Chapter 5 Lori
LORI
Tessa had made them some tea, and they were sitting in the sun room where Lori painted.
The morning light slanted through the windows, casting warm golden patterns across the hardwood floors.
Lori’s half-finished seascape sat on the easel, abandoned for now.
She couldn’t focus on painting when her mind was still reeling.
Lori was still a little shell-shocked from the realization that she was the target.
Whether it was Sally Lane’s jealousy or something connected to Trevor’s company and the Stanstead investigation, all of it pointed back to her.
She was the common thread. The reason Elias Dane was watching Pelican Bay. The reason Mitch had been attacked.
She also felt more than a little embarrassed that her first reaction had been to run away without thinking it through.
Just pack up and leave, as if fleeing would somehow make everyone safer.
Tessa had been right to stop her. Running would have only made things worse, turning the people she cared about into bait to draw her back.
Tessa sat across from her with her laptop open, scrolling through documents and making notes. Her tea sat cooling beside her, forgotten as she worked.
“I’ve sent a request through to Barstow Securities,” Tessa said, not looking up from her screen. “Asking for details on why they were hired by Trevor’s company two years ago.”
“Do you think they’ll tell you?” Lori asked, cradling her warm mug in both hands.
“Honestly? I’m not convinced they will,” Tessa admitted. She glanced up, offering Lori a reassuring smile. “But I’ll push. And if they don’t give me answers, I’m sure that Mitch and Marcus will find a way to get them.”
“Marcus?” Lori frowned at Tessa. She’d heard the name mentioned before, but she didn’t know who he was.
“Oh yes, Marcus is Mitch’s contact who is helping with the case,” Tessa explained.
She took a sip of her tea and made a face at how cold it had gotten.
“I met him earlier when I went over to Mitch. He arrived here in person this morning.” She gave an apologetic smile.
“Again, I’m sorry for lying to you about that. ”
Lori nodded, absorbing this new information. She sipped her own tea, grateful that it was still warm. Marcus. Another person who had been drawn into this mess because of her.
They sat in silence for a few minutes, Tessa typing occasionally, Lori staring at her painting without really seeing it.
The distant sound of waves breaking against the shore was usually soothing, but today it just seemed to emphasize how alone they were out here at Pelican Bay. How isolated. How vulnerable.
Suddenly, Tessa’s eyes widened. She turned to Lori with an expression that was part excitement, part horror.
“What if we’ve been looking at this all wrong?” Tessa said.
Lori set down her mug. “What do you mean?”
“Think about the timeline,” Tessa said, leaning forward. “The windbreaker guy had been watching the house since you arrived. Mitch saw him. You saw him. But nothing actually happened for weeks. Just surveillance. Watching.”
“Okay,” Lori said slowly, not sure where Tessa was going with this.
“But it wasn’t until I got here that things escalated,” Tessa continued, her voice gaining urgency.
“The very first night I was here, someone left that dead bird on the front porch. Then came the break-in and the blackout. Then Mitch gets attacked on the beach. All of that happened after I arrived at Seabird Cottage.”
Lori looked at her, feeling the blood drain from her face as the implications sank in. “Why would you being here matter?” Her brow furrowed deeper. “Why would you be a target?” She shook her head.
“Because I’m the attorney representing a lot of the people the Stansteads defrauded,” Tessa pointed out. She closed her laptop and met Lori’s eyes. “What if this isn’t about you? What if they’re targeting me?”
Lori’s shock grew as another chilling thought hit her. Her hand trembled slightly as she set down her mug before she could drop it.
“Tessa,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper. “What if it’s both of us?”
Tessa’s eyes widened even more.
Before either of them could say anything else, the doorbell rang.
They both jumped, the sound cutting through the quiet house like a gunshot. They looked at each other, hearts racing. Then Misty’s head shot up from where she’d been dozing on the floor, and she rushed toward the front door.
Lori and Tessa followed her cautiously, but they noticed that Misty was sniffing at the door with her tail wagging excitedly. Instead of barking, she scratched on the floor in front of it and gave a soft whine.
“I think whoever’s on the other side is friendly,” Tessa observed, some of the tension leaving her shoulders. “If they were hostile, Misty’s hair would be raised, and she’d be barking angrily.”
Lori nodded in agreement, wondering when they had gotten to a point where they were talking about callers as friendly or hostile. She sighed softly and pulled the door open.
