Tidewater Inn (17 page)

What was she going to do if everyone began to look at her as a suspect? How could she clear herself?

“Libby?” Pearl stood in the doorway. A pink nightgown covered her bulk, and her hair was in a long braid. “Are you all right?” She stepped into the room. “You've been tense ever since dinner.”

“You'd be tense too if you were accused of harming Nicole.”

“What? Who accused you of such a thing?”

“Earl.”

“Oh, honey, he's just snooping for something sensational. The truth will come out. You'll see.” She beckoned for Libby to come with her. “You're tall. I need some help in my room, if you don't mind.”

Libby followed her up the stairs. Helping Pearl would give her something to focus on besides what other people thought of her. When they reached Pearl's room, she looked around. It was very different from the way it had been when Nicole's things were here. Now there were angels everywhere, spilling out of boxes, perched on the dresser top, and heaped on the bed.

She picked up one that held a child in its arms. “How many angels do you have?”

“Oh, I've lost count. Well over two hundred, I'm sure.”

“Did you bring them all?”

Pearl picked up an angel still in its box, which was lying beside the bed. “I could hardly leave them in the house, now could I?”

Libby smiled. “Of course not. Why angels?”

“I've always loved stories about angels. I'm sure I saw one once.”

Libby found she believed Pearl. “What did he look like? And how did you know?”

“I was ten.” She gestured to the window. “It was right out there in the water. I wasn't a very strong swimmer and I got a cramp in my side.”

“Oh no.”

Pearl nodded. “The surf was high and I couldn't keep my head up. I finally decided I would give up and just go to heaven. My grandpa had died two months earlier and I missed him anyway. So I quit swimming. I said, ‘I'm going to heaven now.' ”

Libby sat on the edge of the bed with the angel in her hands. “What happened?”

“I felt a hand on my arm, and the next thing I knew I was on my knees in the sand vomiting seawater. I looked around and a teenage boy was walking away. I called out to him and he turned around and smiled.” She paused and her eyes were moist. “I've never seen a smile like that before or since. He said, ‘You'll be fine now. It's not your time.' Then he turned and jogged away.”

“You'd never seen the boy?”

Pearl shook her head. “He wasn't a real boy. There was something special about him.”

Libby wanted to believe her aunt. Even more, she wished she could have an experience like that. She touched the beads at her neck. Somehow God felt more
real
here, on this island. Almost as if he could whisper in her ear at any moment.

Pearl smiled. “How'd we get on that subject? You need to get some rest and I'm blathering about something that happened fifty years ago.”

“What can I help you with?”

Pearl pointed to the closet. “The disorder is driving me crazy. It's why I'm still awake at this crazy hour. I want to put some of the boxes of angels on the closet shelf, but I'm too short. There are some boxes in there that could go to the attic. That would leave me enough room. Can you reach?”

“I think so.” Libby opened the closet door and eyed the boxes on the shelves. She stood on her tiptoes and pulled down the first box easily. “I think I need a chair for the one in the back.”

Pearl brought her the desk chair, and Libby climbed onto it. “Can you flip on the closet light? It's dark in here.” When the light came on, she peered to the back of the shelf. “What is this?” She reached in and brought out an envelope. “It's an old letter.” She climbed down from the chair and sat on the edge of the bed where the light would allow her to read.

The bed sank as Pearl settled beside her. “It looks like it's addressed to Tina.”

Libby opened it. “Did she ever stay in this room?”

Pearl shrugged. “Not that I know of.”

Libby pulled out the letter inside the envelope. The writing was in a bold hand that suggested it had been penned by a man. The style was a little hard to read. She held it under the light and read aloud.

“‘Tina, I will ruin Ray. You'll see what a huge mistake you've made.'”

Libby stared at her aunt. “Does this make any sense to you?”

Pearl gave a faint gasp. She snatched the note and crumpled it. “It's so old. I don't think we can possibly know what it means.”

When Pearl fanned herself, Libby knew her aunt was hiding something. “What do you know?”

Pearl pulled her braid over one shoulder. “Ray had some financial problems a few years back. I never heard what went wrong. He lost about half of his money.”

“He still had plenty to leave my siblings.”

“He'd already put that money for them in trust funds.”

“You suppose someone set out to harm him financially?”

“I can't imagine something so sordid.”

“What wrong choice could Tina have made?” Libby wished she'd had the chance to look at the back of the sheet. “The letter is yellowed, like it's old. How long were Dad and Tina married?”

“Twenty-five years the month before Tina died.”

“My father didn't wait long to replace my mother.”

Pearl started to speak, then closed her mouth and shook her head.

“Was anyone else interested in Tina?”

Pearl rubbed her head. “I think there might have been, but it was so long ago. I just don't remember.”

Libby sighed. It didn't matter anyway. This was old news and had nothing to do with finding Nicole.

Libby lay in the comfortable bed with her eyes open. She'd expected to sleep until at least eight, but something had awakened her. Birds sang outside her window, though the sun was not yet up. The air had the sense that sunrise was just around the corner. She rolled over and glanced at the alarm clock on the bedside table. Five thirty. The sun would be up in half an hour.

