When Shannon ventured downstairs at six, she found Gideon alone in the kitchen, slicing onions. He glanced at her as she perched on one of the breakfast bar stools. Settled in?
Yes, thank you. She tried to discern what he was preparing from the ingredientssliced onions, red bell peppers and pieces of corn. Stir fry?
Crab boil, he corrected.
Where are the crabs?
He slanted another look at her. Thats your job. Theres a bucket outside and you can see the beach from here
Dont let him tease you, Shannon. Lydia entered through the nearest French door, carrying a handful of zinnia cuttings. She arranged the colorful flowers in a clear vase and filled the bottom with water. The crabs and shrimp are in the cooler. A nice man delivered them to us this morning. She set the flowers in the middle of the small dining table just beyond the kitchen. Arent these lovely?
Beautiful, Shannon agreed. I caught a glimpse of the garden from my window. Its amazing.
Lydia smiled with pleasure as she washed her hands. My husband loved to garden, so we made a habit of bringing in soil to fill the raised beds every spring. She looked with sad fondness at Gideon. Dear Gideon helped me this year. It makes me a little weepy, I confess, to think that I wont be tending the garden next year.
Youll be able to have a garden where youre moving, wont you? Shannon asked.
Lydia retrieved a large pot from one of the lower cabinets and set it on the counter next to Gideon. Yes. My sister-in-law tells me the backyard of my bungalow is perfect for gardening. She sighed. It wont be the same, but I imagine it will be lovely anyway. She went back into the garden again.
I made her sad, Shannon said with regret.
Everything makes her sad these days, Gideon said shortly.
Can I help you with anything?
Well, he said quietly, how about we start with what youre really doing here?
His question caught her off guard. What?
I did some checking into Cooper Security. Youre not the kind of outfit that hires out to help a rich widow pack up her house.
What Im here to do is a little more complicated than that.
He shot her a skeptical look. Three months ago, Cooper Security helped put a high-ranking State Department official back in jail. And now Im supposed to believe youre just here to archive General Rosss papers and collections? Really?
We do a lot of different kinds of jobs at Cooper Security, she protested.
Lydia returned to the kitchen, carrying a large bucket of blue crabs and jumbo Gulf shrimp. Hope youre not allergic, Shannon. I suppose I should have asked before I planned the dinner tonight.
Not allergic, she assured her hostess. And my stomach is growling already!
Within an hour, the pile of vegetables and seafood on the counter had transformed into a rustic dinner for three. It was messy and delicious, and by the time she helped clear the remains of their meal from the table, Shannon was stuffed and getting sleepy.
I believe Im going to call it a night, my dears, Lydia announced a little later, as the clock crept toward eight-thirty. I have a Dick Francis novel waiting for me. Hes left the hero in quite a pickle, and we must get him safely out. She waved her hand as Shannon showed signs of following her up the steps. No need to retire at such an ungodly early hour. Stay and enjoy yourself. Poor Gideon must make do with just my company so much of the time. Im sure hed enjoy having someone new to talk to.
Lydia disappeared upstairs, apparently oblivious to the two wary, suspicious people she left staring at each other across the kitchen table.
You dont have to stay, she said after a moment of uncomfortable silence.
You want me to leave?
His scrutiny set her nerves on edge, but she wasnt about to admit her unease to him. Not if you dont want to.
He walked over to the counter. Coffee?
No, thanks. Her earlier sleepiness had fled once Lydia left her alone with Gideon. The last thing her jangling nerves needed was more stimulation.
He returned from the kitchen empty-handed and waved toward the sofa in the front room. Shall we?
She wished he would smile. Shed liked the way he looked when he smiled, liked the surprising dimples and the humorous gleam in his blue eyes. Much more tempting, yes, but much easier on her nervous system.
But when he sat across from her perch on the sofa, pulling the large armchair closer, she felt as if shed just taken a seat in the witness box.
I dont know what youve heard about Lydia Ross or the general. Or me, he added with a quirk of his eyebrows. But Mrs. Ross and I arent looking to get in the middle of anything your outfit may be investigating. So if theres some hidden agenda here, pack your things and Ill take you back to the mainland first thing in the morning.
