The Inn At Ocean's Edge Part 13

He stepped out of the way and glanced through the window. Isabelle worked across the street. She hadn't given them much of a description of Jenny's secret boyfriend, but maybe this picture would jog her memory. He dodged tourists and exited the shop to hurry across the street to a clapboard building painted blue and white. Through the window, he saw Isabelle pecking away at a keyboard.

He stepped inside and approached her desk. "Isabelle, you have a minute?"

Jenny's best friend looked a little less upset today than she did on Sunday. Dressed in a yellow dress, her brown hair was a riot of curls around her face. Luke pa.s.sed the picture over, and as she studied it, a frown began to form between her eyes.

She handed it back. "I think this is the guy Jenny was seeing. Like I said, I don't know his name, but she showed me a selfie of the two of them on her phone. I'd swear it's the same guy."

His pulse sped up. Finally, some kind of lead. "You have any idea where he lived? He can't be local to Folly Shoals or someone there would know who he is, and I've been hitting dead ends."

"They often met at Bar Harbor so maybe he lived on the other side and it was the central place. Jenny never said. She didn't want to meet him in town in case Andy caught them."

"Was it only that she didn't want Andy to know about this guy, or could he have been married too?"

Isabelle chewed her lower lip. "I think that's what started the trouble between the two of them. He always took her to some little hole-in-the-wall where they wouldn't be noticed. You know, like a dimly lit bar or something. She began to push him a little and ask if he was ashamed of her or something." She held out her hand. "Let me see that picture again."

Luke pulled it back out. "Would you say it's him for sure? Do you see any differences at all?"

She carried it over to the big plate-gla.s.s window and studied it. "This looks like a painting."

"It is. Claire painted it. It's the man who attacked her."

Her mouth twisted. "You're still helping that woman."

Luke tapped the picture. "I think this guy killed Jenny, and Claire is his next target."

Isabelle's eyes narrowed before she shrugged and looked back at the picture. "Jenny's boyfriend looks older than the guy in this painting. There's more gray in his eyebrows and hair. And his skin is more weathered." She handed it back. "But the resemblance is there."

"Thanks. Now I just need to put a name with the face. Thanks. I'll leave you to your work."

Back in the bright sunlight, he squinted and pulled out his sungla.s.ses. Maybe he should head down toward Bar Harbor and beyond. Maybe he'd find some information in Blue Hill. It was worth a try.

He rounded the corner and stopped in his tracks when he saw his truck sitting on its rims. Even from here he could see the slashes in the tires. Coincidence or a warning?

Kate savored the comforting taste of b.u.t.tery lobster bisque on her tongue and smiled across the table at Claire. Her half sister. She had a sister. It was almost too much to take in. And they were out of the sight of prying eyes. Even if their father came in, he wouldn't look out here. She peeked at the door just to make sure. All clear. They had the entire patio to themselves.

Kate took a sip of her iced tea, then put it back on the table. "So tell me about yourself, Claire. Do you have any siblings?"

Claire shook her head. "I'm an only child, unfortunately. I used to pretend I had a sister, but Mom and Dad never obliged by providing me with one. How about you?"

Oh how Kate wanted to let the truth just spill off her tongue. She swallowed and shook her head. "Just Mom and me."

"Your father's dead?"

Kate twirled a long red strand of hair. Why on earth had she ever dyed her hair this color? It looked atrocious. "He never married my mom, and after a while, he just quit coming around."

Claire winced. "I'm sorry. That had to have been hard."

"I got used to it. My mom and I have blueberry barrens about fifteen miles out of town." Kate dropped the linen napkin and bent to retrieve it. "Where did you grow up?"

"North Carolina. But we moved to the Boston area when I was in my teens. I love the energy of the city, and I bought my own place on the Atlantic five years ago when I got out of college."

Claire said it so nonchalantly, as if it were such a common thing to have your own multimillion-dollar house in your late twenties. Kate couldn't imagine such complacence. "Wow, you must have gotten some kind of high-powered job right out of school to afford a house out there."

