by Kay Correll
* * *
Susan wandered aimlessly along the coastline. She hadn’t been able to bring herself to tell Jamie yet. He was going to be devastated. He’d worked so hard on making the inn a success, and it was, in its own way. They were slowly making progress with it. Jamie’s projections had them actually making a good profit on it in the near future. But Russell was going to take all of that away from them.
Guilt washed over her. For bringing Russell into their lives. For not protecting her son from Russell. Jamie was going to feel like a failure, and Russell would bring that point home, she had no doubt.
She rounded the bend in the shore and saw the lighthouse standing proud and tall, calling her. She continued down the beach until she stood in the shadow of the lighthouse. “I don’t believe in your legend, you know.” She stood with her hands on her hips, glaring at the lighthouse.
The lighthouse didn’t answer her, of course. She wasn’t sure what she was supposed to get out of an argument with a lighthouse. She sighed and walked to the water’s edge. A bright, perfect shell twinkled in the sunlight. She reached down, scooped it up, and turned it over. A pattern that looked like an S traced through the back of the shell, like it was made just for her.
She glanced at the lighthouse and sighed. “You win.”
She closed her eyes and made a wish. “I wish that we could find a way to save the inn.”
She opened her eyes and threw the shell into the ocean, then turned to the lighthouse. “There, are you happy?”
She was probably a bit crazy because she could almost hear the lighthouse’s reply.
“Yes, I am.”
* * *
Adam threw open the window to air out the attic room. He’d been lugging boxes down to his room to look at them, but it was time to get serious about sorting through the papers up here. He grabbed an old cloth and dusted off the wooden desk so he’d have a place to work. He moved boxes that were blocking the file cabinets and riffled through the files to get an idea of what kind of paperwork had been kept. Someone, Susan’s brother he guessed, had carefully organized the files. He dug through them until he found some papers regarding the original inn property and building.
He grabbed those files and stacked them on the desk.
The start of a plan flickered in the recesses of his mind. He sat at the desk and carefully started reading. If they could find the right documentation, maybe, just maybe, he could save the inn from Russell.
Two hours later he was hot, thirsty, and still wasn’t sure he had what he needed. He wanted to take some notes before he stopped and took a break. He jerked open a drawer and dug around for a pen and paper. The drawer hung a bit, but he jiggled it until it slid wide open. An official looking, very aged envelope rested in the drawer. He took it out and flipped it over.
The name Hall was scrawled across it in the handwriting of generations past. He pried open the end and slipped out the papers. The pages were weathered and crinkly with age.
He read through the pages with some difficulty, deciphering the words in the fancy script writing. He shuffled through to the last pages and his eyes grew wide. If these were real and hadn’t been replaced or reported missing… Would that even be possible?
He shoved everything back into the envelope and bounded down the stairs to find Susan. Maybe, just maybe, he’d found a way to make up for the mess he had made.
Chapter 26
Adam looked around the lobby and saw Jamie talking to a well-dress man and woman. He hurried over to them.
“Excuse me, I don’t mean to interrupt…”
“Yet, you are. Can’t you see that Delbert is talking to Jamie?” The woman flipped her hair behind her shoulder in dismissal.
“Ah, sorry.” Adam took a step back.
“No, that’s okay. I won’t keep Jamie any longer. I was actually looking for his wife, Cindy. I have files to go over with her.” The man smiled at Adam and made him feel less like a clod for interrupting.
Jamie shot Adam an apologetic look.
The man stared at Adam for a moment. “I believe we’ve met?”
Jamie jumped in. “I should introduce you. Mr. Hamilton, Camille, this is Adam Lyons. Adam, this is Camille Montgomery and Mr. Hamilton.”
Mr. Hamilton’s eyes flickered with recognition, then he smiled. “Ah, I believe I know Mr. Lyons. He outbid me on negotiating for buying a hotel—The Martmont in Charleston, I believe.”
Adam looked at the man. He remembered the company he had worked for at the time, before he’d worked for Russell, had been in steep competition when The Martmont had gone up for sale.
“I consider myself a good negotiator, but you did a fine job with your proposal.” Mr. Hamilton held out his hand.
Adam shook it. “Well, thanks. It was a tough deal to win.”
“Anyway, it was nice to meet you again. Maybe we’ll meet across a negotiating table again.” Mr. Hamilton turned to the woman at his side. “Camille, I still do need to talk with Cindy.”
Camille let out a long, drawn-out sigh. “Well, I’ll go get a glass of wine at the bar and wait for you. Don’t be long. Mama is expecting company for dinner tonight and I want to get there early to get ready.”
“I won’t be long.”
“Good.” Camille spun on her very high heels, clicked her way across the wooden floor of the lobby, and disappeared into the lounge.
“Cindy is in the library, it’s right through there.” Jamie pointed the way.
“Thank you.” Delbert smiled and headed to find Cindy.
Adam couldn’t wait to tell Susan his news. “Where’s your mother? I have to talk to her.”
“She went for a walk. Seemed a bit out of sorts.” Jamie eyed him suspiciously.
“Wasn’t me. I swear. We’re actually getting along… um… just fine.” It was Susan’s decision to tell Jamie whatever she wanted him to know about their relationship.
