The Pickle Boat House (21 page)

Van put her notebooks down on the porch retaining wall. “Want to grab a bite to eat? My treat—just a thank-you for all the help.”

“I’d love to,” Margaret said, glancing at her buzzing cell phone, “but I have plans. “You know, I think I left that last document on the copy machine—all that work and then I just leave it. Be right back.” She headed back into the building, talking into the phone as she went. “Yeah, right here … No, leave it alone. Don’t come … please. Listen to me.”

* * *

Van made herself comfortable sitting on the low porch wall, watching the cars come and go in the parking lot and on the street, guessing at which ride or car matched up with each person leaving the courthouse. Then came a stumper: a blue sports car, moving fast when it hit the parking lot, flinging gravel and dust in all directions. It didn’t belong, and when the driver got out, Van froze. Hector Young. She was all alone, and Margaret nowhere in sight. As he approached, she silently prayed for it to be a brief encounter.

“Ms. Hardy! What a pleasant surprise! I trust you’ve been well? I’ve been asking after you. We have some business to discuss.”

“We don’t have any business,” Van said, trying not to stare at the bruise under his eye.

“Are you waiting for Ryan? If so, maybe I’ll hang. We have some catching up to do, too.”

“Ryan doesn’t work for HYA anymore. He walked away.”

A broad smile spread across Hector’s face, and he laughed. “No one walks away from HYA, doll. If that’s what Ryan told you, then he only told you half the story. The only way he
walked
away was if he cut a deal for his firstborn. Must have paid a pretty hefty price, too, since he hasn’t told you. Better find out before you’re in too deep to walk away. That’s the most sincere advice I can give you.”

“You haven’t had a sincere thought in your life, Hector. You just want to see how much of a wedge you can drive between Ryan and me. But you know, you’re a little late.”

“I’m not trying to drive you apart. Ryan’ll do that all by himself. You think you really
know
him? Can you really have a relationship with someone who can’t tell you about his past, because you’d be so revolted you’d bolt for the nearest exit?” Hector sidled closer.

“Fuck off, Hector,” Van said as she caught sight of a scowling Ryan coming up the sidewalk.

“Get away from her. Why are you here, Hector?”

Hector turned and smiled at Ryan as if they were long-lost pals. “Officer McCall asked me to give you a message. Gentleman that I am, however, I will save that till later, because we are in mixed company. Van, on the other hand,” he said, turning and nodding in her direction, “was telling me about your change in employment. Come on, Ryan. You need to come clean with her. We both know there are still strings attached to HYA. My dad may be a bastard, but he’s not a
dumb
bastard. What did you promise him to let you walk away, hmm?” He leaned against the wall, comfortable in his smugness. “Whatever it was, when I become CEO after dear old Dad, it won’t be enough.”

His guard was down, and Van and Ryan could see hatred for Ryan spilling out of him. He could no longer keep up the pretext of civility. “I’ll make sure someone puts you six feet under before I let you walk away. You’d better hope my dad has a long and prosperous life.”

“Hector!”

Hector whirled around to find Margaret standing behind him.

“What’s … You
know
him?” Van gasped as she jumped down off the wall.

“Maggie, baby, I didn’t know you were behind me.”

Hector took a step toward her, but she backed away, freezing him in place. Confusion rolled across his face. “Baby, what’s wrong?”

“I can’t believe you said that,” Margaret replied. “What kind of person would say something … God, you’re out of control. You’re like someone I don’t even
know
.”

“You know me better than anyone, Maggie. Sweetie, you know me.” Hector’s voice was silky smooth. “I love you. Ryan just pushes all the wrong buttons in me, that’s all.”

“I guess the waiter the other day pushed all the wrong buttons, too, huh? Lot of difficult people in this world, I guess. I’ve never heard such hatred come out of someone’s mouth.” She shook her head as if she were trying to shake the words back out of her ears. Maggie looked at Hector and then flung herself at Ryan, who wrapped his arms protectively around her and pulled her close. It wasn’t clear who was more surprised: Van, Ryan, or Hector. Ryan hid his shock well, remaining stone faced, but both Hector and Van looked gob-smacked.

“Hector, Peggy is going to catch a ride back with us,” said Ryan. “Maybe you should talk later. Van, Peggy, please go wait for me in the car. Hector and I have some business to discuss. It’ll only take a couple of minutes.” He handed his keys to Van as she pried the shaken Peggy loose from him, put her arm around her, and walked her toward Ryan’s car.

