What Lies Below, page 17
The bartender waved a tattooed arm. “On the house, my man. Hope Willow’s okay.”
A few minutes later, Heath carried the drinks back to the table where Willow was scrolling through her phone. He put her drink down on a coaster. “Too bad your phone wasn’t in your purse. At least we’d have a way to track it.”
“Not if they turned the phone off immediately. Then I would’ve been out a purse and my phone.” She smacked the table. “My key. The key to my new storage unit. Maybe they followed us there and wanted to search my unit. See what I rescued from the fire.”
“I didn’t think of that, but the storage facility has cameras. They can’t just waltz in there, even with a key.”
“Ever hear of disguises? And I had a security camera at my place. Didn’t stop someone from burning it down.” She sucked down her drink with the straw. “Let’s go back to the storage facility.”
“Now?” Heath settled back in his chair and crossed his arms. “What do you expect to find there at this hour?”
“Um, someone using my key to get into my storage unit. I still even had the card in my purse with my unit number.” Willow was already halfway out of her seat.
Heath gulped down the rest of his drink and followed her. So much for taking care of Willow.
He drove back to the storage facility, with the same attendant in the tiny office. “I’ll go in with you this time.”
The man in the office buzzed the door open when he spotted Willow out the window. As they entered, he said, “More to load up? Hey, what happened to your head?”
“Hi, Zev.” Willow patted her bandage. “Someone mugged me and stole my purse. The key to my unit was in there, along with the unit number, and I’m afraid whoever stole it is planning to come here and rip me off.”
“That’s not cool. Nobody has been here this evening since you left, but that key opens the gate to the entire facility. They could come after hours.”
Heath rubbed Willow’s back. “We can’t spend all night out here, keeping watch. You need to get some rest.”
Zev spread his hands. “We have cameras, if that helps.”
“Someone could come in here with a disguise—a hoodie, a face mask—we wouldn’t know who it was.” Willow sagged against the desk, her face pale.
“Okay, that’s it. You’re going back to the hotel now.” As Heath curled an arm around Willow’s waist, he asked Zev, “Is there something you can do to prevent the mugger from getting in?”
“I’ll tell you what.” Zev clicked on his keyboard. “I’m going to assign you a different unit right now. You didn’t have much stuff, did you? I’ll bring a forklift to your unit and move the contents tonight. If this mugger does come back here, he’s gonna find an empty unit. Will that work?”
“But we won’t be able to catch them in the act.”
Heath placed a finger against Willow’s trembling lips. “It’ll work for now. Thanks, Zev. We’ll pick up her new key tomorrow morning.”
They left the unit, and Willow collapsed in his truck. “I’m exhausted.”
“Of course you are. I’m running on empty here, and I didn’t even get bashed on the head.” As he backed out of the parking space in front of the storage facility, Willow’s phone buzzed.
“Don’t answer that.”
She glanced at the display. “It’s the DFSD. Hello?” She listened for a few seconds and said, “We’ll be right there.”
Heath groaned. “What wild-goose chase are we going on now?”
“Someone found my purse down by the harbor and turned it in to the sheriff’s department. Maybe they snagged my storage unit key and didn’t want to be caught with the purse.”
“This is it. The last stop of the day.” Heath peeled out of the parking lot and barely stayed within the speed limit on his way to the DFSD.
Deputy Fletcher met them in the lobby. “Good news, huh? I was just getting ready to go off duty when a couple who was spending the night on their boat came in. Found it right by the dock. And your credit cards are still in there, although I do recommend you replace them just in case. Oh, and if you had any cash, that’s gone.”
Willow thrust out her hand. “Give it over.”
Fletcher’s eyebrows jumped to his hairline. “Sure, it’s behind the desk. Sarge?”
An officer on the phone reached beneath the counter and handed Willow’s purse to Fletcher. Willow practically snatched the purse from his hand and carried it to the seats against the wall.
She unzipped the bag and turned it upside down, shaking out the contents onto one of the chairs. Her wallet dropped out, along with a small makeup bag, a sunglasses case, a few pens, some spare change and other odds and ends. Willow pounced on a silver key and held it up. “It’s the storage unit key.”
“I guess they weren’t planning to search your unit after all.” Heath crouched down to retrieve a couple of items that had rolled under the chair. “Don’t forget these.”
Willow stared at the objects in his palm and pinched a silver tube of lipstick between her fingers. “This isn’t mine.”
“It fell onto the floor from your purse.”
She carried the lipstick in front of her as if it was dynamite and parked herself in front of Fletcher. “You said you checked my wallet for my cards. Did you see this lipstick when you did?”
“Oh, that. The couple who turned in your purse said the lipstick was a few feet away from the purse itself. They figured it had fallen out, along with a few coins that had rolled in that same direction. They just dropped it back into the purse.”
“It’s not mine.”
Fletcher shrugged and turned away to finish his conversation with the sergeant, but Heath watched Willow’s wide eyes.
“What’s wrong, Willow?”
“The lipstick isn’t mine, but maybe it belongs to the person who stole my bag.” She pulled off the lid and cranked up the scarlet-red lipstick. “And I know who wears this shade.”