She listened again to the sleeping house. What had she heard? Or had it been a dream? She sat up. “Is someone there?”

The sound of running feet came from beyond the door. Her first inclination was to cower under the covers, but she wasn't going to give the person the satisfaction of thinking she was frightened. It was probably Vanessa. Or Brent. She forced herself out of bed and went to the door. There was a folded sheet of paper lying on the carpet. Something inside made it bulge.

Libby nudged it with her foot, and the paper opened to reveal a black blob. She leaped back until she realized it was a dead jellyfish. Why would someone leave this for her? Though she hated to get close, she lifted the paper and carried it into the attached bathroom, where she dumped the jellyfish into the trash. The paper was blank.

She balled up the paper and tossed it into the wastebasket, then pulled on shorts and a top. Whoever had left the creature couldn't make her cower in her room. The beach called, and she could watch the sun come up over the ocean.

The sky was lightening as she stepped onto the porch. A figure loomed to her left and she jumped, then realized it was Alec. “What are you doing up so early?” Mercy, he was handsome in his crisp white shirt and the khaki shorts that showed tanned, muscular legs.

He grinned. “I could ask you the same.”

She told him about the jellyfish. “I'm not going to let her scare me.”

He lifted a brow. “Her? You think it was Vanessa?”

“Probably. Does a jellyfish have any symbolism?”

He shrugged. “The obvious one is that she's calling you spineless. But that doesn't apply to you. It's clear to all of us that you've got backbone.”

She had to smile at that. “I'll admit that it scared me this morning when I found it. But if you tell anyone, I'll deny it.”

He grinned and made a zipping motion across his lips.

She pointed toward the whitecaps. “Want to take a walk?”

He pulled his hands from his pockets. “My thoughts exactly.”

They jogged down the steps and down the slope to the beach. “I found an old letter last night in the room where Aunt Pearl is staying.” She told him what the note contained.

“All that was before my time, but someone would probably know if Tina had another beau. I don't see how that matters now though,” Alec said.

“It probably doesn't. I guess I'm just interested in all the history.” She paused to peer at a black blob on the beach. “What's that?”

“A mermaid's purse,” he said, steering her around it. “Technically known as a skate's egg sack.”

She shuddered. “Looks creepy, like some kind of alien.” She fell into step beside him again. The murmur of the sea was balm on her soul, and she ran into the gentle waves as far as her knees, letting the water wash away her worries.

“You look happy,” Alec said, watching her.

She splashed him with water. “The water's warm!”

He grinned and jogged into the waves with her, then splashed her back. She licked the salt from her lips and smiled. “I'm not going to let Earl's suspicious nature rob me of my peace of mind. I know I'm innocent.”

He sobered. “That's good. Because he could do a lot of damage.”

“Maybe. But I have to believe the sheriff has enough integrity to look for the real criminals.”

“I think he does, but sometimes it's tempting to take the easy way out.”

“I'll keep pushing back until he finds the truth.” Her high spirits began to sink. Alec's sober demeanor reminded her that she still faced many problems. She didn't even want to see Earl's article.

“What are the plans for today?” she asked. “I want to get started on finding Nicole.”

“I thought we'd take the cutter out with my friends. I got permission to search for her, and I talked my boss into allowing you to be on the boat.”

“I wish we would find her today.” She stared out at the water, which shimmered with gold and orange as the sun lifted its head above the horizon.

He touched her arm. “Don't give up hope.”

“I haven't.” She rubbed her head. “What made you decide to join the Coast Guard?”

He smiled. “That's an easy answer. I'm happy when I'm on the sea. The Coast Guard rescued us when I was a kid, like I mentioned.”

She sobered. “When your brother died.”

He nodded. “Riding on that cutter back to land, I knew I wanted to snatch people from the jaws of death the way we'd been rescued. It seemed very noble.”

“And is it?”

“Sometimes. When we're successful. Sometimes we're not though. We're not always in time to save lives. Then it's hard, and I feel like a failure.”

“I don't think you could ever be a failure.” She held his gaze for just a moment, then turned back toward the house. “I think I'll fix coconut pancakes for breakfast.”

She couldn't think of a man she admired as much as she did Alec. He was quite a guy. The strain between them was gone this morning, and she prayed it meant he fully believed in her now.

S
EVENTEEN

I
t was ten by the time Alec drove Libby to town to go searching. While Libby ducked into the store to buy some sunscreen, Alec walked across the street to step into the sheriff's office. He found Tom at his desk filling in paperwork.

“Got a minute?” Alec closed the door behind him.

Tom leaned back in his chair. “You bet. What's up?”

“You heard from the state boys on the search for Nicole?”

Tom pursed his lips. “Yeah. There are two detectives coming first of the week.”

“Why so late?”

“The state is still reeling from the hurricane, I guess. And their best detective is in Saint Croix on vacation. They're sending him and his partner out when he gets back.”