The Darkness Beneath, page 4
Nell flicked on the nightlight, which cast a warm glow around the room. She glanced at the alarm clock. 03:38. Her heart was racing, she couldn’t stop shaking.
The night was going to be a long one.
CHAPTER FIVE
Nell worked on the house up to the weekend, leaving only to restock groceries and for a walk along the beach. The kitchen needed remodeling, but it was now clean and functional, as was the main living room, her bedroom and the bathroom she had been using. The attic was still in the process of being decluttered and the dumpster she had hired was already over half full. The size of the project, and knowing she had only touched the surface, had her wondering again if she had taken on too much and perhaps selling might be the wiser idea. Her bones ached from the physical labor and, when she sank into the tub early Friday evening for a well-deserved soak, she contemplated getting in touch with her realtor. The place would make a fantastic home for a family. There was a ton of space both inside and out, and the property’s location was far enough out of town to offer wonderful views and seclusion – the nearest neighbor was half a mile away – yet it wasn’t too isolated from all the necessary amenities.
As she relaxed in the tub, she allowed herself to fantasize about what she could do with the place if she had the money. It was a pipe dream. Her paintings had sold well, but that had been thanks to Caleb’s connections. She no longer had those, and she had left much of the money she had earned, leaving it tied up in joint accounts, and some stocks. It was frustrating, but worth it to escape his control.
Nell thought back to the nightmare she had experienced on her second night in the house. It had felt so real at the time and she hadn’t dared sleep with the light off since. Although it had just been a dream, it served of a reminder of what she had escaped.
He was still calling and texting relentlessly. She had been tempted to contact her service provider and ask them to block his number from her cell, but she wanted to keep tabs on him. She knew he would be trying to track her down and she didn’t want him ever having the element of surprise, so for the time being she allowed the calls and the messages to come, ignoring all of them.
Thoughts of Caleb had the muscles in her neck and shoulders tensing, making her question if she had covered her tracks well enough. If he ever found her he would likely kill her, she was almost sure of it. Nell forced her mind to refocus. She was free of him and couldn’t allow him to still have this level of control. She drew deep breaths, turning her thoughts to those of dinner. She had picked up a lobster on her last trip into town and needed to decide how to cook it. Settling on a risotto she drained the tub and reached for a towel.
A banging door somewhere downstairs startled her.
Immediately her thoughts returned to the nightmare. This time she wasn’t asleep. Feeling vulnerable in her nakedness she stepped from the tub and wrapped her bathrobe around her, knotting the belt with shaking fingers, aware she had locked the front door before going upstairs. Ignoring the temptation to call out she quietly stepped into her bedroom and crept across to the door. Maybe she had imagined the bang? Although it was the most comforting thought, she knew it wasn’t true. The sound of footsteps creaking against the stairs drove that point home. Oh God, he had found her. She swallowed hard, glanced at her cellphone charging on the nightstand. She had to call the cops. As she reached for her phone the voice called out and she jumped almost out of her skin.
‘Nell?’
Relief washed over her and immediately she felt like an idiot for being so skittish.
Michael.
As the panic subsided she chided herself for overreacting. It wasn’t Caleb. He hadn’t found her. This was Purity, an island with a low crime rate where folks knew one another and looked out for one another.
Except for what happened to Lizzie.
She pushed thoughts of her oldest best friend out of her mind and threw open the door, grabbing her brother in a bear hug.
‘Hey you.’ He scooped her up, seeming pleased to see her. At five ten, Nell considered herself tall, but Michael dwarfed her by a good six inches. With him here, everything felt right.
He released her, held her at arms-length for an appraising look. ‘You’re shaking.’
‘You scared me sneaking in here.’ She swiped at him, tried to shrug it off.
‘I called out. Didn’t you hear me?’
She shook her head, overcome with relief. ‘I was in the tub in a world of my own. Hey, how did you get in anyway?’
‘Umm, through the front door.’ Michael narrowed his eyes. ‘You should really start locking it. I know we’re on an island, but you’re out here all alone. Anyone could have walked straight in the house. If that asshole shows up here –’
‘He won’t. He has no idea about this place. Besides, I did lock the front door.’ She had, hadn’t she?
