Secrets of Hallstead House (18 page)

“No, not that I know of.”

“Oh. I thought you might know the reason for his funk.”

“I’m sorry I can’t help.”

She sighed. “That’s okay. I’ll go find him. We need to head back to the mainland. See you at the party.” She waved her hand at me as she walked out of the library.

I had hoped to find a few minutes to talk to Brandt alone about the discussion he had with Forrest before he died. But that would have to wait for another time. It was difficult to find him alone since Giselle always stuck so closely to him.

I changed for dinner and joined Alex, and we entered the dining room together. Will and Stephan were already there; Stephan bowed slightly when he saw us.

Alex went to him immediately and engaged him in a conversation about business. Will leaned against the wet bar and swirled his glass of scotch on the rocks. He glanced my way once but ignored me otherwise. He was quiet throughout dinner, speaking only when Alex or Stephan spoke to him.

After dinner, I accompanied Alex back to her sitting room. She looked tired, so I suggested that she take a long, hot shower and go straight to bed. She sighed. “I wish I could figure out what drives Will,” she said sadly. “He can be such a charming young man, but he broods so much. I don’t know how to get him out of his shell. Of course, it’s possible that he just doesn’t like it here. I know he has HSH Oil work to do, of course, but when he’s done with that, there’s nothing for him to do here. He probably can’t wait to get back home to New York. He must miss the excitement of being in the city. Are you homesick for New York, Macy?”

“No, I’m really not. I like the peace and quiet here.”

Alex started to make her way to the bedroom. “Of course, it could be that Will’s memories haunt him when he’s here.”

“Memories of what?”

“Unhappy times. The deaths of his parents, Forrest’s brother and sister-in-law. Forrest and I took him in, you know, after his parents died in a plane crash. And then, of course, the deaths of his cousin and his uncle. Especially Diana. Those two were inseparable when they were young. I’ll never forget the argument he had with Diana the week before she died. They fought like cats over heaven only knows what, and they still weren’t speaking the day she drowned. He never got to say good-bye to her. None of us did. But in his case, I think it was harder because their last words to each other had been so hateful. They never got a chance to make amends.”

I looked at Alex sharply. “Diana and Will fought a week before she died?”

“Yes.”

“Why didn’t you mention this before?”

Alex seemed puzzled. “Because it didn’t seem important. They fought sometimes, but it never meant anything. They were like sister and brother.”

“You have no idea what they argued about?”

“No idea whatsoever. If they had wanted me to know, they would have said something. But they didn’t, so I left them alone to work it out for themselves.”

“That could be very important, Alex.”

“Why? Surely you don’t think Will drowned his own cousin? They were the best of friends. He wasn’t capable of such an act.”

“But you just said they argued furiously shortly before she died. How do you know he’s not capable of violence?”

“Macy, Will may not be the most agreeable man in the world, but he’s not a killer. I know that.”

Alex seemed to be getting agitated with our discussion and I didn’t want to rile her up before bed, so I dropped the subject. It was one I would reopen, however, the next time I saw Will.

“Do you need my help with anything, Alex?”

“I could use your help getting my bracelet off,” she replied, pulling her sleeve up.

The bracelet was gone.

Alex looked stricken. “Oh, no! It must have fallen off! Forrest gave me that bracelet!”

“Let’s have a look around. Maybe it just fell on the floor in here or in your office.”

We looked for the bracelet for quite some time but were not able to find it. Alex was becoming distraught. “You don’t suppose it fell off at Singer Castle, do you? Or what if it fell off in the water? Then I’ll never find it!” Her voice rose as she spoke.

“Alex,” I said soothingly, “why don’t you wait here while I go look in the boat? Maybe it fell off there this morning.” The words came out before I could stop myself. The last thing I wanted was to be walking around Hallstead Island in the dark by myself.

“I don’t know, Macy,” she said skeptically. “Do you think you should go down to the boat alone?” She had voiced my concern exactly, but I didn’t want her to feel my fear. So I lied. “I’ll be fine. I’ll be right back.”

