CHAPTER 22

Tuesday morning, the sixteenth of December, dawned crisp and clear. There was a snap to the air and a sense of anticipation as Christmas drew nearer. The little town looked positively festive with all the decorations and lights that were up on almost every building. As Avery walked back to her aunt’s house from the Inn, she could almost forget about last night’s incident. Almost.

But then again, she’d woken up half-clothed in Theo’s strong arms. Each time she inhaled, she caught his scent on her—a complex mix of spice and musk—and the evening came rushing back. Strangely, she hadn’t been afraid. Not with Theo there. Somehow, he had a way of helping her push all her fears aside, of making her feel safe.

Avery exhaled, watching the steam from her breath curl up in front of her. She was no longer able to believe that what she was feeling for Theo was just lust, and now she truly didn’t know what her next move should be. It was evident that she was falling hard and fast, but she couldn’t seem to stop herself.

Avery had almost reached Kate’s place when she saw Cole walking down the other side of the street. He waved, then crossed over to greet her.

“Good morning, Avery,” he said, removing his mirrored sunglasses. He wasn’t in uniform, but he still looked like law enforcement in his thick leather jacket and black boots. “Had a lot of excitement last night.”

“Yes,” she agreed unhappily. “Too much.”

“Shall we?” he said, indicating that he wanted to walk with her. She was uncomfortable, both because the Inn was involved in this whole debacle and because Cole knew that she had spent the night with Theo. Would he grill her about it? She didn’t see any way out of walking with him, so she kept moving as he fell into step beside her. “I’m going to talk to Theo later this morning, but I wanted to get your take on what happened.”

She shrugged. “I don’t know much. Theo was the one who pulled it all together.”

“You sure you didn’t see anything before last night? No weird lights? No people prowling around? Except for the night of the break-in, of course.” She gave him a sharp look. “Of course I read Hank’s report,” he said. “I make it a point to keep tabs on any unusual incidents in Star Harbor.”

“No.”

“What about sounds? Did you hear anything?”

“Y-yes,” she said slowly. “I did hear some stuff, and so did Kate. Banging noises that seemed to be coming from the cellar. Same as last night. And another thing. Cold drafts around the same time as the banging.” She laughed a bit. “We didn’t think the place was haunted, but it kind of seemed like it, especially because some furniture was moved around, too.”

“Inside the Inn?” Cole asked, a little line forming between his brows.

“Yes.”

“Would you be able to give me a list of dates and times when you heard the banging and noticed that the furniture had been moved? It would help with my investigation.”

She frowned. “I’ll try. I’d have to talk to Kate and look at a calendar.”

“Even approximate dates would be helpful.”

“Okay.”

“Also, I’d like you to agree to give the Sheriff’s Department full access to the Inn’s cellar.”

She gave him a sidelong glance. It was nice of him to put it so politely, even though she really had no choice, given that the Inn was now a crime scene. “Of course. But can I talk to Kate before you come back? We have guests coming today and I want to make sure we know what to tell them.” Plus, she didn’t want anyone to be freaked out by a swarm of police around the property.

He cleared his throat. “The sooner you touch base with Kate the better.”

“Never mind,” she said. “Please just come by when you need to. I don’t want to stand in the way of your investigation, and I certainly want to make sure that everything’s safe for the guests.” She could make executive decisions while Kate was out of commission. And, truth be told, the fact that the Inn was in some way connected to organized crime deeply troubled her.

Cole grinned, flashing his white teeth, and for a moment he looked almost like Theo. Thankfully, they’d just reached Kate’s house and Avery was able to turn away as she fumbled for her key. But when she went to put it in the lock, she realized that the door was already slightly ajar. Cole noticed, too, and his expression turned dark.

