Heart of Ice (38 page)

Cooper glanced back toward the docks, but the ferry had already left. He said nothing until they were almost to the end of West Bluff Road, where he stopped and stared up at the house.

“I’ve never been inside,” he said. He looked to his left to a small break in the trees. “Julie always met me over there, on the path down to the lake.”

Louis put a hand on Cooper’s shoulder. “Let’s go in,” he said.

In the foyer Cooper took off his gloves and pushed off his red wool hat. His eyes were everywhere, taking in the oak paneling, the curving staircase, and the parlor with its sheet-draped furniture and cardboard boxes.

He took a step closer to Louis. “Why am I here?” he asked softly.

The creak of the wood floors made them both look to the hallway. Julie was coming in from the kitchen.

A night’s sleep and Maisey’s tender care had transformed her. She was wearing jeans and a dark red sweater. Her hair was loose around her shoulders.

“Hello, Cooper.”

He just stared at her.

She took a step forward. “It’s me, Cooper,” she said softly.

“My God,” he whispered.

Julie’s eyes brimmed. “I know. I know.”

Cooper didn’t move. Couldn’t move, Louis thought as he watched the man. Julie went to Cooper and gently, tentatively, held out her arms. He stepped into them, awkwardly at first, then he clasped her to him and closed his eyes. Julie buried her face in his shoulder.

Louis heard a sound and saw Maisey coming from the kitchen. She came over to stand next to him, her hand to her mouth. For a long time the only sound was the wind ticking against the windows. Then Cooper let out a hard breath and took a step back, out of Julie’s arms.

He wiped a hand roughly over his face.

“How?”

His question was for Louis, but his eyes never left Julie’s face.

“Later,” Louis said.

Cooper gave Louis the barest glance before looking back at Julie.

Maisey put a hand on Julie’s shoulder. “Why don’t you take Cooper in the kitchen, honey. I’ll make some fresh coffee.”

Julie smiled and nodded. She took Cooper’s hand, and they walked down the hall.

Louis saw Julie sit down at the kitchen table across from Cooper. Even from this distance he could see it in her face, see that as happy as she was to see Cooper again, she knew their moment had passed.

Maisey was watching them, too, her eyes bright with tears.

“What’s going to happen to her?” she asked.

Louis glanced at his watch. Rafsky was meeting with the DA Greg Thom right now. It was the kind of meeting that would take hours. The final decision about what to do with Julie Chapman was in the hands of a small-town district attorney who, depending on his decision, could end up either crucified or canonized by the media.

“We’ll know by tomorrow,” Louis said.

Maisey nodded and started toward the kitchen. But she stopped and came back to Louis.

“Thank you, Mr. Kincaid,” she said.

She held out her hand but then instead drew him into a tight hug.

It was midmorning but the house was as dark as if it were dusk. The Canadian front that had been threatening for two days was making its way onto the island, bringing an ice storm that had brought down electrical wires and left a hard glaze on the trees that sent them groaning and clicking with each shift of the wind.

Maisey pulled her bathrobe tighter and headed to the fireplace. All the logs from last night were burned down to ashes, and there was no more wood in the basket. Julie and Cooper had used it up last night, sitting down here wrapped in quilts and talking to God knows what hour.

Maisey had slipped away around nine to give them some privacy. For a long time, though, she had lain upstairs with her door ajar, knowing it was wrong to eavesdrop but wanting to make sure Cooper said or did nothing to upset Julie. But all she heard was murmuring voices and eventually she had fallen asleep. This morning she had found his pillow and blankets folded neatly on the sofa in the parlor.

“Still no power, Miss Maisey?”

Maisey turned to see Cooper standing in the foyer. It was so cold in the house he was wearing his parka. Julie was still sleeping, she knew. There hadn’t been a sound from her room.

“No, the ice storm took the lines down,” she said. “The phone’s still working. I called the electrical people this morning, and they said they’re working on getting the power back.”

Cooper nodded. “Maybe I better go get some more wood, then,” he said.

“Yes, that would be good,” Maisey said.

Cooper disappeared, and a moment later Maisey heard the back door bang closed. She looked back to the pile of blankets and quilts on the sofa, wondering what it must feel like to be them—to be Julie and Cooper—and see each other again after all these years, after all the lies and assumptions.

