Dust and Obey (15 page)

CHAPTER 26

At
the restaurant, Riley and I were able to grab seats outside on a deck overlooking the barrier islands that protected the peninsula from the Atlantic Ocean.

The seafood restaurant was located beside a wharf, and the scent of salty air saturated the area. In the distance, I could see the boats coming in and going out. People bragged about their catches of the day on the docks. Tourists loaded up a charter boat full of fishing rods and coolers. Marsh grass stretched into the water almost as far as the eye could see, and a channel marker with a large osprey nest on top sat within viewing distance.

Riley and I had already exhausted the possibilities of what had happened to that list. We had no other conclusions except that someone had taken it. Maybe my earlier intuition that we were being followed was correct. I recreated it and stuck it into my purse for safekeeping.

I played with one of the hushpuppies that had been set on our table by a tired-looking waitress. Finally, I gave up on eating and took a sip of water from the sweaty glass in front of me.

I could feel Riley watching me, and I hated the fact that I looked weak in front of him. I was supposed to look like everything was great and that I had my life under control. Wasn’t that what everyone wanted when they were around their exes? The last thing they wanted was to show that life was hard or full of struggle.

“Have you ever heard that old hymn ‘Trust and Obey’?” Riley leaned toward me with his elbow perched casually on the table.

I looked at him and blinked. This wasn’t where I expected our conversation to go. “Of course. It’s one of the classics.”

He leaned closer. “I really think that song fits you, Gabby.”

I nearly snorted, but then I realized he was serious. “Why would you say that?”

“No matter what happens, you push forward. No matter what kind of adversity you run into, you overcome it. You don’t let anything get you down.”

His words surprised me. But some kind of internal instinct rose in me, and I couldn’t bring myself to be authentic in the moment. “Maybe my theme song should be ‘Dust and Obey.’ That more accurately sums up my life.”

It was a lame joke, but humor and sarcasm had always been one of my defense mechanisms.

“What you’re doing is important, whether it’s crime-scene clean up or training forensic technicians or doing P.I. work on the side.”

He was getting to me, and that fact made me uncomfortable. I had to get a grip here. I needed to just thank him and wiggle my way out of this conversation as quickly as possible. “I appreciate your encouragement, Riley. Maybe one day I’ll actually arrive at some of my goals.”

“I’m learning that you never really arrive. It seems like our goals are constantly changing. Once we get to where we thought we wanted to be, our perspective changes and we have to start again.”

“Are you speaking from experience?”

He nodded. “Maybe. I mean, my life isn’t what I thought it would be. I just have to make the best of it.”

I wanted to ask him about us. About what he’d been thinking. About how he could have shut me out the way he did.

But I didn’t.

Our conversation was halfway pleasant, so why ruin it by bringing up painful subjects? Or maybe I was afraid to face the truth. Maybe I was afraid to hear him say that he didn’t care about me.

“You’ve been through a lot,” I finally said.

“I had some really dark days.” He let out a soft sigh and stared into the distance. The setting sun hit his face and baked it in an orange glow that was really quite lovely and atmospheric. However, the conversation was anything but glowing. No, it was gut-wrenching.

“Dark how?”

“Being stripped of most of my independence? It was hard. People treated me like a kid. They acted like I was incompetent. And it was difficult not knowing what the future held. I’d like to think I’d be okay whatever the outcome. But there was a part of me that didn’t know how I would go on if I was unable to work or live independently. I did a lot of soul-searching.”

I swallowed hard. My heart warmed as he opened up to me. I needed to hear about his life, I realized, whether I wanted to know all the details or not.

“That sounds difficult.”

“Leaving Norfolk. Realizing the law firm I had poured my heart and soul into starting would probably never be resurrected again. You just never know what kind of curveballs you’re going to get in life. But I do realize that I’m stronger for it all.”

“You do seem different somehow. I haven’t been able to put my finger on exactly how. But there’s something.”

He shrugged. “I am different. It would be crazy to think that I wasn’t. I mean, at my core I suppose I’m the same. But my perspective has definitely changed.”

