Tide Will Tell (Islands of Intrigue: San Juans) (15 page)

Dropping the counterfeit smile, she looked at him, clearly considering his words. “Okay.” She let out a resigned breath, then took something out of her front pocket. She paused for a moment before handing it to him.

He studied the loosely folded piece of paper that looked like she’d fished it out of a mud puddle. “What’s this?”

“Read it.”

He unfolded it and read. “‘You’re next’.” He looked at her. “Where did you get this?”

“I found it on my bed.”

“On your bed?” Alarm shot through him. “When?”

“Last night.” She rubbed her upper arms. “I had left the front door unlocked, remember? I think someone got in while I was over here at the house.”

A visible shudder ran down her body. Something was really frightening this girl.

“And you’d heard someone outside earlier.” He studied the ominous scrawl. “You think someone wanted to post this outside the guesthouse, but went inside when they saw you leave?”

She nodded. “Maybe they tried to put it someplace near the door where they thought I’d see it, but the wind blew it down. That would explain why it’s so dirty. Then they heard me leave and seized the opportunity.”

“Wait a minute.” He tried to gauge the seriousness of the situation. “You mean you knew someone had been in your house, but you spent the night there all alone? Why didn’t you call me?”

“Because I don’t have your number.”

“Well, that’s got to change. Did you call Mr. Cole?”

She lifted a shoulder. “I couldn’t let him know about…” Clamping down on her thought, she looked away.

“About what?”

“You know.” She took the paper from him and waved it for emphasis. “About
this
.”

He shifted his chair so that their knees practically touched. “No, you were about to say something else. You couldn’t let Mr. Cole know about
what?
”

Tears welling in her eyes, she seemed to run through and discard a number of possible answers.

“Please Kate.” He placed a hand on the arm of her chair. “Just tell me the truth. What are you so afraid of?”

She drew in a slow, jittery breath. “Okay.” She glanced at him. “I’ll level with you.”

He shifted in his seat, waiting for her to continue.

“You said that Emily had accused Chase of domestic abuse. I went through that with my stepfather, and I just can’t do it again.”

“Your stepfather?” Josh’s throat tightened. “You mean, he hit you?”

She looked down, but she couldn’t hide the tears that formed in her quickly reddening eyes. She nodded meekly. “He was an angry drunk. Yelling and hitting were the order of the day in our house.”

“I’m so sorry, Kate.” The urge to give her a consoling embrace tugged at him, but he settled for rubbing her arm. “What about your mom? Couldn’t she help you?”

“My mom is a pretty classic example of an abused wife. He raged at her too, but she was afraid to leave. I think she was scared of being broke, or of what he’d do if she left. So she went into denial and tried to make me believe things weren’t as bad as I knew they were. It was crazy making.”

“Oh, Kate.” Some of the pieces fell into place. Of course she was drawn to a man who appeared to be the father she’d needed, but was in truth just a variation of the one she’d had. It was basic Psyche 101. He rubbed her arm again. “So, what did you do?”

She swiped at her eyes. “I got out. That’s all that matters.”

“And now you’re worried that Mr. Cole might be the same as your stepdad. I get it.”

“I don’t know.” She shook her head. “I just haven’t seen it in Chase. He’s always so sweet and gentle.”

No surprise.
Those guys were great at playing the part until they had some poor woman ensnared. Josh tried not to let his suspicions show. “You mean, in the weeks you’ve known him, you’ve never seen him get angry?”

“Never.” She paused. “Well, there was this one time. We were in San Francisco and he took me out to a really nice restaurant. Everything was fine, and then the server brushed against Chase’s arm and got Bordelaise sauce on the sleeve of his jacket.”

“I’ve been a waiter, myself.” Josh nodded. “It happens.”

“Apparently not to Chase. He went ballistic.”

“How so?”

“He didn’t raise his voice, thank goodness, but I could see the anger in his eyes. He basically called the guy incompetent and told him he had gotten people fired for less than that. It was pretty awful.”

“So, what did you do?”

“I…I just let it go. I mean, I figured the offence was worse than I realized because Chase is ordinarily so nice to everyone.”

