“Maybe that’s why he didn’t tell you?” Josh suggested. “He knew that it wouldn’t hold your interest.”
“I always assumed it was because he found it so boring himself. He didn’t like working in general.”
Alex had complained about it constantly as if he was digging ditches for a living.
“Must be nice not to have to,” Josh laughed. “Anything else?”
“Not really. He told me just enough that I didn’t find it strange but not enough that I knew a lot about him.”
She’d been rather naive about a lot of things when she met Alex despite her profession. If she’d met him now, she doubted seriously that she would have given him the time of day. She’d come too far in her life to go back to what she had.
Closing the pizza box, Josh stood and placed it in the trash. “Those items he brought back from his travels, do you still have them here in the house?”
Where was Josh going with this?
“Sure, they were nice pieces. Alex let me decorate any way I wanted to so I haven’t done much to the house since his passing.”
“Let’s take a look at them.”
Wiping her hands on a napkin, she stood from her chair. She’d been looking at these items for years so she wasn’t sure what Josh was going to find. “Okay, we’ll take the tour.”
Their first stop was a painting of a sunset in Bali that Alex had picked up when his family visited there when he was a teenager. Josh took it off the wall, checked it front and back, even checking the accent light above it. Nothing.
The second and third pieces were no better. Gorgeous pottery from New Mexico. However, they were simply vases. No locks to be found.
The fourth piece was a sculpture he’d picked up in Paris on a business trip about a year after they were married. It was hand-carved wood and depicted a man and a woman in an embrace. Not as racy as Rodan’s The Kiss, but sensual enough that Willow had loved it the moment he brought it home and set it on the table in the hall.
Reaching out, Josh’s hand hesitated for a moment. He’d asked permission to touch each time she’d showed him an item and she appreciated his manners. “Yes, go ahead and look at it. But be careful, the housekeeper says it’s heavy.”
“You’ve never picked it up?”
He lifted it, running his fingers over the spine of the woman and around every inch of the statue. She inwardly shivered at the thought of those fingers caressing her own flesh. “Why would I? He bought it to put right there on that table and Fran dusts it once a week. I’ve never needed to move it around.”
“Damn, it is heavy.” A smile bloomed on his face and he turned the statue upside down. “If you had moved it, you would have seen this. Alex was all about the things he loved.”
A lock. There was a small door on the base of the sculpture.
She hadn’t known her husband at all. “Alex was a sneaky shit.”
“Do you have the key?”
She’d tucked it in the pocket of her shorts and she pulled it out now, handing it to him. He held it up in front of him. “Here goes nothing.”
At first it didn’t fit, but then he turned it over and it slid in easily. He twisted the key and the door popped open. “Let’s take this into the living room and see what’s in it.”
She had to practically run to keep up with his long strides. He might be acting all cool but he was as excited as she was and couldn’t wait. They sat on the couch and he reached into the cavity and pulled out a black velvet bag, tied with a drawstring.
He handed it to her but her fingers were shaking so much she had trouble opening it, finally untying the knot and pouring the contents on the table. Four gold coins rolled out and she checked the bag to be sure it was empty.
“That’s it. Coins.”
Josh picked one up and examined it. “French coins, to be exact. Twenty francs, and I think that’s Napoleon.”
Picking one up, she felt its weight in her hand before taking a closer look. “I don’t know what Napoleon is supposed to look like so I can only say that it just might be. It could also be Danny Kaye from that Christmas movie with Bing Crosby. I can’t tell. Are they valuable?”
Josh chuckled and produced his phone from his pocket. “I don’t know but we can check. I’m guessing they’re worth something if he kept them hidden.”
He held up the phone so she could see the screen and she leaned forward to get a better look. “I guess they are worth some money but not as much as I would have thought. We have more expensive pieces in plain view. Why did he hide these?”
Another mystery or had Alex overestimated their value?
Josh reached his hand into the cubby again. “I don’t have the answer for that so let’s see if there is anything else.”
He pulled out a piece of paper in a messy, handwritten script. Three names along with addresses and phone numbers.
“That’s Alex’s handwriting,” she said, reading through the list. Two of the names were familiar but one jumped out at her. “Look, here’s Nigel Holmwood with an American address and phone number. I wonder if Bailey has tried this one.”
“We’ll send it to her. Do you recognize the other two?”
She sighed in frustration. Nothing about this case was ever easy. “They sound familiar but I don’t know from where. I only know I’ve heard them before but it could be anywhere. From Alex, from his family, at a party. I can’t remember.”
Josh placed his warm hand on her knee. “Relax, honey. It might come to you later when you least expect it. But this is interesting in and of itself. Three people, who I assume are Evandria members, and their contact information. These might be homes no one knows about.”
Maybe. Or maybe her late husband was simply weird. He hadn’t been thinking too clearly during their marriage. Too much drugs and alcohol.
“I’m afraid to get my hopes up,” she admitted. “We’ve hit so many dead ends.”
He smiled and nudged her leg with his own. “Then we’re due for some good luck.”
Another optimist. They were going to drive her to drink.
He was reaching in again and pulling out another piece of paper. This one looked like a copy of an official government document, the photocopied seal at the bottom.
