BOOK 2
Chapter 1
“Wait a second, slow down. Who’s Mark again?”
Brandi asked as Willow burst into her office late that evening.
“Charlie’s brother. He’s been trying to reach him, but Charlie’s gone completely MIA. Apparently he owes him $250,000! And for what? He wouldn’t even tell me.”
Willow plopped down on one of the couches in Brandi’s office. She had just gotten off the phone with Mark and ran straight over to the law firm to tell Brandi everything she’d learned.
“I don’t think there’s any big coincidences here, Willow,” Brandi said. “Charlie’s avoiding you. That’s it. You need to let him go and focus on getting your life back.”
“Right…” Willow nodded, but inside, she was starting to worry. “I’m mad that he’s been avoiding me—”
“—And apparently he’s got bigger secrets than you’ll ever know about… I mean, two hundred and fifty thousand dollars? You have to be in deep to owe someone that kind of money.”
“Do you think he’s in some kind of trouble?”
“Whatever it is, it must be something big,” Brandi scoffed.
“What if he needs me?”
“What Charlie needs is to get his act tother. You need to stay away from him. Regardless of what he’s gotten himself into.”
“I don’t know, B. Maybe I should go back.”
The thought of going back to Tallahassee made her shiver. She wasn’t ready to go back. She knew what was waiting for her there… a sad and lonely home. She didn’t even know if Charlie would be there if she did.
“No, Willow,” Brandi sighed. “You can’t go back there. I mean, I know it”s your home but it’s also toxic. You’ve been doing well for yourself here this week. Just stick it out a little longer and see how you feel then. Charlie will surface and I can almost guarantee that when he does, he’ll come back with nothing but bad news. I can feel it.”
Willow felt the same way. He’d been gone for too long with no communication. It felt strange not speaking to him for an entire week. For the last five years, they had spoken to each other every day. They lived together, and in the beginning, Charlie never wanted her to leave his side. But things had changed, and in the past few months Charlie held on to so many secrets that Willow didn’t know what to believe.
“Why don’t you go to the tiki hut and have a drink?” Brandi suggested. “It’s still early enough in the evening. The live music has probably just begun. Head down there and I bet there will be some locals who can take your mind off things. And you”re not going home. Not yet…so don’t even think about it.”
Willow smiled and grabbed her purse to head out. She really could use a cold coconut with a splash of rum to take the edge off.
“Okay, sounds like a plan,” she chuckled. “I’m gonna go there for a few. And I promise I won”t go home. Not unless there’s something wrong with Charlie.”
She said her goodbyes to Brandi and left her office. On her way to the tiki hut, she drove past the old antique shop. For whatever reason, she kept thinking about the old man and the way he looked at her still lingered in her mind. It was a weird feeling, like he knew something. But what? The old record she bought from him that afternoon was one Charlie loved. In fact, she thought of giving it to him whenever he made his grand entrance again. But why did the old man look so terrified when he saw it?
Instead of letting her wandering mind get the best of her, Willow decided to go inside and speak to him. She was surprised it was still open this late at night. But he was there with a customer, bagging up their whatnots. When he looked over his glasses and saw Willow again, he gave her another strange look.
“Here you go,” he smiled at the customers ahead of her. “Come again, will ya.”
Willow waited until the customers left the store completely before she approached the counter. She didn’t know what she’d say, or what she’d ask of him. But there was obviously something to discuss.
“You’re back?” Brady said. “We have a strong no refund policy.”
“Oh, no, I’m not here for a refund.”
She didn’t know why she was there. She thought maybe she’d know by the time she walked inside, but her mind went blank.
“Looking for something?”
Old man Brady limped around the counter and pretended to dust. Willow noticed his lack of eye contact right away and felt even more inclined to be there. She knew he knew something. How, or what, she couldn”t say.
“Should I be looking for something?” she asked. “When I bought that record from you, you gave me the weirdest look. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it. And you said I looked familiar. Do you know me from somewhere?”
Old man Brady continued to limp about the store without answering her question. He wouldn”t even look at her for too long.