“Kate.” Josh shook his head. “A person who is nice to you but brutal to the waiter is not a nice person. It’s pretty much a given.”

Her eyes creased and she bit down on her lip. “You don’t think that…” She paused to blink away threatening tears. “That he could have killed anybody…do you?”

“It doesn’t really matter what I think. What do
you
think?”

Inhaling deeply, she stared up at the wispy clouds, as if the answer might be written there. When it clearly didn’t appear, she leaned forward and wrapped her arms around herself. “I just don’t know what to think.”

“It’s okay, Kate.” He rested his lower arms on his knees to get closer to her. “Anyone would feel that way if they didn’t have all the answers. The only way to get rid of those doubts is to find out the truth about what happened to Emily and Trina. But that’s going to take some time.”

“No.” She shook her head, tears running down her cheeks. “I don’t have time.”

“Why not?”

“Because I…” She swallowed hard, as if the words she’d been about to say had burned her throat. She ran her hands over her face. “I can’t postpone the wedding. And if I found out Chase was guilty, I don’t know what I’d do.”

“You’d move on. Don’t be foolish, Kate. You can’t marry him not knowing what happened.”

She shot to her feet. “I don’t want to know.”

“Yes you do.” Standing, he grabbed her arms and dipped down to catch her gaze. “I know you do. I know you want to look into the eyes of the person you’re about to marry and know that you can one hundred percent trust him with your life. I know that, because that’s what everybody wants.”

She looked away, unable to argue. “But…” Her voice sounded weak. “How can I possibly find out for sure…?”

“I’m here to help you.” An idea struck and took hold. It might not give them all the answers, but it would at least provide a starting point. Confident that she wasn’t going to run, he let go of her arms. “What kind of clothes do you have?”

She stared at him like he’d sprouted a second head. “What?”

“I mean, do you have anything more casual?”

“I…brought a pair of jeans with me. They’re old and worn-in, but they’re my favorites so I couldn’t get rid of them.”

“Perfect.” He gave her an assessing look. “You do know you look prettier without all that make-up, right?”

Her hands flew to her cheeks. “I didn’t take the time yet this morning. I—”

“Then don’t. I like you better this way.”

An endearing blush crept across her face. “What are you getting at?”

“Do you trust me?”

Her forehead creased. “Is that a trick question?”

“I don’t play tricks.” Grinning, he took the cap off his own head and plunked it onto hers. “Trust me with this one thing. If I’m wrong, you can stay sequestered here for the rest of your life if that’s what you want.”

The blush quickly paled, and her eyes widened in fear. “I can’t…I mean, I don’t…”

He resisted the temptation to push back the wayward strand of blonde hair that draped her smooth cheek.

This was a calculated risk, but he had a feeling it was one worth taking.

Chapter 16

Downtown Friday Harbor bustled as it had the day before—no surprise for a Sunday at the beginning of the tourist season. As Kate slipped cautiously out of Josh’s car, she adjusted his cap on her head, pleased that no one seemed to be paying her any attention.

Stepping up onto the curb, she caught a glimpse of herself in a shop window. Except for the blondeness of the few strands of hair sticking out of the cap, she looked more like Kathy than Kate. The thought comforted her.

And it didn’t hurt to know that Josh preferred her that way too.

“Remember…” Pocketing his keys, Josh joined her on the sidewalk. “I can do most of the talking if you want me to. You don’t have anything to worry about.”

“Famous last words.” She forced a smile. Although a massive weight had lifted from her shoulders when she’d admitted her trepidations to Josh, she remained unconvinced that launching their own personal investigation into Chase’s past was going to do any good.

Besides, unless she filled Josh in on the rest of her story, he would never understand the extent of her fear. If they uncovered information that confirmed Chase’s involvement in either Emily’s death or Trina’s disappearance, Kate would be back at square one—terrified for her life with nowhere to hide. Maybe she would be better off remaining blissfully ignorant.

Except for one thing. All the bliss had drained out of this situation.

She pulled in a fortifying breath and kept pace with Josh. He was right. If she had to dive out of the frying pan, it was best to know the temperature of the fire.

As they neared the gallery, the pink flier in the window taunted her. Her courage faltered. “Are you sure this is a good idea?”

