“Where do you usually write?” Rachel asked, after Jean called first and ran into the room on her right.
“I have a balcony you probably noticed from below. Normally, I do most of my writing out there. I take my notebook computer along everywhere I go when I’m on my home turf, so if I get some inspiration, I have the tools along with me to work. Lighthouse Avenue is my favorite walkway and the beach is usually my destination.”
“I don’t know what to say. I envy you.”
Nick gestured with his hands. “I love this place. Would you like to see the balcony?”
“Do you have to ask?”
“Nick!” Jean ran out of the room she had picked and grabbed Nick’s hand. “Can we go to the ocean?”
“Sure, I’ll take you with me on my morning walk down to the beach. Deke will probably need a bath before he can come back in the house afterward though. How is Deke with strangers he meets on a walk?”
“Real good,” Rachel answered. “He only gets upset if someone grabs at either Jean or I. Will it be safe for us to go out?”
“Your guess is as good as mine,” Nick admitted. “Grace and Tim wouldn’t like it, but I’ll leave it up to you. Why don’t I get us some wine, and a juice for Jean. We can drink them out on the balcony and talk it over.”
“Thank you.” Rachel leaned in and kissed Nick, her lips softly brushing against his, sending a chill through him all the way to his feet.
“You’re welcome. I’ll be right back.”
“Mom, why don’t you marry Nick?” Jean suggested, her face alight with the possibilities. “Then we could -”
“We’re here for a couple weeks, kid,” Rachel interrupted, stroking her daughter’s face. “Let’s enjoy the stay here without scaring Nick any more than he already is.”
“I don’t think Nick gets scared, Mom,” Jean replied, looking over the rail.
On the balcony with Deke at their feet, Nick poured wine for Rachel and himself. Jean sat as close to the railing with her juice as she could get, looking out at the incredible view of Pacific Grove and the ocean beyond. The fog had begun moving in ever so slowly, beginning to obscure the housetops below them.
“I’m no wine connoisseur. I hope this Berringer White Zin is okay.”
“Wow, something you’re not an expert at,” Rachel said in mock surprise. “White Zin is my favorite. I don’t know how you ever leave this place. It’s incredible.”
“It’s not easy to leave here, but it makes me appreciate what I have more when I finally return. I’m going to like seeing it through your eyes. I take a lot for granted.”
“It gets pretty cold down here, huh?” Rachel pulled up the collar on her jacket more as a chilly breeze blew in off the ocean.
“I hate hot weather. I can adapt to about anything, but I sure wouldn’t choose to live in a furnace like Pleasanton. Then again, you didn’t either. What -”
Jean nodded off where she sat, nearly pitching off the chair. Nick righted her in the chair before she ever knew what happened, stunning Rachel with how fast he moved.
“I think someone needs some sleep if they want to hit the beach tomorrow.” Nick leaned down to look into Jean’s half-lidded eyes.
To Nick’s surprise, Jean wrapped her arms around his neck. With a smiling nod from Rachel, he picked Jean up gently and carried her to bed. Pulling the covers down, Nick tucked the little girl in. It was the first time he had ever tucked anyone in. He turned on the miniature lighthouse nightlight, and turned off the room light. Nick returned to the balcony.
“Jean and I are kind of pushy, huh?”
“I’ll get over it. Did you think any more about how you want to handle your stay here?”
“If Grace or Tim don’t come unglued, I’d rather live like a normal person.”
“Tanus is dead, Kim. Why -”
“My name is Rachel Hunter,” Rachel interrupted. “I don’t like the name Kim and I detest the name Kimmy.”
“Which is why Grace calls you Kimmy.” Nick laughed. “I like the name Rachel; but unless we’re alone like this, I think you’d better stick with Kim. Why do you think they’re still taking shots at you, since Tanus is dead?”
“My husband worked as a computer security consultant for Tanus’s firm.” Rachel took a gulp of wine and looked at the eerie fog-covered vista below. “We lived in a tiny apartment on the East side. Rick was always complaining about money. He tried blackmailing Tanus, threatening to turn the flash drives he’d made up over to the FBI. I had no idea what he was doing.”
Nick watched Rachel pause as she glanced over at him speculatively. She maintained eye contact with him in the low light of Nick’s balcony.
“I had taken Jean to school, hanging around as a teacher’s aid in the mornings to cut down on our tuition costs. Returning to the apartment, I fumbled with the keys at the door, and heard Rick’s muffled screams…and…and I ran.”
“Lucky you did,” Nick replied gently. “If you hadn’t, you would have joined Rick. You didn’t actually see Tanus then?”
“I ran to the end of the hall. We were only a few doors down from the stairwell. I hid in the stairwell and phoned 911. Only a minute after I called, our apartment door opened, and Tanus came out with two other men. Thank God they took the elevator. I stayed in the stairwell with the 911 operator on the phone until the police arrived. They didn’t get what they wanted from Rick. That’s why they’re still trying to kill me.”
“Meaning the flash drives are in a safety deposit box somewhere and there’s someone a rung up the ladder from where Tanus was.”
“I know where the box is located and I have the key.” Rachel leaned over and took Nick’s right hand in both hers. “I didn’t know if the Marshalls could actually protect us. I didn’t turn over the key because I figured if they found us, I could buy Jean’s life with it.”
“Nick, aren’t you going to say something?”
“Putting aside your seemingly legitimate distrust for the US Marshalls’ service, I think you acted very well under pressure. You did consider Tanus’s boss is implicated on one of those flash drives, right?”
“Yes…but listen…those guys have more money than God. They buy and sell politicians, police, and judges. I’d hand over the key. The cops get the files. The files get lost, and I’m a dead mom with a dead little girl. Fingering Tanus was my ticket out of New York to a new life and possible safety. Even after a year, Tanus was only now coming up for trial to be indicted. The chance of anyone arresting the guy above him is a joke.”
“I’m having trouble faulting your logic,” Nick admitted. “Since you have to be signed in on their list to get into the safety deposit box, having the -”
“I am signed in on the box,” Rachel cut in.
“Where’s the box located?”
“Sarasota, Florida. Rick opened an account with five hundred dollars and obtained a safety deposit box attached to the account. Any fees would be debited from the five hundred dollar balance. He did it while we were on vacation with Jean and the account is under my maiden name. Jean is my daughter’s real name.”
“Jesus…”
“I didn’t know what he was doing, Nick.” Rachel squeezed his wrist with attitude as if she could physically press the point into Nick. “Rick put gold and silver coins in the box he had showed me. He said they were our little nest egg the government wouldn’t know about and if something happened to him I would have a little safety line. I saw him put a small plastic baggy with the flash drives in there. Rick told me they were backups to our financial records.”
“Easy, Rachel… I believe you.”
