Wish Upon a Christmas Star (21 page)

“You were trying to stop the wedding,” she observed.

“Hell, yeah,” Billy said with gusto. “Caroline was the reason
Mike dropped out of high school and went to New York. Why should she be
happy?”

Maria had thought the same thing when Caroline stopped by her
Lexington office and set the search for Mike in motion. “Caroline isn’t happy.
Her fiancé broke up with her after she told him about the photos.”

“Great,” Billy said. “That’s all I wanted. I swear it.”

A cold hand seemed to grip Maria’s heart. Billy kept saying
I
instead of
we.
If
Mike were alive, wouldn’t he and Billy be in on this scheme together? They had
to be collaborating, though. Maria still believed that Mike wouldn’t have passed
on those nude photos of Caroline. Not when he’d been angrier at Maria for
interfering than at Caroline for breaking up with him.

“Where did you get those pictures, Billy?” Logan voiced the
question that had stuck in Maria’s throat.

Billy hugged himself and rubbed his upper arms, as though he
was cold even though the temperature was in the low seventies. A chill swept
through Maria as she waited for his answer.

“I found them in Mike’s stuff.” Billy looked at her with sad
eyes. “Remember? I volunteered to help go through it.”

In the dim recesses of her memory, Maria could picture Billy in
the house when her family had undertaken the heartbreaking task of sorting
through Mike’s belongings. Her throat felt like it was closing up.

“I knew Mike had naked pictures of Caroline,” Billy continued.
“Your folks had been through enough. I didn’t want them to find the photos and
think less of him.”

Logan edged closer to Maria and put an arm around her
shoulders. She leaned into him, trying to prepare herself for the blow that was
coming. Her throat was so clogged with emotion she didn’t trust herself to
speak.

“Do you have a tattoo on your left forearm, Billy?” Logan
asked.

“Yeah.” He seemed surprised by the question. He rolled up the
sleeve of his shirt to reveal a ruby serpent. “Me and Mike got them together,
for our favorite band.”

Repeat had overheard Billy talking about the naked photos, not
Mike. Billy, who must have known that Caroline sometimes called his friend by
the hated nickname Mickey. The nickname was another reason Maria had convinced
herself there was hope. She felt sick to her stomach.

“Mike wasn’t in on this with you, was he?” Logan asked Billy.
The question was barely audible above the traffic noises coming from the nearby
street.

Billy shook his head, his eyes bleak. “I pretended to be Mike
to fool Caroline. I didn’t want to hurt Mike’s family. I wouldn’t have done it
if I’d known it would go this far.”

A sob caught in Maria’s throat. The terrible truth was that
Mike was truly gone. He’d died on 9/11 in the tragedy that had rocked not only
the DiMarco family but the nation.

“This wasn’t cool, Billy,” Logan said, flint in his voice.
“Your little stunt caused the wrong people a lot of pain.”

“I didn’t mean to,” he said. “I should have come clean when
Maria and I talked on the phone, but I was afraid.”

Maria could barely see past the tears that had gathered in her
eyes. Her knees felt as if they were giving way. Logan’s arm tightened around
her.

“So afraid you didn’t even tell your mother you were in Key
West so nobody could figure out you were behind the blackmail?” Logan
countered.

“Hey, that’s not the way it was,” Billy protested. “My mom
thinks I move around too much. And I mailed the second note about an hour before
I talked to Maria on the phone. After that, I was done with all of it. I never
wanted to hurt anyone. Especially you, Maria.”

She could barely hold her tears at bay. Now she’d never get the
chance to apologize to her brother and tell him how much she loved him. She’d
have to live the rest of her life knowing that Mike had died resenting her.

But wait a minute. What had Billy just said? She cleared her
throat and forced herself to ask for an explanation. “Why especially me?”

“Mike was close to his brother and both his sisters,” Billy
said. “But he told me all the time you were his favorite.”

Maybe at one time she’d been Mike’s favorite sibling. That
hadn’t been so at the time of his death. She shook her head.

“It’s true,” Billy said in response to her silent denial. “He
even said you were right about Caroline.”

Maria couldn’t imagine how that could be so. The last time
she’d seen her brother, before he’d stormed out of the house and went to New
York, he’d vowed he’d never forgive her for wrecking his relationship.

