Chapter 25
Chapter Twenty-Five
F rankie couldn’t believe it. Here she was at the police station with the people she loved the most, awaiting a conversation with the chief of police regarding Zane and his “Factory” and his relationship with Shelby. In whispers, her mother illustrated the rest of the picture for Frankie, telling her that funds had slowly been dripping from the Nantucket Sunset Cruisers’s account for the past several months, that Shelby had been conning her, telling her she could trust her to manage the money. In actuality, she was likely passing that money off to Zane.
“Maybe he told her they were going to move off the island together. Perhaps he told her they had a future,” Frankie said, staring down at her shoes. She did not say, That’s what he told me.
She felt like a fool.
But Frankie felt much worse for her mother. She’d never seen Ida this bug-eyed, frantic, and shivery. She looked as though she’d lost fifteen pounds in a very short amount of time.
Ida’s best friend, her “soulmate” Shelby, had wronged her. She’d bled their business dry in pursuit of a romantic relationship with a sociopath ten years her junior. Ida was left with questions—most of which Frankie couldn’t answer, not after just a few days at Zane’s factory and only a few minutes of spying on Zane and Shelby.
Her mother’s lawyer, Susan Sheridan, was still awake on Martha’s Vineyard. She called Ida frequently and asked to speak to the police officers on duty regarding the case. She said she would be there first thing in the morning. But she maintained the importance of immediately bringing Zane and Shelby in for questioning.
Perhaps it was only because of the strength of Susan Sheridan’s conviction that the cops decided to fully trust Frankie. She gave them the location of Zane’s beach house and told them, “I’m sure everyone is still awake and partying.”
“Are there weapons at the house?” a police officer with a thick gray beard asked her.
Frankie felt flushed. “Not that I saw. But that doesn’t mean they’re not there.”
Just the thought of weapons made her want to throw up.
But there wasn’t time to give in to her emotions. Not now. She had to tell the cops everything she knew about the beach house, what Zane had asked her to do, and what Zane had said. She was ashamed for not checking what was in the boxes and just going along with whatever Zane told her to do. But the cops were kind about it.
“You’re not the first woman to get tied up in his web,” the bearded officer said. “You said numerous women are already living at his beach house. They all fell victim to his trap. They’re helping him build his illegal empire. You got out just as soon as you realized what was wrong.”
No, Frankie wanted to tell them. I knew it was wrong from the beginning. I just wanted to love him so badly. I wanted to feel needed.
But how could Frankie explain the complications of being twenty-three, newly single, and unable to decide what the next era of your life should be?
I didn’t plan for it to get so messy.
But it had. It had gotten so terribly messy.
The fact that Frankie had been able to escape after nightfall still shocked her to her core. She’d waited till after Zane’s fourth drink. He’d been howling the lyrics of a song, his arm slung around Bernice’s shoulder, his eyes glossy and half open.
She’d stopped after one frozen margarita. Her legs felt spry.
Down the beach, she’d fled, running faster than she’d ever imagined she could. But the beach houses were far more spread out than she’d imagined in her “mind map.” Worse than that, she’d imagined every sound to be Zane and his boys running after her. Apt to catch her.
She ran and ran until she saw Hilary Salt’s glorious home. It looked more like a castle from the beach, all lit up beneath a big white moon. Delirious, Frankie had staggered to the base of the steps that went up to the veranda and rasped, “Help!”
Hilary had already seen her. She raced down the steps, ready to do whatever she could.
“Call my parents,” Frankie told her. “Please.”
Frankie left the police interview to find that more of her family members had come to the station, presumably for moral support. Sophie was seated next to her mother with her hand on her pregnant belly. Grandma Katrina and Grandpa Grant stood near the water cooler, their faces stricken. They hurried to wrap Frankie in a hug, one that told Frankie just how devastated her family had been when she’d run off with Zane. How could I have been so careless?
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry,” Frankie breathed into a sob. “I really am.”
“We’re just happy you’re home,” Grandpa Grant said, touching her hair. “We don’t know what we’d do without you. You know that, right?”
Frankie remembered how embarrassed she’d been just a couple of weeks ago about her changing body, inability to find a job, or lack of plan. But their eyes told her everything she needed to know. They didn’t care about any of that. Not really.
Not long after that, the police brought Shelby, Zane, Greg, and a few others she recognized from the beach house in for questioning. Frankie and her family were seated on the opposite side of a one-way glass wall, which meant she could see Zane, but he couldn’t see her. Zane walked with the brash arrogance that was classic of him. He looked as though he strutted down a catwalk. He flashed a gorgeous smile at the woman behind the counter, then turned to wink at Shelby. Shelby looked as though she was melting. Her face was haggard, and her bob stuck up in all different directions.
Frankie’s mother reached over to take her hand and squeeze it. Frankie squeezed back.
That’s not our Shelby, Frankie wanted to say. He took away our Shelby and left behind this impostor. But she couldn’t find the strength.
It was one forty-five when the cops told them to go home and get some rest. Ida had already been interviewed; Frankie had been interviewed twice, and Ida’s lawyer couldn’t come to the station until tomorrow anyway. They were keeping Shelby, Zane, and the others behind bars for now; they planned to question them more tomorrow.
Frankie, Ida, Nellie, and Rick walked like zombies back to Rick’s truck. In the parking lot, they hugged the other Colemans and promised to call them as soon as they knew more. Grandma Katrina suggested they come over for dinner tomorrow. Frankie wondered if she’d ever be hungry again but agreed anyway. She wanted to drown in the kindness of her family.
It was hard to believe she was back. Frankie wanted to believe it had all been a bad dream. She hugged her parents good night, took a hot shower, and headed to Nellie’s room. Nellie was seated at the edge of her bed, staring at her hanging feet. Her television was off, and she played no music.
“Nellie?” Frankie whispered from the doorway.
Nellie puffed out her cheeks. “I’m so mad at you.”
Frankie stepped into her bedroom and closed the door behind her. “You should be mad at me. I’d be mad, too.”
Nellie raised her chin and glared at her. Her hands were in fists. “I told you that guy was bad news. I told you he wasn’t right.”
Frankie sat down and took Nellie’s hand. She wanted to carry Nellie’s anger and sorrow for her. She wanted Nellie to know she wouldn’t be alone in it. Not anymore.
“You’ve been a mess all summer. You’ve been so selfish.” Nellie sniffled. “Mom and Dad and I don’t deserve this.”
“You don’t.”
Nellie slumped her shoulders forward. Silence stretched flatly over everything. Frankie wondered if her relationship with her sister would ever recover from this. Maybe she’d officially damaged it beyond recognition. Perhaps they’d call each other on their birthdays, and that was it.
Nellie groaned. “So. Do you want to watch the rest of Love Island ? Or are you too good for it now?”
Frankie burst with surprise laughter. She felt as though she could run a marathon right then.
“I mean, I’ve been dying to know what happens next,” Nellie said. “But I promised I’d only ever watch it with you.”
“Let’s watch the rest of the season right now,” Frankie said, burrowing against Nellie’s wall of pillows. “Let’s stay up all night.”
Nellie turned on the television and nestled in beside Frankie.
Frankie said a small prayer of thanks.
This is the only happiness I need, Frankie thought.