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Chapter Ten
The next morning, OfficerCutler called again to report that Dean Swartz himself had dropped off a key for her at the station.
Before she left Wayne’s, she walked through it with somber eyes, forcing herself to say goodbye to this pretend reality. Wayne. My husband? What a stupid idea.
Elise carried her small backpack and her shopping bags along with her to the police station. She made a mental note to purchase a suitcase, so she could fill it with the items she’d recently purchased. She could do that after she organized herself at the next BnB.
“Apparently, he’s booked you a place at the Bloomingfeld House,” Officer Cutler said. “It’s close to where Willow Grove was. Shouldn’t impact you too much.”
Elise accepted the old key, which was heavy and ornate—the kind of thing you might use for a Secret Garden situation.
“Thank you, Officer,” Elise said. “How is the investigation going?”
What she wanted to ask was: are you any closer to getting Alex Swartz off my back? But instead, she kept it friendly, light.
“The thing is, we have a hunch it’s got something to do with the electrical wiring,” Officer Cutler said, dropping his voice.
“But let me guess. Alex Swartz doesn’t want to buy that as an answer,” Elise said.
Officer Cutler palmed the back of his neck. “That guy really dislikes you. Do you have any bad blood between you? Anything we should know about as we conduct the investigation?”
Elise shrugged. “To be honest, I’d just like to stay as far away from him as possible until I make my way back to California.”
“Makes sense to me. Tell you the truth; I’d stay out of Alex Swartz’s way as much as possible, myself. The man has had nothing but torment through his life, and I think he likes to take it out on whoever is around,” he said. “If I’m in the line of fire, I know it’s going to be a bad day. And you—Elise Darby—have put me in the line of fire.”
Elise gave Officer Cutler a wide smile. “I’m sorry about that. I can assure you, I didn’t mean for any of this to happen.”
**
ELISE TOOK THE KEY, her suitcase, and her shopping bags and stepped into the late-morning. As she headed down the sidewalk, she heard her name, hollered out from the street. She turned quickly to find Connell and Marvin, stationed on top of a carriage and beaming down on her.
“Connell! Marvin!” she cried as they turned the carriage toward the side of the road. “I have been worried about you two. What happened after the fire?”
“Well, tell you the truth, it’s been a bit of a trial,” Connell told her.
“I can imagine so,” Elise said.
“But we got word from Dean Swartz himself, offering us both jobs on one of the ferry lines,” he said. “Marvin and I will work the freight together throughout the winter, bringing supplies to the island. It couldn’t be better, since it’s so early it aligns with Marvin’s school schedule.”
Marvin looked a bit glum about this. “Three-thirty in the morning wake-up time, Elise. What a time to be alive.” His words hummed with sarcasm.
“That’s the spirit, Marv,” Connell said as he clapped him on the back.
“What about you, Elise? I hated we lost all the paper documents, so I couldn’t contact you,” Connell said. “Where you been staying?”
“I’m about to check in to the Bloomfeld,” Elise said.
“Oh. That’s a nice place,” Connell said.
“I figured you would have skipped off the island after that fire,” Marvin said. “And all the gossip swirling around about you.”
Connell stuttered. “I—I don’t think Ms. Elise needs to hear anything about this stupid gossip. You’re just here as long as you want, aren’t you, Elise? And you won’t let anyone affect your plans...”
Elise wanted to roll her eyes. “Anyway, I had better check-in. It was good seeing you two. I’m glad your job situation is all fixed up.”
She watched from the sidewalk as the carriage clipped away. She heaved a sigh, then noticed that at least two shop owners down the street had their eyes on her. They seemed to be talking about her.
Unafraid of whatever gossip this was, Elise placed her bag on the sidewalk, lifted her hand to wave, then grabbed her bag again. The men looked sheepish. They turned back into their shops and slunk through the doors.
