Twillyweed (37 page)

But Jupiter shrugged and argued, “He didn't raise a peep to defend himself.”

Mr. Piet came out drying his hands. Paige demanded, “I don't understand what the police were doing here anyway. I'd like to know. They didn't even look like police, did they, Mr. Piet?”

Jenny Rose pushed through them from the kitchen, her arms akimbo, her face streaked with tears. “You did this!” she fumed at me unreasonably. “You just had to pin it on someone! Are you happy now?”

“Come on, girls, no sense blowing in the wind.” Jupiter herded us back into the house. He took me aside. “Oh, my God. It was so exciting. I was in the shower! Suddenly there were police everywhere! It was like on
CSI
! It was heaven!”

“Where's Wendell?”

Paige raised herself onto a bar stool, shaking her head. “He slept through the whole thing, God bless him. He's still up in bed.”

“This was all your idea!” Jenny Rose glowered at me.

“But,” I protested, “but …”

She ran into the powder room and I stood there, listening to her be sick. The foghorn from Steamboat Landing blew. That meant five minutes to go till the race.

I went outside and walked, bewildered, toward the docks. So it
was
Glinty. I ought to be pleased. I was glad. Wasn't I? Well, God help me, I was just glad it wasn't Morgan. I ought to be proud. But I remembered the way Glinty had played the violin so tenderly, and it left me with a hollow, anticlimactic feeling. I could hear the rustling of the sailboats; they were all jockeying for position at the start. I scuffled up and down the length of the crowded dock trying to catch sight of the
Corinthian
, but the gun sounded and the boats took off in a whoosh. I bent over catching my breath.

“Claire!”

I turned. Morgan. Who never raced. Our eyes locked across the span of rocking boats.

“Come for a ride?” He held out his hand.

“Oh, Morgan,” I said, jumping on board, “they've arrested Glinty!”

“Arrested for what?”

“Jenny Rose and I set a trap for the thief,” I panted. “The whole thing with the jewels last night was a setup. And Glinty went for it. I thought it would happen during the race and I wasn't there and missed the whole thing! I should be glad. But I can't—”

“Whoa! Slow down!”

“Okay. Look. Glinty tried to steal the jewels Jenny Rose had appraised last night.”

“What? That's ridiculous!”

I threw my arms in the air. “Except the jewels weren't real. They were your mother's button collection, gussied up. Well, we did put one or two good pieces in just to keep it kosher.”

He was utterly baffled. “What are you talking about?”

“It was a gag. The police were in on it. A hoax, to try and draw out the thief!”

Morgan stared at me, grasping this, then burst out laughing.

I said abruptly, “What's so funny? It worked, didn't it?”

“
Ach
. He never did mean to steal your jewels. Glinty's a far cry from a thief. I'd stake my life on it. Look, Claire, the gag is on you. Glinty wasn't up to the house to steal anything. It was me who told him to go there, to find the papers to the
For Sail
.”

“What? You're just sticking up for him.”

“No, I'm not.” He laughed hopelessly. “He was all set to take your niece away with him. Did you not know they were set to run away? He wanted to surprise her with the boat. I hate to be the one to tell you, but your niece …” His eyes softened. “She's going to have a baby. Glinty's baby. He went to get the ownership papers to the
For Sail
so he can take her out to sea. She's a fine, brisk vessel for all that. Oliver keeps the papers in his father's desk upstairs in the blue room.
Ach
, the
For Sail
is mine but, ah, well, I never had the heart to actually march upstairs and snatch the papers from the house. Everyone knows she's mine, but the Cupsands always sailed her. Glinty wants to sail her to Maryland and marry your niece straightaway,” he explained.

“But … then … why didn't he say—”

“Didn't want to sell me out, I imagine. Probably thought I'd be in trouble with the family.”

My head was swirling. “But, but they've arrested him!” I cried. “The police. He's in
jail
!”

“Oh, I'll just go bail him out,” he told me and pulled contentedly on his earlobe. “It won't hurt him much to be locked up for a bit.”

We stared at each other across the rolling deck. The wind was making it hard to talk. There were so many boats moving in and out that the water surged choppily.

“Morgan? I don't know. I was just wondering … There wouldn't be any significance to a glove, would there? It's just I found this single glove outside the cottage one night a while ago when the lamplight was deliberately put out.”

He frowned. “None I can think of.”

I looked out to sea.