“It’s a birth certificate,” Josh said unnecessarily. She’d quickly figured out what this was. “Is that Alex’s father’s name right there?”
She nodded, emotion pouring through her veins. Alex had known about his half-brother and never said a goddamn word. “Ambrose Vaughn. That was Alex’s father.”
“Grant Daniel Hollister,” Josh recited. “Born in Savannah thirty-eight years ago. Looks like he and Alex were born closely together.”
Willow was shaking with anger. “I don’t know whether to be more pissed off at Alex or his dad. Alex never mentioned a word and neither did Ambrose. And his wife must have known too. What a cluster.”
Josh set the certificate down on the table and put his arm around her shoulders. She allowed herself to lean on his strength, wanting nothing more than to offload all this bullshit.
She couldn’t do that, however.
This was her problem. He might be helping her and offering a shoulder to cry on but ultimately it wasn’t his issue. He could get up and leave at any time, and hadn’t her mother taught her that?
You can’t depend on anyone to take care of you. You have to learn to take care of yourself.
She’d never forgotten that lesson. It had been the driving force behind her when she’d taken the job at the strip club. It might not have been the classiest career but she stood on her own two feet and paid her own bills. She didn’t need some loser in her life. When she’d met Alex, she hadn’t married him for his money. She’d married him because she’d fallen in love.
No fool like a fool in love.
“The rich are different,” Josh said matter-of-factly. “That’s what you said. Maybe this isn’t a big deal to them. But it does mean one thing…that file Archer Caldwell gave us
was right.”
She groaned and let her head fall back so she was staring at the ceiling. “That means that Greg might truly have had another wife and kids. Shit. Just shit. We’re going to have to tell her. I can’t keep this from her.”
“You will tell her. When the time is right. In the meantime, I’ll get Ellis working on finding out who these two other people are. Maybe something he finds might jog your memory of where you heard their names.”
Willow’s phone buzzed and she grabbed it from the table. Bailey. Just in time to hear what they’d found and learned.
“Hey, I’m so glad you called. Josh and I have so much to tell you.”
Bailey was breathing hard as if she’d run a long race. “That’s great but first I have to tell you…Peyton is awake.” The last part was delivered in more of a squeal than actual words. “She’s groggy and kind of disoriented but she remembers her name, why she was here, and where she was when the bomb went off. The doctors say everything looks good for a full recovery.”
“That’s wonderful. Amazing.”
It was. More than great and such a relief. Peyton was going to be fine and that was the best news Willow had heard in days.
It also meant that clock was ticking much faster than Willow had envisioned. She’d have to tell Peyton everything. And soon.
Chapter Ten
Josh hesitated at the door of the exclusive clothing store. Willow had insisted he needed more than jeans, shorts, and t-shirts for their weekend at The Retreat but he wasn’t sure why he had to buy his new wardrobe here. A shirt probably cost as much as his last mortgage payment.
“Can’t we just go to the mall?”
Shaking her head, she nudged him through the entrance. “No, we can’t. If these people are anything like the good citizens of Midnight Blue Beach that I’ve been dealing with all these years, they will be able to tell where you purchased your clothes. They care about these things so whether you like it or not, you have to care too.”
“I don’t like it,” he replied stubbornly. “I hate shopping and this sounds even worse.”
Willow sighed heavily. He felt a little guilty about how he was acting. She was trying to help but this seemed over the top.
“I get that. I understand that this won’t be fun but please listen to me. If you look out of place with these people, they aren’t going to trust you. They aren’t going to treat you as one of them, and that means they won’t talk to you. We won’t learn anything and this will be two wasted days.”
Dammit.
He couldn’t argue her logic. It made perfect sense. But it didn’t make it suck any less.
His gaze took in the sparse racks of clothes. This didn’t look like any store he’d ever been in. They barely had anything to sell. Maybe this wouldn’t take too long.
“What did you have in mind? What do I need?”
Another sigh. “Pretty much everything. A tuxedo for dinner and the party. A few shirts, a few pairs of pants, a pair of shorts, some tennis gear, and a few pairs of shoes. I think that’s the minimum. I’ll see what else as we go.”
Whoa. Wait a cotton pickin’ minute.
“That much?” he asked aghast. “I thought it would be a shirt and some pants. I don’t need a tux, Willow. Hell, those can be rented.”
Her eyes widened and she shook her head. “You cannot show up at The Retreat in a rented tuxedo. Let me repeat myself. They will be able to tell. You have to blend in, Josh. I respect that you like to be casual but this weekend isn’t about what you – or I – want. This is about the case.”
It was in his nature to go with the flow when the battle didn’t seem worth fighting and today was no exception. He wouldn’t win anyway and if he did, she would still be right.
“Fine,” he conceded grudgingly. “This little vacation I’m taking is costing me a fortune.”
She grabbed his arm and gave his shirtsleeve a tug. “This trip is on me. It’s the least I can do.”
Before Josh could reply, a man wearing an elegant suit seemed to float out of nowhere. “Mrs. Vaughn, how lovely to see you today. You look gorgeous as always. How may I help you?”
