by Alex Tully
Without central air, they were hot and uncomfortable, but with the windows open, they could also hear the sound of distant jet skis out on the lake, and the crickets coming out at dusk.
And even the smells were different—as Frankie stoked a campfire, whiffs of charcoal and lighter fluid wafted through the air.
Sunny Shores reminded Ethan a lot of his family’s first place in Marblehead, and as crazy as it sounded, it felt more like a summer vacation than Crystal Waters did.
At ten-thirty, Parker had to go home, and soon after that Meredith was muttering something about being a third wheel and left.
And now they were alone, him and Zoe, cuddling on the couch. Except for the light coming from the small TV, it was dark. He was supposed to be back at home soon, but screw that.
He liked Zoe—a lot. Next year would be his last at St. Andrews and then he’d be going to college, although he had no idea where. A year ago he was thinking about schools on the west coast, but a lot had happened since then, and now he was thinking more local.
He also didn’t know what would happen with his parents. Would they finally get a divorce since they didn’t have to worry about damaging his fragile psyche anymore? And if they did divorce, would they keep the house at Crystal Waters? Or, even worse—would they even come back to Marblehead at all?
It was a lot of stuff that was out of his control. But Ethan knew one thing for sure—well, two things. He knew that he was a different person from the person he was when he arrived in Marblehead on Memorial Day weekend. He was better—much better. And two, he knew he wanted to keep seeing Zoe.
He had taken things slow with her, partly because of lack of opportunity, but also partly because he was terrified he’d push her away. But now, he just wanted to do what felt right and stop analyzing it so much.
Maybe she was thinking the same thing because she got even closer, her head pressed against his chest. And that’s when he stopped thinking and just kissed her. And she kissed him back. And as soon as he got his hands on bare skin—.
“Zoe!” the porch door opened, “Are you in there?” Shirley stood in the kitchen, “Oh—I’m sorry.”
Ethan and Zoe quickly moved away from each other. “Oh, hi Shirley,” Zoe tried to play it cool, “Did you need something?”
“Nah!” she waved her hand at them, “I don’t want to bother you two lovebirds.”
Yes, leave Shirley, please leave…
“No, really,” Zoe stood up, “what is it?”
Really Zoe?
Shirley paused, “Well I did want to thank you, Ethan. Parker told me that you guys had a little talk about his mom, and he said he felt a lot better about things afterwards.” She smiled, “Lord, I know it makes me feel better.”
“No problem,” Ethan returned the smile. This was awkward.
“Do you think we could sit on the porch?” Shirley asked, “There’s actually a nice breeze out there tonight.”
“Uh, yeah, sure,” Ethan and Zoe followed her onto the porch, and they sat around the little table for the second time that day.
“Look,” Shirley seemed a little uncomfortable, “Parker came home tonight and told me all about what your mom said—about Gayle Crawford.”
Ethan looked at Zoe across the table. So much for, ‘keep your mouth shut.’
“And,” Shirley sighed, “When Meredith came over the other day, I overheard my grandson ask her if she had an autopsy?”
Shit.
Zoe’s eyes got wide, “Uh, she didn’t…I mean, that wasn’t what it was…”
“Don’t worry, I’m not going to tell anybody. But I did want to talk to you because I know you all have been playing detective, like Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys.”
Shirley paused and looked up, “I wonder what they’d call this one—The Mystery of the Dead Jackass?”
Ethan and Zoe both tried not to laugh, but she frowned, “I’m sorry, I guess I shouldn’t disrespect him in death. But I think in a couple of minutes you’ll understand why I feel the way I feel about that man.”
Ethan looked at Zoe. What did that mean?
“Look, I just want you kids to enjoy the rest of your summer, and stop concerning yourselves with all this Crawford business. Especially Parker—he’s still a young kid and I don’t think all the death talk is good for him.”
Zoe spoke up quickly, “Yeah, I get that.”
Shirley reached over and put her hand on Zoe’s arm, “I think of you like my own granddaughter Zoe, and I want you to know the truth. Then maybe we can put all of this behind us.”
