Dust and Obey (17 page)

CHAPTER 32

“Run!”
Riley yelled.

We abandoned our fishing rods and began sprinting across the pier. Before we could reach the end, I felt the wood tremble at my feet.

Blaine had hit the dock!

I looked back just in time to see the boat was still coming, eating the pier board by board.

Only a few feet from us.

Riley grabbed my hand, and we dove onto the sand, pulling Leroy with us.

I held my breath, waiting to feel an impact. I anticipated feeling debris rain down on us. Expected the crash, the pain that would follow.

After a few seconds of nothing, I pulled my eyes open. I was still intact. So were Riley and Leroy, who sprawled in the sand beside me.

I jerked my gaze to the boat. It had stopped mere inches from us. Just a couple seconds difference and we could all be dead or seriously injured.

But I couldn’t see Blaine through the rumpled pier and battered boat. Was she okay?

I scrambled to my feet, but Riley beat me to the boat. He boosted himself inside, threw some rubble into the water, and emerged with Blaine in his arms.

Leroy took her from Riley and laid her on the beach.

I crouched beside her, trying to determine how injured she was. She had blood on her forehead and blinked as if confused. But she was okay.

“Thank you,” she whispered, her hand going to her cheek.

“What happened?” Leroy asked.

She shook her head. “I don’t know what happened. I had to pick up a few supplies. One minute, I was heading back to the island. But the throttle got stuck. I couldn’t slow down.”

“We’re just glad you’re okay,” I told her.

But I had to wonder whether the throttle getting stuck was an accident at all.

***

“And tonight’s winners are . . . Riley and Gabby!” Dr. Turner announced. “Though they didn’t officially catch any fish, no one did. And since they were able to rescue Blaine, it only seems fair that I declare them the winners.”

I wasn’t going to argue.

“Gabby, Riley, if you’ll go get cleaned up, we have a meal planned for you outside on the deck attached to my private suite. Thank you all for your participation. I hope you all learned a little something about working together.”

Back in my room, I put on a little black dress—
the
little black dress, for that matter. I only owned one. As I looked in the mirror, I smiled at what I saw. I’d straightened my unruly hair into smooth waves and donned some simple heels. It was a nice look. If I had my mom’s pearls, it would be even better. I frowned at the thought.

I hadn’t given up on finding them.

I glanced once more at my reflection. I’d worn this dress to a banquet with Riley once. I remembered the moment with fondness for a second. Swaying back and forth in his arms had been magical.

My smile disappeared. But those days were over. Why did I have to keep reminding myself of that? I wanted total and complete control of all my thoughts and emotions. Easier said than done, though. I might have an easier time getting Detective Hanson to respect me.

I flipped my light off and stepped out into the common room. I sucked in a breath at the darkness that greeted me before laughing at myself. I’d simply forgotten to turn the light on out there.

I was always reading too much into things.

I started to reach back into my room when a gloved hand covered my mouth. I fought back but another arm snaked around my midsection, locking my arms against my body.

I was powerless. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t even fight.

“You’re not welcome here,” a gravely voice whispered in my ear.

I struggled again, trying to escape from his grasp. I couldn’t.

Did someone know who I was and what I was really doing here? Why else would this person confront me like this?

“I want you to leave and to mind your own business. Do you understand?”

I froze, not responding.

“I repeat: Do you understand?”

Finally, I nodded.

“Good girl,” the man said.

The next instant, he shoved me back into my room and slammed the door.

***

A few minutes later, I hurried downstairs and found Dr. Turner’s room. I was still shaken.

I’d emerged from my room to find the man gone. I’d left the lights on, not daring to turn them off this time. But that didn’t dispel my fear.

Someone knew who I was. Was I next on his list of people to knock off?

I’d have to dwell on that a little later. Right now, I had a dinner date with Riley.

Before I could knock at the door, it opened. Dr. Turner stood there. My throat squeezed for a second. Until he smiled. Mr. Rogers, I told myself. He’s just Mr. Rogers, king of sweaters and loafers. There was nothing intimidating about the man.

“We’ve been waiting for you. Come on in.”

I stepped into his room, instantly noting all the Bible verses on the walls. A huge display of the Ten Commandments took up an entire wall. I had no idea he was this religious.

Riley sat in the distance, out on a deck that overlooked the water. My heart sped at the sight of him. Some things would never change.