Indicating that she should keep quiet and stay put, he reached behind his back and withdrew a gun. More in shock than she was worried about her own safety, she stepped aside. Heart hammering in her chest, she watched as Cole carefully pushed open the front door and stepped inside. She couldn’t move a muscle even if she’d wanted to, and her throat was blocked by a huge lump. Listening intently, Avery heard Cole walk through the bottom floor of the house, then slowly move upstairs. The house was fairly old, and even Cole couldn’t muffle the soft creaks his feet made on the staircase.

Just then she heard a high-pitched shriek and a loud scuffle. Her eyes widened. What was going on? Cole had told her to stay put, but her body screamed for her to react. She couldn’t just stand there without helping. Heedless of what he might say, she ran into the house.

“Cole?” she yelled, vaulting up the stairs.

“I told you to stay outside!” he hollered back.

He wasn’t in Kate’s room or Emma’s. That left her bedroom and the bathroom. As if in slow motion, she stepped down the hallway, moving closer and closer. When she got to the doorway of her room, she took a deep breath before peering in.

She was completely unprepared for what she saw.

Cole was on top of a figure on the floor. A woman. He’d handcuffed her and was about to drag her up, when she turned her head.

“Ms. Newbridge,” a voice said weakly.

“Wanda?” Avery said, shock infusing her voice. “Wh-what are you doing here?”

Cole’s brows furrowed. “You know this woman? She was sleeping in this bed when I found her.”

“Yes. Oh, Cole, please get off of her. She’s scared and she needs help.” Avery ran to the young woman’s side and helped her into a sitting position.

“Wanda,” Avery said, pushing back a lock of dark, matted hair that had fallen over her former patient’s face. “How did you get here? Does your family know where you are? We’ve been so worried about you.”

Wanda looked at her with bleak eyes. “I got the shakes bad, Ms. Newbridge. Real bad. And I keep seeing things. Bad things.”

Avery’s eyes widened and she glanced at Cole. “She’s going through withdrawal. We need to get her to a hospital now. Please take off the cuffs,” she implored him. “She’s not going to hurt anyone.”

Cole did as she asked without hesitation. Then he reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone. “Rhonda Lee?” he said, speaking to his dispatcher. “I need an ambulance at 344 Ashumet Avenue. Female victim in medical distress. Possible drug withdrawal.” Then he hung up the phone. “She’s in terrible shape,” he told Avery. “Look at what she’s wearing.”

Wanda did look awful. Not only was her hair dirty, but her clothes were obscenely filthy. She had a musty, mildewy odor, as if she’d been sleeping in the damp woods for days. She had dirt smeared on her face and her hands were utterly grubby.

Avery forced herself to ignore the sour smell emanating from Wanda and focused instead on how much the woman needed her. “Shh. Shh,” she said comfortingly. “It’s going to be okay.

It’s all going to be okay.” As she stroked Wanda’s hair, she wondered who, exactly, she was trying to convince—Wanda or herself.

By the time they got to Cape Cod Hospital, Wanda had been stabilized and Avery was feeling much calmer. Once Wanda was sedated and settled in her hospital room, Avery called Yvonne to let her know what had happened. The MacGreeleys would be thrilled to know that their daughter had been found.

Now, Wanda was no longer hallucinating and was sleeping comfortably. Avery wanted some answers, but she knew she needed to be patient. She’d get them eventually. In the meantime, she went to see Kate.

When she got to Kate’s room, her aunt was sitting up, reading a book. Although she was hooked up to multiple IV lines, she had a sunny expression on her face. It was obvious that Kate was feeling much better—she could breathe more easily and her color had returned.

“Darling,” Kate said when she saw Avery approach. “I’m so glad you’re here. Emma just left. But whatever is the matter?”

Keeping things as brief as possible, Avery explained the tumultuous events of the past twenty-four hours. Kate took everything in stride, giving her full blessing to the inevitable investigation, and echoing Avery’s promise to provide full access for the Sheriff’s Department and any other agency that needed to get involved. Avery was relieved to hear that Kate had never examined the walled-off area in the cellar, especially since she’d forgotten to ask her aunt about the space until now. Kate had always assumed that it simply contained extra storage space that she didn’t need. And Kate was remarkably calm about Wanda’s break-in. In the face of cancer, pneumonia, and bronchitis, it was no surprise that everything else seemed less important.