A man in a well-worn suit entered the lobby. Grand central station here today. Adam just wanted to find Susan and tell her the news.
Jamie turned to the man. “May I help you?”
“I’m looking for Susan Hall.”
“May I ask why?” Jamie sounded protective.
“I have… private business with her.” The man shifted from one foot to the other.
“If it’s about the inn, I can deal with it. We’re both owners.”
“Ah, no… it’s personal.”
Adam looked at the man and wondered what in the world this was about. Susan couldn’t really take another curve ball right now.
* * *
Cindy sat at the table in the library where she’d spread her files on rehabbing The Hamilton. She had estimates and was running the numbers for her final presentation to Mr. Hamilton. She’d brought her work home this afternoon to make sure that she’d be here to have dinner with Jamie. They hadn’t had dinner together in days, and she’d promised him tonight they would. It seemed a safe bet if she brought her work home, they’d manage a meal together.
She looked up when someone entered the library. “Mr. Hamilton.” She jumped up and looked at the mess spread before her. She’d scooped up all the files from work and had just dumped them on the table. She hadn’t had a chance yet to sort them all out. He was going to think she was a disorganized slob. She reached down and shoved a bunch of papers into a stack.
“I just wanted to stop by and check on things. I called the hotel and they said you’d come back here. Camille and I were just headed to her mother’s.”
“Oh, I thought she’d left.”
“She changed her mind. She does that.” Mr. Hamilton smiled.
“I brought work home tonight so I can run the final estimates. I’ll be ready tomorrow to show you your options.”
“That sounds great.”
She reached down and swept up more papers, desperate to make it look like she was organized. All she managed to do was make the stack of papers slide off the table and onto the floor.
“Oh.
” She bent down to retrieve the escapees.
Mr. Hamilton crossed over and knelt beside her, helping to gather up the papers. “Let me help.”
The man was going to think she was too disorganized to handle the job. She reached for more papers, actually crawling under the table to retrieve them. Embarrassment flushed through her. As she crawled back out from under the table, she saw that Mr. Hamilton had sat back on his heels, staring at a paper in his hand.
She moved over closer to him to see which estimate had made him pause. She froze when she saw the paper he was reading.
“I… um…” Cindy swallowed. “Camille dropped that when she was at my office. I was going to give it back to her. It must have gotten mixed in with my papers…”
Mr. Hamilton stood up and reached a hand down. Cindy took it and awkwardly got to her feet.
He took another look at the paper, folded it carefully, and put it in the breast pocket of his suit coat.
“I’m sorry…” She felt like an idiot.
“There is no reason to be sorry. Nothing is your fault.”
“I feel responsible for… well, it’s Camille’s…” Cindy didn’t know what to say. Why did she have to be in the middle of this? She wanted to sink into the floor and fade away. But that was how the old Cindy dealt with problems.
She took a deep breath. “I’m sorry. It was none of my business. I should have made a point to return it to her, but I thought she’d left town. I also was worried that she’d be upset that I’d seen it. Anyway, it shouldn’t have gotten mixed in with my papers.”
“Don’t worry about it anymore. I’ll handle it and make sure Camille gets it.” Mr. Hamilton had a calm look plastered on his face, and Cindy couldn’t tell if he really was not shocked by a past due notice of that amount, or whether he was just practiced at hiding his emotions.
Anyway she looked at it though, she was glad it was no longer her problem.
“I’ll see you tomorrow about ten at the hotel?” Mr. Hamilton looked at Cindy.
“Yes. Ten will be fine.”
Her boss walked out of the library, and Cindy sunk onto a chair and buried her head in her hands. She wasn’t sure if she felt sorry for Camille… surely Mr. Hamilton would have something to say about a past due bill in that amount. Or maybe he’d just pay the bill for her and say nothing.
She rose slowly and went out to find Jamie. She needed to talk to him. She was still shaken from the whole awkward encounter. As she crossed into the lobby she saw Camille and Mr. Hamilton entering the lobby from the bar. Cindy wished she could backtrack and slip back into the library without being seen.
No such luck.
Camille looked at her and shot Cindy an angry glare. She stalked past her without a word.
Well, that answered that question. Mr. Hamilton had shown the bill to Camille.
* * *
The walk had done little good for Susan’s mood. The feeling of overwhelming sadness and loss still swirled around her, along with her dread at breaking the news to Jamie. She pushed through the doors from the deck and headed to the lobby. Adam, Jamie, and a man dressed in a suit that had seen better days stood by the reception desk. She paused and gathered her strength. It was time to take Jamie aside and tell him about the letter from the bank.
Adam’s face lit up when he saw her enter the lobby and she couldn’t help but notice the answering flutter of her heart.
Jamie saw her and lifted a hand in a small wave. “Mom, this man is looking for you.”
She walked up to the man and extended her hand. “Susan Hall. And you are?”
The man shook her hand. “Max Simons. Do you have a moment to talk… in private?” He looked pointedly at Jamie and Adam.
“I’m not sure what you have to say that can’t be said in front of my son, but my office is this way.” She led the way into to her office tucked off to the side of the lobby.
