Rooms left abandoned quickly gather dust and cobwebs.
—HAMMER GIRL BLOG
The metal shelving unit scraped across the floor, and Grayson steadied a can of paint before it could topple to the concrete. The air was thick with the odor of damp and mold. He eyed the door. “It’s not locked so maybe it’s nothing important.”
Ellie sidled closer, her face pale in the wash of light from the weak bulb overhead. Her eyes were huge behind her glasses, and her lips twisted with disgust. “Let’s see what’s back there and get out of here.”
She was clearly scared of basements, and he didn’t blame her in this case. This one was plenty creepy. The knob twisted under his fingers, and he pushed the door open. A light inside came on to reveal a room with several stools, a metal file cabinet, and a heavy wooden table with mismatched chairs. Heavy draperies covered the walls.
He let her in, then looked at the door. “The lock is on the inside, not on the outside. Whoever used this wanted to keep people out once he or she was inside.”
He caught her sweet scent as she moved past him to examine the walls. Lavender maybe. He frowned as he peered behind one of the curtains. “Whoa, this wall is lined in cork.” He looked at another wall, then another. “The whole room is sheathed in cork.”
“What’s that mean? Why would someone do that?”
“Probably to protect from listening devices. It was commonly used during the Cold War. How long has Terrance Robb owned the house?”
“Fifteen years. The home was built in the early sixties by a man who worked for President Kennedy, or so I’ve heard. This was his vacation home. I don’t know much about him. The timing would be right, though.” Her hand trailed along the back of one of the high-back chairs. “It’s filthy in here. It’s hard to say when it was last used.”
He grunted. “Interesting.”
“You think he held private meetings here?”
“It would make sense.” He examined the furniture and walls for anything hidden. “Doesn’t seem to be anything here worth noting.”
“Good. I want some sunshine.” She went past him out the door, and her steps pounded up the stairs in a quick staccato.
He shut the door, then went after her. There was nothing of interest here. Since discovering the link between her sister and Nasser, he’d hoped to find some kind of drugs stashed here. A crazy thought, maybe, but nothing in this case made sense. No matter what it took, he was going to make Tarek pay for what he’d done.
He shut the light to the basement off at the top of the stairs and closed the door. “I’m done here. I’m going to go get settled. Where would you recommend I grab dinner?”
She shuffled from foot to foot and didn’t look him in the face for a moment. “I need to eat too. Follow me to town, and we’ll go to Smokey’s. They have the best ribs you’ve ever eaten.”
Was she asking him on a date? He thought she was cute, but he didn’t think she liked him.
She must have caught his expression. “Shauna called me and told me about you a few minutes ago. I promised to show you around and make sure you’re settled. We’re friends.”
The disappointment rocketing up his spine perplexed him. Hadn’t he just thought she was too forward? But he wasn’t a child to be met at the airport by a guide. “I’m sure I can find my way.”
“It’s no trouble. The grocery store is across the street, and you can grab some things. We can run out to Shauna’s, and I’ll show you where to find everything. It’s really nice. Quiet, with no close neighbors. How long are you staying?”
She wasn’t taking no for an answer, and he didn’t want to offend his new sister by being rude after she was trying to help him. “It depends on how long it takes to finish my investigation. I’d guess a couple of weeks, but that’s a stab in the dark.”
He followed her out the door, then turned to watch her lock up. “You don’t like me very much.”
Something flickered in her golden-brown eyes. Consternation perhaps?
She put her keys in her bag, a utilitarian leather satchel with multiple pockets. “I don’t know you yet, but you’re Shauna’s brother, so that’s enough. For now.”
He watched her head for her truck and grinned. Such honesty was refreshing.
The atmosphere at Smokey’s Ribs and More always felt like an embrace to Ellie. The rivets in the dark wood floors reflected the glimmer from the Edison lights overhead, and pictures of patrons over the years plastered the walls. Plus, the yummiest food aromas on the planet filled the place.
Felicia Burchell stopped her and took her hand. “How are you holding up, Ellie? I’ve been praying for you.”
“Hanging in there.” She could feel everyone’s support and prayers. Everyone in town had gathered around her and tried their best to help out. It was the only way she’d gotten through.
Ellie had always liked the sheriff’s young and beautiful wife who used to model in New York. Her half-Asian genes gave her an exotic look the camera loved, but she was even more beautiful inside.
Felicia released her hand. “I’ve been pestering Everett to death. The poor guy is so exhausted, but he’s determined to find out what happened to Mac.”
“I know he’s doing his best. It’s very puzzling.”
Felicia slung her purse on her shoulder. “I have to run. I’ll stop over with some cookies soon.”
“Thanks, Felicia.” Ellie walked to where Grayson was perusing a picture of Paul McCartney.
He raised his brows. “Impressive clientele.”
She scanned the place. “Once you taste the ribs, you’ll know why.”
The hostess seated them at a booth in the corner by the window and took their drink order. The setting sun shone in Ellie’s eyes, so the hostess lowered the blinds and left them.
