Island of Deceit

by Candice Poarch

  Barbara patted his hand in commiseration. “I understand.”

  “Minerva and I are getting up in years, and with the stock market crash, we’ve lost half of our savings. You know how tough it is.”

  It took everything in Barbara to keep from exploding. Was that what the robbery was about? Had someone stolen half their money? Who and why?

  “It’s a tough pill for seniors,” she said. “Living on fixed incomes, they suffer most.”

  He nodded. “So you see I’m between a rock and a hard place. Minerva needs to retire,” he said. “Her back’s acting up. She’s a health care assistant for seniors and has to do heavy lifting sometimes. This job is good for her because Mr. Hughes is still pretty healthy. But who knows how long that’ll last or how long we’ll be here?”

  All the lifting Minerva did was a cup of tea, Barbara thought, or to stroke Lambert or whoever she was bilking at the time.

  “I’ve already retired, but Social Security just isn’t enough for folks to live off. The cost of medicine alone is sky high. Rent isn’t getting cheaper either. Food’s going up. Not to mention gas.”

  Barbara patted his hand. “I’m so sorry, Elliot. I’m not that far from retirement myself, and believe me, I worry.”

  He gazed at her appealingly. “So you understand where I’m coming from.”

  “Of course I do. It’s just…you know after the feds have come down on insider trading, my broker just won’t take the chance. She doesn’t want to end up in jail, and if someone as wealthy as Martha Stewart can get caught, well…” She left the rest unsaid.

  “But you said she was going to invest for you.”

  “She’s my friend. She trusts me. If she gets caught, I’m not going to talk.”

  Elliot frowned, thinking.

  Barbara sipped her coffee.

  “She doesn’t have to know it’s us, does she? I mean I could give you the money and you can let her think it’s from you.”

  This man was so accustomed to dealing with his money illegally, he didn’t even see the tax consequences.

  “I don’t know,” Barbara said slowly.

  Elliot’s hand gripped hers. “We need this, Barbara. I know what Andrew did was wrong. But we always loved you like a daughter. Could you find it in yourself to help us out?” he asked with desperate appeal.

  Barbara regarded him, biting her lip. Suddenly, she sighed. “You’re a good man, Elliot. And for that reason alone, I’ll help you.” For some reason, after all she’d been through, after all the scams they’d pulled, this seemed too easy.

  Pleased, he settled back in his seat and exhaled audibly. “Do you have some information on that stock?”

  “Sure.” Setting down her coffee, Barbara went into the kitchen and pulled out the slick looking packet. “They’ve just got FDA approval for one of their drugs,” Barbara said, returning to the room. “A Swiss company is in the process of buying some of their patents. It’s a pharmaceutical and the stock isn’t doing that great at the moment. But that patent has changed everything.”

  “How long do you think this will take?”

  “About two months, three at the most. They’re in quiet negotiations as we speak. So the sooner you invest the better. Once word leaks, their stock is going to shoot up immediately,” she assured him.

  “I guess we can stay that long.”

  “You’re planning on leaving?” she asked, innocently, knowing very well they weren’t going to stay. “I like it here. I thought you were planning on settling here.”

  “The damp weather isn’t good for Minerva’s arthritis. She wants to settle in a warm, dry climate. We’re considering Arizona.”

  “Do you know anyone there?”

  He shrugged. “We make friends easily.”

  “Well, they say you should rent for a year or so just in case the place doesn’t suit you,” Barbara suggested.

  “Yeah, that’s what we did here,” he said, nodding his head. “And it’s not working out.”

  “Well, let’s see what we can do about that. How much were you thinking of investing?” she asked.

  He named a sum far above what Barbara expected. How many people had this family bilked?

  He stood, gripping the folder in his hand. “I know you have customers coming soon. I’ll get out of your way. I’ll look this over,” he said, “and meet you again in a couple of days to discuss delivering the money.”

  Barbara nodded.