“I’m an old man,” he said. “I see a lot of people every day… I can”t be so sure. Maybe I had mistaken you for someone else.”
“Are you sure?”
Willow stepped in front of him, nearly pleading for him to say what was on his mind. She knew it was something other than mistaken identity, but old man Brady wouldn’t say what it was.
“Do you know my husband, Charlie Shorts?”
The old man jolted up so straight that Willow thought he cracked his spine in two. He moved so fast it made her wonder where his limp had gone until she watched him limp back over to the counter to get away from her question.
“Charlie? I don’t know any Charlie.”
He shook his head but still wouldn”t make eye contact with her. It was odd behavior for a man who had no problem being close to her before.
“You do,” she said. “Please, tell me. Whatever it is you know, or you think you know. What is it? I’m sick of being in the dark.”
“I don’t know your husband,” Brady said again. “Please, you need to leave. I have customers.”
Willow wanted to contest his request. She wanted to stay there all night asking questions until she got him to talk. But old man Brady wanted her out and causing problems for him in front of his customers wasn’t something Willow wanted to do.
“I’ll be back,” she said. “And I”ll keep coming back until you tell me what you know. Because I know you know something.”
What is it that the old man isn’t telling me?That was so weird! The minute I mention Charlie, he got all shaky.
All kinds of scenarios ran through her mind when she left the antique shop. She was so jumbled in thought that she didn’t realize how long she’d been sitting in her car in the parking lot. Not until a man tapped on her window and asked if she was okay.
“Do you need some help?” he asked.
Willow smiled and rolled down her window to be polite.
“No, thank you,” she chuckled. “I must have gotten carried away with my thoughts and forgot where I was for a second. I’m okay.”
“You sure? You don’t need a jump or a tow? I got my truck.”
The man was so nice she almost let him jump her car even though she didn”t need it. It made her think about how everyone in Tallahassee kept to themselves. She figured maybe Sanibel was the place for her. She met more nice people there than she did back home, anyway.
“I’m positive.” She smiled and cranked up her engine. “See? All good.”
“All righty then,” the man smiled back. “I guess I”ll see you around.”
The tiki hut wasn’t too far from the antique shop. When she got there, Willow parked her car and headed for her regular outside table. The place was quieter than usual, apart from the man singing acoustic covers in the corner, which suited her just fine. She needed this solitary moment to unravel the mysteries surrounding old man Brady.
Brady had always seemed like a kindly old gentleman, but now Willow chuckled at the irony. It was hard to imagine someone of his age keeping secrets. It reminded her of her grandparents, who never hesitated to share everyone”s business, particularly the juicy, negative bits.
She pondered over Brady”s connection to Charlie. It seemed improbable, yet something in Brady”s demeanor hinted he knew more than he let on. Perhaps he shared Richy”s suspicions about her husband.
Doubts about Charlie clouded her thoughts. What if their marriage was a facade? The thought that Charlie might be a stranger was both frightening and saddening. His years of secrecy loomed over her, hinting at darker times ahead.
Willow”s conversation with Mark only deepened her doubts. She attempted to call him again, needing answers this time, but only received a text promising a callback. The evasion was too reminiscent of Charlie”s behavior, igniting a surge of frustration in Willow. When Mark didn”t return her call promptly, she tried contacting Charlie”s secretary, Amina, but to no avail. The tension between them was palpable, and Willow couldn”t shake off suspicions of an affair between Amina and Charlie.
Tossing her phone down, Willow wrestled with the idea of involving the police. She hesitated, not wanting to escalate things if there was nothing actually wrong. Her mind spiraled with possibilities, including a chilling theory: what if Mark had hurt Charlie over the debt, and his calls were all just a ruse?
As these thoughts swirled in her mind, she lingered at the tiki hut, sipping out of her rum filled coconut. She was completely oblivious to the walm balmy breeze and moonlight glistening off of the ocean. How could everything have gone so wrong?
Eventually, drained and disheartened, she returned to the cottage. After a shower, she received a long, circular text from Mark. He emphasized his need to find Charlie, but Willow”s concern lay elsewhere. All she wanted was to find out the truth.