She tightened her jaw and pulled out the trash drawer, then quickly tied the bag up with a wire twisty. Holding it away from her, she marched to the door and flipped on the outside light. The dim glow did little to reassure her, but she unlocked the latch and stepped through the door. The trash bin was to her right, and she hurried to deposit the bag in it, then practically ran back to the kitchen.
As she started to enter, she heard Tennessee Ernie Ford’s deep voice singing “Sixteen Tons.” The sound rooted her in the doorway, halfway between inside and outside. Her throat constricted, and she struggled to breathe. Mom had been a huge Tennessee Ernie Ford fan and had played this song a lot. Her phone was inside, so she couldn’t even call Joe. His place was two cottages down though, so she turned to her left and ran around the side of the house. Once she reached the street, she felt her chest ease, and she was able to draw in sweet air.
His lights were on even though it was ten. Should she ring the bell and risk awakening Hailey, or should she just knock? The blinds were open, and she spotted him sitting on the sofa with a book in his hand. A tap on the window should get his attention, so she tapped her knuckles against the glass.
He looked up and his face tightened with concern. He bolted to his feet and rushed to throw open the door. “Are you okay? What’s happened?”
“The music started playing by itself. A different song.” She told him the sequence of events. “I didn’t see anyone though.”
“Come in.” He stepped aside and looked both ways down the street as she moved past before he locked the door behind her.
“I left my phone inside, then remembered you’d pointed out your cottage. I’m sorry to bother you so late.”
“It’s no bother. I was awake.” He gestured for her to have a seat.
She settled on the sofa, an overstuffed one clad in a navy plaid. The room held very little in the way of decoration, just some pictures of Hailey. It had a similar floor plan to hers.
“If you stay here with Hailey, I’ll go take a look.”
“Of course.”
He opened the door. “Lock it behind me.”
She nodded and did as he said. Once the lock clicked, she wandered around the room to have something to do. If this house was like hers, Hailey’s room would be to the right, so she went down the hall and peeked in on the little girl, who slept peacefully with her hand thrown up over her head. She was half uncovered, so Torie tugged the pink-and-white quilt up to her shoulders, then kissed her forehead.
She’d never been around kids much, but something inside her had responded to Hailey immediately. Maybe it was that their circumstances were so similar with her losing her mother too. They were kindred souls, though Hailey’s mother had likely died of an illness. Joe had never said.
She turned at a sound and saw Joe standing in the doorway. Tiptoeing out of the room, she shut the bedroom door behind her. “I was just checking on her. She didn’t wake up.”
“Thanks.” He ran his hand through his thick brown hair. “I didn’t find anything in your place. The music wasn’t even playing, and the doors were all shut.”
“Even the back door? I left it open when I ran down here.”
“It was shut and locked.”
“I’m not crazy. It really happened.”
“I never said it didn’t.” He took her arm and steered her back down the hall to the sofa. “You’ve got all that electronic stuff in there. Apple TV responds to voice commands. Could it be controlled with a remote?”
She sank onto the sofa’s cushion. “Sure.”
“Do you know where it is? Maybe the guy took it or programmed another one to the same frequency.”
“Possible.” She gave a shaky laugh. “I’m in IT. I should have thought of that first.”
“It’s hard to think when you’re scared. Is there any significance to you in the music itself? ‘Sixteen Tons’ lyrics mean anything to you?”
She shook her head. “I’ve heard it but that’s about it. My mom was a Tennessee Ernie Ford fan.”
“It’s very strange.” He gestured to the other side of the room. “You can sleep in my bed, and I can bunk on the sofa.”
She got to her feet. “Absolutely not. Now that I know it’s someone playing a harmless prank, I’m not frightened. Thank you for figuring it out.”
He called after her, but she rushed out the door before her resolve weakened. She held the fates of thousands of workers in her hand. She knew the hotel business inside and out and could hold her own in a boardroom full of executives. So why did this situation make her feel weak when she knew she was strong?
Torie had to remember who she was and why she was here.
Chapter 7
The start to Joe’s workweek was a welcome respite from the weekend, but he’d found himself wondering how Torie was all morning. It made him a little short-tempered with his sea lion, Simon.
Joe gave a lazy kick with his fins and swam close to a sunken ship teeming with fish. Best-case scenario would be if he didn’t see the big sea lion coming. Usually Simon was like a bull in a china shop. He wasn’t good at a sneak attack, and the last thing Joe wanted was for his favorite mammal to be injured or killed by a hostile diver in a real-world situation.
The sea was busy taking over what was left of the old ship. It had become a favorite artificial reef for divers, and he spotted barracuda, rays, and spadefish. He couldn’t wait until Hailey was old enough to dive and experience all the underwater wonders.
The thought was barely gone when Joe felt something clasp around his leg. The cuff was made to clamp as soon as the sea lion bumped it against something. He caught the gleam in Simon’s eye as the big sea lion zipped through the water back to the inflatable craft rolling with the waves above Joe’s head.
Joe grinned and gave a hand signal of approval to the sea mammal before a tug on the line attached to the cuff reeled him in like a caught fish. He didn’t fight and let his teammates bring him to the side of the boat.
When his head broke the surface of the waves, he spit out his mouthpiece to breathe in fresh salt air, then clambered over the side of the rubber raft. “I didn’t even see Simon coming this time.”
Danielle Maine handed him a bottle of water. “He’s getting it.”
His coworker was in her early thirties with short, curly brown hair and merry blue eyes that went even more cheerful when talking about her three-year-old twin girls. She had a special connection with the sea lions. Joe’s training team was a tight-knit group. They all lived on Jekyll Island and worked at the small compound Joe had leased from the state.
“I’ll bet you gave him crab, didn’t you?”
She sent an impish smile his way. “And what if I did?”
“Nothing. Just figuring out where I went wrong.” Joe took a swig of water and turned to Tyrone Walsh, the third member of the team. “How long did he take to find me?”
“Three minutes.”
Tyrone had a deep voice that reminded Joe of James Earl Jones, and he even looked a little like a young version of the actor. In his late twenties, Tyrone had tremendous focus and determination.
A flipper slapped against the side of the boat, and Joe turned around with a grin when Simon barked. “Come for more crab, Simon?” He reached into the bucket and tossed a soft-shelled crab to the sea lion, who gobbled it up before it had time to sink an inch.