Tidewater Inn (16 page)

“What?” she finally said. “Do I have soup on my nose?”

He grinned. “Sorry. I was staring, wasn't I? It's the offer for this place. Would you really sell it, or were you just trying to see what you could find out from Brent?”

“I don't want to sell,” she said in a low voice. “But I don't see that I have any choice.”

“There's always a choice.”

She stiffened. “What would you do?”

“Turn over every rock to find a way to keep it.”

“Well, I have another life. The place is gorgeous and historic, I give you that. But sometimes sacrifices have to be made. The money will change my life. And I have a stepbrother who needs help. He was hurt in Afghanistan and is on disability. I could do a lot of good there.” If he would let her. He wasn't eager to have a relationship with her. He'd been a teenager when their parents married, and he had no time for her.

“Life isn't all about money.”

“Spoken by someone who has always had enough.”

She wasn't going to listen. He peered at the dock as a boat approached. “Looks like Earl is finally here. You ready for this?”

“I'll do anything to help find Nicole.”

“You can wait here.” He rose and went to the dock. When the boat neared, he caught the rope and tied it to the pilings.

“I'll be back in about an hour,” Earl told the captain.

The young man in shorts nodded. He plugged in earphones and settled back in his chair.

Earl was in his fifties with a paunch. His one pride was his thick head of red hair. It had faded with the years, but he still wore it over his ears like an aging Beatle. “She up there?” he asked, jerking his thumb toward the house.

“Yes. Go easy on her though. She's had a rough few days.”

Earl chewed on his ever-present toothpick. “Sounds like you believe her story.”

Alec shrugged. “I know what it's like to be accused of something you didn't do. I don't want us to assume she's guilty until proven innocent.”

“Is Tom going to ask the state for help?”

“Yes. With the hurricane, I think he's overwhelmed.” He fell into place beside Earl, who was walking up the boardwalk to the hotel.

“My story will get some action.”

They reached the grand steps. Libby was standing on the porch waiting. Her expression was one of dread. This wouldn't be easy for her, airing her life to the world. Alec sent her a reassuring smile. “This is Earl Franklin,” he said when they reached her.

The two exchanged a long look. “It's you.” She glanced at Alec. “Earl and his wife gave me a ride to the island,” she said. “Naomi thought I was Vanessa.”

“You never said a word about your friend having gone missing.” Earl's voice held accusation.

She bit her lip. “There was just so much to explain. It seemed easier to say nothing.”

Alec already had an uneasy feeling about the exchange. It did seem odd that she wouldn't have told Earl and Naomi anything. Especially Naomi. If any woman had the warm manner that invited confidence, it was Earl's sweet wife. And Libby hadn't made any secret of the incident to him. Alec could see the suspicion on Earl's face.

“There's iced tea,” she said, pointing to the table with the refreshments. She resumed her seat in the swing. Tucking one leg under her, she sipped her tea and regarded them over the rim of her glass.

“Don't mind if I do.” Earl poured himself a glass from the sweating pitcher. “Ah, nothing like sweet tea.” He settled in the rocker and took out a pen. “Hope you don't mind if I record this? It's easier than trying to write it all down.” He clicked a switch on the pen recorder without waiting for her to answer. “Can you take me through the events that led up to your friend's disappearance?”

She blinked. “Okay.”

She plunged into the story about the client who wanted restoration estimates and ended with what she saw on the beach cam. She broke down again when she got to the part about the men taking her friend. Alec couldn't imagine how he'd feel if he saw someone he cared about being kidnapped and couldn't do anything to stop it.

Earl leaned forward. “Ms. Holladay, did you harm your friend?”

She sat upright, sloshing tea over the side of her glass onto her shorts. “Of course not!”

“You didn't kill Nicole, dump her body in the Atlantic, then call the sheriff with some far-fetched story about an abduction?”

“No, no! You can't possibly believe that.” She stared wildly from Earl to Alec, then back again. “Nicole is my friend. I would do anything to find her. Anything!”

“Yet the website with the cam is blank during the time your partner was supposedly kidnapped.”

How had he found that out? He must have talked to Tom. Alec wanted to interrupt, but he bit his tongue and let Earl continue his questioning. She'd survive. It
was
strange that the tape had been messed with.

Earl smiled. “I did a little research. You're a computer expert. A person at the historical society said you're their go-to person when they have any computer issues. It's not out of the realm of possibility that you hacked into the cam data and erased that portion of the tape.”

“It was an accident.” She gulped and held his gaze. “I was trying to save the video. It wouldn't let me, so I . . . I hacked into the system and tried to save it that way. Something happened, and the next thing I knew, the data was gone.”

“I see. I must say I thought you'd come up with a more believable story than that,” Earl said.

“It's the truth.”

Alec watched her face, the way it crumpled, the way tears formed in her eyes.

“I think you've made enough accusations, Earl.”

Her fingers inched toward him but stopped before she touched his hand. “I didn't hurt Nicole, Mr. Franklin. If you write a story suggesting that I did, you'll only aid whoever took her.”

Earl turned off his tape recorder. “Let me know if you remember anything else.” He tucked the recorder into his pocket and strode to the waiting boat.