  As Elliot left the building, Trent was coming in.

  “He was here for a haircut?” he asked, nodding toward Elliot.

  “No.” Barbara didn’t see the need to explain her business to an employee and left it at that. She was already pissed off at Elliot. Good thing Trent had the good sense to drop the subject.

  The nerve of some people. Elliot was concerned about his retirement when he’d systematically stolen the retirements of countless others. What about those seniors?

  “You okay, Barbara?” Trent asked, staring at her.

  “What?” Barbara snapped.

  Trent all but jumped back. Holding up his hands, he said, “All I asked was if you were okay.”

  She had better calm down or he’d get suspicious. “I’m fine,” she muttered in a calmer voice, and even managed a small smile. “Thank you for asking.”

  He nodded and walked away.

  Barbara needed to rant. Liane was her ranting partner. Her first customer wouldn’t be there for another ten minutes. She grabbed her cell phone and went outside without even donning a coat.

  “Liane, do you have a minute?”

  “Sure, what’s up?”

  “That sonofabitch came by wanting to invest money for his retirement. He needed to have enough for him and Minerva to live off of. Can you believe him? He’s thinking of retirement and he stole the livelihoods of others already in retirement. If I had a gun, I’d shoot him myself.”

  “Now he’s right where you want him, isn’t he?” her friend pointed out.

  “Yes, but…God, I am so angry.” Barbara must have looked like a crazy person marching up and down the sidewalk. If she didn’t get a grip, somebody was going to call Harper and he’d wonder what was going on.

  “Calm down,” Liane said in a soothing voice, just the way they calmed each other in the bathroom at work when one of the guys pissed them off. “Your plan, as crazy as it is, is working out just the way you want it.”

  “I know. But it’s just that some people have no conscience or heart, and that’s hard for me to swallow.”

  “You loved your grandmother, and Elliot carelessly and uncaringly stole from her, then took her life,” Liane said softly. “Of course you’re upset. But you’re going to get her money back.”

  “And then some. He’s paying me in cash,” she said. “But, Liane, I can’t get Dorsey back.”

  Suddenly, Barbara felt devastated.

  “Remember, your grandmother lived her life to the fullest. She didn’t waste a second of it. She was a feisty woman and she went down fighting. What better legacy could she have? She wouldn’t have wanted to go out any other way.”

  Barbara began to calm. “There’s something else. Someone searched my house when I was out walking this morning.”

  “Barbara, this is getting dangerous. You have to talk to the sheriff.”

  “And tell him what? That I’m about to break the law? He’d pull Elliot in and I’d never get the money.”

  “But Bar—”

  “I can’t, Liane. I got a call the other day. One woman they scammed is borrowing money to pay for her medication. These people need their money. They can’t afford to have it tied up in the courts for years. By the time the attorneys are through, they’d be dead and the attorneys will have most of the money. This way the money, all of it, will go to the people who lost it.”

  “Barbara, I’m afraid for you.”

  “Harper meets me here each evening after work and he goes home with me.”

  “But he can’t always be with you.”<
br />
  “Even if I told him, he wouldn’t always be with me.” A car sped into the lot and bounced to a stop. Her first customer had arrived. “I have to go.”

  “Promise me you’ll talk to Harper if anything else happens.”

  “I promise.”

  Liane sighed. “Maybe one day you can trust him with your secrets.”

  Trent watched Barbara talking on the phone and wondered what was up. Elliot, at least that was the name he was using now, left happy, and Barbara was smiling as he left, but as soon as the door shut behind him, she was roaring mad. Almost snapped his head off. And she was spying on Elliot’s wife earlier. The same as he was going to do. What was up with that?

  Trent was feeling a little stiff. He usually jogged five or six miles, but never eight. That morning he’d gotten a workout and then some.

