Island Secrets

by R. T. Wolfe

  She was a limp noodle. The Coast Guard could be ordering them out and she wouldn't be able to move her arms or legs. His hair was still wet, but his skin no longer chilled. He pressed his forehead to hers and squeezed his eyes shut. "You left me."

  What? "What?"

  "You left."

  She had. Her shoulders were suddenly heavy. She left with only a phone call to her mother, and escaped. He came for her, and she took from him. How many times would he keep giving as she kept pushing him away? "You're right. I was... No. I should have called." She scooted over, so he could fit next to her, hoping he would try.

  He lay next to her, and she rested her head on his warm shoulder. "You came for me." It made her lids sink. Please don't let this be her final screw up.

  "I know you needed—" he started.

  "I should have—"

  "—brought me with you."

  "Would you have come?"

  "I can't remember my life before you came crying to my office, asking me to buy Sun Trips."

  She lifted her head to look into his beautiful blue eyes. "You mean that," she said as a statement.

  He took her face in his hand. "You're mine," he repeated and guided her head back to his shoulder.

  Chapter 15

  Zoe stood in the door of her parents' music room, the room that once was her brother's. She was in the middle of a line of Clearwaters. Her mother stood in front of her, her father just inside the room. Raine and Willow followed behind her. They'd been in this room a thousand times since Seth moved out at age eighteen and hundreds since his death.

  This was profoundly different.

  She let her mother take the time she needed. As strong as she may be, this was the first time she truly, truly accepted that Seth was gone. Not only gone, but brutally stolen from her.

  In front of them lay the string and wind instruments that had been there for years. The empty space where Willow's old cello used to sit. And beyond these were two worn clothes dressers and a newer desk. Her parents had gotten rid of his kitchen table, chairs, couches, and bed. These three pieces were saved because Seth and their father had made them together.

  "I don't want to do this," her mother seemed to say to the air.

  Zoe placed a hand on her shoulder. "I know."

  Her father interjected. "Seth kept secrets."

  Zoe stood frozen as she took in the gravity of his words. "What do you mean, 'Seth kept secrets?' What kind of secrets?"

  "We're not sure, dear," her mother answered for him. "He was a private person. We always respected that. I'm just not sure if his secrets are meant to be unearthed."

  Bright light shone in through the window, making artificial ones irrelevant. She felt her mother's shoulder lift and fall beneath her hand.

  "Secrets?" Raine butted in. "What the hell kind of secrets could Seth possibly have had?"

  Walking as slowly as a bride down the aisle, her mother stepped to the first dresser. No clothing was left in these dressers. Inside were photo albums, shoe boxes filled with papers, and a few small trinkets Zoe remembered Seth had scattered around his apartment.

  They brought back memories, crystal clear memories of where the items had been in his apartment or a story he might have shared about them.

  It had killed Zoe to tell her mother about the break-in at Seth's old apartment building. She didn't want to turn it into a happy detail, but Zoe swore that each of her mother's windows were locked.

  Her father went first. He took out a shoe box and handed it to Raine, then one for Willow, and a pile of envelopes for Zoe. Her mother reached in and took out a larger box of trinkets.

  They sat on the floor in a circle and started thumbing through Seth's things, piece by piece. Subscriptions to treasure hunting magazines. Unpaid electric bills. The process should have been joyful reminiscing, but it wasn't. It was tedious and sad.

  Her father pulled out something wrapped in a dishtowel. Everyone stopped to watch as he unwound the towel. Seth was a treasure hunter. Not like Dane. Dane would hunt anything, anywhere. Seth had eyes for only one treasure. Luciana Bezan's dowry.

  It caused her mind to wander for a few moments. She couldn't remember the last time Dane went on a hunting trip, not even for a week. Was it last Christmas? No. He brought her mother a potted, table-sized Christmas tree, decorations included. It was the kind you plant after the holidays. It thrived at the edge of her parents' back yard at that very moment. It was one of the things she loved about D—

  Did she love Dane Corbin? Her face tried to smile, but it wasn't the right time. When she looked up to see what her father had discovered, all eyes had moved to her. Her father held the something as it poked its seashell head out of the towel.

