by Jaden Skye
“Olivia, you’re not thinking clearly, how could you be?” Her father reached out his hands. “You were still getting over Paul’s death. You met Todd and he was exciting. Your relationship had to be a huge distraction from the pain you were in.”
Olivia had feared he would say something like that. She feared that others would also try to take away the special bond she and Todd had shared. But she wouldn’t let them. She couldn’t. She especially needed it now.
“I’ve been doing some research on Todd’s family,” her father continued. “They’re all still furious with you, except his sister, Deanne. They’re undermining you in every way they can, telling the police they don’t believe that Todd ever wanted to marry you.”
“They can’t hurt me.” Olivia suddenly felt sure of it.
“Don’t be naïve, of course they can!” Her father sat down on the chair opposite her. “Todd’s brother Craig’s trying to find whatever he can about you, dig up dirt. He’s a nasty guy if ever I saw one.”
“Yes, I know,” said Olivia.
“It’s not only you. Craig’s pissed with Todd too. It seems Todd was more successful than Craig, got all the attention. For all we know, Todd’s crazy family could even be involved in his death.” Her father looked struck to the bone.
That was a horrible thought and Olivia rejected it completely. “That’s crazy, Dad,” she said, alarmed.
“The whole thing is crazy from start to finish, and we need to get out of here as soon as possible,” he repeated.
But the idea of leaving was too much for Olivia. “I’m not ready to go yet,” she said as she got up and walked to the edge of the balcony door. Todd’s family could say what they wanted, what could they really do to her?
“Listen to me, Olivia.” Her father followed her there. “I know you’ve been talking to people, trying to find out more about Todd. Don’t do it, it’s not a good idea. You shouldn’t be prowling around. I don’t know if you’re aware of it but there’s been a nasty article about you in the local paper.”
Olivia was taken aback. “Really?”
“It said gold digger grabs onto rich investor, only to have him slip through her fingers.” Her father grimaced. “I’ll bet anything Todd’s family had it posted.”
Olivia felt her blood boil. “That’s all the more reason for me to stay,” she snapped. “I’m not running scared out of here. I’ve nothing to hide. And I refuse to be smeared by anyone!”
“This is a human jungle.” Her father’s voice grew darker. “You’ll get caught in the underbrush. You have to get out!”
“I will, I will, but before I do I have to resolve some things first.”
“Like what?”
“Tomas’s alibi,” she said. “He might have one. I have to visit his place again, see if anyone’s there.” She took a deep breath. “And I just have to talk to Todd’s colleague Gabe,” Olivia insisted. “I have to find out more about what was going on at Todd’s job.”
Her father stepped back and gave Olivia a long, hard glance. “Really? That’s the only reason you’re staying?”
Olivia looked into her father’s knowing eyes. She didn’t want to hold back any more.
“I’m also staying because I want to be sure Todd didn’t kill himself,” she burst out forcibly. “Dad, I’m afraid Todd committed suicide because I did something to hurt him.”
Horrified, her father came closer. “What did you do?”
“I don’t know exactly.” Olivia began breathing hard. “Todd could become sensitive all of a sudden. He’d look strange and pull away. I never knew the reason for it. I’d ask him what was wrong over and over, but he didn’t answer. He’d just get quiet and stare at the floor. It could last awhile, too.”
“My God,” said her father, “it sounds like mental illness.”
“Something deep inside was hurting him, for sure,” Olivia said.
“It wasn’t hurting because of you.” Her father was firm about it. “It’s not your fault. Mental illness has a life of its own. It’s not something you could have ever made better!”
“How do you know? Maybe I could have,” Olivia exclaimed loudly. “Todd was too young, it wasn’t his time to die!”
“It’s never the right time to die.”
Olivia went to her father and put her head on his shoulder.
“Let me take you back up to the city, please,” he urged.
“Soon,” she whispered. “Soon.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
First thing the next morning Olivia went to talk to Gabe. He was staying with friends near the pier and the timing was perfect as Gabe was getting ready to go back to New York the next day.
