Sydell Voeller Special Edition

by Sydell Voeller

  He fell silent as they started walking again, then entered the boat house. The pungent odors of raw fish mingled with the smells of creosote.

  “Redding!” A brusque male voice boomed seemingly out of nowhere. “Git back to work! What do you think this is? Time out for tea?”

  Vanessa looked up to see a beefy man glowering down at them. Next to him stood another man, pot-bellied and balding, swigging down a can of beer.

  “And who's the little lady?” the first man asked, a slow grin spreading across his red-bearded face.

  “Vanessa Paris. Eldon Paris's daughter,” Matt replied evenly. “Vanessa, meet Josh Buckler. And his business partner, Amos Matthews.”

  Vanessa gave them a cursory nod, refraining from extending her hand.

  “Well, well, I do declare,” Josh bellowed. “She even looks like her old man. Don't you say, Amos?” Josh reached down with massive hands and began massaging one side of her neck while Amos rocked back on his heels and nodded in agreement.

  She pushed Josh away, then took two steps backwards.

  “Now hold your horses, Buckler,” Matt cut in as he sidled protectively next to Vanessa. “Don't get no ideas about this young lady. I've known her almost as long as I've known her father. Besides, she's got a cop staying close by the lodge. You mess with her and you're asking for trouble.”

  “Bug off, old man.”

  “You bug off, Buckler. Keep your hands off my buddy's little girl, you hear? You've got your women back on the boat.”

  “I do beg your pardon,” Josh said mockingly. “I must've lost my head for a minute. After all, we believe in treating celebrities around here with lots of ree-spect, now don't we, Amos?”

  “You bet,” the second man answered with a sardonic grin. “Celebrities who visit the Eagle Point Cabins get nothing but the best.”

  “Celebrities?” Vanessa shot back, her gaze flitting from Josh to Amos. “What are you talking about?”

  “You! Who else?” Josh roared with laughter. “The famous daughter of the long lost fisherman--the old granddaddy himself of Tawanya Island.”

  “I need some time alone with Matt,” Vanessa said pointedly, ignoring his insults. “And goodness only knows, he probably needs a break. Judging from what I see going on here, he doesn't get much help from either of you!”

  Josh spat on the ground, then spread his hands wide. “Hey, simmer down, miss. You need to talk to old Redding here, then go ahead. Who said anyone was stopping you?”

  “Fine. Now please leave us alone.” She gritted her teeth and faced Matt squarely, trying to block out the feeling of Josh's gaze still boring through her.

  * * *

  Totally frustrated, Vanessa drove away from the Eagle Point cabins. Talking with Matt, she hadn't learned a clue. And the only impressions she'd formed about Josh Buckler and Amos was that she disliked them intensely. Deciding to stop by the bait shop for a hot cup of coffee, she followed the main road into town. The road wound gently down a wooded hillside, thick with oak and madronna. In no time the marina came into view. A grid work of docks and assorted boats stretched out from the rocky beach. The combined bait shop and small cafe--a low sprawling building with gray weathered shakes--stood in the foreground.

  Inside the cafe, Vanessa glanced about. A handful of bearded men wearing fishing garb and black rubber boots were vacating the booth near the front entrance.

  She felt as if she were moving though a repetitious bad dream, stuck in slow motion. Yet during her several trips here this past week, she'd never seen these men before. Maybe they could help her.

  “Excuse me,” she said, striding towards them. She quickly introduced herself and asked whether they knew her father.

  They only shook their heads, their faces vague. “We're just vacationers,” a guy dressed in a red and black wool jacket apologized. “But we heard about your father. Everyone's heard. Good luck, miss. Sure wish we could help.”

  A lump rose in Vanessa's throat as she nodded wordlessly, forcing a polite smile. Their response was becoming far too familiar.

  After the men left, she sat down at a small table, covered with a red and white checked vinyl cloth. She focused her gaze out the window and watched a black wharf cat bolting down scraps of food a fisherman had tossed its way.

  Unexpectedly her thoughts turned again to Lowell. Before she'd left that morning, they'd exchanged only a few brief words. He said he'd be busy doing odd jobs around the lodge until she returned, then they would go looking for Eldon again.