Willow smiled and accepted the air kisses on each cheek from the male who must work in the store in some capacity. “It’s so nice to see you, Orsini. We’re here to pick up a few things for Josh and myself. We have a weekend at The Retreat.”
Instantly Orsini stood taller, his chin lifted. “Of course, we can handle that. Everything you’ll need is here. If you’ll just follow me back to the fitting rooms, I’ll bring in a selection for you to try on.” His gaze flicked to Josh. “I have your measurements but we’ll need to take the gentleman’s.”
Willow nodded. “We’ll be right back there. Can you give us just a minute?”
Orsini smiled cordially. “I’ll be in the back. Take as long as you need.”
Turning to Josh, Willow gave him a tight smile. “I’m paying for all of this.”
Fuck, no. What did she take him for?
“I’m no kept man,” he said softly, not wanting Orsini or anyone else to hear this conversation. “I pay my own way through life, Will.”
“I know you do and I appreciate you wanting to. But let’s be real here, the clothes here are insanely expensive and you don’t want them anyway. Add in the fact that you’re doing me a favor with all of this and I think I owe you. If I was paying someone to protect me it would have cost me thousands, and you cannot put a price on taking a leave from your own life to help me. Let me do this, Josh.”
He didn’t like this, not one little bit. “You wouldn’t owe me as much as you’re planning on spending today.”
“Maybe. But we don’t know how long this is going to go on, nor can we measure how much danger I’ve put you in. Just that alone is worth a few changes of clothes. Don’t make this a bigger deal than it is. We need you to look a certain way for this weekend and I’m buying you the uniform. That’s all it is…a uniform. If you joined the military they’d give you an outfit.”
Shaking his head, he chuckled at her comparison. “Are you truly equating government-issued pants with whatever they have here?”
“It’s the same idea,” she insisted. “Aren’t men all about the right tool for the job? This is the right tool.”
Rolling his eyes, he groaned in defeat. “I don’t suppose any of this is returnable?”
“You’re going to love the clothes so much you won’t want to return them.”
She knew better than that.
“No, I won’t.”
“No…you won’t,” she laughed, linking her arm with his and leading him toward the back of the store. “Thank you for doing this. When we get there, you’ll be glad you did.”
The Retreat. That’s what was important.
They might only have this one chance and they had to make the most of it. Somewhere inside The Retreat was the truth.
Shopping, and all that went with it, took the better part of the day. By the time they returned back to the house they were hungry, tired, and in Willow’s case, a little grumpy. She retreated to the back patio to make the call she’d been anxious for since last night.
For someone who had been in a coma not long before, Peyton sounded quite coherent and sharp. Bailey and Chase had brought their friend up to date on the happenings and she was anxious to be discharged from the hospital and come back home. For more reasons than she was sick of hospital food.
“My family showed up today,” Peyton said. “I love them but they’re already driving me crazy. Mother wants me to move into the family home when I get back. You know, until I feel better which she thinks will be about forty or fifty years from now. There’s no way I’m doing that. I let myself get under their thumb one more time I’ll never wriggle free.”
There was a long story there that neither Willow nor Bailey had heard but would eventually. They’d known the relationship was fraught with tension but it appeared to be even more than that.
“You can stay with me,” Willow
offered. “I’ve got lots of room.”
“I might take you up on that.” A slight pause. “Would there be room for Ellis too?”
Now wasn’t that interesting.
“Ellis? Is he coming down here as well?”
“He wants to make sure I’m protected until this is all over.”
Willow had a feeling Ellis wanted Peyton as well. Whether the grouchy cop should have her was another matter altogether.
“He’s welcome to stay too,” Willow offered. “Lots of guest rooms. I’d love to have you here. In fact, maybe Bailey and Chase should stay here too. All of us in one place might be easier to protect.”
“Not a bad idea,” Peyton replied, excitement in her voice. “I can’t wait to come home. I’m so tired of being in the hospital and I was asleep for most of it. They’ve already taken blood from me twice today. They’re like vampires in teddy bear scrubs.”
“Do you know when they’ll let you out?”
“A couple of days, and even then they want me to take it easy after that. Swelling of the brain isn’t something you shake off quickly from what I’ve been told.”
“No mountain climbing for you,” Willow teased. “Maybe it’s time to learn to knit.”
“I already know but there isn’t much call for knitted wear in Florida.”
That was true. It was almost a hundred degrees outside with abysmal humidity.
“I’m just so glad to talk to you. I can’t tell you how worried we all were.”
“I’m glad to be talking,” Peyton laughed. “I can’t wait to hear about The Retreat and I can’t wait to get down there and help. Just lying here is driving me crazy.”
This simply wasn’t the moment. Peyton had barely woken and to throw a spanner in her happiness was something Willow wasn’t willing to do. Not yet. Let her be for another day. Tomorrow was good enough.
“Don’t overdo it. Follow doctor’s orders and you’ll be up and around in no time. I’ll call you tomorrow, okay?”
“Sure.” There were low voices on Peyton’s end of the phone. “Wait, Ellis wants to speak to you.”
Midnight Of No Return (Midnight Blue Beach Book 2) Page 7