Dressed casually, in a lemon summer dress, her hair pulled back carefully, Olivia took a cab to the pier. Gabe said he’d be waiting for her on the dark green bench under the main lamppost. It was painful to meet Todd’s friends this way and at a time like this. She had to seem like a strange intruder. Olivia knew they were wondering about her, and had every right to.
The cab wound through the charming streets of the town, where all kinds of folks were meandering about, taking in the vibe.
“Beautiful day, wonderful weather,” the cab driver extolled. “Sometimes we get storms this time of year, but today everything’s perfect. Lucky you! You must have done something right.”
“Beautiful place,” Olivia echoed in an effort to quiet him down.
“You bet it’s beautiful and it’s hopping too,” he continued. “Want to know some of the things you can do here at night?”
Olivia looked out the window, saying nothing.
“Did you hear me, hon?” The driver seemed inexhaustible.
When Olivia didn’t answer again, he fell into a glum silence and finally let her off at the corner, opposite the pier.
“Some of you tourists are downright nasty,” he said bitterly. “Looks like you’re one of them.”
Thankful to be out of there, Olivia crossed the street and walked toward the pier looking for a bench in the center, under a tall lamplight. It wasn’t hard to find. As soon as she got closer, she saw a young man sitting on a bench, looking out at the water. It had to be Gabe. Olivia felt nervous approaching him.
“Gabe?” she asked as she got closer.
The young man, dressed in khaki slacks and a plaid shirt, looked up immediately. “Olivia?” he asked, without getting up.
“May I join you?” she replied.
Gabe tapped the bench lightly. “Sure, sit down.” He definitely didn’t seem too glad to see her. It was a tense moment for both of them.
Olivia sat down beside him tentatively and looked out at the rippling water. The sun shone brightly on it, making it seem inviting and soothing.
“Thanks for taking the time to meet with me,” Olivia started.
Gabe shook his head but said nothing. There was nothing at all gracious about him. She wasn’t exactly the enemy, she thought. It had to be the article about her; Gabe must have read it.
“Strange that we’re meeting for the first time now,” Gabe commented as she sat there.
“It’s a rough way to meet,” she agreed.
At that, Gabe finally glanced her way. “How come Todd never told us a thing about you? It wasn’t like him. He loved to brag, had a big mouth.”
“We wanted to surprise everybody,” Olivia replied.
Gabe chuckled. “Yeah, Todd liked all kinds of surprises, he could be weird. But this is really something else.”
“How was he weird?” Olivia was all over it. She was relieved that there finally was an opening to talk about Todd.
“Why are you asking me? You were engaged to the guy, right? You should know all about him.” Gabe suddenly looked glum again, with nothing much else to say.
“Of course, I knew lots of things about Todd.” Olivia decided to plunge forward. “And I loved what I knew. But I need to know more now.”
Gabe rubbed his forehead as if trying to decide what to make of her. “What do you wa
nt to know, Olivia?” he asked abruptly. “Why did you really want to meet me?”
“I’m trying to help find out who killed Todd,” Olivia said plainly, as the breeze from the water brushed harshly up against both of them. “Todd would have wanted me to.”
Gabe became quiet. “Maybe you’re right,” he finally said. “Maybe he would have. I can’t say for sure, because he never said a word about you to me!”
Olivia felt slapped down for a second. “You’re holding that against me? Everyone is?”
Gabe retracted. “No, we shouldn’t. But then you ask basic questions about him and it’s creepy. My guess is that Todd hid plenty of things from you. My God,” he murmured, “and now it’s come to this.”
Olivia froze. “What kind of things did he hide from me?”
Gabe got up off the bench suddenly and stretched in the sun. Then he turned back to her.
“Do you know why Todd chose this place for a vacation?” he asked directly.
“He loved it down here,” said Olivia. “He talked about it all the time and, of course, his company has a division down here, too. He came here to work regularly.”