Claire's face went pink, and she reached for her iced tea. "Well, I guess it's more accurate to say Dad bought it and deeded it over to me. I work for the family company, Cramer Aviation. I'm CFO now, but I'll take it over when my father retires. Mom wants him to retire next year, but I can't see him sitting around doing nothing."

A stab of envy lodged in Kate's chest. Claire's life was all planned out while Kate had no idea what she even wanted out of life. With her health, she'd been afraid to dream. "It's safe to say your parents doted on you."

"It's not as appealing as it might sound. They have a lot of expectations. I've gone along with it most of my life, but I'm not sure it's what I want to do anymore."

"What would you do if there were no expectations?"

"That's funny. A new friend just asked me the same thing." Claire's eyes went dreamy. "I don't know. Anything except be cooped up in a high-rise office where every day is planned around meetings and making sure the company exceeds its financial goals."

Kate tried to imagine Claire's regimented days and shuddered. Though she didn't make that much money on the blueberries, she was out in the suns.h.i.+ne and fresh air, and every day was different from the one before it. She glanced toward the door when a shadow fell into the courtyard. Her next breath froze in her chest when she saw their father standing there. A slight widening of his eyes was the only reaction he gave to seeing her there with Claire.

Claire waved and called to her father. "Dad, there's someone I want you to meet."

His face went white, then a forced smile crept into his face and he came toward them. "I expected to find you in your suite, Claire. You begged off going with Ric on the boat until tomorrow because you said you were tired."

Her smile faltered. "This is Kate Mason. She lives in the area and runs some blueberry barrens with her mom. Isn't that the most interesting thing you've ever heard? I just like saying it. It sounds so different and exotic."

"Pleased to meet you, Mr. Dellamare." Kate kept her voice pitched low and pleasant, though it took every bit of strength not to leap up and blurt out the truth to sweet Claire.

Her half sister didn't deserve having such a liar for a father. Kate could only imagine the hurt in Claire's face when she found out how many lies he'd told her over the years. And what about Mrs. Dellamare? Her pain would be even greater when the truth came out. Kate didn't want to hurt anyone. She just wanted her family to know she existed and to see if they could love one another. Was that so wrong? She could easily love Claire, and she believed Claire could feel the same way if their father didn't interfere.

But the way his nostrils flared indicated he wanted nothing more than to see the back of her. She narrowed her eyes and glared back. "Claire and I just met today. She's a lovely girl. You've done an excellent job raising her." She lifted a brow so he knew she was thinking, But you didn't do much about raising me.

"Thank you, I'm very proud of Claire." His eyes were flat above his smile.

Kate blinked at the sting in her eyes, but she forced back the moisture gathering. He hadn't had any part in her life, and she wouldn't allow him to make her feel shame. "Why don't you join us?"

Her father didn't sit. "Your mother wasn't feeling well so we had the boat drop us off. She wants to talk to you. Go on up and I'll take care of the bill."

Claire sprang to her feet, then paused and sat back down. "Tell her I'll be up as soon as I finish lunch."

He nodded. "Don't be too long. I want to tell you about a conversation I had with Ric." He smiled down at Kate as if he wished her anywhere but with his daughter, then walked away.

Claire waved off a honeybee. "I suppose I'd better go soon. We're in the middle of important merger discussions."

"And I imagine you're concerned about your mother. Does she have a chronic illness?"

Claire picked up her iced tea. "Only if you call being unable to cope with life an illness." She shook her head. "I don't know why I'm telling you all this. You're very easy to talk to."

Kate picked up her spoon for another bite of bisque. Her admiration for her half sister grew as she listened to the description of Claire's goal to bring about a merger with another company. With every word, she found she wanted to be Claire's confidant all the time.

TWENTY.