“I see.”

He cleared his throat. “You’re probably wondering why I didn’t hear anything on the night Ginger was pushed off the cliff. To tell you the truth, I’ve been taking sleeping pills.”

“Sleeping pills?” I asked the question quietly. It wasn’t really my business, but I needed to know.

He pressed his lips together a moment. “The nightmares are too much for me sometimes.”

“I can imagine.”

“I’ve worked to control and manage a lot of things. Nightmares are one thing I don’t have much control over. My therapist says it’s just my mind’s way of dealing with everything.”

“Most people would say it’s pretty remarkable how far you’ve come. I bet your nightmares will fade with time.”

“I think so too. In the meantime, it’s good to be reminded of how far I’ve come.” He stared at me a moment, his gaze intense. “How about you, Gabby?”

I had a feeling he would turn this talk into one about us. I couldn’t let that happen.

Thankfully, just then, the waitress brought our food—flounder for me and crab cakes for Riley. As the savory aromas wafted upward, I thought maybe I could eat something.

And this would be the perfect time to talk more about the case. To talk about anything but us.

CHAPTER 27

“So,
Jill Wagnor is off my suspect list now,” I told Riley as we drove back to the marriage retreat on Friday.

I’d had a training session in Maryland on Thursday, so I’d swung past the Wagnor home. To my surprise, Jill had been home and seemed more than willing to talk. She’d informed me that she knew her husband wasn’t faithful, but neither was she. They had an open relationship. Then she gave me the number of the man she’d been with the weekend Ginger had been pushed from the cliff.

I felt pretty confident she was innocent.

“Good detective work,” Riley said.

Riley seemed to finally understand my perspective. That was something that had never happened before. Last year at this time, he always discouraged me about handling things on my own. Finally, he was seeing my point of view.

“While I was up that way, I also stopped by the newspaper office and asked to speak with Rae Gray,” I continued.

“Smart thinking. And?”

“She wasn’t in the office, and they’re not sure when she’ll be back. I left a message with the receptionist for her.”

“I did some of my own research,” Riley said.

“Did you?” He’d never sounded more appealing. For real.

“I did. You’ll never believe what I found out. Ginger is a . . . um, for lack of a better word, a professional.”

“A professional what? Home wrecker?” Wasn’t I clever? I wanted to chuckle at my brilliance.

“Escort.”

“What?” I nearly screeched. My snarky comment had been a little too close to the truth. “Now this really isn’t making sense. Why would Jim bring a prostitute with him to the retreat center?”

“That’s an excellent question. We might have to ask him that ourselves at some point. When we’re willing to risk our cover.”

This was going to take a while to process. “How in the world did you discover that?”

“I was talking to one of my father’s friends who’s made a fortune in real estate. I happened to mention Jim Wagnor. This man, my father’s friend, has always had rather loose lips, so he willingly offered up the information that Jim was known for his, shall we say, liaisons.”

“Tell me again what he told you.” I just couldn’t comprehend that information.

“Rumor has it that Jim Wagnor likes to pay for his companions. When I heard that, I started doing some research online. I found Ginger’s picture on a popular website for escorts in the DC area. She goes by the name of Star Matthews.”

“You can’t make these things up, can you?” I shook my head. “What do we do with that information?”

“Maybe confront Jim? We just have to be careful because we don’t want to blow our covers.”

“Let’s think about it, and between the two of us maybe we’ll come up with something.”

I picked up Dr. Turner’s book, which was nestled between our seats. The man had called Riley last night to make sure we planned on coming back. Apparently, the other couples were also feeling skittish about returning after the two tragedies that had occurred there. He assured us our safety was of the utmost importance and he was stepping up security on the island.

“You been reading this?” I asked.

Riley shrugged. “I’ve skimmed it. I thought I should at least do that in case it comes up during one of the sessions, you know?”

“Is it any good?”

“A lot of it is generic marriage advice. There are some good reminders, but nothing life-changing, I’d say. He emphasizes the importance of being committed and faithful and weathering the storms of life together.”

