Safe & Sound (10 page)

“Hey,” I said.

“Hey.”

“So, does Jay have a death certificate?” I asked.

“Yes. It was issued at the hospital and then sent off to be processed. You should be receiving the official copy any day now. Why do you ask?”

I told her about my conversation with the Greensboro Water company.

“Oh, that’s rough, Jill. Sorry to hear that. But I’m glad you took care of it.”

I could tell she was just glad I was doing something—anything—at the moment.

“Okay. Well, that’s all I have,” I added, about to hang up.

“Oh wait, Jill. Paul Wellon called again and asked when we would have time to go over Jay’s will and affairs.”

“Remind me. Who is Paul Wellon?” I asked.

“Mr. Lawyer.”

“Oh, right. Can we put him off a little longer?”

“Sure thing. I’ll get it done.”

“Thanks, Stella.”

I hung up the phone. It was just past four when I looked at the clock. I was pretty sure that, pending any big cases, Harry would be home soon. I called and ordered two pizzas for dinner and as I hung up the phone with Domino’s, I heard the water turn on in the upstairs bathroom. Harry must have left it on after his attempted shower that morning. A slight smile of satisfaction spread across my face.

CHAPTER 12

T
hings with Harry settled into a routine as they had with Lanie. Every morning I could hear him fumbling around the house as he got ready for work. I would stay in bed until the soft aroma of coffee floated upstairs some time after he had left. Then I would get up and shower and make my way downstairs and fix myself a cup of coffee. I would make a mental list of small things I wanted to accomplish that day. So far, I had finally cleaned the kitchen and established a seminormal grocery-shopping routine. Each day I dealt with another company as I tried to pay bills and get things switched over to my name. I figured I had enough money in savings to pay our bills for a couple months until the insurance money came in or I decided to go back to work. Eventually, the death certificate came in the mail, just as Stella had promised. That cleared the way at many companies and I found myself faxing copies of that document on a daily basis to someone new.

The list grew smaller and one day it merely involved getting the cable reconnected. Only Harry, of course, had noticed. The previous night, as he tried to watch the game on TV after work, he found there was no service. I had taken to fixing a small dinner for Harry and myself. We would sit around the table and eat mostly in silence. Harry never felt like talking about his day and I didn’t have anything to say either. It seemed to be the perfect arrangement.

For that night’s dinner I pan-fried two pieces of chicken with red potatoes and some green beans. I had just finished setting the table when Harry came in through the front door.

“Hey,” I called as he entered.

“Hey,” he called back as he headed up stairs to change. When he finally came down, he was dressed in jeans and a faded orange T-shirt.

“Smells great,” he added, coming around the kitchen table to embrace me in a hug.

Well, that’s new, I thought.

In the weeks when we had started this fake domestic life together it was the first time he had showed any physical affection for me.

“Rough day?” I asked.

“You couldn’t imagine,” he said as he filled his plate and carried it into the living room.

“You are eating in there tonight?” I asked, again confused.

“Ya. I hope you don’t mind. There’s a big game on.”

“No, not at all,” I said, picking up my own plate and joining him in the living room. “You would be glad to know, then, that the cable was turned back on.”

“Oh, I already checked. I called the cable company on my way home to see if it had been done.” He didn’t take his eyes off the screen.

What?

“Are you checking up on me?” I asked.

“No. Just making sure we would have the game.”

“We? Are we expecting visitors?” I asked, again trying to hide my confusion.

“No … I mean … we … you and me,” he said as he tuned me out to focus on the football game.

Over the years, I had watched endless games with Jay and Harry always asking a million questions about the rules or calls on the field. Feeling drained from the tension radiating off Harry and his confusing behavior, I sighed and gave up. I had noticed that Harry was beginning to make himself more at home in the last couple days. I could have sworn I saw him bring over a box of pictures at one point to set up in the guest room. I just continued to shrug off his behavior. I was enjoying Harry’s company more than that of Stella and Lanie at that moment. Harry never pried into my day or how I felt. All he required was food on the table when he got home and having all the utilities working. For the most part he left me alone. I struggled to keep my eyes open during the game and soon gave in to my drooping eyelids. I was startled awake as Harry struggled to carry me upstairs. I started to squirm.