“You said Marion was Trina’s closest friend. If anyone knows anything, it’s probably her. And besides…” He held open the door. “It can’t hurt to ask.”

“Great.” She crossed in front of him to enter the shop. “More famous last words.”

Inside, only a few patrons milled about, much to Kate’s relief. Marion stood behind the counter, studying a clipboard and paying no attention to anyone. Kate’s knees buckled. Good thing Josh had such broad shoulders, because she might have to duck behind him if this woman decided to take a swing at her with that clipboard.

Dipping her head toward Marion, Kate spoke just above a whisper. “That’s her.”

Josh nodded, then headed to the counter a little more briskly than Kate would have preferred.

Marion glanced up, a friendly if insincere smile appearing where a scowl had looked so at home the day before. “What can I do for you?”

Kate let out a breath. So Marion didn’t recognize her. Freezing up, she looked to Josh for support.

He put on that sweet smile that would soften even the meanest disposition, or so she hoped.

“My name is Josh Collins.” He gestured toward Kate. “You met my friend Kate yesterday.”

Marion’s expression morphed like an apple drying in the sun. “Yes, I remember.” She looked down her nose at Kate, as if simultaneously recognizing her and disapproving of her casual appearance.

Wishing now that she had at least put on some lip gloss, Kate tried for a nonthreatening smile.

Marion’s hand went to her throat, where she fingered a large, probably locally-crafted necklace made of colorful gemstones. “I believe I said everything I had to say to her then.” With an end-of-discussion finality, she lowered her head and scribbled something on the clipboard.

Josh’s confidence didn’t seem to waver. “We’re hoping you can tell us something about Trina Cole.”

Peering over the top of her glasses, Marion’s features sharpened. “This wouldn’t be a good time. Everyone in town is upset.” She fired a pointed glare at Kate. “Why can’t people like
you
stop bringing trouble to our community? After what happened last night…” Shifting her gaze to what she could see of said ‘community’ just past the gallery window, she let her voice trail off cryptically.

“Wait a minute,” Josh looked confused. “
What
happened last night?”

Marion gave him a distasteful look. “If you want to know, you can buy a newspaper.” She glanced nervously at her other customers. “All I know is, it’s not going to be good for business if things like this keep happening around here. I don’t know why people think they can come to the San Juan Islands to escape their troubles. All they seem to do is bring their troubles with them.”

“Oh,” Josh persisted. “But I—”

“I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”

“But if we could just—”

“Please.” She scooped up the clipboard and stormed back to the room Kate assumed was her office, shutting the door with such force that the paintings on either side clattered against the walls.

Kate let out a breath. “What do you suppose she was she talking about?”

Looking uncharacteristically stymied, Josh shook his head.

“A couple of sheriff’s deputies were shot and killed last night.” An airy female voice drew them both around.

Jocelyn, the clerk who had helped Kate with the sculpture, stood behind them, her eyes darting between them and the office door.

Kate exchanged a look of alarm with Josh. “
Killed?
That’s awful…”

“Right here in Friday Harbor.” Jocelyn spoke in a low tone, as if Marion might actually hear her consorting with the enemy through her closed door.

Josh looked concerned. “What on earth happened?”

The woman shook her head. “There was an incident at a home down on the waterfront. The police aren’t saying much until they finish investigating. So far all we know is that two officers died at the scene and two others have been hospitalized.”

Kate’s hands went to her face. Was it possible that Joe could have somehow caused this?

Josh was apparently thinking more like an investigator than she was. “Did it have something to do with the bomb scare yesterday?”

“My guess is yes.” Jocelyn flicked her gaze to the office door. “Nothing ever happens around here, then all of a sudden…” She opened up both hands like either a flower blooming or a bomb exploding.

Kate felt faint. Marion had implied that the shooting was somehow her fault. But if Joe had found her, he wouldn’t waste time playing games or doling out warnings. He would come after her. Unless some poor police officers had tried to stop him. Could he have somehow had the wrong address on the wrong island? She shuddered at the thought.

“Was anybody else hurt?” she asked meekly. Like maybe a woman who could have been mistaken for her?