“Mind if I close this?” Mr. Simons motioned towards the door.
She nodded. She wasn’t sure why the man was being so secretive, but she wished he’d just get to it. She still needed to sit down with Jamie and tell him about the investor calling their secondary loan.
She stood beside the desk and looked expectantly at Mr. Simons.
“I… ah… I have some news for you and some questions.” He pulled out a badge from the breast pocket of his suit coat. “Detective Simons.”
She glanced that the badge, more confused than ever. “Detective, what’s this about?”
“You were married to Russell Burns, correct?”
“Yes. We’re divorced now.”
“And this is your marriage certificate?” He held out a paper.
She looked at it and nodded. A frown creased her face. What was this all about?
“I’m part of a joint investigation into Mr. Burns. As part of the investigation, we’ve looked into his financial dealings. He’s been involved in some questionable activities. I’ll leave it at that until anything official happens.”
“Doesn’t surprise me. Nothing Russell does surprises me anymore.”
“In our investigation we turned up a hidden account. It wasn’t disclosed in your divorce proceedings and it appears it is your money from before you married Russell.”
“I had a small trust fund set up by my grandfather. Russell insisted I could keep it as my account, not community property, but it was all lost in the market crash.”
“Well, I’ll say one thing, the man is shrewd. He had a front company that he had you invest the money in. He had that company fail, but your funds were moved to a hidden account. They were never commingled with his funds, which actually protected them from our investigation. I wanted to come here and personally give you the information on your account. I don’t take well to people cheating on their spouse and hiding funds in a divorce.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Your account has actually grown quite a bit. The trust your grandfather wrote up is iron clad, which I assume is why Russell hadn’t found a way to liquidate it yet.” Detective Simons reached into his breast pocket again and drew out another paper. “Here is the information on your account.”
She slowly reached out the paper and scanned it.
Oh my goodness.
She took two steps back and sank onto her desk chair. “This is mine?” The amount listed on the paper boggled her mind. It would pay off the secondary loan and go a long way on repairs and updates for the inn.
“Yes, ma’am. It is. There will be a bit of paperwork to fill out to get it, but I put the name of our forensic accountant on there if you have any problems at all. Looks like Russell did you a favor by hiding the account, because the funds won’t be included in our investigation.”
“Russell did me a favor…” Susan smiled wryly. “Bet that’s going to make him angry.”
Detective Simons took off his glasses and wiped them with a handkerchief. He placed them back on his leathered face and then looked at her. “I do ask that you not contact him. The warrants are with the judge. As soon as he signs them—and he assured us he would—we’ll have warrants out for his arrest, and as soon as they find him, they’ll pick him up.”
“Russell is getting arrested?”
“He is, ma’am.”
“I don’t even know what to say.”
“The man is a cheat and a cad. You could say that karma has a way of coming back to get those who deserve it.”
Susan jumped up from her chair and went around to the detective. “Detective Simons, I’m going to give you a hug, if you don’t mind. You have no idea what you have given me here.”
The stodgy old man actually blushed. “Just doing my job, ma’am.”
She gave him a quick hug.
“Well, I best be going. Got a lot of paperwork to do now that the case is wrapping up.”
“Thank you so much, Detective.”
The man left the office, and Susan stood leaning against the desk in a daze. Jamie came rushing in. “What was all that
about?”
She just handed the paper to Jamie. “We’ve been saved.”
* * *
Susan and Jamie walked arm and arm out to the lobby. She couldn’t stop grinning. Russell’s shenanigans had been her salvation. She’d promised to tell Jamie everything, but she wanted to explain it all to Adam, too.
Adam came rushing up to them. “Everything okay? Must be by the look on your face.”
“Everything is perfect. Oh, Adam, everything is going to work out.”
“That’s what you think.” Russell stood in the doorway of the lobby. “I came here to personally give you the papers on calling in your secondary loan. I know you don’t have the funds to pay it back. I’ll make you an offer of half what I offered before, or I’ll wait until the bank forecloses on the inn. Your choice. But, either way, it will be mine.” Russell stood with his usual Cheshire smile plastered on his face.
“I’ll have the funds.” Susan walked up to him and stood toe to toe.
“Dream on. You don’t have the money.” Russell shook his head. “Last chance on my offer, or you can lose every last penny you put into this place.”
Jamie came and stood by her side. “You know, Russell, I think you should leave.”
“I’m going to tear the place down, you know. Every last bit of it. I knew you’d never make a go of it, boy.”
“Not a boy. Not your son. I’m nothing to you,” Jamie growled.
All of a sudden there was a commotion in the doorway behind Russell. Four men poured through the doorway.
Detective Simons stood with an almost-smile on his face. “Ma’am.” He nodded at her and turned to Russell. “Mr. Burns, you are under arrest.”
“What are you talking about?” Russell glared at the detective.
“I have a warrant for your arrest.”
“You’re crazy.”
Detective Simons turned toward another man with him. “Agent, read him his rights.”
“What is this nonsense? Leave me alone. I’m going to call my lawyer.” Russell’s face turned bright red and he glanced around as if looking for an escape route.