A very handsome, tall man stood on the porch. He looked to be about Ryan’s age, with sandy brown hair and warm hazel eyes. He had a friendly smile and carried a toolbox in one hand.
Before Lori could say anything, Tessa stepped past her with a huge smile lighting up her face.
“Jake!” she exclaimed, then launched herself into his powerful arms.
“Tessa!” Jake’s smile widened as they hugged each other. “My father told me you were here on holiday.”
Lori watched the scene with interest. She’d never seen Tessa quite this animated before. They chatted for a few moments about Maggie and that he was home from the Air Force.
“Oh, sorry, Lori,” Tessa said, turning back with a grin still on her face. “This is Jake Brewster, Jim from the hardware store’s son. Jake, this is Lori Carlton, my mother’s best friend, who is staying here for the summer.”
“Pleased to meet you, Mrs. Carlton,” Jake said politely, extending his hand. Lori took it, appreciating his firm but gentle handshake. “My father sent me to have a look at the old fuse box to find out what we need to upgrade it. He wanted to give Chief Ware a proper quote for the work.”
“Oh!” Lori said, alarm bells immediately going off in her head. “That’s very kind of Jim, but...”
Jake held up his free hand, stopping her as he obviously realized what she was about to say. “Don’t worry. My father has already spoken to Chief Ware, and she told him to go ahead and get her a quote. She wants it done as soon as possible.”
Lori’s eyes widened. That was not good. Jim calling Carrie meant Carrie might have heard about the problems at the cottage. The blackout. Maybe even about Mitch getting hurt. No, this was not good at all.
“Okay,” Lori said weakly, her mind already racing through what Carrie might know. “Please go ahead.”
“I’ll take Jake to the basement,” Tessa offered quickly. As she walked past Lori, she said quietly, for her ears only, “You can call Mom and find out what Jim said to her.”
“Yes, I’ll do that,” Lori agreed, grateful for Tessa’s quick thinking.
She turned to Jake with her best hostess smile. “Jake, can I get you some tea, coffee, or a cold beverage?”
“Not right now, thank you, Mrs. Carlton,” Jake said with that warm smile of his.
“Please, call me Lori,” Lori told him.
Jake nodded in acknowledgement, but before he could reply, Tessa marched him toward the kitchen, leading him to the basement door. Lori watched them go, noting the easy way they talked to each other, the comfortable familiarity. They’d clearly known each other for years.
As soon as they disappeared down the basement stairs, Lori pulled out her phone and stepped into the small study off the living room, with Misty following her.
She pushed the door slightly closed. Misty flopped down in front of the desk as Lori pulled up Carrie’s number, her thumb hovering over the call button.
Lori stared at Carrie’s name, wondering how much Jim knew. How much he’d told Carrie. There was only one way to find out. She took a breath, then hit the call button and lifted the phone to her ear. It rang once. Twice. Three times.
“Hello, Lori!” Carrie’s cheerful voice came through, and Lori felt some of her tension ease. Carrie didn’t sound worried or upset. “How are you? Are you still enjoying Nantucket?”
“Oh yes,” Lori lied, forcing brightness into her voice. “It’s beautiful here. How are you? How are things in Florida?”
They chatted for a few minutes about the weather, about the neighbors Carrie had been spending time with, and about a new restaurant Carrie had discovered.
How Maggie and her new best friend were getting along.
How much Luna missed Lori, but had taken to Maggie and was always with her, Cody, and Muttley, Cody’s dog.
All pleasant, normal conversation that made Lori’s guilt deepen with every passing second.
She hated lying to her best friend. Or at least not offering Carrie all the news and happenings that were going on at Pelican Bay.
But Lori knew telling Carrie anything would only ensure that her best friend would be on the next plane out of here.
And Lori had already gotten too many people involved in this.
She didn’t want to entangle Carrie and anyone else in it.
Finally, Lori worked up the courage to broach the subject. “So, I understand Jim called you about the fuse box?”
“Oh yes!” Carrie said, and Lori heard her friend sigh.
“I meant to call you about that, but we’ve been so busy.
My neighbors have been taking me on all these boat rides, and the days just get away from me.
” She paused. “You should have called me when all those fuses blew. I felt terrible when Jim told me you’d had a complete blackout. ”
“Oh, it wasn’t a problem,” Lori assured her quickly. “Jim got the fuses for us right away. The power was only out for a few hours.”