Lowcountry Stranger

by Ashley Farley

  “That’s funny. He didn’t mention it to me.” Faith eyed the gold cross at Chloe’s neck. “That’s pretty. I used to have one exactly like it.”

  Eli took a step away from Chloe and moved closer to Faith. “Is there some sort of problem here?”

  “Actually, yes. I have reason to believe this woman is stalking my husband.” Faith caught sight of Mike rounding the corner from the front of the house and waved him over.

  “What’re you doing here?” he asked when he saw Chloe.

  “You invited me, silly. Don’t you remember?” Taking a step closer to Mike, Chloe pressed her body against his in a way that made Faith want to smack her.

  “I did no such thing, and you know it.” He pried her fingers off his arm. “This is a private party, Chloe. I thought I made myself clear the other day. There has never been anything between us, nor will there ever be. I am a happily married man.” He wrapped his arm around Faith and pulled her close. “Eli, if you would be so kind as to show Chloe to her car.”

  Eli removed his badge from his back pocket and flashed it in her face. “I’m Officer Eli Marshall with the Prospect Police Department. If you’d be so kind as to come with me.” He took her by the arm and forcibly led her away.

  Mike’s shoulders slumped and he shook his head. “I don’t know what to say, honey. I’m so sorry. I have no idea how she found out about the party.”

  Suddenly chilled, Faith wrapped her arms around herself. “Because she’s stalking you, Mike. She was in our house.”

  “Wait. What?”

  “I told you about it. The other day when Annie was babysitting for Bitsy—about our photograph being turned facedown on the chest, that it looked like someone had been lying in our bed.” Faith pointed at Chloe, who was getting into a silver sedan at the end of the driveway. “It was that woman. She stole my necklace. Didn’t you see it? She was wearing it around her neck.”

  Mike’s face darkened. “This is serious. We need to get confirmation before we start hurling accusations. I’ll wait for Eli to come back, if you’ll grab Annie and Bitsy. We’ll all meet inside in a minute.”

  Faith left her husband and strode back to where Bitsy and Sam were still sitting, deep in conversation. She pulled her daughter to her feet. “Time for you to get ready for bed. Why don’t you run ask Annie if she’ll read you a bedtime story? I’ll be in in a minute to tuck you in.”

  “What’s going on?” Sam asked, once Bitsy had skipped off.

  Faith leaned in close to her sister’s ear. “Mike is being stalked by a crazy woman. She just showed up here out of the blue. I have reason to believe she stole my gold cross necklace, the one you and Jamie gave me for Christmas.”

  “I’m so sorry, Faith. ‘And just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water.’”

  Sensing the sudden negative vibe, the guests made moves to leave. Friends and family swarmed Faith, offering their appreciation for a memorable evening and the opportunity to celebrate Mack’s life.

  “You seemed flustered, honey. Is something wrong?” Lovie asked.

  “I’m just tired. And we have a big day ahead of us.” Faith could tell by her curious expression that her older sister suspected something amiss. As she gave her mother a hug, she mouthed to Jackie, “I’ll call you later.”

  By the time Faith and Sam got inside, Annie had helped Bitsy change into her pajamas and was reading her a bedtime story. Mike and Eli were at the dining room table studying the video surveillance tapes from last Tuesday on Mike’s laptop computer.

  Faith and Sam peered over their shoulders, watching the screen as a shadowy figure made her way down the hall to the master bedroom.

  “We didn’t install cameras in our bedroom,” Mike explained to Eli. He fast-forwarded through the tape until they saw the woman emerge from the bedroom, a shiny object dangling from her left hand. Faith’s gold cross.

  Faith jabbed her finger at the computer. “Pull up the footage from Friday night.” Mike looked up from the computer, confused, and she added, “Remember, the night we were out on the porch and I thought I saw someone in here? When you found the glass of milk beside Bitsy’s bed, and commented that Annie should know by now that she doesn’t like milk.”

  “Right. I forgot all about that.” Mike’s fingers flew across the keyboard. “Here.”

