Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Tuesday morning, I arrived at the shop early. I wanted to make sure there wasn't another reference book that mentioned Gabriel Santiago or the history of South Cove in my stock. It would be pretty embarrassing to find out that I'd had the answer all along, just waiting for me to open the book. I did find one more South Cove history book, and I set it by the register so I'd remember to purchase it before I left.

Darla came in after my commuters had left. She climbed on a stool and ordered a tall dark black with a caramel shot. "That was quite a weekend, huh."

"I had fun." It had been nice to get away and forget about the investigation and the wedding venue issue and just chill with my friends. I still wasn't sure how I felt about Esmeralda, but I knew her actions were more of a Greg issue. He wanted me to stay out of the investigation.

"You seem preoccupied. Is it the venue? I can send you a list of the most popular wedding chapels in the area. My newspaper had me do an article on it last June. Maybe there are some places you haven't considered yet." Darla made a note in her phone, then set it down. "So this thing with Mandy, huh."

"I don't know anything more than you do." I was being pumped for information from the reporter side of my friend.

"I'm sure that's not true." Darla looked back at the doorway. "I hear you and Josh spent the day together looking up information. Do you think Mandy's disappearance is related to your professor's death? Or maybe to your friend's appearance in town? What was his name again?"

"Tank Harding. And all I know about him is the professor asked him to come and look at something. I don't know that it has anything to do with Mandy. I was kind of hoping that she was just off on a girls' weekend that maybe Josh didn't know about." I finished making Darla's coffee and handed it to her in a to-go cup.

"Oh, so that's why you were talking to the hotel registration people. I didn't know what was going on." Darla sipped her coffee. "I never saw the other group. Did you?"

"No. I guess we were out when they came in or we were in before they came back." I refilled my coffee and sat next to Darla. "I just feel so bad for Josh. Mandy really loves the guy. I asked them over for dinner last week, and she was over the moon about getting to talk about the wedding. I can't see her just ghosting him."

"You never know what goes on behind closed doors. Maybe they got in a fight, and Josh isn't mentioning it because it makes him look bad." Darla's eyes widened. "You don't think he killed her, do you?"

"No. Josh wouldn't hurt a fly. He couldn't have killed anyone." Josh could be mean and dismissive, but he wasn't a killer.

Darla looked at me, her face serious. "That's what they said about Ted Bundy and the rest of the serial killers."

"Darla, we're talking about Josh here." And just then, the door opened, and Josh Thomas walked into the shop.

Today he wore a light burgundy shirt and tan pants. He looked at Darla and me, then cleared his throat. "Sorry, I didn't mean to intrude. I just wanted to let you know that the boat and captain will be waiting for us at eleven thirty. I'm going to Bakerstown now, and I'll meet you there. I want to chat with the police there to see if there has been any movement on Professor Wellborn's death."

"Do you think his death is related to Mandy's disappearance?" Darla asked.

I sent her a sharp look. No matter what, Josh was deeply concerned about Mandy, and Darla didn't have the right to exploit that emotion. Not even for her article.

"Ms. Taylor, I'm beginning to think I have no idea what's going on at all." He nodded to us. "Miss Gardner, I'll see you later."

It wasn't a question, but a statement. And his lack of answer to Darla had made her mad. Darla huffed as she set out money for her coffee. "I can't believe he's still treating this like Mandy went to her mom's house for the weekend."

"He's hurting. I can see it." I watched through the café window as he made his way back to his shop.

"You're going out on a boat ride with him?" Darla stood and adjusted the strap on her large tote. Did anyone carry a purse anymore?

"We're looking to see if we can find Santiago's cave." I figured telling the truth was better than lying. Especially to a reporter. "Greg wants my help in keeping Josh busy so Greg can actually investigate Mandy's disappearance."

Darla nodded. "That makes sense. I didn't mean to be insensitive before. Josh can be infuriating at times, but I know he loves Mandy. He must be going crazy."

That was an understatement. I said goodbye and went back to my reading nook to lose myself in a few chapters of the new women's fiction book I'd picked up off the ARC table. I loved anything by the author Barbara O'Neal, and I needed to get Deek a book recommendation review by the end of the week for our newsletter. By picking an author I loved, I knew I'd get through the reading and write the review by my deadline. Something that didn't happen a lot. Especially now that I was juggling so many projects both at work and at home. And now, Greg had assigned me the task of being Josh's babysitter.