Then he said, “There was that case of abuse up at Guardian Angel House years ago. A preacher. Volunteer, it turned out. Used to lock the kids up in the closet to punish them.” He said this breezily and then, remembering, grew thoughtful. “But that was years ago. We were worried for a while how it would affect the kids. Yes.” He scratched his head. “Played the banjo. He used to wear gloves to protect his hands. Weirdo. They caught him abusing himself right in front of the children!
Made
them watch!”

“He … wouldn't still be around Sea Cliff?”

“Naw. He hasn't been around for years. Dead, probably.”

I put my sweater on.

“It was Paige who flushed him out,” he continued, shaking his head with admiration. “He didn't last long with her around. She cleaned that place out top to bottom.”

Paige. Always Paige.

Chapter Nine

Wendell and Teddy

Wendell was stowed away nicely now in a pile of supplies and white life jackets. He'd wriggled himself down deep as he could and had slept pretty well, he thought. When Teddy'd come on board, the small boy had jumped with nerves, then burrowed in fearfully and pulled the tarpaulin over his head before Teddy could see him. He would wait here as long as it took. He had all his supplies in his backpack. He knew it was Teddy who was writing those letters. He knew because he'd seen him take the letter paper from Mama's nice desk. He put his ear against the soft cork and he tried to be comfortable, thinking of everything nice, put his thumb in his mouth, and rocked back and forth with the tide.
There was an old man from the west. He wore a pale plum-colored vest …

Teddy sheeted the mainsail to get the boat moving. He wanted to be out of there and back before the winner's celebration. The
Dream Boat
skimmed westerly toward Duffy's Point—away from the regatta, away from the gullible.

He'd get rid of everything implicating him, just weigh it all down and dump it, then slip back into Twillyweed and retrieve the jewels that were rightfully his. Well, they were! Son of the eldest son. If that fat fucking thief Patsy Mooney hadn't come across his hoard, things would have run along so smoothly. Ah, well. It was her own damned fault. Served her right, the bitch. He sniffed the air. Good wind. He smiled. The ex-husband had been a gift. Handy that Patsy was always moaning and groaning to him about how he'd hit her. Getting him to come to Sea Cliff had been a cinch. The timing was perfect. He'd been cutting it close, but it had all worked out. Served her right for making off with his stash. Nosy, fat bitch. It hadn't bothered him a bit to put an end to her. He'd enjoyed it. Almost as much as he'd enjoyed getting rid of Noola. Teddy chuckled. Served her right, too, the old ninny, stupidly announcing there was a priceless lunar volvelle unrecognized for what it was down in that shabby rectory in Queens and no one to care for it! Lucky he'd been there at Noola's with Daniel, delivering Paige's care basket, when she'd come across that German priest's obituary. What an old fool she'd been to think he'd trot right off to do her bidding so Morgan could see it safely wedged onto some museum shelf—never imagining it would appeal to the likes of him. But, no, she'd thought only her precious son, Morgan, would be smart enough to know what to do with a treasure of that magnitude. In her astonishment, she'd spoken too soon. Old fool. Still, he remembered the look of worry and realization that had sprung to her eyes when she realized what she'd said—and to whom she'd said it. She'd always been suspicious of him. All his life.
Janet's son
, he'd heard her murmur once. Like she'd had a bad taste in her mouth. Her skepticism had been like a wall of disapproval he could never get past. Well, he'd gotten past it now, hadn't he? He'd given her a real bad taste. Slipping the pills into her tea was so simple, so quick—even she hadn't suspected he'd think of it.

And now, all he had to do was get rid of the remains of all his mischief, wait till the rest of them were at the race and then go in and walk off with what was, after all, rightfully his; he bobbed his head this way and that and his lips moved as he mused silently to himself. Then to hide it … where? Where should he hide it? Somewhere right under their noses, like the basement freezer. No, Mr. Piet might just happen to look there. He'd think of something. Wait till they found it missing! He could hardly wait to see their faces. He would stand there with them, pretending to share their outrage. They'd underestimated him for the last time. Not one of them would even think to suspect him. They were all too stupid.

Teddy smiled dreamily at the helm, relaxed and handsome. He laughed out loud and the laugh caught up in the wind, abandoned and hollow. Atop the hatch, in a lean holding cubby, a pair of fresh dove gray gloves rested neatly one on top of the other, palms down, all set to go.

Claire

It was now or never. I reached up and touched Morgan's cheek, “Answer me this. Are you planning to marry Paige?”

