Tide Will Tell (Islands of Intrigue: San Juans) (12 page)

Now all she could hear was the wind whipping through the trees and the hammering of her heart. She tried to move faster, but her knee gave out and she toppled to the ground.

Get up, Kate!

As she pushed her palm against the stone path, she sensed someone approaching her from behind. Her head snapped around, and she caught a movement among the trees. Was someone there? Or was it just the branches swaying in the wind?

A horrifying certainty that Joe had found her flooded her veins. Was she going to die here, on this dark path? Or worse, would he drag her away and make her pay for what she’d done to him?

Raising the knife, she opened her mouth to scream, but again the wind silenced her voice. Then she sensed that whatever or whoever was there moved away, and the feeling of being followed vanished like smoke.

She looked around, holding the knife up with one hand and her hair back from her face with the other. Had she just imagined it?

She pulled herself to her feet and stumbled the rest of the way to the house. Grabbing the railing, she dragged herself up the steps to the porch. She was desperate to find Chase, to throw herself into his arms for comfort and security. She would beg him to let her stay in this house tonight, and everything would be okay.

Twisting the door handle, she pushed against the solid wood, but it wouldn’t budge.
Locked.
Of course. She pounded on the door, feeling like a fool for not having a key to her own house.

After what felt like a full minute, the lock clicked and her stomach jolted. Slowly, the door opened. She held her breath. All she saw was the dimly lit foyer. No one was there.

Alarmed, she cautioned a half step forward into the cavernous room, which seemed ominous now with just the faint light at the entryway. Rain and wind whirred outside and she shivered against the question of who had unlocked the door. And why had they just disappeared?

She took a couple more careful steps inside. Suddenly, another roar of wind so powerful it made the house shake stole her balance and pulled her from her thoughts.

“Boo.” An eerie voice came from behind her, accompanied by a whoosh of wind and a resounding slam.

Kate whirled around, wielding the knife and letting loose a scream.

Chapter 13

Just as Josh stepped out of his room, the unmistakable sound of a woman’s scream pierced through the howling of the wind and rain.
Kate?

Alarmed, he hoisted his backpack onto his shoulder and hurried to the stairs. Descending, he strained to see into the dimly lit foyer below. There next to the front door, Stuart stood with his hands raised like he was under arrest. Even stranger, Kate faced him holding up a butcher knife as though she were auditioning for a remake of
Halloween
.

“What’s going on?” Heart racing, Josh took the remainder of the stairs at a sprint. As he reached her side, he saw that the knife shook in her grasp. Her tousled hair dripped, and the knees of her pants looked as if she’d taken a fall in the mud. What had happened to her since he’d left her to rest at the guesthouse all those hours ago?

He fired a glare at Stuart. “What did you do?”

“Me?” Stuart shifted a defensive hand toward Kate. “I wasn’t the one prowling around like a murderer.”

Puzzled, Josh turned his gaze on Kate. Lowering his backpack to the floor, he reached out a careful hand for the knife. “Maybe I should take that now.”

He waited till realization dawned in her eyes and she willingly allowed the handle to slip from her hand to his. Once he had confirmed that it was just a plain old kitchen knife, he took a step back and eyed them both. “Where did this thing come from, anyway?”

“From the guesthouse.” She shot an accusatory glare at Stuart. “And I wasn’t
prowling
. Why did you sneak up behind me?”

“Did I
scare
you?” Stuart let out a jittery laugh like he wanted to try to make a joke of this. “I heard you pounding on the door and I thought I’d have a little fun.”

“Some
fun
.” The edge in her voice suggested that her fear had turned to anger. “And for future reference, I’m not big on practical jokes.”

Josh looked at Stuart for a response. The guy had to be close to thirty—decades past finding pleasure in intentionally scaring someone.

All Stuart managed was a disinterested shrug. No doubt all those years of entitlement had drained whatever empathy God had infused in him.

Josh tried to tamp down his irritation. “You might want to think twice before you sneak up on someone who’s carrying a weapon. You almost gave Janet Leigh a run for her money.” Lifting the knife, he made a quick stabbing gesture for effect.

Stuart frowned. “Janet who?”

“Never mind.” Not wanting to waste any more breath on this guy, Josh turned to Kate, setting the knife down on an entry table. “Kate, what’s going on?”