“It was when I called him in New York,” Billy continued. “He
felt real bad about the things he said to you. He was gonna phone you and
apologize.”

The tears that Maria had been battling trickled down her face.
Within moments, great gulping sobs racked her body. Logan immediately drew her
into his arms, cradling her face against his chest.

“Just go,” he told Billy.

Or at least that was what Maria thought Logan said. She
couldn’t hear past the roaring in her ears, the pain in her heart and the
comfort she’d found in Billy’s words.

Mike had died knowing she loved him.

Her brother had forgiven her.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

K
AYLA
ROLLED
BACK
IN
HER
uncle
Carl’s comfortable desk chair and locked her hands behind her head. She’d spent
the better part of an hour typing up a report on the investigation, and now she
wasn’t sure what to do with it.

Presenting the report to Alex Suarez was out. Even if he didn’t
tear it up, what kind of credibility would Kayla have with the rest of the
merchants association? She hadn’t only been fired, she was a rookie P.I. Not
even a rookie, an apprentice.

She unhooked her hands and sat up straighter in the chair.
Yeah, she was an apprentice. But she’d cracked the case and that had to count
for something.

She rolled the chair back to the computer, saved her report in
a word document and hit the print button. When she heard the soft whir of the
printer waking up, she logged on to the internet.

She discovered the president of the merchants association was
Max Pinney, who owned a water excursion company on Key West Bight. Those places
did big business on weekends, so chances were good that Max was working today.
He might not listen to her, but by gosh she was going to talk. She could really
blab, too. That was one of her talents.

One of her
many
talents.

She hopped out of the chair, grabbed the report from the
printer and heard the chiming of the silver bells she’d attached to the front
door. She must have forgotten to lock it.

“We’re closed!” she called, coming around the corner to the
front room.

A large, grizzled man in shorts, a Hawaiian shirt and sandals
was crossing the office.

“Uncle Carl! What are you doing here?” Kayla had been under the
impression he and his girlfriend would be gone until after Christmas.

“I was homesick for God’s country,” he said.

“That’s the only reason you came home early?” Kayla ventured,
careful not to say too much. “Because you missed Key West?”

“What? You think I had another reason?” He rubbed the side of
his nose. “Like that my niece was working a case she didn’t tell me about?”

The bottom seemed to drop out of Kayla’s stomach. “How did you
find out?”

“Doesn’t matter who told me,” he said. “What matters is why
didn’t you?”

“I can explain,” she said in a rush. “I thought it was my
chance to prove myself. I would have called you if I needed help but I had
everything under control.”

Barely stopping to take breaths, she told him the whole story,
from enlisting Maria DiMarco’s help, to setting up the security camera to
getting a confession.

“The problem is Alex says he’ll deny it.” Kayla tapped the
report she was holding. “I was about to go have a talk with Max Pinney. He’s
president of the association.”

“Let’s go.” Uncle Carl rose. “I’ve been sitting around eating
Christmas cookies and staring out the window at snow for days. I need some
excitement.”

Exciting
wasn’t a bad word choice
for the Bight Marina. People strolled about, most of them either returning from
a water excursion or embarking on one. The Bight was the place to rent a
sailboat, take a boat tour or book a snorkeling or scuba trip. A person could do
all of those and more at Wet and Wonderful, the business owned by Max
Pinney.

“Carl Dexter, you son of a gun,” Max called when they entered
the small shop. He was probably in his mid-forties, with a deep tan that made
his skin seem leathery. His T-shirt and baseball cap were both imprinted with
the name of his shop. “You’re not here investigatin’ anything, are you?”

“I’m not,” Carl said. “My niece Kayla is.”

“Hey, Kayla,” Max said. “I thought you sold bottle art.”

“I’m giving private investigation a go.” Kayla marched up to
the cash register, digging deep for the confidence solving the case had given
her. “Alex Suarez hired me on behalf of your association. He also fired me.”

“I know,” Max said.

“This is my report.” Kayla laid the pages on the counter in
front of Max with a resounding slap. “Alex was behind everything. He volunteered
to hire an investigator precisely to deflect suspicion from himself.”

“I know,” Max repeated.

