Tide Will Tell (Islands of Intrigue: San Juans) (29 page)

“You saw me.” Chase tipped his head. “So I have no choice but to admit that I’m guilty.”

The comment instantly won him everyone’s full attention.

“Guilty,” he added, “of being a jealous husband. After Trina and I fought about her attraction to one of the island’s summer residents, I left, then snuck back to see if she’d go to him. So you see my motive for ‘skulking’ wasn’t exactly innocent, but it was far from homicidal.”

“Sorry, Dad.” Stuart sounded surprisingly contrite. “I never should have doubted you.”

“No, you were right to doubt me, just wrong about the reasons. I’ve long enjoyed the advantages to financial solvency, but the time has come for justice to be served.”

Jessica’s finely-plucked brows arched. “What do you mean, Daddy?”

“I mean that while I’m innocent of the crimes of which I was unofficially accused, it’s time I faced up to my other offences. I haven’t exactly been upfront in my business dealings. I’m willing to pay the price for all the payoffs I’ve doled out over the years.”

“Payoffs?” The word felt heavy as it rolled off Kate’s tongue. “Is that what you were talking about when you said you could go to prison?”

He nodded. “It’s a considerably less serious crime than spousicide, and not nearly as newsworthy.”

The doors opened again and Kate’s heart went into an immediate flutter at the sight of Josh. He also had his arm in a sling and Kate knew he was wrapped like
The Mummy’s Uncle
under his shirt.

She tried to spring to her feet, but the brace reminded her to take it slowly. As she limped toward him, she realized that he hadn’t arrived alone. She slowed to acknowledge the woman standing next to him. It was a nun.

Josh smiled at Kate as he addressed the group. “Good morning, everyone. This is Sister Marie Agnes from the monastery on the island. She picked me up from the hospital this morning.”

As a round of confused greetings worked through the group, Kate recognized her as the same nun they’d spoken to at the general store a few days before.

Dakota lifted a wave. “Hello!”

As Sister Marie noticed him, her smile relaxed. “Oh, hello.”

Kate gave him a puzzled look. “You’ve met?”

“When I got off the…
ferry
…I asked her where I could find you. She told me.”

Kate looked at the nun. “He’s the ‘nice young man’ who asked about me?”

She nodded, clearly unaware of the alarms she had set off in Kate’s head.

Just then, Jessica shrieked and leapt to her feet, commanding everyone’s attention.

Kate turned to see the sheriff standing at the top of the stairs, and nearly choked. He was carrying a skeleton.

Chapter 31

Kate stumbled backward, and Josh placed a steadying hand on her shoulder.

The sheriff held up a hand to silence the group. “Sorry to alarm you, but I think you should see what our divers brought up.”

Turning away, Kate noticed a slight smile playing across Chase’s lips. She steeled herself, then forced a brave look.

The skeleton, which had appeared so gruesome through the murky water, now looked more like something you’d see in a classroom or a chiropractor’s office.

She spurted out a chuckle. The thing wasn’t real.

“Is that what I saw under the dock?”

“Yes ma’am.” The sheriff gave it a shake, and it made a light clacking sound. “We figure it’s been there a little while, but it’s probably not much worse for the wear than when it took the plunge.”

“You idiot!” Jessica cuffed Stuart on his good shoulder.

“Ow.” He winced. “What are you hitting me for?”

“You said you got all those things out of the woods the day after the Halloween party.”

“So, I missed one. Obviously, it fell out of the tree it was hanging in. I wasn’t in the best shape that day, if you remember.”

“No different than any other day,
if I remember
.” She cuffed him again. “Look at all the trouble you caused.”

“Jessica, you’re forgetting something.” Kate crossed to the sheriff so she could get a better look at the wayward party decoration. “If this isn’t your mom, that means there’s still hope.”

Jessica’s face lit up.

Kate looked at Josh, who gave her a wink as he put a hand on Sister Marie’s shoulder. “Just tell them what you told me, Sister.”

She dipped her chin, as if she wasn’t used to getting so much attention. “Last night, I was over at the general store when the ten o’clock ferry came in. I saw this young man…” she gestured toward Josh, “…having car trouble. He seemed frantic, so I offered him a ride in my van.”