  “This time, let's take one of the kayaks,” he’d suggested. “That way we can get into some of the smaller coves and more shallow waters.”

  She'd readily agreed.

  Staring hard into the freestanding wood stove, she watched the crackling flames dance across the top of three charred logs. The warmth, coupled by the mouth-watering smells of freshly made doughnuts, enveloped her in a false welcoming cocoon. Yes, the Doughnut Hole Club, Ruby had called the folks who frequented here. Such a homey, ordinary scene. Was it a similar ordinary scene the morning Dad had stopped by here before disappearing forever?

  “Coffee?” A waitress's voice cut through her thoughts.

  “Yes. Please.” Vanessa looked up and saw a young woman--barely twenty, perhaps--looking down at her.

  “I'm sorry about your daddy,” the waitress went on as she plunked down an empty mug and filled it with the rich dark brew. She was dressed in a white two-piece dress topped by a robin's egg blue apron.

  “I couldn't help overhearing your conversation with those men,” the waitress prattled on. “I don't usually eavesdrop, you know. But as they said, too, everyone around has heard about your daddy.”

  “Thanks for your concern,” Vanessa replied shakily. She lifted the mug to her lips and took a sip.

  “My name's Sally,” the waitress went on. “I started work about a month ago--though I stayed home most of last week with the flu.” She paused to tuck an unruly black curl behind one ear. “But I was here the day your daddy left.”

  “You were?” Vanessa's heart leaped with anticipation.

  “Yes. I thought it seemed a little strange that morning when your daddy came in with someone different.”

  “What do you mean by someone different?”

  “Well...you see, your daddy always used to grab a bite to eat here with this tall, good-looking guy. A guy with a mop of blond hair and the dreamiest blue eyes.”

  “Did he usually wear a black leather jacket?”

  “Yeah, I think so. And he had really swell build. A cop, I think--or at least he used to be.” She rolled her eyes. “Wow! Would I ever like to get pulled over by a cop who looked like him.”

  Vanessa pushed back a twinge of annoyance. Undoubtedly Lowell commanded that kind of attention from women no matter where he went. “But of course, the cop wasn't with my father that morning--right?” she prompted.

  “Oh, no! I was just getting to that. There was another man...someone I'd never seen before. He and your daddy were arguing.”

  “About what?”

  “I only caught snatches. Something about the overseas black market...but that's about all I could hear.”

  Vanessa gulped. The overseas black market? How could have her father gotten mixed up in anything like that?

  “What did the man look like?” she asked.

  Sally shrugged, snapping her chewing gum. “I can't remember any of the details except that he was sort of big.”

  “Was he young? Old?”

  “I can't remember that part either. I've only been working here a couple of weeks, see, and my mind was on lots of things. Like keeping my prices straight. And trying to get the food out piping hot.”

  Vanessa's stomach twisted into a hard knot. “Please, Sally. Think hard. Try to remember even the slightest detail about the man. Anything would help. Anything at all.”

  “That's it, I'm afraid.”

  “Are you sure there was just one person?”

  “Yes, that much
I know. All I remember thinking at the time was I wished your daddy had come in with the other guy instead. What a hunk. Come to think of it, I haven't seen him around here since.”

  Vanessa gulped down her coffee and bounded to her feet. “Excuse me, but I've got to run! I've got to talk to Lowell!”

  “Who's Lowell?” The waitress inclined her head to one side, her mouth slightly parted.

  “The cop!” Vanessa thrust a five-dollar bill into Sally's hand, made a hasty exit, and dashed to her car.

  Chapter Six

  “Where's Lowell?” Vanessa asked Ruby breathlessly back at the lodge. Ruby was sitting in one of the two dark green wicker rocking chairs on the front porch, trying to contain a wiggling Toby in her arms.

  “He went into town for another load of lumber,” she answered. “He also said he might swing back to the sheriff's department again, then go back to the Coast Guard station. What's the matter?”

  Sitting down in the other chair, Vanessa told her about what the young waitress had said, purposefully leaving out her glowing description of Lowell's physical assets. “I need to talk to him, Ruby. See if her story makes any sense to Lowell.”