He flinched. At last he said, “I'm waiting for her to tell me she wants out. It can't be me who breaks the engagement. She'll feel like I'm ruining her life. No, it has to be from her.”

So that was it. How very noble. I stood. “Fine.” I flung my hair mutinously over my shoulder. “Let me know when she's done captivating you.”

I scrambled over the cockpit, but he got up and grabbed hold of me. He bent me backward and kissed me right there in the bright of day, holding my arms in his hands to keep me from falling. When he stopped kissing me, my head fell back and he looked down at me, saying, venomously, “Do you like it?”

My head lolled.

He squinted hard at me. “Aye. There's your answer. Because you're straight. Didn't you ever notice that Paige—Don't you get it? She's not.”

“What?” I tried to stand and he set me on my feet again.

“She's not straight, Paige. She's gay. Paige is a lesbian.”

“What?”

He took a piece of my flying hair and locked it behind my ear. “Look. I wouldn't ordinarily betray a confidence, but you have a right to know. Remember when Jenny Rose saved Radiance in the water? Well, Paige had just told her she'd decided to marry me. You know how Paige is; she thought if she did, she could save her brother, save Daniel, save Twillyweed. She was trying to do the right thing. But for all the wrong reasons. She'd told Radiance down at the dock because she knew she'd make a great fuss. She's so emotional, Radiance. Melodramatic. And Paige told her very gently. But Radiance bolted off in a mad fit and took out the boat.

“But you gave her a ring—”

“The ring was her grandmother's. She weaseled her way into that one and, God knows, I couldn't humiliate her.” He looked past me. “The truth is she only ever loved Radiance. They love each other. And Radiance—she's such an idiot—after she went out to sea, she jumped overboard! Don't ask me why. To punish Paige, for all I know. Oh, maybe she made some halfhearted attempt to kill herself. Maybe she did. Although I can't imagine why. More likely fury—and spite, knowing her. And then found herself in over her head.”

I stood there, a dodo. This could not be happening again. It was so absurd. It had to be true. “So”—I bit the bullet—“you'd go ahead with this marriage? Out of guilt?”

“She'll dump me.”

“And if she doesn't?”

“
Ach
, Radiance is twenty-one now. Paige is not a bad girl. She'll come around on her own. She's afraid—Paige is—afraid to admit who she is. But passion is stronger than propriety. She'll come around.”

We neared the dock. Different people floated by and waved and Morgan waved back. I wasn't as convinced as he seemed to be. Paige was as mercenary a female as I'd ever met. But he was cheerful again. He smiled and chose a hard peach and ate it as he leaned his head backward and let out a laugh. There was the buzz of activity and the readying for the finish. It looked like
Seawanhaka
was going to come in first from the tumult and celebration and cries of the onlookers. I spotted Jenny Rose, Mr. Piet, Radiance, and Paige all running toward the dock at once. I cleat hitched the line for Morgan and while he tied her up, I jumped to the dock and made my way through the throng toward the marina. It was strewn with tipsy partygoers and I had to zigzag through. I waved.

Paige called out, “Is Wendell with you?”

“No.”

“He climbed out the window.” She leaned against the tiers of piled canoes to catch her breath and gasped, “We can't find him.”

Jenny Rose wailed, “Oh, my God! I wasn't watching him! It's my fault!” She fell against me.

Then Radiance, in front of everyone, turned around and grabbed Mr. Piet's shoulder and flung him around to face her. “
Non!
C'est ta faute!
” she cried. “It's your fault! This is all your fault!”

“It's not,” he said, grasping his chest.

“Oh,
mon Dieu
, it's enough! Just admit it! I know you're a thief! I found those moonstones in your room. I even put them in Jenny Rose's pocket to save you from blame!”

“But why would you do such a thing?” He pulled himself free.

“Because I didn't want you to go to jail again. But I'm finished protecting you!
Tu
comprends
? Stealing is one thing … but murder!” She reared onto a piling and sank to the floor, sobbing. “I'm finished!”

“Radiance!” He fell to his knees “Believe me. I had nothing to do with any stones. I swear to you. On my mother's grave, I swear to you!”

“Yes, you did! Teddy saw you. He saw you at Noola's just before she died. He warned me.” Her shoulders slumped. “I only wanted to help you, Papa, but I can't take it anymore!”

Mr. Piet took hold of her. “Teddy told you? And you believed him,
chérie
? You thought I would kill? Why would I kill Noola?”

