Rose counted the hours until dinner so that she’d see Shane again. She tried not to anticipate it too much but couldn’t help it. He had said he’d come.
The moment Shane barged into The Siren, she knew something was wrong, and she hadn’t the slightest idea what.
‘Hey,’ she said, grabbing a menu for him.
‘I’m not here to eat,’ he said, crossing his arms. He leaned his hip against the hostess station and jutted his chin out.
‘Oh,’ Rose said, blinking a few times. ‘What’s up?’
‘Someone around here thinks she can do my job better than me.’
Rose lowered her gaze to The Burrow patch sewn to his sleeve. ‘I don’t understand.’
‘Don’t play dumb with me, Rose.’
Mrs. Donahue’s group stopped talking, and they made a bad show of pretending they weren’t listening. His voice was loud enough to get everyone’s attention.
She grabbed his arm and led him to the hallway closer to the bathrooms. ‘What’s going on, Shane?’
‘Rose, this is serious. You’re bordering on obstruction.’
‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’
‘The information I gave you wasn’t something to be used for your benefit,’ Shane said. ‘I told you that in confidence.’
She crossed her arms. ‘It wasn’t for my benefit.’
‘I find that hard to believe. You’ve been manipulating this from the start. How do you think it sounded when I called shelters asking about the victim and three of them questioned me thinking that my colleague had already done the job for me?’
‘I never said I was a colleague.’ They must have misheard or tried to cover for themselves.
‘That’s not the point, Rose. I’m here for a job, and that’s it. I don’t need someone messing with my life again.’
Again? ‘I’m not messing with you. I needed to know –’ Her words caught in her throat. She wasn’t sure what she needed to know anymore. But her curiosity had lost his trust.
The men’s room door opened, and Donnie stood there, zipping his fly. ‘Is everything all right?’
Rose turned to him and met his wide-eyed stare.
‘Everything is fine,’ Shane said. ‘Right, Rose?’
‘Of course.’
Donnie shrugged and passed through to the dining area.
Shane lowered his voice. ‘This is above and beyond curiosity now.’
‘That’s all it is,’ she said. ‘Why do you think there’s something more to it?’
‘What do you expect me to believe? You’re the only one who saw the girl. The one who found the only evidence of what happened. Tell me I shouldn’t be suspicious in a town filled with people pushing themselves into everyone else’s business.’
As his gaze penetrated her, words flew from her mind once more. ‘What do you want me to say to that?’
‘Nothing. I want you to say and do nothing. Stay out of my investigation, Rose. I mean it.’ And with that, he turned on his heel and strode out of the building as quickly as he’d come in.
Rose huffed and looked down at the crackling menu clutched in her fists. She inhaled and pressed the menu against the surface of the hostess station, smoothing out the wrinkles.
Without a glance at any of the gawking customers, she charged into the kitchen. ‘I have to talk to you.’
‘Damn it, Rose,’ Missy said, whipping around. She lifted the grill cleaner in surrender. ‘You scared the shit out of me.’
‘Sorry.’
‘Donnie told me you and Shane were arguing.’
Shane had done most of the talking. ‘He came in here accusing me of butting into his investigation.’
‘What happened?’
Rose crossed her arms, digging her fingernails into her skin. ‘I called a few homeless shelters to see if the girl had been to one of them lately.’
‘So, you did butt into it,’ Missy said.
‘I was trying to help.’
‘No wonder he came in all sexy and broody.’
Rose snorted. ‘Sexy and broody? More like hot-headed and rude.’
‘Come on, you know I have a thing for uniforms.’ She did. Whenever her husband Jake came back from his tours overseas, it was hard to pry her away from him for the first few days.
‘That’s beside the point.’
‘Is it, though?’ Missy asked. ‘I understand you want to know more about why she jumped and all that, but don’t make enemies along the way. We might not have a lot of crime here, but you shouldn’t try so hard to piss off the Chief of Police.’
‘What’s the big deal? I mean, I’m their key witness.’
‘That doesn’t give you the right to interfere. Let the man do his job.’
‘I want to. I do.’
Missy smirked. ‘Do you?’
‘Not at all,’ Rose said, unable to look Missy in the eyes. ‘But I can’t explain why. There’s something inside of me. I need to know if she’s okay.’
‘But how will that help you? Are you going to contact her family yourself? Give them the rundown of how you watched their little girl jump into the water?’
‘I don’t know.’
‘There isn’t a good ending for anyone in this situation. Leaving it to the professionals is the best thing for everyone. At least until you find something else to obsess over.’
‘I’m not obsessed.’
‘Sure you are,’ she said.
Rose knew she was right, but that didn’t mean she had to agree aloud. Voices from the other room chose for her. ‘I’m going out there.’
Missy didn’t stop her.
They’d been in enough sibling-like arguments that both knew when they were wrong. It was her turn. This time, she’d done wrong by Shane. Instead of getting upset with Missy for calling her out, she wanted more than anything to apologize to him. She’d picked at something within him, stirring up a deep, emotional reaction. From her perspective, he had it all wrong. She wanted to know more about the girl, but not to get in his way. She’d fallen further back from where she wanted to be and feared he’d never speak to her again.
