by Dawn Eastman
“But I talked to Grace at three,” I said.
“I knew it!” Vi said. “So they’re okay?”
Mac held his hands out, palm up. “All I can say is if they were in the boat when it caught fire, they must have escaped. It was already demolished by the time Grace called.”
“She told me not to believe everything I heard,” I said.
“And a 10-40 is a false alarm,” Dad said.
“But they’re still gone,” Mom said. “What do we do?”
I looked at Mac and we silently agreed that we wouldn’t discuss Paul and Grace’s concerns in front of the kids. However, they must have wanted it to look like they died in that boating accident.
“Kids, you might have to pretend a lot,” I said. “Your parents were having some trouble at work and they hinted, although I didn’t understand it at the time, that they might need to disappear for a while.”
“What, like witness protection?” Seth asked. “I thought that was only for organized crime . . .”
I looked pointedly at Sophie and he stopped talking.
“They were worried about some bad men who were mad because they lost some money,” Sophie said. “They blamed Mom and Dad, but it wasn’t their fault.”
“When did they tell you this?” Mac asked.
“Before we came here. They told me not to go with anyone that wasn’t a relative or Miranda.” Sophie scowled. “Like I would just wander off with some stranger. That’s when she told me that there would be an accident and we would have to pretend they had died. I can’t even tell Miranda the truth.”
Vi hmphed and pulled Sophie closer. She looked at Mom over Sophie’s head. Mom gripped her amethyst necklace, shook her head, and looked down at her lap.
“Sounds like Grace had it all figured out,” Mac said dryly. “I just wish she would have warned us.”
But I knew why she hadn’t. She didn’t want anyone to stop her.
22
Mom did what she always did in a crisis. She cooked. She dragged the kids to the kitchen to help make pancakes and bacon. Seth was an expert pancake flipper after months of tutoring from Alex. And Sophie knew how to microwave the bacon. Mom tsked at this newfangled technique, but it kept Sophie busy so she let her get on with it.
I made the coffee.
We gathered in the dining room just as the sky was beginning to lighten. After breakfast, both kids looked dazed and were yawning. I told Seth I would call his school and say he was staying home while we figured out what we were going to do. He and Sophie went back to bed, but I suspected they just wanted to be alone to talk.
The rest of us sat at the table to discuss the plan. I told them about Grace’s concerns and my suspicions that they had planned this to get out of trouble and to protect the kids. She must have decided they would be safer if their children couldn’t be used as bargaining chips. If Grace and Paul were dead, there was no reason to come after the kids. I couldn’t believe they would leave Seth and Sophie like that, but Grace had done a lot of things I couldn’t believe.
“If they want everyone to think they’re dead, then we’re going to have to act as if they are,” Vi said.
“We can do a memorial service for them here,” Mom said.
“Do you think there will be an investigation into the boating accident?” Dad asked Mac.
“I don’t know. Since the SUV has been identified and they’re both missing, I think the authorities will assume they died in the fire. There wasn’t much left of the boat..”
“But you said they haven’t found any bodies,” Mom said.
“That’s true,” Mac sipped his coffee. “The search and rescue will keep looking for a while, but with the rip current as strong as it is, they can’t endanger the rescue crew, and they are already assuming they’ve drowned. It’s unofficially turned from a rescue mission to a recovery mission. Grace and Paul likely staged the whole accident to make it look like they had died on the lake. They must have left the car with its alarm going off to attract attention and to be sure we got word right away. We don’t know because they didn’t tell us.”
This was classic Grace. She trusted me with her kids, but not with her plans to fake her own death. I wasn’t sure how I would fake grieving at her memorial when I was so angry with her. Then I had another thought. And before I could voice it, Vi asked for me.
“You’re sure it can’t be true?” Vi’s voice shook. “That they died in the fire or drowned?” She reached over and took Mom’s hand in hers.
Mac leaned forward and spoke gently. “I talked to the officer myself. He was at the scene an hour before Grace called Clyde.”
“Maybe he was paid off,” I said. “Maybe this was the revenge they were so worried about.”
Mac scooted his chair closer and draped an arm over my shoulders.
“That doesn’t make sense,” he said. “If the men that were after them had succeeded she wouldn’t be able to call you.”
“You’re right,” Dad said. “Grace had to be in on it, which means she’s probably safe somewhere.” Dad swirled his coffee cup, but didn’t drink it.
“What are we going to do about Sophie?” I said to Mac.
Mac had just taken another swig of coffee. He swallowed wrong and choked.
“I hadn’t even thought about that,” he said. “If we have to tell the world that they’re dead, then Rupert will expect us to take custody.”
“That must be why she was so insistent that you sign the papers yesterday,” Vi said. “I knew something was fishy about that—dragging Rupert over here on a weekend.”
“I wonder why they suddenly had to rush things,” I said. “Last week they said we could take our time deciding and by Sunday she was rushing it through. Do you think there was another threat?”
“Either that or there was another reason why they had to get out of town quickly,” Mac said. He looked slowly around the table. “I hope the timing didn’t have anything to do with Derek’s murder.”