  "What?" Zoe asked defensively.

  Her mother grinned ever so slightly. "Never mind your sister, girls. Zoe finally got herself a roll in the hay."

  "Mom!" Zoe complained.

  Her sisters may be numb to her mother's antics, but her father should be spared the details of her love life. And how the hell did her mother know about her love life?

  Raine made a face like she'd eaten a slice of lime. "Gross."

  Henry ignored everyone and unwrapped the trinket. No priceless necklace. No silver tea cup or hand-made china. In it was the miniature sea-turtle sculpture their mother had made Seth for his thirtieth birthday out of tiny shells.

  Tears fell down her mother's face. "He was such a good boy. I do hope he's happy wherever he is."

  Her sisters took their boxes and stood. Relieved, Zoe did the same. They made some small talk about lunch on Sunday before Zoe went out to play Ultimate Frisbee, then took their assigned papers and left.

  None of them were even close to the end of their mourning.

  * * *

  Zoe opened the front door of her home to find Dane standing with a duffle bag over his shoulder.

  "You didn't look out the window before you opened the door."

  "You have a bag."

  "Partly because you don't look out the window before you open the door."

  He was right. She really did need to get out of that habit. "Partly?" she asked and stood aside.

  He walked past, sending his scent of leather and beach into her head and her heart.

  "Why did I have to hear about the break-in at Seth's old place from your sister?"

  Zoe assumed he meant Willow, not Raine. "I didn't have a chance to tell you." She'd been busy wallowing in her guilt for days. Then, had an afternoon... and night... of the best sex she'd ever had.

  "We spent practically the entire day together yesterday."

  "You're... distracting."

  He smiled from ear to ear, making her knees weak. Slithering up to her and dipping his lips to her ear wasn't helping. They were warm and searching. Holy cow, the things he could do with his lips. Before she knew it, her hands were in his shirt. Was this real?

  Her doorbell rang. Of course it was real.

  She walked right over and opened it without looking out the window. She really didn't do it on purpose. He truly was distracting.

  It was Raine.

  "You have a key," Zoe said to her.

  Raine walked in like she owned the place, much like Dane had done. "Dane's Jeep is out there. I'm not taking that risk. Gross. Hello, Dane."

  He nodded to her and headed into the kitchen.

  "I'll be right back," Raine said and followed him in. This was going to be a long night.

  The man she might possibly be in love with brought a bag with him to stay at her house. Her sister who's hated him since high school just followed him into her kitchen. The two of them were having a private conversation. Zoe plopped down on her couch and decided if she was going to have one of those nights, it would be a good time to go through some more of Seth's old mail.

  She noticed an envelope from a travel agency. What if this was about the secret? Inside was a credit card receipt made out to United Airlines for $4,360. Where did he get that kind of money? And where was h
e going that cost that much to get to? It wasn't like him to even fly.

  She flipped more and found a tax bill that would have never been paid. Stick it to the man, brother. Ad, ad, ad—then a business-sized envelope. She turned it over just as Dane and her sister came out of the kitchen.

  "You look too happy," Zoe said as she unfolded the already opened end.

  Dane sat next to her and set his feet on her coffee table, crossing them at the ankles. "We've come to an understanding."

  After all this time they've come to an understanding? Her suspicious eyes turned to the paper she'd taken out of the envelope.

  Raine sat in the loveseat and folded her arms. "When someone saves my baby sister once from a near drowning and again from herself," Raine shrugged. "I let bygones be bygones."

  But Zoe was only half listening. She was busy reading.

  "Only a short ten years later," he said as they spoke through her.

  She flipped the envelope over, making sure she hadn't missed a name or an address somewhere.

  When the two of them quieted, she read aloud.

