Final Settlement (7 page)

She gave the older woman a quick hug. “I’m afraid I need to go, but I thank you for your time, and for the wonderful Blue Eyes tea.”

“Anytime, anytime,” Alison said, as Darby pulled on her boots. At the door, Darby paused.

“Alison, how long were you on the phone with the telemarketer?”

“A couple of minutes. And then I went to the powder room, so that was a few minutes more.”

Darby thanked her and headed into the chill of the night.

_____

Donny Pease pulled his truck up before a white house. His companion peered into the darkness at the lonely looking modular on the sparse wooded lot.

“Home sweet home,” she sang. She pulled her gaze from the house to his face. “Well? I need some help getting out of here, you know?”

Donny hustled out of the truck and around to aid Bitsy Carmichael in her leap to the ground. He slammed the door behind her and heard her little huff of disapproval.

“My bags?”

Donny nearly rolled his eyes as he grabbed the two suitcases and plunked them on the frozen ground. “There you are.” He’d be damned if he was going to take them to the house.

“Well, c’mon then, let’s go say hi.” She began strutting to the front door, the white fur receding into the darkness like a giant snowshoe hare seeking shelter.

Donny exhaled and lifted the bags. He was a doormat, that’s what he was, not just for Tina but for this platinum blonde as well. He was fuming as he plunked the bags on the granite front step, nearly forgetting where he was or who was about to answer Bitsy Carmichael’s determined knock.

The door opened with a forceful whoosh. Donny Pease wanted to shrink into the frozen earth. He tried to keep his eyes cast downward, but could not resist looking up at the sound of Bitsy’s singsong-y voice.

“Hello, Chuckie.” She tilted her head to the side in a way that was probably supposed to be cute. “I’m home, honey.”

Donny looked at the guy. He stood frozen in the doorway, his mouth wearing a round O of surprise, his eyes wide unblinking circles of disbelief. A textbook example of a man shocked to his very core.

Charles Dupont, Hurricane Harbor’s Chief of Police, wavered on his thickset legs, looking for all the world as if he were seeing a blonde ghost.

_____

Tina Ames was waiting for Darby in the farmhouse’s driveway. She popped out of her SUV holding a brown paper bag and was at Darby’s car door before she could take off her seat belt.

“I’ve been waiting on you to get home!” Her face was flushed with excitement. “You will never guess what happened to Donny today.”

“Not another dead body.” Despite herself, Darby heard the note of alarm in her voice.

“Nah. More like someone returned from the grave.”

“Who?” Darby stopped and turned to look at her friend.

“Chief Dupont’s wife, the one who ran off to Vegas. Donny saw her walking up the hill toward the Inn and he offered to give her a ride. He had no idea she was Bitsy Carmichael.”

“Carmichael—I think I remember that name.” She opened the door and they entered the kitchen, removing their boots and heavy coats.

Tina nodded. “Whole bunch of girls, all of them wild, and Bitsy was the youngest and craziest. Charles Dupont fell for her and hard. They got married and she lasted a few years, then she up and took off. That must have been fourteen, fifteen years ago.”

“Did they have kids?” Darby put on the kettle for tea, but Tina jerked her head toward a bottle of wine that had mysteriously appeared on the counter. She opened a drawer and pulled out an opener.

“Chief Dupont had two kids when he married Bitsy, so I guess she was their stepmom. Their real mom—his first wife—died when the kids were in middle school. Don’t you remember? They’re probably about your age.”

“I don’t remember any Dupont kids.” She watched Tina pour the wine. “What’s made Bitsy come back here, after all these years?”

“What makes anyone come back to Hurricane Harbor?” Tina gave a sly look. “Real estate.” She picked up the two glasses. “Let’s sit in your parlor.”

Darby smiled. Her friend was obviously looking to share some gossip, and although it wasn’t Darby’s favorite pastime, she followed Tina into the living room obediently.

“So this Bitsy comes back after all this time because the Chief is going to list his house?” Darby stirred the glowing embers in the fireplace and added a few slender logs. She took a seat on the faded loveseat, wondering if she’d need to replace it—or at least recover it—for summer renters.