Missy was right. It was time to stop before she stepped on his toes even more and ruined whatever was left of their fledgling relationship. She swallowed through the tightness in her throat. Even her body knew she was making the wrong decision, but she had no choice.
Chapter 17
The outdoor movie night brought droves of people from surrounding areas into The Burrow. Other than the draw of the big screen in the park, there were vendors, craft tables, and games for the kids. The mermaid theme carried over from the previous weekend, enticing the tourists with the myths and lore of the town.
While the start of the season was always exciting, all Rose could think about was the confrontation with Shane. Even though she hadn’t moved forward with any investigating, she still felt as if she had a target on her back. With the news about Mom’s health, the excitement about the event faded to a dull numbness that spread throughout her body.
Volunteering at The Siren’s food booth distracted her a little. The entire town shut down as everyone put their efforts into promoting the event.
‘Rose, I need a hand,’ Missy said from under the tent.
She unpacked the remaining napkins into a container near the utensils and went over to her friend.
‘Can you stack all the rolls into this container?’ Missy said, balancing about a dozen plastic bags of hamburger rolls.
Rose grabbed the top one as it fell over, nearly smashing on the ground. ‘Sure.’
They kept the menu easy: burgers, hot dogs, sausage, and fries. Several of the other tents served fried dough, funnel cakes, and various other baked goods. Popcorn booths were the main attractions, especially when the sky darkened, and the movie was about to go on. There was a contest every year for the best popcorn, and vendors from around New England came to claim that prize.
Rose was a fan of the kettle corn and hoped she could sneak a bag away f
or The Siren servers before the rush of customers came in. The hours around lunch and dinner were the busiest, but they took shifts throughout the day so that everyone could enjoy their time.
Missy had the younger, seasonal employees working most of the daylight hours while Rose and Brody stuck around for the later hours and closing.
After stacking the rolls for easy access, Rose searched the growing crowd. It was seasonably warm, but they were close enough to the water to feel a gentle breeze rippling through the park. Some dedicated townies carried their lawn chairs and coolers into the park, reserving their seats for the movie.
Even though she wasn’t up for another confrontation with Shane, disappointment flooded her each time she saw a police officer wandering through the crowd that wasn’t him. He was probably working on the case and wouldn’t bother to show up. Though, if he were serious about the job, he would. She’d already seen Patrick shaking hands with other townies and walking the perimeter. Shane would step into that role soon enough.
‘I’m going to head over to get some popcorn before it gets too busy,’ Rose said to Missy.
‘Grab me some kettle corn,’ Brody said, lifting a stack of burgers from the cooler.
‘Got it,’ Rose said, shoving her hair off her shoulders. The breeze picked up enough that the tent started to sway.
‘Donnie, over here,’ Brody said, dropping the burgers to the table. He and Donnie went over to the poles, anchoring them further into the ground.
Two of the seasonal servers whispered to each other, watching Brody and Donnie become heroes.
Missy sent an eye roll Rose’s way, and she could barely contain a laugh as she headed over to the popcorn booths.
As she approached, the mixed scents of salt and sugar became more prominent. The popping popcorn sounded like small explosions of fireworks. Bags hung from the top of each tent; some were half her size. She picked two smaller ones to share. She knew if she got the big one then she’d eat more than enough.
In the corner of her eye, Rose caught the glint of sun off the ocean. She flipped her hair away from her eyes and peered over.
A breath caught in her throat and she dropped the popcorn bag to the ground. She barely heard the vendor call out for her as she bolted toward the shore.
She blinked hard, each time thinking that the image would go away. But it didn’t.
She didn’t.
The park didn’t have a private beach. Instead, a small wooden fence blocked a steep, rocky drop-off leading to the water.
Sitting on the edge of the water was the long-haired girl. The surf washed over her body as she looked at Rose. She was too far away to see her expression. But she was alive!
Stepping onto the road between the park and the shore, Rose looked both ways before crossing. But halfway across the street, she looked up, and the girl was gone.
Rose’s heartbeat throbbed in her chest, and her resolve faded as she arrived at the fence. There was no place to hide on the thin rocky ground, so whatever Rose saw might not have ever existed.
The wood fence dug into her waist as she leaned over the barrier, checking to make sure she couldn’t see the girl alive and well.
She stood up straighter, digging her nails into the wood railing. Wiping a hand over her mouth, she took another breath before turning toward the park. The sun was much harsher away from the cover of trees, and Rose wondered if she needed to eat something.
Did the girl exist only in her subconscious or was she stalking Rose from afar? She looked around to see if anyone else had noticed, but everyone carried on with their day. The urge to leap over the edge and scour the beach overwhelmed her, but her obligation to Missy and the crippling fear that bloomed inside of her forced her to turn around and head back.
After grabbing her popcorn from the vendor, she muttered some excuse about seeing a friend. There were already a dozen people in line at The Siren’s tent when she arrived. Technically, it wasn’t her shift yet, and she did have the opportunity to wander around the park, but she didn’t want to be alone if she caught another glimpse of the girl. At least if she saw her again, she’d have witnesses.