With that thought came a rush of regret that she had never told Mr. Edward that she suspected that Julie was alive. Maybe she should have, but she had no real proof. And even if she had found out for sure, and no matter how much she loved Mr. Edward, her first loyalty had always been to Julie. And if that was wrong, then let God be her judge.

“Here you go, Miss Maisey.”

Cooper came in, carrying a bulging canvas tote in each hand. He set them by the fireplace. “It’s getting pretty ugly out there now,” he said. “I should probably get going down to town and see if the ferry—”

“Nonsense,” Maisey said. “There isn’t going to be a ferry today or probably tomorrow. You’ll just have to stay here until they start running again.”

Cooper gave her an awkward smile. “Thank you,” he said. “I’d like that.”

Maisey nodded. “But if you want to help you can run
down to Doud’s and get us some food,” she said. “I wasn’t planning on company, and the cupboards are pretty bare. You’d better get some more candles and batteries, too, just in case.”

“Not a problem,” Cooper said. He pulled his gloves and red wool cap from his pocket and started toward the door. “Anything else you need?”

“Try to find a bottle of Harveys Bristol Cream. Someone drank all mine yesterday.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Cooper left in a swirl of snow, and when the door closed the house was quiet again. Maisey heaped some logs on the grate, lit a fire, and started to the kitchen.

As she passed through the foyer, she heard the clump of footsteps on the porch. A shadow appeared behind the beveled glass. Cooper probably forgot his wallet and had come back to get money, she thought. She should’ve offered some.

She reached for the door but it burst open, almost knocking her over. Ross stood in the doorway. Snow caked his hair and the shoulders of his dark overcoat, and he was looking around the foyer like a rabid animal. His eyes stopped on Maisey.

“Where is she?”

Maisey stepped toward him. “Get out of my house.”

“
Your house,
” Ross said. “A house you whored your way into. Where’s my sister?”

Maisey wanted to smack him. “Who told you she was here?”

“I’m a fucking senator, and I am her brother,” Ross said. “The DA’s office called me. Now, where the hell is she?”

“She doesn’t want to see you!”

Ross shoved Maisey aside and walked quickly to the parlor. Seeing no one, he spun back and headed to the kitchen. Maisey hurried after him.

“Get out!” she shouted. “Get out or I’ll call the police.”

Ross stopped, his eyes pinballing around the kitchen. He started back toward the foyer.

God, no. He was going upstairs!

Maisey grabbed a knife off the counter and ran after him. “Get out of here or I’ll kill you!” she screamed.

Ross spun, saw the knife, and smacked it from her hand. It skittered into a corner by the door.

Ross headed toward the stairs. Maisey launched herself at his back. He slipped on the wet floor but then caught his balance on the stair post and knocked her away.

She saw the blur of his fist, then felt the slam of blinding white pain in her jaw. She stumbled backward onto some cardboard boxes, hitting her hip hard as she fell to the floor. The taste of blood was thick on her tongue. Ross was coming toward her again. She cringed, bracing for another blow.

“Get away from her!”

Maisey opened her eyes. Ross’s dark coat came into focus and then, beyond him, Julie standing on the stairs. Maisey tried to talk, tried to tell Julie to run, but she couldn’t move her mouth.

Julie came slowly down the stairs. Her eyes riveted on Ross, she edged past him and knelt next to Maisey.

“You’re bleeding,” Julie said.

“Go,” Maisey whispered. “Get . . . help.”

“I’m not leaving you with him.”

“I’ll be—”

Suddenly Julie let out a yelp as Ross jerked her to her feet. Maisey’s heart was hammering. She spotted the knife near the coatrack, but she couldn’t move. Something was wrong with her hip. Maybe if she could talk to him, maybe she could reason with him like she used to do when he was a boy.

But she knew he wouldn’t listen. He was staring at Julie. His face was slack with astonishment, as if he were looking at a ghost. There was something else there in his eyes, something that made Maisey’s stomach turn—desire.

“Julie,” Ross whispered.

Julie took a step back.

“Julie,” Ross said again. “God, I’ve missed you so much.”

He held out his hands.

“Stay away from me!”

He blinked and for a moment seemed completely confused. “How can you say that to me?”