Josh picked up the story. “She drove me here, and I explained why I was in such a hurry to get back. That I thought Kate might be in trouble, because my roommate had called to tell me that Trina’s body had been found and that it looked like Mr. Cole might be guilty—”

“And I told him to stop right there because I knew for a fact that Mr. Cole hadn’t murdered Trina Cole.”

Clutching her elbows, Jessica stepped toward her. “How did you know that?”

Sister Marie put her hands to her face. “I promised I wouldn’t tell. I even sent the seahorse sculpture…” She gestured toward Josh. “I told this young man about that. I wanted Marion to get the message so I wouldn’t have to break my promise.”

Josh put a hand on her shoulder. “Some promises need to be broken. Let’s not keep everyone in suspense, okay?”

She nodded. “I knew Mr. Cole hadn’t killed Trina Cole, because I knew she wasn’t dead.”

In the next moment, a stunning blonde wearing a pale blue sundress and a hesitant smile appeared in the doorway. Silence fell over the group.

Kate pulled in a sharp breath. It was Trina. Flesh and bones…real ones.

“M…” Jessica’s voice came out in a crackly whisper. “Mom!” She ran to her, and the two women held onto each other. Stuart joined them, wrapping his one good arm around them both.

Chase held back, his hands folded. From the look on his face, Kate got the impression that Trina’s appearance had come as no surprise to him.

“I don’t understand.” Jessica spoke through a tear-filled voice. “What are you doing here?”

“Well,” Trina wiped her cheeks. “When I read last evening’s paper and found out that my body had been found, I just about died.”

Everyone laughed, breaking the last bit of tension in the air.

“Then dear Sister Marie Agnes returned to the monastery with a surprise.”

“Wait.” Stuart frowned. “You mean, you were staying on Shaw this whole time?”

She nodded. “If you’ll remember a year ago, I was pretty upset. I wasn’t being a very good wife or mother, and I think I had announced once or twice that I was ready to just leave all of you.”

“I remember.” Chase looked askance. “The sailor.”

Trina looked distraught. “There was nothing between me and ‘the sailor’.”

Chase looked at her sideways. “No?”

“No.”

“But what happened?” Jessica clung to her mother’s arm as if fearful she’d vanish if she let go.

“As you all know, I had lived with the press hounding us for years about Emily’s death. There were always the rumors, whispers behind our backs that Chase had killed his first wife. Over the years, I saw how easily Chase’s anger could flare up, and I have to admit that I had my doubts. I knew he was involved in some shady business dealings and frankly, I had stopped trusting him.”

Kate eased back into her chair, and Josh moved to stand next to her.

“Then when Stuart told me he had his suspicions about his mother’s death, I started to get scared.” Trina looked at Chase. “And you got so angry with me when I tried to talk to you about it. Remember, you turned it into a fight about Bruce.”

“Bruce?” Jessica asked.

“The ‘sailor’,” Trina explained.

“I hope you can forgive me.” Chase folded his hands in front of him. “I’d been falsely accused for twenty years, and when I thought you were turning against me, I didn’t handle it as well as I should have.”

“So you stormed off, leaving me with no one to turn to but Sam…my
friend
.” Trina’s emphasis on that word imbued it with an added touch of irony.

Stuart raised a hand. “But Dad came back that next night to spy on you.”

Trina raised a brow at Chase.

He lifted his hands in defense. “I wanted to see if you went to meet the sailor—”

“Bruce.”

“Yes.
Bruce
. I was relieved to see you leave with Sam.”

“I didn’t know who else to turn to. She suggested we go out on the yacht, like we always did. Only this time, she started to act strange.” She regarded Chase narrowly. “She told me that she was in love with you. Did you know that?”

“Not until yesterday.”

“Well, she got a little hysterical. She told me that if the authorities found out about the payoffs you’d been making to FDA officials, I would be the one to go to prison. She convinced me that the two of you would make it look like it was all my doing, and I know how persuasive you can be when you start throwing money around.”

Chase shook his head. “You might be considered legally culpable as my spouse, but you wouldn’t go to prison.”

Trina pinched the bridge of her nose. “Anyway, it was a terrible, stormy night, and she went to the bow of the boat and said she was going to jump off and kill herself.”

Kate shook her head. “That’s not the way she tells it.”