‘You sure? Because I walked right in.’
‘Yeah, well…’ Except now Nell doubted herself. How else had Michael got in the house? A little uneasy, she changed the subject. ‘What are you doing here, anyhow? I thought you and Newt weren’t due back until tomorrow.’
‘The hotel was a dive though and we couldn’t face another night there, so we decided to head home early.’ Michael squeezed her arm. ‘Plus of course there was the bonus of seeing you.’
He was right on that count. They hadn’t caught up in over two years, when Michael and Newt had come to visit her, and Nell had missed him. They were half siblings; same father, different mother, Michael the oldest by thirteen years, and aside from their father, who had skipped out years earlier, he was Nell’s only remaining relative.
‘Newt and I would love you to come by the house this evening. It’s still warm out and we figured we’d throw a few steaks on the barbecue, make the most of the weather.’
Nell thought about her lobster risotto. It could wait till tomorrow. Time catching up with her brother was far more precious. Plus, she wanted the chance to get to know Newt better; having only met him the one time Michael brought him to Chicago. ‘Sure. That sounds great. You want me to bring dessert?’
‘No need. We’ve got everything covered. Head on over when you’re ready.’
He kissed her on the forehead. ‘It’s good to have you back, Nell.’
She knew he was referring to her leaving Caleb, but it was a conversation for another time. Instead she squeezed his hand. It felt good to be home.
*
If she was going to Michael and Newt’s for dinner, she needed to take something. Of course Michael would wave the gesture away, reminding her it was a casual get together, but still Nell felt she couldn’t turn up empty-handed. Wine was the obvious choice, but of the two bottles she had bought on her last grocery trip, one sat empty, while the other was only two thirds full. She’d have to detour into town first. For clothing she didn’t fuss, thinking only about the evening temperature. Jeans and a clean t-shirt would do fine. Opting for her favorite red one, she quickly dressed, applied mascara and lip gloss and, after fussing with her hair for a couple of minutes, decided to leave it down. She grabbed her purse, slipped on sneakers, and, almost as an afterthought, picked up her denim jacket. She would have it in the car in case the temperature dropped. Leaving the hall light on – knowing how much she hated returning to a dark house – she let herself out of the front door, this time double-checking she had locked it. Satisfied the house was secure, she got into her car and headed into town, heading for the main supermarket where she purchased a bottle of chardonnay and a bouquet of daisies and yellow roses for her hosts. She was making her way across the parking lot, had almost reached her car, when she heard a male voice.
‘Nell O’Connor?’
She swung around, eyes narrowing at the man standing in front of her. Tall, slim with dark hair curling down to his shoulders, she recognized his face, but took a second to place him. Then it clicked and she immediately felt bad.
‘Sam.’
It was the first time she had seen him since Lizzie’s death. He had been fourteen at the time, so young to have to deal with such a traumatic experience, and harsh lines around his eyes and mouth showed the burden he had carried. He started to take a step towards her then evidently changed his mind. ‘I heard you were moving back, but I wasn’t sure I believed it.’ Nell had been dreading this encounter, had secretly hoped Lizzie’s family might have moved away so she didn’t have to face them. Although they had never blamed her for Lizzie’s death, she still carried the guilt, convinced it should have been her in the Dolans’ house that night.
‘How are you, Sam?’ It was a question that felt both insensitive and necessary at the same time. She had to ask. It had been over eighteen years.
‘How am I?’ He seemed to ponder the question for a moment, staring at Nell almost as if she wasn’t there and it was a blank space he was looking at. Then his gaze hardened, his dark eyes locking on hers. ‘How do you think I am? Seriously, tell me, Nell. How the hell do you think I am? You put my family through hell.’
Nell stayed silent. He was agitated, angry even, and there wasn’t a damn thing she could say to him to make things right. She had said sorry a thousand times over and, even though she still desperately was, it was a word that wouldn’t cut it now. Sam’s parents had always been so kind to her, never blaming her for what happened, but perhaps they were wrong and she deserved their wrath.
