The Precipice (21 page)

Chapter 30

E
lizabeth awoke from a fitful sleep to the sound of the telephone next to her bed. It took her a few seconds to realize exactly what the sound was. The room was so dark that she had to fumble to find the phone, knocking the receiver onto the table. Once she managed to get the phone to her ear she could hear Kurt’s voice.

“Elizabeth? Are you okay?”

“I was until the phone rang.” She winced when she realized how rude that sounded.

“I’m sorry, Liz. It has been several hours and I thought you could use—”

“What time is it?” she interrupted.

Kurt paused, apparently to check his watch. “It’s a little after nine.”

“p.m.?” She was struggling to make sense of it, her head still hazy from being awakened.

“Yes, p.m. I thought you could use a little food by now.”

Elizabeth’s body was awake enough to send her hunger pangs. “Yeah, I could eat.” She still sounded groggy. “Give me a couple minutes and I’ll meet you in the lobby.” She tried to rub the sleep out of her eyes.

“Alright, see you then.”

She fumbled again to replace the receiver on the base of the telephone in the dark. Then her fingers groped until they found the light on the bedside table. Closing her eyes tightly, she turned the switch. Slowly she opened her eyes, adjusting gradually to the bright light. She let out a groan and started for the bathroom. This time she avoided looking directly into the mirror and went straight to the task of splashing water on her face. Then she realized she had no make-up to use and had no idea what room Rashelle was staying in. She couldn’t borrow from her this time. She also didn’t have a comb or brush so she just wet her fingers at the sink and ran them through her hair, hoping to improve her appearance as much as she could so it wouldn’t be so obvious that she had just rolled out of bed. She glanced in the mirror and sighed. Hopefully he had a sense of humor. There wasn’t much else she could do. She quickly slipped on Rashelle’s shoes that resembled black ballet slippers, noting that they weren’t really her taste, and headed downstairs.

When the elevator doors opened, she could see across the lobby and into the bar. There was Kurt with his blond, wavy hair perched on a stool sitting sideways so he could easily watch the big screen TV and glance to the elevators from time to time. She got about halfway across the lobby when he turned his head and smiled. He stood up and walked toward her.

“Hey, Elizabeth. Good to see you. The restaurant has closed for the night, but we can grab a bite at the bar, if you don’t mind.” He didn’t seem to notice how horrible she looked. She figured he was just being kind. She was grateful.

“That’s fine with me.” Then it occurred to her that she didn’t have her purse. Everything was back at the inn….at least she hoped she would find it when she got back there. “Uh, Kurt, I don’t have any cash on me, or credit cards for that matter.”

“Oh, hey, don’t worry about it. I’ve got it covered.” Gently, he took her arm and led her toward the bar. He motioned for her to take the stool next to the one he had been sitting in. The bartender dropped a couple of menus in front of them without a word and then returned to restocking glasses in the overhead rack. Elizabeth noticed that Kurt had a drink in front of him. It was an amber colored liquid on ice in a short, wide glass. Jack Daniels, she guessed. The two sat in silence as they perused the short bar menu. When the bartender returned, they both ordered burgers, hers medium and his medium rare. Elizabeth also asked for a glass of white wine, which he poured right away and delivered it to her before putting in the food order. Did it look like she needed it that badly? She supposed that she did.

After a few minutes of sipping drinks and listening to the din of the bar, Elizabeth finally spoke, “So, can you fill me in on what happened back at the inn?”

“There’s really no rush and there’s not a lot I can tell you at this point.” He had a look of concern for her.

“Oh, yes there is. I’m going to need to get back to work at some point, that is, if my boss hasn’t fired me already. The last time she called me, I hung up on her.”

He decided not to address her comment. “The investigation is ongoing, but I can tell you what they know so far.” He examined her face to see if he should continue. She was clearly exhausted and probably numb from the death of her dear grandmother. Yet, in spite of it all, she was still absolutely beautiful in his eyes. But he needed to keep it professional and stick to the task at hand.

Elizabeth rubbed her forehead, trying to relieve the tension. “Oh, just go ahead and spill it. How much worse can it be after the last couple of days?”

