“One of them works at the mansion and wears a tweed suit.”
She was right.
“You see, they have been on your tail for much of the time you have been here. That’s why I couldn’t risk getting caught. They are dangerous men, Melody. They can… they can hurt people.”
She nods her head. Melody has wondered if someone was watching her on a few occasions. The odd rustling in the bushes nearby. The sound of footsteps or oddly coming across opened doors that she previously thought were shut. She couldn’t find the proof, so she just assumed that the investigation was getting to her and making her paranoid. But now, Nell is confirming it for her.
One time, Melody found her school bag out of place. Her first thought was someone searched it while she was outside, but she didn’t see anyone who might have gotten close enough to her bag.
Now, Melody knows that she was right after all.
“Even if you’re telling the truth, how do I know you’re not working with them?” Melody doesn’t say it, but she is more concerned that if a girl of 15 years can easily follow her all this time undetected, how much more can two grown and cunning men do to her?
“Because I wouldn’t tell you all this if I didn’t. I would be turning you over to them, but I’m not. Now, there is something very important I need to talk to you about.”
Chapter 5
“I must tell you what happened,” Nell presses.
Melody sits on the container that moments ago she was using as her weapon. Meeting Nell today was the last thing she expected in her master plan to entrap Will. It’s not clear yet whether her plans will be thwarted, subsided or helped by this new encounter. Melody is intrigued, enough to want to hear what Nell has to say.
“You’d better sit down then.” She slides over on the container and makes room for Nell to sit next to her.
The streets of Talon’s Point are strangely quiet tonight. Her nights are usually filled with cackles and laughter from local barflies, but tonight, they are amiss. An unknown vacuum seems to have sucked out the pleasant gab and replaced it with silence – a silence that Melody hopes what Nell has to tell her will fill.
Sean, the corner store owner, closed down an hour ago. He is probably safely tucked away in his bed by now.
Melody releases her sweater. Now that the imminent danger has surpassed, she no longer feels cold, just an emptiness she can’t shake. It’s neither weighty nor bothersome, just vacant.
Once Nell sits down, she begins. “I need to tell you about my mother.” Nell looks directly at her and she can tell this is important. “My mother has been in hiding for several weeks.” There is a bitterness and sorrow in Nell’s voice, it’s enough to match the fire in her eyes. Melody wonders if this is where it stems from.
“Where is she hiding?” Hearing Nell’s story, draws out a tenderness and longing in Melody much like she felt when she pined to see her father more as a teenager. She could not have been much younger than Nell.
“She is living on an island nearby.” Her voice breaks a little as she explains.
Melody calculates in her mind, “Did you say several weeks?”
“Yes, maybe three months.”
That’s how long my father has been missing. Melody does not let on, but she is all ears now. She has been wondering why so many people disappeared from the island in such a short space of time and with no explanation. If Nell knows something about it, she definitely wants to hear it.
Nell continues, “She is the one who sent me.”
“Sent you where?”
“Tae you.” Nell is very sure of herself, but Melody cannot figure out how this mother could know her or have met her when she only arrived a month ago. Nell sees the confusion on Melody’s face, “I’ve been travelling back and forth from the island on a small boat that belonged tae my father. It’s how I bring food and water tae my mother. I arrive very early in the morning and park it on the other side of the shore so no one can see me. Then I walk along the shore line, hiding behind the boats until I make it close enough to the inn. From there it’s pretty easy to blend in.”
“Are you not afraid of getting caught?”
“If I can make it past McCorrie, I’m usually fine.”
Melody knows who McCorrie is. He is the one she saw talking with Tam when she followed Tam to the port one day. McCorrie’s boat is the only one that is big enough to carry passengers to the mainland. It is also strong enough to withstand storms along the way.
“You’re quite brave for a girl your age. How does your boat fare?”
Nell smiles shyly, “I’ve had a few close encounters, but it does fine. The conditions can be rough at sea, but I am very careful.” She sits up as if to prove herself responsible enough to sail her boat. Then proudly she says, “I’ve become quite good at sailing through the troubled waters and I can now pick up speed without being afraid.”
Looking at Nell describe her sea adventures, Melody can tell it’s quite an exhilarating experience. “Why doesn’t your father come with you or take turns coming?”
“Uh...” Nell hesitates and coils into herself. “I donnae ken. I never met him.” She looks out in the direction of the sea. There is a wall with a locked gate that sits adjacent to the back of the corner store. It separates them from the sea and the raised shore. Through the slits between the gate and the wall or when standing, they can see the water spreading into the
