The Chesapeake Diaries: Coming Home Read online

  “Thanks.” Sue never raised her eyes from her work. “That would be helpful.”

  The air was cooler than it had been when they’d walked through town earlier in the day, but it was still pleasant. When they got to the corner at Charles Street, Vanessa raised her right hand to her face and said, “Let’s keep walking. I don’t want to see it. I’ll deal with the shop tomorrow.”

  There was still a lot of foot traffic in town, and he could have told her that more than one pedestrian had stopped to look at her store, where the police tape still wrapped around the front. Grady took her hand as they crossed the street and headed down Kelly’s Point, and tried not to think about the fact that she’d believed he’d left her with nothing more than a beep and a wave. She wasn’t kidding when she said she had low expectations of men.

  Well, the only thing he could do was try to raise them, and he was determined to do just that. If he could have gotten his hands around Gene Medford’s neck, he’d have choked him for what he’d done to this woman. Grady was almost sorry that one of Gene’s fellow inmates had gotten to him first.

  “Grady?” Vanessa tugged on his hand.

  “Oh, sorry. I guess I just wandered for a minute.”

  “I said, it looks like half the town had the same idea we did.”

  “It’s really crowded.” He could see through the side windows. “I think we’re going to have to wait until a few people come out before we can go in.”

  “We could walk down to the dock, and … oh, there’s Miss Grace.” Vanessa smiled and waved.

  “Oh, Vanessa, dear.” The older woman sat alone at one of the small outside tables. “I heard about your shop. I am so sorry. I can hardly believe it.”

  “I can hardly believe it myself, Miss Grace.”

  “Do the police have any suspects?”

  “Not yet. I know they’re working on it, but so far …” Vanessa shrugged. “Nothing.”

  “Was much stolen?”

  “I won’t know until tomorrow. The police were still combing through the shop this morning, looking for evidence, so I didn’t go inside today.”

  “Well, it must have been someone from out of town,” Grace pronounced. “I cannot imagine anyone from St. Dennis doing such a thing.”

  “I feel the same way,” Vanessa said. “I don’t want to think that anyone I know would do this to me. But we do think it may have been someone who took advantage of the fact that everyone’s attention was on the Inn yesterday.”

  “I wouldn’t think that anyone other than the locals would have known about the wedding.” Grace frowned. “Was there much damage to the shop?”

  “One of the glass cases was broken, and one of the windows on the side was damaged. I think I probably lost some inventory, and I’m clearly going to need a new lock and a new alarm system, since both failed last night.”

  “Terrible, dear. Just terrible.” Grace waved a thin hand as if to fan herself as she turned to Grady. “And what’s this I’m hearing about your car being smashed to smithereens?”

  “Not quite smithereens,” he replied, “but yes, someone broke the windows out of my rental car while Vanessa and I were in Bling following the burglary.”

  “Such crazy business. What next, do you suppose?” Grace patted him on the arm. “But it was certainly good of you to accompany Vanessa to the scene of the crime. I’m sure Beck will appreciate you giving her a hand last night.”

  The corners of Vanessa’s mouth twitched.

  Grady pretended not to notice. “Yes, ma’am. I was glad to do it.”

  “Well, I hope they catch whoever was responsible.” Grace paused. “Do you think it was the same person? It seems awfully suspicious to me, one happening right after the other. Especially since we rarely have such goings-on in St. Dennis.”

  “I think we all agree with you there.” Grady nodded.

  “But let’s talk about that lovely wedding yesterday. Grady, your sister was a beautiful bride. I made sure we got several photos for this week’s paper. Along with a fascinating interview I had earlier today with Dr. McGowan.” Grace was almost beaming.

  “Dr. McGowan?” Vanessa frowned. “You mean Daria? The woman who’s engaged to Connor? She’s a doctor?”

  “Daria has a doctorate in archaeology,” Grady told her.

  “She’s quite well known in the field,” Grace added. “One of the girls working at the Inn on weekends is a freshman in college, and she’s majoring in archaeology. Dr. McGowan offered to send her some photos she took at a dig in Turkey. The girl is simply over the moon.”

