Paradise Island: Complete Edition (17 page)

“Greyson Milton. All the girls had a crush on him, if I remember correctly. But he was withdrawn. He didn’t seem like a very happy fellow, especially after Annie’s suicide. He seemed to be very angry with his father, which is quite understandable. I don’t think he talked to the man ever again, for Thomas died alone and penniless, still living in the church his father had built. For you see, Thomas’ father was also a vicar. It was always assumed that Greyson would follow the same path, but whether he did, I do not know. As I’ve said, we haven’t seen any of the Miltons here for a very long time. I can’t say I blame them. Some in the town still talk about what happened all those years ago. Some people just cannot let go of the past, can they?”

The way the old librarian looked at me and Jack when she said that last thing made me a little uncomfortable. It was true, though. Both me and Jack seemed to have problems dealing with what happened to us in the past. Jack dealt with the pain by sex and drugs, I did the complete opposite: I shut everyone out and wouldn’t let anyone get close to me. It seemed like the old lady had seen through our charades and was calling us out on them. But that wasn’t really what was happening. I was just projecting something that I felt myself on her. Or at least I tried to convince myself of that. But back to Josie. Poor Josie. It seemed she was right. Someone was following her. Now the only question remaining is who actually killed her. Thomas or Greyson Milton? They seemed like the only two plausible suspects.

“Thank you for your time, Mrs. Morgan,” Jack said after a very long silence. I was digesting what was said, and I guessed my manners ran away with my train of thought.

“Oh, be sure to come back any time, dear boy,” she said and took a long last look at Jack. “And you too, dear,” she said as an afterthought to me.

“Did you find out what you needed to know?” Jack asked as we exited the library.

“Yeah,” I said. “I’m just not sure what to do with this information, yet.”

“What do you mean?”

“You know those journals I’ve been reading?”

“Yeah, you seem pretty into them. Were they really that interesting?”

“Well, yeah, but the more interesting thing is where they were found and what isn’t in them. Josie Browning, the girl who wrote them, had an affair with Thomas Milton and got pregnant. She confronted him, and then a little later she went missing after going to meet him at his church after getting a written invitation. Jack, I think that either Thomas or his son Greyson killed Josie on the very same land where your house stands now. And if my suspicions are right, I think her body still might be buried up there somewhere.”

Jack pushed me aside as we got close to the bike.

“Are you sure about this?” He asked me point blank. “If you are, we should probably start digging.”

“Of course I’m not sure, Jack, but it’s a theory. I don’t know if we should start ruining your property, though. What if I’m wrong?”

“I’ll just hire a landscaper to fix it. Just think about it, Sophie, if we find her, we could help solve her disappearance, and murder. This could make a pretty good film. Maybe I should think about buying the rights. God, Sophie, we should keep those journals safe. They’re the only real evidence we have that she had an affair with this Milton fellow. And you said there was something in there about his son? What made you think that he might be the one responsible?”

“Well, it was just something Josie said in one of her last journal entries. She ran into him and he was very rude towards her, as if he knew what happened between her and his father. And then after that she felt like she was being followed. Then she got a letter from Thomas, asking to meet at his church well after midnight. I have a feeling that Thomas wasn’t the one who wrote that letter. From what Josie said about him in the rest of the journal, and their final encounter, it seemed like he was done with her.”

“He sounds like a real gentleman,” Jack said sarcastically as he got on the bike. He handed me the helmet.

“Indeed,” I agreed and put on the helmet.

I was ready to go back to the warmth of Jack’s place, even though now it had the extra connotation of possibly being the last place Josie Browning drew breath.

Soon we arrived at Jack’s place but instead of finding what I expected, we found something completely unexpected there.

Lucy was sitting by the door, wearing a thick coat. My heart jumped with joy. She seemed to be fine. While Jack stayed behind with the bike I ran up to the steps and greeted her. She got up slowly as I helped her. She seemed tired and a little beat up but otherwise fine.

“Thank God you’re okay, Sophie,” was the first thing she said to me.

“That was what I was going to say to you, Lucy! Where the hell have you been? I looked for you everywhere. How did you get out of that explosion alive?”