However, I had to be careful. This would be the perfect place for some sentimental talk about why he’d dumped me. I wasn’t in the mood for that.

“Your food will be here shortly,” Dr. Turner said. “Congratulations on winning today, and I hope you’ll both take this time to really talk about the things that matter.”

I nodded. “Of course.”

As soon as he was gone, I turned to Riley and smiled. He looked handsome. He’d put on a button-up shirt and rolled up the sleeves. I wasn’t sure what it was about seeing a man’s forearms that seemed so appealing and made my mouth go dry, but it was there and it was real.

“Riley . . . someone confronted me as I left my room,” I started, venturing into safer territory.

“What?”

I told him what had happened.

He leaned toward me, his eyes wide and his voice soft with concern. “Are you okay?”

I nodded. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just shaken.”

“There’s no way anyone should have discovered who you are.”

I shrugged. “Unless the police told someone. But why would they do that? My role in this investigation is the only reason I can fathom that the confrontation occurred.”

Riley sighed and ran his hand through his hair. “I don’t know. Maybe I shouldn’t have pulled you into this.”

My hand covered his. “I love being pulled into stuff like this.”

As soon as I realized what I’d done, I pulled away quickly, feeling like I’d touched fire.

“If at any point you want to bail on me, just say the word and we’re out of here.”

I won’t bail on you.
I didn’t say the words aloud, though.

“Gabby, maybe we should talk about the things that really matter.” Riley lowered his voice, almost to an intimate level. “Just like Dr. Turner said.”

I was reading too much into this, and I had to take the reins. I nodded. “Absolutely. Things that matter. Like Anna. Have you heard anything else about Anna?”

A wrinkle formed for just a second between his eyebrows. He exhaled and nodded slowly. “As a matter of fact, yes. I did hear something.”

My excitement spiked. “Please share.”

“Apparently, as a part of the program on the weekend that Anna died, all the participants were instructed to write a letter. They had to write about all the ways they’d wronged their spouses.”

“Ouch.” That’s a tough pill to swallow. Most people wanted to bury their mistakes, not acknowledge and take responsibility for them.

He took a sip of his water. “Yeah, that would be tough on more than one level. But, anyway, I started thinking about that letter Anna wrote that you found in the kayak.”

“You think it wasn’t the second part of a suicide note but that it was part of this therapy?”

He nodded. “It’s a theory, at least.”

I contemplated it a moment, picking at a crusty roll on my plate. “You could be onto something. I mean, it would make sense when I think back on everything she wrote. But, still, why the kayak?”

“I don’t know.”

A server came in with two plates of food at that moment. Oysters.

I’d never been a really big fan, and it must have shown on my face.

“Try them. They’re good, and the bay is known for its oysters,” the server said.

I nodded, not wanting to be rude. “Maybe I will. Are these from the Eastern Shore?”

“Of course. We serve local whenever possible.”

As he left, I glanced out again at the water.

“I didn’t realize that Dr. Turner was staying on the first floor,” I said, determined to avoid any uncomfortable conversations.

And to eat any oysters.

Riley gobbled one down and placed the shell back on the plate. “I heard he has bad knees so I guess that makes sense. Plus, this was the innkeeper’s quarters so it’s more spacious.”

“This place must have been grand at one time.”

“And now it’s being restored. I love it when that happens.” As he said the words, his knee brushed mine beneath the table and sent electricity through my veins.

There was something in his gaze that took my breath away. Again, though, I was reading too much into things. There was no hidden meaning in his words. He wasn’t hinting at our past or future relationship. He was just making conversation.

That’s what I had to remind myself for the rest of dinner.

Because there was no romance here. This was a business arrangement. When this investigation was over, both of us would resume our normal lives. Riley would get on with his life, and I would get on with mine. I simply had to accept that reality.

And that was all.

I stood, suddenly feeling like I needed a breather. I left the table on the deck and began wandering the bookshelves in Dr. Turner’s room. He had a lot of great self-help books, along with some interesting articles that may have been left from the original lodge.

“What are you doing?” Riley appeared behind me. A little too close. But I wasn’t complaining.

“Just being nosy, I suppose. Look at these pictures.” I picked up one of some men and women grinning in front of the lodge. The black-and-white photo looked old. Could one of these women have ended up the skeleton that time had uncovered? I set the photo back down.

As I reached for an antique-looking
vauze
, I heard something click. I froze a moment.

What was that?

