Seaside Secrets (5 page)

“
Wow,” Mary murmured as she listened intently. She smiled fondly at the familiar desire that a parent has for a child, that their lives will somehow be better than that of their parents. “What else does it say?” she asked eagerly.

“
Nothing,” Suzie whispered as she looked over the letter once more. “It's almost as if he planned to write more, but never had the chance to,” she frowned as she tucked the paper back inside the envelope. “I'll have to make sure Jason has the chance to read this.”

“
I hope he will,” Mary said gently and swept her gaze over the grand living room that was painted in subtle reflections of the flame in the fireplace. “I can't imagine how lonely Harry must have felt in his last days.”

“
But how did he know they were his last days?” Suzie asked thoughtfully. “He says that he made recent discoveries about his life coming to an end.”

“
Maybe a medical diagnosis?” Mary suggested with a slight shrug.

“
Maybe,” Suzie hesitated and then shook her head slowly. “Something just doesn't seem right about the tone of the letter. It feels as if he was afraid, not so much of a medical issue, but of a person.”

“
A person?” Mary scooted to the edge of the couch to look more closely at Suzie. “What makes you think that?”

“
I don't know,” Suzie shook her head. “Maybe I'm just reading too much into it.”

“
Well, no matter what inspired him to write the letter, the fact that he did is a treasure. Jason should get some relief from this, if not now, hopefully in the future,” Mary murmured and then stretched her arms above her head as she yawned.

“
Yes, it sounds like Beverly's death really tore Jason and his father apart. How sad to think that at a time when they needed each other the most, they were isolated from one another,” she glanced over at Mary just as she was finishing her yawn. “I second that,” she laughed as she stifled her own yawn. “Let's get some good rest.”

They had chosen bedrooms to stay in earlier in the day. The rooms in the home had been quite neglected, but at one time it was clear that a good amount of care had been taken to select decorations and paint
colors. Each room had its own theme from nautical, to whimsical, to medieval. It was only noticeable if close attention was paid to the subtle decorations and nuances of the texture of the bedding and walls. They chose two rooms close to each other, as the house was rather spooky in the dark. Suzie chose a room that had a Victorian feel to it with thick, long curtains and a four poster bed. Mary chose a room that had a more Mediterranean theme, with bright colors and simplistic furnishings. Neither of them noticed the décor in either room by the time they fell into bed, exhausted from all the hard work they had done.

When Suzie's eyes fluttered open the next morning she felt as if she was floating. There was something liberating about being away from home without any set date of return. She found herself looking up at the ceiling beyond the four posts that towered above her bed. The ceiling was weathered but strong and could use a fresh coat of paint. Before she was even up for the day she was already planning what they would attack next in the refurbishing. She walked to the door of her bedroom and listened, but only heard silence. She expected that Mary was still sleeping.

As
Suzie stepped into the bathroom attached to the bedroom she could feel the hard work of the day before in the muscles of her upper arms and the strain of her lower back. She was sure that a hot shower would be a good cure for that. She wrapped her hand around the bar of the old handle and turned it. The pipe offered a loud groan and spat out a few drops of water.

“
Oh no,” she muttered to herself. She walked over to the sink and turned on the water at the sink. A thin stream of water dripped out. It was obvious that there was some kind of clog in the line. As she gave up on her hot shower she realized that she would need to call a plumber to resolve this problem. She tugged on a robe over her flowing silk, white nightgown and headed back out into the living room. The scent of the fireplace filled the room, still clinging to the furnishings. It was a nice smell, but it did not compare to the heavenly aroma of coffee and toast coming from the kitchen. She found that the counter had been scrubbed, a coffee maker was hooked up and brewing, and the toaster was hard at work as well.

“
Mary?” she called out with confusion growing. She had been certain that Mary was still sleeping. But when she looked out of the kitchen window she saw her dear friend standing on the porch that overlooked the water. Her shoulders were rounded, her head slightly tilted down. She seemed to be savoring her time alone. Suzie decided not to interrupt her, and instead walked over to the kitchen sink to try the water.

“
It doesn't work,” Mary said as she stepped into the kitchen. “I used bottled water for the coffee maker,” she added.