Lucy looked downward, tears starting to form in her eyes. “Oh, Sophie, I can’t believe it myself. I was almost free from the restraints when that terrible fire was headed my way. That was enough incentive for me to really try, and I did, at any cost.” Lucy lifted up her wrists and I could see the deep red lines there. She had almost slit her wrists trying to get free.

I hugged her tight. “Oh, Lucy, I’m so sorry this happened to you. I should have listened to you about Henry. But anyway, let’s get inside before we both catch a cold,” I said through tears. Jack came to us not soon after. He nodded in Lucy’s direction. There was still so much tension between them. But I didn’t care about any of that now. All I cared about was that my friend Lucy was alive. Jack unlocked the door and let us in while turning off the alarm. After Lucy got settled on the couch, I went into the kitchenette to make her a hot cup of tea. I made enough for all of us. Jack came by my side as I was preparing a plate of cookies and other such assortments, and gave me a look that told me everything I needed to know. I knew he didn’t like her, or trust her, but she needed me right now, and I gave him back a look that hopefully communicated that.

“Here you go,” I handed her a hot cup of tea and set the plate of cookies down on the table. “Eat some of these. You’ll feel better.”

I sipped my own tea as I waited for Lucy to continue her story. I needed to know everything that had happened to her since Henry took her. Jack was standing on the other side of the room, out of Lucy’s sight, staring down at us. I gave him a look that hopefully said that he should join us in the living room. He declined by shaking his head and staying where he was.

“Whenever you’re ready, Lucy,” I said gently. “I want to know what happened. And where have you been since the explosion?”

Lucy took a long sip of her tea and held it in both hands, warming herself by its heat. It was very cold outside, but then again, it was always cold on this island.

“Oh, Sophie, it was terrible. Henry had come out of nowhere in the middle of the night. I tried to fight him off but he was surprisingly strong, overpowering me in no time. He held me on his boat while he contacted you. I was sure he was going to kill me, and I guess I was right. For when he tied me down with those explosives in the boathouse, I knew that I wasn’t getting out of there alive. I started working on getting myself free as soon as he tied me up.”

“Wow, Lucy, that must have been terrifying.”

“It was. I barely got out of there alive. I ran through the woods until I reached civilization, as crappy as it is over here,” she laughed through the tears as she said that last bit and my heart just went out to her. Poor Lucy, having to go through that awful experience because of me. “Then I guess I collapsed. The next thing I knew, I woke up in the hospital this morning. I just got discharged. The first thing I thought about was you and what Henry had done,” she said as Jack and I held our collective breaths. “I thought about going to the police first, but you know they’re pretty useless. So I decided to come by here instead to see if Jack knew anything. I figured he’d be the one who knew what should be done.” She looked behind her in Jack’s direction. The look on Jack’s face remained neutral. She looked back at me. “Anyway, I was just about to leave and go to the police station when you two rode in on that bike. I can’t express how glad I am that you’re okay. How did you manage to get away from Henry?”

It was my turn to sip my tea now as I thought of a plausible answer. While I wanted to tell Lucy everything, something inside me told me that enough people already knew: me and Jack. There was no need for me to keep telling everybody, especially since it was supposed to be a secret.

“Jack fought him off after the explosion,” I looked up as I started to speak and saw Jack nod approvingly. The look of relief on his face told me everything I needed to know to continue. “Henry ran and got on his boat and we haven’t seen him since. I’m pretty sure he’s as far from the island as he could get. Jack told him that if he ever saw him again that the police would know what he’d done. I guess that last part scared him more than anything.”

“Wow, Sophie, I’m glad you had Jack to protect you. I just wish I had listened to you and locked my damned door in the first place. Then I would have heard him coming, and maybe I would have fought him off before he could have a chance to hurt you.”

“Don’t think about that, Lucy. What happened happened and it wasn’t anyone’s fault except Henry’s. He’s the only one to blame in all this mess. I’m just glad we all got away relatively unscathed. I hope to never see his face again.”

