Sea Glass Sunrise

by Donna Kauffman

He shook his head. “I offered to talk to the firemen, direct them to where he was—he had his great-granddaughter to oversee—and I even offered to help with her so he could go talk to them himself. Instead, he ordered me off the docks and went back inside. You arrived right after that, and you and I both exited the property together. Then you went directly to the pub, and I went back to my room at the Hurleys’ place.” He looked to Logan. “I’m sure some of the crowd that was gathering by that point could verify that we exited the docks together and left the immediate area, and what time it was when we did so.”

  Logan looked at Hannah. “Why were you on the docks at all? Why not go directly back to the pub after the explosion?”

  “I called nine-one-one, then called Fiona. She said you were being radioed about it as we spoke, and Calder had already raced down the hill to go rouse Jonah if he was there. The firemen were already on the pier leading to the burning boathouse by then, so I went down to where Calder was to see if I could offer any assistance. But, as Calder said, Jonah had already come out and gone back inside. He knew they were okay, and he told me Jonah had told him to leave the property. So we did.”

  She leaned forward and her voice gentled a bit, more sister to brother now, instead of defense counsel to police chief. “Logan, I saw Calder’s face when that place went up. His immediate gut instinct was to protect me. Then it was to race directly down there and try to help. I’ve looked into the eyes of a lot of guilty men. He’s not one of them.”

  “I know,” Logan said, quietly.

  Calder shouldn’t have been as massively relieved to hear that as he was . . . but it was a load off, there was no denying.

  “Well, then why all the—”

  This time, Calder cut Hannah off. “He’s just doing his job.” He looked at Logan, his concern shifting to how they were going to find the true culprit. “Have you talked to Winstock? I can’t imagine he went down there and did this himself, but if you have no other leads, he’s got to be the connection.”

  Logan tapped his pen on the table. Then he leaned over and flipped off the recorder before turning his steady gaze back to Calder. “Are you staying in town?”

  “Are you asking me to?”

  “No, not as long as I have contact information from you for any follow-ups I might have.” He closed his notebook, tossed his pen down.

  “Would you like me to stay in town? I still have a meeting to attend with Winstock.”

  Logan flicked a gaze at him, held it for a beat, then let the hint of a smile curve his mouth. “I’d like to think I’d have your support if I need it.”

  “Logan—” Hannah began, but neither man was paying attention to legal counsel at the moment.

  “I’d be more than happy to do whatever I could,” Calder said. “Jonah might be family in name only—to his way of thinking anyway—but my name has been dragged into this now, too. Getting to the bottom of it matters to me for several reasons. I want to know what’s going on, same as I did when I got here. Whether it’s related to the fire or not. If my getting the answers I came here for can help sort that mess out, too?” He lifted a shoulder. “Two birds. One stone.”

  Both men held each other in silent regard for a moment longer. Then Calder’s lips twitched when he heard Hannah sigh and mutter, “Am I the only one who hears the score from The Good, the Bad and the Ugly? You’re too old to play cowboys, you two, but don’t let that stop you.”

  Logan stood and stuck his hand out. Calder shook it. Both men grinned. “There,” Logan said to his sister. “We played nice. Happy?”

  “Men,” Hannah muttered, but Calder didn’t miss the relief on her face.

  “Leave your contact info with Barb on your way out when you get your phone back,” Logan said. “I’ll be in touch.”

  Chapter Eleven

  “No strippers?” Kerry shook her head at the other three women. “If Delia were here, she’d side with me.”

  “She finally got the inspector out at her new place—no way was she missing that for a mani-pedi. And it would still be two against three,” Fiona said, beaming smugly.

  “My disappointment, it is deep,” Kerry replied gravely. “It’s like you all have lost your will to live.”

  “Maybe we’ve just lost our will to drive several hours to see men disrobe in front of a room full of women,” Fi shot back, smiling even more sweetly.

  “You all can go if you want to,” Alex said hastily. “I just—” She shrugged. “I’m good with the hot, naked guy I already have.”

  “Nobody likes a spoiled winner,” Kerry said, but she was giving Alex a high-five as she did so.

  Fiona groaned and clapped her hands over her eyes. “Bad images, bad images. I’m happy for you, but seriously, consider the audience.”

