Tidewater Inn

by Colleen Coble

  He sobered. “That’s good. Because he could do a lot of damage.”

  “Maybe. But I have to believe the sheriff has enough integrity to look for the real criminals.”

  “I think he does, but sometimes it’s tempting to take the easy way out.”

  “I’ll keep pushing back until he finds the truth.” Her high spirits began to sink. Alec’s sober demeanor reminded her that she still faced many problems. She didn’t even want to see Earl’s article.

  “What are the plans for today?” she asked. “I want to get started on finding Nicole.”

  “I thought we’d take the cutter out with my friends. I got permission to search for her, and I talked my boss into allowing you to be on the boat.”

  “I wish we would find her today.” She stared out at the water, which shimmered with gold and orange as the sun lifted its head above the horizon.

  He touched her arm. “Don’t give up hope.”

  “I haven’t.” She rubbed her head. “What made you decide to join the Coast Guard?”

  He smiled. “That’s an easy answer. I’m happy when I’m on the sea. The Coast Guard rescued us when I was a kid, like I mentioned.”

  She sobered. “When your brother died.”

  He nodded. “Riding on that cutter back to land, I knew I wanted to snatch people from the jaws of death the way we’d been rescued. It seemed very noble.”

  “And is it?”

  “Sometimes. When we’re successful. Sometimes we’re not though. We’re not always in time to save lives. Then it’s hard, and I feel like a failure.”

  “I don’t think you could ever be a failure.” She held his gaze for just a moment, then turned back toward the house. “I think I’ll fix coconut pancakes for breakfast.”

  She couldn’t think of a man she admired as much as she did Alec. He was quite a guy. The strain between them was gone this morning, and she prayed it meant he fully believed in her now.

  SEVENTEEN

  It was ten by the time Alec drove Libby to town to go searching. While Libby ducked into the store to buy some sunscreen, Alec walked across the street to step into the sheriff’s office. He found Tom at his desk filling in paperwork.

  “Got a minute?” Alec closed the door behind him.

  Tom leaned back in his chair. “You bet. What’s up?”

  “You heard from the state boys on the search for Nicole?”

  Tom pursed his lips. “Yeah. There are two detectives coming first of the week.”

  “Why so late?”

  “The state is still reeling from the hurricane, I guess. And their best detective is in Saint Croix on vacation. They’re sending him and his partner out when he gets back.”

  “I guess it will have to do.”

  “You find out anything by hanging around Libby?”

  Alec shook his head. “I think you were right about Earl though. He came in with guns blazing for her last night. He found out about the missing video. Did you tell him?”

  Tom frowned. “You know better than that. I wouldn’t do anything to compromise the investigation.”

  “I wonder how he found out, then.”

  “He might have a contact in the Virginia Beach office. I guess it doesn’t matter. It’s going to come out sooner or later.”

  Alec fell silent as he tried to think of how he could convince his cousin to drop his suspicions about Libby. “This morning she said she was sure you had the integrity to dig for the truth. Don’t make me think you’re less of a man than we both know you are.”

  Tom flushed. “Come on, Alec, you’re letting yourself be fooled by a pretty face. I admit she’s a looker, but use your head. Stay neutral and consider that she might be implicated.”

  “I am. What other evidence have you found about the two men?”

  Tom leaned back in his chair. “Two men in a small boat with an outboard motor were seen offshore.”

  “That reminds me of what Mr. McEwan said.” He told Tom about the old man seeing a boat with two men and a sleeping woman.

  “Might be our perps,” Tom said.

  “Did you get a description of the boat? Libby could say if it’s the same one she saw. We might be able to track it.”

  “It was too far for my witness to make out the name or make. Did you ask McEwan?”

  Alec nodded. “He said he thought it was a Sea Ray, but he wasn’t sure. Said it had some wear and might be a charter boat.”

  “I’ll check out the marinas on the mainland and at Kill Devil.”