“You fell asleep. I was just bringing you to bed,” he mumbled as he set me on my feet on top of the landing.

“Thanks. I got it,” I mumbled and awkwardly walked into my bedroom. I was feeling freaked out by Harry’s sudden changes in behavior. I waited for his bedroom light to go off and I crept back downstairs in search of my phone.

“Lanie?”

“Yea, Jill. Are you okay?” she mumbled.

I could see from the kitchen stove clock that it was after midnight.

“Sorry it’s so late,” I began to say.

Just then, the lights upstairs turned on and I could hear Harry coming back down the stairs.

“Never mind, Lanie. Sorry to call so late.” I quickly hung up the phone and reached for a glass of water as Harry entered the kitchen, turning on the light and temporarily blinding me.

“What are you doing?” he grumbled.

“I was thirsty.”

I held up the glass. He waited for me to fill it up and followed me back upstairs, lingering in the doorway to my bedroom.

“Are you having any trouble sleeping?” he asked.

“Not really,” I lied.

“Need me to stay in here until you fall asleep?” he asked, moving toward Jay’s side of the bed.

“No,” I nearly shouted. “I mean, you have to work in the morning. I think I will manage,” I said more calmly.

“Suit yourself,” he said and left the room.

I quickly closed the door and locked it behind him. I hadn’t noticed my hand was trembling slightly over Harry’s unusual behavior. Was it just tonight? Maybe some case had really gotten to him. I crawled into bed and reached over to turn the light off before deciding it might be more comforting to leave it on and rolled over and went to sleep.

The next morning I waited for Harry to leave for work as usual before climbing out of bed. I crept across the hallway and into the guest bedroom. I could see piles of clothes all over the floor and several toiletry items out on the dresser. I also saw several framed pictures that were not mine, sitting on the dresser. As I got closer, I could see pictures of Harry and Jay and pictures of Harry and me. Some showed the three of us together. I thought it was weird he had brought his own pictures over, but I shrugged it off. I was not one to judge unusual behavior during the previous couple of weeks. I made my way back downstairs and called Lanie.

“What do you mean he’s giving you a weird vibe?” Lanie asked.

“I don’t know. He has just started to act differently … almost …” I paused.

“Almost what?”

“I don’t know. Maybe it’s just me. I haven’t been the most perceptive lately. He’s probably fine. It’s just me.”

“I don’t know, Jill. Death of a loved one causes people to do crazy things and it doesn’t always happen right after someone passes away. Sometimes these things manifest themselves over time.”

“That’s crazy. This is Harry. But I could use a change of company. When does the next changing of the guard take place?”

“Jill, you know—”

“Hey, I know. I’m just asking.”

“Actually, next week is Thanksgiving, so Stella and I were thinking of coming down to visit.”

“Is it really Thanksgiving?”

“Yes …” She paused. “Have you given any thought to Jay’s ashes?”

“Kinda,” I said.

“Really?” Lanie couldn’t hide the shock in her voice.

“I know I want to scatter them somewhere on Oak Island. I just don’t know the details yet.”

In truth, I had given it too much thought. It was all I ever thought about. I had moved Jay’s ashes all over the house in the previous couple of weeks. They had finally been settled on the mantel, right where I hadn’t wanted to put them.

“What if we go at Thanksgiving?” Lanie asked.

“We could do that. It would give me something to set up.”

“I’ll tell Stella about the slight change in plans. We can all meet at your place on Wednesday evening and then head that way on Thanksgiving morning,” Lanie suggested.

“Yea. That would work. How long are you both staying?”

“I’m staying until Sunday but Stella thought she might stay for a week or so after the holiday. She wanted to head to the outlets to start her Christmas shopping, but she said she also had some work she needed to do that involved the Wake library.”

“Okay.”

Stella was a shopping addict and it didn’t surprise me she wanted to start Christmas shopping. The only difference was that Christmas shopping to Stella usually involved her buying more things for herself than others.

“See you in a couple days then.” Lanie rushed off the phone, saying her next client was waiting.

