“That was close.” Will says after a few minutes of silence.
“Yeah.”
“I guess we’re even now.”
“What? Is there some wager I don’t know about?”
“Well, I saved you and now you’ve saved me.” They exchange a warm smile.
“I was just so worried for Rebecca. I couldn’t imagine her losing you too!”
Will’s tone softens, “Miss Winter, you really care for my niece don’t you? I can see how you dote on her in your lessons.”
She blushes.
“No more than you care for her, and please, call me Melody. You really treat her like she is your own daughter.”
“The entire night I was down there, she was what kept me holding on. I stayed alive for her. Losing her parents really broke her. When my brother Harris died, she shut down and wouldn’t let most people in. But somehow she leaned on me. Every once in a while I would see her just come sit with me and take my hand into hers. We wouldn’t say anything; we would just sit. At first, I was worried about her recovery, but her studies have helped her engage again.” Will reaches over and removes a spec of dried cement from Melody’s hair, “I don’t think this is the kind of souvenir you want to take from this island.”
They laugh.
“I’m just glad you’re safe. She needs you in her life.”
“Me too. Thank you for saving me, Melody.” Will brushes a strand of hair out of her face, and Melody finds herself pining for him to lean in and confirm the mixed feelings developing inside her.
He does lean in. And she closes her eyes.
“Uncle Will! You’re back!” It’s the effervescent voice of Rebecca that puts a lid on their intimate moment.
“Hello sweetheart.” Uncle Will’s voice also changes to match her excitement.
“Where have you been? I couldn’t find the dress I wanted Sarah to wear this morning.” She pulls at his hand and Will reluctantly leaves with Rebecca to go find Sarah her dress.
Melody sits for a moment, realizing that she might be starting to fall for Will.
Chapter 4
Back at the inn, Melody reflects on her afternoon. She wanted so much to believe she had found her father, but once again, Deacon Island has left her bamboozled. Finding Will in the basement did give her an opportunity to get to know him better.
What would have happened if Rebecca hadn’t walked in on them? She wonders. It felt a bit like she was in a romance novel. Sure, the guy usually saves the girl, sure, the girl usually turns the mean guy into a goodie. Maybe her coming here is really a chance to find romance. Doesn’t that happen when people vacation somewhere?
But she’s not on a vacation. She is at Talon’s Point for one reason only: to find her father. Rebecca may have actually saved her from making a big mistake. She cant afford to lose her focus. Not now. Her father is still missing and her dig is in danger of not happening at all if she doesn’t complete this mission for her uncle. This is not the time to mix business with pleasure. She still doesn’t know what anyone on the island is capable of, not even Will, and that’s what haunts her at night. After all, she ponders, I mistook Rob for a nice guy. Maybe it was a case of academic whiplash, or maybe it was her heart, but she won’t make that mistake again.
A few minutes later, Brad gets in touch. “You won’t believe what I found.”
“What is it?” Melody waits on bated breath to hear what Brad has unearthed.
“First of all, there’s nothing on Rob or this Tam guy.”
“Really?” Melody wonders who the information is on if it’s not the two men she suspects the most.
“A year ago, the Deacons were investigated for the disappearance of their father. His name is William Deacon Sr.” Brad explains.
“He named his first son after him.”
“That’s right,” he confirms. “It was in the local papers, but it did not reach international news networks. Come to think of it, I don’t think it even reached the mainland.”
“What? How can that be?” Melody is now even more confused.
“You said that’s who you work for right? Well, get this, the reporter who wrote the story, went missing soon after.”
Her father went missing on the island too. “What was the reporter’s name?”
“Andy Thompson.” Brad answers. “In the article, it says, a woman came to the press saying she was William Deacon Sr.’s lover and believed he had been murdered by his sons.”
“Are you serious?”
“As a heart attack.” He concurs.
Melody suspected something happened in that house, but not sons attacking their father and killing him. If they are capable of taking their own father’s life, she thinks, how much more would they do to the townspeople, an employee like her father or her? She asks, “Does it say what her name is?”
“No.” Brad says then he continues, “According to this, it was common knowledge and the talk of the town. I’m surprised you even have to ask me to look it up. The locals should know.”
“Let’s just say the locals have been spooked.” Melody’s sarcasm conveys through the phone.
“I don’t like the sound of that.” He expresses his concern. She can sense a lecture about safety about to unleash, so she redirects the conversation.
“Tell me about the woman.” Melody says, trying to find a lead that she can follow up.
“It doesn’t say how long the relationship lasted, but she may as well have been half his age. They use words like ‘young lady’ when describing her.”
“Do you think he might have been going through a midlife crisis?”
“Looks more like an end of life crisis to me!” Brad jokes.