Luke stepped into the hotel lobby at eleven on Wednesday morning. He made his way through the throng of guests waiting for an early check-in and across the oak floors to the elevators. He punched the Up b.u.t.ton to go to Claire's suite. She was waiting for him, though she'd told him she only had half an hour before she needed to leave for a business lunch. He stepped off the elevator on the fifth floor. The thick carpet m.u.f.fled his steps, but she still opened the door when he approached.

She drew him inside quickly and shut the door. He sent a grin her way. "Afraid your parents will see a strange man entering your room?"

Her laugh held a touch of unease. "It's truer than you know. Dad already thinks you're interested in me for my money."

He laughed. "Any man who thinks about money when he's with you is an idiot. And we Maine guys take pride in getting what we want the hard way-by working for it." Especially today, with her bronzed arms bare in that killer sundress that hugged every curve. The bright-blue color played up her eyes, and she'd curled a strand or two of hair out of her updo. Those curls just begged to be touched.

Pink tinged her cheeks, and her gaze lingered on his face. "You always know how to say the right thing. I think you're a ladies' man, Luke Rocco."

He'd be her man any day. The realization caught him off guard, and he bit back the words he wanted to say. "My sister would laugh you right out of the room. I get tongue-tied around beautiful women."

This time her laugh was genuine, and she took his arm. "Let's sit on the balcony. I need strength for the day." She led him out into the crisp air. She sank onto the lounger on the big balcony with her cell phone in her lap. "What'd you find out yesterday?"

Perching on the edge of the deck chair, he told her about running into Isabelle. "Someone has to have seen them together. Someone in the county knows who this guy is. We just have to show that picture to enough people and we'll have him."

"I hope so. I want this over."

He decided not to tell her about his slashed tires. It might not have been anything but coincidence.

She flipped on her phone. "I need to go. I want to wrap up the merger this afternoon. Wish me luck. I didn't get very far yesterday. Ric's father kept throwing up objections. I'll have Ric and Francisca to myself today, and maybe I can land this merger. Then I can concentrate on our investigation."

He took her hand and laced his fingers with hers. "Why don't you blow off this lunch and come with me instead? We'll go down to the wharf and eat lobster with so much b.u.t.ter it'll smear on our faces. We'll have sea salt taffy and fudge until we get a sugar high, then we can go out on the boat and watch the moon come up."

She squeezed his hand. "You make it really hard on a girl to resist. All my favorite things."

"How about we do it tonight, then, when you've got the merger in the bag?"

"I'd like that, Luke. I'll order dinner, and we'll have it on your boat."

His pulse blipped at her warm expression, and he put the brakes on his thoughts. She wouldn't stay in this place, and he would have to take charge of the cranberry farm.

Gulls swooped and squawked over Claire's head as she reached the bottom of the pink-granite steps that led from the hotel grounds to the slabs of rocks lining the water. Steam rose from the heaps of kelp drying in the sun, and she breathed in the smell of the sea. Several boats, their white hulls gleaming in the sun, bobbed just offsh.o.r.e at their moorings. One of them was Ric's, probably the large sailboat with a mast that seemed to stretch to the fluffy clouds overhead.

Francisca had gotten to the bottom first, and she turned to smile at Claire. "You doing okay?" She wore khaki slacks and a red top that showed off her figure and her tan. A matching khaki jacket was slung around her shoulders.

"Much better. I think I might actually live." Claire pointed at the big sailboat. "Is that Ric's pride and joy?"

Francisca turned to look and nodded. "Looks like he's already there." She waved, and the figure on the deck waved back. "Yes, that's him."

Claire watched him lower an inflatable rowboat over the side. "Guess we'd better get out on the dock. He's coming for us."

She tipped up her chin and pressed her lips together. Her father was counting on her to seal this merger today. The large plane contract would be hard to fulfill without the power of Ric's company. She followed Francisca down the weathered boards to the end of the dock as the skiff reached them.

Ric looked every inch the preppy seaman in his white shorts and navy s.h.i.+rt. The white cap on his head contrasted with his dark hair in a way she was sure he'd carefully planned right down to his bare feet. Everything neat and perfectly ordered.

