Bay Hideaway (16 page)

A brief and puzzling smile lit on the old man’s lips. “Don’t go spitting fire like a sea dragon,” the old man strangely responded. “You’ll wear yourself out. If you plan to fight this thing sensibly, you’ll need to conserve your strength.”

“What are you saying?” Nathan demanded.

Tilly finally came to life with a knowing grin. “He’s saying you’re gonna get some help.”

Nathan looked unsure, but Judi knew Tilly was right. Help had arrived!

Nathan stared at the ceiling, drawing his arms up then under the satin-covered feather pillow. What a strange and bizarre day. It might take him weeks, if not months, to straighten out what had gone on at Tilly Storm’s house. How Mr. Edwards went from a grumpy old codger to a multitasking thinking machine couldn’t be explained. Before Nathan had known it, the man was writing down the names and numbers of people he wanted Nathan to contact—the last being an extremely well-known and definitely expensive criminal lawyer.

“Don’t worry about the cost,” the old man had told them. Don’t worry about the cost? Nathan could only dream of making in a lifetime what this fellow lawyer probably grossed on just one client. How could he not think about the cost?

The whole thing was off the wall, and he knew Judi’s observations had been right. Mr. Edwards was more than he made himself out to be—more than a busboy at the Dairy Barn and more than a church elder in a small, obscure church on Bay Island. He knew too many important people, including congressmen and federal agents. Why Mr. Edwards should be living incognito among the islanders was a question worthy of asking. Why play out his golden years wiping down tables and hauling leaky, soda-filled trash bags to the restaurant Dumpster? It just didn’t make sense. Surely, if the man was a wealthy philanthropist or even some type of retired government agent, why reside in an everyone-knows-everybody’s-business place like Bay Island?

The old man was full of advice, as well. Nathan was to return as planned to Pennsylvania in the morning and immediately contact the criminal attorney who would be awaiting his call. He was to say nothing of Judi or his trip to Bay Island to anyone else as he prepared to present his eminent domain bill to the house floor. Nathan would then make a return round-trip to the island the following Monday to collect Judi for an appointment with the attorney in Harrisburg. In the meantime, Mr. Edwards would
take care
of the writing analysis, which he insisted could not be performed correctly unless an FBI expert executed the examination. Nathan tried to explain he was already in contact with a detective who was a pioneer in the field. This news didn’t even faze the man.

The white-haired man just went on looking again at the copy of the threatening letter Nathan carried with him, the note so close to the man’s thick glasses Nathan wondered how he could read it. When Mr. Edwards asked rhetorically whether Nathan had left his fingerprints on the notes when he copied them, he and Judi merely blushed in reply.

Mr. Edwards seemed so sure about what to do. Nathan wasn’t so convinced, his head still swimming with the possibilities and complications of the new plan.

Somehow, through all of the intricate scheduling, he would have to fend off questions from his family, friends—and Lindsey. That could prove to be difficult.

Judi, however, had quickly embraced the old man’s plan and seemed encouraged with the news that he believed her case was a winnable one. Most of all, the couple hadn’t openly judged her poor choices and insisted she was still a valuable and much-wanted resident of the island and the congregation at their little redbrick church.

The sanguine expression on Judi’s face said it all. Knowing she was still loved and accepted by those on the island was more important to her than the legal outcome of her dilemma. Yet a thick cloud of sadness exuded from her features when their eyes met. He knew she was thinking about what was at stake—including their husband and wife relationship.

Was this relationship salvageable? Could their marriage withstand the strain? Could he really trust Judi knowing what he did about her propensity toward secrecy and mistrust? God could change people. He knew this firsthand. Yet a person had to be willing to hand their life over to Christ for this transformation to happen. Judi claimed to have totally given her life to God—and Nathan believed her. But what he really wanted to know was if she was absolutely committed to giving up her previous methods of problem solving to focus on God’s plan—not her own.

Another consideration needled him. What if Judi’s con game had also included her marriage to him? She’d admitted her former insatiable need to achieve a lifestyle where she wouldn’t have to scratch and claw to be like everyone else. Did that include marrying a man who could financially acquire such a position on this ladder of success? Maybe love never entered the picture where she was concerned. If so, would she admit to such treachery and willingly release him from a loveless marriage? The thought made his chest tighten. The fact was, he didn’t want to be released. He still loved her in spite of everything. The realization didn’t give him any satisfaction; it made him feel weak and foolish. How could any self-respecting man settle for anything less than a spouse who could fully return his love?

At best, even if she truly loved him, several obstacles stood ready and willing to drown them. Neither of their families seemed the least bit flexible concerning their marriage—not three years ago, and he could safely assume the new turn of events would exacerbate the tension. Judi would wither in such an environment after experiencing the love and acceptance she knew on the island.

Would these factors doom them to become another in the long line of couples joining the dismal ranks of the divorced?

I’m lying on this bed with a lot of questions and few answers. God, I’m in need of serious counsel where Judi is concerned. I’ll live in a loveless marriage if that’s what You want, but it’s not what I want. Yet living without her seems just as unbearable. It’s not how You planned it, I’m sure!

I know her honor should have been defended when my family often treated her with disrespect. I’ll make that right! I’m pleading with You to bring back the love I thought Judi had for me. If this is not to be, then please take away the desire that’s gnawing at me. I don’t think I could stand the pain of losing her again. Give me the perseverance to see this thing through. Your honor is at stake, too, and I never want it to be said that I’ve dishonored You in any way. Help me to trust You. I can’t do this alone.

He turned to glance at the bedside clock. Time was quickly gaining on midnight and he knew sleep would not come easily. He checked the alarm setting one more time. A confirming red dot glowed back at him. He couldn’t afford to miss the morning plane, not when so much depended on timing—and a stellar performance on the house floor.