Riley heard it too. I could see it in his eyes as I looked up at him.

That’s when I realized that the
vauze
wasn’t budging. It was almost hinged on one side. How strange was that?

“Look at this, Gabby.” Riley had moved toward the other end of the bookcase.

With a surge of excitement, I joined him, anxious to see what he’d discovered.

To my surprise, the bookcase had jutted out.

Was this a secret passage?

CHAPTER 33

The
wall rotated out. Riley shoved it some more, and finally a room on the other side was revealed.

I glanced at Riley, our eyes sharing the same excitement. This place really did have a secret passage!

I was a little too excited for my own good. But all my Nancy Drew fantasies as a child had involved something like this.

“I’ll go first,” Riley said. He slid between the wall and the bookcase. I followed behind him. We stepped inside another suite.

This was one more along the lines of Dr. Turner’s digs: large and fancy. How interesting.

“Whose room in this?” Riley asked.

“As far as I know, Dr. Turner is the only person staying down here.” I stepped farther inside the room. “It doesn’t look like anyone is using this room.”

“This lodge is quite charming. A murky history, dead bodies, secret passages. What more could you want?”

“My thoughts exactly.”

“I was being funny,” he added.

“Sure you were.” I ran my hand across a bookcase before pulling open the closet door. It was empty, just as I’d suspected.

“We probably don’t have much time, Gabby.” Riley stuck his head back into Dr. Turner’s room. “Who knows when someone will come to get us for whatever evening activity has been planned.”

“I just want to look a few more places.” I went to the dresser and pulled the first drawer open. I blinked at what I saw there.

My mother’s pearls, the letter from Anna, and Steve’s kitchen knives.

***

“Yesterday, we talked about the moment you first fell in love,” Dr. Turner started. “Today, we’re going in the opposite direction. I had you all write letters a couple of weeks ago. Tonight we’re going to talk about what you wrote. I want you all to share how your spouse has hurt you and what that’s done to your life.”

Oh great. Another uncomfortable conversation. And in front of an audience.

As usual, the mood had been set. There were electric candles, soft classical music, and that ever-present scent of lemon furniture polish. The moon glinted softly outside through the windows.

I tried to avoid thinking about it. Instead, I thought about my mom’s pearls, which were now safely tucked into my pocket, along with Anna’s letter. It had dried wet, so I doubted it could be salvaged at this point. But still—I had the letter, and I would give it to the police.

Who would have left those things in that room? Why?

It just didn’t make sense.

Riley and I had managed to get back into Dr. Turner’s suite in the nick of time. We’d clicked the wall back in place and assumed a relaxed position just as the server came with dessert: chocolate cake with mascarpone cream.

My thoughts volleyed from there to a plan that was developing in my mind. A plan for how to catch a killer.

And it would take place tonight.

Really, one of the only solid pieces of evidence I had and a surefire way of finding answers was catching someone in the act. I’d seen a boat near the island several times at night after everyone was in bed.

If I wanted to either confirm or disregard my suspicions, then I needed to be more proactive.

As the plan simmered in my mind, I came back to the present. I glanced around the room, trying to figure out what I’d missed as I’d been plotting.

Farrah was already crying before she even spoke. She shared with the group about when she first realized Atticus loved his job more than her. Atticus shared that it came when Farrah no longer tried to understand him and his hard work to give her whatever she wanted.

Angelina talked about Bo buying a sports car when they could barely make their mortgage. Bo talked about how Angelina always put him down in public.

Then all eyes were on Riley and me. I’d already formulated my story. I would talk about Riley and I drifting away. How we’d changed since we got married and how it was never more apparent than while at a friend’s birthday party. It was far from the truth, which was what I needed.

“You go first,” Riley said.

I opened my mouth, about to dive into the fake birthday-party story. Instead, the words, “You hurt me” escaped.

“What?” Riley squinted, almost as if he’d been slapped.

Tears filled my eyes. “You hurt me. I gave you my heart. I trusted you, and you trampled over me without regard.”

The words seemed to shock me just as much as they shocked everyone else. All my buried emotions started to bubble to the surface. It had been bound to happen sometime.

“Gabby . . .” His eyes were soft, compassionate.

That look always dispelled my anger. But I’d already put my true feelings out there. I couldn’t snatch them back now, nor could I leave them without explanation. Unfortunately, we had an audience for this conversation. And instead of using a cover story, I was telling the truth.

“Nothing you say can change what happened,” I continued.