  'Dear Seth, I don't think I can get away. He's suspicious. He's always suspicious. I want to, but I'm scared. Tonight he told me he was going to put me away for good. I don't know what he meant, but I'm scared. I love you. I thought my life was nothing. Over. Then, there was you. Thank you for being you.'

  No signature.

  She looked up to her sister, then turned to Dane. "Seth had a mistress?"

  "We should tell the cop," Raine barked.

  It didn't set right with Zoe. "What? No. Why?"

  "It's part of the puzzle. It's his job to judge, not ours."

  "He wanted to take her away. Seth did. Do you think he loved her? We can't rat out someone he loved."

  She watched as Raine inhaled deeply, then exhaled, letting her cheeks expand. "Point taken."

  It was a relief to see Raine give in so easily.

  "I wonder who she was... or is," Raine added.

  Her pondering made all three of them sit back in consideration.

  * * *

  The sun beat down on Zoe's neck. She wished she had her cowboy hat, but Ultimate Frisbee with a cowboy hat wasn't a good mix. It was a busy Sunday afternoon in the central section of Ibis Beach, but beach goers were easy people. Everyone watched out for one another and rarely did anyone mind an occasional Frisbee on their blanket. A consistent wind blew from the Gulf. The scattered white, fluffy clouds provided sporadic reprieve from the ruthless sun.

  The sand sifted between her toes as Zoe backed up, judging the angle of the Frisbee, deciding where it would come down. She'd been right weeks before. Dane subbed for her one time and was good enough to earn an open invitation. Lucky for her, he was on her team.

  Always keeping up his Sun Trips image, he wore his baggy shorts and leather bracelets. They played shirts and skins. Lucky for their entire team, they were the skins. The girls on both sides could hardly concentrate on the game. His muscles flexed beneath the barbed wire on his left bicep. They were able to get a rare glimpse of the ship on his pectoral.

  It was funny how differently she saw him now. He didn't carry himself like someone who always had a dozen sets of female eyes trained on him.

  'You're mine.' The memory of his words sent a splash of energy through her just as she jumped to catch the throw-off toss. The other four members of her team darted around, dodging opponents and signaling when they felt they were open. Flicking her wrist, she sailed the Frisbee in a beeline to the new girl who caught it, froze her feet as the rules required, but then tossed it right into the hands of the other team.

  The interceptor was too excited with foiling Zoe's toss and took a step with the Frisbee. Error. Time out was called as the Frisbee changed hands, stopping the game where they stood.

  "Lookin' sah-weet, Zoe," said the only other guy on their side. "Your throwing as good as your digging up skeletons?"

  Her eyes went to Dane. She wasn't sure why. He stood with his water bottle analyzing her. He didn't approach. Half the players worked for Sun Trips. She had a hard enough time keeping them from thinking she sold Dane her business so he would sleep with her. She appreciated his understanding as he kept his distance.

  The comment didn't unsettle her as much as Dane might have thought. It was harmless. The guy couldn't know how deep it cut. It made her take a look around. People were everywhere. Some watching them. Some not. Someone on the island knew the 'skeleton' she found was Seth. But who?

  Dane made his way over to her. His attempt to appear casual wasn't so convincing. He lifted his arm in the telltale signal of a 360 high five. She didn't leave him hanging and copied his movements, passed the high five, then slapped their hands between their hips. She caught the scent of leather and sand.

  A round of jumping chest bumps between the guys and high-fives between the girls finished the time out, and Zoe whizzed the Frisbee to Dane from the sidelines.

  Dane tossed it to the new girl, giving her a chance to redeem herself? She caught it as he ran into the end zone. He might have been able to score if she threw it to him, but the man who covered Dane was good, really good. Dane dodged and faked but never gave the signal he was ready for a pass. The new girl flicked it to Zoe who was able to nearly keep the Frisbee in motion as she continued the pass onto the man open on the other side of the end zone. Point.

  It was time for a well-earned water and gloating break. The new girl jumped on Zoe's back, cheering her assist.