  Kerry rolled her eyes and slung an arm around Fi’s shoulders and pulled her in for a side hug. “That reaction is precisely why you need a night at a strip club. I think you’ve forgotten what a naked man looks like. You know, one who’s not your brother.” Still grinning, she winced at Fi’s carefully placed sharp elbow to the ribs, but held on. “We can replace those bad images with some good ones. Some really, really good ones, if we’re lucky.” She waggled her newly shaped eyebrows. “A shame to waste our freshly mani-pedi’d selves on this lovely Friday night.”

  “Some of us are okay without having a naked man in our life,” Fi groused, ducking out from her sister’s arm. “But you go right ahead.”

  “Hannah?” Kerry said, not even remotely put off by Fiona’s comment.

  “She already has a hot guy,” Fiona said. “Tim, the Titan of Finance.”

  “You’ve been talking to Barb, haven’t you,” Hannah said, giving her younger sister a dark look.

  “There’s a Tim? I don’t see a Tim,” Kerry said, looking around. “Do you see a Tim?”

  “I thought you were with Calder Blue,” Alex said, looking confused. “Who’s Tim?”

  At Alex’s comment, Fiona’s mouth dropped open and Kerry’s eyes lit up with glee. Hannah glared at them both to no avail, then looked at Alex. “Who said I was with Calder? I’m merely his—”

  “Logan might have mentioned something about the two of you at the station house earlier,” Alex said, looking instantly guilty. “Don’t worry, he said nothing about your statements. Those are obviously part of the arson investigation. He just thought—you know, never mind. Boys can be dumb.”

  “They can be,” Kerry agreed, her gaze still fixed on Hannah’s face. “But our big brother is usually pretty sharp. So, big sis, what’s the story? What have I missed? You just got here and already there’s something steamy going on. Does he have brothers? And you’ve got another man tucked away back in D.C.?” She pretended to wipe away a tear and mock sniffled. “And here I thought you were hopelessly uptight and prudish. I’m so proud.” She put her fist out for a bump.

  Hannah just looked at her with a flat stare.

  “I am sorry, Hannah,” Alex said. “I didn’t realize you were with someone already. I mean, trust me. It’s all fine. No one is gossiping or anything. It was only because the two of you . . . you know what? I’m shutting up now.”

  “She and Tim have been together for almost—what, has it really been two years?” Fiona asked, raising a questioning brow in Hannah’s direction. “Wow. Time does fly. Now I’m even more bummed he’s not coming. We need to meet this guy. It must be pretty serious. You haven’t been with anyone that long since you graduated law school. I mean, I know you’ve been fast-tracking the career, so there hasn’t been time, but—wow. Two years.” She smiled and lifted Hannah’s hand, tapping her ring finger. “Maybe I’ll get to plan another Cove wedding shortly? Hmm?”

  “Wedding?” Kerry said. “How can you be talking wedding and I don’t even know about this guy?” She looked at her sister. “How do I not know about this guy?”

  “Seriously, Ker?” Fiona rolled her eyes. “We’re lucky to hear from you once every few months. And then it’s usually your illegible scribb
le on some mangled postcard that looks like a wildebeest slept on it.”

  “There aren’t any wildebeests in Australia. That was the Serengeti. Which is in Africa. You’re thinking wild boar.” Kerry looked back at Hannah. “And that still doesn’t answer the question. Two years and I’ve never even heard his name?”

  Hannah’s mind was spinning like an out-of-control hamster wheel as she tried to decide how to handle this latest conversation bomb. Between her brother thinking she was an item with Calder—her brother, who didn’t know she’d broken up with Tim, so God only knew what he thought of her now—and Kerry sinking her teeth into the Tim issue—Kerry, who was like a mongoose with a . . . well, Hannah didn’t know what mongooses hunted, but whatever it was, that’s what she felt like. She was going to have to tell them, dammit.

  “When we get the chance to chat,” she told Kerry, stalling as she searched for the right words, “you’re usually more concerned about my securing a bail bond or fast-talking you out of some tribal conflagration than asking about my social life.”