Kurt chose not to answer that question directly. That would have to be for her to decide. “Let’s start with the Hutchins. The piece of the puzzle that was solved before the hurricane hit was that the Hutchins had given false names when they checked in and are really the Rizzos. Why they chose to do that is unclear at this point, but they are in custody and have a lot of explaining to do. The poor gentleman that you found on the kitchen floor, Joseph Stevens, the accountant, seems to be connected with Hutchins because of the numbers he punched into his cell phone before he died. 2, 1, 0, 1 are the numbers you came up with when you translated from the cell phone keypad to the calculator keypad. Two is the building number for Acadia House and 101 is the room number, the Hutchins’ room. Mr. Stevens would have dialed 2101 to reach him on a room phone.”

“You mean Rizzo.”

“Ah, yes. Rizzo. At this point it looks like he was Rizzo’s accountant, but there is no obvious motive for murdering him so the investigation continues.”

Mitchell looked up to acknowledge Rashelle approaching them.

“Hey, guys. How’s it going?”

Elizabeth turned and examined Rashelle’s face. She smiled, stood, and hugged her good friend who was now an unemployed inn manager. “So good to see you.” She turned to include Kurt in the conversation. “Kurt was just starting to explain what they have figured out so far that happened at the inn before the hurricane hit.” She revisited the image in her mind of the inn’s devastation from earlier that morning. It hadn’t really sunk in yet that it would take a tremendous amount of rebuilding to restore the inn to its former stature.

“You don’t mind if I join you, do you?”

“Of course not. Pull up a seat.” Rashelle grabbed the stool next to Elizabeth’s and pulled it closer to her. “Okay, so go on.” Their focus was back on Kurt.

Then Elizabeth remembered who she was speaking to. “I just have one question, Kurt. How is it that you got so involved in the investigation and know so much about what went on? Was that in your job description as the tennis pro?” She had a twinkle in her eye.

At that untimely moment, the bartender appeared to take Rashelle’s order. She went for a lobster roll and glass of wine. He returned quickly to deliver her wine on a small, white cocktail napkin. She took a sip and turned to Kurt to acknowledge that she was listening.

Kurt glanced at Elizabeth and back again to Rashelle. Both were sporting blank but expectant expressions. A smirk came across his face. “Good question.” He paused for effect and seemed to be enjoying the suspense he was creating. “I was hired by your esteemed assistant manager,” he nodded toward Rashelle, “upon the urging of your grandmother. I actually work for the FBI.” Elizabeth’s and Rashelle’s mouths dropped open. Kurt smiled in amusement.

Elizabeth found her voice first, “What?” She hadn’t seen that coming.

Kurt chuckled. “Well I’m glad to hear I didn’t blow my cover.”

“So why were you there?” She didn’t see the connection.

Kurt knew he couldn’t tell her much more during an ongoing investigation so he had to do his best to tactfully refrain from revealing any additional information. “I’m sorry, ladies. There isn’t really anything more I can tell you at this point. But as soon as the investigation is complete, you will be the first to get briefed on the outcome.”

“What about the girl who was missing? Kelsey.”

“I’m sorry, Liz. I can’t.”

Elizabeth’s face clearly showed she was disappointed in his response, almost shocked. She had been hoping for so much more. She felt so uncomfortable not knowing the fate of the young girl. Elizabeth was quickly becoming angered. She could feel it building up inside of her. It was difficult suppressing it. She desperately wanted answers and was very frustrated that Kurt was not willing to give them to her.

At that moment, their burgers arrived and the bartender reassured Rashelle that her order was on the way. Rashelle and Elizabeth exchanged looks of disgust and then turned away. The three became silent as Kurt and Elizabeth started in on their late dinner. Elizabeth was so hungry; it was all she could do to maintain her table manners. God help anyone who got their fingers near her food.

Before long Rashelle’s lobster roll arrived and she ordered another glass of wine. Elizabeth and Kurt ordered another round as well. The three ate in silence as they devoured their late night meals. The sounds of the bar’s televisions and the loud chatter of the bar’s patrons filled their ears. Elizabeth found herself longing for a quiet corner.

Chapter 31

I
n the days after the hurricane, while they were waiting for the authorities to perform an autopsy on Amelia’s body, Elizabeth and the staff did their best to clean things up a bit at the inn. Lizzi also kept busy making phone calls, determining priorities, and coordinating outside contractors who were performing the repairs necessary to keep the inn and outbuildings water tight. One of her calls was to her boss to let her know she wouldn’t be back to work right away. She made sure to place the call late one evening when she could be fairly sure that Vera would not be in the office. She left a message for her and it was comforting to know that Vera had no way to return her call. There was something very liberating about that.