Tomorrow afternoon, I'd spend the day and evening at the library. Greg would have to entertain Josh on his own or find someone else to play with him. I had classes to finish. Otherwise, I'd be doing makeup classes this summer. If they were available.

I settled into the couch and got lost in the story. I probably could have passed the review off to someone else to do this month, but it was my bookstore. After a few more months, and after the wedding, things would calm down. They had to, right?

I got off lucky and didn't have any customers for the rest of the morning before Deek arrived at ten. Of course, my aunt would have expected me to do other work things besides reading in my spare time, but the review was part of my job. I felt only a twinge of guilt when Deek walked through the door.

"Slow morning?" He glanced around the empty shop as he came out of the back office. Deek had a key to the shop because he lived upstairs in the apartment. "Do you want me to check in later? I could use another hour or so of words. This second book is killing me. Too high of expectations, I guess."

"No, I need to get going, so you're on the clock now." I tucked the book under my arm and took it and the rest of my cold coffee to the bar. I put the cup in the sink and ran a quick shift-closing statement. I initialed the printout and stapled it to my shift sheet. Another step my aunt had added to the open and close process. I think she needed more to do outside of managing the bookstore. I'd have to talk to Harrold and see if I could convince him they needed a vacation. "Sorry I didn't get my closing chores done, but you need this review, and I decided reading was more important."

"You don't have to explain to me, but I'm not covering for you if your aunt asks why I signed off on your chore list." He grinned at me as he moved the to-go cups. "Being an adult has its privileges."

"You're a pain." I waved and headed out through the back door, where my Jeep was parked. I climbed inside and glanced at the back seat. I had a jacket and boots, just in case it got cold on the boat. Then I plugged in my phone and called Greg.

"What's going on? I really can't get away for lunch." He didn't even say hello. We'd been together too long.

"Good morning to you too," I added just to make him feel guilty. "Anyway, I know you're busy, so I just wanted to tell you that I'm going to Bakerstown to meet Josh. Remember, we're taking a boat out to see if we can find the Santiago cave."

"I remember. Besides, Darla came to grill me about Mandy's disappearance and asked if the gold legend had anything to do with it, since the two of you were heading there. Way to keep it on the down-low."

"That was Josh's doing, not mine. He told Darla we were boating together. And to save my reputation, I had to explain to her that we were legend hunting and not dating." I pulled out of the alley and onto Main Street. Diamond Lille's parking lot was full, and the delicious aroma of smoked meats filled my Jeep as I drove by. "Tiny must be doing pulled pork sandwiches for lunch."

"I can smell it all the way at the station. I'm sending Esmeralda down to grab us lunch." He paused, then lowered his voice. "Hey, are you and Esmeralda okay? She seems a little upset."

"I guess. I mean, I felt like she was spying for you all weekend and not part of the gang." There, I'd said it. Of course, I hadn't meant to tell him.

He sighed. "That's my fault, not hers. I did ask her to try to steer you away from any Mandy searches. I should have realized it might affect your relationship."

"You need to apologize to her, too. I'll give you both this one, since I know you just worry about me. But in the future—" I didn't get the words out.

"Keep your friends out of my insecurities." He ended the statement for me.

"Not exactly what I was going to say, but yes. Tell Esmeralda I'm sorry about being mad. I'll see her Sunday for brunch, I hope." The sun sparkled off a stretch of the ocean as I drove by. Living here wasn't bad at all. Even with the drought. And now the rivers of rain. Days like today made it all worth it.

I pulled the Jeep into the parking lot for the marina and parked, locking it up as I pulled on my jacket and switched into my boots. I tucked my flats into my tote to take with me. Dressing in layers would allow me to deal with all sorts of weather. If I was lucky, I might get down to shorts and a tank and actually get a little sun on my too-white legs. Except for my runs and walking to and from work, I'd been mostly inside this spring. Which hadn't given me time to build up more than just a base tan. Of course, the SPF 30 sunscreen I always slathered on before any sun exposure had something to do with it as well. I had a full bottle in my tote. Josh would probably need to use some.

Walking out to the marina, I saw Josh standing by a boat, watching for me. He waved until I held up my hand, indicating I'd seen him; then he climbed on board a boat and watched me walk to him. Just in case I'd gotten lost in the last five minutes and forgotten where he was. Sometimes I wondered.

As I stepped on the boat, a hand reached out to steady me. I looked up and saw Tank Harding had joined our adventure. Josh pointed to the cabin. "You can put your bag in there if you want."