“How did you know the Chief was selling?” Tina’s question was sharp.

“Tina, relax. We’re on the same team, remember? The Chief told me this morning and I dropped off those papers to you. Geez!”

“Sorry.” Tina’s voice was contrite. “Anyway, yeah, I suppose that’s right. Donny said she referred to the house as “home” and said she brought these two enormous suitcases because she planned to stay.” Tina grinned. “I only wish I had seen the look on Charles Dupont’s face. Donny said he was absolutely flummoxed.”

“Now there’s a word you don’t hear every day.”

“It means confused, bewildered, surprised, and you gotta imagine the Chief was all of those things.” She tucked her legs under her, reminding Darby of a tall stork trying to get comfy. “Poor guy. First Lorraine Delvecchio and now this. He’s had enough for two days, maybe a whole week, that’s for sure. Anyway, here’s to us.” She raised her glass and grinned.

Darby followed suit and then took a sip of the wine, a smoky Merlot that was perfect with the cold weather. “Surely Bitsy Carmichael can’t think she has any claim to the house. After all, she and the Chief divorced years ago.”

Tina shook her head. “That’s just it. They didn’t divorce. When I looked up the deed to the property, I saw her name right there with his. Anita Betsy Carmichael Dupont.”

“Say that three times fast.”

“No kidding. She’s ABCD, the whole friggin alphabet.”

Darby chuckled and then turned thoughtful. “Her reappearance certainly complicates things for the Chief. I wonder how they’ll resolve it?”

Tina took another long drink, drained her glass, and poured another. “I don’t know, but he’d better not bring her to the wedding.” Her tone was ominous. “Owning property sure can muddy the waters.” She thought a moment, and then her face brightened. “Speaking of owning property, did I tell you I got an offer on my house?”

“That’s great news.” Darby knew that Tina was planning to move into Donny’s old farmhouse right after the wedding. “Are you happy with the price?”

Tina scrunched up her nose. “I’d like more money, of course—who wouldn’t? But it’s a nice young couple with an adorable baby.” She took another sip of wine. “Final settlement is on the last day of the month.”

“Congrats.”

They sipped in silence for a moment. Darby put down her own goblet and regarded her friend. “Tina, do you know a woman named Alison Dyer? She lives over by the Breakwater.”

Tina shrugged. “Yes, I’ve met her once or twice. She gives talks about birds at the library.” Her eyes widened. “Why, is she looking to sell?”

Darby nearly laughed. “No, I don’t think so. I went over there to speak with her because she saw something strange.” She paused. “On the Breakwater.” Quickly she recounted Alison’s description of the ski-mask-wearing walker.

“Crap!” said Tina. She leaned forward, placing her red-painted fingernails against her temples. “Darby—that means Lorraine may have been murdered! Shoved by someone with a ski mask off that Breakwater, and then fished out by poor Donny and that crazy Carlene.” She shuddered, thought a moment, and then shook her head several times. “Nah, that can’t be right. Who in the world would want to hurt Lorraine? She was one of those mousy, harmless people. You know, the kind who never say a peep.” Tina grinned. “Not like yours truly, who likes to shoot her mouth off right and left.”

Darby took another sip of the wine, thinking about Tina’s comment. By all accounts, Lorraine Delvecchio had been a loyal employee, leading an uneventful life. Those who’d known Lorraine described her as shy and retiring.

She shifted on the loveseat, feeling an uneasy twinge of insight. Sometimes the quietest people, the ones who seemed to stay safely in the shadows, were the ones who could be the most dangerous.

_____

Once Tina had finished her second glass of wine, pulled on her boots, and headed back into the cold, Darby fixed herself a simple salad and prepared to call Chief Dupont. She wasn’t sure whether he’d want to talk, given his errant wife’s sudden arrival, but she felt she owed it to him to relay Alison Dyer’s information. Now, finished with her dinner and wearing comfortable clothes, Darby stoked the fire and settled into the old loveseat to call the Chief.