  Snippets of surveillance video appeared on the screen, flashing images of Chloe entering the front door, pouring a glass of milk in the kitchen, watching Faith and Mike through the french doors, then going into Bitsy’s room.

  “That woman was in my daughter’s room, standing beside her bed while she slept!” Faith said. “I want to know how the hell she got in this house.”

  “I hate to question the obvious, but were the doors locked?” Eli asked.

  “We always keep the doors locked,” Mike said. “But I checked them all anyway after I discovered the milk.”

  Eli rubbed the stubble on his chin. “Which means this woman has somehow gotten a key to your house.”

  “I always keep my keys in the top right drawer of my desk at work,” Mike said. “Maybe she had a copy made.”

  Eli’s cell phone rang and he took the call into the kitchen. He returned less than a minute later. “That was dispatch. Chloe’s preliminary background check is clean, but I plan to do a lot more digging tomorrow.”

  Annie appeared at Faith’s side. “What’s wrong, Miss Faith?” she asked, her face ashen. “Did something happen with my dad?”

  “Oh no, sweetie. It’s nothing like that.” Faith took a seat at the table and pulled Annie down to the chair beside her. “Bitsy mentioned that a woman who works with Mike stopped by the house the other day when you were babysitting. We were wondering what you could tell us about her.”

  Annie took a minute to collect herself. “Well, Bitsy and I were playing Connect Four in the fort we built under here.” She tapped the table with her finger. “When the doorbell rang, I went to answer it. I could see through the peephole that it was a woman wearing a nurses’ uniform. I asked her through the closed door what she wanted, and she said that she worked with Mike at the hospital and he’d sent her to pick up a patient’s file that he left at home. When I told her I wasn’t supposed to let anyone in, she said if I opened the door a crack she would show me her credentials. I hope I haven’t done anything wrong.” Annie appeared stricken. “Her badge looked legit, and her uniform had little dogs with smiley faces on them. She seemed nice.”

  Faith patted Annie’s hand. “Of course not. You had no way of knowing. What happened then?”

  “The woman said she’d only be a minute. She seemed to know where to go, like she’d been here before. I went back to Bitsy in the fort. I’m not sure how long she was here. She said she’d let herself out.” Annie turned to Mike. “She wasn’t here for a file, was she?”

  Mike shook his head. “Patient files belong to the hospital. It’s against regulations to remove them from the property.”

  “Have you ever seen this woman before or since that day?” Eli asked.

  Annie stared up at the ceiling for a moment before answering. “No. I think I’d remember her eyes.”

  Eli smiled the gentle smile that instilled trust in everyone he met. “I know what you mean. They’re really fake looking, aren’t they? The color of a tree frog.”

  Annie covered her mouth to hide her smile.

  Eli slid a business card across the table to Annie. “If you ever see her again, I want you to call or text me right away. Do you understand?”

  “Yes, sir.” Annie stuffed the card in her pocket.

  Eli rose to leave. “I’m on duty tomorrow afternoon, but I will stop by Mack’s memorial service when I get a chance. I should know more then. In the meantime, you need to get your locks changed. As soon as possible.”

  Thirty-Two

  Jackie

  Jackie wrestled with her conflicted emotions as she sat at her dressing table, performing her bedtime beauty routine and carrying on a conver
sation with Bill. On the one hand, she felt hopeful that by working hard all her dreams would come true. On the other hand, she felt confused and uncertain about which path to take.

  “Do you think I’m doing the wrong thing by expanding my business so quickly?” she asked Bill who was lying in bed behind her with the latest Michael Connelly novel open on his chest.

  “Not at all.” Bill peered at her over the top of his reading glasses. “You’re in a prime position to expand. Why wouldn’t you take advantage of the opportunity while you have it?”

  “I don’t know. Something my mother said last night,” Jackie said, running her brush through her hair. “When I offered for her to live in the guest cottage while she grieved, she accused me of trying to find someone to take Faith’s place as a stand-in mother for the boys. She said I was neglecting my family while I gallivanted around in Charleston. She insinuated that I was behaving inappropriately. I’ve worked hard this past year. I’m proud of what I’ve accomplished.”

