I just can’t see it. I can’t find it.”
“You’re talking about your dad, now, and how he died.”
“I called his doctor once. He said it was due to a heart attack, but I have my doubts.”
“Your mother is overseas and your dad is gone. Can’t we just put the past away once and for all, and build on what we have today?”
“I want to be close with you, but something holds me at bay.”
“I thought when you returned, we’d at last be as close as I had always hoped.”
“I’ve disappointed you.”
“Disappointed, yes. But not with you. Never with you. Only with the results. We seem to be on opposite ends of issues, just as I always seemed to be with your mother.”
“And with Doug.”
“The man is a fool.”
“We all make mistakes.”
“Some more than others.” She repeated, “Some more than others.”
“Is Doug any worse than anyone else?”
“Definitely.”
“I need an example.”
“Oh yes, the scientific mind that keeps you from God, requires that theories be proven. Here is your example. He gave up a perfectly lucrative business in Chicago to what? Save trees on some small island when people want to build more houses so they can live here. It’s good for economic growth.”
“Oh please, let’s prefer brick and mortar to trees and wildlife.”
Roxie ignored the comment.
“You should get to know him, personally. I have. I think he’s a great guy.”
“Don’t get your heart too set on him. He’ll leave you high and dry just as your mom did.”
“That was hurtful!” Wynn protested.
“But the truth,” Roxie said earnestly. “It’s time we both face facts. The past cannot be rewritten.”
“I just want the truth.”
“OK, here is the truth. Did you know that Doug was once engaged to a perfectly lovely woman? It ended when he had a fling with some air-headed summer girl vacationing with her parents. What a fool he made of himself, too. Imagine a thirty something year old man love-sick over an eighteen-year-old girl. How can he ever be taken seriously again?”
Now she knew why Clara broke it off and left the island. If what Roxie said was true then perhaps the other things she said about Doug were, too. If so, then she had sorely misjudged the man. Wynn wondered if loneliness finally had become so consuming that she’d reach out to anyone who showed her a bit of kindness and attention. Was she really that needy? Perhaps so.
“His entire family has no social graces whatsoever. And rude—you’ve seen that with Owl when she grabbed your éclair.” She rubbed the back of her neck. “Rude. A year ago I was at the fishing dock when he bumped into me, causing me to trip and fall into the water. Did he jump in after me? No, he laughed. Laughed! And just reached down and pulled me back onto the dock. It tore my brand new capris—no apology followed.”
Wynn gave a belly laugh. “I am so glad you made it to shore all on your own. I am woman, hear me roar!”
“Go ahead and laugh.” Roxie bit back her own smile. “But a true gentleman would have thrown himself into the water to save me! Even if I was in just four feet of water. As far as I’m concerned, it’s just another bad mark against his character.”
“Do you realize that you’re the only person I’ve heard who says degrading things about Doug? What I’ve heard is Doug is a wonderful businessman and his nursery business is quite profitable.”
“He may be a great businessman, but he’s still a lousy gentleman. No real people skills,” she said defiantly. “Speaking of the Reed family, I might as well tell you the other news
.”
“Joseph Reed has been found. I know. Sheri broke the news to me. Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Slipped my mind.”
“How can a two-century-old solved mystery slip your mind?”
“Listen to me, you need to know and prepare yourself. Doug is about to go before a really tough magistrate. I know him. S. Thomas Miller is his name, and if there is an inkling of guilt, Doug won’t be set free. Just keep your heart safe from disappointment.”
“Is that what happened to you? You’ve had so many disappointments that you’ve become jaded in measure? It seems like you are the one who needs to be set free.” Her voice was edgier than she had intended.
“What are you talking about?”
“You say you have the most wonderful gift of salvation, but you’re not happy. You’re totally miserable and almost rejoice in other’s misfortunes.”
“I do not!” Roxie puffed.
“There are prisons without bars, and you are in one.”
Roxie began to sniffle and wipe tears from under her eyes.
“Aunt Roxie, have you been criticized harshly during your life?”
“What are you talking about?” Roxie’s eyes widened as she stared at her niece.
“You read the Bible all the time. The chapters I’ve been reading are about forgiveness and mercy. But you don’t give those gifts to others. You hold grudges. I’ve wondered why. It just occurred to me that perhaps someone has been too hard on you, so in turn, you get hard on others to even up the score.”
“Now you’re being cruel and thankless for all I’ve done.” Roxie’s gaze clouded and she crossed her arms.
“Thank you for your generous offer of putting in a good word with the school board and asking me to remain with you on the island. But there will always be something hanging between us. As soon as my grant is complete, I plan on packing up. Under the circumstances I will be leaving the Jeep here.”
“You can’t be serious.”
“I am serious.” Wynn stood. “Whatever happened years ago between Mom, Dad, and you affects us to this day.”
“But I still have hope for us. Remain through the winter, anyway. This just might be our last chance.”
