Mrs. Cavenaugh’s knowing smile broadened. “Well, at least you’re opening up a little. I understand that you might need a little space, isn’t that what they say these days? I can’t argue with that, but….”
“What?”
“Well, don’t let your pride come between you and something you really want.”
Erin sucked in her breath. “You mean Kane, don’t you?” she sighed dismally and broke eye contact with her elderly tenant.
“He’s a man who loves you dearly. And his daughter!” The old lady threw up her hands and shook her head at the incredulity of the situation.
“Krista? What about Krista?” Erin asked, her voice full of concern.
“Oh, nothing other than the fact that she worships the ground you walk on.”
“Be serious!”
“I am—I’ve never seen the likes of it! Oh, at first, I’ll grant you she was determined to hate you. But can you blame the child—losing a mother the way she did? All she had left was her father, and she didn’t want to share him. But now—” Mrs. Cavenaugh moved her head thoughtfully “—that poor girl can talk of nothing but you—except for the kitten of course.”
The lump in Erin’s throat began to swell, and some of her firm resolve began to be chipped at. Mrs. Cavenaugh was working on her; Erin knew it, but she couldn’t help but hope that there was just a sliver of truth in the sweet old woman’s words.
“I’m sorry, Mrs. Cavenaugh,” Erin managed, looking hastily at her watch, “but I’ve really got to run. Now, promise me that under no circumstances will you tell Kane where I am!”
“I don’t know if I can do that,” the older woman replied honestly.
“You have to! I need time to myself.”
“Well, if you’re so dead set against it, I’ll give you my word,” Mrs. Cavenaugh unwillingly agreed.
“Thanks,” Erin sighed, kissing her friend lightly on the cheek. “I’ll see you soon.”
“Dear,” Mrs. Cavenaugh said, placing a bony hand on Erin’s sleeve. “Do be careful.”
“I will,” Erin promised, and turned to leave the apartment building. She could feel Mrs. Cavenaugh’s kind eyes boring into her back as she walked to her car, but she didn’t have the heart to turn and wave. It took all her strength to hoist her suitcase into the car, start the engine and race down the hill toward the city and the waterfront.
Once back in Deer Harbor on Orcas Island in the San Juans, Erin realized what a disastrous mistake she had made in returning to the island where she had had such a carefree and loving existence with Kane only a few weeks earlier. Although she was far removed from the rustic cabin that they had shared together, memories of the small town still burned in her brain, and it seemed that she couldn’t walk anywhere without coming face-to-face with memories of Kane. The pain in her heart didn’t disappear.
The seasons had changed in the past weeks, and each day was as gray and cold as the Pacific Ocean. Wind and rain deluged the coastal town, and although Erin tried several kinds of outdoor amusements, she found that most of her days were spent inside her tiny hotel room staring vacantly at the television or brooding about the turn of events in her life. Knowing that her attitude was as discouraging as the somber, gray rain-washed days, she attempted to pull herself out of her depression, but found it impossible. Nothing seemed to work. And thoughts of Krista and the fact that she hadn’t even bothered to say goodbye to the lonely girl only made Erin more miserable and guilt-ridden. While the island had once been a haven, now it seemed like a prison, but Erin elected to continue her confinement until she could no longer afford it. How could she possibly go home to an empty house and no job?
It had been over a week, and the depression still clung to her like a heavy shroud when she picked up the Seattle newspaper to look through the classified advertisements in search of employment. As usual, the openings for legal assistants were few, and Erin faced the fact that it would be more difficult than she had first imagined to find a decent position. Disinterestedly she perused the rest of the paper and stopped at the financial section. A photograph of the bank building with a caption concerning the embezzlement caught her eye. With more interest than she had felt for days, she began to read the article. As the meaning of each sentence in the column became clear to her, Erin began to feel her stomach churn with emotions of rage and disgust. According to the article, Mitchell Cameron had in fact worked with an accomplice—a woman with whom he had shared responsibility for years—Miss Olivia Parsons. The article explained the scam more fully and the fact that the scheme was so elaborate that it had taken the auditing staff and the president of the bank a lengthy amount of time to prove the guilt of the parties involved.
Erin felt a growing nausea as she read the article, and when she had finished, she tossed the newspaper into the wastebasket near her bed. Never would she have suspected Olivia of doing anything illegal. Just like Mitch, Olivia seemed far too professional to stoop to thievery. The delight that Erin should have experienced as she realized that she was no longer under suspicion of the crime seemed to have soured as she thought of Mitch and Olivia, two respected members of the banking industry who had tossed away their careers and possibly their lives for greed. Erin wondered what could have caused their joint journey into crime.
Two days later Erin began preparing for her trip home to Seattle. She had been gone far too long already, and her money was running out. She realized that she couldn’t run away from Kane and her love for him, and there was really no reason to linger on the island.
Just as Erin began to pack her things, the telephone jarred the stillness of the hotel room. For several seconds Erin just stared at the telephone, wondering who would be calling her. Kane? Unlikely. A wrong number? Perhaps. Her heart began to thud wildly in her chest as she reached for the receiver.
“Hello?” she inquired, and felt a welling sense of dread when she recognized Mrs. Cavenaugh’s unsteady voice.
“Erin—Erin, is that you?” the old lady demanded.
“Yes, it’s I….what happened?” Erin asked, convinced that Mrs. Cavenaugh wouldn’t call unless there was an emergency of some sort. Nervously she bit at her thumbnail.
“Oh—I know that he told me not to call, but I knew that you would want to know. It’s just awful—I really don’t know what to do. Dear Lord in heaven!” The little old lady continued to ramble in endless circles of words and phrases that meant nothing to Erin. Apprehensively Erin interrupted.
“Mrs. Cavenaugh! What’s wrong? Try and pull yourself together and just tell me what’s the matter.” The hairs on the back of Erin’s neck began to stand on end.
“It’s Krista,” Mrs. Cavenaugh moaned in a voice so low that Erin thought perhaps she had misunderstood.
“Krista?” Erin echoed. “Oh, God, what’s happened to her?” Erin’s heart leaped to her throat and her pulse began to race. Tiny droplets of perspiration moistened her skin, and she felt her knees give way as she sank against the bed.