The truth? What more did Shirley know?
Zoe nodded, “Of course.”
“First off,” Shirley leaned back in her chair, “Gayle Crawford didn’t decide to save Sunny Shores because of your mom—I know Debbie likes to take the credit, but Gayle did it because it was the right thing to do. Mrs. Crawford is not a bad lady. What your mom said about the fight on the pier and everything—that was true, it was all a terrible accident.”
Shirley crossed her arms in front of her, “See, yesterday I met with Gayle Crawford and Detective Zeller.”
Ethan and Zoe shot another look at each other.
“Detective Zeller and I go way back, and you could say Gayle Crawford and I have a history too. Look,” Shirley took a deep breath and exhaled, “I’m the cabana girl.”
CHAPTER 46
ETHAN
What?! A million thoughts were racing through Ethan’s head, and the look on Zoe’s face said her brain was doing the same.
“You’re the cabana girl?” he asked just to make sure he heard her right.
“You mean, you sent the text message?” Zoe asked.
“Yes, and yes,” Shirley nodded, “you have to understand, I tried to meet with Crawford in a more civilized way—I really did. I called him and left him a voicemail, very polite. The next day I got a call back from his lawyer saying all communication had to go through his attorney. He wouldn’t meet with me personally—not a surprise, really.”
“Wait—why did you want to meet with him?” Zoe asked.
“Hold on, I’m getting there…” Shirley smiled, “So I quickly realized I would have to think a little unconventionally. I’d have to get creative. And that’s when I came up with a plan. If I was going to get a meeting with Crawford, he was going to have to think he was meeting with someone else. And…what better way to lure in Crawford, than pretending to be one of his cabana girls?”
Ethan suddenly remembered the first time he heard the term ‘cabana girls’ was the day he met Shirley, when they were talking about Zoe’s new job at the pool.
She went on, “But I needed a phone number he wouldn’t recognize, and I’m sorry about that Ethan, I really am. I was going to give the phone back to Parker the next day, tell him I found it in the couch cushions or something. But then, when I found out Crawford…well…I panicked and got rid of it. I am truly sorry, but it was so important that I get that meeting.”
“How did you know Mr. Crawford’s number?” Zoe asked. Ethan was thinking the same thing.
“Oh, I already had Marty’s number,” Shirley shrugged, “I’d had a few unfortunate phone calls with him in the past, and he never changed it. Of course, I called it recently just to be absolutely sure it was the same one.”
“So what did the text say?” Zoe asked, “We heard a lot of rumors.”
“Well, it was probably pretty much what you’ve heard—asked him if he wanted to party, told him to bring some oxy—that’s still his drug of choice I believe, told him to meet me on the boat, 12:30 sharp, and said it was from ‘your favorite cabana girl.’ I knew it was an offer he couldn’t refuse.”
Shirley folded her hands on the table in front of her, “And a boat was the perfect place to get him cornered, but I had to get to that marina without being noticed. I knew they probably had cameras everywhere so I thought, ‘What about Frankie’s boat—I could come in from the water.’”
Ethan and Zoe immediately looked
at each other, and couldn’t help but smile.
“Ah, have you taken it out too?” Shirley smiled, “Better be careful, that motor’s on its last leg.
“Anyway, I drove over to the marina around midnight, and cut the motor when I got close. I rowed right up to the end of one of the piers, tied Frankie’s boat on to the boat at the end, and jumped aboard.”
“Wait—just like that?” Zoe interrupted, “Weren’t you afraid someone would see you?”
“Well, it was pretty dark—I could see that. I never would’ve risked it if there were other people around. But it was empty, and quiet. I don’t think the folks over in Crystal Waters sleep on their boats like some other places.”
Shirley looked at Ethan, “I mean, unless they have a yacht.”
He just smiled, and Shirley nudged him on the arm, “You know I’m just teasing Ethan.”
He could care less about the jab, he just wanted to know what the hell happened next.
“So then, I just unzipped the canvas and went inside. The cabin down below was pretty small, a little sitting area and a tiny kitchen off to the side. I brought a flashlight with me and I put it in the corner, just to provide enough light so I could see what I was doing.”