I ran upstairs, grabbed a coat and a flashlight, and let myself out the front door. I dashed into the darkened woods, knowing by now the path toward the boathouse. It took only a couple of minutes to reach the stony outcroppings near the dock. I saw the lights on in Pete’s rooms, and for a moment I considered asking him for help, but I didn’t want to appear needy and incapable.

It was creepy down by the dock at night. I had never noticed it before now, but a single lamp glowed dimly in the darkness, hanging about eight or nine feet above the dock at its far end. The crescent moon was reflected in the waves that sloshed gently against the dock, and the boat bobbed rhythmically. I slowed my pace and stepped onto the wooden dock, holding the flashlight in front of me.

I had gone only about ten steps when the lamp went out. My heart skipped a beat, I stopped dead in my tracks, and I was suddenly trembling so much that I dropped the flashlight into the black water. My mind raced as I tried to decide what to do next. I couldn’t go back to Alex and tell her that I was too afraid to be down here alone after dark, but I couldn’t make my feet move any closer to the boat. I thought quickly. I needed to go to the boathouse and ask Pete for another flashlight and some help.

Before I could turn around, I heard a noise behind me. Instinctively, I put my arms over my head to protect myself. Rough hands reached out of the inky blackness and shoved me to one side. I lost my balance, teetered for a second, and fell helplessly off the dock and into the water.

The next few moments happened so quickly that I have little recollection of them. I do remember screaming and hearing footsteps running away into the night. I thrashed around in the water and grabbed onto a piling, the first solid object I touched. Terrified, I yelled Pete’s name several times and finally heard more footsteps dashing toward me on the dock. Now I was even more terrified— what if the person had come back? I stopped yelling and hung on to the piling with all my might.

Suddenly a flashlight’s beam cut through the darkness and strong arms were pulling me from the water. Before I knew it, I was lying faceup on the dock with the flashlight shining into my eyes. A voice exclaimed, “Macy! What are you doing down here? What happened to you?”

I pushed the flashlight away so that I wouldn’t be blinded. I was staring into Will’s face. He was still gripping my arm.

I shook my arm free and sat up straight, backing up as I did so. “I was pushed into the water,” I answered breathlessly. More footsteps were running toward us now, and the light at the end of the dock sputtered on again. It was Pete.

“What’s going on? I heard someone screaming!” he shouted as he ran up to us.

“It’s Macy,” Will replied. “She says someone pushed her in the water. I happened to be out for a walk and I heard her yelling. I pulled her out.”

Pete turned to me. “Are you all right?” Without waiting for an answer, he asked incredulously, “What on earth were you doing down here?”

I was slowly catching my breath. I answered crossly, “Alex lost her bracelet. She was upset, so I told her I would come down here to see if it was in the boat. What difference does it make why I was down here? What matters is that someone pushed me in the water!”

“Who was it?” Will asked.

“I don’t know,” I told him, a little more quietly now. “The light went out at the end of the dock and then I dropped my flashlight into the water and a few seconds later someone pushed me from behind. Thank goodness I was able to grab on to the piling.” I shuddered thinking of what might have happened if it hadn’t been within reach.

“It was a good thing I happened to be walking nearby,” Will said.

“You were lucky he came along, Macy,” Pete agreed.

“I know. Thank you, Will,” I told him.

“No problem.”

Pete reached down to offer me his hand. His forehead was creased with worry.

“This is serious,” he said grimly between clenched teeth. “Will, you didn’t see who pushed her?”

“I didn’t see anything or anyone. It was just by chance that I was walking nearby.”

I was afraid. The full meaning of what had happened was just beginning to dawn on me. I rose shakily to my feet with Pete supporting me on one side and Will on the other. My teeth were chattering uncontrollably, and not merely from the cold. As we made our way toward the boathouse, Pete ran ahead and up to his rooms. I didn’t want to be left alone with Will, but if he was the one who had pushed me, I knew he wouldn’t try to harm me when Pete would be returning so quickly. Will didn’t say anything while Pete was gone, and it was only a minute before Pete came clattering back down the boathouse steps. He was at my side again right away with a soft blanket and a heavy coat. He and Will wrapped them around my shoulders and we set off through the trees back to Summerplace. When we reached the front door, I thanked them for seeing me back to the house and told them I would get up to my room by myself.

