32
When the phone rang at four-thirty, Lisa felt as if she'd just fallen asleep. Fear hit her front and center. Nobody called that early unless it was an emergency. Did Grandma have a relapse? she wondered, as she picked up the phone. She'd planned to get up at five-thirty anyway.
Don't think of the worst case scenario,
she told herself. Maybe someone was just calling to remind her that she was manning the booth for the first shift. But she already knew that.
Her voice was hesitant as she answered. “Hello?”
“Lisa?”
“Yes?” she asked, unable to recognize the voice.
“I . . . I need to talk to you.”
“Who is this?” Lisa asked, trying to clear the cobwebs from her brain. Brian sat up beside her.
“Magdelena.”
Was this woman out of her mind, dragging her out of her sleep? “It's four in the morning. I don't have time for a reading today. And even clients don't usually call this early,” Lisa said, disgruntled.
“It's not about a reading or cleaning. This is urgent. A matter of life and death.”
“Whose?”
“I can't talk to you over the phone,” Magdelena said. “I'll meet you.”
“The ferry doesn't start running until six, but I can't meet with you today. Founder's Day starts this morning and I'm working at the family booth.”
“I know. I'm taking the first ferry to the island and I'll meet you anyplace you choose.”
Lisa grew alarmed. “Did you say this was a matter of life and death? Shouldn't you tell me now?”
“I can't.”
“Magdelena . . .”
“Please,” Magdelena entreated. “It's important.”
Lisa sighed. “How about the B and B?”
“Too public.”
“Okay. You can come to my house.”
“Are you crazy?” Brian asked from beside her. Lisa shushed him and gave Magdelena directions, then hung up.
“You can't be giving out your home address to strangers.”
“Please. If she wanted to find me that badly she could. The island's not that large.”
“Who the hell was it?”
“The psychic Jackie drags me to see.”
“Psychic?” Brian looked at her as if she'd lost her mind. “What in hell does she want?”
She explained it to him, but he raved on about her giving out her home address. “You need a keeper,” Brian hissed.
He was being such an ass after such a wonderful night, Lisa thought with regret. She still smelled like sex.
“How much longer are you going to rave about this?” Lisa wanted to know.
“Until you start listening,” he snapped.
“Good morning to you, too,” she shot back, throwing the covers off. “I'd better get dressed. It's going to be a busy day.”
Brian grunted. “I'll shower with you.”
That won't be a hardship,
she thought. Even with the argument she felt cared for.
Magdelena had dressed in disguise. She was leaving town soon after she talked to Lisa. She couldn't take her friend's car, so she'd rented a car the day before.
After tucking her bag into the trunk, she headed to the ferry. The line was long. She hadn't expected it to be that long this early. She was worried that she might have to catch the next ferry. It would delay her departure from Virginia.
She felt good about what she was doing. But she missed Justin already. It wasn't love as much as companionship they shared.
She'd hoped to share Justin's house with him, not without him. She'd been the only one he'd shared it with. The house was paid for. Believe it or not, there were still pockets of this country where people minded their own business and didn't ask a lot of questions.
He'd introduced her to a few local friends. He'd used another name, of course. The name Justin was an alias. His legal name would be in the documents. The people in Colorado had been friendly. As much as she'd tried to talk Justin into leading a normal life, he always had one last project before the two of them could settle down.
There would be no more projects for Justin.
Luckily, hers was one of the last cars to get on the ferry.
She laid her head against the headrest and watched those around her. Families were eager to attend the Founder's Day activities.
As much as she could use a cup of coffee, she didn't get out of the car to buy one, nor did she go to the railing to watch the seagulls as many others did. She stayed in the car. It was safer there. Less exposed. Although, she could easily pass for any other tourist headed to the island to spend the night at the fancy B and B or the day at the Founder's Day activities.
She let the window down to catch the breeze. It was a cool morning, too cool for the air blowing in. She rolled her window up and adjusted her hat. They'd never recognize her as the Tootsie from the artist colony. Not even Justin would recognize her in this gear, much less anyone who didn't really know her. Her eyes filled with tears and she swiped them away. She thought she'd shed all the tears she had.
No time for that. She couldn't think about Justin any longer. She had to survive. He would want that.
The ferry was full. At least she could get lost in the crowd. Did Nicholas discover she existed? If he looked hard enough he could find out about her. Would he exact his revenge on her, too? He could stand right in front of her and she wouldn't recognize him. That was the scary thing. And that he was a murderer.
Justin might have been a fool, but he didn't deserve to be murdered.
She was going to get her own retribution. She'd heard stories about the Claxtons. Paradise Island might be a hick town, but they had a capable sheriff's department. They could protect her. They could stop Nicholas, once and for all. He needed to be stopped. She'd give her information to Lisa and leave town and let them take care of the rest. Lisa would know whom to give it to.
Magdelena shook her head. All that killing for one stupid bowl.
The ferry made it to shore and cars began to disembark. Magdelena's was one of the last. She headed to Lisa's place. The island was small. It wouldn't take long to find the house.
Lisa and Brian prepared breakfast together while they waited for Magdelena. Lisa was too nervous to eat, but she had to keep moving.
Maybe if enough drama was thrown at her she wouldn't fixate on the booth and the speech she had to give with the mayor that morning.
“Okay, let's eat,” Brian said.