  He kept wondering why Barbara was working a regular job when the others weren’t. Did the old man come for her money? She beat the heck out of Andrew when he tried to steal from her. The tale was still circulating around town, especially at the bar. Trent couldn’t see her getting up off anything if she didn’t want to. So what the heck was going on? She didn’t need them, not the way they needed her. He couldn’t figure it out.

  Barbara had called a security company to have their best alarm system installed. She’d first asked Harper which system was the best, of course. He was curious as to why she felt she needed one. She used the excuse of the woman’s murder, and that she often came home late and alone. Whether he bought her story she wasn’t sure, but he recommended one, even pulled some strings to get it installed quickly.

  The Tyler Perry play was wonderful Saturday night. Afterward, Barbara and Harper went to a jazz club and listened to music. They sat back in comfortable club chairs. Harper drank a club soda and Barbara a margarita.

  “Are you ready to tell me why you need the security system?” he asked, surprising Barbara with the question.

  “I already told you. I’m alone so much. And anything can happen when I’m gone,” she said. “The thing with Sarah has spooked me. There was the break-in at the Stones’. What’s going on?” She put the ball back in his court. It was his island and he hadn’t solved the crimes.

  He stared at her so long she thought he was going to pursue it further. Then a Coltrane song played and Barbara closed her eyes with a smile.

  “I just love this song,” she said.

  “Want to dance?”

  “Yes.”

  On the dance floor, he gathered her into his arms. He had to have a million questions about her actions, but he didn’t broach any of them. Pulled into his close embrace, Barbara felt the steady rhythm of his heartbeat and the heat from his body.

  At first she was tense. Her feelings were growing for Harper and although she wanted to step back and take a breath, for once she was going to live in the moment. She hated the lies. She hated the misconceptions. But what could she do?

  Right now, she was going to enjoy this. Her experience with Harper was something she could put in her memory book when she was back in Philly or New York.

  Barbara sighed heavily, feeling his pleasant strength against her. She ran her hands slowly and seductively over his back. She was going to enjoy this, she thought, as she felt more than heard a moan from deep in his throat. His lips found hers and he kissed her tenderly. She sighed and all but melted into him.

  They took the last ferry back to the island. It was cold and brisk outside, but Harper got out after he’d parked. The captain was on deck.

  “It’s been a windy one tonight,” the captain said.

  Harper tugged up the collar of his coat. “You got that right.”

  “Hey, you ever find out who killed Sarah?”

  Harper shook his head. “Still looking.”

  “Say, I’ve been seeing a couple of newcomers ride the ferry two, three times a week. Thought they were staying at Gabrielle’s place, but they don’t look like they could afford it.”

  “Do you know their names?”

  “Naw, usually stay to themselves.”

  “And how long have they been visiting?”

  “Couple months now. Maybe they have relatives or something. Never see the girl with anyone, but I see the guy with this dude named Andrew. Andrew always walks and sometimes this guy gives him a ride home.”

  Harper zeroed-in on Andrew. “What do they drive?”

  “Old beat-up Ford Taurus. I thought maybe they had jobs in Norfolk or the Beach,” he said, referring to Virginia Beach.

  “Thanks for the update,” Harper said, noticing that it was time for them to leave.

  “Anytime. Time for me to earn my pay.”

  As the captain walked off, Harper returned to the car.

  He’d left the engine idling so Barbara would stay warm. A burst of cold air came in with him. He glanced at Barbara.

  “Stay with me tonight?” He’d spent several nights with her, but she hadn’t been to his place once. He wanted her to see where he lived.

  When she didn’t respond, he said, “We can stop by your place for clothes.”

  “Okay.”

  Barbara had only seen Harper’s house from the road. He activated the garage door opener and drove into the two-car garage. There was a third door large enough for storage or a motorcycle, but nothing was stored there.

  Harper grabbed her small suitcase from the backseat. “In anticipating your visit, I got Lisa to clean so you wouldn’t have any complaints about my underwear on the bathroom floor.”