“
Thank you so much for that,” Suzie said as she cast a smile in her friend's direction. “Too bad we have plumbing problems to deal with.”

“
Yes,” Mary sighed and shook her head. “That's one thing we can't handle on our own.”

“
Maybe not,” Suzie agreed. “But I don't have to be a plumber to see that there is something wedged in this drain. Will you check in the hall closet, I think I saw some flashlights in there yesterday,” she asked as she leaned down further trying to get a good look at what was stuck in the drain.

“
Sure,” Mary said as she walked out of the kitchen and to the hall closet near the entrance of the house. When she stepped back into the kitchen she had more than just a flashlight, she had a camera case in her hand.

“
Look what I found,” she said with a smile as she handed Suzie the flashlight.

“
A camera?” Suzie guessed with a slight smile.

“
Not just any camera,” Mary corrected her. “This is a very expensive model. Your uncle must have been a good photographer.”

“
From that photo on the mantle, I'd agree,” Suzie murmured as she shone the flashlight down into the drain. “Hmm,” she frowned.

“
Can we get it out?” Mary wondered as she glanced over at Suzie.

“
We're going to try,” Suzie replied. Then she began searching around for something that would allow her to fish the object out. She found an old knife sharpener that seemed to be the right size. After wriggling it around for a little bit and muttering under her breath each time she thought she had it, the object slid out of her grasp once more, until she was finally able to pull it up and out of the drain. Once it was out however, it didn't solve any mysteries. It only offered more questions.

“
It's a cufflink,” Suzie said as she turned the circular metal object slowly between her fingers. In big, bold, black letters on the surface of the golden cufflink the initials TR stood out.

“
Weird,” Mary mumbled as she peered at the cufflink. “But with the long history this place has, I'm sure that we will find many more surprises.”

“
Either way, we still need to get a plumber out here,” Suzie said firmly. She pulled out her cell phone and slid the cufflink into her pocket. She would take a closer look at it later just out of curiosity. Once she set up a time for the plumber to come out, she began thinking about the letter she had found the day before. She was wondering if she should call Jason and give it to him when her cell phone began to ring. She saw that it was Jason calling in.

“
Hi Jason, I was just thinking about calling you,” Suzie said quickly.

“
Can you meet me at the bank?” Jason rushed forward in a quiet tone.

Suzie was surprised by the sudden change in the tone of his voice. All of the certainty and logic that had c
oursed through his words before seemed to have vanished.

“
Of course, I'll be there in a few minutes,” Suzie replied. “Is everything okay?”

“
Everything is fine,” he assured her. “Just meet me as soon as you can.”

“
Okay,” Suzie agreed and hung up the phone. “Mary, do you think you could handle the plumber while I meet Jason in town?”

“
Sure, no problem,” Mary nodded as she continued to shine the flashlight down the sink. “Just wondering if the other one is down there, too,” she laughed.

***

When Suzie arrived at the bank, Jason was standing outside. It was the first time Suzie had seen him without his uniform, and in jeans and a t-shirt he looked much younger than she had first assumed.

“
Hi there,” she smiled as she walked up to him. Jason didn't smile back, he glanced up at her nervously instead.

“
I couldn't open the box,” he said quietly and lowered his eyes.

“
Oh Jason, I'm sorry, was it too difficult for you?” she asked with a frown.

“
No,” he replied darkly. “My father left a specific note with the manager of the bank, that I should not open the box. He named you as the only person who could open the box.”

“
Me?” Suzie asked with a shake of her head. “This is getting a little ridiculous.”

“
Not to me it isn't,” Jason said and narrowed his eyes. “This is how he always was. He kept things inside. When my mother died I was away on vacation and he waited almost two days to tell me. Two days of me living my life and enjoying myself, having no idea that...” his voice broke slightly and he shook his head. “Obviously he didn't trust me with whatever is in that box, so here,” he handed her the key. Suzie took it and then studied him intently.

“
Do you want to come inside with me?” she offered awkwardly. She had no idea how to react to her uncle's dismissal of his son. She wished she could give the letter she had found to Jason, but she didn't feel as if that moment was the right time. The last thing she wanted was for Jason to throw the letter into the trash without reading it.

