Chapter 9 Lori
LORI
On Saturday, Lori woke with the sunrise, walked the beach with Misty while the world was still soft with morning light, and returned to paint until the afternoon heat drove her indoors. Piper arrived early to take Misty for a walk.
“Piper, honey, I’m not going to be able to walk with you today,” Lori told her. “Tessa is coming today, and I have to get to the store to get some groceries.”
“That’s okay,” Piper told her. “Grandpa is coming with me.”
“Oh!” Lori said, her heart skipping a beat at the mention of Mitch. “That’s good. If I’m not back when you come back for your walk…”
“We’ll take Misty home with us,” Mitch’s voice had her head snapping around to see him walking up the porch steps.
“Thank you,” Lori said gratefully.
Five minutes after Piper and Mitch left, Lori was climbing into her car when her phone rang. Tessa’s name appeared on the screen.
“Hi, I was just thinking of you. I’m on my way to get some groceries,” Lori explained.
“I was slightly delayed, but I’m leaving Boston now,” Tessa said without preamble. “Traffic looks decent, so I should be there in three to four hours.”
“Okay, drive safely and don’t pick up any strangers along the way,” Lori said, only half-jokingly.
“I wouldn’t think of it,” Tessa assured her with a laugh.
“I’ll see you soon,” Lori said.
After they hung up, Lori rushed into town and did all her shopping.
When she got back to Seabird Cottage, there was a note on her door that Mitch and Piper had taken Misty with them to Piper’s friend Claire, where Piper was spending the evening.
A prickle of sensation shivered down Lori’s spine like she was being watched, and she spun around, but there was no one around.
Her eyes shot toward Mitch’s house, and her heartbeat picked up speed when she realized she was there alone, not even Misty was with her.
“Get a grip, Lori,” she admonished herself through clenched teeth, letting herself inside the cottage and quickly closing the door, then bolting it behind her.
She put the groceries in the kitchen, and before she unpacked them, Lori went through each room of the house, looking in closets, beneath furniture, and ensuring all the windows were tightly closed.
When she was done, she stood in the kitchen, taking deep breaths and admitting to herself how stupid that was.
She was acting like a nervous rabbit being stalked by a wolf.
Good grief, Lori. You live alone in a much bigger house on a remote island in Florida!
She blew out a breath, then unpacked the groceries, and to keep her mind busy, she planned what to make for dinner before going to ensure Tessa’s room was ready, stopping to ensure one more time that all the windows and doors in the house were locked.
It was going to be so nice to have Tessa there for a few days, she admitted.
An hour later, Lori was sitting in the small study when the landline on the desk rang.
Her brows shot up as she stared at it. She knew Carrie had a landline, like she still did, and that it was mainly for work.
She’d said it hardly ever rang, though, because people these days preferred using mobile phones and various apps.
Lori stared at the device for a few seconds. It wouldn’t be Carrie’s work as they knew she was out of town. Maybe it was Mitch or Tessa who couldn’t reach her on her mobile. Nervously, Lori reached for the receiver and lifted it to her ear.
“Hello?” she said.
Silence on the other end. Not dead air, but breathing. Someone was there.
“Hello?” Lori repeated. “Can I help you?”
“Chief Ware?” a woman’s voice asked. The tone was clipped and professional, with an edge Lori couldn’t quite identify. “Is this Chief Ware?”
“No,” Lori said carefully. “Can I take a message for her?”
“I need to speak with Chief Ware directly,” the woman said. “When will she be available?”
Something about the question felt wrong. The tone was too demanding, with an arrogant assumption that Lori would simply provide a stranger on the phone with information about Carrie’s whereabouts.
“I’m not comfortable giving out that information,” Lori said, keeping her voice polite but firm. “If you’d like to leave your name and number, I can have her call you back when she’s available.”
The silence stretched for several seconds. Then the woman spoke again, her voice colder now.
“That won’t be necessary,” she said.
The line went dead.
Lori sat for a few moments staring at the receiver in her hand. The dial tone hummed. Slowly, she put it back on the cradle, her mind replaying the conversation.
That woman had asked for Chief Ware. Not Carrie.
She had used Carrie’s formal title. And then there was the demanding tone, followed by the abrupt disconnect when Lori wouldn’t provide information.
It was probably nothing. Just a snarky journalist researching the story that had drawn Carrie into the limelight since she had been shot.
Carrie had said she’d been plagued by reports since then.