The boat carrying Earl back to Kitty Hawk cruised away, and none too soon for Libby. She wanted to throw something, to scream about the injustice of anyone even thinking that she might have hurt Nicole. His blue eyes watching her somberly, Alec continued to sit on the porch with her. He probably still suspected she had done something criminal.

She set her iced tea on the table and paced the expansive porch. “You said you'd give me the benefit of the doubt.”

His sip of tea seemed deliberate, as though he was fishing for extra time before answering. “I am. But it seems strange the data would be missing from the cam.”

His doubt was written on his face, and she fought to keep her voice level. “I swear to you I didn't do it on purpose. Yes, I might have caused it. I don't know.” She clasped her hands in front of her. “Did you talk to your cousin when we were in town? I want to
do something
! I have to find Nicole.”

“With the hurricane, Tom's going to have his hands full. And to be honest, this kind of thing is much more serious than the domestic disputes and traffic tickets he normally deals with. He's my cousin, but I think this is way over his head.”

“I'm going to have to find her myself. It's clear no one else is going to do it.”

He raised a brow. “You? What do you know about looking for a missing person?”

“Nothing. But I can retrace her steps. Talk to everyone she spoke with. Surely I'll find a clue somewhere. I can't just sit here and wait!” Her voice broke, and she turned her back on him.

She was alone here, and it was time she faced it. The people in the inn shared only her blood. They cared nothing about her. Well, maybe Aunt Pearl cared a little, but her warmth might only be curiosity. Libby refused to entertain the thought that Nicole might be dead.

She sensed rather than heard his approach. His hand came down on her bare arm, and its warmth made her shiver. She didn't turn to look at him. He had brought that reporter here.

“I'm sorry,” he said. “Reporters and law enforcement are trained to look at the person closest to the victim.”

She whirled, jerking away from his touch. “Don't call her that! She's not dead, she's not!”

His hand dropped to his side. The wind ruffled his dark hair. “I'm sorry. I didn't mean it that way. She's still a victim of violence. Kidnapping is a violent act.”

She shuddered and moved farther away from him. “Earl is going to write a piece suggesting I hurt her, isn't he? He really thinks I killed her and dumped her body in the ocean.”

“I'll talk to him. I think he'll be fair.”

The breakers rolled over the beach in a hypnotic rhythm. She turned to stare at him again. “Is that what your cousin thinks too? Is he going to taint the state's investigation by implying that I'm guilty?”

“I don't know what Tom is thinking. Look, I'll help you, okay? I'll take some accrued leave. I know everyone in town. It's a good idea to trace Nicole's movements. Someone has to know what happened.”

His words were so gentle. Even though she'd screamed at him, he stayed calm. “Why would you do that for me?”

He shrugged. “I was falsely accused once.”

“What happened?”

He folded his arms across his chest and moved back a step. “My older brother drowned. We were mulletting with a neighbor. I was about Zach's age. My older brother was named Zach too. He was twenty.”

She heard the pain in his voice and wanted to tell him he didn't have to describe what happened, but she found herself holding her breath and wanting to know more.

“Giles, our neighbor, was with us. He was supposed to have checked the fuel in the boat. We were pretty far out and the engine died. No gas. The ship-to-shore radio had broken the week before, and we couldn't call for help. My brother was the strongest swimmer, so he decided to swim for help.”

“Oh no,” she said softly.

He sighed. “His body was never found. A fishing trawler found us the next morning. As soon as we got to land, Giles started railing at me, saying it was all my fault. If I'd filled the tank, my brother would still be alive. Everyone believed him. The pain and disappointment in my parents' eyes haunted me for years. Still does. They believed Giles instead of me.”

“Have you talked with them about it since you've been grown?”

He shrugged. “Pointless now. Even if they believed me, it wouldn't make up for their condemnation back then.”

“That's so sad, Alec. It has to have been so hard for you to lose two brothers. And then your parents, in a way.”

He went silent for a moment. “Mom keeps the house like a shrine. Everywhere I look I see pictures of my brothers from babyhood to the year they died. In Mom's eyes they are saints now. Something I'll never be.”

“And your father?”

“He doesn't say much. Mom rules the household. Her hero worship eventually drove Beth away too. Beth is my younger sister. I don't think she's been home in three years.”

“I'm so sorry.” She touched his hand. “I've always felt a little unlovable since my father abandoned me. I
thought
that's what he did anyway. Now everything I believed is all jumbled.”

He held her hand in an easy grip. “You'll figure it out.”

“So will you. I'm already sure that you're a good man, Alec.”

A tinge of color stained his face. “Hardly. I was a wild kid. I guess that's why I want to help Zach avoid my mistakes.”

“Most of us have to learn the hard way.”

Her skin was still warm from touching his hand. He knew what it was like to be misunderstood. She wasn't in this by herself.

S
IXTEEN

T
he rest of the house slept, but Libby paced the rug in the parlor. The grandfather clock in the corner chimed two, but she wasn't a bit sleepy. She should have been. Her last full night's sleep had been before this nightmare started.