Tidewater Inn (20 page)

“Everyone liked my fish,” she said, a trill in her voice.

“It was terrific.” He took her arm and moved her out of the way of men carrying chairs back to their cars. “I've tried to talk to Brent, but he's jumping from place to place like a nervous cricket.”

“Where is he now?” She glanced around. “There he is. Heading to the street. And he's alone.”

“Let's get him.” He grabbed her hand and they hurried after Brent. “Brent, wait up!”

Brent appeared not to hear, but he broke into a jog. Alec let go of Libby's hand and ran after him. He reached Brent as the younger man opened the car door. “Hang on there, Brent. We need to have a little chat.”

“I'm in a hurry,” Brent said. His gaze went past Alec to Libby, who was rushing toward them.

“This will only take a minute.”

Her cheeks pink, Libby reached them. “Glad we caught you, Brent. We heard something today and wanted to ask you about it.”

“Yes, I took Nicole parasailing, all right?” He shrugged. “It was no big deal.”

“Mindy mentioned that she'd told us?” Alec wished he'd instructed her to keep a lid on it. He would have liked to gauge Brent's reaction to their discovery.

“Yeah. So what?”

The kid was cool. Too cool. Alec couldn't put his finger on why it bothered him. “It's odd you never mentioned it. Were you afraid you'd be implicated in her disappearance?”

“No. I was out of town the day she was kidnapped. Is that all?”

“No, that's not all!” Libby put her hands on her hips. “What is
with
you, Brent? You're oh-so-smooth. Can't you just say what you think for once? Every time I talk to you, I can tell there is so much going on in your head.”

“I'm thinking of nothing but my future,” Brent said. He pushed his car door open wider.

“I get that my coming derailed some plans. It derailed my life too, but you all seem to forget that. And the other thing you ignore is that none of this is my fault! If I had lobbied for our father to leave me that property, then I could see your attitude. But I didn't.”

Brent started to get in the car, but Alec blocked him. “Why didn't you tell us you spent time with Nicole? You never answered that.”

“It didn't seem important.” For the first time, Brent looked uncertain.

“What are you hiding?” Alec stood in the way of the door shutting. “Come on, Brent. We're not letting you go until you tell us the truth. What did Nicole have to say that day?”

“We didn't spend that much time talking. We were parasailing.”

“You traveled together. Did you know who she was?”

Brent's jaw tightened. “I didn't know she was Libby's business partner, if that's what you mean. She asked me about the property, said she had someone interested in buying it. I already had their offer on the table though, so that was no big news.”

“Why do you want to sell it instead of keeping it in the family?” Libby asked. “Did you disagree with our father's goal of preserving Hope Beach's peace and quiet?”

“I want to get off this podunk island,” Brent said. “With that kind of money, I could go anywhere, do anything.”

“You have quite a large amount of money coming even without the inn,” Libby said.

“A million dollars will be gone in a heartbeat,” Brent said. “That's nothing in today's economy.”

What planet was this kid living on? Aware his jaw was hanging open, Alec shut it. “You could go to Harvard, start a business. Buy a house just about anywhere. What do you want to do that would require more than a million?”

Brent's eyes flickered. “You wouldn't understand.”

“Try me.”

“I'd like to build ships. Cruise ships.”

It was a goal Alec could admire. “So get a job doing that. You don't really know anything about building ships. Start at the bottom and work your way up. There's virtue in that. Starting a business when you're ignorant of how to go about it is sure to result in failure.”

“It doesn't matter now, does it? I'll have to make do with my paltry million. But don't worry. I'll figure out a way to accomplish my goal.” He gave Alec a cold stare. “If you'll move away, I'd like to go.”

Alec shrugged and backed off. The guy wasn't going to tell them any more. They watched him leave.

“I think there was something more between him and Nicole,” Libby said.

“Me too. Let's talk to Vanessa.”

T
WENTY

T
he TV blared in the rec room, where Brent had apparently been in a hurry to watch some kind of shoot-'em-up film starring Bruce Willis. Libby and Alec walked through the inn in search of Vanessa. When they failed to find her, Alec stopped to snag bottles of water from the kitchen. Delilah was whipping cake batter and handed over the spoon when Alec begged for it.

“Have you seen Vanessa?” Libby asked.

Delilah slid the cake pan into the oven. “She said something about going for a swim.”

“It's after dark,” Libby said. “Isn't that dangerous?”

Delilah shrugged. “She's done it for years.”

“Sharks are out now.” Libby shuddered at the thought.

“The most dangerous time is just as it's getting dark,” Alec said. “That's when they go out to feed.”

“Does she know this?” Libby asked.

“Sure. Anyone who lives here knows the danger. But Vanessa isn't one to let anything stand in the way of what she wants to do.” The spoon was licked clean and he put it in the stainless dishwasher. “How are you doing for money, Delilah? There are a lot of us to feed.”

She hesitated. “Okay.”

He pulled out his wallet. “Here's another hundred.” He pressed it into her hand.

Libby caught a glimpse of his wallet and realized he'd given her all the cash he had. It shamed her to realize she'd given nothing toward food. Yes, the place was hers, but still. Alec didn't owe them anything. No money had been requested, but he'd handed it over without being asked. More than once.