‘You should’ve stayed away. It’s been hard enough. We don’t need to see your face, reminding us that Lizzie is no longer here.’
Nell clenched the bottle of wine tightly in her hand. ‘It should have been me, Sam. Don’t think I don’t know that. I think about her all the time, I promise you I do. I wish I could go back and take her place.’
‘So do I, Nell.’ Sam gave her a cold smile and a chill went through her. ‘So do I.’
Then he turned away, and was gone.
CHAPTER SIX
Michael O’Connor and Newton Trainor shared a beach house on the south side of the island; a pretty white stone cottage with pale blue shuttered windows and a wide decked area spilling onto the beach, perfect for entertaining. Michael was the laborer, able to build and plaster and generally restore the property – which had a couple of years back been little more than a neglected shack – but Newt had the designer’s eye. It was his creative streak that had been responsible for giving the cottage its warm and homely feel, from the stringed lanterns woven into the overhead framework of the decking, to the scattered colorful cushions, to the various plants strewn around both inside and outside the house, one of which Teddy was currently cocking his leg up against.
Alex clocked him in the nick of time and called out to him. ‘Teddy! No!’
The mutt glanced his way with a guilty look and skulked away from the plant, relieving himself on the sand before returning to the deck with a contrite look on his face. Tongue panting, one blue eye, one brown eye, both looking guilty, he rested his head against Alex’s leg and gazed adoringly at his master.
Newt shook his head. ‘That dog is a law to himself.’ He glanced at Sasha, lying quietly in the corner, occupied with one of the dog chews Michael had given them on arrival. ‘Now that one I get. This one, you’ve got your work cut out with.’
‘Yeah.’ Alex took a slug of his beer, narrowing his eyes at Teddy, before ruffling the fur behind his ears. ‘But he’ll be worth it.’
He had acquired the dog just over a month ago when visiting the pound in East Haven, only intending to drop off a check, but having been suckered into meeting the latest residents. Teddy had been found wandering the streets, no tag and no chip, a fifty-shades-of-everything dog with crafty eyes and a dopey smile. His shaggy gray-and-white coat had been trimmed, but it didn’t make him any less scruffy. Alex was sold. He didn’t need another dog, already had Sasha – who he’d adopted from the same shelter four years earlier – but he found himself reasoning that she would like a canine companion, that Teddy was such an goofball maybe no one else would take a chance on him. And so the check was exchanged for the mutt currently sitting in front of him, and again he wondered what the hell he had been thinking, though he knew deep down Teddy had already wormed his way in and wouldn’t be going anywhere.
Right now he had caught the scent of the steaks Newt had thrown on the barbecue and raised his nose to the air, looking thoughtful.
‘Don’t you even think about it, buddy,’
Newt chuckled. ‘Can you watch this for a minute? I need to make the cocktails.’
‘Cocktails?’ Alex asked dubiously.
‘Nell is coming over. I want her to try my strawberry daiquiris. You want one.’
‘No.’
‘You sure?’ Newt teased.
‘Trust me, I’m good with my beer. But go make your fancy drinks. I’ve got you covered.’
‘Thanks.’ Newt waved the tongs at Teddy before handing them over. ‘And you, stay away from my steaks. Touch them and you’re going on the barbecue.’ Teddy looked up with eyes full of an innocence Alex had already learned was an act. Out on the decking alone, he took time out to appreciate the moment. He had been an islander now for five years, but watching the sun setting across the ocean was a view he would never tire of. Here with this backdrop, good friends, his dogs and few steaks on the barbecue, this was it. For him, nothing else mattered. Flipping the steaks, he took another sip of beer, hearing the sound of the doorbell chime above the low soulful voice of Stevie Wonder feeding through the speaker system. The barbecue had been thrown as a sort of welcome home thing for Michael’s sister, Nell. Alex had never met her, but Michael talked about her often. He knew she had left the island years before and was an artist living in Chicago. Michael had made it clear over the years that her boyfriend was bad news. Apparently she had finally ditched the guy and was moving into the guesthouse she had inherited from her aunt. The place had stood empty since Clarke Golding’s death and Alex had been up there on more than one occasion to deal with kids trying to break in. He glanced at the patio doors, wondering if this was her, his heart sinking when he recognized the shrill girlish giggle of Autumn Eastman and realized this was another set up.