As Judi stood in front of her bedroom mirror adjusting the collar of her blouse, she was only too conscious of the shadows and strained lines etched around her eyes. Even her mouth looked strained and tight. She smiled experimentally, but her reflection looked stiff and artificial. Tilly wouldn’t be happy with her peaked appearance, either, when she came by the church office to take Judi to lunch. She was sure of that.

There was a reason for the droopy appearance. Despondency! Yes, that’s what it was. Nathan’s plane would be halfway to Harrisburg by now and already her heart felt empty without him. He had called earlier to say his transport had arrived on time and to see if she was holding up after their taxing evening at Tilly’s. She was holding up well, actually, mostly because she had felt so protected by Nathan during Mr. Edwards’s inquisition and because his actions almost made her believe there was some spark left of their love.

Over the phone, Nathan’s voice resonated with husbandly concern, and when he paused for several seconds, she was so sure he had to be sensing the growing fire within her coming through the airwaves that he was on the verge of pouring out the words she desired to hear. She waited, willing for any expression of love to come.

The words never came.

Instead, he told her to take care while he was gone and that he would call her sometime the next day after finishing with the house session.

What had she really expected, anyway? A fairy-tale ending to a mixed-up Cinderella turned modern-day runaway bride story? Tilly and Mr. Edwards assured her the church would continue to love and welcome her. Those words meant more than their weight in gold. Yet she wanted Nathan’s love and acceptance even more. She was afraid she might not gain either.

Deciding not to morbidly dwell on the unforeseeable, she quickly finished dressing. Breakfast consisted of nothing more than a few gulps of orange juice and one very burnt piece of toast on her way out the door.

The morning went quickly as she worked on the lengthy quarterly report. She was thankful when Tilly turned out to be the only visitor to the church office. Tilly, however, was wired, evidently happy to be put in action again, and immediately tried to usher Judi out the door.

“You’re lookin’ a mite peaked today,” observed Tilly, situating her purse over her forearm as they walked into the parking lot. Judi gave her a mocking I-knew-you’d-say-that smile, which the woman chose to ignore. “The burden of this bad business can’t be good on a body.”

Judi couldn’t have agreed more. “I’m just worried about Nathan, that’s all.”

“God’ll take care of him. Ain’t no use to carry on when you can’t do anything but pray about it.” Tilly flopped herself into the driver’s seat of her beat-up two-seater cart. “Thought we might ride over to Bell’s Market for a bite to eat. They’re havin’ a mighty good Thursday special on their fried bologna sandwiches in the deli today.”

“Who can resist fried bologna?” Judi remarked with a laugh, not daring to mention the island delicacy was not on Tilly’s heart-smart diet. She felt her spirits lift a little. Tilly must have known how difficult the day would be for Judi and offered—no, demanded—they have lunch.

When they’d arrived at the market and ordered the special, Tilly hustled them outside to the backless, sun-drenched blue bench positioned against the storefront window.

“We can situate ourselves right here on the liar’s bench,” Tilly chuckled, letting her purse drop onto the sidewalk and giving it a swift kick under the wooden seat with her bone-colored orthotic shoes. “Hoggin’ up the bench should keep the community gossipin’ down for a spell. Too much lollygagging and jawin’ going on here, anyway.”

Judi smiled as she sat down, knowing that Tilly had spent more than her fair share of time
jawin’
on this very same bench with her own lady friends. The store was a popular hangout for the older crowd in the warm months. Taking a deep breath of the island air, Judi let her glance skip along the tree-lined street. How she loved this island with its small, oddball shops and family-owned businesses. The colorful characters inhabiting the island, nosy as they might be, could be counted on in a pinch. They really cared about people—took care of their own. She would hate to lose this priceless companionship and solidarity that had become so ingrained in her life.

Yet she knew her life was about to drastically change. The possibility of prison even loomed on the horizon. Nathan would leave her for sure if that happened. Then she would be totally, irrevocably alone.

Tilly gave Judi’s hand a maternal pat, evidently sensing her poignant mood. “Everything’s gonna be all right, you hear? Van will help get matters under way right quick. He’s given Nathan a heap of sound advice to get the two of you young’uns through this briar patch.”

Judi remained silent for a moment and then turned to face the matronly woman. “Just who is Van Edwards?”

Tilly looked momentarily flustered. “Whatever do you mean? You know who he is!”

“I know who he
appears
to be,” Judi answered. “But there’s more to him than meets the eye, isn’t there?”

The question seemed to befuddle the woman further. “That’s just a bunch of foolishness now. I really don’t know why such a notion should enter your head.”

“Really?”

“Really!”

“He does seem sweet on you,” Judi went on, deciding to try another tactic, and was pleasantly surprised to see the shocked expression lighting up Tilly’s face. Judi laughed. “You’re not the only observant body on the island.”

Tilly smoothed her tightly pulled-back hair with a busy hand. “That’s gibberish!”

“Oh, come on,” Judi said with a laugh. “The man’s not left your side since last summer when you had the heart attack. You’re like Frick and Frack together, bread and butter, Lucy and Desi—”

“Now stop all this foolishness,” demanded Tilly, playfully swatting at Judi. “Seems to me this here liar’s bench is havin’ a terrible effect on you. And I’d be much obliged if you’d stop speculatin’ on such matters.”

Judi was finding great enjoyment in turning the tables on Tilly but decided to have mercy on the woman. “I’ll quit for now. It just seems proper for the one who’s always playing Cupid to occasionally be the recipient.”

“That’s for the young folk,” Tilly asserted with a firm nod.