Chapter Seventeen
Willow waved the lipstick in Heath’s face. “It’s hers. It belongs to Ellie Keel. She always wears this hideous shade—day or night.”
Heath led her out of the station with a backward wave to the deputies. “Maybe it is Ellie’s, but why? Why did she take your purse only to dump it? You found your storage unit key, so it’s not that. You think she needed a couple of bucks that badly?”
“I don’t know, Heath.” Willow clutched the bag to her chest. “Maybe she copied the key. Maybe she took my hotel key.” With shaky fingers, she unzipped the side pocket of the purse and felt for her hotel key card. She pulled it out. Tears sprang to her eyes, and she slid down the wall of the station into a crouching position.
“Are you all right?” Heath knelt before her on the ground.
“Physically, I’m fine. I’m just so frustrated. What does she want?”
“Physically, you’re not fine. I’m taking you back to the hotel now, and I don’t care if someone sets fire to your storage unit. We’re not making any detours.”
She gave in and gave herself over to Heath’s tender care. He helped her to her feet, dried the tears on her cheeks and half carried her to his truck.
When they got back to the hotel, Heath took her to her own room, but he followed her inside. “A warm bath, some hot tea, ibuprofen and rest. Dr. Heath’s orders.”
She managed a smile. “I like the sound of that.”
“Sit.” He maneuvered her to the bed and placed gentle pressure on her shoulders. “I’m going to run that bath and have a cup of tea waiting for you when you come out, unless you want something stronger. I’m not sure the EMTs would recommend alcohol for a concussion, though.”
“I don’t have a concussion, but tea sounds perfect.”
She closed her eyes to the sounds of the water running in the tub. When Heath came out of the bathroom, he crouched in front of her and removed her shoes.
“Go relax. I’ll make the tea and leave a message for West to look into Ellie Keel. We don’t have much proof, but we have the lipstick. He can at least start talking to her.”
Willow shuffled to the bathroom, peeled off her clothes and sank into the tub. What was Ellie looking for? Did the woman really believe that if Willow and Heath were out of the way, she could get Willow’s mother to sell the property? What good would the casino development do her, even if Mom did sell? Ellie wouldn’t get the money from that sale. She must have some other interests in the casino deal. Maybe she’d worked out something with Lee.
These thoughts were not helping her relax. She cupped warm water in her hands and tipped it onto her chest. She took deep breaths through her mouth and exhaled them from her nose. Her muscles still ached with tension, and the questions still buzzed through her brain.
There was only one person who could settle her mind and soothe her body. “Heath!”
He poked his head into the room as if he’d been waiting outside. “Yeah? You okay?”
“You were the one digging today. Don’t you need a bath?”
“I thought you’d never ask.”
The door flew open, and he had his clothes off by the time he reached the tub. “Is there room?”
“I’ll make room.”
And suddenly, every bad thought dissipated with the steam.
* * *
THE FOLLOWING MORNING, Heath edged out of bed, away from Willow’s sleeping form. She still needed her rest. After every crazy thing that had happened to them yesterday, they both should’ve fallen into an exhausted sleep when they got back to the hotel. Instead, they’d made frantic, passionate love, as if to erase all the bad from their lives.
What had he said earlier? Their relationship, their attraction, seemed to be like a runaway train. And that train had gone off the rails last night.
He had to try to reach his father today. He couldn’t keep the discovery of his mother’s body to himself or wait for the confirmation. That locket told him everything he needed to know—well, not everything. He still didn’t know what had happened to her or who put her in the ground.
His father deserved to hear this from him. Dad had suffered, too. He’d finally moved on with his life, with another woman, and they needed a chance for happiness with a clean slate. Nothing over their heads.
He left Willow a note, anchored by a bottle of ibuprofen and a promise to order her breakfast. She’d planned a nice, peaceful day hanging out at Astrid’s and visiting the dogs. He’d take care of getting the key to her new storage unit and talking to West about Ellie’s involvement in the campaign of terror against Willow.
Before he left the room, he kissed Willow on the forehead.
Back in his own room, he showered and changed clothes. Then he made the call he’d been dreading since yesterday. He used an app for a face-to-face call with his father.
The old man picked up on the first ring. “Son, it’s good to finally hear from you...and see you. You look like hell. Told you that Dead Falls Island was always trouble. How’s the deal going?”
“The deal is dead, Dad. Whether Lee Scott and his associates decide to go through with a smaller casino is up to them, but they’re going to have to give up on the supporting infrastructure and tourist venues. Those two pieces of land are not for sale and never will be.”
“I figured it was a long shot with the Tree Girl, but are Keel’s niece and nephew not interested in making a bunch of money?”
“That’s the thing, Dad. Paul Sands had some kind of deal in place that left the property to his daughter, Willow, after Keel passed. And that’s what happened. She’ll never sell.”
His father blew a kiss to someone, presumably his wife, before turning back to his phone. “There is a little secret about that property that might just change her mind, Heath.”
“It’s not a secret, Dad. I found out about the mineral rights—my mineral rights. And I’m not going to threaten Willow with the exploitation of those rights to get her to sell for the lesser of two evils.”