Elizabeth thought her grandmother would have liked the idea of having her memorial service at the inn, right next to her garden. Unfortunately, even on a beautiful, sunny, September afternoon, the inn seemed so sad. Broken windows were boarded up for the time being until Elizabeth had a chance to decide what her long term plans were for the property. The front of the main building had taken the brunt of the storm. There wasn’t much of a porch left. Acadia Building was so heavily damaged that there was talk that it should just be leveled and rebuilt. Moosehead Lodge seemed to be in much better shape. Some minor repairs should put it back into working order. All of those decisions would be made in time. At the moment, the focus was on saying good-bye to beloved Amelia.

One by one, the staff and local neighbors stopped on their way out to speak to Elizabeth as she stood like a sentry at the gate to Elizabeth’s garden. Everyone had warm, comforting words to share with her. They all seemed to love Amelia. She would be sorely missed. The inn just wouldn’t be the same…well, it wouldn’t be the same physically because of the storm, but it also wouldn’t be the same without Amelia at the helm. The future of the inn was up in the air.

After most of the crowd had passed by Elizabeth, Kurt Mitchell approached her tentatively. “Elizabeth…I am so sorry about your grandmother.” She looked into his eyes and could only shake her head. A tear escaped her eye and traveled down the side of her face. He wrapped one of his long arms around her shoulders and held her tight. No words were spoken. This was what she needed. She was lost in his thoughtful touch for several moments. They stepped apart and she felt instantly cold. A shiver ran down her spine. She desperately wanted to grab hold of him again but she really didn’t want to appear as desperate as she felt.  

Kurt noticed Chief Austin making his way toward them. “Hello, Chief.”

“Hello, Mitchell. Miss Pennington.” He tipped his hat. Elizabeth thought he looked rather humble. “Sorry to interrupt.” The chief extended his hand towards Elizabeth. “I just wanted to offer my condolences to you.”

“Thank you very much.” She took his hand. He gently pressed his left hand on hers in a sweet sign of compassion.

“Elizabeth, you should know that Chief Austin was instrumental in identifying the Hutchins as the Rizzos. He made a huge discovery when he did a search of the Hutchins’ room and uncovered a magazine that had their correct name on it. It was the break we needed in the case. After that, it was relatively easy to put the pieces together.”

Elizabeth looked at Mitchell for a moment and then realized what he was trying to do for the chief. She decided to play along.

“Chief, nice work.”

“Just doing my job, ma’am.”

“Well, we certainly appreciate it. Nice job.”

“You are so welcome, Elizabeth. I’m just sorry that it all turned out the way it did. You and your grandmother didn’t deserve any of it.”

“Thank you.” Her face was sad and drawn. She turned her face away and looked at the ground.

“Oh and there is some good news in all of this.” Elizabeth looked up and searched his face. “The lobsterman, Slater, and his passengers were rescued not far off the coast well before the hurricane hit. We may never know if there was a connection with that mishap and the mess at the inn. But at least that part had a happy ending.”

Elizabeth forced a smile at this news. “That is wonderful news. Thank you.”

“Well, I will leave you to carry on. I must get back to the station to see if the state boys need any more assistance.” He gave a quick tug at the waist of his pants with both hands, as if to ensure it was secure, and then tipped his hat as he turned to take his leave.

“Thanks again, Chief.” There were nods and waving hands all around as they watched him stride toward his squad car, a little more spring in his step than he’d had lately. Elizabeth was impressed that Kurt had returned the chief’s self-esteem to him. What a thoughtful and sweet thing to do. She turned back to him.

Kurt looked into her eyes. “There is something else I need to talk to you about, Liz.” He hesitated as if trying to decide how to proceed, pointed toward a garden bench for them to sit on and then continue. “The medical examiner released your grandmother’s autopsy report.” Their eyes met as they sat down and he looked to her for approval to continue. Her eyes told him she was quite weary but expected him to go on. “Elizabeth, Amelia’s autopsy showed she had a high level of a drug called Zoloft in her blood stream when she passed away that suggests ingestion over an extended period of time. Zoloft is an anti-anxiety drug that causes drowsiness. Her doctor told us that he had never prescribed that or any other similar drug for her. Do you have any idea where she might have gotten something like that? He waited to see if Elizabeth had a response.

