Chapter 6
My throbbing head tortured me, allowing thoughts and images from the day before to collide into one another as they whirled around inside my mind.
I padded across the wood floor and slid open the curtains. Golden beams of sunlight radiated through the east-facing panes on the French doors.
Ben stood guard on the veranda. His hands were on an impressive-looking rifle strapped to his shoulder. He raised one hand in greeting and gave me a nod.
I stared stupidly before opening the door and stepping outside with him.
“Where is Will? I need to see him.”
Ben seemed to tense up.
“He’ll be back soon. Please stay inside until he returns.”
When I nodded my agreement, his face and his shoulders relaxed.
“Why don’t you sit? There’s no need to stand,” I said.
He shook his head, pulled out his phone, and took off his dark sunglasses to read something. His eyes scrunched, and a smile lifted his entire face, causing the scar on his forehead to pucker.
I turned to go back inside, but he stopped me.
“Hold on, Ellie.”
He extended his phone to show me a picture of a little girl.
“She’s beautiful. What’s her name?”
“Chelsea.”
“You must miss her...she’s your daughter?”
He looked down at his boots and forced his feelings back.
“Yeah, I do miss her quite a lot. She just turned three.”
His empty mug was sitting on the side table.
“More coffee?” I asked.
Maybe if I pumped him with caffeine, he might talk more. And I wanted to know more about who they all were, more about Will.
He nodded.
“Yes, thanks. Another cup would be quite good.”
“I was just going to make a pot…I’ll be right back.”
Lissie was still sleeping on my bed when I stepped back inside and pulled the curtains across the doors for privacy and to block out the light for her.
In the kitchen, John sat at the counter with a handgun set out in front of him. His broad shoulders, his eyes, his dark blond hair, it all made him look so much like Will, even though he stood around only five-eleven while Will had to be six-five.
John greeted me with a nod as he chewed his breakfast.
Finding him in my kitchen surprised me for some reason, but it also warmed my heart just a little.
“Do you know when Will is coming back?”
“He’s at our place, taking care of some business stuff. He figured he might get back before you were up. He’ll be here soon.”
John’s handsome smile gave off warm fraternal vibes.
“You’re safe, Ellie. We’re not leaving you and Lissie alone.”
I composed a meager smile for him, but he deserved more than that. So I touched his shoulder in thanks, and then busied myself making the coffee.
Still determined to have a conversation with Ben, I went back out through the kitchen door with the fresh pot and two cups in hand.
“Ben, when did you guys arrive in Stonington?” I asked.
I handed him both cups and filled them.
“Oh damn. I should have asked if you took sugar or cream.”
He handed over my cup and immediately drew a sip from his.
“I take it black. Thanks again for making this.”
Ben took off his sunglasses and stared at me as he took another drink from his cup.
“We’ve been here since round the middle of June.”
“So you guys have been hanging around here for a month and a half? Why so long?”
He shrugged his free shoulder, the other one still holding the rifle.
“An army couldn’t have moved him. John stayed because he wanted time with his brother.”
“And you…why did you stay?”
“He thought something might be stirring, and he was right. His instincts are quite good. And I would never willingly leave him alone to fight on his own.”
I sat and invited him to do the same.
“You mean this isn’t the first time?”
He stayed on his feet and nailed me with his dark eyes.
“It’s not my place to have this conversation with you. You need to wait for Will to tell you about all this.”
“Is he going to, though?”
My family had lied to me. They hadn’t trusted me with my own truth. And then they all left me. Now, Will was gone after promising to stay.
“Yeah, maybe just give him a minute.”
Ben and I stared out to the sea as we quietly drank the rest of our coffee.
A gull’s loud call filled the air just before it swooped to pluck a dead fish from the seaweed, helping to clean up what the storm ruined the night before. An awful smell came in with the breeze. I wrinkled my nose.
Ben broke the silence.
“Look, Ellie. I can’t give you his story, only mine. Our fathers were close friends, as we are now. I was a pilot with the Royal Air Force, and now I manage security operations for Will’s family.”
But before I had an opportunity to say anything else, John burst through the door.
“Mate, there’s a marked car sitting in front of the house.”
Ben drew a pistol from his belt.
“Go back inside and stand guard over Lissie,” he said.
Then he turned to me.
“Ellie, you must get the door. Do not allow the cop to come in. I’ll be close, but don’t look at me…don’t give me away. We can’t let the police know we’re here with you.”
“What if I just don’t get the door?”
“You will get the door. Because if you don’t, he’ll get a warrant. Go, damn it.”
“Okay,” I snapped.
Ben stayed close on my heels as I went to the front door. He stepped back just out of sight with his gun sighted on the door.
I swallowed hard. Then I opened the door.
Detective Parker flashed his badge and identification at me and apologized for the early hour, going on to tell me he’d recently transferred in from Mystic’s police department.
One of his hands gripped the doorframe, to keep me from closing the door, and the other pushed down into his pocket to jangle keys or coins or something metal.
My hands shook. I tried to make conversation.
“Of course, you’re new to Stonington. That must be why I haven’t seen you at Nick’s.”
He squinted.
“Oh, you know, Nick’s Restaurant? I’ve worked there for years. It’s a thing for the officers to come in once or twice a week.”
His eyes shifted to see beyond the open door.
“Yes, that’s right. I mean to stop in soon. I hear the chowder is quite good.”
Confusion set in, messing up my head even more, because he hadn’t stated a reason for his visit, and considering the circumstances, it unsettled me. He hadn’t even mentioned my family.
Where was his damn compassion?
“Would it be all right for me to come in, Miss James?”
I redirected the conversation, or I tried to.
“Officer, can you tell me anything at all about what happened to my family? Should I meet the investigators at the station this morning?”
He didn’t answer my questions, and the next question he asked me was the one, the only one that could break me.
“Are you alone?”
My eyes filled with unshed tears.
“Yes, I’m alone.”
“Good. I mean, no, there’s no need for you to come to the station just yet. We’ll call you. But if you do want to come back into town, call me first. I’ll see that it’s safe for you.”
He handed me a standard Stonington Police Department business card, but he’d handwritten his mobile number on it, along with his full name, Simon Parker.
“Miss James, if you must leave this house, I will escort you.”
I nodded.
“That’s very generous, but I’d rather have you focus on the investigation.”
Detective Parker stared into the house again.
“We’re doing all we can at this time.”
“Thanks. If you don’t need anything else right now, then I’d like to rest.”
“Of course. You have my number if you think of anything you want to tell me.”
He extended his hand, and I gave him mine.
Ben’s throat vibrated.
Parker’s grip was uncomfortable. He absolutely meant to intimidate me.
“A word of advice, Miss James. If you leave here without a police escort, stay local where we can easily find you.”
He turned and walked to his car.
I waited to shut the door until he pulled away.
Ben touched my shoulder.
A stinging sensation gnawed at the pit of my stomach.
And I knew…
The police considered me a suspect in the murders of my own family.