Tidewater Inn (34 page)

He'd been trying not to think about her. “It's a puzzle. She was as well liked as your father. He was devastated when she died. Walked the beach for weeks hoping to find her.”

“If we figure out who killed her, it may lead us to who kidnapped Nicole. I think it's very possible she found Tina's remains.”

“I agree. The first thing we might do is talk to Pearl. She knows more about the town than anyone. And she knew Tina better than anyone else except Brent and Vanessa. I suppose we'd better tell them too.”

“It's going to be a hard day for Vanessa. First she finds out how our father lied to her, then she discovers the woman she thought was her mother was murdered.”

“You sound sympathetic.”

“Of course I am. She's my sister. I'm going to work hard to build a relationship with her.”

Pearl stood in the doorway with a tray in her hands. “Anyone want coffee and cookies?”

Her eyes were bright and curious. She was probably dying to know what was going on. “I'll take some,” Alec said. “We need to talk to you anyway.”

Pearl set the tray on the table. “Libby, I hope you accepted his apology.”

“I did,” Libby said.

He should have known that Pearl would sniff out any news. “Did Libby tell you we found Tina's remains?”

Pearl's smile vanished. “Tina Mitchell?”

Alec nodded. “There's a cellar at the lighthouse ruins. The storm surge revealed it. She was there.” He explained how they'd found the cellar and the other entrance.

Pearl was pale. “So you're thinking Nicole was killed because she found Tina?”

Libby nodded. “Alec says you knew her better than anyone, except maybe the kids. Did she have any enemies? Did she seem worried in the weeks before she died?”

The chair groaned when Pearl settled into it. She frowned as she took a sip of her beverage, which was more cream than coffee. “I told Tom that something was wrong back when she came up missing. He dismissed me. So I was right.”

Alec frowned. “What do you mean? What did you see?”

“She was withdrawn, sad. I thought maybe she was suffering from depression and spoke to Ray about it.”

“Had he noticed?” Alec asked.

Pearl shook her head. “He'd been gone on a trip. I called him while he was in California. He said she'd been quiet on the phone, but he assumed it was because she was tired from taking care of things while he was gone. He promised to talk to her about it when he got home. He arrived on an afternoon. She went missing that evening.”

“So he didn't talk to her about it?”

“I didn't want to bring it up. I was afraid she . . .”

“Drowned herself?” Libby asked. She clasped her arms around herself as if she were cold.

Pearl shivered. “Exactly. I didn't want Ray to blame himself if that's what happened.”

Alec tried to remember that time when they were all searching for Tina. “Did you see her with anyone during that time?”

Pearl looked away. “Some rich investor from New York named Lawrence Rooney. He'd come to see Ray but spoke to Tina. He hung around a few days.” Her tone was careful.

“What did he want?” Libby asked.

Pearl pressed her lips together. “Tina never said.”

“And that upset you because she usually told you everything?” Libby guessed.

“I didn't want to think she would be interested in another man.” Her chin jutted. “I still don't think Tina was interested in him.”

“Maybe I'll see what I can find out about the guy. There might be a link.” This long after Tina disappeared, he feared there would be little evidence left. “Maybe.”

Pearl rose. “You realize we need to tell Brent and Vanessa?”

“I know,” Libby said.

Pearl sighed. “What a terrible day. I'll send them down to speak with you.” She hurried away as if she couldn't wait to leave them behind.

Alec's gut tightened. From Libby's tight expression, he knew she was dreading it too.

T
HIRTY
-F
IVE

V
anessa's eyes were red as though she'd been crying. “What's going on?” she asked when she came into the greenhouse, glancing at Alec, then over to Libby.

Vanessa was wearing her father's necklace. Libby hoped it would help her sister through this. “Have a seat.”

Brent slouched in with his hands in his pockets. He sank into a white wicker chair by a large geranium. “More drama?” he asked in a bored tone.

Libby pressed her lips together. “There's something you need to know, and we didn't want you to hear this from anyone else. And your perspectives may help Tom's investigation as well.”

Vanessa straightened where she sat on the wicker sofa. “What's wrong? You're all so serious.”

“There's news about Tina, Vanessa,” Libby said.

Vanessa frowned and glanced at her brother. “I don't understand. She's been gone for three years. Why are we talking about her now?”

Libby wished she didn't have to tell them. “Yes, yes, I know. But her remains were found today.”

Vanessa's eyes grew wide. Brent inhaled sharply. Libby tried to put herself in her siblings' shoes. No matter how much they distrusted her, they were bound by blood. She needed to help them through this if she could. They were all grieving something.

“Where was she found?” Brent asked.

Libby reached toward him, then dropped her hand. “Out at the lighthouse ruins. In the cellar.”

Brent frowned. “There's no cellar.”

“It's been hidden all this time. The storm surge knocked debris out of the way. But there's another way in.” Libby glanced at Alec. “Would you explain, Alec?”

Vanessa and Brent listened in silence. Their expressions changed to incredulity, then to shock as they realized their mother had been murdered.

“But maybe she just found that cave,” Brent said.