“Sam is not to be trusted. Well, of course, I tried to stop her, but she fought me off. The boat tipped and I lost my balance.”

A chill traveled through Kate at the reminder of her own ordeal. “What did you do?”

“I just started swimming. I decided to get myself to the dock behind the general store where Bruce kept his boat.”

“Bruce,” Chase repeated dryly. “The
sailor
.”

“Please forgive me, Chase. But I honestly thought you had killed Emily, and that Sam meant what she said about making me pay the price for your crimes. I was afraid to go home. Anyway, once I got to the dock, I discovered that Bruce’s boat was gone.”

Sister Marie spoke. “That’s where I came in. Trina stumbled out onto the road, looking like the Creature from the Black Lagoon. She told me her story and asked if she could stay with us until she sorted out what to do. She asked me not to let on that she was there, and I agreed, of course not realizing what a stir her disappearance would cause.”

“At the monastery,” Trina said, “I was surprised to find some of my glass pieces.”

“We love to collect local art.” Sister Marie explained.

“I was so upset about everything in my life, that I shattered them. Sister Marie swept up all the pieces, and over the next months helped me to heal and to find peace and God. When she presented me with the broken glass, I literally put the pieces back together by creating mosaics from the artwork I had destroyed.”

Kate smiled. “The seahorse.”

“That was one of them, yes.” Trina gave her a gentle smile.

Sister Marie kneaded her hands together. “And when I finally started to realize what a problem this was, I sent the seahorse sculpture to Marion. I thought she’d pick up on the clue. I guess I should have been a little more direct.”

Chase cleared his throat. “Then last night, as I was panicking, thinking I had killed that poor deputy, the sister and Josh suddenly appeared in her van. I told Josh where to find you,” he gestured toward Kate, “and the sister and I took care of the deputy. I told her my situation and she drove me to the monastery before the sheriff came. Imagine my surprise at finding my ‘dead’ wife there.” Chase closed the gap between himself and Trina. “We’ve been up most of the night negotiating the terms of a second chance.”

For a long moment, the group encased the two of them in a collective hopeful gaze, until Stuart broke the spell.

“Hey Dad. I’ve been thinking about our conversation. You know, about me getting a job?”

Chase gave Trina’s hand a squeeze before turning his attention to his son. “Yes?”

“I think I might like to become a ski instructor.”

Dakota’s eyes lit up. “You sk…ski? Will you teach me?”

“Sure, bro.” Stuart gave Dakota’s arm a friendly flick. “Anybody can ski with the right teacher.”

As the boys’ conversation hopscotched from skiing to snowboarding to skateboarding, Chase moved to the chair on Kate’s other side. “I think I speak for both of us when I say it’s best we call off the engagement.”

“I’d have to agree.” She smiled, then glanced at Trina. “Besides, I have a feeling the second Mrs. Cole is going to be happy she gave you that second chance.”

“I’m banking on that.” He winked at Kate, then again at Josh as he stood.

Claiming the seat Chase had just vacated, Josh cleared his throat. “If you’re up to it later, maybe we could go grab some burgers and take in a movie.”

“Sounds good.” Her cheeks heated a little at the thought of going on an actual date with the
actual
man of her dreams.

“Or…” His eyes seemed to catch a glint off the sparkling water below. “We could go kayaking.”

“Kayaking?”

“Sure. I’m an old hand at it now.”

Kate felt her jaw literally drop. “You mean, that’s how you got out to the yacht last night?”

He nodded in triumph. “I had no other choice. Mr. Cole had told me you were out there and that you were probably in trouble.”

“But you said you’d rather die than get into a small boat like that.”

“I didn’t say I’d rather see
you
die, which seemed like a distinct possibility.”

“You’re right about that.” She smiled lightly. “And I was right too. About fate bringing Chase into my life. That was one of the best things that ever happened to me.”

“Yeah?” He raised a brow.

“Uh huh. Because that’s what brought me to you.”

As they shared a smile, she glanced out at Blind Bay, where her life had almost ended the night before, but had instead only just begun.

Epilogue

One year later.

“Do you trust me?”

“Well…” Glancing down at the gorgeous vintage dress that Audrey Hepburn herself would have loved, Kate pretended to ponder. “Promise not to get any frosting on the lace?”