Mom frowned. “What do you mean?”
“Yeah, what are you implying?” Vi crossed her arms and scowled. Which made me think she knew exactly what he was implying.
Mac held his hands out, palms up. “They were seen fighting with Derek. Grace has a history with Derek. Anyone would look into that connection.”
Dad ran his hand through his hair. “Grace can be impulsive and selfish.” He glanced at Mom and quickly continued. “She can even be dishonest and manipulative. But she’s not a murderer.”
“What about Paul?” I said. “Even after all the years they’ve been married, we hardly know him.”
Mom gasped and grabbed her calming amulet. “How can you say that? Mac, you don’t think one of them did it, do you?”
Mac held his hands up to stop the escalation. “I don’t know what happened. And I’m not investigating anymore. I was taken off the case for this very reason.”
“Will this Fisk person look into other suspects now?” Vi asked. “Or does the whole department think that just because Paul fought with Derek at the costume shop, he also killed him?”
There was a moment of silence as everyone processed what Vi had just said. Mac hadn’t mentioned the costume shop. Vi knew about the fight.
“Vi, did you see the fight?” I asked.
Vi shrugged and looked at her lap.
Mac looked at me and then at Mom and Dad. “Detective Fisk will look at everyone again, I’m sure. But if he can’t find another possibility, Grace and Paul will forever be suspect. Disappearing right now doesn’t make them look innocent.”
“Oh, my. What are we going to do?” Mom asked.
“Let’s focus on Sophie and helping her get settled at our place,” I said. “She can have the third bedroom.” I turned toward my mother. “It’s small, but you can help make it cozy for her.”
“I’ll take h
er shopping for things to decorate the room the way she wants,” Mom said.
“I guess we should get her enrolled in school—maybe next week,” I said.
I moved closer to Mac, and tried to calm my agitation.
We had just become a family.
23
It was only eight o’clock in the morning and I felt like I had already had a full and exhausting day. I recognized that the fewer people who knew the truth about Grace and Paul, the better. But I didn’t see how I could keep it from Diana and Alex. Diana would figure it out just by looking at me, and Alex spent too much time with Seth not to realize that he wasn’t truly grieving for his parents.
I texted them and asked them to meet us at Everyday Grill. Alex always closed on Monday mornings, but I knew he would be there organizing his supplies for the week and making menu changes.
Mac and I walked into town to clear the fog that had settled on our overtired brains. It was a beautiful spring morning. Birds made a racket in the trees, seemingly just as excited as the humans that warm weather was here to stay. The morning mist disappeared rapidly as the sun rose and warmed the ground. By the time we made it to the Grill, it had all burned off and the sun shone brilliant on the water in the marina.
The door was locked but Alex saw us and rushed to let us in. Diana was sitting at the table in the back, the one we always used for impromptu get-togethers like this one.
“You two look awful,” she said when we slid into the chairs beside her.
Alex put two cups of coffee on the table and pushed mine toward me as if it was medicine and I was very ill.
“Is it Derek? Did you find out who did it?”
Mac shook his head.
“There’s been an accident,” I said. “Grace and Paul . . .” I stopped. How do you tell someone that your sister and her husband have faked their own death in order to escape the mob and possibly to avoid being arrested for murder?
Diana covered her mouth with a shaking hand and her eyes filled with tears. “Are they okay?”
I looked to Mac to help me tell this story.
“The car they were driving was found in Bailey Harbor near the marina. Just after it was found a boat caught fire on the lake.” Mac held up his hand when Alex reached out to put his arm around me and Diana grabbed my hand. “We think they are unhurt.”
“What does that mean, ‘unhurt’?” Alex said. “Were they in the accident or not?”
“I got a call from Grace last night at three a.m.,” I said. “She was very cryptic and told me not to worry and that she was fine.”
Mac said, “Later, I got a call from a friend in the department when they ran the plate on the car and discovered that it was Clyde’s Tahoe.”
“They stole your car?” Alex asked.
“So where are they?” Diana said.
“We don’t know,” I said. “Officially, they were in the boat when it burned, but the boat was found in flames at two a.m.”
“An hour before you heard from Grace,” Alex finished for me.
“I don’t understand,” Diana said.
“We don’t really understand, either,” I said. “Maybe I should back up.” I told them the whole story: Grace’s concern that they were in danger, her insistence that we sign the guardianship papers, Sophie’s unshakeable belief that they were safe, and our conclusion that they want us to pretend they’ve been killed in order to protect the kids.
“Grace has really outdone herself this time,” Diana said. Her mouth was pressed into a grim line. “I can’t believe she would desert her kids like this. I mean, I know you always said she had minimal maternal instincts and it was only her skill at hiring good child care that kept the kids as happy as they’ve been, but this is going too far.” Her voice rose in indignation.
“How are Seth and Sophie?” Alex asked.
“They seem okay so far,” Mac said. “I’m not sure it’s really sunk in yet what it means.”