“Sounds good enough.”

“Yeah, I think Dr. Turner is a decent therapist. Why he leased this property and set up the therapy the way he did perplexes me. If these incidents continue, certainly he’s going to have to shut down.”

I stopped on one page and read some endorsements.
Dr. Turner revitalized our marriage—Sheila W. from Delaware. He raised a dead marriage back to life—Mark from Virginia. He changed my life—Tina from Pennsylvania.
“It looks like a lot of couples have been helped.”

“There are some great testimonials in there. That’s for sure. You can borrow it, if you’d like.”

“I would like to take a look at it.”

He put his hand across the back of the seat. It was a matter of convenience, I told myself. Not affection. So why were happy tingles dancing all over my skin?

“Are you ready for this weekend?” he asked.

“I’m not sure if we’ll find any answers, especially if Jim isn’t there. But I want to keep my eyes wide open. Because you never know what you might discover.”

CHAPTER 28

After
Riley and I each got settled on the island for the evening, I found Riley down in the lounge area. I nodded, trying to get him to come closer to me and away from the crowd.

“What it is it?” he asked.

My skin came alive at his nearness—which was the last thing I wanted. I forced myself to remain where I was and not to take a step back. But my throat ached as I replied. “I need you to be my wing man.”

“You’re going to hit on someone here?”

“What?” I questioned. “No, I just wanted to use a bird reference.”

He smiled. “Should have known. What do you need?”

“I’m going to sneak into Steve’s room while he’s cooking dinner.”

“What? Why would you do that?”

“Because as I was unpacking my things I started thinking about my mom’s necklace again. I want it back, and he’s my best suspect here.”

“How would he get into your room?”

“He works here. I’m sure he could get his hands on the master key.” I smiled sweetly as Blaine walked past. As soon as she was several feet away, I dropped the smile and turned back to Riley. “I want to do this. You don’t have to help if you don’t want to.”

Riley stared at me a moment, his blue eyes intense. “I’ve got your back.”

His words made my heart flutter. He was with me. We were in this together. That was a good feeling. A really good feeling.

We casually crept back upstairs. “How do you know where his room is?” Riley whispered.

“I saw him go in and out last week. I can only assume it was his room.”

“What if it’s locked?”

I pulled out a few tools. “Then I’ll pick it.”

“When did you learn to do that?”

“I’ve got skills. Didn’t you know that?”

“You never cease to amaze me, Gabby.”

I wondered what he’d think if he knew about my gun. I wouldn’t mention that now. I’d brought it with me this weekend, and I’d tucked it between my mattress and box spring. There was too much weird stuff going on here. I had to take every precaution possible.

We paused outside Steve’s door. Riley leaned against the wall to block anyone coming down the hallway. I turned the handle. Of course, it was locked. It would have been too easy otherwise.

Quickly, I pulled out my lock-picking kit. It was a hobby I’d picked up at my training with Grayson Technologies. One of the other trainees had done it in a past life, as he’d said, and he’d taught me in the evenings after official training was over. The skill would prove to be quite useful, it seemed.

It only took me a few tries before the lock mechanisms clicked. The lock released, and I opened the door.

Riley grabbed my arm before I slipped inside. “What do I do if someone comes?”

“Tie your shoe.”

“And if it’s Steve?”

“Feign a stomachache.” Yeah, I’d come up with that off the top of my head. Maybe it wasn’t the best idea. I mostly hoped Steve wouldn’t come this way.

Moving quickly, I stepped into the room. After a moment of hesitation, I flipped on the light. A room that looked much like mine came into view.

I glanced around. Where did I even start?

If I were a thief, I supposed I’d stash my loot in the dresser. I pulled the first drawer open. Socks and underwear stared back.

I continued moving down the drawers, finding an assortment of clothes and toiletries, but no pearl necklace or letter from Anna.

Where else could he have put it?

There was a gold box on a bookshelf. Out of curiosity, I opened it. Inside there were . . . pictures?