She leaned one hand against the table, clearly taking the weight off her hurt knee. “I was just looking for Chase.”

“Oh.” Stuart tittered. “Mommy was looking for Daddy.”

Annoyed, Josh watched as Stuart crossed to a cabinet that stood against the wall adjacent to a dark hallway. “Is something funny, Stuart?”

Removing a bottle from the cabinet, Stuart contained his laughter and shook his head. “It’s just so ironic, that’s all.”

“What is?” Josh couldn’t keep the exasperation from his voice.

“Same blonde hair.” Stuart slid a bulbous glass from a hanging rack inside the cabinet. “Same blue eyes.”

Josh half-turned to Kate. “Just ignore him.”

Stuart made a big show of pouring an amber liquid into the glass, then looked down at Kate through narrowing eyes. “You remind me of her.” The utterance came out sounding dark and menacing.

Kate shot Josh a look of wide-eyed confusion edged in fear.

“Of who?” Whatever patience Josh had left was rapidly disintegrating.

Stuart returned the bottle to the cabinet, took a swig from the glass, and crossed over to Kate. He leaned in so close that she recoiled, no doubt at least partially from the potency of his breath.

“You remind me…” He sneered. “…of my mother.” It came out in a conspiratorial stage whisper as if he thought he was a character in a Woody Allen movie. He winked, then turned to stumble down the darkened hall.

Huffing out exasperation, Josh gestured toward her dirty slacks. “Did you hurt yourself again?”

A slight eye roll seemed to indicate that this was the least of her worries. “I’m fine. I just heard Chase come home and I…” She swept a hand across her front. “…fell in the rain, and…

“Uh huh.” He tipped a nod at the knife. “And what’s with the cutlery?”

She shrugged. “Just my nervous need for self-defense.” Her eyes lit on the backpack he’d abandoned near the door. “Are you leaving?”

Was that disappointment in her voice…or wishful thinking in his interpretation? When Kate hadn’t made it to dinner, he’d prolonged his leaving, not wanting to disturb her if she was resting. Now, as he gazed into her pleading eyes that looked downright electric in this dim light, he again felt the unintentional hold she seemed to have on him. Maybe he should have cleared out while he’d had the chance.

He glanced at his watch. “I’m catching the last ferry off the island tonight. I was just about to look for you so I could say goodbye.” He tapped the knife handle. “Glad I didn’t catch you by surprise, Norman Bates.”

“Goodbye?” Her eyes shot to his. “But I was under the impression that you were staying the weekend.”

“Yeah, I was under that impression too.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I just sort of changed my plans.”

“Oh.” Her face dropped, a jumble of thoughts parading across it. Was sadness at the news that he was leaving part of that?

He hesitated, not quite ready for what would no doubt be the final goodbye. Why couldn’t he just say it? It wasn’t like this was going to get any easier, and besides—he checked his watch again—he had a ferry to catch.

The sound of a door opening somewhere down that dark hallway turned their heads. The quiet tap of footsteps followed, then Mr. Cole appeared carrying an empty glass decanter. His look of surprise at seeing them quickly softened.

“Katie.” His gaze on her seemed gentle and loving as he approached. “I thought I heard a noise a minute ago. Sounded like a scream. Was that you?” He stopped short of giving her a peck on the cheek, jerking back in alarm. “What’s happened to you? You’re a mess.” His eyes darted quickly to Josh’s backpack then to Josh. “Are you leaving us so soon, Joshua?”

“Yes, sir.” Resisting the urge to point out that Mr. Cole had failed to wait for Kate’s response, he gave his watch another glance. If he didn’t catch the ferry in fifteen minutes, he’d be spending another night here whether he wanted to or not. Still, he didn’t want to leave without sharing a private goodbye with Kate.

He put on a polite façade. “Unfortunately, my summer job has fallen through, and I need to get back to Seattle to start looking for work. If I don’t get something, I can’t start film school in the fall.”

“Oh. I’m sorry to hear it. Well, a bright young man like you is bound to find employment. And remember the invitation remains open.” Still holding the decanter in one hand, he placed the other on Kate’s back. “One week from today. The wedding of the year.”

Kate ran her hands over her hair. “Chase…” Her nonchalant tone seemed forced. “Where have you been all day?”