Gabe ran his hands through his hair. “Yeah, for starters, you’re right.”
Olivia stood up. “Please help me out, Gabe, I need it. The police are convinced Todd’s death was a homicide. How is that possible? Who hated him?”
Gabe shuddered. It seemed as if she’d finally gotten to him. “Nobody hated him.” He began talking quickly. “Todd was much too charming and wily for that. But things weren’t going well at the company recently. We were having a rough time, we still are. And a rough time isn’t good for anyone,” Gabe continued. “You know that much at least.”
“I didn’t know about the hard time at work,” Olivia breathed, transfixed. “Todd didn’t tell me.”
“Great relationship!” Gabe put his hands on Olivia’s shoulders. “If he didn’t tell you, why should I? Should I go behind his back now and betray him?” Gabe’s face got red.
“You can’t go behind his back anymore. He’s gone!” Olivia said. “The best thing you can do for him is tell me!”
Gabe’s eyes blurred over. “Todd had all kinds of moods,” Gabe went on, “you have to know that! Something got into him recently and all of a sudden he started digging too deep into company business. I asked him why he was doing it but he wouldn’t tell me. One night I saw him in the office late again, poring over the books. I warned him to cut it out, and so did others. But he wouldn’t. He could be irrational at times, you know.”
Olivia felt completely blindsided. She never thought of Todd as irrational, just totally unique. Was that part of the mental illness her father was referring to?
“Have you met Marcus yet?” Gabe went on. “He’s one of Todd’s closest friends at work. Have you spoken to him?”
“Not yet,” said Olivia, feeling out of sorts.
Do you know what our company actually does?” Gabe was on a roll now. “Do you know why we have a division in Key West?”
“I know generally,” Olivia proclaimed.
“Generally isn’t good enough. I can’t say any more than this.” Gabe lurched backward. “Speaking to you now, I would guess that Todd had a good reason for keeping you in the dark.”
“What reason?” Olivia felt her adrenaline pumping.
“I told you, I can’t say any more.” Gabe was adamant.
“I want to talk to the head of the office down here then,” Olivia shot back quickly.
Gabe flashed a quick, odd smile. “Frank Brunel? I wouldn’t try that if I were you. The company can be tricky. People don’t like it when someone starts encroaching on their territory. It can be dangerous to encroach.”
Olivia’s body suddenly trembled, feeling like a leaf floating by in the wind. “What do you mean dangerous?”
“Dangerous means dangerous, that’s all I can say.” Gabe voice’s tightened. “Stay away. If you want my advice, I’d say go back to your life in the city. Take a week off, hang out with friends and pretend all of this never happened.”
“Pretend I didn’t lose someone I loved?” Olivia was aghast. “Pretend Todd’s life meant nothing?”
“Pretend I didn’t say a thing to you,” Gabe answered, as he quickly got up and without a moment’s hesitation walked down the pier without looking back.
Dumbfounded, Olivia watched him grow smaller as he walked farther away. She immediately sat back down on the bench to go over their conversation. As she sat there, a flock of large seagulls suddenly swooped down out of the sky, landed on the edge of the pier, and looked directly at her. She looked back at their piercing eyes and felt a strange sense of energy, as if they were addressing her personally. She couldn’t help but think of Todd then. Was he trying to reach her any way he could? Was he asking her to go on searching? Then, just as quickly as they came, the seagulls flapped their wings and, all as one, flew away into the blue sky.
A strong sense of sadness and loss overcame Olivia as the birds departed. Where had they come from, anyway? Where were they headed? What was the real reason she was sitting here alone?
Olivia immediately took out her phone and put a call in to Wayne. Thankfully, he picked right up. “I just spoke to Gabe,” she started, almost breathlessly.
“How did it go?” asked Wayne.
“It didn’t go,” Olivia answered. “Gabe was practically monosyllabic the whole time. Obviously, the guys at Todd’s company don’t trust me.”
“I’m sorry, Olivia.” Wayne’s voice dropped.