We sat in silence for awhile, sipping tea and munching on the cookies. Jack excused himself and I presumed went to his room for something. I guess it was awkward having Lucy here, especially if what he told me was true.

“Do you have a place to stay?” I asked, not really knowing what I was doing. I was just trying to make sure she was okay.

“The cottage, silly,” she laughed, though there wasn’t much happiness in it. “You know that place you and I used to live in together?”

I laughed as well. “Of course, yes of course. Which reminds me, me and Jack stopped by there earlier and ran into Rory. He was looking for you.”

“Oh, Rory, I remember him. I’ll give him a ring. Thanks for telling me.”

“No problem. I’m just glad you’re okay.”

“Me too. There is one thing you could do for me, if it’s not too much trouble.”

“Anything,” I said, meaning it. I still felt terribly guilty that Henry’s obsession with me caused Lucy to go through that horrible experience.

“Could you get me some gloves?”

“Sure, I’ll be right back.”

I went to my room and looked through my luggage, trying to find a perfect pair of gloves for Lucy. After I found a pair, I went back to give it to her, but she wasn’t on the couch anymore. I was confused and thought that she might have left, but then I saw her kneeling on the floor, looking through the box of journals. She was looking at the spine of each in quick succession, as if she was looking for a specific one.

“Here you are,” I said and went to hand her the gloves.

She looked a bit startled but took them with a smile. “Thank you, Sophie, you’re such a wonderful friend. I couldn’t ask for a better one.”

“I’m glad,” I said. “What are you looking for in that box?”

“Oh, I just remembered you telling me about the journals Jack had found. I was curious to see them for myself. I’ve grown up in this town and I wondered what could be so fascinating about them. Did you read them all yet? Anything interesting?”

“Most of it is not that interesting,” I said. “But the last journal has some pretty juicy things in it.”

“Do tell! I’m in suspense here,” she said, and suddenly she looked very interested in what I had to say. I remembered what the old librarian had said about the terrible things that happened in the town, and I also remembered Jack’s excitement about maybe making a movie out of it all. I wasn’t sure if I should tell Lucy the whole story just yet. I didn’t want to look like a fool if I ended up being wrong.

“Oh, it was just about her affair with this local minister. It was quite explicit, too. But that’s pretty much it, though. It wasn’t really as interesting as I hoped it’d be.”

“Can I borrow the last diary? That sounds absolutely fascinating to me,” Lucy said, looking absolutely gleeful about the whole thing.

“Since when do you read, especially old diaries? Weren’t you the one who told me that we should experience life, not read about it?” I laughed as I said that last bit, for it was true, Lucy was never a big fan of the written word, and would always act baffled by my ferocious reading habits.

“Yeah, but it’s different when that story is true and happened on the very island where you grew up.”

I had to agree with her there, but I still did not want to part with Josie’s last diary. Maybe it had some clues in it that I missed that could help me and Jack look for her body. It felt strange to think of her as dead. But the fact that her precious diaries were still on this island, made me think that she wasn’t too far away. If I had kept diaries for years and years, if I decided to move, they’d definitely be one of the first things I packed.

“I’m not quite done reading it yet,” I lied. “But once I’m finished, I’ll let you borrow it if Jack approves. They’re his now, after all. They were found on his property.”

“It hasn’t been his for very long. This land still belongs to the people of this island, no matter what pieces of paper have to say about it.” Lucy looked up from her tirade and saw the look on my face. “Sorry, Sophie. I shouldn’t have said that out loud. It’s just that this is a very small island, and we’re not used to strangers coming in and taking what’s ours. But thanks for the gloves,” she waved them in the air and made a show of putting them on. “I’ll be on my way.”

Lucy got up to go, taking one last look at the box of journals. She looked disappointed, but beneath that I could sense anger. I didn’t know why she cared so much about the contents of those boxes. “Do you want me to walk with you, or maybe Jack could give you a ride back?” That last part sounded wrong as soon as the words left my mouth. I wished I could unsay it, but it was out there now and I had to own it.

“No, no, I can manage. I hope to see you back at the cottage soon, though. It’s been lonely without you there.”