  “I should hope not. You’re old enough to pick up after yourself.”

  “Duly noted,” he said, giving her a salute.

  They entered the kitchen from the garage and he popped on the light. Barbara stopped.

  “Oh, Harper, this is beautiful.” The granite countertop was a mixture of brown, black, and beige. The beige matched beige cabinets, and the brown matched the walnut island. He had stainless-steel appliances.

  “So what special features do you have?”

  “To tell you the truth, I don’t really use most of them. My mom and sister-in-law had their way with the kitchen and bathrooms.”

  “I love it. Everything’s stored.” There were a few glass cabinets that showcased china and figurines.

  And the breakfast room showcased a lovely bay window. In front of it was a low table with two chairs. The other matching chairs were moved to a sitting area in the great room.

  “Do you have a living room?”

  “I do, but I use it for an office since I don’t need a formal living room. But that can be changed. I’m flexible.”

  The great room was huge—at least twenty by sixteen with a two-story ceiling.

  “Master bedroom’s on the other side of the great room,” he said, and led her to a huge room almost as large as the great room. “There’s an empty closet for you. I had Lisa store my overflow junk upstairs.”

  His bedroom was twice the size of hers, not to mention the huge closet outfitted with drawers and shelves for storing clothes and shoes.

  The master bedroom was more masculine than the living area, with a brown and beige comforter.

  In the master bath, there were two sinks on opposite walls and a separate water closet. A large shower was in one corner, and a sunken tub was set at the very end under a window.

  “I rarely use that tub. I use the hot tub outside,” he said.

  Lisa had laid out fluffy towels and washcloths on the towel bar.

  “When did you build this?”

  “About six years ago. I bought a small cottage when I first moved here. But it was time for a larger living space. And when you moved here, I was glad I had someplace to bring you.”

  “This is amazing.”

  “I’ll show you upstairs tomorrow. That’s where the game room is, with the pool table and pinball machine.”

  “Your nephews and nieces must love to visit you.”

  “They do. You’ll meet them at Christmas. They’re going to spend it h
ere this year.”

  Barbara nodded, a little nervous about meeting his family. They weren’t that serious yet.

  “I’ll give you time to change.” He approached and cupped her chin. “I want you to feel comfortable, Barbara, as if you were home.” He kissed her lightly and stepped back.

  Barbara nodded.

  “Do you want to take tomorrow off, or are we going to church?”

  Barbara couldn’t remember a Sunday when she didn’t go to church. Dorsey had dragged her there every Sunday and she continued to go when she visited Dorsey in Philly.

  “Church,” she said.

  He nodded. “Guess we better get ready for bed, then. I’ll give you some privacy.”

  CHAPTER 10

  Sonya got up early the next morning and brought breakfast back to the cottage for their roommate, shocking the woman. She was still asleep when Sonya knocked on the door.

  She hadn’t mentioned the bowl to Boyd—and didn’t plan to. But she had a funny feeling that bowl her roommate’s friend was making was a replica of the original golden bowl. It was too much of a coincidence that another ancient bowl was floating around. Which meant the friend knew where the valuable bowl was, and Sonya planned to find out.

  “How’re your projects going?” Sonya asked as the woman sat up in bed to eat.

  “It’s going fine,” she said. “I haven’t had breakfast in bed in years. They certainly don’t give you the star treatment here.”

  “Everyone needs to be pampered. But we can’t complain. The room and board’s cheap.”

  “I don’t know how cheap it is. They get a fraction of our profits on top of rent.”

  Sonya shrugged. “What can you say? Nothing’s free.”

  “That’s for sure.”

  “You were saying your friend was having some problems with her project. If she needs help, just let me know,” Sonya said breezily. “Boyd and I are leaving for Thanksgiving, but I’ll be happy to help when we get back.”

  “I’ve never seen you sculpt. You do beautiful paintings.”

  “I work both mediums,” Sonya said.