“
No,” he sighed and then rocked back on his heels. “I'm going to go to the diner and have a nice early lunch, and forget about all of this. Good luck,” he added and turned to walk down the sidewalk.

Suzie stepped into the bank. She hated to think of Jason feeling so hurt, but she was very curious about what might be in the safety deposit box.

When she walked into the bank, the woman behind the counter was smiling in the direction of the door, as if she was waiting for Suzie to enter. Suzie returned the smile, though she was still a little troubled. As she walked up to the curved front counter the woman laid a clipboard with some forms clipped to it in front of Suzie.

“
You must be Suzie Allen,” she said swiftly. “I just need you to fill out these forms, and I'll need to see some identification.”

Suzie nodded and began filling in her information on the form. When she finished she handed the woman her ID and then glanced around the bank. It was a quiet place with thick carpets and floor to ceiling double paned glass windows. It had a sterile feel to it, but the atmosphere was courteous.

“All set, Ms. Allen,” the woman said as she returned to the counter. “If you'll follow me,” she opened a small gate in the counter so that Suzie could step through. They walked down a long, narrow hallway to a secure room where the safety deposit boxes were stored. The teller walked over to the wall of safety deposit boxes, found the number that belonged to Harry's, and pointed it out to Suzie.

“
I'll leave you to look through the contents, please let me know if there's anything you need,” she said as she walked back out of the door.

Suzie stared at the box,
then unlocked it with the key. She slid the metal container out from inside the small space, and carried it to the large wooden table in the center of the room. As she opened the lock on the box, she wondered what would be inside. What she found left her very surprised. Though the box was fairly large and could have contained several different things there was only a single envelope in the bottom of it. It was a thick envelope and felt heavy when Suzie picked it up. She opened the envelope to discover a pile of photographs inside and a USB flash drive.

Suzie lifted the photographs out of the envelope. She laid them in a pile on the table beside the box. When she looked inside she discovered that the photographs
and the drive were the only things that the envelope had contained. Puzzled, she looked back at the photographs. She expected to see a young Jason playing with his mother, or even some boudoir photographs of Beverly, something that someone would treasure enough to pay for a safety deposit box to keep them safe.

Suzie
picked up the first photograph and stared down at it closely. What she saw were two strangers standing on the beach at night. The man held a bottle of wine in one hand, and was dressed in a nice suit.  Beside him the woman was dressed in a butter yellow, flowing dress. She was bare foot, with her white sandals clutched in one hand. She was looking up at him, smiling. It felt like a special night between lovers. The man looked to be in his late forties or fifties, and the woman seemed a bit younger.

In the next
photo they were strolling along the beach, their arms entangled with one another. In the next photo they were standing about a foot from one another. The man's expression was grim, filled with arrogance and power. The woman appeared to be frightened with widened eyes. Suzie noticed she had dropped her sandals on the sand by her bare feet.

In the final photograph in the collection the woman had turned away from the man. She appeared to be in mid-motion when the photograph was snapped, as if she was trying to run from the man. He had his right hand on her right shoulder in an
attempt to stop her, and still gripped the wine bottle tightly in his left. Suzie felt extremely uncomfortable.

The photographs were professional enough to have been used for some kind of advertising campaign. Perhaps there was a reason behind what seemed to be a romantic evening that turned sour. But the fear in the woman's eyes as she look
ed at the man towering over her left Suzie feeling sick to her stomach with dread. She gathered the photographs together and tucked them along with the flash drive back into the envelope, which she then stowed in her purse. She put the box back into its slot and then pressed the buzzer for the woman who promptly came and let her out of the room. She walked out of the bank and thought of calling Jason to tell him about what she had found, but she wondered what the point would be. Harry had been adamant about Jason not having them, perhaps because of their disturbing nature.

Suzie couldn't imagine what would possess her uncle to keep the
photographs. Had he been the one to take them? She recalled the artistic photograph they had found in the living room, and the expensive camera they had found in the hall closet. It made sense that he would have been the one to take them, as the stretch of beach did seem to be similar to the beach that Dune House overlooked. However, what was the point of the photos? To record a marital spat? Surely that was all it was. The man seemed overbearing and aggressive, and the woman genuinely frightened, but that didn't mean that one moment captured on film had led to anything dire.