ChapterTwenty-One
Given Mallory’s intense schedule at the Sheridan Law Offices, she became a rare sight at the Katama Lodge and Wellness Spa, only chipping in here and there when Tanya couldn’t fulfill her secretarial duties. Elsa was surprised, then, on Tuesday, August 2nd, when Bruce dropped her off at the Lodge for the day to find Mallory stationed at the front desk upon the expensive business chair they’d purchased for the benefit of her posture.
“Mallory! I didn’t think I’d see you here today,” Elsa said as she thrust off her tennis shoes and donned her high heels.
Mallory grimaced. “I was hoping to catch you at the house last night.”
“I’m sorry, honey. It got late at Bruce’s, and I just—”
But Mallory already waved her hand back and forth. “When Tanya asked me to switch shifts, I jumped at the chance. I have a very weird story to tell you.”
Behind the front desk, Janine walked past with such a purpose that she was little more than a stream of color. Elsa waved as Janine’s “Good morning, ladies!” echoed down the hallway.
Mallory puffed out her cheeks as she collected her clipboard, jumping up from the chair so quickly that it spun around.
“Everyone seems to be in a big hurry this morning,” Elsa, who’d begged Bruce for another ten minutes in bed, said.
“Let’s talk in your office,” Mallory said.
Elsa followed her daughter into her office, where Mallory clicked the door closed behind her and began to pace. Beyond the window, Katama Bay itself was clear turquoise waters, harkening to the Italian Mediterranean shoreline.
“Honey. What’s gotten into you?” Elsa asked as she placed her lunchbox on her sterilized desk.
“Last night, I went to that sailing bar that Cole always goes to,” Mallory began, her nostrils flared. “I figured, you know, Lucas has taken so much more responsibility with Zachery lately, and I have to find some way to live whenever I can.”
“I fully support that.”
“Yeah. Well, anyway. Brodie was there. Brodie Thomkins.”
Elsa’s heart sank into her belly. Whenever this boy cropped up, things went south.What would he take from them this time?
“It was awkward at first,” Mallory explained. “But as we chatted, Peter Larker came into the bar, drunk as a skunk.”
“Oh, Peter. He was always a pretty big boozer,” Elsa offered. “He and your father used to go on these long sailing excursions and arrive home exhausted, and all buzzed, like frat boys.”
“But the Peter I remember was joyful. Always laughing, but in a happy way,” Mallory tried.
Elsa shrugged. “Honey, I’m sure it doesn’t surprise you to find out that times change for just about everyone. We used to be the Steel Family, remember? Always laughing. Going on vacations. Running around the island. It took us years to even learn how to smile again after your father’s death.”
“He was mocking our family, Mom,” Mallory shot back. “Basically, insinuating that we’re always well-off, that we’ll always bounce back on our feet.”
“He’s jealous, honey,” Elsa countered, not fully comprehending the picture Mallory tried to paint.
“But listen. There’s more. Brodie’s dad, Bertrand, was working for Peter at the time of his disappearance,” Mallory continued, a finger lifted. “And Peter tried to obliterate Brodie for that. Talking about how Bertrand disappeared in the middle of a big project he was supposed to be doing at Peter’s house.”
Elsa’s ears began to perk up. Slowly, she dropped down into her business chair, drifting toward her desk. “Honey, you know that Peter Larker has more money than we do. Why would he have anything to do with the robbery?”
Mallory shrugged. “All I know is this. There was real malice behind his voice like he wanted to show off in front of Cole and I. He also dug into Brodie, belittling his family and his father. There was something really wrong about it, Mom. And remember. Didn’t the woman at the antique shop say that the guy who’d sold the antiques was a sailing type?”
A loud gong bellowed through Elsa’s head. Peter? Peter Larker? The man Aiden had adored? It didn’t make any sense.
“You’re still friendly with Agnes, aren’t you?” Mallory asked conspiratorially.
Another memory struck Elsa. “I haven’t seen much of her in years. We ran into each other at the Round the Island Race, but she acted so strangely.”
“Oh yeah. That’s right.” Mallory’s eyes widened. “She pretended like she barely knew you.”
“And you told me she was just being awkward,” Elsa said with a laugh. “But the way she ran away from me on the dock threw me off so much. Like she thought I was cursed because my husband died.”