“Those poor kids,” Diana said. She sniffed and rubbed her eyes. She had lost her own parents about five years earlier. She’d been older than Seth and Sophie, and had already been living on her own, but it had still been devastating. She’d ended up taking care of her younger brother and dealing with all of the legal consequences.
“So this means you’re their guardian?” Alex asked me.
I nodded. “And Mac. Grace insisted that we both sign the papers. I was irked at the time and thought she was trying to push us to . . . be more committed. Now I think she was planning this all along. Maybe she wanted Mac to buy in to the plan and not investigate the accident.”
“What’s next?” Alex asked. He leaned an elbow on the table and looked from me to Mac.
“We’ll need to plan a funeral,” I said. “Fortunately, Paul doesn’t have any family so we don’t need to lie to them. But if they want it to appear that they died in the car accident, we’ll need to sell it.”
Alex and Diana exchanged a look.
“What?” I said looking from one to the other.
“Well, it’s just, you aren’t the best liar,” Diana said.
I wasn’t sure if that was a compliment or an insult.
“I think I can attend a fake funeral and muster up some fake emotion.” The fact that the emotion would be more anger than sadness hardly seemed to matter.
Diana tilted her head and pressed her lips together. Alex refused to meet my eyes.
“We’ll work on it,” Mac said. He smiled at me for the first time since Grace’s early morning call.
* * *
Mac and I left Everyday Grill with Diana.
“Mac, I know you aren’t working on the case anymore,” Diana said. “But I asked Bethany about that ritual knife. She says it sounds like the one she sold to Tatiana. I told her you might want to talk to her.”
That’s where I remembered hearing about a knife. But how was Tatiana involved?
“Thank you, Diana.” Mac gave her a warm smile. “I’ll be sure the right person gets the information.”
Diana turned left to head back to her shop, we turned right. I was about to ask Mac about the knife when I saw them—the same guys who had been following Grace and Paul the week before.
The zombie run and Founder’s Day celebrations were over and most of the visitors had cleared out. What were they doing still in town?
“Mac . . .”
“I see them,” Mac said quietly. “Just keep walking. Let’s see what they do.”
He took my hand and we strolled along the mainly empty sidewalk. Most of the businesses were closed on Mondays until June, or opened later in the morning. I had a prickly feeling on my neck as I turned my back on the men.
Mac walked with his head bent toward me as if we were talking intently. This allowed him to keep an eye on the men without letting them know we had noticed them.
“Are they following us?”
“They seem to be,” Mac said. “They aren’t very subtle about it. Maybe they’re just walking in our general direction. If they’re trying to be secretive, they’re doing a terrible job.”
“Maybe they want us to see them,” I said. “Maybe it’s a threat, not a botched tailing job.”
“I suppose it’s possible.”
We turned right again to head back into our neighborhood. The men did not follow us and I was left wondering if I had imagined the whole thing.
24
Later that day, the house buzzed with activity. Mac and I had decided it would be best to move the kids back to our house as soon as possible so they could get used to their new home. Seth, of course, was already used to it but now it was his only home.
Mom and Vi arrived with baskets of cleaning supplies, brooms, and rags as if I owned none of those things. They bustled into the small third bedroom that had been used as a dumping ground for out-of-season clothing, shipping
boxes needing to be recycled, and anything else that didn’t have a designated place in the house. We all worked to clear it out and set it up comfortably for Sophie.
Dad arrived with his toolbox and disappeared into the basement. The last time I had seen that toolbox, the fire department had been called. I had no idea what he planned to do down there, but gestured at Mac to go with him and supervise.
Mom unpacked Sophie’s small suitcase and then took her to the mall to pick out bedding. I had the bed made up already, but the navy-blue-and-cream color scheme was deemed too sterile for a seven-year-old girl. The comforter they chose was definitely more colorful. The flowers and stripes represented every color of the rainbow.
The dogs were excited to be back in familiar surroundings and Tuffy got all of his toys out of the basket and left them in strategically inconvenient places around the house.
“Do you mind if we paint the room to go with the new bedding?” Mom said as she came downstairs into the living room.
I shook my head no and promptly stepped on one of Tuffy’s hard chew toys. I swore under my breath and Tuffy came careening out of the kitchen to grab the toy. I sat and rubbed my foot, which Baxter took as an invitation to come over and drool on my shoulder.
Things were getting back to normal.
* * *
Tuesday morning we slept in after our mostly sleepless night on Sunday. Baxter had sensed Sophie’s need for company and he lay outside her door, snoring, until she let him in. I found them curled up together the next morning—Sophie wedged between the dog and the wall while Baxter sprawled on her pillow.
Baxter opened one eye to check on the intruder and then closed it again in dismissal. I clicked the door shut quietly and followed the smell of coffee downstairs to the kitchen.
Mac sat at the table, his small notebook and multiple loose sheets of paper spread in front of him.
“What are you working on?” I asked as I poured a cup.
“I’m looking over my notes from the interviews,” he said. He pointed to a pile on his left. “Derek’s family. They all said he was a great guy without an enemy in the world.”
