Kaleidoscope Summer (Samantha's Story) (16 page)

I reached over and
lightly
rubbed her hand
.
“Have you broken
off a relationship recently
or i
s there anyone
who
might be a threat to you?
”

“None of the above.
I have an occasional dinner with one of th
e instructors at the center—
we’re not in
a re
lationship. And n
o
disagreeme
nt
s
with anyone.
”

“You exchanged emails with
Anne
. Did she ever mention anyone giving her problems?”

“
H
er
emails were never personal. She wrote
about
the town and some of the people
, like Maggie.
”

We’d overlooked
something.
“Until we find this creep
,
I’m not leaving you alone.”

“There’s no need for you to r
earrange your life
.” She toyed with the handle of the cup on the table in front of her.
“I’ve been taking care of myself for a long time now.”

I
ran my hand down her arm
. “This
warrants being taken seriously
.
I’m
call
ing in
Zack
Johnston
,
a detective with the
Mariner Bay
police
force. I
want
his analysis of
this
case.
He should be able to give me some pointers in profiling this guy.
”

“
If someone did have a
vendetta against
Anne
,
I
might
find a clue
in her files
.
” She pi
cked up the tray from the floor
.
“I’ll
clean up
first.”

“Talk to Maggie
. I’ll handle this
.” I balanced the tray
on the corner of the table,
stacked the dirty cups on it and put it
in her storage
room
.

As we left
,
I tipped
my hat to the Indian
statue
outside
the antique
s
shop
.
“Some
d
ay he and I need to have a chat.
” In response to my comment, h
er azure eyes shimme
red and
I reached for
her
hand
. I
t fit perfectly into mine.

Chapter Ten

Since arriving in
Serenity
Cove
,
I’
v
e had
this sensation of peering
into the looking glass—longing
to step thr
ough.
T
he past c
lings
to my thoughts li
ke overgrown honeysuckle vines—
still
,
t
he future bids
me come.
If I choose hope, will I find it?
~ Journal e
ntry

Once t
he summer visito
rs arrived,
Serenity Cov
e quickly
filled with
a b
ustle of
activity. The town took on a new energy
. The shore
became
crowded with sunbathers,
a
nd water sports like windsurfing gave the water a colorful new look. T
he parking
slots on Main Street overflowed
,
and the benches outside the shops were
put to use by tired shoppers
and people
watchers
.

The sunset created a
candlelight
ambiance
over the town,
as
Logan an
d I slipped into
a window booth inside Rubi’s
Diner.
I gazed across the street, and
the
closed bookshop had taken on a n
eglected appearance. The flower
beds surrounding the shop were in
desperate need of a manicure.
Thankfully, there
hadn’t been
any
destruction
or defacing
of
the shop
for the past couple of weeks.
It was time to return to some kind of normalcy.

“You’ve
babysat
me
enough
. I’ll be fine on my own
, and
I do have my furry protector.”
I hoped the
lightness of my comment might win his agreement. Too much togetherness was pushing things in a whole new direction.

“Not a
chance. I have no intention of allowing this lowlife
to catch you alon
e
.”

The now
familiar stubborn set of his jaw told me there was
no
use arguing—
I didn’t even go there.
We finished our meal and strolled back to the
apartment.

W
e
settled in for another evening
.
I stretched my legs out on the cushions
of the sofa
, my little girl curled up
next to me
.
“Tell me abo
ut you and Maggie
growing up
here
.
”

Logan
lounged
on the other en
d of the sofa placing
his stocking
feet on the ottoman.
“It
was phenomenal
.
”

“Serenity Cove is amazing, so that’s easy to believe.
”
I shifted my position
. H
e noticed and turned
more toward me.

“
Life was
n’
t perfect
. Our father
died
while stationed in Beirut
.
Suicide bombers detonated two truck bombs in a
n attack on the American Marine
barracks. My father was one of two hundred twenty marines killed
.”

“The
eighties, right
?”

“
He died October of eighty-three.
At that time
,
it was the largest one-day death toll for the United States Marine Corps since the Battle of Iwo Jima.
I remember him, how he carried me on his shoulders. And playing catch in the front yard. A
lthough a
lot of my memories are vague.”

“So y
ou and
Magg
ie were
quite young
.
”

“
Maggie was six.
I was seven
. We were lucky enough to have grandparents w
ho stepped in and helped
.
There were days M
om stayed in bed
or
sta
red at the waves
for hours. Sh
e loved us,
but
grief
took her to
places
I don’t ever
want to know
.”

“
And
Maggie mentioned your mother
died of cancer.”

“
When
Mom
learned she had
breast
cancer
. It
had
already
metastasized. S
he
r
efused treatment.
” He stood
and roamed about
the room.

“Poor Maggie.”
I shook my head.
“I’m s
orry. It was horrible for both of you.
”

“
No, y
ou’r
e right.
The house where she lives is the one our mom grew up in
.
”
He
sat back down and closed th
e top button of his shirt
,
as though he wanted to
quiet
painful memories the way others might ward off a chill.

“She told me how you gave
her the choice of houses
.”

He shrugged.
“
It was only right
.
Our families settled in this region four generations back.”
His expression softened and he
looked into my eyes. “
Our grandparent
s
were
a big
part of our lives
.”

“
So y
ou’ve never lived anywhere else?”

“Maggie and I both went
away
to college. I have a law degr
ee from Harvard
.”

“You graduated from Harvard
?”
I leaned forward
, eager to hear more. “How did you
go from Harvard to
a police officer?”

“
Grandpa Delatorre drilled the idea of Harvard into my head from an early age
. T
he least I could do, considering.
Once I finished, I decided I preferred law enforcement. Still do.”

Goldie jumped off the couch and pawed my cushion
.
“She needs to go out.” I rubbed her head and reluctantly left my comfortable spot.

“I’ll take her
if you make a snack
.” He winked and reached for Goldie’s leash.

I quickly prepared a tray.
They marched back in
and
both
eyed
the
assortment
of sandwiches and chips
.

“Looks good
.” Logan
gave Goldie a s
mall piece of corned beef and proceeded to take a hefty bite of his sandwich.

I liked the way he shared
bits
of food with my dog.
Lord
,
is there
a future and a hope?

In short order, not ev
en crumbs remained
.
“I think I’ll clean
up and turn in.” I placed the plates on the empty tray.

Logan stretched
as he unfolded from his seat. “Sweet dreams.” He ran his hand down the length of my hair
,
as he had b
ecome fond of doing. With a closed
smile
, I
padded
in
to the kitchen.

Snuggled in bed
,
I
attempted
not to think of
Logan
in the next ro
om
. I pictured the contrast of
him in a
cotton candy pink room
and pulled the sheet over my face to quiet my giggles.
I tried
to read,
but
like a
branch
tossed about by the waves,
my mind stayed adrift
.
Logan and I
being here alone was not a good idea.
In the morning
,
I would pack a bag and go stay at Maggie’s.

Dawn
covered the room with
soft
light
.
The
aroma from the kitchen
told me Logan was
up
before me
, again
. I tied
the s
ash around the waist of my robe
and
joined him
.

“What, no pastries this morning?
”

I imagined
his laughter. I
t flowed into
my brain
and v
ibrated through my heart—I
craved
the sound. I looked acr
oss the table
.
Maybe
…
just maybe
.