Down the hall I heard the others talking, and through the kitchen door I spied Tim pacing nervously just outside the parlor. Time was running out, and we both knew it. Without the boats, the perp was trapped, and when people feel trapped, they panic. Fear had already killed Abella. I worried it was about to strike again.
An empty wine bottle in hand, Norton stepped up to Tim and pointed in my direction. A few seconds later he was walking toward me under Tim’s watchful gaze.
“Jade’s hungry,” Norton said. “I thought I’d put out some appetizers. Detective Wellington said I could make a plate if you stay with me.”
My watch read half past six. Tim and I had been on the island for almost nine hours. Maybe what my brain needed was a hard reset. A quick, invigorating swim in the frigid river should do it. It’d be worth the risk to my life if it helped me see things clearly.
I blinked my dry, bloodshot eyes and told Norton to be my guest.
He crisscrossed the kitchen, opening cupboard doors and pulling ingredients from the fridge. Despite his prep work earlier, the counters were spotless. The few dishes he’d used were already washed and left to dry by the sink. I leaned back against the counter and revisited everything I knew about “Moonshine Phil.” He’d been short on money twenty years ago, fired from his dead-end job at the liquor store. Then Camilla brought him to Tern Island and his life changed for the better. He’d put his previous boss at risk of being charged with selling alcohol to minors, but to Camilla he was a loyal employee, a compassionate caregiver, a friend.
Camilla wasn’t the only person in the house Norton seemed to like more than the others. I’d noticed it throughout the day, and it nettled me even now.
“Spend much time with kids?” I asked.
He was arranging cold roasted vegetables on a platter at the kitchen island and folding slices of cured meat and cheese. My question made him fumble a sliver of salami. “Sorry?”
“I was just thinking about Jade. You’re very attentive to her needs. You made her favorite soup today.”
“Everyone enjoys that soup. I make it because it’s not hard on Mrs. Sinclair’s stomach. But I am fond of that girl. She hasn’t had it easy. Until Bebe, Jade didn’t have a mother around—and between you and me, Bebe isn’t exactly the mothering type.”
“At least Jade’s got Miles.”
Norton smiled. “That she does.”
“There are going to be a lot of changes around here now. After Miles leaves Bebe, he and Jade won’t be visiting anymore. I wonder if anyone will. With Abella’s death and Jasper disappearing the way he did, how can the Sinclairs keep the property? Some horrible things have happened here.”
Norton opened a drawer and took out a paring knife. It glinted under the bright pendant lights above him. “Maybe they won’t,” he said. “But to be honest, that’s no concern of mine. It’s almost time for me to move on. When Camilla leaves this place, so do I.” He shook his head sadly. “I hate to say it, but sometimes I think this family is cursed. Baldwin’s and Rachel’s deaths, their business troubles, Camilla’s illness, Jasper . . .”
“That’s quite a string of bad luck.”
Norton opened a bag of radishes and started carving them into elaborate edible flowers. My eyes followed the blade’s every movement. His knife skills were precise and lightning quick. “Flynn and Bebe . . . they’re very negative people, and negative people attract negative energy. Trust me, I know. I made my share of mistakes as a younger man, some I’ll regret for the rest of my life. But I turned things around. Coming here changed everything. We’ve all got to make our own destiny.”
His speech reminded me of what Camilla said upstairs, about the importance of forging your own path. “I’d love to know how to do that,” I said, and meant it.
He looked up from his knife. “What I do, see, is I picture myself where I want to be. In the future I want to have. That’s what helps me get there.”
I felt my cell phone buzz twice in quick succession, two messages coming in at once. Excusing myself, I glanced at the display. McIntyre had made an interesting discovery related to my request. I filed it away in the back of my mind. The next message was from Tim. Miles and Jade want to talk to you.
I raised an eyebrow. Typed Send them in.
“Ah,” Norton said when he saw them coming down the hall. “I’ll leave you all alone.”
“No need,” I said quickly. “Please. Stay and finish up.”
Norton gave a reluctant nod and went back to work.
“Not the happy hour you’re used to, I guess,” I said when Miles and Jade stepped into the room.
“Please don’t,” said Miles.
“Don’t what?”
Jade snatched a piece of salami from the plate. When Norton smiled at her, his cheeks plumped up and his eyes turned into crescent moons. Miles said, “Say it like that. Lump us together with them.”
I wrinkled my brow. “You’ve been part of the family for how long now?”
“Long enough to know it’s a bad thing to be. We’re leaving. I already told you that.”
“You did. But for the moment you’re still here, and as long as you’re on this island, you’re as much a part of this as they are. Now, what can I do for you two?”
Neither his fresh shirt nor his smart tweed jacket could make Miles look composed anymore. “I have a request,” he said, and I thought, Again? His voice quavered and he cleared his throat. “I want your assurance you can keep my daughter safe. I want you to protect her. No matter what.”
“What exactly are you expecting to happen?”
“You saw what went on in there. They’re all crazy, literally out of their minds. She’s a child,” he said. “Promise me.”
I turned to Jade, nibbling mouselike at the meat in her hands, and felt my annoyance with the girl ebb. The skin around her eyes was puffy and red. She was a child, and for the first time since I’d met her, she actually looked it. “I promise,” I told her directly. “This is going to be tough on you, huh? I know you and Jasper were close. It may not feel like it now, but you’ll be okay.”
Jade said, “It’s not like I didn’t know.”
Norton’s bald head snapped up. “Excuse me?” I said, equally startled.
“Daddy told me, like, a month ago? And I’ll still be able to see him. We all live in the city. Jas and I can still hang out.”
I glanced sidelong at Miles. Discomfort issued from his body like a heat haze. “I don’t—” I began, but he cut me off.