As he went into the cabin to talk to the captain, I put my tote away and then went to sit by Tank. "What are you doing here?"

"I met your friend Josh at the police station. I was just finishing my interview when he came in. Did he really find Santiago's journal?" Tank wore an open button-down shirt, cargo shorts, and deck shoes. A camera hung around his neck.

"That's what he said." For some reason, I was holding back the part about reading it yesterday.

Tank leaned back and ran his hand through his hair. He had it down from the topknot today. "That's like the holy grail of South Cove history. Gabriel Santiago was a real person, not just a legend. He still has descendants in the area. I did a paper on him when I was an undergraduate. It was that class that made me want to work for a museum and preserve our history. Do you know how many things we've just lost over the years?"

Tank was passionate about the subject of history, that was for sure. I watched as a young man untied the boat from its moorings and called out an all clear to the captain.

I grabbed hold of a railing as the engine sputtered to life, and we eased out of the harbor and onto open water. It wasn't that I was afraid of being on a boat; it was just this boat was really tiny compared to the ocean. And I'd seen The Perfect Storm. The movie scared me to death. I wasn't much for too real-life movies. Give me a rom-com any day. I turned back to Tank, and he was grinning at me. "Maybe we'll get lucky then today."

He cocked his eyebrow and nodded. "The boat is totally safe. We'll be hugging the shore pretty closely to try to spot any caves. Did you bring binoculars?"

I shook my head. I should have thought of that. I pulled my hat farther down on my head. The wind from the boat's movement was strong.

"Don't worry, I have an extra set." He stood and went into the cabin. When he came out, he had two pairs of binoculars. Josh had followed him out of the cabin with his own and a notebook.

"I'm going to note where we are when we see something, so we can hike or swim back to the place easier. From the journal, the cave is somewhere between South Cove and Bakerstown, but I've asked the captain to start five miles out of the other side of Bakerstown. Just in case modern-day city limits weren't the same back then." Josh sat across from me. "As soon as we're there, he'll slow down, and we'll all have to scan the cliff wall, if any."

"Sounds like a plan." Tank used his binoculars to scan the open ocean. "Maybe if we get lucky, we might see some whales as well."

Josh frowned. "This isn't a sightseeing trip. We need to find that cave."

Tank sat down and studied Josh. "Man, every day we're on this earth is a sightseeing trip. You just need to open your eyes to the magic."

The boat was quiet for a moment after that.

Finally, Josh nodded. "You're right. Mandy always says the same thing. I'll try to enjoy today. If not for me, for Mandy."

We didn't see any whales, but when we got to the starting point, there were some dolphins playing in the water. Josh wrote down our coordinates and a landmark on shore we could use to orient ourselves later.

"The captain is going to run the boat slowly, we all watch the shore, and if anyone sees anything that looks like a cave, yell. He'll stop the boat and see if we can get closer." Josh met both my and Tank's gaze. "Any questions?"

"No, I'm ready to start." Tank positioned himself so he could see the shore better.

I did the same and met Josh's gaze. "We're going to find her."

He blinked, then nodded. "I know we are."

Three hours later, we were back in South Cove and finishing the stretch Josh had requested. We'd found nothing. We hadn't even seen the cave on Moonstone Beach that I'd known was there since I'd had a kid get stuck there before. My shoulders ached, and I was starving. Josh had brought water, but no one had brought food on our journey. I set my binoculars down. "Just because we can't find it now doesn't mean it didn't exist before. It might be covered in water by now."

Josh looked devastated. He sank back and put away his notebook. "I guess that's possible."

Tank slapped his head. "We should have taken that into consideration. We may be looking for a submerged cave. Or at least one where the entrance is submerged. Maybe we should do this again tomorrow."

"Can't tomorrow. The boat has been chartered for the day," the young man said as we started heading back to the harbor. "But next Monday is completely free if you want to go online and book."

"I'll take care of that," Josh said. He must have seen my reaction, because he added, "You don't have to come with me. Maybe Mr. Harding is free that day."

"I am. I'm here until they find Professor Wellborn's killer. I've committed. Besides, I have a ton of books in my library at my parents' house that we can skim through that talk about South Cove history." Tank turned and stretched, and I couldn't help but notice two of the six-pack abs he had hidden under that shirt.

Josh coughed, and I realized I was still staring. What did the men on television say? I'm engaged but not dead? I didn't think Josh would see the humor.