Chapter 18
Chapter Eighteen
As I left Ellen's apartment, I paused in the corridor, my gaze drawn to a door at the far end. It was painted the same cream color as the walls, easy to miss if you weren't looking for it. A door that led somewhere—maybe to storage, maybe to a basement, or maybe to something else entirely.
I took a step toward it, then stopped. Ellen would be coming out any minute, and I couldn't risk getting caught snooping around her private quarters after she'd just agreed to let me stay. I'd come back later.
Turning, I headed back down the hallway, out the side entrance, and through the garden, ending up on the yoga deck, which was currently empty.
The morning air was crisp and a little salty. I walked to the edge of the property where the perfectly manicured lawn gave way to wild grass and then to nothing—just the sheer drop of the cliffs.
I stood there, looking down at the rocks and churning water far below, thinking about my grandfather.
He'd allegedly come out here to nail some boards over the windows, to check on the property, and somehow ended up farther away from the house than he'd intended.
He'd fallen to his death, and I felt almost dizzy as I looked down at the steep, treacherous drop.
In fog and wind, he could have taken a misstep. But it also felt like every other story I'd heard in Stonecross. Plausible but not entirely convincing. A neat explanation that raised more questions than it answered.
"Cassidy?"
I turned to find Becca approaching, her yoga mat bag slung over her shoulder. She looked concerned, her usual serene expression replaced with worry.
"I heard what happened to you last night," she said. "Are you okay?"
"I'm sore,but alive."
"Thank God for that. Tyler told me someone ran you off the road.
That's terrifying." Becca shook her head.
"I can't believe something like that would happen here.
" She adjusted the strap on her shoulder.
"I've decided to take a break for a few weeks, until some of the rumors get sorted out.
I just don't feel comfortable being here, which is kind of sad, because I always thought this beautiful deck overlooking the wild sea was the perfect place for people to get in touch with their inner spirit.
But now there's nothing but a bad vibe around here.
And when I told Ellen my decision to leave for a few weeks, even she seemed a little defeated. "
"Did she say anything? Did she try to convince you there was nothing wrong?"
"She said she was disappointed and hoped I'd be back soon.
That her guests love my classes, and she'll have a hard time replacing me.
She was actually very nice about it." Becca paused.
"I know Ellen comes across cold and hard at times, and after Tyler told me about his suspicions of her, I've started looking at her differently.
But I still have a difficult time believing she could be involved with the disappearances of several of her female guests.
She's very pro-female empowerment. That's why she has focused the inn's offerings on health and wellness. "
I wondered whether that was the real reason, or if focusing on health and wellness programs had been the perfect draw for single, sometimes lonely, vulnerable women.
"Anyway," Becca said. "It was nice to meet you, Cassidy. I hope you get the answers you're looking for."
"Can I ask you one other question? Did you have much contact with Natalie Warren when she was here? Was she friendly, outgoing? Did she talk about her life with you or anyone else?"
"She took two of my classes and seemed to enjoy them.
She wasn't jumpy like Anna or some of the others, but it felt like there was an air of sadness surrounding her.
" Becca paused. "She did mention she was having headaches, and we talked about stretches that might help.
She was also going to see Dr. Garrett about it.
Actually, I think the doctor was coming to the inn. "
"A doctor who makes house calls?" I asked in surprise.
Becca smiled. "Ellen likes to provide the best service she can to every guest. She asked Dr. Garrett to stop by and talk to Natalie, but I don't know if they ever actually met.
I just know what she told me." Becca gave me a speculative look.
"Are you working with Tyler? It seems like you have similar interests. Only, he's looking for Jessica Trent."
"We've been comparing notes in case Natalie and Jessica are connected," I admitted.
"I spoke to Tyler a short while ago. I told him that a friend of mine who works at the harbor saw Jessica talking to Cole the day she rented the boat and thought they seemed pretty friendly."
"She just brought that up now?" I asked curiously.
"Well, your podcast has gotten a lot of people talking, and she mentioned it to me this morning, wondering if it was important.
I told her she should talk to the sheriff and see what he thought.
But she didn't seem to want to do that since Cole is the sheriff's son.