“He used inside information from the investigation to...” Kayla
abruptly stopped talking when his replies registered. “You know?”

“That’s right. I know what Alex has been doing to that Santa
Claus. Can you believe his rationale? He didn’t like the message Santa was
sending.” Max emitted a short, harsh laugh. “Give me a break. We’re merchants.
We’re in the business of selling things. It’s what we do!”

Kayla supposed he had a point, although the Christmas season
was about so much more than material things.

“Alex was adamant that he’d deny everything,” Kayla said. “I
can’t believe he told you what he did.”

“He didn’t tell me,” Max said. “That newspaper photographer
did.”

Kayla gasped. “James Smith?”

“Yeah, that’s his name. Nice guy. Just moved back to the
area.”

“What exactly did James tell you?” Kayla had called James after
leaving his cousin’s waterfront house to tell him Alex was the culprit.

“He said not to believe Alex if he denied responsibility, that
Alex tipped him off whenever there was a photo op with Santa,” Max said. “He was
pretty insistent that you get credit for solving the case.”

James had put her needs above those of his own cousin?
Something softened inside her, but she couldn’t bear it if she was responsible
for driving a wedge between the relatives. She had to convince Max there were no
villains in this scenario.

“Alex really isn’t such a bad guy.” Kayla repeated what the man
himself had told her. Despite everything, she believed that. “What will happen
to him?”

“He’ll get a great big pat on the back,” Max said. “I know it
wasn’t his intention, but the publicity has been wonderful!”

Kayla was seldom speechless. She was now.

“Tell me how much the merchants association owes for your
services and I’ll see that you’re paid,” Max said. “And if we’re ever in need of
a private eye again, we’ll come to you.”

“I appreciate that.” Kayla cleared her throat. “Except I’ve
been working on a trial basis. I’m not sure I still have a job.”

“You bet you do!” Uncle Carl’s voice filled the small shop.
Until that moment, he’d been hanging back and letting her handle things. “I
couldn’t have done a better job myself.”

Kayla squealed and crossed the shop to him, standing on tiptoe
in an attempt to kiss his cheek. She was so short her lips didn’t even reach his
chin. She blew him a kiss instead.

“Whoa there, Kayla,” Uncle Carl said. “I’m not the one you
should be thanking.”

She stepped back, not even trying to suppress the happiness
bubbling inside her. “Oh, no? Who should I thank then?”

“James Smith,” her uncle said. “He called me, too.”

* * *

T
HE
PIER
AT
H
IGGS
B
EACH
was a wooden structure that
stretched perhaps one hundred yards into the sparkling blue water of the
Atlantic Ocean. Maria wondered what she was doing, walking the length of it with
Logan.

She’d been operating on autopilot since Billy Tillman’s
confession. Finally, after all this time, she’d been forced to face up to the
fact that Mike was truly gone. The knowledge had slammed into her with such
force that even her body felt battered. Behind her sunglasses, her eyes still
felt sore and puffy.

“I need to call Caroline Webb and let her know the threat is
over,” Maria said, thinking aloud.

“Will you tell her who was behind it?” Logan asked.

She needed to think about that only for a few seconds to reach
a decision. “I don’t see what good that would do, especially since Billy didn’t
actually go through with the blackmail.”

“There is that,” Logan said. “You should let him stew a little
over what kind of action you might take. He didn’t break any laws, although he
did wreck Caroline’s relationship with her fiancé.”

“I wish I could be more sympathetic toward Caroline. I mean, I
don’t believe adults should be judged on their actions in high school. And yet I
don’t feel very sorry for her.” Maria shook her head. “What kind of a person
does that make me?”

He put his hand on her shoulder and squeezed. “It makes you
human.”

She blinked back tears at his understanding.

“You okay?” Logan asked gently. He’d been nothing but kind
since the events of the afternoon had unfolded. Whereas she probably would have
gone back to her hotel room, he’d suggested taking a walk.

“I don’t know yet if I’m okay,” Maria said. “I’m still trying
to process it all.”

“I thought the fresh air would help. What better place to think
than at the beach?”