  “That was very nice of her.” Vanessa’s attention turned as several patrons emerged with their ice cream. “Oh, Grady, look. People are leaving. Let’s dash in before anyone else does.”

  “Well, you’d better hurry. There’s a small army coming up there on the left.” Grace pointed. “He who hesitates …”

  “Has to wait in line.” Vanessa waved to Grace as she and Grady entered the shop.

  The little bell over the door jingled but Steffie didn’t look up.

  “Boy, she looks beat, doesn’t she?” Vanessa whispered from the corner of her mouth.

  Grady nodded as they stepped in line. He looked around the shop, and met Hal’s questioning eyes from across the room.

  I guess he’s wondering why I’m standing here holding Vanessa’s hand. Well, I suppose if I were him, I’d be curious, too. But curious is probably not the word I’d use to describe Vanessa’s reaction when she sees that Hal is sitting there with an arm over the back of Maggie’s chair.

  He stood so that his body was between Maggie and Vanessa, then realized how silly it was for him to try to protect her from seeing her parents together. He understood why Vanessa would object, would want to protect Hal just as Grady wanted to protect Vanessa, but it was silly. Hal and Maggie were going to do whatever it was they were doing, regardless of what Vanessa or Beck or anyone else thought, and that was the way it should be. If Vanessa had a problem with it, she was just going to have to deal.

  They were still three people back in the queue but the line was moving. Steffie had apparently called in recruits.

  “You know, I get more steamed every time I think about that woman, Candice,” Vanessa told him, her hands in the pockets of her jeans, a deep frown on her pretty face. “I was going to give her a twenty percent discount on that dress. And then she destroyed it. Doesn’t that just stink?”

  “It does.” He fought to control a smile. She was so seriously put out over that one factor. But the longer Grady thought about it, the more it began to bother him, too, albeit for totally different reasons.

  “What can I get for …” Steffie raised her head, then smiled. “Oh, hey, guys. Ness, I was going to call you as soon as I had a break. I heard about what happened. Look, anything I can do … I mean anything, you got it.”

  “Thanks, Stef. I appreciate that.”

  “We need to talk about this. I need to hear everything.”

  “You will. I’ll be at the shop tomorrow morning to start cleaning up.”

  “I’ll be there to help if you need me. I’ll see if Tina can open for me. She was looking for extra hours.” Steffie’s eyes followed several new customers into the store. “Do you believe this? You’d think I invented ice cream, the way people are streaming into this store. Honestly, Ness, it’s been like this since I opened at noon.” She grinned and added, “And I should mention that Mocha Berry Vanessa has been a big seller.”

  “We’ll have two of those,” Grady told her.

  Steffie scooped the ice cream into bowls and stuck a plastic spoon in the top of each before handing them over.

  “What time are you planning on going to Bling tomorrow?” she asked.

  “I’d like to keep my regular hours, so I guess I’ll be in town for coffee by eight,” Vanessa told her.

  “I’ll see you then.” She waved Grady away when he took his wallet from his back pocket. “I can help the next person in line. …”

 
“Wow, she’s really doing quite the business,” Grady noted as they stepped out into the sunlight.

  “It’s a nice warm day, and people like to get out and walk in the sunshine after a long cold winter. Besides, Steffie’s good at what she does, and she was at the right place at the right time. Unlike me, however, she always knew exactly what she wanted to do.”

  “She always wanted an ice-cream shop?”

  “She always wanted to make her own ice cream. Make up her own flavors, sell from her own little place. At one time, this little building was a crabber’s shack. She told me that her dad and her uncle and her grandfather were all watermen. This was where they picked the crabs, her grandmother and her mother and her aunt. Crabbing fell off a few years ago, the grandfather died, the uncle moved away, her dad retired from commercial crabbing, took out some loans, and went back to college.”

  “What does he do now?”

  “He’s an environmentalist. He’s working on writing the new conservation regulations for the Chesapeake Watershed.”

  “There’s a switch of hats.”

