Is Anyone Listening?

Chapter 6 #2

"Napkins," Sophie announced as she came to the booth and slid in next to Tessa.

"Thank you," Tessa said, immediately grabbing one to wipe her mouth.

"So can I talk to you about New York?"

"Of course," I replied.

For the next half hour, Sophie asked us a million questions about which neighborhoods were the most fun for twenty-somethings, what the dating scene was like, how easy or hard it was to get a job, and whether the subway was safe to use.

I didn't want to discourage her with our unemployment, and Tessa didn't seem inclined to bring that up, either. Instead, we focused on how exciting it was to live in such a vibrant big city.

When Sophie finally ran out of questions, I decided it was our turn to get some information.

Clearing my throat, I said, "Sophie, when we were at the library looking for information on the inn, we couldn't help noticing that there were reports of other women disappearing after staying at the inn. One was only three months ago. Her name was Jessica Trent."

"Yeah. It's best not to talk about that here," she said, tipping her head toward the growing crowd around the bar. "It's a sensitive subject."

"Why?" I asked.

"Because the locals don't like the rumors and the bad press. We have enough trouble drawing tourists, and stories like that don't help."

"It is concerning, though," Tessa said. "Two women in the last year have vanished after staying at the inn. Do the employees talk about that?"

"Oh, no. Ellen wouldn’t allow it. When the sheriff came to ask questions, she sat in on every meeting."

"That makes her seem like she's complicit," I said.

"Definitely not," Sophie said. "She's just protecting her business.

Mrs. Clarke loves her guests. The only time I ever see her smile is when she's talking to a guest. I think it's just a terrible coincidence.

And Jessica hadn't left the inn. She was staying there when she decided to get out on the water on her own. That had nothing to do with the inn."

Sophie spoke with a certainty that was hard to deny. Whether it was born of ignorance or protectiveness, I couldn't say. But she definitely seemed to believe what she was saying.

"I ran into a man on the beach below the inn earlier today," I said. "He said I should be careful, that more women check into the inn than check out. I have to admit he made me wonder if we should stay there."

"Is he a good-looking, brown-haired guy?"

"Yes."

"That's Tyler Pierce. He's an architect. He's looking to develop a piece of property down the road from the inn, but he's been asking questions around town the last week or so, and that's partially why everyone is getting skittish about the subject."

"Asking questions about Natalie?" Tessa asked.

"And the other one. I guess he's concerned about remodeling a house in the area if there's something going on less than a mile away.

" She let out a sigh. "Does any of this matter for your book?

You wouldn't include these rumors, would you?

If you did, no one would want to stay there, and the inn drives a lot of our tourism. "

"We're not going to put it in the book," Tessa said quickly, reassuring Sophie.

"Oh, good. I was starting to worry. I better get back to work. Thanks for all the recommendations. I still need to save a bit more cash before I can make the move, but I'm hoping by June."

"That's a big move to make by yourself," I commented.

"Cole might come with me."

"Cole?" I echoed. "The sheriff's son, the one who was just here?"

"Yeah. He's dying to get out of this town, too." Sophie got up. "How long are you staying at the inn?"

"Another few days," I said. "We haven't decided yet."

"If you're concerned about the inn not being safe, maybe you should go somewhere else. There's a really nice inn on the beach in Cork Harbor. That’s not too far from here."

"We're happy to stay at the inn," Tessa said. "We're not that concerned."

"Good, because there's nothing to be concerned about. Anyway, I'll probably see you tomorrow morning when I'll be trying not to drop any more pitchers of orange juice."

I smiled. "I'm sure that won't happen again."

"I'm not sure at all, but I can only hope."

As Sophie left, I turned to Tessa. "That wasn't particularly helpful."

"She definitely wasn't as open as I thought she'd be."

"She obviously has some loyalty to Ellen and doesn't want to lose her job because she's talking to two troublemakers."

Tessa smiled. "Women who make history are usually troublemakers."

"We're trying to make history now?" I said with a laugh.

"No, just a good podcast, but just saying…" Tessa's gaze moved around the bar. "This town likes to close ranks against outsiders. We need someone who isn't as entrenched in this town as Sophie."

"I can't imagine who that would be."

"Maybe Finn?"

I was surprised by her answer. "Why? He runs this bar, which seems to be the center of town drama. And he grew up here."

"But he was gone for a long time, and he's only been back a short while. Maybe he has a different perspective."

"I doubt it, but even if he was willing to talk, he's not going to do it here."

"Agreed. But I feel like we had a vibe. Maybe I could invite him to get a drink or a meal somewhere else. Maybe somewhere down the road, a little away from Stonecross."

"You want to ask him on a date?" I didn't know why I was surprised, because Tessa was very good at the charm offensive.

"Why not?"

"He could be…dangerous."

"I don't think he had anything to do with the missing women." Tessa gave me a determined smile. "We're going to get more information if we split up."

"Splitting up is not a good idea," I protested.

"It won't be for long. Why don't you go get the car? It's only about four blocks away, and I'll see if I can get a date with Finn for tomorrow night."

I liked her idea even less when I thought about walking to the car alone. But that was ridiculous. I walked all over Manhattan at two o'clock in the morning by myself. I could make it four blocks in a small town at seven o'clock in the evening.