Lori was just once again being paranoid, looking for things that weren’t there because she felt she was being watched.
But Lori couldn’t shake the feeling that it hadn’t been innocent at all.
She almost called Carrie, then stopped herself. What would she say? Someone called asking for you, and I didn’t like her tone. That sounded paranoid. Carrie had enough to deal with in Florida at the moment. She didn’t need Lori adding to her stress with vague concerns about strange phone calls.
Lori noted the time. It had been almost three hours since Tessa had called and Mitch had taken Misty. Worry cut through her about both of them. She was about to message Mitch when she heard the sound of a vehicle. She rushed to the window, relieved to see Mitch getting out of his pickup with Misty.
She rushed to the front door as Mitch bounded up the front stairs and pulled it open.
“Hi,” Mitch greeted her, and Misty got excited upon seeing Lori. “Sorry we took so long, I had to get some supplies in town.”
“That’s totally fine,” Lori said, bending to pat Misty. “Thank you so much for looking after her.”
“Anytime,” Mitch replied. “Is everything okay?”
“Yes,” Lori nodded. “Tessa should be here in an hour or so.” She smiled up at him. “Did Piper get off to her friend okay?”
“Yes,” Mitch said. “She’s excited to see Tessa tomorrow when she’s home, though, and wants me to invite you both for dinner.”
“That’s so nice of her,” Lori said, her pulse quickening at the thought of it. “Tell her we accept. Can I bring dessert?”
“That would be appreciated,” Mitch told her. “We never say no to dessert.”
Mitch left, and Lori stood watching him leave. As soon as he was inside, she closed and locked the front door. She shook her head at herself.
An hour and a half later, a sleek sedan pulled into the driveway. Tessa emerged, tall and polished even in casual travel clothes, her dark hair pulled back in a neat ponytail. She looked exactly like what she was: a successful Boston attorney who had her life completely together.
Lori met her at the door, and they hugged tightly. Tessa smelled like expensive perfume and coffee, familiar and comforting.
“Look at you,” Tessa said, pulling back to study Lori’s face. “You look amazing. Nantucket seems to be agreeing with you.”
“I feel good,” Lori admitted, helping Tessa carry her bags inside. “Better than I have in a long time.”
“It shows,” Tessa said, looking around the cottage with obvious approval. “I love this cottage. The moment mom found it, she wanted it, and Trent and I had to agree with her.”
They spent the next hour settling Tessa. Then Lori finished dinner while Tessa admired Lori’s paintings in the sunroom, asked intelligent questions about technique and inspiration, and made all the right appreciative noises.
They settled on the porch with their dinner and glasses of white wine, catching up properly over dinner. Tessa talked about her work, about a particularly challenging case she’d just won, about Maggie’s excitement about spending the summer with her grandmother in Florida.
“She’s having the time of her life,” Tessa said, smiling. “She and your neighbor’s grandson, Cody, are inseparable, and I think your dog Luna has become her other new best friend.” She whispered the last part, pointing at Misty. “I don’t want to say it out too loud or Misty will get jealous.”
They laughed. “Yes, I miss Luna, but Misty has been a very good replacement companion.”
There was a moment of quiet before Tessa asked. “So, Lori, how are you really? Have there been any other incidents since the last time we spoke?”
“Just the one time,” Lori admitted. “But Mitch was here, and he investigated. Then the next day, he installed a sensor over the door.”
“That was nice of him,” Tessa said, setting down her wine glass and giving Lori her full attention. “I’m glad I’m here, and if you don’t mind, I might stay a little longer than I initially said.”
“I don’t mind that at all,” Lori assured her, and then, before she could stop herself, she said, “This afternoon, there was a strange phone call on the landline. Some woman was looking for your mother. A very rude woman who wouldn’t leave her name or a message.”
“On mom’s landline?” Tessa seemed astounded. “Really?”
“Yes.” Lori nodded.
Tessa nodded and picked up her wine once again. Her expression was thoughtful. “We should ask Mitch if he can find the number.”
“Oh, no,” Lori said, her heart once again doing that skipping thing when his name was mentioned. “Like I said, I’m probably just being really paranoid now.”
“It doesn’t hurt to find out, though,” Tessa pointed out. “You know, just in case it is something and we find out too late.”
Before Lori could respond, Misty’s head came up, her ears pricking forward. She jumped to her feet and trotted to the side of the porch, tail wagging.