“I said it a million times before but you never heard me!”

“Julie, listen to me,” Ross said. “You don’t have to do this anymore. They’re all gone. It’s just us now.”

Julie put her hands over her face. Maisey tried to use the boxes to pull herself into a sitting position. Ross’s eyes flitted to her, and for one second she could see something of the boy there, the needy boy who nobody needed. But then it was gone and there was just madness.

Ross started toward Julie. She backed away, frantically looking for an escape, but she was cornered by the door.

He touched the sleeve of her sweater, and she recoiled. He reached up to stroke her hair.

“Don’t touch me,” she said.

Maisey closed her eyes at the pain in Julie’s voice.

“Julie, you know that you—”

“I said don’t touch me!” she screamed.

Maisey’s eyes shot open at the sound of a slap. Ross was glaring at Julie, hand to his cheek. Then he turned slowly, as if looking for something. He pulled Maisey’s green plaid coat off the coatrack and held it out to Julie.

“It’s very cold,” Ross said. “You’d better put this on.”

Julie’s eyes darted to Maisey, then back to Ross.

“No.”

“Put on your coat, Julie,” Ross said. “We have to go now.”

“I’m not going anywhere with you,” Julie said.

“Yes, you are. You’re coming with me. Right now.”

Julie pushed against Ross’s chest and darted toward the kitchen. He lunged after her, catching her by the hair. She screamed and tried to fight him, but Ross pulled her back, pinning her against his chest. Then he slapped her.

She screamed, and he slapped her again.

He twisted her arm. “Put on the damn coat!” he shouted. “Or I’ll kill both of you right here.”

Julie looked down at Maisey, then slowly put on the coat.

“Julie, no,” Maisey said.

“It’ll be okay, Maisey,” Julie said.

Maisey tried to move, her eyes jumping down to the knife. Ross caught her look and scooped it up.

He jerked open the door. Through the swirling snow, Maisey watched him drag Julie out onto the porch. For a
second, just a second, her eyes found Maisey’s, then she was gone.

The phone. She had to get to a phone.

Maisey crawled across the foyer to the phone in the parlor, knocking it from the table as she grabbed at it. Her hands were shaking so hard she couldn’t hold the receiver.

She started to dial the police but stopped and dialed the Potawatomi Hotel instead. She held her breath until he answered.

“This is Kincaid.”

“Mr. Kincaid,” she said. “This is Maisey. Mr. Ross was here . . . he’s taken Julie.”

“What? Taken her where?”

Maisey’s mouth hurt so much she could barely speak.

“Maisey, where did he take her?”

“I don’t know. I don’t know. To the airport, I think.”

There was a pause on the other end of the line and she could hear him moving around.

“Mr. Kincaid—”

“Call the police, Maisey. I’ll get there as fast as I can, but you’ve got to hang up now and call the police.”

She started to cry.

“Maisey, are you okay?”

“He hurt me, and I’m afraid he’s going to hurt her.”

“All right. Stay calm. I’m on my way.”

Maisey hung up and for a long time just sat on the floor, trying to slow her hammering heart and the pounding in her head.

A loud crack outside, like a gunshot. Maisey jumped, her eyes shooting to the open front door. Had Ross come
back? Slowly she pulled herself up to the window but couldn’t see anyone on the veranda. She limped out to the foyer and looked out the open door.

A huge black limb had snapped off the oak tree in the front yard and now lay across the front steps.

She let out a painful breath and stepped out onto the veranda, leaning against the railing.

Nothing but white. And the footprints in the snow left by Ross dragging Julie away.

L
ouis ran the last hundred feet through the deepening snow, scrambled past the downed tree limb and up onto the veranda. Maisey was leaning heavily against the open front door, holding a bloody towel over her lip.

“Did Ross do that to you?” Louis demanded.

“Yes, but—”

She was shivering badly. He took her gently by the shoulders and tried to steer her back into the foyer, but she pushed against him.

“You have to go after them!”

Louis had called Rafsky, telling him to intercept Ross at the airport, although he was sure no plane was taking off in this ice storm.

“Everything’s going to be okay, Maisey,” he said. “Detective Rafsky is at the airport right now. He’ll arrest Ross and—”

“He didn’t go to the airport!” Maisey said.