Grayson flipped open his menu. “So what’s good?”
She pushed her menu away. “Everything. I usually get the pulled pork plate with corn bread, fried okra, and fried pickles. My favorite sauce is the Texas one.”
He shut his menu. “I’ll have the same. Hey, a jukebox! What’s your favorite music? I’ll get this party started.”
Why was he being so nice? She’d expected him to grill her about Mac over dinner. “Anything by Taylor Swift.”
“You got it.”
He went to the jukebox and dropped in some coins. Moments later “Fearless” began to play, and he rejoined her. “Did I do okay?”
“It’s my favorite.” The server had brought their iced teas while he was away, and she took a sip of hers. How did she fill the silence? She didn’t know him very well and wasn’t sure she wanted to, but she couldn’t be rude, not to Shauna’s brother.
“How’d you become an investigator, Grayson?”
“My dad was in the navy so I was taught from an early age to care about serving my country. Law enforcement was appealing, but I wanted to do it on a bigger scale than locally because I wanted to travel. Dad has a good friend who’d just retired from the Coast Guard, and he helped grease the skids a bit. I took criminal investigation in college and was lucky enough to get hired right after graduation five years ago.”
“I’ll bet luck didn’t have much to do with it. You probably worked your tail off in college.”
Grayson nodded. “True. I graduated at twenty-one by taking classes through the first two summers. And I did an internship the summer before my senior year and got to know some people who helped too.”
His thick, muscular arms held her attention as he stirred sugar into his tea. He might be a jerk, but every single woman in the place was looking at him. Did he even see the covert smiles and glances sent his way? He didn’t act like it, and she liked that about him.
“What do you think of Lavender Tides? Do you remember it at all?”
He shook his head. “Though I have a weird sense I have been here before, I can’t point to any true memory. Nothing looks familiar. Have you lived here long?”
“Born and raised here. I went away to college in Savannah, but I missed the fields of lavender and the orcas breaching offshore. I missed the ferries chugging from island to island. I just plain missed home, so when Jason suggested we start our own business, I was all in. I didn’t want to have to move away to afford to live.”
“It sounds perfect. I haven’t been here long enough to see what you’re talking about, but I’m sure I will.” His gaze went to the window, and he looked out onto the street. “Do you know where the earthquake happened, where my birth mother died?”
She nodded. “They razed the grocery store and made a parking lot. I can take you there after we eat. It’s just two blocks over.”
“Thanks. It’s hard taking in everything. My whole life is turned upside down. I don’t know what to think, really. You know Shauna well? And her husband?”
“She was a widow for over a year, then married her first husband’s best friend.” It would serve no purpose to bring up how Zach had blamed himself for Jack’s death. “Zach loves her boy, Alex. You haven’t met him yet, have you?”
“No. My sister Isabelle is married and lives in Okinawa where we both grew up as military brats. She and her husband have two kids. I need to call her and tell her what’s happened. I asked my parents to let me talk to her. We’ve always been close, and this news is going to rattle her too. It’s incomprehensible that my parents didn’t tell us I was adopted. It’s going to be hard to get past that.”
“To trust them, you mean?”
He took another sip of his iced tea. “Yeah.” His blue eyes sharpened as he studied her. “What do you think happened to your sister?”
She’d known the interrogation would eventually begin, but she’d hoped to at least eat dinner first. “I don’t know. There was a lot of blood. It’s hard to believe she could live through losing that much blood.”
“Blood from a head wound can look deceptive. She might not have lost as much as you think. When was the last time you spoke with her?”
“That morning. She’d been helping me paint our newest flip.”
“How’d she act?”
Ellie went silent as she thought about Jason’s comments about Mac. Maybe he was right. Mac had never before asked her to cut ties with Jason. “She’s been a little moody lately, but I thought it was preoccupation with the tall ship flotilla she had been arranging to come here.”
“Tall ship?”
She wiped the beaded moisture off her glass. “Mac loves history and sailing. She thought having a flotilla of tall ships here would bring in some tourism during our Dungeness crab and seafood festival.”
“She’s an Asian language professor, correct? Seems an odd hobby.”
“She fell in love with sailing when we were kids.”
“Tell me more about the picture the sheriff received.”
“I don’t know anything more. Only that someone sent him a picture of her in Hamhung, North Korea. I think it’s a prank, though.”
“It could be doctored. Few people have ever been to North Korea. Has she ever left the country?”
Her mouth gaped and she closed it. He was helping her construct a defense? “She often travels to Asian countries with students and on vacation. She loves Asian culture, food, language. Her best friend since they were three was a girl from Japan. She visited Japan when she was thirteen and seemed to have a natural talent for Asian languages. She speaks Japanese, Korean, and Mandarin. She went on a mission trip to Seoul last year with her best friend too.”
“I think you’re probably right and this picture is a prank. The sheriff will figure it out.”
He saw a young couple with a child wave at Ellie, then head their way. It was probably the end of his probing. For now.