“The doctors say you’re improving rapidly,” Avery told Kate. “You’ll be out of here in no time.”

“Yes, and the sooner the better. The Inn is going to be very busy between now and Christmas.”

Avery almost shook her head in disbelief. Leave it to her aunt to have that “can-do” attitude, even while she was stuck in a hospital bed. “You’re not going to do anything,” Avery said patiently. “You need to rest. When they say you’re ready to come home, you can, but you need to take it easy. Carla and I will be handling everything at the Inn, and I’ll deal with the Sheriff’s Department about their investigation.”

“Yes, yes,” Kate said dismissively.

“Aunt Kate,” Avery said, taking her hand, “I don’t think you’re taking this seriously.”

“Of course I am.” Kate sounded indignant. “I’m in a hospital, for goodness sakes. How could I not take it seriously?”

“What I mean to say is while you may be taking this incident seriously, I don’t believe you’re taking your health seriously. You’re still recovering from the chemo. Anything that puts your health at risk could negate all the hard work you’ve done to get to this point. I don’t want you to survive breast cancer only to be felled by a stupid little cold. We need to keep you healthy through the winter months and flu season so that your body can heal the way it’s supposed to.”

Kate looked away. “I know,” she said softly. “It’s just that now that I’ve beaten this thing—or so they tell me—I want to live my life. I don’t want to stay cooped up inside all the time. For all I know, the cancer could return, and then where will I be? Living a half life is worse than not living at all.”

“No, Aunt Kate, no. That’s not true. You have friends who love you. Who want to spend time with you. We all want you to get better. One hundred percent better. So that you can live your full life on your terms. What you’re experiencing now isn’t a half life at all. This is your real life, full of friends and laughter and love.”

Kate turned back to Avery, her eyes filled with tears. “You are very good at what you do, darling.”

“I’m not working or doing a job right now, Aunt Kate.” She squeezed the older woman’s hand. “You’re more important than any of that.”

“No,” Kate sniffed. “I’m keeping you from your work. You should be back in Boston.”

All thoughts of returning to her old life fell away as she realized what truly mattered to her: her family. “Don’t think that for a second. When Mom got sick, you kept me afloat during the roughest time of my life. I want to do the same thing for you. I’m here because I want to be. Because I need to be.”

Kate was crying now. “You and Emma are the lights of my life. Forgive me for being selfish, but I’m so glad you’re here.”

Ignoring the bittersweet swell in her chest, Avery lifted her aunt’s hand to her cheek. “Aunt Kate, you only get one chance at life, and I only have one aunt, so please start taking better care of yourself.”

“I love you, Avery Eleanor.”

“And I love you, Aunt Kate.”

Avery gave her aunt as huge a hug as she could around the drips and tubes and everything else that was making her better. At that moment, all she cared about was getting Kate well enough to come home. Planning her own future was no longer the priority. Though if she didn’t get out of Star Harbor soon, she knew she’d fall even deeper under Theo’s spell, and when he left? She’d be devastated. Moisture began to prick at the corners of her eyes as the emotional roller coaster she’d been on all day finally began to catch up with her. Still, she’d come to an important realization. It didn’t matter. None of it did, if Kate died.

Through a misty film, she noticed a bouquet of brightly colored flowers sitting on the night table. The purple, fuchsia, and pink blooms were right up Kate’s alley. “Who brought those?” Avery asked.

Kate glanced over and wiped away her tears. “Oh, I—I don’t know. Someone must have dropped them off while I was sleeping.”

“There wasn’t a card?”

“No. But I’m sure it was a friend. I do so love asters.”

“I should have brought you some,” Avery said, chagrined.

“No, no, dear. Just you being here is enough. Besides, I’m coming home soon.”

Avery smiled and blinked back her tears. “Very soon.”