“Gabe did tell me one thing, though,” Olivia continued, undeterred. “He said there was trouble at the company, and that Todd had been digging too deeply into it.”
Wayne was silent on the other end.
“Had you known about that?” Olivia wanted a response.
“Generally,” said Wayne.
“I want to speak to the head of the division down here in Key West,” Olivia said forcefully. It made sense to her, seemed like the perfect next step.
Wayne’s silence deepened. “I don’t think so.” His voice became muted.
Olivia was taken aback. “Why not?”
“It’s complicated,” answered Wayne. “Leave that to law enforcement. We have a history with this company. We know who we’re up against and what they’re doing.”
Who were they up against? Once again Olivia felt a long chill rise up through her back. She had no intention of leaving it to law enforcement, though. This was her fiancé who’d been killed. It was personal.
“I want to talk to the boss down here myself,” Olivia insisted. “I need to, Wayne.”
“No, you don’t!” Wayne countered quickly. “Enough is enough.”
“It won’t be enough until I find out what happened to Todd,” Olivia quickly retorted.
“At this point, it’s a job for law enforcement,” Wayne replied firmly. “You’ve done your best, now you have to back off.”
But Olivia knew she hadn’t done her best. She hadn’t done her best ever. But now it was time to, and she was just getting started. She wasn’t going to let anything go.
“Am I overstepping my bounds? Gabe implied I was overstepping my bounds.” Olivia kept at it. “He said the company didn’t take well to people who encroached on their territory. He was giving me a clear message to get lost.”
“Gabe’s right, the company doesn’t take well to being investigated,” Wayne answered briskly. “Pay attention. Listen to what he’s telling you.”
He hung up.
Olivia felt both hurt and disappointed. Wayne was doing an about-face, pulling away. She was used to it, it had happened before. Wayne could pull away all he liked, though. Right now it only made Olivia’s resolve stronger. Olivia decided right then that she wouldn’t leave it to anyone, though. Encroach on their territory or not, she had to learn more about what went on in Todd’s company. Her own well-being was also at stake. And who else could she really trust?
Yet just as Olivia
was preparing to find a way to contact Todd’s company, her phone rang.
Olivia picked instantly, certain it was Wayne calling back, saying she was right and he was sorry. But to Olivia’s surprise a woman’s voice was on the other end.
“Is this Olivia Wells?” a silky voice asked.
“Yes it is,” Olivia replied hesitantly.
“This is Deanne, Todd’s sister,” the caller continued.
Olivia paused, unsure what to say.
Deanne continued, and her smooth, silky voice quickly fell to pieces.
“I need to talk to you badly. It’s urgent.”
Olivia felt her heart race. “About what?” she asked.
“I can’t discuss it on the phone,” she said. “Can I send a car for you to come to the villa?”
Olivia was aghast.
“Your family’s villa?”
“Yes.”
Olivia shook her head. That was like walking into the lion’s den. “I’m sorry, but I—”
“Before you say no,” Deanne cut her off, “I have to tell you: I know you didn’t do it. And I may have an idea about who Todd’s killer is. Please. I need you to help me. Todd would want you to.”
Olivia sighed long and hard. It was the last thing she wanted to do.
And yet she knew she had no choice.
“OK,” she said finally. “Send the car.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
The car pulled up to a huge, beautiful pink stucco villa surrounded by palm trees, wildflowers, and ponds. Olivia stepped out of the car quickly, and just as Deanne had promised, she was standing downstairs waiting for her.
Olivia stopped in her tracks when she got closer. Deanne resembled Todd so much, once again Olivia felt as if she were with him. Like Todd, Deanne was slender and attractive, with dark hair and deep eyes. Dressed in a print sundress with a beach bag thrown over her shoulder, she looked like part of the scenery, not someone who’d just lost a brother she’d loved.
“Thanks so much for coming. You have no idea what this means to me,” Deanne said. “We both miss Todd so much. We need to be together.”
