Storm of Secrets

by Loretta Marion

  “Does this mean you’ve given up on finding Lucas alive?”

  “Not yet.”

  “You obviously think something happened to him, or you wouldn’t be arresting Christopher.”

  “Give me a break.” He brushed his hair off his forehead, his expression pained. “I’m getting pressure from all sides.”

  “What about Helene? Have you looked at her? The pills? How about Wes Creed?”

  “Last I checked, you were not a member of the Whale Rock police force,” he snapped.

  “I get it.” I decided it would be in my best interest to back off. “Sorry for pushing.”

  “Look, I appreciate all the help you’ve given”—he rubbed his temples—“but I’ve been lax with sensitive details around you. Just don’t make me regret it.”

  “You can trust me, Chuckles.” I stood and gave him a hug. “I know this is tough for you.”

  He gave my back a quick pat and gently pushed away, pretending to cough to hide his emotions. Glancing over to the cruiser where Christopher had just gotten into the passenger side, he told me, “I’ll have Savage back here by noon.”

  “What?”

  “We can’t hold anyone in a cell overnight right now. With all the construction, it’s not secure enough. I’m taking him in to have an ankle monitor put on.”

  * * *

  Brooks was true to his word. I took Gypsy out with me to scour the land trust, where I met up with a group of volunteer fire fighters. When I returned late morning, Christopher was back on the carriage house porch, though he’d changed into long pants, no doubt to hide the monitor.

  “We turned up nothing.” I plopped down in another chair while Gypsy danced around him.

  “I don’t think his body will be found.”

  I found this a startling remark. “Why do you say that?”

  “I don’t know.” He kept his eyes on Gypsy while rubbing her belly. “Just a feeling.”

  “Because you think he’s still alive?”

  “Because I hope he is.” He looked at me and added, “And not just because it would get me off the hook.”

  I merely nodded.

  “Can I see the photo of that woman again?” he asked.

  “Sure.” After a minute of him studying Sister Bernadetta, I said, “Figure out why she looks familiar?”

  He shook his head.

  “I’ll text you the photo. If it comes to you, it could help us find her.”

  “Why are you looking for her?”

  “You might not have heard us talking about the stranger who appeared the day of the storm.”

  “The first I heard of it was earlier today when you mentioned it.”

  “Well, she was passing around a photograph of a man she was searching for. It’s a bit of a mystery that we’re trying to solve, especially as it may or may not relate to Lucas’s disappearance or whatever happened to Lee Chambers.”

  Before I was able to say anything else, Daniel’s Land Rover rounded the curve. He got out and walked purposefully in our direction.

  “You’ve got an audience with Nicholas over at District Court. The judge is waiting for us now.”

  22

  Cassandra

  After Daniel left with Christopher, I was debating what I should do next, when a Federal Express truck pulled up.

  “Delivery for Cassandra Mitchell?” He wasn’t our regular FedEx delivery person.

  “That would be me.” I smiled and took the package. “You guys must be playing catch-up after the storm.”

  “You’ve got that right. Your usual guy was called up—Coast Guard Reserve. Helping to move the larger Coast Guard vessels out.”

  I nodded. “I heard lots of the larger ships were moved out.”

  “But they can’t get back because the storm path has been so erratic.”

  “Chantel is one fickle lady,” I agreed as he headed off, and the aroma of Percy and Celeste poked at my nostrils.

  “Okay, I’ll open it.” Inside the mailing envelope was a gift-wrapped box. I cautiously removed the creamy toile-printed paper to find a burgundy, leather-bound book, tied closed with a leather strap. It wasn’t new, the leather worn at the binding. I caressed the book before gently untying the strap and flipping it open to immediately recognizable handwriting. Mama’s journal.

  I picked up my phone and made the call.

  “You can’t know how much this means to me,” I said when Zoe answered.

