Now or never. She caught Reid’s gaze and saw the same determination in his face. She gave a slight nod and turned.
Walter gestured with the rifle. “March.”
She looked past him and frowned. “What’s he doing here?”
When Walter turned, she kicked out with her right foot and struck him in the knee. He went down, and Reid snatched up the rifle and tossed it into the churning water. The two of them raced into the waves to get to the boat before the guy could summon help.
The waves snatched Jane up and tossed her to the sandy bottom. Salty water filled her nose and mouth. Which way was up? Her hands grasped sand. Wrong way. A strong wave rolled her over again, and she began to panic. She needed to breathe.
A strong hand grabbed her arm and hauled her to the air. “Hang on to me!”
She nodded and gulped in blessed air. As she clung to his hand, he plowed through the rollers to reach the boat. The faint sound of shouts rose above the thundering surf. Saltwater churned over her head several times and forced itself into her mouth.
She was breathless and sputtering when Reid pushed her hands onto the ladder’s rungs.
“Climb!”
Boosted by his strong arms, she staggered up the ladder and fell gasping onto the boat’s deck. He was right behind her.
He thrust her gun into her hand. “I’ll get us out of here while you cover us.” He paused long enough to haul up the anchor, then rushed to start the engine.
She got onto her knees, wiped her dripping hair out of her eyes, then took aim at the shore where men were beginning to stagger into the water after them. Her finger pressed the trigger, and she shot twice over their pursuers’ heads. They all lunged for the ground, then crawled into the bushes. Several rifle barrels poked through the vegetation.
The report from a few rifles came in quick succession, and their thunder rang out over the sound of the surf. They had plenty of manpower.
She ducked as a bullet whistled past her ear. “Get us out of here!”
A roar from the engine starting answered her, and the boat slewed in the water, then took off away from the island. A bullet banged the hull’s side, and she peered up over the side to watch the beach fade into the dim twilight. Angry shouts followed them, but she didn’t see anyone hauling out an inflatable or any other kind of boat to pursue them.
The rain lessened to a drizzle, and the men rose and disappeared into the woods.
Once they were out of range, she stood and went to sit beside Reid as he aimed the boat to Pelican Harbor as fast as it could go. “That was close. You weren’t shot?”
“Not a graze. You weren’t injured, right?”
“I’m fine. Shook up, but fine.”
Reid laughed. “You’re a dynamo. When you took Walter down with one kick, I was ready to cheer.”
“You really think he was lying about framing Will?”
“Positive. I know the guy.”
Not what she wanted to hear. Jane had wanted to find evidence and take it straight to Augusta to give to the DA. “Then who is behind this?”
“I wish I knew.” He reached over and took her hand. “I think we need to find the evidence the key unlocks.”
“Why now?”
“I don’t want to leave any stone unturned. Especially not out of fear of facing the past. I think he was lying, but what if I’m wrong and the pictures hold a clue? While I’m not eager to look at the photos, I have to. Just in case.”
“It’s Saturday, but the bank manager will let me in, I think. I just have to make a call. We can grab the key and meet her at the bank. We can scoop the contents into a box and take them back to my apartment to go through.”
“Let’s get dinner and eat it while we go through the stuff.”
“I’m not hungry.”
“You’re losing weight, Jane. Your cheeks are hollowed out, and your pants hang on you. I’m not hungry either, but we have to stay healthy. For Will. For each other.”
“Okay, I get it. What do you feel like eating? I’m sick of pizza.”
“Shepherd’s pie from Mac’s Irish Pub? We haven’t had that in a while.”
Her mouth watered a bit at the thought. “Okay, you found my weak spot.”
Darkness was beginning to fall fast. Reid switched on the boat’s lights, and the glimmer from downtown Pelican Harbor began to twinkle on the horizon.
Every muscle in her body ached from battling the surf, and the stress from the past few days was beginning to take its toll. Her brain felt sluggish, and she struggled to focus on what needed to be done next.
Would this nightmare never end?
* * *
Reid and Jane sat on the sofa of her living room with their food on the coffee table. In addition to shepherd’s pie, they’d also picked up a box of beignets on the way home as well as coffee for the long evening ahead. After getting the contents of the safe-deposit box, they’d both showered, and he’d squeezed into a set of Will’s sweats he’d found in the closet. Jane’s hair was still damp and gleamed in the lamplight. Cleaning up had done a lot for his mental attitude, and she seemed brighter and more alert as well.
Reid didn’t want to do this, but he had to.
The contents from the safe-deposit box sat on the coffee table in front of him like a Pandora’s box he didn’t dare open. He’d need to eat before reviewing the contents. The pictures it contained were likely to kill any hunger he had.
They’d haunt him for the rest of his life.
Jane handed him his shepherd’s pie. “Our visit with Gabriel wasn’t what I’d expected.”
He nodded and took the hot bowl. He ladled in a bite, and the rich taste of ground beef, garlic, and spices rejuvenated him. “I’d hoped for more answers. Instead, we have more questions.”
The dish was thick and tasty, and his appetite kicked up at the flavor. His spoon scraped the bottom before he realized it, and he put the bowl on the table, then reached for a beignet. He demolished it in three bites and had two more.
Jane set her empty bowl on the table and helped herself to a beignet that left powdered sugar on her lap. She brushed it off before Parker could get to it. “I’m ready when you are.”
His belly contracted, and he exhaled before he nodded. “I’m ready.” But was he really? No part of him wanted to see his mother’s murdered body or a bloody knife in his father’s hand.
She pulled the box onto her legs and opened the lid of the old shoebox they’d taken from the bank. Inside was a jumble of pictures.
His soul cringed at the thought of fully facing his father’s evil. Was there any part of that madness in him? He didn’t think so, but the doubts would rise once he saw the proof in this box.
Jane removed the pictures and placed them faceup. A sheaf of pictures all designed to give him nightmares.
She lifted the first picture into the light. A twilight setting in the woods with the trees providing shadows interspersed with shafts of fading sunlight. A woman lying on the ground with two men looming over her. He recognized his father and Gabriel at a glance. His mother was still alive in this picture, and her right hand was reaching up in a beseeching gesture.
The picture gutted Reid, absolutely gutted him. His eyes flooded, and he smelled his mother’s scent—homemade lye soap and Secret deodorant. He remembered her smile and the fierce hugs she always gave. The sound of her voice. A thousand small things overwhelmed him.