Chapter 29
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
“There was nothing,” Montague said, when Nigel and Oscar brought the results of the EVP and their own speculation to Dr. Lawson and her that evening. The sun was sinking into the west, the sky to the east still clear for the moment.
The latest forecast had upped the chances of the tropical storm hitting them in three days. Which left them today and tomorrow, possibly part of the next day, to wrap things up before they needed to get off the island.
“Are you sure?” Lawson asked. They sat in their chairs in the sand, sipping glasses of wine Ethan poured for them. “Take a minute and think, Patricia. There must have been shells, rocks, maybe an old piece of glass from a broken bottle?”
“Of course there were shells and rocks,” Montague snapped. “Sand, too, imagine that!”
Oscar shifted his weight. “Could you tell us where it was? Maybe if we—”
“I’m not paying you to dig up this island, Mr. Fox.” Montague turned a forbidding glare on him. “You’re here to lay Robin to rest, first and foremost. Do you understand?”
Nigel took an unconscious step back, so he was shoulder-to-shoulder with Oscar. Dr. Lawson stared at Montague with a shocked expression that, he thought, probably matched the one on his own face.
“Patricia,” she began.
“No!” Montague drove her cane into the ground.
Since the ground was sand, it was less impressive than it might have been, but her winter-cold eyes made up for it.
“We left things undone, Ruthie, you and I. We abandoned Robin to haunt this wretched island year in and year out. Do you want to prolong her suffering?” When Lawson seemed about to protest, she repeated, “Do you?”
Dr. Lawson’s mouth snapped shut. “No. Of course not.”
Nigel’s surprise transmuted to sympathy. Dreaming of Robin, realizing she’d left one of the women she cared for as a trapped ghost…the guilt must be overwhelming.
Oscar seemed to have come to the same conclusion, because his voice was gentle when he said, “I’m sorry, Ms. Montague. Robin will be our first priority. I won’t leave Gloria to linger, either, if I can help it.”
Though Nigel itched to know why Ullman had killed his friends, Oscar was right. As for whatever Gloria considered to be treasure, if it even existed, they didn’t have all the time in the world to wander around the island. They needed to do their work and leave before the storm drew too close.
Montague inclined her head regally. “And you intend to contact Robin on the veranda, I understand?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Then Ethan and I will join you.” Her mouth pursed unhappily. “The seance last night didn’t go as well as any of us hoped, but at least this way perhaps I’ll have the chance to say good-bye.”
Dr. Lawson took Montague’s hand. “I’m coming, too.”
“Of course,” Oscar said. “We’ll do this together.” Turning to Nigel, he added, “Let’s grab some more coffee and get ready to start as soon as the sun is down.”