  “I think I do.” Not one for expressions of sentimentality, my sister returned to the practicality of the gift. “Mama documented a great deal about her pregnancies. I thought it would be helpful for you to read those entries especially. Some of the information might even be valuable when you decide to see a genetic specialist.”

  I hugged the diary tighter, wanting to end the call so I could have a few moments alone with Mama’s words.

  “I hear it doesn’t look good for finding that little boy,” Zoe said.

  “You’ve been talking to Evelyn. Or was it Lu?”

  “Neither.”

  “Then who? Brooks?”

  “Yes, Cassie,” she said, “but there’s nothing to it.”

  “Brooks hardly has time for a ten-minute nap, so I can’t imagine he’d call you if there was nothing to it.”

  She puffed out a sigh and said, “Okay. We talk. So what?”

  “So nothing.”

  “He’s going through a lot right now, and it’s not as if he can confide in anyone back there.”

  “Okay.” I had been thinking the same thing, to be honest.

  “I can tell you’re reading more into this. Trust me Cassie, Brooks and I are just friends.”

  The lady doth protest too much, methinks.

  “I don’t know who you’re trying to convince. Me or you? Either way, I’m not buying it.”

  “I really don’t want to talk about this anymore.”

  “I understand,” I said, even though I didn’t. To change the subject, I asked, “Did Brooks say anything else about Lucas?”

  “Just that he keeps hitting one dead end after another and that the parents aren’t helping the situation.” She made a tongue-clicking sound. “I just don’t get it.”

  “Nobody does, Zo-Zo.”

  I promised to keep her informed, and after ending the call, I tucked Mama’s journal in a drawer in the library. For now, it would have to wait. While talking with Zoe, my decision on what to do next was made. I texted Teddy Howell, thinking he must know something about the party house crew.

  Ten minutes later I was parked at Kinsey Cove, where a group of divers had been searching along the coast and were now breaking for lunch. I shivered at the thought that it was in this cove that Papa had discovered Barnacle Boy’s body.

  Teddy waved when he saw me and walked over to the truck, holding a half-eaten cheese sandwich.

  “How’s it going today?” I asked, pointing my chin toward the other two divers.

  “No news is good news, right?” He shrugged and took a bite.

  I nodded. “Let’s hope.”

  “What’s up?”

  “I’m sure you’ve heard about the party house on Whale Rock beach?”

  “Sea Breeze? Yep, I’m aware.”

  “Do you know any of those guys?”

  He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “They’re younger. I went to high school with the older brother of one of them, but he was always a real jerk to me.”

  “What’s his name?”

  “Jeremy Montrose.”

  “Montrose?” I’d heard the name recently, but with all the new information swirling around in my head I couldn’t call it to memory.

  “Why the interest in the party house?”

  “Just curious.”

  “Right.” He gave a crooked smile that was so reminiscent. “What would your buddy Brooks say if he knew you were snooping?”

  “You’re not going to tell him, are you?”

  “No way.” Teddy had finished his sandwich n
ow and was wadding up the wrapper.

  “Is there any way you can find out about someone staying at Sea Breeze? His name is Zach Renner.”

  “I don’t know the name, but I can nose around for you.” He pulled out his phone. “Zach Renner. R-E-N-N-E-R?”

  “That’s right.” He glanced over to where his dive buddies were putting on their gear. “I’ll let you know what I find out.”

  “Thanks, Teddy.” I hesitated, almost said good luck, but thought better of it. “Stay safe out there.”

  He gave a casual salute and then ambled over to join the other divers.

  I watched for a few minutes while they readied themselves to return to the search, thinking of what Christopher had said just a short while ago: “I don’t think his body will be found.”

  What would make him think or say such a thing?

  * * *

  It was early afternoon when I returned to The Bluffs just as Daniel was dropping Christopher off at the carriage house.

  “After all that, Nicholas Kleister still wouldn’t talk.” Daniel plunked himself down onto one of the porch rockers and popped the top off an icy Pepsi he’d grabbed from the fridge. He gulped it half down and then held the cold bottle against his cheek. “Will this heat wave never end?”