“I just need to dry off and lie down,” I said wearily.

“Be careful—lock yourself in,” Pete warned me.

“Yeah, you should,” Will chimed in. I looked at him intently, then turned and went inside. I heard him come in behind me, but I didn’t look back. His footsteps faded away toward the kitchen.

When I got to my room, the first thing I did was to slide an armchair in front of each door. The desk was still in front of the turret door, so that would stay where it was. Next I changed out of my wet clothes, built a roaring fire, and crawled into bed, physically and emotionally spent.

I don’t think I moved all night long, and I don’t remember having any nightmares. But when I woke up the following morning, my body felt battered, like I had run a marathon in my sleep. And my mind was still exhausted, like it usually was after one of my nightmares. I saw the sun streaming in my balcony doors, normally a welcome sight, but I groaned and turned away from the blinding brightness. I didn’t know what time it was and I didn’t care.

There was a knock at my door. I heard myself mumble loudly, “Who’s there?” A voice answered, “Pete.”

Moaning, I somehow managed to slink out of bed and shuffle toward the door, though every muscle in my body screamed at me in protest. I tugged at the armchair until there was just enough room to open the door. I opened it and turned immediately back toward my bed.

Pete followed me. When I had pulled the covers back up to my chin and closed my eyes, he sat down next to me on the bed and asked solicitously, “How are you feeling this morning?”

I opened my eyes and peered at him. “I’ve been better,” I managed.

“I spoke to Alex this morning. I told her you fell last night down near the dock and that you’re probably pretty sore today. She is very concerned about you and she feels terrible that she let you go down there. I didn’t think you’d want me to tell her what really happened.” He paused for a moment, then continued, “I don’t know what it is about you, but you seem to have brought things to a head around here since you arrived.”

“I don’t know what it is about me, either. I don’t even want to think about that right now. But thank you for telling Alex that I just fell. Oh my gosh, I forgot all about the bracelet!”

“I found it and gave it to Alex. I went down to the dock first thing this morning and looked in the boat. It was lying on the floor right next to her seat.”

“I’m so glad,” I breathed.

“I’m not staying. I want you to get some more sleep. Is there anything I can get you?”

“Could you go in my bathroom and get me some aspirin?”

“Sure.” He left and was back a minute later with two aspirin and a glass of water. “Take these and I’ll be back to check on you in a couple of hours. Maybe you’ll feel a little better by then.”

I nodded, and I think I was asleep before he even let himself out the door. I slept soundly until he returned, this time carrying a tray. When I asked him what time it was he informed me that I had slept through lunch.

“I came back a while ago and knocked, but you didn’t answer. I peeked in and you were in a deep sleep, so I left. You must be feeling a little better because you at least woke up this time.”

“I do feel better,” I said drowsily. It was true. The extra sleep and aspirin had done the trick. My muscles didn’t seem to ache nearly as much as they had earlier when he had come up to see me, and my mind felt much more lucid. “How’s Alex?”

“She’s fine. And she wants you to take as much time off as you need until you feel a hundred percent.”

“That’s nice of her.”

“Can you sit up and eat something? I brought you some lunch.”

I sat up and he placed the tray on the bed next to me. He had brought soup, a buttered roll, and iced tea. It tasted wonderful. “I wish I could say that I made this, but it’s from Vali. She makes great soup.”

“She’s a wonderful cook,” I agreed.

“When you’re done, do you want to try walking around a bit?” he asked.

“Yes, absolutely. My muscles are only going to get stiffer if I lie here much longer,” I replied.

“I’ll walk with you,” he offered.

After I finished my lunch, I showered and dressed while Pete waited for me in the library. I felt much better once I was up and moving around. My arms and legs still ached, but the pain was tolerable.