Radiance looked at all of us. “For the jewels. For the money. Teddy even
gave
me the stones so I knew he wasn't lying! He said—”

He put his arm around her. “But I don't care about the money. I care about you! Why would Teddy tell you such a thing?”

I tried to think. The sun beat down and there was noise all around. Teddy. He would have been a child at Guardian Angel about the time of the abuse …

An older fellow who'd been canning bait came toward us. “That your little boy took off on the
Dream Boat
? That little guy wasn't wearing no life vest! I yelled to the captain, but he paid me no mind.”

Jenny Rose lamented, “Wendell never trusted Teddy. He would never go off with him!”

The boy selling soft drinks on the dock piped up, “That was the
Dream Boat
just took off, all right!”

“He'd never go with him!” Jenny Rose protested.

Paige cried out and Mr. Piet took her hand. Jenny Rose, pale and frantic, came up behind them.

“Stay calm,” Jenny Rose said, trying to steady Paige. “I'm sure they're just out for a sail.”

“Where would they go?” I asked.

“Anywhere, could be.” The old salt scratched his stubbled chin. The man's wife came up behind him, a beautiful old blonde with skin loose and crumpled as an elephant's hide. “That kid had no one watching him! They went west,” she said, pointing, “just around the point. Around Duffy's Point. I seen 'em.”

Mr. Piet moved fast. He got up and ran down the dock to stop Morgan dropping anchor. He moved like an athlete, his small legs carrying his broad shoulders in a whiz of movement.

I ran after him.

“Be careful over there past buoy two!” the old man called. “That current's mean!”

Mr. Piet jumped on board and as they pulled off so did I. If anything happened to Wendell, I'd take my share of blame. I was horrified to think how unfairly I'd judged Glinty—and to realize my prejudices were as conventional as my parents'. I hadn't even thought yet of what might happen next, what danger Wendell might be in. I thought we'd just sail out and stop them. If I'd only known what would happen next … But Wendell was out there and we had to bring him back. I figured Morgan was reliving Daniel's accident all those years ago. He'd rather die than let anything like that happen again. I shrugged into a life vest and the men rigged the jib and mainsail. We sailed out into the busy harbor and headed west, just as a fleet from Hempstead Yacht Club was making its way in. He was going too fast, too rash.

I shut my eyes, certain we would collide, but at the helm, Morgan maneuvered us through and we broke free, the sailors' outraged curses cracking across the wind. The sun shone, blinding me as we flew across the water. I was so scared I didn't realize the cold. We'd left Sea Cliff far behind. At last Morgan pulled around. “I've lost them!”

“We must have gone past them,” Mr. Piet shouted, scanning the shore.

“They can't have gone in there. It's a sink bog. Tide's too low!” Morgan cried.

“There's that old loading dock in there behind those weeping willows. He could be there.”

“No way. That place is condemned. Anyway, it's way too shallow!” But we couldn't see where else they could have gone.

“He'll run her aground!” Mr. Piet raged. “I'll kill him!”

“He can't be there,” Morgan protested again. “It's been locked up for years.”

Mr. Piet was peeling off his sweatshirt. “He shows the real estate, doesn't he? He'll have keys.”

Then, off in the dense grove of willow, practically hidden, something red moved. Silently, we watched, trying to make it out. There were the cheers off in the distance from the marina, but the slosh of the tide and the hurling wind was the only near sound. The red figure moved again.

“It's Wendell,” I said, recognizing his jacket.

Morgan looked through binoculars. “It's him all right, and it's Teddy. He's carrying Wendell.”

Mr. Piet reached down and took off his shoes.

“Take care,” Morgan warned, “that spot has been sinking for years. It's shallow and if you step down, it'll suck you up like quicksand.”

Before I knew what was happening, Mr. Piet dove soundlessly into the water and the back of his head appeared in there near the weeping willow.

“Stay here!” Morgan flung off his shoes and his shirt not a moment behind him. Within seconds he, too, swam through the shallow green water. “You can't leave me here on my own!” I cried out to no one. Trembling, I tugged off my shoes, vest, and sweater and belly-flopped in. The water stung. Disoriented, I came to the surface. The wind was horrific and I lowered back in, dog-paddling toward land. It seemed to take forever. My legs, still dressed, were heavy and sluggish. Finally close, I stepped frantically for land and my foot sunk in muck to my knee. Remembering Morgan's warning, I floundered with horror and fright and yanked myself out, trying to float and paddle my way in now without touching bottom, and without touching the cold air.