Ethan was hanging on every word.
“Once I was ready, I sent Crawford the text and I gave him twenty minutes, just to be sure he had time. He sent a text back almost immediately that said, see you soon. That’s when I let out a huge sigh of relief.”
“You didn’t think he would show?” Ethan asked.
“No, I knew he would show—if he got the text. I was actually leaning sixty-forty that he was already passed out. And then I‘d have to think of a whole new plan. That’s why the timing was so important—late enough so people wouldn’t be around, but early enough so Crawford would be around.
“So I sat in that little cabin waiting, and that was the longest twenty minutes of my life. I just kept Frankie’s rifle pointed at the stairwell and—.”
“Wait!” Ethan and Zoe yelled it at the same time, “Frankie’s rifle?”
“Well, I needed Crawford to take me seriously, and I knew as soon as he saw me he’d be running for the hills. I’ll probably give it back to Frankie someday, but the trailer park really is a safer place now.”
Holy shit, Shirley definitely meant business.
“So, sure enough, at 12:30 I hear someone up above getting on the boat, and then I hear ‘Hello? Anybody down there?’
“Of course I stay quiet, because if he hears my creaky old voice, then the jig is up. But even though no one responds, he can’t help himself, and he carefully makes his way down the ladder, a bottle of wine in tow, thinking he’s about to get lucky. He turns around and takes a quick glance,” Shirley held her arm up like she was taking aim, “only to see me—pointing a rifle directly at him.
“Oh my God, if you could’ve seen the look on that man’s face!” Shirley started laughing and Ethan and Zoe couldn’t help but laugh too.
“Oh, he tried to get back up that ladder, but I cocked that rifle so fast, he froze in his tracks. I told him to sit his ass down right there, on the floor in front of me, and he did.”
Ethan almost couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
“And then,” Shirley shook her head, “That stupid son-of-a-bitch asks, ‘So you sent the text?’”
She paused and took a deep breath, “I didn’t dignify that with an answer. I just told him to give me his phone, which he quickly slid over to me.
“And then I said, ‘Marty, I know you’ve had a few, but I need you to listen very carefully to what I’m about to say. Tomorrow you are going to void the sale of Sunny Shores. You are going to put the land into a trust, of which I will be trustee. And just for shits and giggles, you are also going to pay for a new dock.’
“Well he just looked at me, and I know he probably wanted to explode, but he played it cool. He smiled, and I noticed he had a big black hole in those pearly whites, which I now know,” Shirley nodded at Ethan, “was a result of your right hook.”
Yes, it was a moment Ethan would gladly take back.
“And Marty was all smug and said, ‘Or what?’ And I said, ‘Let’s get one thing straight Marty. I would love to shoot you—maybe in the leg, just to give you a permanent limp. But in truth, this gun is just a prop, it isn’t even loaded.’ And then I put the rifle down next to me.”
“It wasn’t loaded?” Ethan was just trying to keep up.
“Of course not,” Shirley looked at them like they were the crazy ones. “But then,” she reached into her shirt pocket and took out a folded piece of paper, “I showed him this—the real weapon.”
Shirley smoothed the paper out onto the table between them. In the dim light, he and Zoe hovered over the paper, scanning it as fast as they could. It had a bunch of numbers and percentages on it.
They both looked up at Shirley.
“Crawford is Parker’s father.”
CHAPTER 47
ZOE
OMG… “Whoa,” it was all that Zoe could say. She looked over at Ethan who looked just as stunned.
“Yeah,” Shirley sighed, “I guess that’s a good word for it—whoa.”
The paper had two columns of numbers headed Child and Alleged father. At the bottom, it read: Based on the STR loci listed above, the probability of paternity is 99.99999999%.
“This,” Ethan pointed at the paper, “means Parker is Crawford’s son?”
Shirley nodded, “Yes.”
Zoe’s head was spinning, “How?”
Shirley started tapping her fingers on the table, “These are the times I wish I still smoked.”