Tyler said he was going to follow up with Cole. "
"That's good."
"Cole is a nice kid. He's a flirt and drinks too much and likes to mix it up at the bar, but I don't think he's dangerous in any way. I'm sure he was chatting it up with Jessica. She was very pretty."
"I didn't realize he was a big flirt. I thought he and Sophie were together."
She shrugged. "I think they're more friends than anything, but I don't know. Anyway, I should go. Good luck."
"Thanks."
After Becca left, I walked back to the parking lot, thinking about Cole and Jessica.
It was probably nothing. Cole worked at the docks with his uncle.
She could have been asking him about renting a boat.
But I wondered if there was any record of Cole saying he'd spoken to her; probably not, since his father was the sheriff and wouldn’t want his son's name on anything that had to do with a missing woman.
As I moved into the garage, I noticed that Ray's truck was gone, and the storage door now had a padlock on it. I wondered if that had something to do with me mentioning that carpet to Ellen. They clearly didn't want me poking into anything else.
I got into Ellen's blue Mini Cooper. It felt surreal to be borrowing my grandmother's car. And I couldn't imagine what my father would say if he knew. At some point, I would tell him, but I had to find out more about my grandmother before I did that.
I was almost to town when my phone buzzed, and Tyler's number flashed across the screen.
"Hi," I said, putting the phone on speaker.
"How are you feeling today?"
"I've got some aches and pains but overall, I'm okay."
"That's good to hear." He cleared his throat. "I went to get coffee this morning, and the place was buzzing with gossip, all of it centered on you."
"Yes. The town found out about my podcast. Cole told his father, who told Ellen, and it spread from there."
"They weren't just talking about the podcast, Cassidy."
My stomach tightened at the suddenly hard note in his voice. "No, I guess they wouldn't be. Last night I had a confrontation with Ellen. She wanted to kick me out, and I couldn't let her do that, so I had to tell her something that she wasn't expecting."
"That you're her granddaughter."
"Yes."
"Was that a story to get her to let you stay or the truth?"
"It was the truth. My real name is Cassidy Clarke.
Bennett is my mother's maiden name. I never knew anything about Ellen.
My father refused to speak one word about his mother or his father or his past. And when I realized where Natalie had stayed right before she disappeared, I knew this was the story I had follow. "
"I have to say I did not see that coming. You've had a hidden agenda all along."
"Not really. My main goal is to find out what's going on at the inn. But I do want to know more about my grandmother, too."
"You should have told me. I thought we'd built some trust between us."
"My personal story wasn't relevant."
"Not relevant?" he challenged. "Your grandmother could very well be trafficking or killing women. And you don't believe your relationship is relevant?"
"Think of it as a good thing. Maybe she'll open up to me now that she knows who I am."
"Well, she probably won't kill you, so I guess that's a positive," he said, a hard edge to his voice.
"I'm sorry, Tyler. I should have told you. I just didn't know what to say or whether I should bring it up. I wasn't even sure I was ever going to tell Ellen, because I don't particularly like her, and I definitely don't trust her. But I had to use the information so she wouldn't force me to leave."
"And is she talking to you?"
"We've had one brief conversation that didn't illuminate much of anything. But I'm hoping it's a start." I paused. "I ran into Becca. She said she talked to you about how Cole was seen chatting with Jessica the day she rented the boat."
"I just spoke to him. He said she just asked where she could rent a small boat. Since Holloway Charters doesn't rent small boats, he directed her to the Boat Deck, run by Stan Mitchell. He said he talked to Jessica for five minutes, and that was it."
"Did you believe him?"
"I don't know what to think about Cole. There's something about him that bothers me," Tyler said.
"Really? You think a twenty-three-year-old kid is responsible for what's happening?"
"Maybe not responsible, but a part of…possibly. I stopped by the building department, but the clerk told me I need to come back at three if I want to talk to someone about the plans for the inn. Apparently, only one guy can give me that information, and he's out until then."
"That's too bad. Where are you now? Should we meet up?"
"I'm driving to Cork Harbor. I want to see if I can find any buildings near that stretch of road that Jessica might have climbed up to, and see if they have any video footage."
"Did you want me to come with you?"