She wrinkled her forehead and shook her head. Her grandmother never liked to take any kind of drugs, over-the-counter or prescription. This certainly didn’t sound like something she would have done on her own.

“The fatigue she was experiencing from the drug put an additional burden on her body that was hard for her to handle. With everything going on, she didn’t have time to slow down and rest. The medical examiner concluded that the Zoloft contributed to her passing.” Kurt paused as he knew she would need to process that information.

Tears welled up in her eyes and she turned away slightly. The evening in the lighthouse came rushing back to her. Her poor grandmother had been through so much before she arrived on the scene to help. Elizabeth feared that having to shoulder the burden of running the inn on her own also contributed to her grandmother’s passing. A wave of guilt crashed over her. She wondered what kind of granddaughter lets that happen. She should have checked in with her more often. All she could do was to shake her head. A tear rolled down her cheek and dropped silently in her lap. She wiped the tear trail from her face.

Kurt looked up to see Rashelle making her way over to the two of them. She quietly approached Elizabeth’s side of the bench and put her arm around her friend’s shoulders. Her face was drawn with concern. Elizabeth reached up with one hand and squeezed the hand resting on her shoulder. Her gaze rested far off the shore on the distant horizon. No one spoke. Time just passed in silence.

Finally Elizabeth found her voice. “What does all this mean? Was my grandmother…murdered?” Her eyes were wide and her facial expression showed she expected an answer. Rashelle looked from Elizabeth to Kurt and back again.

Mitchell paused and tilted his head slightly, “It’s possible. We can’t be sure. Hopefully we will have more answers soon.”

Kurt’s response didn’t help her. She needed answers. Silence took over the conversation as they thought about what had been revealed and the questions still unanswered.

Elizabeth finally came to life and threw out a random thought. “I wonder what happened to my portfolio of drawings.”

“Well, I do remember seeing a portfolio in the Hutchins’ room. I don’t know what shape it might be in after the storm. But we can certainly look.” He looked at her closely, surprised that she was at all concerned about something that seemed so trivial, at least to him.

“It’s not that big of a deal. I just thought that perhaps I could get it back.” Artists can be quite possessive of their work.

“We will certainly try,” he reassured her, pressing onto the next topic. “The room that the Hutchins requested just happened to be the same approximate location that the missing student from the school had disappeared from. This was either a tremendous coincidence or somehow someone knew.”

Elizabeth’s face looked doubtful. “I don’t see how.”

“Well, anyway, Renard’s confession does fit if we put it into the right time frame. Looks like we solved that age old mystery of the student’s disappearance. But now he is looking at prison time. Apparently, the situation of the missing guest brought back too many memories, ones that he had pushed to the back of his mind. With them came a flood of emotions, including tremendous guilt. Unfortunately, he was afraid his brother would snitch on him and he felt compelled to silence him. He agreed to show us where he had buried both bodies so we could exhume them. There won’t be much left to the girl, but if we can contact the parents, I’m sure they would want some closure.”

Elizabeth had a good idea of where at least one of the bodies was. Things were not right in the section of the woods where Mitchell had caught up to her when she escaped from Lieutenant Perkins’ squad car. It was just too quiet there. Hopefully Renard will remember where they are and show the officers. Elizabeth’s head was spinning. Questions kept popping up. So much of it didn’t make sense.   

He paused to let everything sink in. “And that’s about the long and short of it at this point. That’s certainly enough for now.” Kurt looked at Elizabeth, who was staring straight ahead as if in a trance. He wondered if she had heard him during the last few minutes. Finally she spoke.

“So, what happened down in the tunnel…to me? I know there was a cave-in, but was it caused by human hands?”

“It would take an engineer to determine if it happened naturally or if someone’s deliberate actions caused it. Looked like you got grazed on the back of the head by a support beam. Fortunately, you did not receive the brunt of the force. A couple seconds difference and you might not have been sitting here right now.

Elizabeth rubbed the back of her head, which was healing nicely, and took a deep breath. She remembered the voice. Someone had saved her life. “I guess I have lived to design another day.” She allowed herself a little humor.

