C
HAPTER
6
Gulls cried overhead as a wave slapped the sand, sending a fine mist in Jane’s direction. She breathed in the salty spray, reveled in it as she kept running.
When she’d awoken that morning to the distant roar of the ocean, she had pulled her running gear out of her duffel bag. Of course, there was time for a run before she left, and it would be the perfect way for one last journey down this beautiful stretch of beach.
Now, as she slowed her pace for the final stretch back to the path, she was sorry she had to go. This beach held a distinct serenity that spoke to her heart with its endless miles of pale sand and rhythmically curling waves. Maybe it was its distant location on this thin barrier island; maybe it was the kind people she’d met here yesterday. It was a special place.
You’ll see plenty of beaches down in Florida,
she told herself. But wouldn’t it be fun to return here? She could bring TJ and Laura, too. He could go windsurfing at that spot that he’d mentioned. Under different circumstances, it would be a fun vacation.
She decided to shower and pack up, then walk down to the Quickstop for breakfast and her Jeep. A breeze cooled her walk, though the sun promised a hot day ahead. It was a relief to step into the coolness of the Quickstop, where Kailani greeted her from behind the register.
“Aloha. You look healthy today.”
“I feel much better,” Jane said.
“Rusty has your car ready.”
“Perfect. I’m going to grab a quick bite before I go.”
“It doesn’t have to be so quick,” Kailani said, looking over at the luncheonette counter. “You’ll get indigestion.”
Becca, the girl over at the counter, told her that the fruit salad had just been cut up, the cinnamon rolls baked that morning. Jane wasn’t a huge fan of sweets, but the warm cinnamon bun melted in her mouth.
As Kailani handed her the Jeep keys and gave her a hug good-bye, Jane felt a twinge of regret. “I hope we meet again sometime,” she said.
Kailani patted her hand. “We will.”
If I make it through the summer and the trial in September, I will definitely come back,
Jane promised herself as she inspected the rear bumper of her Jeep—barely a scratch!—and climbed inside.
It was a straight shot down the road to pick up her things. She had just made the turn into the motel lot when her cell phone jangled. She grabbed the phone and slowed for the parking lot. It was TJ.
“Hey, hi! I am just about to head off. I got the ferry schedule for Ocracoke, and—”
“Hold on a minute,” he said. “Are you in a safe place?” Something in his voice scared her. She put the Jeep in park and cut the engine. “Sure. What’s up?”
“I got a weird phone call last night. Someone looking for you.”
That familiar sick feeling seeped into her chest. “Are you sure it wasn’t someone from Tia’s family?” she asked.
“This was no friend of yours.”
“Or someone from work? My boss, Murray, is hardly warm and fuzzy, and we have some real vipers in the office.” Murray Diamond, owner of the agency, was notorious for his aggressive approach to colleagues and clients.
“Jane, no. I don’t want to scare you, but ... no. This was one of Canby’s guys. He didn’t say that, but he was menacing. He made threats.”
As if an alarm had sounded, Jane was on alert. “What did he say—his actual words?”
TJ’s sigh was nearly a growl. “At first he was acting like a business associate. Asking if I was your brother. When I said yeah, he wanted to know where you were. But it wasn’t like he sounded worried about you. When I told him that you live in New York, he got nasty. Said he knew that, but where were you
now
? Of course, he said it in more vivid language.”
“Oh, no.” Her heart was beating so fast, it seemed to rattle in her chest.
She had suspected that Canby would send someone after her, but knowing that it was true just ratcheted everything up a notch.
“When I asked for his name, told him I was going to call the police, he just laughed,” TJ said. “But before he hung up, he told me to give you a message. He said to tell you that you can run, but you can’t hide.”
She shivered, despite the warm sun beating down on the car.
She had been right to flee her home.
She was safer on the run.
But now that they knew about TJ ...
“This changes everything,” she said quietly. “Do you think they know that I’m on my way to stay with you?”
“I don’t know, but I don’t really think it’s a good idea anymore. You know you’re always welcome here, but this condo unit is hardly a fortress. What if they come here looking for you?”
“I didn’t think they’d go that far.”
“I didn’t either, but now, after talking to that guy? I wouldn’t put it past him.”
“You’re right. I mean, how hard is it to hop on a plane, rent a car?” She hadn’t flown to Florida because she didn’t want to leave a paper trail, but for someone else, someone who made it their business to hunt people down, having their name on an airline roster really wouldn’t matter.
“I’m sorry, Janey. I should have thought of this.”
“It’s not your fault.”
“And now, you’re stuck in the middle of nowhere.”
Fear hardened in her heart and she smacked the steering wheel. “Dammit. I should have gotten more money out of the bank before I left. But they don’t make it easy. Do you know there’s a three-hundred-dollar-per-day limit on withdrawals from an ATM?”
“Are you short on cash?”
“Not yet, but the money I took out isn’t going to last me all summer.”
“We’ll figure that out down the road. I can wire you cash or something. Right now, you need a place to stay for a while. A place with a decent law enforcement community.”
Immediately, she thought of Sheriff Cooper Locklear.
“Let me get on the Crackberry and see what comes up when I Google ‘top ten witness protection cities,’ ” TJ said with his characteristic dry wit.
“You do that.” She took a breath, thinking back over how careful she’d been since she’d left New York. She had paid cash for everything. She had told people she was going camping up north. She hadn’t left a paper trail—and she was going to keep it that way. “And I’ll think about my next stop ... a place to spend the night. Taking it one day at a time.”
Since she was in the motel parking lot, she started in the office of Avon-by-the-Sea.