I studied the photos a moment. They were all taken here on the island. Everyone attending the retreat center was featured in candid shots. Some were on the beach. Others were of us eating. There were even some of Brad and Anna.

Strange. Why would he take these? Why would he hide them? Did he go back to the mainland during the week to have these printed?

I glanced around the room. I certainly didn’t see any computers or printers.

This was weird. Too weird.

Just then I heard a sound outside the door. Voices drifted from the area. Riley. Talking. Tying his shoe maybe?

I quickly flipped off the light and ducked into the closet. I held my breath and waited. Excuses for me being here rushed through my head. None of them sounded legitimate, except maybe that I’d been sleepwalking. But it was the middle of the day, so that didn’t sound quite believable either.

My throat tightened as I waited. And waited. He was having a full-fledged conversation out there.

Finally, the voices faded.

I counted to ten before creeping from the closet and cracking the door open. Riley stood there alone.

“Coast clear?”

He nodded. “Just barely. Dr. Turner just happened to come past, but I followed your advice. I pulled out my cell phone and pretended to be looking for a signal.”

“Better than my bathroom idea,” I conceded as I stepped out.

I told him what I’d discovered. It appeared everyone on this island had some kind of secret. Whose secret included murder?

***

No one looked at ease when we gathered for dinner. Everyone seemed shifty, from the way they fidgeted to how their eyes darted around. Apparently, Dr. Turner had called each couple and convinced them to come back this weekend. Everyone was nervous, I realized, and I could understand why.

As we all sat down for some roast beef and mashed potatoes, Dr. Turner got our attention. He looked grim and not like his sunny, smiling self as he stood at the front of the room.

“Thank you all for coming this weekend. Rather than ignore everything that’s happened here on the island, I wanted to take a moment and acknowledge the past.” He rubbed his hands together as his gaze traveled to each person in the room. “Let’s be honest. We’ve seen some hard times here.”

“That’s an understatement,” Angelina muttered under her breath.

“I want you all to know that hard times can make us stronger,” Dr. Turner continued. “It can make our marriages stronger. That said, I thought you might want an update on things. Anna Thorn’s death has been ruled a suicide. The police have closed the case, and Anna has been buried. May her soul rest in peace. Anna was very troubled, and she came here with a lot of problems. What happened was tragic.”

“What about Ginger?” Farrah said. “What’s the update on her?”

Dr. Turner nodded slowly and frowned. “Again, it’s very unfortunate, but it appears she was taking a walk late at night. She was upset. And she walked off a cliff as a result. She remains in a coma. Our prayers are with her and Jim. This is why we ask residents not to venture outside at night. It’s very dark here, and the terrain can be treacherous.”

Interesting that he hadn’t mentioned anything about foul play. Had the police not mentioned that I might have seen someone out there with her? Or was Dr. Turner just trying to make sure everyone remained calm? Was he more interested in his bottom line? I had no idea.

“What about the skeleton?” I asked, curious about that hand I’d seen reaching up from a sandy grave.

“Very interesting that you asked that.” Dr. Turner smoothed his cardigan and seemed to relax slightly. “The body has been turned over to the state. The medical examiner believes the person found here on the island died more than one hundred years ago. Who knows what kind of history surrounds this person? She was a female. There’s been some speculation that maybe she was associated with this lodge. Maybe we’ll never know.”

“I know what happened,” Angelina said.

Everyone’s gaze swiveled toward her as we waited for her deduction. She seemed to love the limelight because she raised her chin, a new sparkle in her eyes. “This island is cursed. That’s why all these bad things are happening here. That’s the only explanation that makes any sense to me.”

“Now, Angelina, we really don’t believe in curses.” Dr. Turner offered what appeared to be a tight smile.

“I heard what used to happen to the people who came here to vacation. They died also.”

“Many of them drank too much and fell to their deaths. From what I understand, there was a mysterious poisoning incident as well. But what really closed this place down was the stock market crash. Everyone lost their money.”

I shivered as I heard that story. Creepy.

Definitely creepy.

I didn’t believe in curses either. But if I stayed here much longer, I might start.