THE SANCTUARY (6 page)

Julia jumped up and hugged her. “We’ll find out. Tell us how we can help.”

“I’m going to find out what’s going on, but I don’t think I can do this alone. I could hire a private investigator, but that will be expensive, and I don’t want to go that route, at least not yet. I don’t think I can just sit around for days or weeks waiting to hear something. I’m not sure about anything except that I have to go to Rapid City, South Dakota. If you’re able to get away, we could fly there in the next few days,” Lydia said quietly.

Seeing Julia’s terrified expression, she quickly continued. “But I was thinking it might be better if we took a road trip.”

Julia hugged her best friend so hard that she nearly knocked the wind out of Lydia. “I would try. Really I would, but thank you so much for not making me get on a plane.”

“Frankly, between your being afraid of flying, death, claustrophobia, heights, spiders, and God knows what else, I don’t think we’d survive the flight,” Lydia reasoned. “I was thinking this might be a good chance for us to reconnect by spending some time together. I miss y’all. Even if this turns out to be a dead end, I have to try. Besides, it’s a good time for me to get away. I can hardly stand to be in this big, empty house right now,” Lydia said.

“You know who would be a great help…” Julia said.

“Don’t start,” Lydia warned.

“Look, I know you’re still mad at her, but you can’t stay mad forever,” Sonya reasoned.

“Why not?” Lydia countered.

“Well, for one thing, it’s not very CGF-like behavior. For another, at a time like this you need all your friends,” Julia said.

“Hmm. With friends like Liz Goldberg, who needs enemies?” Lydia asked.

“She explained everything and apologized, too. I admit that she should have talked to you first, but she didn’t. Maybe she was wrong. She didn’t think so, but once she found out how angry you were, she called the whole thing off. That’s got to count for something,” Julia said.

“And should I just get over her missing my mother’s funeral, too?” Lydia asked.

“Yes! She got stuck in another country. There was a revolution. The rebels took over the country and shut down the airport!” Sonya interjected.

“Even if she couldn’t help it back then, what’s her excuse now?” Lydia demanded.

“I don’t know, but I bet she has a good reason. You know Liz. No matter what her shortcomings are, she’s always there for her friends,” Sonya said.

“Except when she’s not,” Lydia said. “I’m upset enough as it is. I don’t want to talk about Liz.”

“I understand. It’s just that with her network of sources and investigative skills as a journalist, I’m sure that Liz will have some ideas on how to get more information on the mysterious Mr. Miller,” Sonya said.

“We’ll just have to manage without her. So if you guys are game, I’ll put this plan into motion.”

“Sign me up,” Sonya said.

“Me too,” Julia echoed.

It was no wonder that Lydia was having trouble sleeping. She was consumed with guilt. As soon as Julia and Sonya had agreed to help her, Lydia should have told them everything. They had a right to know. After all, they loved the island as much as she did. In a way, it belonged to all of them. But Lydia couldn’t bring herself to reveal the full extent of David’s betrayal, especially after how hard she’d come down on Liz over Sanctuary Island.

She could have forgiven her for missing her mother’s funeral but not for exploiting the Gullah and the Sanctuary. After rehashing all of that tonight, how could she reveal what David had done? It was even worse than what Liz had planned to do. Besides, she couldn’t bring herself to say it aloud. It was just too terrible.

Lydia had spoken at length with David’s boss. He had explained that the Great Recession had taken a terrible toll on business. They had lost some important clients and even faithful clients had reduced their orders. His boss didn’t want to lose him but had offered him a good reference if he found a better job elsewhere. According to his co-workers, he had looked, but there wasn’t much available given the economic climate.

But why hadn’t he just told her? Pride? Or was he trying to protect her? Or maybe he was just trying to protect himself? Whatever his reason, he had left her in a mess. Her only hope was to find this mystery man and recover the money. If she could prove that David was under duress when he made the loan or was swindled or that there had been a fraud perpetuated; anything that she could take to the state attorney general to prompt an investigation. She was desperate enough to hold on to the slim hope that might happen.

PART TWO

Road Trip

Six

ELVIS AND THE BEAST

J
ohn didn’t want Julia to go. He didn’t want the responsibility of the house, five kids, and all their pets. He said he needed time for himself.

That did it.

“It’s only for a week or two, and you owe me this,” Julia warned. “For sixteen years, I’ve gladly been here for you and the kids every day without fail. But now my best friend needs me. She’s always been there for me, especially after my mother’s death, without my ever even having to ask. It’s the first time she’s ever asked for my help.
Ever.
I won’t say no. Besides, you still get time apart from me, which is what you wanted. You can bail on me, but sorry, you don’t get time off from being a parent,” Julia admonished.