To his surprise, his father cracked a smile. “Still have a crush on that girl, huh?”
Heath’s mouth gaped open for a few seconds. Who didn’t know he’d had a crush on Willow back then, except Willow? “It’s not just that. The island doesn’t need any more development.”
“Then that’s it.” His father ran a hand through his salt-and-pepper hair. “One thing I know after running this company for almost thirty years is you can’t make people sell their property if they don’t want to. Not worth it in the end.”
“Th-there’s something else, Dad.”
“What? You’re going to marry this girl?” He crooked his finger, and Heath’s stepmother, Lilith, came into view, her head next to his father’s.
“Hi, Heath. Are you getting married?”
The two of them giggled like a couple of teenagers.
He shook his head. “Not yet. What are you two doing right now?”
“Getting ready to have dinner and then a gondola ride. I know they’re kitschy, but this is Lilith’s first time in Italy. Have to do it right. If you’re not getting married, what else were you going to tell me?”
Heath rubbed his thumb over the locket in his hand. “It can wait. Just wanted to let you know the deal’s off and tell you I knew about the nickel vein. One thing, though.”
“Fire away, but make it fast. The pasta here is singing to me.”
“Do you know why Paul Sands signed those rights over to me?”
“No clue, son. I know he always felt sorry for you for some reason. Almost like he harbored some guilt when it came to you.” He kissed his wife’s fingers. “Gotta go. We’ll meet when I get back.”
Heath said goodbye to his father and Lilith and continued stroking the locket, as if it could give him answers. What did Paul Sands do to make him feel guilty?
His father took the news better than he’d expected him to take it. Marriage had softened his father’s outlook. Lilith was young enough to be Dad’s daughter, but she seemed to really care about him. She made him happy, and that had to count for something.
Heath texted Willow in case she was awake, but she didn’t respond. He let her know he was on his way to pick up her storage unit key and talk to West about the lipstick found near her stolen bag.
As he grabbed a light jacket, his phone buzzed. Mark Santos’s number flashed on the display. “Captain Mark, are you okay?”
“I’m madder than hell. I did not take any drugs before that flight. I didn’t even have a beer.”
“Is that what the tests are showing?”
“Tests are showing I had barbiturates in my system. No way. Didn’t happen.” He hacked a few times. “Just wanted to say I’m sorry about what went down, and I’m so thankful you were able to take over the controls. But I wasn’t responsible for that mess.”
“I believe you, Mark. Do you think someone drugged you?”
“Maybe. I have no idea who would want to or why, but I can’t think of any other explanation for my condition.”
“Are you out of the hospital? Can I come and talk to you today? I don’t know the who, but I’m pretty sure about the why.”
* * *
WILLOW BURROWED BENEATH the covers, reaching for the warmth of Heath’s body. He’d been the cure she’d needed last night. How had she become so dependent on that man in such a short amount of time?
But her fingers met smooth, empty sheets, so she sat up suddenly, cradling her sore head. Squinting through sleep-encrusted lids, she spotted a square of white paper on the desk.
She inched out of bed to claim it, skimming over Heath’s note. So, he’d take care of all the business today, and she’d relax at Astrid’s with the dogs. She shook out an ibuprofen into her palm. She’d like to be there to see the look on Ellie’s face when West questioned her.
She tossed the gel cap back with a gulp of water and thumbed through her text messages. Determined to make her day stress free, Heath had ordered her a breakfast of oatmeal with bananas, berries, nuts and almond milk. All she had to do was call room service to send it up.
Smiling, she ordered the breakfast and stepped into the bathroom for a quick shower. Different muscles ached this morning from the ones that throbbed with pain yesterday.
By the time she finished dressing and carefully removing the bandage from her head, room service knocked on the door. As she ate, she sent Heath a text thanking him for breakfast, or what had turned out to be lunch, and the other errands he was running on her behalf.
She stacked up the room service tray and fished her makeup bag from her purse. She often used the backpack purse when she had a lot of items to carry. Thankfully, she hadn’t stuffed it last night on the way to the meeting.
She took a quick breath and pressed a hand to her chest. The recipe notebook. Hadn’t she stashed that in her purse last night at the meeting? No. She’d left it in Heath’s truck. Had wanted to show him then, but had gotten sidetracked giving him directions to the storage facility. She’d have to text him to remind him to bring it in with him when he finished his business...or her business.
Toby had to have a good reason for hiding that notebook beneath the floorboards, and it wasn’t that he was planning to publish a cookbook and wanted to keep the recipes secret.
The hotel safe beckoned, and she checked the space in her bag. She had room for a gun, and after last night’s adventure, she’d feel better with it—even at Astrid’s with the dogs. She transferred the gun from the safe to her purse and hung it over a chair.
The sticky antiseptic from yesterday had created some clumps in her hair, so she pulled it into a ponytail. She grabbed her bag, patted the weapon inside and drove her truck to Astrid’s. As she stepped out of her vehicle, Luna and Apollo charged toward her, Astrid’s dog, Sherlock, trailing after them.
