Neptune's Ring (32 page)

Today, Celeste packed a picnic basket for us
to take to the garden. I took this as an effort on her part to
spend a romantic afternoon together as she tended her garden. When
we arrived at the clearing, we spread a small blanket and ate the
meal she had prepared for us. I sat in the shade drinking wine as I
watched her in the beautiful sunlight and my desire grew for her
with each sip of wine. I called to her and she took a break from
her garden to share a glass of wine with me on the blanket. When
she had finished, I took the glass from her hand and set them
aside. I leaned into Celeste and kissed her deeply, tasting the
sweetness of the wine on her lips. She put her hands on my chest to
push me away which further heightened my arousal and I easily
overpowered the young woman. I pinned her body to the ground with
mine and continued to kiss her passionately as she struggled
beneath me.

I held her small hands in one of mine as my
other hand removed her soft panties and lifted her dress above her
waist. My desire had grown uncontrollable as I took her, forcing my
way into her unspoiled body as my hand covered her mouth to conceal
her screams. My mind went blank, filled by blind lust as I took my
pleasure from her body.

I do not remember when she stopped struggling
beneath my body and when I looked up into her face I found that I
had suffocated her during my passion. My body shook with the horror
of what I had done as I pulled away, repulsed by my own actions. I
stared down at the beautiful Celeste and wept realizing I had taken
her beauty from her and she would no longer fill my days with
endless pleasure.

My face was buried in my hands when the
realization of my actions struck home. I must act and quickly to
conceal this crime. There was no way to explain her death as an
accident without revealing that I had taken her against her
will.

I rushed back to the house and returned to
the garden with a shovel to dig a grave for Celeste. I chose a spot
still in view of her beloved garden, but one that could easily be
concealed from detection. I dug, careful not to expose more of the
ground than I would need to conceal my shameful crime. When I had
dug deeply enough, I returned to Celeste’s body which had already
started to feel cold and wrapped her in the blanket we had used for
the picnic and carried her to her lonely grave. My tears began
again as I started to cover her body with the loose soil. I could
not believe what I had done to this poor young woman.

I concealed her grave with rocks and leaves,
collected from the grove and was satisfied that her body would be
hidden forever. As I finished, a light rain began to fall like tear
drops from heaven. The soft rain would help to blend her grave back
into its natural environment and my confidence grew as I walked
back to the house.

I drank myself into oblivion that night,
trying to drown my shame and sorrow. I visited her grave over the
next few days and was content that someone would have to know the
exact location to discover her remains and I would never reveal her
whereabouts to anyone.

It was three days later when the authorities
came to island in search of Celeste. While they interviewed me,
several others searched the island for any signs of Celeste and
came up empty handed. I was successful in convincing them that
Celeste had left the island and that I had not seen her since her
departure. The detective had no further evidence to prove otherwise
and left the island with his men, no wiser than when he
arrived.

Van Buren’s entries ended there and Levi
assumed he had left the island shortly after being questioned by
the authorities. His murder had occurred before he could return to
the island so the evidence of the crime lay hidden until Celeste
had shown her the way to find it.

The word “Nite” Celeste had written was still
a mystery to Levi. Her other words had all come to fruition in the
mystery, so she was baffled by night. The crime did not occur
during the night, so she would have to concentrate more to figure
out the role of “Nite” in solving this mystery.

“Celeste, can you help me understand how the
word “Nite” fits in?” Levi asked.

The room remained silent and there were no
signs of movement. Levi checked the computer to ensure the word
processor was still open and would have to wait for Celeste to
communicate.

She drank the rest of her coffee and showered
before leaving the house. Levi walked behind the house and into the
garden. She stared across the clearing as her eyes searched for a
spot that would prove to be Celeste’s grave, but Van Buren was
correct, his efforts to conceal her body were perfect and the
passing years had made her task even more difficult.

Levi drove down to the resort and quickly
busied her mind reviewing the progress of the previous day’s work.
Carlos met up with her and handed her a cup of coffee.