Vanessa shook her head. “The boat, Brent. The boat had to have been deliberately scuttled. Otherwise, it would have been found nearby on the shore. Even if she pulled it ashore and then found the cave and the tide dragged it back to sea, it would have been found closer to the ruins. Not where it was.”

Tears slid down her cheeks, and she kept her head down. Libby wished she knew the best way to comfort her.

“Exactly,” Alec said. “We also have to wonder about Nicole now.”

If only Libby had had more time to talk to Nicole that day. So many regrets. “Nicole loved caves. The last time I talked to her, she said she'd found a new cave with something exciting in it. Before she could tell me what that was, the men appeared.”

“Did you happen to hear Mr. Rooney talking to your mother?” Alec asked.

“Mr. Rooney? You mean that investor guy?” Vanessa asked. “He took us to dinner in Duck one night. You should have seen his yacht!”

“He was trying to impress Mom,” Brent said. “Kept telling her that she and Dad could travel the world, have a house wherever they wanted.”

“You didn't like him?” Libby asked.

He shrugged. “Not so much. Mom didn't either. When he tried to pressure her to talk to Dad, she told him to take her home.”

“Why did she agree to go to dinner in the first place?” Alec asked.

“You know how Mom was. She didn't like to hurt anyone's feelings. And he'd come all that way to talk to Dad.”

“Why didn't he call first and make sure D-Dad was home?” It still felt strange to say
Dad
.

“He did,” Vanessa said, her tone implying that she didn't appreciate any criticism of her father. “But Daddy got called out at the last minute. One of his businesses in California burned, and he went to make sure the employees were taken care of.”

“So your mother tried to placate the guy by talking to him herself.” Alec put his hands in his pockets and paced. “Did you hear what he wanted?”

Brent shrugged. “What they always want. This strip of land on the ocean. I think this is the guy that Poe represents. He offered ten mil.”

Libby bit her lip to keep from telling him the offer had gone up.

“Did your mother seem tempted?” Alec asked.

Vanessa shook her head. “Mom never wanted to leave the island. She didn't care about yachts and travel. It was all Daddy could do to get her to go to Virginia Beach from time to time.”

“She was a homebody,” Brent agreed.

“And it's not like Daddy was hurting for money,” Vanessa added. “He gave her anything she wanted.”

“Did they know the state was talking about putting in a ferry system?” Libby asked.

“Oh yes,” Vanessa said. “Daddy made several trips to try to talk down the proposal. He was determined not to let them ruin our island.”

“How did you feel about that?” Libby asked, glancing at Brent so he would know she wanted to know what he thought as well.

Brent shrugged. “Dad didn't care much for progress, but lots of younger men like me would like to see more jobs. Even tourism would pay a steadier wage than fishing does at times. And what is there here except fishing?”

“Is that why you were going to sell this place?”

“Maybe. If I could have sold it and started a shipbuilding business here, it would have brought in jobs.” His grin was cold. “And it was a lot of money.”

Just when she thought she could warm up to the guy, he turned everything around again. Libby had no idea how to read Brent.

“Come along, Poe,” Lawrence said. He glanced at his daughter. That color dress made Katelyn's skin look like a pumpkin. An unfortunate following after fashion.

Poe rose from the Rooneys' dinner table. “I'll join you in the game room in a few minutes,” he said to Katelyn. “All right?”

“I'll be waiting.” Her flirtatious glance lingered on him.

Lawrence led the boy to his office. Closing the door behind him, he approached the desk. “I can tell something is on your mind. Has something gone wrong?”

Poe sat in the chair across from the desk. “There's a rumor that Nicole Ingram is dead.”

“What? Did you do something to her?”

Poe shook his head. “It wasn't me. Her shoes and cover-up were found, and the authorities are presuming her dead.”

“That's not catastrophic, then. They can't blame us for something we didn't do.” He eyed Poe. “We didn't have anything to do with this, correct?”

Poe shook his head. “Libby doesn't believe it. She's tenacious. She's got a search-and-rescue dog team there.”

Lawrence dismissed the concern with a wave of his hand. “The dog can't tie us to something we didn't do.”

“True enough.” Poe inhaled and leaned forward. “That's not all though. The cellar has been found. And Tina's remains.”

Lawrence bolted out of his chair. “You said no one would ever find her. We should have dumped her body in the ocean.” His scowl darkened. “This is your fault.”

Poe spread out his hands. “I agree I should have just hauled her body from the cellar when I found it there. But at the time, I was afraid the discovery of her body would heat up the investigation and derail our plan. If they thought she drowned, the hunt would die down. And that's what happened.”

“Is there anything you aren't telling me? You didn't kill her, did you?”

“Absolutely not. She must have fallen and hit her head. She was dead when I found her.”

“You'd better not be lying.”

Poe held his gaze. “I'm telling you the truth. If you have doubts about me, now is the time to say so.”

Lawrence looked away and shook his head. He didn't want to alienate Poe when things were going so well with Katelyn. “The problem now is what do we do? Investigators will be poring over that cellar.”