“Yeah,” agreed the younger man beside her. “I’ve known him since high school and I’ve never seen him raise his hand to anyone, ever. Don’t get me wrong. I have no idea what happened the other night, and I feel bad for the bartender, getting his nose busted up. All I’m saying is that ordinarily, Craig wouldn’t hurt a flea. He’s dedicated his entire career to helping people, and keeping the island safe—and many times he’s risked his life to do it. If you ask me, Rip is a hero.”
“Rip?” asked the reporter at the same moment Caitlin repeated the name, too.
“It’s short forriptide,” explained the bystander. “In high school, our swim team coach called him Rip because he was so fast and strong.”
A photo of Craig dressed in his uniform appeared on the screen, as the reporter concluded, “Before resuming his post, Chief Thompson issued a formal apology to the unnamed bartender, the entire Dune Island community, and his colleagues at the fire station.”
Caitlin jumped to her feet and pointed an accusing finger at Craig’s image on TV. “Youliedto me! You said you didn’t know whoR.was—but you did. It wasyou, wasn’t it?Youwere the boy Nicole liked!”
After learning this morning that Lydia’s nephews were trying to swindle her out of her inheritance, Caitlin couldn’t let Craig’s deception go. She called the non-emergency number for the fire department and followed the prompts until she reached his voice mail.
As directed, she stated her name and number, adding, “I spoke to you a few weeks ago about Nicole Dixon and I have additional questions.” She didn’t want to go into detail, just in case someone else was checking his messages for him. Yet Caitlin also needed him to appreciate the urgency and nature of her call, so she said, “I’m leaving the island soon, so if I don’t hear from you by Saturday morning, I’ll drop in at the fire station to speak in person. Looking forward to talking,Riptide.”
There. That should get his attention.I’ve had it with deceptive people!thought Caitlin as she turned off the TV and went back to bed. But she was still too wound up to sleep.
Why wouldn’t Craig have mentioned the fact his nickname began with anR, unless he was trying to cover up something about his connection to Nicole?she wondered, recalling how defensive he had seemed when she’d suggested that something might have happened between R. and Nicole that had led toher wandering to the inlet the night she’d died.He was awfully quick to point out that the police ruled the drowning an accident.
Caitin’s skin tingled as a disturbing possibility occurred to her: was it possible that the “pillar of the community” was somehow involved in Nicole’s drowning?
But no, she was getting carried away by her imagination. As angry as she was that Craig hadn’t been forthcoming about his nickname, Caitlin recognized it was unfair to speculate he’d had sinister reasons for withholding that information.
I’ll have to wait to hear what he says, she concluded, burrowing deeper under her covers.Just like I’ll have to wait to hear what the estate attorney or the paralegal says about Lydia’s nephews contesting her Trust. But in the meantime, I’m not going to talk to Shane about it because it’ll just bring me down and I want our last evening together to be very special.
When Caitlin texted Shane the following morning, he insisted that he didn’t want to postpone rehanging the gutter, despite the formidable weather.
Sammy and I will have it fixed so quickly, we won’t have time to get cold, he wrote.
True to his word, they re-secured the gutter within twenty minutes of arriving at the cottage.
“Thanks so much, it looks as good as new,” said Caitlin, sticking her head out the door to peek at it. Although she’d agreed not to invite Sammy to stay for dinner, she figured the least she could do was serve him a snack.
But when she asked him in, he said, “I wanna go check out the bay, first. I’ve never seen it when it’s been completely frozen over.”
“Neither have I,” said Shane. “I think I’ll go take a look, too. You want to come with us?”
“Sure.” Caitlin hadn’t been down to the beach since it froze, although she’d been admiring the view from the loft. “The three of us can have hot chocolate when we get back, and then I’ll begin making dinner.”
So Sammy started off on his own, and Shane came inside and waited while Caitlin bundled herself in layers. He must have noticed her puffy eyelids, because as they tromped through the woods, he remarked, “You seem kind of… pensive. Is everything okay?”
“I’m not sure yet,” she answered. Even though she hadn’t been planning to mention the attorney’s call so it wouldn’t spoil their evening, it was still weighing heavily on her mind. And because Shane could sense something was wrong, she figured she should answer honestly. “Unfortunately, yesterday I found out my aunt’s nephews are contesting my right to inherit the cottage.”
“What?” Shane momentarily stopped dead in his tracks. “They don’t have any grounds to do that, do they?”
“I don’t know. They’re claiming that since she’d already begun experiencing symptoms of dementia when she created her Trust, it isn’t valid,” she explained, and they continued walking. “Unfortunately, my aunt’s estate attorney is out of the country for the holidays, so I haven’t been able to discuss the situation with him directly.”
They’d reached the clearing and Caitlin gasped at the sight of the white, craggy field of ice stretching hundreds of yards out from the shore. “I’ve seen the bay from the loft, but it’s even more beautiful up close! I feel like we’re at the Arctic Circle!”
But Shane seemed too intent on their conversation to admire the sight. “Isn’t there anyone else who can give you legal advice while your lawyer is away?”
“His paralegal is covering for urgent matters. And believe me, even though my aunt’s nephews’ attorney isn’t filing the complaint in probate court until after the holidays, I felt like my anxiety qualified as anurgency,” said Caitlin, trying unsuccessfully to laugh at herself. “The paralegal isn’t as familiar with the Trust as the attorney is, so he couldn’t give me a definitive answer and to be honest, I don’t trust his opinion as much as I trust the estate attorney’s anyway. But the paralegal said it’s possible my aunt’s nephews have a valid argument.”
“Ugh. I’m so sorry you have to go through that kind of legal battle with them.”
“Well, if my aunt’s estate attorney thinks they can build a very strong case, I’m not sure Iwillgo through a legal battle.” Standing at the top of the staircase, she pointed at Sammy who’d walked a hundred yards or so onto the frozen bay. “Is it safe for him to be out that far?”
“Yeah. The ice is at least a foot thick,” said Shane. “What do you mean you might not go through a legal battle? You’re not going to give in without a fight, are you?”
Starting down the steps, she said over her shoulder, “Yes. I’ve been considering that option.”