She bristled at his tone. I am here to help Mrs. Ross. Period. I dont have any agenda other than that. She cocked her head. Considering it was your boat that was sabotaged and your island that was breached by intruders, Id say youre the one with an issue, not me.
Irritation lined his eyes. Fair enough.
Im tired. Im going to bed. She stood. Good night.
He stood, unfolding himself to his full height, forcing her to look up. Good night, Ms. Cooper.
She climbed the stairs to her second-floor bedroom. Shutting herself in the happy blue room, she sat on the springy mattress and stared at her reflection in the mirror. Her cheeks were flushed with annoyance and her dark eyes snapped with anger.
But at whom was she really angry?
Shed told Gideon she had no hidden agenda, but the truth was, shed been wondering ever since Jesse gave her the assignment what his interest in Lydia Ross could be. Gideon was right; Cooper Security didnt handle personal archive security cases as a rule. Big companies with art or other collections that needed high security, maybe. But Jesse normally assigned his best-trained operatives to such cases, well aware that the valuables might be of interest to people willing to break dozens of laws to get their hands on them. General Rosss collection didnt seem to be anywhere near so valuable.
In fact, as Lydia Ross had explained during dinner, what most needed to be readied for safe transport were the generals private papers. Because of his high position in the U.S. Army at the time of his retirement, West Point and other institutions had expressed interest in housing some of the collection. Lydia had hired Cooper Security to help her sort through the papers to see if any needed extra preservation steps taken.
In that sense, Jesse had made a good choice in sending Shannon. Shed had special training in archival preservation, plus a masters degree in library science. Shed ended up primarily using her computer science degree in her work at Cooper Security, but she was capable of giving Lydia Ross good advice about preserving and cataloging her husbands work.
The last of daylight seeped away, shadows swallowing her room. And still she didnt move, either to dress for bed or turn on her light.
If theres some hidden agenda here...
She opened her cell phone, relieved to find a decent signal, and placed a call home.
Jesse answered on the first ring. Youre just now getting to the island?
Jesse answered on the first ring. Youre just now getting to the island?
No, she said, kicking herself. Jesse had told her to call when she reached the island, but in the confusion of the boat trouble and the island intruders, she hadnt given her brother a second thought. We just had a crazy afternoon.
Something happen?
Normally, shed be tempted to keep the drama of the afternoon to herself, knowing her brothers tendency to worry too much about her safety. But Gideons suspicion had sparked a few questions of her own. Actually, we had a little excitement today, she said aloud, telling him about the fuel tank sabotage and the arrival of unwelcome visitors to the island.
Really. Jesse sounded more interested than surprised.
You knew there would be trouble, she accused.
I didnt know it. Not for certain.
What am I really doing here, Jesse?
Exactly the job I gave you, he said sternly. You help Mrs. Ross with the papers and her husbands collections. You keep your nose to the grindstone and stay out of trouble.
Thats it? You really think thats going to appease me?
Call me if anything else happens out of the ordinary. And get some sleep. Youve had a long day. Jesse hung up before she could protest his paternal condescension.
She growled as she hung up the phone. Jesse wasnt the only one of her brothers and sisters who treated her as if she were still a child, but he was definitely the worst.
It wasnt her fault she was born last of the six. It wasnt her fault their mother had decided her career had to come before motherhood or marriage. She hadnt asked her siblings to make her their pampered, protected little pet.
She pushed herself off the bed and crossed to the window. It had rained a little during dinner, enough that the window sparkled with tiny diamonds of raindrops clinging to the glass. Moonlight peeked from behind thinning clouds, casting a cool blue glow across the night scene.
Through the blur of water, the thick stands of trees east of the house looked like a dark watercolor painting, all soft edges and mysterious shadows, punctuated here and there by the glow of lightning bugs flitting between the trees. It took a few seconds to realize that the light came not from flying bugs but from someone moving through the trees about two hundred yards away from the house.
Curious, she went out onto the balcony for a closer look. It was definitely a light, moving slowly through the trees. Was it Gideon doing another tour of the island for the night?
One way to find out, she thought, heading for the stairs.