  Fiona spun on her younger sister. “Bail? Bail!” She spun back to Hannah. “Oh my God. Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “Oh, I don’t know,” Kerry said dryly. “Because I worried you might overreact?” She looked at Hannah. “See what you’ve done now? I suppose you’re going to out me to Logan now, too.”

  “You know,” Alex interjected in an overly bright voice, “I’ve changed my mind. I think we should go watch the strippers. Lots of dollar bills tucked in many a sweaty G-string, and frosty glasses of nice, cold alcohol.” She looked at the three sisters, none of whom was paying any attention to her. “Really big, frosty glasses.”

  Kerry stepped over and looped Hannah’s arm through hers, her green eyes already twinkling again. “Of course, all is forgiven if you tell me every delicious detail. Have you talked weddings? When is he going to pop the question? He’d better be planning something majorly amazing and romantic. You should give me his contact info. Fi and I will make sure he does it right.” She tossed a brilliant smile at Fiona. “Won’t we?”

  Fiona tried not to smile, but ended up sticking her tongue out at her younger sister, then moving over so she could loop her arm through Hannah’s free one. “We’ll take care of it for you.” She tipped up on her toes and whispered in Hannah’s ear. “But to be safe, just give the contact info to me.”

  “I heard that,” Kerry said.

  Hannah stood between them feeling miserable. Not, for once, because of what Tim had done, but because she was going to put a damper on things by telling them the truth. She had to, she knew that. It was one thing to simply avoid mentioning why Tim hadn’t accompanied her to the wedding. Quite another to tell a bald-faced lie about the state of their relationship.

  “So, what’s his deal?” Kerry asked. “Spill. We want details. Is he really a titan of finance? Is he amazing in the sack?”

  “Kerry!”

  “He’s—” Hannah started, then stopped. She had to tell them, but she didn’t have to tell them everything. “It doesn’t matter what he is, because we’re no longer together.”

  Fiona looked immediately stricken and Kerry just looked pissed. “Who ditched whom?” she demanded. “Never mind. Clearly he’s a loser and an ass if he let you get away, no matter the circumstances.”

  Tears sprang instantly to Hannah’s eyes at that, which was dangerous because she really wasn’t going to say any more on the subject. In fact, she realized now, they never had to know the details. She could bury them, just as she’d buried the rest of her past.

  “You’re making her cry,” Fiona accused, then pulled Hannah into a hug. “I’m so sorry. You should have told us.”

  Hannah sent an apologetic look toward Alex over Fi’s shoulder. “I’m sorry. I was trying to avoid this. It’s your weekend.”

  “Life doesn’t wait until it’s convenient,” Alex said. “And I have a lifetime with Logan. This weekend is for us to celebrate with family and I’m just thrilled to get to be part of yours.” She stepped forward. “I’m really sorry, because being at a wedding probably sucks right now. But, if it helps, I’m really, really happy you’re here.”

  “Oh, now I’m crying,” Fiona said. “Group hug!” And she and Kerry pulled Alex into the sister circle and they all held on. “I’m so glad you picked our brother to marry,” Fi said, snuffling.

  Hannah simply closed her eyes and soaked in the love that was her family—all of her family, Alex included. You’re a lucky, lucky woman. No more tears. Not for Tim, not for yourself.

  “Did someone die?”

  Hannah turned to find her brother in his big, police-issue SUV, idling at the curb. “No,” Hannah said, sniffling and smiling as she wiped her eyes. “Just . . . sister stuff.” She reached down for Alex’s hand, and squeezed it, felt better when Alex held on just as tightly.

  “I’m getting calls,” he said, mildly. “If you guys are going to keep this up, could you at least do it somewhere less . . . public?”

  Hannah looked back at the other three, then glanced past them to the gold letters painted on the shop window. They were all still standing outside Linda’s Nail Emporium on High Street. “Oh,” she said, looking back at Logan. “Right.” She gave Alex’s hand a final squeeze, then let go and walked over to the curb.

  “Actually,” Kerry called out, “we were just talking about The Lumber Yard. You know, that male strip club in Augusta.”

  Logan’s eyebrows did a slow climb as he looked from Kerry to his lovely bride-to-be.

  To Kerry’s delight and Hannah’s surprise, Alex simply smiled at him and waved.