“Baby, we’ll talk later,” Hector called after her, his face flushed scarlet.

She made no attempt to acknowledge him.

* * *

When Van and Peggy were safely at the car and out of earshot Hector turned on Ryan.

“Straight to you—she went straight to you,” he said, incredulous. How long’s
that
been fucking going on, you son of a bitch? Not content to mess up just one woman’s life at a time? You could’ve had anything you wanted: the company, my father … and now
Maggie
? I should have guessed you’d turn her against me. Don’t you respect anything?” He started toward the parking lot.

Ryan stepped in front of him, effectively blocking his path down the steps. The two men met eye to glaring eye, with a hostility that would have terrified the women if they had been close enough to witness it.

“Stay away from all three of us,” Ryan said through gritted teeth.

“Better make a will, Thomas,” Hector replied. “She’s the one thing in my life I won’t lose. I may not be able to fight the old man, but you, you’re a different story.” He moved past Ryan but made no attempt to head in the direction of the women. Down the steps he went, into his car, and out of the parking lot like a demon on fire.

Ryan breathed a silent sigh of relief as he tried to slow his racing heart. He had expected blows. He knew better than to take Hector lightly, especially where Peggy was concerned. Ryan’s newfound sense of security evaporated. Obviously, Peggy was here to complete research on the deed for HYA, and the search was still ongoing. Hector Senior hadn’t pulled in any of his dogs. None of them was safe.

The women hurried back across the parking lot. Peggy grabbed Ryan by the shirtsleeve and buried her tear-stained face against his chest.

“I’m sorry, Peggy,” he said, his mind in a whirl, trying to determine whether he could trust her. “It’s okay. He’s gone.” She continued to sob, getting his shirt all wet. “I’m surprised to see you. How long have you been in town?”

“Not long,” said Peggy, hedging.

Ryan looked over her head to give a reassuring look to Van, who stood dumbstruck, overwhelmed by the whole situation. “Let’s go get a cup of coffee and talk. Is that okay with you, Van?” Ryan asked, trying to get her to focus on him. She shifted her eyes toward him and nodded. Her expression gave nothing away, and that worried him almost as much as his former business associates did.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
KEEPING FRIENDS CLOSE

Not a word was said as the three drove to the diner in Nevis. Ryan was thoughtful, Van livid, and Peggy collected. Peggy sat in the backseat and made no further attempt to approach or touch Ryan.

“Are you working on a project with Hector?” Ryan asked as soon as they were seated.

“No. Hector’s working in New York. I’m on my own.”

“So you aren’t involved in researching the land deal for Nevis?”

“I don’t know anything about a land deal,” she lied. “Ellen Kenzie and I are here researching genealogy. HYA didn’t say what it was for.” Peggy hated lying, but Hector had said Van was a threat. “It’s confidential information …”

“You can speak freely in front of Van,” Ryan interjected. “She knows everything.”

“No, Ryan, I’m not. I’ve been tracing wills here in Nevis. I wasn’t given a—”

“Margaret, Peggy, Maggie, or whatever the hell your name is in this moment, what’s your relationship to Hector?” Van asked. “What kind of wills?”

“I’m sorry, Van. I’m Margaret Douglas,” Peggy said, reaching across the table, but Van drew her hand back and put it in her lap. “Most people call me Peggy. Hector is the only one who has ever called me Maggie. It always made me feel special when he said that.” She sniffed, and her eyes welled up, but they didn’t overflow. “Ryan and I—we’ve worked together off and on for years. I do freelance work for HYA,” Peggy said without elaborating. “I had no idea you knew Ryan.”

“What kind of wills are you researching,” Ryan asked, repeating Van’s unanswered question.

Peggy kept her eyes down to avoid his intense gaze. “Ellen and I developed a list of prominent Nevis citizens. She was working on their trees, and I’ve been reviewing wills. Honest, Ryan, that’s all I know.”

“And where is Ellen?”

“She left yesterday. I’m heading home tomorrow.”

“Did your work benefit from any of the genealogical information that Van gave you?”

“No. Like I told Van, the information dead-ended. I did pass it all on to Ellen, though.”