His smile broadened when he held out his hand to help her aboard. "Ahoy, senorita!"

She tucked her satchel under one arm, then grabbed his hand and stepped down into the boat. The thought of spending the day on the water enticed her. Talking business and enjoying the sea and sun made for a promising combination.

Francisca's text message alert went off, and she stopped to check it. "Uh-oh, I will not be able to go with you guys. Bridget is sick, and Papa wants me to come."

Ric frowned. "I got a text from him too, but I thought it was his way of trying to derail our merger talk. You think I should go too? Maybe it is not a ploy."

Francisca shook her head. "You know how dramatic she gets. She has probably convinced him she is dying. You two go hammer out the merger, and I shall sign it as well. Papa will come around."

Claire wanted to do a fist pump at Francisca's stamp of approval, but she sedately took a seat in the bow. "Call if you need us."

"I will. See you at dinner. And be careful where you stop to eat. I heard some staff talking, and there can be huge tidal differences. Not as much here as up in the Bay of Fundy, but still quite significant." Francisca set off down the dock.

"We are not going clear to the Bay of Fundy." Ric settled on the seat and picked up the oars. They cut through the blue water and propelled the boat to the steel ladder on the big sailboat. He attached the dingy, then held out his hand for Claire. "You first."

He held her hand and stood too close for her comfort. She gave him a quick smile and pulled her hand out of his grasp, then scaled the ladder. Standing on the deck, she looked around. His boat was gorgeous. She guessed it had at least two cabins below deck, and every surface gleamed. The canvas sails flapped a bit as they waited to be hoisted, something she was eager to do. Constant work had kept her out of a sailboat for several years. The rocking of the boat under her bare feet lifted her spirits. Maybe she should get her own boat. She could well afford it.

They spent the next few minutes working in tandem to prepare to set sail. Looking into the blue sky as the white sails unfurled above her gave her such peace. She'd never been able to figure out why the sea spoke to her so. She was never happier than when she was near the water. Could she have lived on the water in the missing year?

Fifteen minutes later the boat sailed past the little orca's enclosure. She cupped her eyes and made out a splash as the little guy flipped his fluke. He swam as close as his pen allowed. Did he recognize her?

Ric squinted toward the pen. "What is that?"

"It's a small orca. A friend found him near death and is rehabilitating him. The little guy is doing well. I think he'll be able to go home in another week."

"Home? You know where he lives?"

She shook her head. "We have to try to find his matriline and take him to it." She saw the confusion on his face. "His matriline is his immediate family, mother, father, siblings. There will be a bigger group, a pod, that he's part of. Orcas stay in their family unit all their lives. It's pretty amazing, really." She warmed to the subject. "And if they lose a family member, they mourn for years just like humans. They will also welcome in solo members of another pod."

Ric smiled. "You could lecture at a university on orcas." He turned his attention back to the wheel and guided the boat into deeper water away from the island. "I thought we would set sail up the northeast coast toward Jasper Beach. Then we will stop for lunch on the way back."

"I can't wait." Claire watched the jutting coastline slide by. She tried to bring up the merger several times, but Ric always stopped her and said it could wait until after lunch. It was a perfect day for a sail. The sails filled with wind and glided over the calm sea. They pa.s.sed Great Wa.s.s Island, and she dug out some binoculars. "I see puffins!" She'd been dying to see some of the colorful birds that had been brought back from the edge of extinction.

She handed the binoculars to Ric and let him see the birds too. He was in a grand mood as well, which gave her hope that they'd finish the merger today.

He pointed out a stretch of beach on another island. "Let's eat there."

The cove he pointed out ended in a crescent of sand that gave way to thick trees. She didn't like how deserted it appeared. "It doesn't look like you can even get to that beach except by boat."

"You can't. My map calls it Dead Man's Cove. A little gruesome, but the concierge told me it was a pretty spot that would be perfect for a picnic."

As the beach grew nearer, Claire went over what she intended to say. She had to get his signature on the dotted line.