  It sounded like Tom was going to stay objective. The tension eased out of Alec’s neck. “Promise me one thing, okay? That you won’t prejudice the state boys against her. Let them come in and look at the situation with fresh eyes.”

  Tom hesitated, then looked down at his desk. “They are already looking at her, Alec. She wiped out the video.”

  “I believe her story about doing it accidentally.”

  “I don’t know what to believe yet. But we have to consider all possibilities. I need you to promise to keep an open mind and report anything suspicious you see about Libby.”

  “I know the meaning of duty,” Alec said. “I’m not going to hide anything. But we need to find Nicole. Every hour that passes is bad news and you know it.”

  “I’m doing my best. We’re looking too. You have to consider that we may never find her though, Alec.”

  “I don’t want to give up too soon.”

  “Neither do I.”

  The Coast Guard boat rode the waves so well Libby barely felt the swells left from the storm. Nicole had been gone three days. Was she even still alive? Libby stood at the bow of the craft and scanned the sea for any sight of her partner. Alec stood shoulder to shoulder with her and lifted binoculars to his eyes. He’d stopped to change into his uniform.

  “We’ve got the boat for three more hours,” he said.

  Libby moved restlessly. “I don’t think she’s out this way. There’s nothing here.” She’d seen nothing but gulls and whitecaps.

  “I don’t either.”

  “If it was the kidnappers the old man saw, could they have had a destination in mind?”

  “There isn’t much out here but open sea.”

  “No islands?”

  He shrugged. “Just uninhabited bits of sand. Nothing that would withstand a hurricane or support life. Some people picnic on the small islands, but there’s no food or water on most of them.”

  She held out her hand. “Can I borrow your binoculars?”

  “Sure.” He handed them over.

  She adjusted them to suit her and studied the whitecaps. Nothing. Every hour that passed left her feeling more and more hopeless. Where could they turn for information?

  She handed back the binoculars. “Could we check the little islands?”

  He spoke to Curtis, and the boat veered toward a tiny spot of land to the west. “It will take days or weeks to search them all. It would be insanity to put her on one of them.”

  “I’m not going to give up. She has to be somewhere. What do you think they did with her?”

  He pressed his lips together, then shrugged. “Hard to say. They could have veered toward land at any point and put ashore.”

  “You don’t think they did though, do you? I hear it in your voice. You think they dumped her.”

  “Libby, we don’t know what happened or why they even took her. Anything is possible.”

  She felt a rising tide of distress and clamped down on it.

  “It’s too early to give up,” he said. “We’re going to keep looking.”

  His tone held determination. She smiled at him. “Thank you.”

  The craft reached the tiny island. Alec ordered the anchor lowered and the raft readied. “Want to go ashore?”

  She eyed the island. It looked deserted. “I’ll go.”

  “It’s likely full of bird offing,” he warned. “The pelicans like this island.”

  “I’ll manage. Are they nesting?”

  “
Yes. They breed from March to November. So we may see some fledglings.” He helped her into the raft with the others, then rowed ashore. The raft touched bottom and he jumped out, then dragged it to the sand. “Stick with me, just in case.” He asked his friends to go the other direction. Josh and Sara went east.

  She and Alec went west toward a patch of spindly trees. “Oh look!” She pointed to the ground. “Is that a pelican nest?”

  “Yes. There are two eggs. That’s common. The parents take turns incubating the eggs.” He grinned. “That’s the way it should be. The mom shouldn’t have to do it all.”

  “Nice of you to admit it,” she said. She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye as she turned away. Did he feel that way about raising kids? He handled Zach well.

  It took less than five minutes to meet up with the other two Coasties. Gulls scolded them as they searched, but the island held nothing.

  Sara fell into step beside her. “You doing okay?”

  Libby liked the other woman’s manner. Calm and confident. “I’m fine. Alec says you’re the EMT? Is it hard to work with mostly men?”