  “I thought you were having some kind of bachelor thing tonight,” Hannah said, yanking his attention back to her.

  “Owen, Dan, Fergus, and a few others are going to shoot pool after I get off work. It’s not that big a deal.”

  “No strippers then,” Hannah deadpanned.

  “Really?” he asked her. “Even you?” He shook his head as she laughed. “I count on you to be the one to rein the other two in.”

  “Who’s going to rein in Alex?”

  “She doesn’t need—” He broke off and her grin spread as she saw his jaw work.

  “I only kid because you’re making it too easy not to,” Hannah said.

  “I just want Sunday to get here so we can get on with it.” He lowered his voice and nodded toward Kerry, who was once again talking animatedly to Fiona and Alex. Hannah was certain the strip club issue was being revisited.

  “The longer this stretches out, the more I worry about keeping that one”—he nodded toward Kerry—“from getting into some kind of trouble. And now you’re talking strip clubs? Really?”

  “I’m not talking strip clubs. She’s thirty now, by the way,” Hannah reminded him. “Not thirteen.”

  He merely lifted a skeptical brow and gave her the And, your point would be? look.

  “I had them talked out of it until you came riding in here all Gary Cooper in High Noon.”

  “I thought I was Clint Eastwood.”

  Hannah grinned. “That’s not High Noon. That’s The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. I’ll let you pick which one you get to be.”

  “Your fiancée said she was happy with the hot, naked guy she already had,” Kerry called over, making sure her voice was louder than it had to be. “I’m not thirteen or deaf,” she added.

  Hannah shot a look at Alex, who’d turned about three shades of red, but was giggling and sending a sheepish wave to her husband-to-be, while Fiona tried to physically corral her younger, taller, and far stronger sister closer to the building, away from the street. Hannah turned back to her brother, took one look at his smug smile, and rolled her eyes. “Oh, so we can’t stand here and hug it out and cry happy tears, but if it’s announced to God and everyone that your soon-to-be-wife is happy in the sack with you, that’s perfectly okay.”

  Logan shrugged, completely unrepentant. “I’m a guy.”

  “How convenient for you,” s
he shot back, but a smile hovered on her lips, too. “Did you need to give me any further instructions for the evening? Do you want me to have her hold a sign at the strip club saying ‘happy with my hot fiancé, leave me alone’? Or am I free to go, Officer?”

  “You’re really going?” he asked, and she relished the look of uncertainty that filled his handsome face for a full three seconds before he spied the twinkle in her eyes. “Okay, that was fair,” he said, smiling sheepishly himself now, but then that faded and his expression turned more serious. “Actually, I was going to come looking for you anyway; the calls just made finding you easier.”

  “I have my cell phone. You could have just—wait, calls?” Hannah said. “Plural. Really? Must be a slow grapevine day in the Cove.”

  “On the contrary. Do you have time to take a little ride with me before the evening’s debauchery commences?”

  “I do, sure. Where?”

  “Nowhere, actually. I just want to talk to you about Jonah and the case and I wanted some privacy.” He sent a meaningful glance at their siblings. “This seemed the safest bet.”

  Hannah hadn’t forgotten the revelation she’d just made to the others before Logan had rolled up. For no other reason than to avoid further questions about Tim, or any follow-ups to Alex’s comment about her and Calder being an item—which led her to remembering why Alex had made that comment in the first place—she turned back to her brother.

  “Actually, I have a few things I’d like to discuss with you, too.”

  It was clear from his expression that he understood he was in the doghouse somehow, though he was unsure why. “Um, sure,” he said cautiously. “But me first.”

  “Deal.” She explained to the girls that she needed to do some follow-up on the arson case with Logan, but would meet up with them later. “Not in Augusta,” she clarified, then looked at Fiona. “I’m counting on you to be the level head in my absence.”

  “Party pooper,” Kerry called after her as Hannah climbed into the passenger seat of Logan’s SUV. “And don’t think we’re not going to grill you later on this whole Calder Blue thing,” she added. “Because I saw him earlier today and rowr! Are you representing more than just his legal interests?” She wiggled her eyebrows again. “Inquiring minds want to know!”