“I know you’re unhappy. News flash—I don’t always find folding underwear and fixing dinner fulfilling. There have been plenty of days I’d have liked to be spared a mountain of laundry, the incessant needs of our children, and malfunctioning appliances. But I’m here, and I do what needs to be done. You’ve been checked out for a while. You have to quit hiding out or escaping to wherever it is you go. I can’t do this alone. I
won’t
do this alone. Marriage takes two people. I admit that I have some problems. I’m willing to address them to save our marriage. So while I’m gone, you decide if you want the same thing,” Julia said.

She couldn’t believe that she had spoken to him like that. She had never done that in all their years of marriage, but she liked how she felt now that she’d done it.

John was also surprised by her vehemence. “We’ll deal with everything when you get back. Take as much time as you need. I’ll take care of everything on this end while you’re gone,” he promised.

Julia had the nightmare about her mother that night. She wasn’t surprised. Stress made them more prevalent. Afraid to go back to sleep, she sat in a chair by the window waiting for the morning light to chase the nocturnal demons away.

Sonya went to the office to meet with a couple of clients and brief her assistant, Terry Dupree, on what to do during her absence. She wasn’t worried about leaving Terry in charge. Terry was a proficient employee, and Sonya had every confidence that she would do a fine job in her absence. She needed to start delegating instead of trying to do everything herself. Besides, she had been thinking about promoting Terry. She knew the ambitious woman was ready for more responsibility, and if she didn’t give it to her, she might lose a great employee. Now might be a good time to start delegating. If she did have a serious illness, she would have to rely heavily on Terry. So, she called Terry into her office and told her about the promotion. Her assistant was thrilled to hear the news. She enthusiastically promised that she wouldn’t let Sonya down.

When Sonya called her doctor to find out if her test results were ready yet, she learned that she was out of town for a few days on a family emergency.

“I’m sorry, Mrs. Ellis, we can’t give you the results of your lab work. Dr. Hooper has to go over that with you when she gets back. She’s arranged for a doctor to be on call in case of emergencies. Would you like to leave a message for him?

No, she did not want to possibly learn that she had the big “C” from a total stranger. If she had to get the news, she wanted it to come from her doctor, whom she had known and trusted for many years.

Now she wouldn’t know anything until after the trip. Maybe that was just as well. If it was cancer, she wanted this time with her friends before she had to face it. She arrived home to an empty house.

What about Mike?

Did she dare confront him about the other day? She wanted to, but knew that she would not, at least not tonight. The only reason he would have lied is because he didn’t want her to know. The only reason she could think of that he wouldn’t have wanted her to know where he was and what he was doing was because he was having an affair.

Well, if that was the case, she didn’t need him to tell her. She’d been down that road before, and there were always three telltale signs. If he started coming home late (YES!), lying about his whereabouts (YES!) and bringing her guilt gifts (NO!), then she’d know he was up to no good.

It was well past eight o’clock when she heard him pulling into the driveway. A few minutes later, the door opened and there stood her husband holding a large bouquet of gorgeous flowers and a box of assorted chocolate candy. He apologized as he handed her the guilt gifts (
NO!
YES!). “Sorry I’m so late. The day got away from me.”

Lydia sold a couple of family antiques to Mike Ellis to raise money for the road trip. He gave her a generous price for the pieces, for which she was grateful. He didn’t ask any questions, for which she was also grateful. She bought a road atlas and tentatively mapped out their route based on places they wanted to visit en route to South Dakota, such as Graceland and Mall of America. She went to the store and bought plenty of provisions. They needed Carolina Kit fixings, along with the usual provisions needed for any road trip.

Julia and Sonya arrived bearing gifts and luggage. They were going to spend the night at Lydia’s house so they could get an early start the next morning.

“Holy crap,” Julia said when she saw their transportation. Lydia had told them about the camper, but they were not prepared for the sheer size of it.

“Where’d you get this palace on wheels? From an Arab Sheik in Abu Dhabi?”

Sonya quipped when she saw the gigantic recreational vehicle.

“Funny you should mention that. I’ll tell you why in a minute. But first, guess who works at RV World?”

“Who?” Sonya asked.

“Derek Duane. You can thank him for talking me into upgrading to the deluxe model. He gave me a great deal and said we’d be glad it was so spacious after we’d spent a few days on the road. Do you remember him from high school? He was a big jock and kind of a jerk, but
so
good-looking. All sleek and lean and muscular. Do you remember that thick, black wavy hair? Every girl over the age of fourteen just wanted to run their hands through it.

“Me too! I had such a crush on him,” Sonya exclaimed.

Julia remained silent, biting her lower lip.