  “Not so much. Stef said he saw firsthand what pollution was doing to the Bay, and wanted to work to correct it.” Vanessa licked ice cream from the spoon. “Anyway, she wanted a place to do her thing, so her dad let her have their old shack. She worked on it for six months, fixing it up. She said it had leaks, it had bats, the windows needed to be replaced, and the floor needed repair.”

  “She did all that work herself?”

  Vanessa nodded. “Mostly by herself, though her brother did help her out when he could. He’s the vet here, owns a small animal and waterfowl clinic down on the river.”

  “Small animal and waterfowl,” Grady mused. “Now there’s an interesting combination.”

  “Stef said that when he went away to school, he wanted to come back to St. Dennis to practice someday, so I guess he knew what they needed most around here.”

  They’d reached the wooden walkway, as far as one could go before stepping into the Bay. The water had rainbow swirls from fuel that leaked from the motor of one of the boats tied up just a stone’s throw farther down toward the pier. They stood and watched the boats ease in or out of their slips, the motors muffling as they maneuvered slowly around the pier. Once out in the channel they could open up their motors and the boats could soar and scream like wild things, but here, on their best behavior, they whispered.

  “Well, now, I thought that was the two of you back there in Steffie’s place.”

  Vanessa turned in time to see Hal take Maggie’s arm.

  “Look here, Maggie. Vanessa and Grady are out enjoying the day, too.”

  “I was,” Vanessa muttered.

  “We’re just on our way to take the boat out for a spin. Maggie says she’s never been out on the water. Imagine that, Ness.” He looked her directly in the eye. “Imagine living your whole life, and never getting to feel the spray in your face, the wind in your hair …”

  Vanessa’s smile was fixed and frozen.

  “I was just telling Maggie about taking you out this week, Grady,” Hal went on as if everything was just peachy, as if Vanessa wasn’t staring daggers at Maggie, and Maggie wasn’t trying to ignore her daughter, choosing instead to focus on Grady.

  “I enjoyed both trips,” Grady told them. Addressing Maggie, he said, “I’m sure you’ll have a great time. Hal really knows his way around the Bay.”

  “After sixty-some years around here, I’d better know my way around. Say,” he said as if it just occurred to him. “I thought you were leaving this afternoon.”

  “I had a change of plans,” Grady replied.

  “I see. Well, then, why don’t you join us for a spin around the Bay? It’s been a while since you and I were out together, Ness.”

  “Some other time, Hal, but thank you,” Vanessa replied.

  “All right, then. See you later.” He took Maggie’s arm and started to turn toward the dock. “You know what would make me very happy? If you two would meet us for dinner later at Walt’s.”

  Grady watched the conflict cross Vanessa’s face. She loved Hal and wouldn’t hurt him for the world, but she still clearly had issues with Maggie.

  Finally, she said, “Grady, did your brother ever get back to you about having dinner tonight?”

  “No,” he replied. “I haven’t heard from him.”

  “Oh, Andy you’re talking about?” Hal adjusted the dark glasses on his face. “I ran into him earlier at the Inn. He said he’d be heading over to Cannonball Island. He and his wife and a couple of your cousins left around three. I wouldn’t be surprised if they were to have dinner while they’re there.”

  “In that case, I guess I’m free.” Grady turned to Vanessa. “Are you free?”

  Still watching Hal’s face, Vanessa nodded. “What time is good for you, Hal?”

  “I suspect we won’t be out as long as an hour.” Hal looked across the Bay and seemed to study the sky. “No point in it, since the sun is going to be setting soon enough.”

  “Let’s say an hour then.” Vanessa nodded.

  “Good. I’ll be looking forward to it. Now, to get that boat out of her slip without nudging into that fool Carter Harwell. Will you look at the way he’s parking that Whaler of his?” Hal set off down the walk, his eyes on his precious boat, one hand on Maggie’s arm, the other raised to his face as he yelled across the pier, “Hey, Harwell! Watch where you’re going. …”

  Grady looked down at Vanessa, who was looking up at him.

  “Way to stand firm,” he said.