“Do you want a drink?” Zoe needed her to keep talking, and a little vodka always worked for Debbie.
“No, no…” she took a few seconds.
“My daughter Lynn….” Shirley’s voice changed. The edge was gone, and it was just—sad, “she was involved with Crawford.
“See, she was working at the Outrigger, one of those Cabana Girls—just like you Zoe,” she looked away for a minute, as if it was too painful to continue.
“She was such a good girl—straight ‘A’ student, cheerleader…truly a joy. I wish you could’ve known her,” Shirley wiped away a tear. Zoe had never seen her cry before.
“But that first summer, everything changed. She was never the same after that, and I blame Crawford for it. He had his eye on her from the start. She was beautiful—Zoe you’ve seen her picture.”
Zoe had seen it, and Lynn was beautiful—like model beautiful, “Yes she was gorgeous.”
Shirley smiled, but then it quickly faded, “He manipulated her—she was only nineteen. Oh, I tried everything in my power to get her away from him, but she had this fantasy that they were actually going to be together. He was going to leave his wife soon—he promised. He bought her gifts—oh God, the gifts.”
Shirley rolled her eyes, “Diamond earrings…fancy clothes, a watch that cost more than my trailer—things Lynn never thought she’d be able to have on her own. He had his claws in her—deep.”
Shirley slowly got up out of her chair, “I need to move my legs.”
“Do you want to sit inside?” Zoe quickly asked.
“No, hon, I just need to move,” she started pacing. “This went on for months. I had already threatened Crawford—told him I would go see Gayle and tell her about the affair. He threatened me right back. Said he had a big project planned for a new resort next to Sunny Shores, and if I said anything to his wife, he would make sure the trailer park land was a part of it.
“But finally, threat or not, I just couldn’t take it anymore. Lynn was changing—I don’t mean just living in her fantasy world, but becoming a different person. That’s when I suspect she first started using drugs. And that’s when I decided to tell Gayle.”
“Did you?”
Shirley nodded, “That was what finally ended it. Gayle must’ve given him an ultimatum because Crawford cut Lynn off completely. I knew that it was
for real, because my daughter was an absolute mess.”
Shirley paused and looked at Zoe, “You know what, could you get me that drink—just a little splash of whatever your mom’s drinking these days, and put some water in it?”
Zoe got up and rushed to the kitchen where she filled one of Debbie’s glasses halfway with vodka and tap water. She quickly handed it to Shirley, who took a swig, “Yeah, Lynn was angry. She blamed me for everything. We didn’t speak for weeks.
“And then one day, she’s in this cheery mood and she says, ‘Guess what mom? I’m pregnant!’ I was praying it wasn’t Crawford’s, but I knew it was. And the reason I knew it was because Lynn told me she hadn’t been with anyone else. And that was the thing about my daughter, she never lied to me.”
Shirley took another swig, “She told Crawford about the pregnancy, thinking maybe that would bring them back together. Of course, he denied the baby was his, claimed he had a vasectomy after his son was born.”
“Crawford has a son?” Zoe asked.
“Oh yes, he’s probably about Lynn’s age—well the age Lynn would’ve been…” Shirley looked down, “He lives in New York, I heard he’s an architect or something…
“Anyway, Crawford told her he wanted nothing to do with her. She was devastated, but I was relieved. I thought we can just raise this baby on our own—we didn’t need that asshole in our lives.
“Lynn got through the pregnancy okay, but a few months after Parker was born, she went into a deep depression. She wouldn’t get out of bed, I was taking care of Parker on my own. At first, I thought maybe it was just the post-partum stuff, but then she showed me this,” Shirley picked up the paper on the table, “she had done one of those paternity test kits. I thought, oh God, now there’s proof. I just prayed she hadn’t shown it to him.”
Shirley took her last swig and put the empty glass back on the table, “But she did, and Crawford said he still didn’t think Parker was his—said it was probably a fake test that she got off the internet. Then Lynn got really desperate and said she was going to show it to Gayle, and that’s when things got ugly. Crawford told Lynn he would ruin her, she’d never be able to get a job within a hundred miles of here.