  Zoe's brows dug deep, she turned her head one way, then the other. Why hadn't she realized it? After all this time, she hadn't realized the person who attacked her at her parents' home wasn't a man. Wasn't a small man, but a woman.

  Chapter 16

  "This doesn't feel right." Zoe sat in the passenger seat of Dane's Jeep, driving up 275. She'd convinced him to give it a day. Sleeping on a big decision was always smarter. Almost always.

  He didn't respond with words but laced their fingers together and traced circles around the inside of her wrist with his thumb. He hadn't even let her finish her sentence when she tried to talk him into waiting longer to report Seth's affair. And the fact that she remembered her attacker was female. Maybe Dane was right. Sleeping on it didn't change anything. Seth was having an affair, and it was a woman who broke into her parents' home... also probably her house and Seth's old apartment, too. Coincidence? This was a necessary tattle.

  Calm waters lay to either side of her, like they were the day she found Seth's remains. She wanted to be down there, with him. But he wasn't there. Just her friend, the moray eel.

  She still needed to tell her parents and her sisters the attacker was female. A strong female. Or was Zoe a wimp who frightened more easily than a trapped mouse?

  She couldn't imagine what it would be like to be abused or feel afraid to leave someone. Then again, anyone who could break into someone's house could be capable of lying their butt off. Raine was right, they would let Matt do the judging.

  Dane parked in new car parking. Why was that suddenly cute?

  He walked to her and wrapped his arm around her waist. It was one those things that was starting to be blessedly natural. The look on his face puzzled her but for whatever reason didn't make her inquire. His smile was content; it was complacent. He reached down and kissed her on the top of her head before continuing on. A wave of warmth rolled throughout her before landing in the center of her heart.

  The receptionist had been told to send her up. He was waiting when they exited the elevator. Matt and Dane extended hands at the same time.

  "Good to see you, Dane. How have you been?"

  "Good and bad, as I bet you can imagine. Zoe's got something for you."

  Matt's eyes turned to her, and she nodded. They stepped into Matt's office and she took her usual chair. Zoe noticed a white box with some letters and numbers written above the word 'Clearwater.'

  Seth's skull might be in there. And the knife. A sheet of clammy sweat erupted over her skin
. Her body language had always given her away in everything she did. Her blushing was only the beginning. They both must have been able to read her, because Matt grabbed the box and took it somewhere out of his office as Dane turned to her.

  "He didn't mean it," he whispered and took her hand in his.

  She must look bad if he was sticking up for Matt. "I know. Of course, I know. Seth isn't in the box." She tried to sound like her mother, but she wasn't.

  "Well," Matt said as he came back in his office. "Now that I've been an ass, what can I do for you?"

  She tried to laugh, but it came out as a sickly squeal. Straightening in her chair, she worked at appearing professional. This was a case, right? A detective's case.

  A case that might draw the line between making or breaking her. So, no pressure there.

  She took a deep breath and dove in, relinquishing the letter to him. It was postmarked at the Ibis Island Post Office a few days before Seth's... murder. Then, she explained her epiphany that the person who attacked her was female.

  Matt scratched his chin. "And you say you found the letter before you decided your attacker was female?"

  She knew where he was going with this and didn't like it. "No. A girl on my Ultimate Frisbee team jumped on my back and made me remember I had breasts shoved in my back the night my parents' home was broken into." It sounded worse after she tried to explain. How did she miss that before? Dammit. Now, he had her second-guessing herself. "I would have never thought a woman could do that. I assumed it had to be a man until the gal jumped on me. It made me remember." Yes. Digging herself a hole.

  "Could be, Zoe. Definitely. We're bringing in the other men who were in the group Seth dove with the day of his death."

  The group that each had a diving partner except Seth. She shook her head, keeping herself from going down that road.

  "They did that already, two years ago," Dane interrupted.

  "New evidence. New questioning. Can't hurt."

  Matt's tone was condescending, and she didn't like it. "What did you find out about the evidence?" she asked as Matt looked over the letter for himself.