"Okay. I'll get the car, and I'll wait for you in the parking lot. Just don't take forever."

"Getting a date rarely takes me long," she said with a confident smile.

I followed her out of the booth, then made my way to the door as she headed for the bar.

Once outside, I was surprised by the drop in the temperature, and I zipped up my jacket as I started walking down the block. The streets were quieter now, with most shops closed for the evening.

The farther I got from the pub, the more isolated I felt. The streetlights cast long shadows, and I found myself thinking about Natalie Warren walking these same blocks ten months ago, and about Jessica Trent, who'd disappeared three months ago.

Being alone on dark streets in a town where women kept vanishing felt reckless, and I couldn't believe I'd agreed to it. I picked up my pace, my keys already in my hand, when a figure rounded the corner ahead of me, and I gasped, stopping short before we barreled into each other.

I was more surprised when I realized it was the man from the beach, Tyler Pierce.

"Sorry," he said, holding up his hands in apology. "Didn't mean to scare you."

My heart was hammering. "It's fine. You just startled me."

"What are you doing out here by yourself? Where's your friend?"

"I'm just getting the car. She's at the pub."

"You two should stick together."

"How do you know about my friend?" I asked suddenly.

"I saw you two walking around town earlier."

Maybe he was telling the truth, or maybe he wasn't. "I heard you're an architect looking to build on a piece of property near the inn. Is that true?"

"I'm looking to rebuild a house near the inn," he corrected. "So, you've been talking about me?"

"Not exactly," I said quickly, not wanting to mention Sophie. "I'm just curious as to why what might have happened at the inn would be of concern to you."

"Because the value of the property will go down if it turns out something criminally bad is happening down the street."

It felt like he was telling part of the truth, but not all of it. "If you have any concern, why don't you just move on?"

"It's a good piece of property with an excellent price."

I gave him a long look. "I don't think you're telling me the truth, at least not all of it. Why are you really here?"

"Why are you?" he returned, meeting my gaze. "I heard you've been asking a lot of questions, too, for some book you're writing."

"That's true. It's a book about historic inns. And the Stonecross Inn has a lot of history." I paused. "Who told you we were writing a book?"

"I heard it when I got a coffee this afternoon. The woman who works at the library was telling her friends all about you."

I wasn't surprised. Margaret had been eager to share gossip with us. No doubt, she did that all the time, all over town. I was happy now that we hadn't asked her too many pointed questions. She would have realized we were more interested in what happened to Natalie than the history of the inn.

His phone buzzed, and he pulled it out. "I have to go."

It was the second time in one day that our conversation had been interrupted by the phone.

That was fine. I didn't need to talk to him anymore. I hurried down the block, relieved to get into the car and lock the door. Then I started the engine and drove back to the pub.

As I stopped at a light, I caught sight of two people sitting at a window table in a café, and to my surprise, it was Tyler and a woman—Becca Thorne.

She was smiling at him, and he was smiling at her, changing my impression of his dark, cold, dangerous exterior into something else entirely. And now I had more questions…

A car behind me hit the horn when I failed to immediately hit the gas on the green light, and I quickly turned my attention back to the road. A few moments later, I pulled into the parking lot next to the pub and texted Tessa. She came through the door and hopped into the car with a pleased smile.

"Well?" I asked.

"Finn and I have a date for lunch tomorrow. He's going to take me to a café in the next town over. I think getting him out of Stonecross will help me open him up."

"I guess lunch is a better idea than dinner. It will be safer in the daylight."

"I'll be fine with Finn," Tessa said, buckling her seat belt. "You're not that worried, are you?"

"I'm worried about everything. I ran into Tyler Pierce while I was getting the car.

He said he'd seen us walking around town, and he heard Margaret tell her friends in the coffee shop that we were writing a book.

I don't know if he's been watching us or it's just a small town and we're tripping over each other, but he makes me uncomfortable. "

"Why? Did he say something else?"

"Not really. I said I heard he was an architect. He confirmed it was true, and that he was concerned about property values if the inn turned out to be a crime scene. But it just didn't seem like the whole story."

"Maybe he's also here looking for information on Natalie or Jessica and that's his cover story. He could be a private investigator."

"He could be. We should check him out."

"Maybe, but let's not waste time on him now. So far, he's just tried to warn you that the inn could be dangerous. Why would he do that if he was the danger?"

She made a good point. "I don't know. Maybe to make me trust him?"

"Well, don't trust him."

Tessa had a way of getting right to the point. I smiled. "Okay, I won't trust him. One other thing, after we parted ways, and I got the car, I saw him sitting in a café with Becca, the yoga teacher from the inn, and they looked very friendly."

"That's kind of interesting. I wonder if he's trying to get information out of her."

"No idea. It could have just been social, two attractive people. Did you get anything else out of Finn?"

"I got the date. That's all I was looking for. I didn't want to scare him off, so I just smiled and flirted and said you were going to be busy all day typing up our notes, and I would be bored."

I gave her a dry smile. "In other words, you told him the truth."

She grinned. "Sometimes, the truth works."

"And sometimes the truth is just a lie in disguise," I said.

A gleam entered her eyes. "That's good, Cassidy. We should use that on the podcast, a little tease for what's coming—the truth, or a lie in disguise."

"We don't know what's coming," I said darkly.

And I wasn't sure I was ready to find out.