When she reached the main floor, it was dark. Gideon was no longer inside Stafford House, so the light in the woods must have been him.
She started to turn back toward the stairs when a niggling sensation at the back of her neck made her reverse course. She went instead to the side veranda that looked out across the trees to the east, hoping for a better view of the light shed seen from her bedroom window. She had to unlock the dead bolt to step out onto the veranda. The door creaked as she opened it, the loud sound setting her nerves on edge.
Wincing, she eased out onto the wooden porch, wondering if the sounds she was making were loud enough to wake Lydia in her upstairs suite. She stepped gingerly toward the railing, trying to make as little noise as possible from here on.
A damp breeze blew in from the Gulf of Mexico, lifting her hair away from her face. Wishing shed put her hair in a ponytail before she came downstairs, she finger-combed her hair out of her eyes to keep the swirling strands from blocking her view of the trees.
She stared for a long time, straining for any sign of the lights shed seen earlier, but the woods were dark and quiet. She released a soft breath and started to turn back to the house when she spotted it.
A light, swinging back and forth with a rocking rhythm, as if held by someone moving slowly, steadily through the woods.
Was it Gideon?
She wasnt so sure anymore.
She moved around the veranda slowly until she was facing the back garden, where just beyond, a single-story house on stilts rose over the garden, perched on the highest point of land on the island. Like the Rosses house, Gideons residence also had a widows walk around the top gable, though when Shannon had first spotted the house earlier during Lydias guided tour of the house and gardens, shed noticed the widows walk on the caretakers house looked new, as if it were a recent addition.
There were no lights on in the caretakers house. No sign of movement inside. Maybe her first guess had been right. Maybe Gideon was taking a quick tour around the island to make sure everything was safe and secure for the night.
She returned to the door shed left open, stopping just long enough to take another quick look at the woods.
Her heart skipped a beat. For there wasnt just one light flitting around through the woods anymore.
There were three.
If Gideon was out there somewhere in the dark, he wasnt alone. But was he in danger himself? Or was he collaborating with someone to do harm to Lydia Ross?
Shannon slipped back into the house, her heart racing, and tried to figure out what to do next. Gideon Stone might be surly and unpleasant, but he seemed to aim his bad attitude primarily at her. To Lydia, he seemed genuinely affectionate, and clearly Lydia returned the feelings. In lieu of evidence to the contrary, she decided to give Gideon the benefit of the doubt.
The question was, did he know there were people out there? And if not, what should she do, go bang on his door until he answered?
It was as good a plan as any, she decided, heading back around the house to the garden. A gravel path wound through the garden, past brightly colored coleus and merry daisies, beyond a small stone basin of water where, Lydia had told her earlier, birds regularly gathered for communal baths during the oppressive heat of summer afternoons.
At the end of the garden, the path to the caretakers house went from neat gravel to an uneven walkway crowded on either side by scrubby grass that grew halfheartedly in the sandy soil. She stumbled a few times before she made it to the front porch. Seeing no sign of a doorbell, she rapped loudly on the door, grimacing as the sound echoed in the night.
There was no answer. Shannon knocked again, with no better result.
Come on, Gideon! she growled softly at the unyielding door.
But he didnt come.
Her pulse thundering in her ears, she hurried back along the crooked path, retracing her steps through the garden and ending up back on the veranda again. She circled the house once more to the place she started.
How much time had she just wasted trying to fetch Gideon? How much farther had the lights in the trees encroached?
She stayed in the shadows of the eaves, peering through the darkness until she spotted the lights again. They were stationary for the moment, glowing through the trees, flickering only when the breeze made the low-lying palmetto bushes and high-growing sea grasses dance back and forth.
Whoever was out there had stopped moving toward the house.
She wished she had a pair of binoculars like the ones Gideon had used earlier in the day. She should have packed a pair for herself, but she hadnt been planning on trying to spot intruders at night when she packed for the trip.
Slowly, she eased backward until her spine flattened against the French doors. Like it or not, she had to rouse Lydia and let her know something was happening outside. She would, at the very least, know how to sound the horn on the lighthouse, and maybe the noise would drive their intruders away again.