  “Not for a couple more days, or so say the sage forecasters. So, tell me,” I prompted, anxious to hear what happened.

  “The judge gathered us in his chambers with the parents and their attorney all seated behind Nicholas so as not to be a distraction. But the boy kept turning around and looking at his parents, then shaking his head. He finally beckoned me close and whispered in a tiny, desperate voice, ‘Just me and Christopher.’”

  “That must have been hard for you.”

  “Broke my heart.” He took another sip of the soda. “After about twenty minutes of unsuccessful coaxing, the judge asked Nicholas’s grandmother to take him out to the lobby to allow the grown-ups a chance to discuss the matter.”

  “And?”

  “The judge said it was obvious Nicholas felt uncomfortable speaking with his parents in the room and suggested allowing the boy to talk with Savage alone, in his presence.”

  “The Kleisters were opposed?”

  “Oh, yeah. Adamantly.”

  “How did it end?”

  “The judge brought Brooks in and asked him and the Kleisters’s attorney to each present an argument for and against allowing the private meeting. Brooks made a great suggestion of bringing in a child psychologist to monitor and proposed someone who’s worked with him on other cases. The other attorney knew of the psychologist and agreed that she had an unimpeachable reputation, but still he argued against the meeting.”

  “How could they not want to uncover every possible lead to find Lucas?”

  “I believe the judge is puzzling over that very point. He’s going to review precedents and case law. We’re all on call until he decides.”

  “Do you have a feel for which way it will go?”

  “The judge is a difficult read, which makes him a good one in my opinion. He did, however, ask Brooks to have the psychologist available in case.”

  “I’d take that as a positive sign.”

  “I can’t see that it would do anything but help our investigation for him to allow it. And Nicholas clearly has something gnawing at him. It could go a long way in helping him deal with whatever is torturing him.” Daniel finished off the Pepsi, following it with a quiet belch of satisfaction. “Any more luck with your mystery woman?”

  “She’s a nun.”

  “Really?”

  “Uh-huh. Sister Bernadetta.”

  “You’d think I’d have noticed a habit.”

  “I’ve done a little studying, and her order, the sisters of St. Joseph, don’t wear the traditional garb. Anyhow, I texted her photo to the bus driver on last night, and he didn’t recognize her.”

  “Maybe she took a cab?”

  “Laura’s looking into that angle. So far only one cab service sent anyone to Wellfleet last night.”

  “Sounds promising.”

  “It would be if the driver was answering his phone. Today is his day off. Hopefully, he’ll check messages and call Laura back.”

  I quoted one of my Granny Fi’s oft-spouted sayings: “One step forward and two steps back.”

  “True enough.” He gave his back a stretch. “Every thread seems so tenuous here. First, we have Lee Chambers’s suspicious death. Then we have a missing toddler, and a little boy who won’t talk but might likely be a witness to, or at least know something about, what happened to his brother. But every new potential witness disappears: this mystery nun, Tyler Stendall, Zach Renner.”

  I decided not to mention my conversation with Teddy until I had some concrete information.

  “It’s like that movie Six Degrees of Separation.”

  “More like six degrees of disappearance. All with connections leading back to one Christopher Savage.”

  “Brooks told Christopher that Lee Chambers was murdered. It’s now a homicide investigation?”

  “I hadn’t heard that.” He frowned. “But I’ve been focused on the Kleister case.”

  “Speaking of which, what was the evidence that connected Christopher to warrant an arrest?”

  “His blood was found on the shoe. So was Lucas’s.”

  “How did they determine that so quickly?” DNA testing wasn’t normally such a speedy process.

  “Through my FBI connections, we were able to get access to a rapid DNA testing machine.”

  “There’s such a thing?”

  “It’s fairly new technology, but yes, it’s a thing.”

  I digested this new information for a minute, thinking there could be an easy explanation for the blood, and then remembering what Brooks had said about being under pressure. It at least gave the appearance of progress while the search continued.

