Paula Graves - Secret Assignment

The noise was coming from somewhere on the island.

Gideon hung up the phone and reached into his bag, pulling out a pair of binoculars.

“Was that Mrs. Ross? What’s happened? What’s that sound?”

“It’s a foghorn on the lighthouse on the western side of the island—see it there?” He pointed dead ahead. Sure enough, she saw a tall white lighthouse rising above the tree line. “It’s not in use anymore, but the horn still works. I don’t like leaving Mrs. Ross alone on the island, but sometimes I have to, so I had someone rig the power connection from the horn to go to the main house. Mrs. Ross can trigger the horn from the house now. You can hear it all the way to the mainland.”

“Why did she trigger it?”

“There was a boat attempting a landing. Rubber raft, really, with an outboard motor. She saw it from the widow’s walk on top of the house. So she ran and sounded the horn.” He swung his binoculars in an arc, apparently looking for the offending boat. “She said they turned back around and started hightailing it away.”

“Is that unusual?”

He lowered the binoculars to look at her. “We get trespassers,” he admitted. “They don’t always know the island is private. Sometimes you get people having boat trouble.”

“Could today’s incident have been something like that?”

His mouth tightened. “Maybe.”

“But you don’t think so.”

He didn’t answer, settling back in the pilot’s seat and starting the boat engine. To Shannon’s relief, the engine rumbled to life easily enough.

By the time they neared the island, the siren had died away to nothing. They rounded the southern tip of the island and aimed north toward the mouth of a cavernous boathouse. It had to have been built specifically for the Hatteras Convertible, Shannon thought. “How long have the Rosses owned this boat?” she asked as Gideon eased the boat into the shelter.

The interior of the boathouse was dark and shadowy, as if they’d gone from noon to twilight in a matter of seconds. Her eyes, accustomed to the bright sunlight bouncing off the water of the Gulf, had trouble dealing with the sudden darkness, making her temporarily blind.

Out of the gloom, Gideon’s answer rumbled like thunder. “I don’t know. It was here when I came.”

With sunlight through the entrance driving away the worst of the shadows, Shannon’s sight soon adjusted. She followed Gideon Stone down the ladder to the main deck and gathered her things.

“You might want to put away the GLOCK,” Gideon suggested. “Mrs. Ross is probably already on edge.”

Shannon unclipped the holster from her waistband and put the weapon and holster in her duffel bag. Gideon took the bag from her hands as if he were picking up a child’s toy. He slung it over his shoulder and nodded for her to precede him down the pier.

Where the pier ended, a river stone walkway began, winding through lush, tree-shaded grass uphill toward a large house near the top of a small rise. “Stafford House,” Gideon said quietly behind her. “Stafford is Mrs. Ross’s maiden name. The island has been in her family for generations.”

“And the house?” she asked, though she knew the answer.

“The old one was badly damaged by Hurricane Frederick decades ago, when Mrs. Ross’s parents were still alive. They rebuilt to make it more hurricane-proof. I’m told the house looks exactly as it did before. Just taller.” He withdrew his gaze from the house and looked at her, his mouth curving too slightly to trigger the dimples again. “Hope you’re not afraid of heights. The bedrooms are on the top floor.”

Stafford House gave the impression of a stately manor, with tall white columns supporting the front portico as well as the balcony on the top floor. Where the roof gable met at a point above the second floor, a widow’s walk ringed the entire roof area. “Is that how Mrs. Ross spotted the intruders?” she asked as they reached the front walkway. The river stones here were edged by monkey grass and unlit walkway lanterns. Shannon imagined it would be lovely at night with the lights on.

“Yes,” Gideon answered tersely.

The front door opened and a small woman in her late sixties walked out onto the long front veranda, a smile on her face. She must have been a stunner in her youth, Shannon thought, as elegant and lovely as she remained in her later years. She wore a short-sleeved cotton blouse in pale yellow and a pair of denim capri pants that showed off slim, smooth ankles.

“You must be Shannon.” She held out her hands in welcome.

Shannon took the older woman’s hands. “Mrs. Ross, it’s nice to meet you. Your home is absolutely beautiful.”

Lydia Ross smiled with pleasure at the compliment. “It will be heartbreaking to leave it behind. But the gentlemen with the Department of Conservation and National Resources have assured me that they plan to work with the Gulf Coast Historic Trust to preserve the house as a museum for visitors to the island.”

Thinking about the family home back in Gossamer Ridge, the shabby but well-loved house where her father had raised his six boisterous children, Shannon felt a twinge of sympathy for Lydia’s plight. Her father’s home was no longer the place she lived, but it was still home to her, a place to which she knew she could retreat if she needed.

“Where will you live when you leave here?” she asked as Lydia showed her inside the house.

“My sister-in-law owns a farm in Burkettville. Her husband died a few years ago, and I know she’s missing him terribly. Perhaps we’ll be able to give each other some relief from the loneliness.” She smiled. “It will be lovely to be around my nieces and nephews more.”

Lydia’s words sounded sincere, but in her eyes Shannon saw anxiety, as if she feared what further changes her future might hold.

There was no foyer inside, as she’d expected, only a large, airy room that seemed to spread all the way from the front of the house to the back. It was part living room, part dining room, with a large, airy kitchen near the back and, through several sets of French doors, a long veranda that overlooked a raised garden.

“Gideon, dear, I’ve given Shannon the blue room.” As Gideon headed up the stairs to the top floor, Lydia turned to Shannon with a smile. “You don’t mind if I call you Shannon, do you? And you must call me Lydia.” She lowered her voice. “I’ve tried to get Gideon to call me by my given name as well, but he’s so formal! My husband said it was because he was a marine.”

Shannon smiled back. “Two of my brothers were marines. I know exactly what you’re talking about.”

Lydia showed her into the kitchen, where a small tray of cheese and crackers sat on the narrow breakfast bar, along with a pitcher of iced tea. “I hope you like sweet tea. I can come up with some soft drinks if you prefer.”

“Tea is perfect.” Shannon sat where Lydia indicated and took a couple of crackers and some slices of Havarti cheese from the tray. “Is it okay if I get started this afternoon? Going through your husband’s papers, I mean.”

Lydia looked surprised. “I thought you’d want to rest and start fresh in the morning.”

“I’ll do whatever you wish,” Shannon said quickly, reading Lydia’s reluctance. “We can spend this afternoon getting to know each other if that’s what you prefer.”

Lydia smiled ruefully. “I’m quite transparent, aren’t I? It is rare for me to have female companionship these days. I haven’t ventured to the mainland for more than a couple of hours at a time since Edward’s death. It’s hard to know how to deal with old friends—sometimes, I feel as if they’re watching me carefully in anticipation of a breakdown.”

Shannon impulsively put her hand atop Lydia’s where it lay on the counter. “My sister lost her husband a few years ago, and she used to think the same thing. She didn’t even like to be around the family sometimes because of it. But it wasn’t what we were thinking, I promise. We just wanted to help her however she needed it.”