Rashelle chimed in at last. She suddenly looked rather awkward standing in front of her friend. “Lizzi.” She took a deep breath. “I need to apologize…I haven’t been completely honest with you and I’m very sorry.”

Elizabeth turned and looked into Rashelle’s eyes. Her dear friend. Whatever had she done?

“Well before everything else that started going on around here, I started a little affair of my own.” Elizabeth raised her eyebrows. “I am so sorry, Liz. I guess I wasn’t prepared for the abrupt change in lifestyle coming here from the city. It is so quiet, especially at night. After a while I couldn’t stand it anymore. There was nothing to do. I needed a little excitement in my life and I certainly wasn’t going to find it at the inn. So I started to head into town on my nights off to do the bar circuit, meet new people, maybe find a new guy. Well, I did meet a guy who I was absolutely crazy about. Once he knew where I worked, he was perfectly honest with me and told me he had been fired as the tennis pro not too long ago.” Elizabeth gasped but Rashelle seemed to take no notice and continued. “At first, I was shocked and taken back. I didn’t know what to do. I felt like I was cheating. Unfortunately, that made our relationship that much more exciting. It was like we were having an extra-marital affair without hurting our spouses. It was so exciting. I hadn’t felt that exhilarated in a very long time. I know that probably sounds a bit silly…immature. Because of the excitement, I let it keep going even though I knew we shouldn’t, and I am so sorry, Lizzi. I had no right to do that. I know Aaron wasn’t supposed to be anywhere near this place after his dramatic removal from the grounds last spring. After I wrecked my car, though, he had to pick me up. I think it was fun for him, too…I’m sorry, Liz.”

She just gazed into her friend’s eyes. Even though what Rashelle did seemed trivial in comparison to the big picture and Elizabeth had already put the pieces together, she still felt betrayed by her good friend. She was at a loss for words. All she could do was look out at the horizon and shake her head slightly.

Rashelle backed away from the bench where Elizabeth was seated. “We’ll talk later when everything else is all sorted out. I am sorry to have added to your burden. Not a very nice thing for a friend to do, I know…I am truly sorry.” Her face was very somber, quite uncharacteristic of her. She walked away towards the circular driveway where a rental car was parked; a black, four-door Nissan of some sort. Elizabeth couldn’t bear to watch as her friend drove away, down the access road away from the inn. A single tear rolled down her cheek. She felt so hurt.

Mitchell couldn’t stand seeing her so sad. He needed to wrap up the conversation and get her out of there, “The state police have Aaron Gabeau in custody and are interviewing him to see if he has any connection to all of this. They will also be speaking with Rashelle.” The silence that hung in the air was palpable. “Liz, why don’t we head out of here? I imagine you could use a change of scenery about now.”

She looked around and saw that there were no more mourners lingering. A few of the loyal staff were cleaning up from the service, stacking chairs to be picked up by the rental company. “Well, I’m at your mercy until I can get another car. I guess I’ll have to pick up a rental somewhere. I’ve got to head back to the city and see if I can pick up the pieces of my career.”

The sound of a truck engine and its wheels crunching on the gravel driveway made their heads turn toward the unexpected arrival to the inn. Kurt turned back to look at the expression on Elizabeth’s face. It was a flatbed truck with a delivery. Lizzi’s face lit up when she saw it was none other than her beautiful silver Z4. “What the—?”

Kurt smiled. “Your car had suffered some body damage, but it looked fixable. The wind had pushed it up against the bushes along the woods, which may have served as a cushion for it. It was out of sight from you when you returned to the inn after the storm. There were much more pressing priorities at that point so you overlooked it, and rightfully so. We scooted it out to a local auto body shop and asked if they could put a rush on it.”

Elizabeth allowed herself to smile slightly. She looked up to see that the truck driver had parked on the circle and was walking up to Kurt. His arm was extended toward him with a key dangling from it. He took the key and immediately turned around and handed it to Elizabeth.

A tear rolled down her cheek. This time, a happy tear. She was all choked up so it took a great deal of effort to speak. “Thanks, Kurt. This means so much to me. Thanks so much for doing this. I just can’t thank you enough.” She put her arms out and hugged him tightly. He hugged her back. She could feel her heart starting to mend. With time, everything would be all right again. She had to believe it.