“You wouldn’t admit that if you could see him now. He still has that killer smile, but he also has a receding hairline and a beer gut. He got married and they had two kids. He said they divorced last year, but that he has joint custody. Anyway, he was very helpful, gave me a lot of good advice and some fun trivia. According to Derek Duane, the largest camper ever built was for Sheik Hamad Bin Hamdan Al Nahyan of the United Arab Emirates.

It’s a five-story vehicle, measuring 66 feet in length, 39 feet wide, and 39 feet tall. It weighs 120 tons and has eight bedrooms and eight bathrooms, as well as four garages and water storage for up to 6,340 gallons. Can you imagine?”

“Wouldn’t that be a spectacular sight chugging up Highway 17? Our very own portable Arabian palace. Maybe we should spruce up this camper by painting our portraits on the side with ‘Carolina Girls Forever’ or maybe ‘Carolina Girls Gone Wild’ underneath our smiling faces. Can you imagine the reactions from other motorists,” Julia giggled.

“I wouldn’t put my face or name on this camper if you paid me. I don’t want to be recognized by irate tourists who will have to slow down to a crawl behind this tin beast. That is,
if
we don’t run them off the road or squash them first. I bet we don’t make it out of Georgetown County without incident,” Sonya quipped.

“I appreciate all the cheerful thoughts and positive feedback, but I can assure you that we’ll be just fine. Better than fine. We’ll be stylin’. I know the RV looks like overkill, but I want us to be comfortable. It’s a long trip and will most likely be my last hoorah. I might as well go out in style. Besides, it will pay for itself on what we save in hotel bills,” Lydia said.

“We’re going to sleep in that thing?” Julia asked.

“Of course, that’s what they’re made for,” Lydia said. “And it is fully tricked out, according to Derek Duane. Come see.”

She opened the door and signaled for them to go inside. She didn’t mention that a commercial license was required to drive it. Lydia had to get the license before she was allowed to lease the vehicle, but there was no need for Julia or Sonya to worry about such details. She also neglected to mention that she had promised Derek that it would only be serviced by an authorized dealer. That was after he assured her that it would be so rare as to be a freak occurrence for the RV to break down.

“These babies are built for endurance,” he had said as he smacked the side of the vehicle and smiled broadly.

“Wow,” gasped Sonya when she saw the interior. “It really is something, isn’t it?”

“That’s where we will put our clothes and incidentals,” Lydia explained as she pointed to the first door to the left, which was a closet. “The luggage, folding chairs, and stuff like that will go in the space underneath the camper. There’s a door underneath the main panel that lifts up for easy loading. The second door is to the bathroom. It has a little shower, sink, and toilet. It has everything we need.”

She led them to the front of the RV, which held two seats: one for the driver and one for the passenger, as well as a little pull-down seat behind those chairs. It was secured to the wall to allow a clear path to the front of the vehicle.

To the right was the kitchen/living/sleeping area. The kitchenette contained a small stove with a microwave above it. Beside the stove sat a small refrigerator and some pantry space above it. Just past the kitchenette was a booth. Beyond that there were two couches, one on each side of the camper. Above them were two bunk beds that pulled out of the wall when needed. The mattresses were small and thin but seemed fine for short-term use.

Julia said that it seemed cozy, and Sonya said that she was sure it would prove to be an interesting adventure.

“I don’t think you’re going to get Liz to sleep in a camper even if she and Lydia make up,” Julia whispered to Sonya.

“I don’t know. Liz has always been the most adventurous of the four of us, but it’s a moot point. I’ve been calling with updates daily but still just talking to her voicemail. I’m going to text her with daily progress reports, but I’m afraid that she’s going to miss the reunion and her shot at a reconciliation,” Sonya said glumly.

A few minutes later they stood huddled next to the vehicle.

“I hereby christen you ‘The Beast,’” Sonya said as she swung the champagne bottle towards the RV bumper.

“Wait!” Lydia yelled.

Sonya nearly dropped the bottle as she tried to stop mid-swing. “What?”

“What are you doing?” Lydia asked.

“What does it look like? Christening the camper.”

“First, I think that only works for ships. And secondly, that would be a terrible waste of a good bottle of sparkling wine,” Lydia said. “I thought we were going to toast our trip.” She pulled three plastic cups from her jacket pocket.

“Good plan,” Sonya agreed as she uncorked the champagne and poured.

“To our reunion,” Julia said.

“To our road trip,” Sonya said.

“To having the strength and courage to face whatever the future holds,” Lydia said. They clinked cups and drank the wine while studying their new home on wheels.

“I brought something too,” Julia said as she unfurled the banner. “You’re going to die laughing when you see it.”