“I’m right sorry, Miss Jane.” Marvin squinted as he leafed through his calendar. “I wish I could help you out, but I’m full up for the next three weeks.”
“Are there other motels in town?” she asked.
“We got a couple of motels and B-and-Bs here, but they’re going to be booked, too, what with today being Friday and most schools ending just this week.”
It was Friday? Somehow she’d lost track of what day of the week it was.
“I need a place for tonight,” she said, “but I wouldn’t mind committing to a week or two. Would that help?”
He scratched his scruffy chin with the tip of the pen. “Could be. I’ll give you the numbers for the other motels so you don’t have to drive all over town. If that doesn’t work out, you can try the realtor right out here. Blue Water. They might have something you could rent for a week or so.”
She thanked him, then went outside to call the other motels. It soon became clear that there was no room at any of the inns.
“Time for Plan B,” she said as she gathered her belongings from the small motel room and loaded them into the Jeep. If she couldn’t rent a small condo from Blue Water Realty, she would have to move on. Once she got inland, she knew she’d have a better shot at finding a room.
But in her heart, she felt destined to stay here for a while, near the beach that spoke to her, close to kind, caring neighbors, under the watch of an honest, kind sheriff.
She decided to leave the Jeep in the motel lot and walk down to Blue Water. The office was quiet, the reception desk empty, but she heard someone talking in an office to the right of a small fountain.
“Hello?” Jane moved toward the office, catching the eye of the woman behind the desk.
“Oh, sorry! I didn’t know someone was out there.” She popped out of her desk chair and came out of the office. “Look, I gotta go. Call you back in a bit,” she murmured, then pressed a button on her headset. “I forgot—Liz stepped out. What can I help you with?”
“I was talking with Marvin over at the motel,” Jane said, deciding to do some name dropping for leverage. “He thought you might have something small in Avon that I can rent for a week or two?”
“Something small ... let’s take a look.” She motioned Jane into the office. “I’m Jolene Revels.” She had dark hair that was cut to fall gently around her face, round dark eyes, and high cheekbones that gave the impression of a smile.
“Jane Doyle.”
“Nice to meet you, Jane.” Jolene reached across the desk to shake hands, then plopped into the chair and tapped a few keys on the keyboard. “Is it just you or do you need room for friends and family?”
“It’ll be just me. I’m ... taking a sabbatical from work.”
“That sounds wonderful!” Jolene said, her eyes on the computer monitor. “And what’s your price range?”
“On the low end.” Jane wrung her hands under the desk. How strange to be on this side of a real estate transaction. Jolene knew her stuff, but Jane felt a strong urge to push her out of the way, take her seat, and key in the data to hone in on exactly what she was looking for.
Jolene showed her photos of a two-bedroom house on the sound that had its own hot tub. It was beautiful, but too pricey for Jane.
Then there were photos of a cottage that looked as if it had been built in the 1800s. Between the knotty pine on the walls and the stains that showed even in photos of the carpeting, Jane had to decline. “It’s a little too rustic for me.”
“Rustic!” Jolene laughed. “I’ll say, but that’s a nice way of putting it. Maybe we should put that word in the online description.”
Next, Jolene showed her the downstairs apartment of a two-story home. “It’s a one-bedroom. You’ve got the property owner on the second story. Your unit would have total privacy unless you want to use the hot tub, which is on the upper deck. That you would have to share with the landlord.”
“That would work,” Jane said, thinking that she could do without the hot tub to maintain her privacy. Jolene swiveled the monitor so that Jane could have a look. It struck her as clean and streamlined, with bleached wood floors, a fireplace, a shiny kitchen with granite counters, and tall windows. “It looks nice.”
“This is a good one,” Jolene agreed. “And I know the property owner personally. He’s a sweetheart.”
In one photo, the sun was setting over the water in the distance. “Does it really have a view of the ocean?” Jane asked.
“That’s Pamlico Sound. Pretty, isn’t it? It’s available now. Do you want to go take a look?”
At this point, Jane was ready to put her money down, but she didn’t want to appear too eager. “Let’s go check it out.”
The exterior of the house on Sea Breeze Road was similar to most others on the block, covered with wood shingles and propped open with windows and skylights. The trim had been painted robin’s egg blue, as if in an homage to the sea a few yards down the road.
“The downstairs deck is part of the rental,” Jolene said, looking at her listing. “We had a renter here for Memorial Day, but it’s been empty since then.” She turned the key and opened the door. “Oh! Well. That’s not good.”
Curious, Jane stepped in behind her to find a shrink-wrapped cube of clean linens sitting on the pale wood floor. A few cups and cans were scattered on the kitchen counter. Remnants of the last occupants.
“This property was supposed to be cleaned weeks ago.” Jolene frowned at the printout of the listing. “That’s annoying, and it’s not the first time. I’d fire the cleaning service, but at this time of year, we can’t survive without them.”
“Do you work exclusively with one service?” Jane asked.
“We have some ladies who have their own businesses, too. It’s mostly summer work, but when it’s busy, it’s hopping. Most of these rentals turn around on Saturday or Sunday, so we’ve got crews whipping through between tenants on the weekends.”
As they talked, Jane surveyed the apartment, which, despite the mess, had a good feel to it. The pale wood floors gave it a beachy feel and the windows opened the rooms up to air and light.
They peeked into the bedroom. “Kind of small,” Jolene said.
“But cozy. And the living space is so wide open.” Jane gave it another look as hope bubbled up inside her. This would actually be a lovely place to spend the summer.
“Do you want to check out the shared hot tub?” Jolene asked. “The landlord’s a really nice guy. Salt of the earth. You’d have nothing to worry about with him.”