“Great,” said Van, rolling her eyes.

Ryan was silent but continued to stare thoughtfully at Peggy.

“What’s going on?” Peggy said. “Tell me. If I did something wrong, I’m sorry. And, Ryan, I’m sorry I grabbed you and cried all over your shirt. What Hector said was shocking, and you were the first thing I saw. I don’t mean to cause any trouble between you and Van, or with you and Hector. I’m really making a mess of things here. I should go.” She rose to leave, but Van caught her by the sleeve.

“No,
Peggy,
” Van said, shaking her head as she looked directly at Ryan. “Please sit back down. We need to finish. You shouldn’t go wandering around by yourself right now, either. I don’t trust Hector.”

“Oh, he wouldn’t hurt me. But I’ve never seen him that mad before. I felt like I was looking at a complete stranger.” She turned to Ryan. “Have you ever seen him behave like that before?”

“There has almost never been a time when I
haven’t
seen him acting like an ass. He’s a twisted person whom everyone else has to deal with daily. Hector struggles to be different from his father, but his bitterness makes him just like him: cold, calculating, vengeful.” You’ve been his only redeeming feature. You’re good for him, Peggy, but in the long run, he’s not good for you.”

Peggy changed the subject. “You’ve changed, Ryan, from when I first met you. I thought you were insufferable. But now you’re entirely different.”

Ryan and Van exchanged a look but said nothing. Peggy’s eyes began to redden again. “I’ve always thought there was no one like him. If it weren’t for his father, we’d probably be married by now.”

“Ryan, he really worries me,” said Van. “I saw the look on Hector’s face when Peggy ran to you. He’s never going to forgive you for that. You’re going to be constantly looking over your shoulder.”

“I
am
concerned about Hector,” Ryan confessed. “But I’ve always had to watch my back with him. It’s nothing new.” He settled back in the booth. “One of my main concerns now is that he leave you and Peggy alone. Peggy, what do you want to do now? How can I help you?”

Peggy looked gratefully at Ryan. “Thanks, you’ve done enough. I’m afraid to have you any more involved. I just want to steer clear of Hector right now.”

“I don’t want you going back to where you were staying. Hector knows where it is, right? There’s no way he won’t be waiting for you. Van, could she stay with you tonight?”

“Absolutely. “We need to stick together.”

As they left the diner, Ryan leaned in to Van and whispered, “Don’t let her out of your sight. She’s lying through her teeth. We need to find out how much she really knows and what she’s passed on to others.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
DIGGING UP DETAILS

Van reluctantly left Peggy to settle into the small upstairs bedroom in the pickle boat house. What was she supposed to do with her? If not for Ryan, Van would sooner have sent her packing. She had little tolerance for dishonesty and collusion. Peggy, on the other hand, sighed with relief as Van retreated to the other side of the house. Van’s body language made her feelings loud and clear.

When Peggy finally came looking for Van she found her sitting in the window seat, daydreaming. She hesitated to intrude on her reverie. Van looked fragile—perfectly still, with her hands folded gently in her lap and her hair tossed behind her shoulders.

“Van,” Peggy whispered. No response. “Vanessa,” she repeated, and this time Van turned at the sound of her name. “I need to talk to you, to apologize.” She paused. “I, ah, it’s, ah … about our friendship. I don’t deserve it. I’ve been false to you.”

Van shrugged her shoulders and shook her head. “What are you talking about?”

Peggy slid into the little chair next to Van. “I haven’t been helping you. You and Ryan have been incredibly kind to me. I can’t handle this anymore. I’ve been unfair and deceitful. Even tonight I didn’t level with you. I haven’t had any plans to help you. Your interests are competing with HYA’s interests. They’re paying me to trace the descendants of Jeremiah Harwell—the whole tree, not just Nevis wills. When you came to me that day in the courthouse, working on the same family tree, I was floored. It was like winning the lottery. Your tree was so much more complete than what I had yet come up with, and all of it with citations. You can’t believe the amount of time you saved me.” She laughed. “All I had to do was retrace and verify. I’m so ashamed.”

Van sighed. Ryan was right. Peggy was just one more dishonest person. She shuddered to think what kind of damage Peggy had done—or could still do—to Nevis. “I really opened up to you,” she said. “I trusted you. You’ve been friends with Ryan for years. Why would you do that?”