“You go on. I can't eat a bite.”
He grasped her hand. “You have to. You have a long day ahead of you.” He smiled that wicked smile that usually turned her to jelly, but it wasn't quite working now. “I promise not to ream you out again. Through breakfast anyway.”
Before they could sit, they heard a car drive in the yard. Lisa rushed to the window and peeked through the curtains. Magdelena looked nervous as she gathered something from her trunk. She glanced around as if she expected a shot from the bushes.
Lisa went to the door. Magdelena looked a little relieved, but not by much, as she closed the trunk and rushed to the house. Lisa could see she'd been crying again.
“Thank you for seeing me,” Magdelena said, climbing the stairs.
Brian frowned and blocked the way. “What's in the bag?” he asked.
“Something that belongs to Lisa.” Her hands were shaking.
“What are you afraid of?” Lisa asked. “Let her inside, Brian.”
When he didn't move, Magdelena said, “Can we please talk inside? I don't have any weapons.”
Finally, Brian moved aside and Magdelena rushed past him. Lisa led her to the kitchen.
“Why don't you have breakfast with us while we talk?” Lisa offered, thinking Magdelena wasn't the only one who needed calming.
Magdelena rubbed her hands together. “I'm too nervous to eat.”
“Okay.” Lisa was still puzzled about the visit. “Why don't we sit at the table and you can tell us what's so urgent?”
Magdelena glanced at Brian.
“He's okay,” Lisa assured her. “It's safe to talk in front of him.”
Magdelena perched on the edge of the seat and nodded. “I'm leaving the area on the next ferry, but I need to give you this before I leave. Please don't tell anyone about me.”
“Why are you leaving town?” Lisa asked.
Magdelena shook her head. “I came here to warn you about Greg's brother. He's a killer. A powerful international assassin for hire. He's retired now, but he's out for vengeance for Greg's death. You're not safe and neither am I,” she said, lifting a shaky hand to her brow.
Lisa sent a nervous glance to Brian. He'd crossed his arms, engrossed in Magdelena's tale.
“I know he murdered Justin,” Magdelena continued. “Justin had a meeting with him the morning he was killed. After their meeting, he and I were supposed to meet, but he never showed up. I found out later he'd fallen from the hotel's balcony.” She shook her head. “He didn't just fall. He was pushed over that balcony. He had no reason to commit suicide. We had . . . plans,” she finished.
There'd been only one jumper on the Boardwalk in Virginia Beach in the news. It was the morning after Greg tried to rob herâthe very day Greg's brother came to the island to talk to Alyssa and Harper, Lisa thought. Could he have murdered Justin, then come to the island? If what Magdelena said was true and he was a murderer for hire, of course he could.
“How do you know Nicholas Doyle is a murderer?” Brian asked.
“Justin told me.” She glanced down. “Justin was a thief, not a murderer. But he knew about Greg's brother.”
“Does Nicholas know about you?” Lisa asked.
“I don't know. Justin said he didn't.” She sighed heavily. “A person like that has unlimited resources for gathering information. He has the money to pay for any information he wants. That's why I'm here. And it's also the reason I have to leave town quickly.”
“You need to talk to Alyssa and the sheriff,” Lisa said. “Not run.”
“Who killed Harriet?” Brian asked.
She started to say she didn't know, but why was she protecting Justin now? It was too late and these people needed to know the truth. “Justin.”
“Why?” Brian asked.
“He didn't expect her to be at the house when he went to exchange the real bowl with the fake. It was a case of wrong place, wrong time. And he didn't mean to do it,” she tried to assure them, as if it made a difference.
“Fake bowl?” Lisa asked.
“Yes.” Magdelena was uneasy with revealing so much information. “I'm really an artist, not a psychic, but I've played many roles through the years to make ends meet. I was known as Tootsie at the artist colony.”
“So that explains everything. And all this mumbo jumbo you gave me . . .”
Magdelena knew Lisa had been skeptical at first. She'd hated deceiving her, but with Jackie eager for readings, what option did she have? When she left Justin she was broke. Although the condo was free, she had to make enough to eat and live.
“I know how to read people. Jackie talked enough about you that I knew your goals, your needs, and what you were trying to accomplish. I understood you, she didn't. I gathered enough info from Jackie that I knew hers, too. I don't deceive people. I just tell them what they need to hear. The things that have been turning over in their heads, but they were afraid to take action on.”
Lisa had to admit that Magdelena hadn't led them astray. Still, Lisa felt like a fool for beginning to believe her. She was still too gullible.
Magdelena unzipped the bag she held in a death grip on her lap. “I have the bowls here. The original bowl and the replica. If you want, I can melt the replica. I'm a good artist so it's not easy to tell the difference.”
The bowl. Lisa's heart leapt. When Magdelena pulled the bowl out of the bag, her breath caught. Then Lisa reached for it, touched it, rubbed it, lifted it. Lisa couldn't believe that she actually had itâin her hands. That after all this time, the bowl was finally in the family where it belonged.
She could put it on display todayâafter she took it to her grandmother.
Lisa's hands trembled as she set the bowl on the table. Naomi would be so thrilled. Tears trickled down her face and Brian touched her hand.
“That's the replica,” Magdelena said.
Frowning, Lisa scowled at the bowl. “It can't be.”