I headed back into the office in search of pictures. An idea was starting to form and I needed to find some pictures Jay always talked about. I looked for them for the next hour before I gave up. I had remembered that several months earlier Jay had mentioned that he was packing up some of our books and pictures and putting them into storage. He claimed that he needed more office space for his things. I had suggested we put them in the guest bedroom or attic, but he had insisted that getting a storage space. I thought Harry might know the answers to my questions and decided to wait until he got home.

It was after seven when Harry came home from work. I had given up waiting for him and eaten dinner without putting his food in the microwave to keep it warm. I was curled up on the sofa reading
The Great Gatsby
for the fifth or sixth time while Sinatra crooned quietly in the background.

“Really? You too?” he asked when he came down the stairs after changing.

“Me too, what?” I asked, setting my book down.

“This oldie crap.” He waved his hand in the air referring to my musical tastes.

“I happen to like Frank.”

“I always told Jay this stuff was for old-timers.” He went into the kitchen, looking for his dinner.

“In the microwave,” I said as I got up and turned off the music. “How was work?”

“It was good. We caught a big case toward the end of my shift, so I stayed on to help the boys out.”

“I talked to Lanie today. We discussed our Thanksgiving plans.”

“Oh yea? No one bothered to call and tell me,” he said, taking his plate from the microwave. He went into the living room to turn the TV on.

“I’m trying to tell you,” I said, trailing behind him like a puppy. “Anyway, Stella and Lanie are coming over Wednesday night and we are leaving Thursday for Oak Island. I’m going to spread Jay’s ashes out there.” I looked at him.

“I’m coming too then,” he said.

“Really? Don’t you need to work?” I hadn’t thought that Harry might want to come and I wasn’t really thrilled at the idea of him coming. Something felt odd about the entire thing.

“I’ll get my schedule changed around. I’m coming.”

“Fine. You’re coming,” I confirmed. “Oh, I did have a question. I was looking for some pictures of Jay from when he was a kid and I couldn’t find any, but I remember him telling me that some of his best memories with his parents were …” I trailed off, waiting for Harry to finish my statement.

“Fishing?” He looked confused.

“Yes, that’s it! I remember a big white boat and him standing there, but I couldn’t place the context. Thanks!” I got up and raced into the office, booting up the old laptop to do some research.

CHAPTER 13

W
e all piled into my old Jeep early Thursday morning. Harry was driving and Lanie sat up front to help with directions. Stella and I stretched out in the back with Jay’s ashes, which were securely wedged between my purse and pillows on the floor. We had had a lengthy argument earlier that morning over the best place to put them and I finally put my foot down and made a decision that effectively ended the arguing.

“Where are we staying?” Stella asked when we finally hit the road.

“We are staying at this small bed and breakfast by the beach. Jay and I never got the chance to stay there, but we wanted to. The lady who runs the place was very excited to have us and she will be cooking a large dinner tonight,” I told everyone, recalling how very excited Mrs. Kendrich had been when I had made the reservations late the previous week. “Then tomorrow we have a fishing boat chartered for four hours in the late afternoon. We are going to try our hand at fishing and then at sunset we are going to spread Jay’s ashes in the ocean,” I added. Jay often talked about growing up near or on the water and Oak Island had been our get-away, so it was the perfect marriage of his two loves.

“Really? Fishing?” Stella made a face showing her dislike.

“You don’t have to go,” I said.

Harry mumbled something from the front seat. I kicked the back of his seat with my foot and just smiled at Stella. Harry had grown increasing distant and moody since our conversation the previous week. I was starting to worry about him. Perhaps Lanie had been correct in her assessment. Stella and Lanie settled in and chatted about work as we made the drive out to the coast. As we crossed the bridge into Oak Island, I felt myself relax. The island had always felt like home. Jay and I had even dreamed about getting a beach house out there—someday.

We arrived at the bed and breakfast a little after one in the afternoon. Like most houses near the beach, it was situated on stilts several feet above the ground. The house looked to have three stories and was painted a pale yellow color. A small wooden sign on the side of the house read, “Seaside Escapes.” We unpacked the car and made our way up the stairs. Surprisingly, Mrs. Kendrich said that, with us checking in, there would be a full house this extended weekend. We had arranged for Stella and Lanie to share the room with the queen-sized bed and Harry and I would share the room with the twin beds.