  “I used to think I had to prove myself, but the guys are fair. They let me pull my own weight.” She smiled. “Most of the time.”

  “Does anyone ever stay on these little islands?” Libby asked.

  “Sometimes fishermen will camp out, or teens will party on one. Once in a while a foolhardy mainlander will get it in his head to build a house on one, but it never lasts. The isolation gets to them after a while. Nothing is convenient either. One accident and things can get hairy quickly.”

  The four of them walked to the center of the island, where Sara pointed out a stash of beer bottles, both empty and full. A cornhole game had been set up, and someone had carved the words I love Carrie onto a tree trunk.

  “Kids,” Josh said. He and Sara headed back to the boat.

  “What’s that?” Libby pointed to the ground. “Looks like someone built a fire here.”

  “Probably kids cooking fish,” Alec said.

  She prodded the ashes with her foot. Nothing but pieces of charred wood.

  “Wait.” He knelt and sifted with his fingers, then his hand came up holding a pocketknife. He stood, his mouth pinched.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “It’s Zach’s.”

  “How do you know?”

  He showed her the name carved into the side of it. “He told me he dropped it overboard. This must be a hangout. I’m going to have to have a talk with him.”

  “You sound discouraged. You’re thinking of the beer, aren’t you? Boys generally experiment with alcohol.”

  His mouth was pinched. “He knows better. And he’s driving a boat, which makes it worse.”

  She wanted to ask more, but there was a wall up in his manner. “He seems to love you.”

  He shook his head. “He’s been a handful since his parents died.”

  “I know they were killed in a small plane crash. Do you know the cause?”

  “Dave was an amateur pilot. Their plane went down over a lake in Minnesota. The authorities think clouds rolled in. He wasn’t certified for instrument flying.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  They boarded the boat and got under way again. She strained to see the next island. Maybe Nicole would be on that one.

  “We’ll check there too,” he said. “But I don’t think we’re going to find her on an island.”

  She jutted out her chin. “We have to try.”

  He glanced at his watch. “Two hours. Then we have to go back. Zach is bringing in fish to feed the town. We’ll all need to help.”

  She wanted to scream that finding her friend was more important than fish, but she swallowed hard and nodded. This man and his friends were helping her. She would be grateful.

  EIGHTEEN

  The cutter docked at the Coast Guard headquarters in the bay. Alec pointed Libby to the ladies’ room, then he walked with his friends across the grassy field toward the parking lot.

  “Buddy, you better watch out,” Curtis said.

  Josh grinned and moved his hand like a diving airplane. “Kaboom! You’re about to crash and burn.”

  Alec stopped and stared at them. “What are you two idiots talking about?”

  Josh poked Alec’s arm. “We’re talking about you, my friend. And that pretty lady. You’re already halfway smitten.”

  “That’s ridiculous. I’ve only known her a few days.” He started walking away.

  Josh exchanged a long look with Curtis. “We’re too late, Curtis. He’s gone past denial to defensiveness.”

  Alec wanted to scowl, but he couldn’t hold back the bark of laughter. “I’m just helping her, guys.”

  “That’s what they all say,” Curtis said. “I get to be best man though, right?”

  “No, I get to be best man,” Josh said. He punched Curtis in the arm. “Just because you’re a month older, you think you get to do everything.”

  “No one is best man,” Alec said. “There’s no wedding.”

  “You mean we get to come to your house and watch the Dodgers play forever?” Josh whooped. “Now you’re talking.”

  Curtis was grinning as he watched Josh cavort along the lawn. “What do you really think of Libby?” he asked Alec. “Any news on the case at all?”

  “Not that I know of.” He told his best friend about the disastrous interview with Earl, and Libby’s admission about erasing the video.

  “That’s bad, Alec,” Sara said. “You’re sure it was accidental?”

  “I believe her. Why are you asking? Do you know something about hacking?”