  “You have every right to be. And, for the record, I’m proud of you too.”

  She smiled at him through the mirror. “Thank you. I’m glad someone appreciates my efforts.” Jackie set the hairbrush down and opened her jar of night cream, dabbing a dollop on her face. “Because Mom made it sound like I had taken advantage of Faith. The arrangement was mutually agreeable. At least I thought it was. Did you ever hear Faith complain?”

  “On the contrary. She told me more than once how much she appreciated the opportunity to live here for free. After what they went through with Curtis, Faith and Bitsy needed the peace of mind that being around family provides.” Bill closed his book and placed it on the nightstand. “Look, honey, your mom has suffered a major loss. She’s not thinking straight. Try not to let her get to you.”

  “Normally I don’t. I just can’t shake this feeling that my priorities are not in the right order.” She screwed the lid back on the face cream and turned around to face her husband. “I overheard the boys talking to Noah about college tonight. Cooper told him he was thinking about going to Tulane, and Sean said he was applying to SMU. I always assumed they would stay together, close to home. Then it dawned on me. I’ve never even asked my own sons where they want to go to school. What kind of mother is too self-absorbed to talk to her children about college?”

  “The kind of mother who is not afraid to have a life of her own. Come here,” he said, lifting the covers back on her side of the bed.

  She slipped off her robe and crawled in beside him.

  “Don’t be so hard on yourself, Jack. Ignoring your ambition is part of the reason we got into trouble. Staying true to yourself is vital for your mental well-being.” He tapped her head. “Don’t worry about the boys. They have always been independent and resourceful.”

  “Exactly. They have each other for support. They have rarely needed either one of us. Which is one of the things that worries me about them going to two different schools. They won’t have each other. New Orleans and Houston aren’t exactly neighboring cities.” Jackie sighed. What’s wrong with me? Most women dread facing an empty nest. Yet here I am making plans to expand my design firm and renovate the house of my dreams on the Battery.”

  Bill chucked her chin. “It works both ways, you know. Whether they go to school in South Carolina or in California, whether they end up working on Wall Street or on an ice-fishing boat in Alaska—the boys are starting new lives of their own. You and I will be out of their sight and out of their minds the minute we drop them off at whatever college they choose.” Bill set his glasses down and turned on his side to face her. “We need to look at our empty nest as a good thing. The past eighteen months have not been easy for us, sweetheart. But we have fought our way back together. We’re in love all over again, and I, for one, am damn excited about entering this next stage in our lives.”

  “Me too.” She kissed the tips of her fingers and pressed them to his lips. “But Cooper and Sean aren’t gone yet. Maybe I should plan to spend more time with them instead of less during their last year of high school.”

  “That’s easy enough to do, if that’s what you decide you want. Let Lexie and Cecilia handle the day-to-day operations in Charleston. You can make all the major decisions from here. You can use my study, turn it into your home office.”

  “I can’t believe it.” Jackie brought her hand to her mouth in mock horror. “You’re offering to relinquish control of your sacred man cave to me?”

  He kissed her lips. “If it makes you happy, my love.”

  When he tried to kiss her again, she pushed him away. “You know, that’s actually not a bad idea,” she said. “I could postpone my expansion for a year, which would give me time to decide whether I want office space or a physical storefront. If I restricted my travel to Charleston to day trips, we could turn the bedroom I’ve been using at the carriage house into another office.” Jackie plumped up the bed pillows and settled back against them. “Which brings up the matter of Annie.”

  “What about Annie?”

  “At the time, I thought I was offering her the use of the guest cottage for a few weeks. Definitely no longer than the summer. Since it turns out she’s Allen’s daughter and Jamie’s half sister, and since he’s probably gonna die and leave her without any other family, we can’t just turn her out into the cold.”

  He furrowed his brows. “Are you suggesting we adopt her?”