“I was broken, Gabby.” He grabbed my hand. “I hardly wanted to live with myself. I know you don’t believe me when I say that I left because I loved you, but, at that time, that’s exactly what I was thinking. In retrospect, I can see where it was a dumb idea.”

“You actually left her?” Angelina gasped. “I knew we had problems, but Bo never left me when the going got tough.”

“It wasn’t like that,” Riley started, exasperation staining his voice.

“Then what was it like?” Dr. Turner crossed his legs and gave us his full, undivided attention.

All eyes in the room riveted on Riley. I almost felt sorry for him, but I was powerless to correct this now.

Riley sighed, long and heavy. “I had a brain injury, and my recovery became my life. The more my pain and frustration grew, the more my vision became cloudy until I couldn’t see clearly anymore. I ended up moving back home with my parents.”

Angelina snickered, at least having the respect to cover her mouth. “You moved in with your mommy?”

Riley cut her a sharp look and frowned. “It’s complicated. Honestly, I didn’t want Gabby to turn her whole life upside down in order to take care of me.”

“She’s your wife, though,” Farrah said. It was the most passion I’d seen in her eyes since we’d started this marriage retreat. Unfortunately, it was directed at Riley and me instead of her husband. “That’s what spouses do.”

“I also didn’t want her to see me in that state.” He grimaced as he said that last part. His hand brushed over his face, and the agony inside him was obvious.

“Did you think she’d see you as less of a man?” Dr. Turner asked.

I squeezed my eyes shut, suddenly realizing what a bad idea it was to have this conversation. It wasn’t meant to be had in a group like this, especially not since everyone had jumped in to contribute their opinions.

“Being in the place I was in was humiliating. I learned a lot in the process. There are things I would have changed if I could now. But hindsight is always twenty-twenty, right?” Riley’s voice had lost a lot of its liveliness. In fact, this conversation looked downright painful for him.

I wanted desperately to reach over and touch his back. To smooth his tight muscles. To tell him everything would be okay.

I could do none of those things, though.

I had to keep my distance. Keep things superficial. Take my emotions out of this equation.

“Gabby, how did this make you feel?” Dr. Turner turned toward me.

I rubbed my neck, wishing my muscles didn’t feel achy. But it was the same way I’d felt when I’d learned my mom had cancer. I was grieving in my own way for all the things I’d lost.

“It made me feel like I wasn’t enough.” My voice sounded raspy, clear evidence of the turmoil I felt inside. “I felt like I wasn’t good enough. I felt rejected—again. All the men in my life have let me down, and I added Riley to that list.”

Maybe I’d been too honest. Maybe I should have tamped down what I’d said. Most likely, I shouldn’t have said it at all. But again, for some reason, the truth insisted on pouring from my lips.

Riley’s gaze was so intense on mine that I wanted to cry. But I somehow managed to hold myself together.

“Riley, what do you have to say to that?” Dr. Turner said.

You could have heard a pin drop in the room. It was that quiet. Everyone watched us like we were on an episode of VH1’s
Couple’s Therapy
. This was one time I didn’t want to be the center of attention, though.

Riley swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing up then down again. “I never wanted to hurt you. I only wanted what was best for you. Sometimes I don’t feel like I’ll ever be able to make things right.”

“Gabby?” Dr. Turner said, his voice solemn.

That did it. A tear escaped and drizzled down my face. “I don’t know either.”

“And here I thought the two of you were the only normal ones here.” Angelina snorted, pulling us out of the moment. “I guess we all have our problems, don’t we?”

“Yes, we do,” Dr. Turner said. “We’re all human, and that makes us imperfect. I think we’ve covered enough here tonight. Why don’t you all have some time to yourselves before we call lights out?”

Riley and I having time to ourselves was the last thing I needed. I didn’t think I could handle talking about this anymore. And this look in his eyes just made it all more confusing. It made me want to turn to mush and fall into his arms. Either that or slap him. Neither option was appealing.

“Dr. Turner?”

We all stopped and turned toward Steve.

“Yes, Steve?”

“Has anyone seen Blaine?”

We glanced at each other and shook our heads.

“No, not since dinner,” Dr. Turner said. “What’s wrong?”

“She wanted the staff to meet with her about some improvements she’d like to see. However, she didn’t show up. I’ve got stuff to do.”

I immediately tensed. Oh no. Not Blaine. What had happened now?