Despite Alex’s protestations, Michael and Newt had decided between them that he needed to settle down and over the past year there had been sneaky matchmaking attempts to pair him with various women. None of them had worked. He was quite capable of getting a date when he wanted one, and preferred to keep things casual. Autumn worked at one of the hair salons in town. She was a sweet girl and Alex knew she had a crush on him, but he wasn’t interested in any kind of romantic liaison with her. Michael was supposed to be his best friend. He seriously needed to stop doing this.
The moment he had been enjoying ruined, he faked a smile as Autumn stepped onto the decking, daiquiri in hand, closely followed by Newt. Annoyed as he was, he couldn’t bring himself to be mean to the girl, though it didn’t stop him shooting Newt a look over her head.
‘Hey, Alex. How are you?’ She was petite and buxom, the pale sundress she wore swamping her small frame. He could tell she was also nervous, from the way she giggled after the question and tucked her hair behind her ear in a self-conscious gesture.
‘I’m good, Autumn. You?’
The doorbell rang again and Newt conveniently excused himself, a grin on his face. Alex made small talk with Autumn as he continued to flip the steaks, realizing that for the moment he was trapped. As she sidled closer, so did Teddy, until eventually he was nuzzled up against her leg. Autumn stepped back, as if she had been scalded by the flames.
‘Oh my God, what was that?’
Alex glanced down. ‘Just Teddy my dog.’ Teddy grinned up at her and Autumn hesitantly took a step back, eyeing him warily.
‘He’s kinda big. Does he bite?’
‘Only when he’s hungry.’
‘Seriously?’ Looking alarmed Autumn took another step back, tripping over the hem of her dress. With a thud she fell back, landing on her ass and Teddy immediately moved in to lick her face. As he slobbered over her, paws up on her pale sundress, Autumn squealed in panic.
‘Teddy. No!’ Fuck! When the dog ignored him, Alex grabbed him by the collar and yanked him back. He held his free hand out to Autumn. She took it while eyeing Teddy warily. ‘He’s fine. I was joking. He’s a big softie.’
Autumn didn’t look convinced.
‘Everything okay out here?’
‘It’s fine.’ Alex turned to Michael, aware Autumn still had hold of his hand. Beside his friend stood the blond woman he’d had a run in with on the mainland. Michael had his arm draped around her shoulder and a proud smile on his face.
‘Alex, I want you to meet my sister, Nell. Nell, this is my best friend, Alex.’
She was not what he had imagined. He had figured the blond for a tourist. Never in a million years had he expected her to be the sister Michael talked so much about. They shared the same fair hair – though Michael’s was starting to gray – but that was where the similarities ended. Michael was like a lumbering bear; heavyset and tall, with a ruddy complexion and aquiline features, while Nell was softer. She had height, but was slim in build with a pale angular face and wide-set amber eyes. She looked younger too, maybe early thirties, closer to Alex’s own age. They hadn’t gotten off on the right foot, but hell, she was Michael’s kid sister, and he would try to look past first impressions. Pulling his hand free from Autumn’s iron grip, he offered it to Nell. ‘Welcome home. Michael’s told me a lot about you.’
It was clear from Nell’s reaction she was equally surprised, flustered even.
‘This is Alex?’ she questioned her brother, though took Alex’s hand.
‘Yeah, you guys are gonna get along great,’ Michael assured her, oblivious to any tension between them.
‘And I’m Autumn, Autumn Eastman,’ a voice beside Alex piped up. ‘I cut everyone’s hair. Nice to meet you, Nell.’
‘You too.’ Nell smiled at them both, though she still looked uncomfortable.
‘Alex is our police chief,’ Michael continued. ‘You might want to bring him up to speed with things, you know… just in case.’