  “Adopt? No. But perhaps we can foster her. Or in my case, I’d like to mentor her. We have a chance to make a difference in a child’s life, someone who really needs some positive parental guidance. She’s tough on the outside, but vulnerable deep down inside.”

  He lay back against the pillows. “You’re making my head spin, Jack. The kid is only sixteen. She has two more years of high school, maybe three depending on how far behind she is in her classes. A minute ago you were struggling to postpone expanding your business in order to spend more time with the boys, and now you’re talking about fostering a child for three years. And where does your mother fit in? Didn’t you say you offered the guest cottage to her?”

  “Living in the guest cottage isn’t appropriate for a teenage girl. She could have boys over and throw wild parties right under our noses.”

  “I hate to tell you, but living in the guest room down the hall from Cooper and Sean isn’t exactly appropriate either, considering their feelings for her.” Bill rolled onto his back and stared up at the ceiling. “If something happens to Allen—although he may very well end up making a full recovery—but if he dies, I’m inclined to let someone else throw their hat in the race to be that girl’s parents.”

  Thirty-Three

  Sam

  Sam hadn’t been out to Mack’s property since Thanksgiving. They’d closed the market at two o’clock and then stopped at Sam’s house for a quick change of clothes before heading to Mack’s memorial service. Lovie was riding shotgun next to Sam, while Jamie and Annie spoke in hushed tones in the backseat. As they approached the property, Sam was surprised to see that Mack had cleared most of the land close to the water leaving several of his prized live oaks and not much else. The openness provided a breathtaking view of the creek that Sam had previously found uninspiring.

  “Was Mack planning to build out here?” Sam asked.

  “Not that I know of,” Lovie said, gazing out the window. “Maybe he planned to surprise me. It is certainly a lovely spot to build a home.”

  Sam maneuvered her Jeep into the coned-off parking area and pulled into the first available spot. They gathered their belongings and got out of the car.

  “Do I look all right?” Lovie asked. “Now that I’m here, I’m not sure wearing white was such a good idea. I dressed for Mack today. He hated for me to wear black. He said women should always wear bright colors, that it made us look vibrant and youthful.”

  Sam suspected her mother had owned that particular white cotton dress since the eighties, perhaps even longer, but she was certain the hot-pink straw hat was a gi
ft from Mack this past Easter. “You look nice, Mom. Mack would be proud that you wore his hat.”

  They walked toward the water, marveling at the setup in front of them. Pine farm tables with matching benches displayed vases of daisies in various shapes and sizes. Rows of white wooden chairs were positioned along the water’s edge in front of a podium from which the minister would conduct the service. Several bartenders wearing skinny black ties and crisp white shirts with the sleeves rolled up waited to take orders from the attendees.

  Jackie emerged from the crowd that had already begun to gather. “What do you think?”

  “I think someone has outdone themselves in planning this service,” Sam said. “And my guess is, that someone was you.”

  “Noah asked me to help,” Jackie admitted. “Mack’s friends had good intentions with their grandiose plans, but they got in over their heads when they tried to execute them.”

  “He would have loved the communal seating,” Sam said.

  “Although I’m not sure how he would’ve felt about having bartenders,” Lovie said. “You know Mack. He was all about fending for himself. He hated for anyone to fuss over him.”

  “In this particular case, Mother, the bartenders are needed to accommodate the crowd,” Jackie said in a clipped tone that drew Sam’s attention.

  “I think everything is perfect.” Sam gave Jackie’s arm a gentle squeeze of encouragement. “Remember we’re supposed to send the bills to Mack’s attorney. I have his address.”

  Jackie held out a Bible, its leather worn and edges frayed from years of use. “I found this on Mack’s nightstand on the boat.”

  Sam took the Bible from Jackie, running her hand over the cover. “I haven’t seen him carry this in years.”

  “Back when Dad was alive, Mack took this Bible wherever he went,” Jackie said with a smile. “I’ve chosen several of the most dog-eared passages for his friends to read. I hope that’s okay.”