“I received a call from the shipping company
and the first load of furniture should be arriving tomorrow,” he
said.

“That is much earlier than planned,” Levi
said. “Will it present any problems?”

“No, we have plenty of room in the night club
to store the cartons,” he assured her. “Nat tells me that you, she
and Cass will be completing the assembly,” Carlos said with a
grin.

“Yes, that is correct,” Levi said. “Nat
decided that we should be able to complete the assembly and not
cause you to pull any of your men from their duties.”

“Very well, but if you feel you need
assistance, please just let me know. I can even hire an extra
laborer for a day or two if needed,” he offered.

“We may have to consider that, once Nat sees
the amount of furniture we have to assemble,” Levi said with a
chuckle. “Do you know she and Vanessa are coming over this
Friday?”

“She told me that last night when she called.
What do you think about asking Julio to make a delivery early so we
can have a few of the rooms as close to finished as possible?” he
asked.

“I think that would be an excellent idea,”
Levi said.

“I will give him a call then and make the
arrangements,” Carlos said.

“Very good,” Levi said. “I plan to do a walk
through and will go back up to the house to make a progress report
to Nat. Are there any items that you need our assistance with?” she
asked.

“None that I can think of, everything is on
or ahead of schedule,” he said with a smile.

“Excellent news,” Levi said. “I want to
suggest we do a pre-grand opening cookout for all your crew and
their families,” she said. “Will your men participate?”

“I can guarantee we will have total
participation, but I insist on helping out with the event,” Carlos
said.

“I think between you and me, we can come up
with a plan,” Levi said with a wink. “Call me if you need
anything.”

“See you later, Levi.”

Levi walked back to the mostly completed room
that she had looked at yesterday and was still amazed by how well
it had come out. Once the beds Julio had finished were delivered
and set up it would look even more like a resort room, she
thought.

If indeed the other furnishings were
delivered tomorrow, Levi thought she may work on assembling enough
pieces to complete a room prior to Nat and Vanessa’s visit. That
would be an incredible surprise she thought as she made plans for
their visit.

Levi looked at her watch to find that the
morning had slipped away quickly. She wanted to give Vanessa a
call, but knew that she would be busy as they prepared to leave the
port. She would wait until mid afternoon to give her a call once
they were once more on the open sea.

Levi walked through the resort to survey the
progress one more time and then left to take the cart back up to
the house. She would eat a light lunch and take a nap after calling
Nat with an update. Later she would call Vanessa and then shower
and dress for her dinner with Cat.

All signs of the red sunrise had disappeared,
replaced by blue skies filled with fluffy clouds and a soft breeze.
Levi smiled content with her life as she drove up the hill.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Levi parked the cart and hooked it into the
charger before walking into the house. She was hungry and went
directly to the kitchen to prepare a sandwich and chips. She took
those and a bottle of water over to the breakfast nook and enjoyed
a quiet meal.

After eating, Levi pulled out her cell phone
and dialed Nat.

“Hello,” she heard Nat say.

“Hi, Nat this is Levi.”

“How are you Levi?”

“I am doing well and you?”

“Fine, just fine, is everything going well
for you today?” she asked.

“Very well, I just wanted to call and give
you a quick progress report and tell you everything is right on
schedule,” she said.

“I can’t wait until Friday gets here,” Nat
said excitedly.

“Me either,” Levi said. “I am excited for you
and Vanessa to see how much the resort has changed.”

“Is there anything you need or want us to
bring?” Nat asked.

“Just yourselves as quickly as you can get
here,” Levi said. “Tell Liz and NeNe hello for me please,” she
added.

“I will,” Nat said. “Give us a call after you
have dinner with Cat, if it’s not too late when you get in.”

“I don’t plan on staying too late, so I will
talk to you later,” Levi said.

“Goodbye then,” Nat said and hung up the
phone.