  “I can’t say no to him. If he wants me to do this, I’ll do it. If he wants me to make nice to my mother, I’ll make nice.”

  “I think he’s hoping you’re doing this for the right reasons, not because you want to please him.”

  “Pleasing Hal is the right reason.” She shook her head. “It’s the only reason why I’d sit down with her right now.”

  “Well, then, I guess that’s going to have to do. For now.” He took her hand and walked to the end of the pier.

  Even from a distance, they could hear Hal berating his old sailing buddy, who still hadn’t gotten his boat into the slip.

  Listening to Hal, Vanessa started to laugh. “He’s such a paper tiger. He’ll rail away on Carter, and Carter will rail away on Hal, and in an hour, they’ll be buying each other a beer at Walt’s. Hal just loves to bluster sometimes.”

  They stood and listened to the harangue-fest for a few more minutes before Hal leapt from the dock to the deck of the Whaler and helped navigate the craft into position. Within minutes, the boat was tied up and both men were stepping up onto the dock. They chatted a few minutes—Hal introducing Maggie to Carter—before apparently forgetting all about the Shady Lady as the three headed directly to Walt’s.

  “She’s up to no good.” Vanessa’s eyes narrowed. “Her last husband died recently so she’s on the loose. She’s come to St. Dennis and she’s realized that Hal is pretty well off and she’s setting her sights on him again.”

  “You don’t know that.”

  “Oh, yes I do. I know that look.”

  “Look, I’m sure after all these years, they have things to say to each other. They were in love once, they had a child together …”

  “Which she never even bothered to tell him about until she couldn’t handle him. Let’s not forget about Beck and the way she told Hal that he had a son.”

  When Grady didn’t comment, Vanessa stopped walking. “What?” she asked.

  “I think you need to leave that part to them to work out.”

  “How would you feel if Melissa—that was her name, right?” she asked, and when he nodded, she continued. He had a feeling he knew where this was going. “How would you feel if she disappeared from your life and came back years later with a child she said was yours?”

  “She did disappear from my life,” he said softly, “and if she showed up today with a child of mine, I’d be very happy to have that child. I would have
loved to have had a child. But since she’s dead, that’s not a possibility.”

  “Oh, God, I am such an idiot. I am so sorry.” Vanessa’s face flushed as scarlet as the sun dropping into the Bay. “I can’t believe I said that.”

  “It’s all right, Ness. …”

  “What a boneheaded thing to say.” She was wide-eyed. “Boneheaded and thoughtless and insensitive and—”

  “Enough.” He put a hand over her mouth. “I understand the analogy you were trying to make. It’s all right. We can talk about Melissa, Ness. Just as we can talk about Gene.”

  “That’s very different.” Her face grew very serious. “Gene and I got divorced because I knew that sooner or later, he was going to kill me. That’s why we’re not together. You and Melissa—you’d probably still be together if she hadn’t died, right?”

  It was a question he hadn’t anticipated, and once asked, one he found himself hesitating a little too long to answer.

  “I don’t know,” he said finally.

  “You don’t have to say that just because you’re here with me. I can take honesty.”

  “That’s an honest answer.” He sat on the edge of a stone bench that looked out over the water. “There were some things that … that didn’t set right with me.”

  “Oh, hey, everyone has things about their significant other that drives them crazy.” She waved a hand as if to dismiss what she perceived must be inconsequential.

  “This isn’t like, she always left her shoes in the middle of the floor, or that sort of thing. This was bigger. Much bigger.”

  “You mean like maybe she was having an affair?”

  “No, it was more like she lied to me about the half million dollars she’d hidden in the bookcase.”

  Chapter 14

  THE silence was overwhelming. For a moment, Vanessa could not speak. When she finally did, her words came almost as a squeak.

  “A half a mil … half a mil …” She cleared her throat and tried again. “A half a million dollars in the bookcase?”

  “Inside a bunch of those fake books, you know, the hollow ones? I found them when I started packing things to do some remodeling. The whole house needed repainting … you can probably imagine what the place looked like and smelled like. Before I could do any real work, I had to clean it out, so I started easy, packing up the small stuff.”