She had a hundred tucked back for emergencies. This wasn't an emergency, was it? But her fingers dived into her wallet and pulled out the folded bill tucked behind her driver's license. “Here, take this too, Delilah.” She had to force herself to release it into the other woman's hand.

When Delilah smiled, Libby felt lighter somehow. Her chest was warm. So this was how it felt to give. When was the last time she'd given so freely? Had she ever done it?

Delilah blinked rapidly and bit her lip. “Thank you, both of you. You're very generous. Some of the folks can't afford to give anything. Old Mr. Carter, for instance. All his pension money is in the groceries that have spoiled in his refrigerator. He feels terrible about it too, poor guy. And Vanessa and Brent can eat me out of house and home. Especially Brent. He expects peanut M&M'S to be in constant supply.”

“I'll tell them to kick in some money,” Libby said.

“Oh no, don't do that! They'll know I said something.”

“I'll just ask if they have,” Libby said. “I'll be very diplomatic.”

Delilah began to smile. “There's cocoa fudge in the fridge.” She pulled open the refrigerator door and pulled out the pan.

“Is this from the box of Hershey's cocoa?” Libby asked. She took a piece and bit into it. The flavor took her back to a time when she'd stand at the stove on a chair and stir the fudge while her mother gave directions. “Oh my goodness, I haven't had this kind of fudge since I was a little girl.” She licked her fingers. “I'd better leave before I eat the whole pan.”

“You could use a little fattening up,” Delilah said.

“I think she looks pretty perfect,” Alec said. His face reddened when Delilah laughed. “We could watch the movie with Brent while we wait. Maybe he'll say something more about Nicole.”

Libby started to agree, then had another thought. “Which room was my father's when he stayed here? I'd like to look through it.”

“Of course.” Delilah wiped her hands on her apron. “He had a big suite on the third floor. In fact, his room was the only finished space on that floor.” She grabbed a ring of keys hanging on a hook by the back door. “It's locked, so use the red key. It's clean. I make sure of that every week.”

Libby's pulse skittered as she took the key ring. “Where are the stairs to the third floor?”

“At the end of the hall, down past my quarters. Take your time. Vanessa won't be in for another hour.” Delilah pointed. “Use the back stairway.”

Libby led the way up to the second-floor hall, then back to the third-floor stairs. “Why would he put his suite up there?”

“I think he wanted a retreat where he could play the piano without disturbing anyone,” Alec said.

“Piano?”

“He played beautifully. There are some tapes of him playing. They must be around here somewhere.”

“I would love to hear one. All of them, actually.”

The attic stairs were steeper than the main flights. The stairwell was closed as well. Alec reached past her to flip on the light. The steps creaked as she mounted them to the landing in the attic. It had been beautifully restored to highlight the maple floors, exposed rafters, and large windows that let the starlight shine in.

“How nice,” she said, taking in the decor. The chairs went well with the camelback sofa and antique tables. “He had good taste. Chippendale chairs?”

“I think so. You would know better than I would.”

There was a flat-screen television mounted on one wall. A bookcase filled with books was on the opposite wall. There was a small kitchenette with a microwave and coffeemaker beside it.

“Looks like his bedroom was through there.” Alec pointed to a door on the other side of the cabinets. “Or do you want to look around here first?” He walked over and switched on the table lamps.

The warm glow illuminated the table. Libby frowned and went to inspect the purse. “That looks like Nicole's bag.” She picked up the Brighton bag and opened it. Nicole's favorite lipstick, Burt's Bees Fig, was in the top pocket. She pulled out the wallet and glanced at the driver's license. Nicole's face smiled back. “It
is
Nicole's! What was she doing up here?”

The contents of the purse lay strewn on the coffee table. “Nothing out of order?” Alec asked Libby. The find had shaken her. Her high spirits vanished.

She picked up a piece of paper. “What's this about? It's a note from Mindy asking her to meet Brent for parasailing. Look, Mindy was going to go with them. She didn't mention that. I think we need to ask her how many times she saw Nicole. She hasn't been up front with us.”

“I'm going to tell Tom about it too. Something isn't right about all of it. I think Mindy knows more than she's telling. Brent too.” He stretched his arm across the back of the sofa. She was sitting close to him. Was it on purpose?

“I'm so tired of trying to figure this out.”

Her hair tickled his arm. All he had to do was drop his arm around her and pull her close. What would she do if he tried it? Slap him? He felt as though he'd known her forever. They'd spent more time together in the past four days than he'd spent with the last woman he'd dated for two months. The fragrance in her hair was wonderful. Vanilla maybe? Sweet and enticing. He leaned a fraction of an inch closer and inhaled.

She must have heard him, because she turned her head and lifted a brow. “Is something wrong?”

“I was just smelling your hair,” he said, his voice soft.

She didn't slap him. In fact, she leaned a little closer. “Vanilla shampoo,” she said.

Her breath whispered across his face. With his right hand, he reached out and twisted a curl around his finger. “Nice,” he said. With the back of his hand, he caressed her jaw. His gaze was caught by the glimpse of a necklace under her collar. “Is that Ray's?”