  Curtis gave an innocent smile. “Well, this is all hearsay, you understand. I’ve never actually done it myself.”

  Alec grinned. “Okay, spill it. When did you hack a website?”

  “Well, in college, there was this girl I liked. She had a website and I thought it would be cute to hack it and put up a poem I’d written for her.”

  Sara punched him on the arm. “Get out! You didn’t. Poetry? From you?”

  Curtis grinned. “I did. But the next day I wished I didn’t. She wouldn’t speak to me. So much for that relationship.”

  “How’d you learn to do it?” Alec asked.

  “I was taking website design. If you know a little, you can do a Google search and get the directions on how to do it. As long as the website doesn’t have a good firewall. And many don’t.”

  “What about the cams here? Do they have good firewalls?”

  Curtis shrugged. “I’d think so, but with the budget cuts, it’s hard to say.”

  “So maybe a college student could have done it. Or just anyone with a little knowledge.”

  “Maybe.”

  “Is IP tracing always accurate?”

  Curtis shook his head. “A trace can be misdirected. So you need more evidence than a trace.”

  Alec gestured to the building. “Here comes Libby.”

  “When are you going to take her out on a real date?” Josh asked.

  “Where would we go? Get a grip, Josh.”

  “You’ve got a boat. Take her for a nice, romantic dinner in Kill Devil Hills.”

  His friend had a point. Maybe Alec would do just that.

  Zach’s face was set and strained. Alec eyed his nephew’s expression as they stood on the church lawn filleting fish with half a dozen men. Residents from all over the village had brought their gas grills and skillets. Griddles stood ready to cook the seafood, and news of the fish fry brought most of the townspeople to the church with dishes the women had prepared.

  Curtis threw a mullet into the bowl. “You think that’s enough? We’re not going to clean all of these, are we? Where’d you get a haul like this, Zach?”

  Zach shrugged. “Out past the sandbar. I knew the fishing would be good.”

  “I think that nephew of yours can read fish minds,” Josh said to Alec. He pursed his lips like a fish. “Come catch me. I’ll be good eating.”

>   Zach’s smile didn’t reach his eyes. “Ha ha.”

  “When are you going to join us in the Coast Guard?” Curtis asked.

  “Like, never,” Zach said. “I just want to fish.”

  Josh poked a scale-covered finger at Alec. “Look at your uncle. He serves his country and fishes too. A perfect combination.”

  Alec wanted to tell them to lay off, but he was curious to see if their ribbing would get Zach to reveal why he was in such a rotten mood. He placed another fillet on the growing mound in the big stainless bowl. But Zach hunched his shoulders and continued to work on the fish. He didn’t look at either of Alec’s friends.

  Pearl hurried across the lawn toward them. “We’re going to start cooking the fish. This was wonderful of you to do, Zach. You’re a thoughtful boy, just like your dad. He would have done this too.”

  Zach straightened and smiled. “Thanks, Mrs. Chilton.”

  She patted his cheek. “So polite.”

  Zach grinned and so did Alec. Pearl could change anyone’s frown into a smile.

  “I think we’re ready to start cooking,” Pearl said. “Zach, would you carry the bowl for me? It’s about as big as I am.”

  Zach carried the big stainless bowl overflowing with fish fillets to the grilling station. A dozen men stood by, ready to start the cooking. The aroma of charcoal made Alec’s stomach rumble. Side dishes covered the tables that had been hauled from the church basement.

  He loved Hope Beach. It was a gift from God that he’d been able to live here all his life. Good people, good friends—what more did he need in his life? His contentment vanished when he caught a glimpse of Libby. Okay, so maybe he was a little lonely.

  Josh nudged him with his elbow. “Look away. Resist the pull.”

  Alec grinned. “Maybe I don’t want to resist.”

  “Be like me. A confirmed bachelor.”

  “Right. I’ve seen you looking at Sara.”

  Josh folded his arms across his chest. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”