“Hello?” A high-pitched voice answered and Darby was temporarily speechless. “I’m looking for Chief Dupont,” she explained.

“Chuck-ee! Phone call for you!” Darby heard low murmuring and then the gruff voice of Charles Dupont.

“Yeah?” He sounded exhausted, like a man who’d run about a million miles and had many more to go.

“It’s Darby. I hope I’m not calling at a bad time, but I wanted to tell you what I found out today.”

Immediately his tone changed. “No, no, you’re fine, Darby. Appreciate the call. What’s up?”

She described meeting Alison Dyer, seeing her spotting scope, and then related the amateur birder’s account of what she’d seen on the Breakwater. “Alison asked me if she should speak with the police, and I told her absolutely.”

The Chief was silent for a few moments. “Good. If she tells them what she saw, they’ll open an investigation.” She heard him blow air out through his mouth in a sigh. “This is what I suspected, but now that we have proof, I’m sick about it. Someone killed that poor girl. They waited by the lighthouse and pushed her hard. Imagine how scared she must have been, Darby. Imagine what that must have felt like …” His voice trailed off. “Okay, the thing now is to catch the creep and put him away. The guys over at Manatuck are a smart bunch—they’ll follow through. Lorraine was one of their own, after all. She hadn’t worked there long, but they’ll make the extra effort to get this case solved quickly.” He sighed again. “Thanks for the good work, Darby.”

“Sure.”

His voice lowered to a whisper. “You must have heard what’s happened here. My—er—wife is back. Bitsy.”

“I did hear about that, Chief.”

“Yeah, well I’m not sure what’s going to happen with the house now that she’s back. She, uh, well she wants to live here for some reason.” His voice was tight, strangled sounding.

“Are you okay?”

“Darby, I’m the Chief of Police of this damn island, of course I’m okay!” He made an exasperated noise. “I’m not in any
danger
, thank you very much. I’m just—well, I’m just extremely surprised. Let’s leave it at that.” He gave a grunt. “I gotta go. Thanks again for what you did today. I know that Lorraine would be very grateful.”

Darby hung up the phone. There was one thing left to do before she got some rest. She pulled on her boots and the long down coat and headed into the cold.

_____

Donny fidgeted, watching Tina as she scrutinized the photograph. He’d come to her house in a sudden burst of courage, explaining that he had something important to show her. Did he dare hope that she would even consider his idea? He waited, his eyes on her face, nails digging into his palms, hoping she would see the beauty of Beach Lady as he did.

Finally she put down the image and shook her red curls. “It’s a cute little cabana, but I don’t see how we can do it, Donny. Not this year.”

Donny felt something dropping inside him. “Why not?” he mumbled. “I’ve got money saved. Let me spend it on a vacation for us. It will be like a long honeymoon.”

“Donny, did you forget that I just got my real estate license? I’m building my client base, is what I’m doing, and I can hardly afford to go anywhere now. Why, I can’t leave town for a week, much less a month! March could end up to be a super busy time for me—the spring market and all. I’m sorry, but we can’t do it.”

He tried to keep his hands from shaking. “What happened to what you told me when we got engaged, Tina? That you were ready to have some adventures?” His face colored and his voice dropped to a whisper. “Adventures with me?”

“That was before I became an agent, Donny!”

“Why does that have to change things?”

“Now I’m busy. I’m making money—real money—for the first time in my life. I have a career, an office, a whole new life.” Her lips were set in a thin red line, her brilliant blue eyes blazing.

Donny rose slowly to his feet. He reached for the photograph of Beach Lady and tucked it carefully under his arm. His legs felt like they were weighted with heavy chains. Making them move was going to be difficult.

“You have a whole new life,” he said, his voice stony. “And a whole new way of looking at things, too. Since you got your real estate
license, all you ever talk about are your deals. Well, I tell you what. You can make a deal to get married to some other fellow, ’cause I’ve changed my mind.” He grabbed his coat and stalked out the door, leaving Tina frowning behind him.

_____