Even though it had been her choice to work instead of socializing, Rose could barely tear her eyes away from the passing crowd. She wanted to be sure she wasn’t going crazy or hallucinating.
It wasn’t until mid-afternoon that Rose spotted Shane sauntering in her direction. Her body flushed with heat, and she reached for her cup of water.
Shane walked through the crowds, his sunglasses once again shielding his eyes, effectively creating a barrier between him and everyone else. The hard lines of his face gave away his mood. He wasn’t happy. No doubt Patrick had forced Shane out of his chair at the precinct to show up for the town-wide event.
As Shane came closer to the tent, Rose shifted her weight so that Brody and his new girlfriend – Carrie or Karen – blocked Shane’s view of her. The couple stood at the edge of the tent, their faces close together while they spoke in hushed whispers.
It reminded her of when Reen and Brody were attached at the mouth. They were inseparable. For a brief second, Rose wished that Reen could find that again with someone. Even though Reen hated her own family, Rose wanted the best for her little sister. Maybe she’d already found it.
‘Dammit,’ Missy hissed, snapping Rose from her thoughts.
‘What happened?’ Rose asked.
Missy hugged her hand against her chest. ‘Burned the shit out of my fingers.’
‘Here.’ Rose walked over to her friend. ‘Go get some ice. I’ll take over.’
Missy raised an eyebrow.
‘What? I know how to grill.’
‘Brody,’ Missy called for her brother.
Rose rolled her eyes and stepped aside, walking over to the checkout line. At least she could be helpful by taking orders.
Without Brody, the girlfriend turned her attention to her phone, stroking her fingers through her hair. She didn’t look up once.
‘What can I get you?’ Rose asked the next customer. Looking up, she met a small reflection of herself in Shane’s sunglasses.
He licked his lips, and the skin around his mouth tightened. ‘A, uh, burger.’
‘Burger,’ she called out to Brody who tossed her a thumbs-up without even turning around.
‘Fries?’ she asked Shane.
He nodded once.
‘You having a good time?’ There was no use acting petty and childish. Besides, she hadn’t done anything so terrible to feel guilty over.
He faced the crowd. ‘I’m working.’
Rose turned toward the fryer and grabbed an already pre-portioned bowl of fries. She caught Missy’s eye and even though her friend was in pain, she hadn’t missed the moment between Rose and Shane. If she were honest with herself, it wasn’t much of a moment – more of an awkward conversation. Their argument hovered over their heads like a stormy gray cloud blocking out the few good memories they had together.
‘Thanks,’ he said, taking the bowl from her. Their fingers brushed, and Rose tried to ignore the electricity zipping through her.
Shane tried to give her money, but she waved him off. ‘Police and fire personnel don’t pay around here.’
His head tilted to the side. She wished he’d take those damn sunglasses off, so she could have some insight into his thoughts. ‘Are you sure?’
‘I’m sure,’ she said, then turned to the next customer. If she couldn’t know how he was feeling, she wasn’t going to give him an opportunity to figure out what she was thinking.
Donnie handled passing the grilled items to the customers, and by the time Rose looked up, Shane was gone.
Chapter 18
With Shane gone, Rose released a pent-up breath as she turned her attention to the growing line of people in front of her. Shane’s presence rocked her core, as it had during and after their date. His anger toward her seemed as if it would never end.
As the sun dipped into the sky, the park filled with people.
Most of them sat in front of the movie screen on blankets and lawn chairs, ready for the show to start. The line at the popcorn booths had tripled, but a few of the veteran vendors walked through the already seated crowd to bump up their numbers for the vote.
‘Are you staying for the movie?’ Rose asked Missy. They’d already packed up all the perishable food into coolers and Brody had gone with his girlfriend to get his truck.
‘Are you?’ she asked.
Rose glanced at the crowd. The familiarity of the sight elicited a wave of gooseflesh across her arms. She’d always looked forward to this night, but without Pearl and the expectation that she’d run into Shane again, she wanted to be anywhere else.
‘I don’t think so. If you want to stay, then I will.’
‘Aren’t we a pair of old ladies?’ Missy asked. ‘Going home to an empty house while the town enjoys a movie isn’t what I’m looking for. Let me get a blanket and meet you over by that tree.’
‘Sure thing,’ Rose said.
Rose headed over to the tree. Most of the tourists wanted to be as close to the screen as possible, while the townies knew that the best spots were at the back, closer to the speakers. The picture was smaller, but the dialogue and music were crystal clear instead of muddled by the distance.
She’d missed the first few minutes of Splash but fell into the story quickly.
When Missy joined her, she spread the blanket on the ground, and they sat, stretching their legs in front of them.
‘This movie never gets old,’ Missy said.
Rose opened her mouth to agree, but nearby shouting caught her attention. She glanced at Missy whose focus was on the scuffle in front of them.
Two young teens argued with someone, pointing their red plastic cups at the person. Rose guessed that they weren’t sipping on lemonade.
Shane’s voice struck her as the darkened figure between the boys. With a flash of movement, one of the younger guys had his hands behind his back, and the metallic clinking of handcuffs snapped over his wrists.
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