“Just as I told you.” He crossed to the cabinet and set the decanter on top. “Sam and I had meetings all day in Seattle.”

“Oh. So, that’s where you’ve been this entire time?”

He nodded. “For the most part, yes.” He removed a full decanter and two tumblers from the cabinet and eyed Kate as he poured a reddish liquid into one of the glasses. “What’s the matter, dear? You look a little peaked.”

“It’s just that…” She looked at Josh like she might need him to back her up. “We
saw
you earlier today.”

“Oh?” Mr. Cole’s pleasant expression didn’t waver as he filled the second glass. “Where?”

She let out a breath. “Driving off the ferry onto the island.”

He gave her a light chuckle. “You must have better eyes than I do if you could make out my car from across the bay.”

“No, I mean we were at the general store.” She hesitated, glancing at Josh with a hint of remorse in her eyes, as if
she’d
been the one keeping inappropriate company. “It’s just that, it was about four o’clock and I expected you to drive right to the house, and—”

“Katie.” He capped the decanter. “You’ll have to accept that I have business to take care of.”

“You had business on Shaw Island?”

“Kate—”

“And who were you with?”

His face clouded, but Josh couldn’t tell if it was from confusion or guilt. “What?”

“You had someone in the car with you.”

“Of course I did.” He chuckled dismissively. “I told you I was with Sam.”

“Yes, I know. But I saw—”

The click of footsteps from down the hall interrupted her, and they all turned to see a woman appear at the entry to the hallway. She was probably about Mr. Cole’s age, with dark wavy hair and a plum colored skirt and blazer that flattered her shapely figure. A warm smile enhanced her chiseled, ethnic-looking features.

Josh recognized her immediately. The woman from the car.

Kate took a step back, smoothing her hair again.

“It’s about time you two finally met.” With just a slight shift in his expression, Mr. Cole handed one of the glasses to the woman as he countered around to Kate’s side. He placed his palm on her shoulder. “Kate, this is Sam.”

Kate’s cheeks flushed. “Y…you’re Sam?”

“Chase.” Sam’s mouth twisted. “Don’t tell me you didn’t warn her?”

Looking contrite, Mr. Cole took a sip from his own glass.

“Samantha Jordan.” Reaching out to offer her hand, Sam gave Kate a conspiratorial look. “I swear, in all the years I’ve known Chase, he’s never caught on that if he calls me ‘Sam’, people will naturally assume I’m male.” She turned her raised-brow look on Mr. Cole. “For goodness sake, Chase, you gave poor Kate a start. She must have thought you were having some sort of tryst.”

“I’m sorry, Katie.” He gave her a quick sideways hug. “I tend to forget that Sam is a woman.”

Looking aghast, Sam cuffed his arm.

“What I meant was,” he made a show of preventing his drink from spilling, “that I respect you as a businessman…I mean
person
, and I forget that our being seen together might appear to be anything other than business related.”

“You’re not digging yourself out of this hole.” Sam turned her attention to Josh and offered a confident hand. “And you must be one of Jessica’s friends.”

“Josh Collins.” He took her hand, surprised by the firmness of her shake.

She turned back to Kate, her expression warm and friendly. “Sorry to be taking Chase away from you so much. We’re at a critical point in the development of the new drug we’re overseeing, and if Chase is going to take some time off next week, that necessitates extra hours this week. I hope you understand.”

“Oh.” Kate’s shoulders stiffened. “Of course.”

Sam’s smile seemed genuine. “Chase, we should be getting back to work.”

“Yes.” Mr. Cole gave Kate an apologetic look, then snapped his fingers as if a thought had just occurred. “Oh, by the way. I have to fly out in the morning.”

“Fly out?” Kate’s eyes narrowed. “But the wedding is in a week. Where are you going?”

“Hm?” Clearly no longer fully present, Mr. Cole jerked into the realization that she’d just asked a question. “Oh. Vegas.” He removed his hand from her back and waved it, as if casting aside the importance of her concern. “It can’t be helped.”

“But, you can’t leave.” Her cheeks darkened as her voice weakened. “I need you.”

“If you need to go anywhere, just call the driver on the intercom.” He nodded toward a white box on the wall. “He has an apartment above the garage and should be there whenever you need him.”

“You mean,” Kate said. “Someone else is on the grounds at all times?”

“He’s a trusted employee, Katie.”