He gestured to the shore. She stopped walking and looked where
he indicated. Even though the setting was picturesque, with a fair number of
people sunbathing and snorkeling, tourists didn’t come to Key West for its
beaches. Higgs Beach, for example, was a narrow strip with sharp rocks and
washed-up seaweed near the shoreline.

It was undoubtedly pretty, though. The perfect backdrop for a
romantic photo, like the one a young man and woman were posing for not far from
the pier. He had his arms hooked at her waist and she was leaning against his
chest while a photographer snapped away.

“Isn’t that James Smith taking photos of that couple?” Maria
squinted to get a better look. “Why, yes. It is James.”

“He must do some freelance work on the side,” Logan said.

The young woman turned in the man’s arms to gaze up at him,
appearing as though she was about to kiss him. James rose from his crouched
position and repositioned the camera, then turned his head away from the couple
as though something had distracted him. A petite blonde in bright clothing was
rushing toward him across the sand.

“That’s Kayla,” Maria exclaimed.

Kayla paused a few feet from James, appearing to say something
to him. Then she launched herself into his arms and kissed him.

“Well, I’ll be damned,” Logan drawled. “Didn’t you tell me
Kayla had a crush on Alex Suarez?”

“I have a feeling we’ve missed something.” Maria approved of
the latest development, though. Alex Suarez was much too suave and smooth for
Kayla, who was the most genuine person Maria had ever met. The down-to-earth
James was a much better match for her new friend.

“Whatever we missed, I think it was good,” Logan said, echoing
her thoughts. He indicated the rest of the pier with a sweep of his hand. “Shall
we keep going?”

Maria nodded and strolled on, feeling some of the ice inside
her—ice that had encased her heart since learning her brother was dead—begin to
melt. Life went on, she thought. Yes, it was full of disappointment and
heartache. But there was great potential for joy.

Only a few other people walked the pier. When she and Logan
reached the end, where somebody had hung a Christmas wreath decorated with
tropical flowers, they were alone. Beyond the structure, pelicans, seagulls and
cormorants perched on top of wooden pilings left over from a previous
incarnation of the pier. Much farther on, at the horizon, the blue of the sky
collided with the deeper blue of the water.

The day and the setting couldn’t have been more beautiful.

They both gazed out at the scene for long moments, listening to
the calls of the seabirds, the song of the wind and the distant shouts of
children back on shore.

“I’m sorry you didn’t get your miracle,” Logan finally
said.

Was that true, though? Maria had spent so many years harboring
the mistaken belief that Mike had gone to his grave resenting her. With a single
sentence, Billy had refuted that.

“Maybe I did get my miracle,” she said. “You heard Billy. Mike
knew right up to the end how much I loved him.”

Her voice broke on the last words. Logan put an arm around her,
pulling her close. She drew strength from his embrace. Suddenly, she couldn’t
bear it if guilt was eating away at him the way it had torn at her.

“Please tell me you’re not still blaming yourself for
convincing Mike to go to work that day,” she said. “There was no way you could
have predicted what would happen. None of us know what’s around the corner.”

“I understand that now, thanks to you,” he said, kissing the
top of her head. “You helped me to figure it out when we talked about it.”

A warm feeling swept through her, so unexpected it took a while
to figure out the healing process had begun.

“You know what?” she asked, twisting in his arms to gaze into
his face. “Remember what you asked me before, about whether I was okay? I think
I am.”

“That’s great,” he said.

“Maybe it’s because we’re surrounded by so much beauty,” Maria
continued, “but I feel like I can think clearly for the first time in
weeks.”

“What are you thinking?” he prodded.

“That all we have is the here and now. My brother’s life—and
the lives of almost three thousand others—was cut short in an instant.” She
thought about Kayla, running up to James and flinging her arms around him. “The
lesson we need to take from that is to live life to the fullest.”

“How do you propose we do that?” Logan was staring at her,
waiting for her to continue.

“We can’t take the people we care about for granted,” she said.
“The connection between you and me, it’s still strong. Time and distance
couldn’t weaken it.”

“What are you saying?” he asked.

The realization burst inside her, so strong it must have been
lying dormant for years.

“I love you!” she blurted out. “Oh, my gosh. I still love
you.”

“That’s a very good thing,” he said, his voice thick with
emotion, “because I’ve never stopped loving you.”