  Ruby chuckled. “Ah, don't pay too much attention to Sally. That girl's got an imagination that won't quit. Why, I hear before she got into waitressing, she tried a stint in Hollywood.” She paused, fiddling with a button on her blouse as she stared off into the distance. “But I am a bit worried about something else.”

  “Oh?”

  “I think there's something going on at the cabins. I'm picking up strange vibes. Perhaps I should be talking to Lowell also.”

  “What do you mean...strange vibes?” Alarm filled Vanessa's voice.

  “Last night, after I'd gone back to the property to pick blackberries, I overheard Josh and Dolly bickering by the boathouse. It was only minutes before they met up with all those slick-looking folks you just mentioned, the ones partying on the yacht.”

  “And then what happened?” Given her encounter with the anything-but-slick-looking Josh Buckler, Vanessa couldn't imagine his friends being high class.

  “I could only hear snatches, but it was enough to worry me,” Ruby went on, lowering her voice. “Josh sounded real threatening and Dolly talked like she was scared out of her wits. Money problems, I think. But then their voices faded, and I couldn't make out the rest. I'm not sure what could be wrong. Every month the rent comes in right on time, and Josh is turning over his part of the consignment we agreed on, so I suppose whatever's going on is none of my business--”

  The phone rang inside the office, cutting off Ruby's next words. “I'll get it.” She set the dog down and got to her feet.

  Vanessa settled back in her chair. The tightly woven wicker creaked beneath her as mulled over what Ruby had just said. Josh and Dolly certainly weren't the first to argue about money. Her experience in counseling had taught her that.

  The sound of Ruby's voice sliced through Vanessa's thoughts. “For you, dear!”

  “Okay! I'll be right there!”

  Cupping her hand over the receiver before handing it to Vanessa, Ruby murmured, “She says it's long distance. And she sounds very young.”

  “Oh, Ms. Paris!” Carmen wailed into the phone a moment later. “It seems like forever since you've been away from the counseling center. All us kids...we're really bummed out about that.” Vanessa had considered giving them her cell phone number, but then decided not to. The lodge phone was good enough.

  “I know, Carmen. I know.” She paused, biting her lip. “How are you?”

  “Okay. Except for the usual stuff about me and Robert. But anyway...I was just calling to see when you're coming back. Next week, maybe?”

  Vanessa heaved a sigh. “I don't think so, Carmen. There's been a couple of recent developments about my father, but nothing conclusive yet...I'm afraid I must stay here a while longer.”

  “Oh. That's cool. About the developments, I mean. But not cool about you staying. Please come home just as soon as you can, okay? Like we miss you. And need you. I mean, really need you. Mr. Collins, that guy who's leading the discussion groups while you're gone...he's okay and all. But the kids here asked me to call you. We don't feel good about confiding in him like we do with you.”

  Sighing again, Vanessa felt as if she were in the middle of a tug of war. She simply had to be here for Dad's sake...but the kids needed her too. “I'll do my best, Carmen. Just give Mr. Collins a fair chance, okay?”

  “Sure! But hurry back anyway. See ya!”

  “Bye.”

  “That was one of the girls from my support group back in Seattle,” explained as she and Ruby sat down again on the front porch. “The poor kid's got a heap of problems. Last year her parents divorced. Her younger brother's spent the past two years in a juvenile detention facility, and her on-again, off-again relationship with a boy's who's doing drugs has given her nothing but grief.”

  “Times have sure changed,” Ruby said, shaking her head and clicking her tongue. “Not that there weren't problems back in my day, too, mind you. I guess folks just kept a lot of their dirty underwear locked up in the closet.”

  “Yes. And sometimes with unfortunate consequences later down the pike,” Vanessa answered. She picked up Toby and cuddled him to her chest, thinking back to what Lowell had said about his father. “He might as well have been dead for all the times we never heard from him...” Undoubtedly Lowell had formed his own ideas about dysfunctional families.