Levi walked back inside and placed her dishes
in the sink. A sudden weariness came over Levi and she welcomed a
nap. She walked into the office on her way to the bedroom and was
disappointed that there was no further message from Celeste. Levi
walked into the bedroom and pulled off her shoes before collapsing
on the bed.

It took a tremendous amount of effort for
Celeste to affect any type of change in the physical world, but she
forced her spirit to go to the computer and type.
“SeeMeNiteGartin,” she typed

Levi had been clever enough to figure out the
words thus far and Celeste felt sure she would continue to follow
her cryptic clues. Celeste faded into the shadows of the master
bedroom and watched over Levi as she slept.

She slept until four and then rushed through
the shower when she realized how late it had grown. Levi dressed
quickly and called Vanessa on her way to the boat house.

“Hey, baby,” Vanessa said when she
answered.

“Hello, my love, how are things going?”

“I am doing great, we are out to sea and the
water is smooth and the skies are crystal clear,” Vanessa said.

Levi had always been amazed at how much more
calm Vanessa was when she was on the water, no matter how hectic
things were on the ship.

“Do you have a packed ship?”

“I think we have one cabin open due to a last
minute cancellation,” Vanessa said.

“Excellent,” Levi said. “I hope Susan can
handle the extra business in the club.”

“She is not you, my love, but she will do
just fine so don’t worry,” Vanessa said. “You sound like you are
moving, are you on your way to meet Cat?”

“Yes, I am on the golf cart on my way to the
boat house.”

“Have a great time with Cat and tell her
hello for me,” Vanessa said. “Call me when you get home. Levi, I
love you.”

“I love you too baby and cannot wait to see
you on Friday.”

“Call me,” Vanessa said and ended the
call.

Levi was surprised to find Cat waiting for
her arrival at the harbor. She helped secure the mooring lines and
offered Levi a hand up to the pier.

“Good evening, Cat,” Levi said. “The crew
says to tell you hello.”

“I am so glad you could make it tonight,” Cat
said. “I have been looking forward to this all day.”

They walked over to a late model Range Rover
and Cat opened the door for Levi and walked around to climb in
behind the wheel.

“I hear we are getting company on Friday,”
Cat said.

“Yes, Nat and Vanessa are flying over,” Levi
said with a broad smile.

“That is very good news,” Cat said. “Cass
will be here Sunday so you will have a world of company.”

“Where are we headed?” Levi asked as they
took the road out of town.

“About five miles out of town, there is a
small steak house that serves up one of the best steaks I have ever
eaten,” Cat said.

“I could use some red meat,” Levi said.

“Red meat you shall have then,” Cat
chuckled.

Cat was absolutely correct about the steak.
It was wonderful and she enjoyed every bite.

“How about the four of us coming out Sunday
night when Cass gets here,” Levi said.

“That would be a great idea,” Cat agreed.
“Let’s do it.”

“I am sure we won’t have any difficulty
convincing those two,” Levi said.

“I need your help with something else too,
please Cat, Levi said. “Codi has asked me to go diving with her
Friday morning and I was hoping I could bring the boat over for you
to use since I will still be diving when they arrive.”

“That shouldn’t be any problem at all. I can
come over with one of the keel boat deliveries on Thursday or you
can come over early Friday morning.”

“I think I will come over Friday and then I
can ride back to the island with Codi,” Levi said.

“We have a deal then,” Cat said. “Did you
save room for dessert?”

“Heavens no, but I would drink a cup of
coffee with you,” Levi said.

When the waitress returned to remove their
dishes, Cat ordered two cups of coffee.

After the coffee was delivered, Cat said, “I
am just dying to ask if you have uncovered anything else regarding
Celeste?”

“Yes, Cat. It is really strange, but Celeste
and I have found a way to communicate,” Levi said.

“How on earth can that be possible?” Cat
asked.

“I think it takes a great deal of effort but
Celeste can type short words on the computer,” Levi said with a
grin. “She has been leaving me hints and helping me to understand
what she needs me to do.”