  “How about Wes Creed? Has anyone seen him around lately?” I asked.

  Daniel rubbed a hand over his face. “Crap. I was supposed to check in with him today.”

  “He’s been seen.” Jason stepped out on the porch.

  My head jerked around. “I didn’t know you were here.”

  “Laura dropped me off a while ago for a much-needed shower and change of clothes.”

  “You were saying about Wes Creed?” Daniel said.

  “Yeah, he’s still around, but it’s the company he’s keeping that’s not good.” He joined us in one of the porch rockers. “At least not for our friend Christopher Savage.”

  “How’s that?”

  “A witness spotted the two of them having an argument.”

  “Interesting.” Daniel glanced at me. “Who’s the witness?”

  “Edgar Faust. He was leaving the library parking lot and had turned up Harbor Drive when he saw two men in a heated shouting match. He drove to the station to report it, and I went to check it out, only to find Wes Creed there alone. He denied having been with anyone, let alone involved in a quarrel.”

  “Could Edgar have been mistaken?” I asked.

  “I showed him the mug shot of Wes Creed. He was adamant that was who he’d seen with Christopher.”

  “What time was this?” Daniel asked.

  “Between seven thirty and eight.”

  “Nearly sunset,” I said. “Not good light.”

  “Still, Edgar’s got a writer’s eye for detail,” Daniel countered. “It’s the nature of the beast to be a good observer.”

  “Don’t I know it,” Jason mumbled, displeasure seeping into his tone. Poor Laura.

  “The question now is, what to do with it?” Daniel leaned forward, elbows resting on thighs, snapping his fingers absently.

  “Brooks is aware,” Jason said. “How did it go today?”

  Daniel gave him a quick rundown.

  “That’s a shame.”

  “It is,” Daniel agreed. “Because my gut tells me that little guy holds the key to this mystery.”

  �
��You two weren’t there the day the storm hit, when Evelyn was gathering Matthew and Nicholas to come to the inn,” I said, recalling again the wild panic in Nicholas’s eyes. “The boy kept looking down toward the beach, tugging on his dad’s sleeve and trying to get him to listen.”

  The warning scent had returned. I closed my eyes. What am I missing?

  “Christopher mentioned offhandedly that he told Nicholas he was always welcome to come to his cottage if he were frightened.”

  Daniel was eyeing me curiously. “Are you suggesting Lucas may have been hiding there when the storm hit?”

  “I don’t know.” I shook my head. “It’s a crazy idea.”

  “What could frighten a little boy so much?” Jason wanted to know.

  “Monsters.” I repeated what Christopher had said.

  “Those imagined? Or of the human kind?” Daniel asked. He picked up his phone to check a text. “Well, we are about to find out. The judge wants us back.”

  “Already? I hope that’s good news for …” I stopped. There were so many possibilities of what Nicholas could reveal. Had Helene accidently lost track of Lucas while she was high? Was it a kidnapping gone wrong? Could Christopher have been involved in any way?

  “For?”

  “I was going to say for Nicholas to finally let go of those secrets that are eating away at him, but only if it means finding little Lucas.”

  23

  Renée

  New York ~ Six months ago

  Renée took a leave of absence from work and began her cancer therapy without admitting the truth about her past to her husband. Halfway through treatment, she received a message from her sister. She was grateful Isabella had taken care to disguise their relationship in case someone else were to open the card. It would seem that an old acquaintance had recently learned about her diagnosis and was sending a note of well wishes. But Renée understood it was intended as a subtle reminder that her sister was only a train ride away should she be needed.

  On one of her good days, Brandan came for a visit. Michael had arranged it since he had an important business meeting and wouldn’t be able to pop home to check on her.

  “I’ve missed you,” she told her old friend when he arrived.

  “And I, you,” he said, though unable to hide his surprise at the change in her appearance and hugging her tentatively.