  Toby covered her face with warm, wet licks, temporarily distracting her. “What a darling you are,” she murmured. She ran her hand through the dog's silky fur, then scratched him behind one ear. She couldn't help recalling the look of adoration on Lowell's face that night on the sailboat when he'd looked at the dog. Obviously Lowell wasn't so tough and unfeeling after all. Could this furry little bundle be filling a void in Lowell's life? A need for love and companionship?

  “Toby is one spoiled darling,” Ruby qualified. “Why, already this morning, he's managed to dig up most of Clinton's dahlias in the front flower beds. And when I tried to feed him the can of dog food Lowell left here, he just turned his nose up at it. Seems he'd rather wolf down more of the left-over steak I fed him earlier this morning.”

  Vanessa laughed, momentarily forgetting Carmen's phone call and her frustration over finding Lowell gone.

  “Well, one thing's for sure, this rascal's been cooped up far too long,” Ruby hurried on. “When I suggested to Clinton we take him for a walk after you got back, he high-tailed it out of here before you could blink an eye. You'd think I'd suggested a walk down the aisle instead.”

  “I'm sure my uncle's reluctance to indulge Toby had more to do with his dahlias then with you, Ruby. But don't worry, he'll get over it.” She glanced anxiously at the parking lot. “I wonder what's taking Lowell so long? You say he was stopping at the sheriff's too?”

  “That's right.” Ruby straightened the hem of her pink cardigan sweater and added, “Relax, child. What difference is another half an hour or so gonna make?”

  “I suppose not much,” Vanessa relented as a now subdued Toby curled up in her lap.

  “The way I see it,” Ruby continued, “we're mighty lucky to have Lowell here this summer. It's just too bad he can't be more at peace with himself...”

  Vanessa felt a stab of guilt. “I'm afraid it was my idea he get involved looking for Dad. Some vacation for Lowell, right?”

  “He would've gotten involved whether you'd asked him or not,” the older woman said sagely. “I think he loves your papa almost as much as you do. Taking into account Lowell's guilt over not going out with him that day, why, I'm afraid it's too much like the other time--” She broke off suddenly.

  “What other time?” Vanessa asked. Obviously Lowell had taken Ruby into his confidence and told her the entire story. Perhaps that very morning after Vanessa had left.

  The color drained from Ruby's face. “I...I promised not to say. He said he's not ready to talk about
it with anyone else yet...I shouldn’t have let that slip.”

  Vanessa drew in a steadying breath, then released it slowly. “All right then. I'll pretend you didn't.” But if he can talk about it with you, why can't he talk about it with me? she silently questioned. I want to help him too. And I've got the skills to do it...if only he'd let me.

  Yet her questions were soon eclipsed by a new realization. Could there be more than mere professional reasons fueling her desire to help Lowell?

  One thing she knew for certain. She couldn't stand sitting around waiting for him another minute. Maybe Toby wasn't the only one who needed a brisk walk. Maybe she did too.

  “Where's Toby's leash?” Vanessa asked, looking around. “Let me walk him so you don't have to worry about it. Maybe we'll take the trail in the woods above the beach, the one that comes out at the public dock. If Lowell comes back while I'm gone, tell him to stick close by.”

  “I forgot and left the leash in Lowell's sailboat. But wait--I've got the key right here.” Ruby fished inside her breast pocket and handed it to Vanessa. “He said he keeps the leash on the shelf next to the daybed. I'll hold onto Toby till you get back.”

  “Thanks, Ruby. I won't be long.”

  Minutes later, inside the “Sea Breeze,” her gaze strayed about the cabin...from Lowell's burgundy lamb’s wool sweater he'd left folded on one end of the daybed...to a small brass-framed photograph on the shelf next to Toby's leash. She moved closer to get a better look. Three little boys with curly blond hair and cherubic faces were posed like stair steps. The oldest was about eight, the youngest still a toddler, she guessed. Nephews, perhaps? Lowell had never talked about his brothers' children.

  She picked up the leash, then forced herself to cross back to the doorway. The faint spicy odor of after-shave hung in the air evoking powerful memories of him. Ever since that day on the beach when he'd kissed her, she couldn't forget the feeling of his lips, his powerful masculine arms pressing her against him.