Final Settlement by Vicki Doudera Page B

told her absolutely.”
    The Chief was silent for a few moments. “Good. If she tells them what she saw, they’ll open an investigation.” She heard him blow air out through his mouth in a sigh. “This is what I suspected, but now that we have proof, I’m sick about it. Someone killed that poor girl. They waited by the lighthouse and pushed her hard. Imagine how scared she must have been, Darby. Imagine what that must have felt like …” His voice trailed off. “Okay, the thing now is to catch the creep and put him away. The guys over at Manatuck are a smart bunch—they’ll follow through. Lorraine was one of their own, after all. She hadn’t worked there long, but they’ll make the extra effort to get this case solved quickly.” He sighed again. “Thanks for the good work, Darby.”
    “Sure.”
    His voice lowered to a whisper. “You must have heard what’s happened here. My—er—wife is back. Bitsy.”
    “I did hear about that, Chief.”
    “Yeah, well I’m not sure what’s going to happen with the house now that she’s back. She, uh, well she wants to live here for some reason.” His voice was tight, strangled sounding.
    “Are you okay?”
    “Darby, I’m the Chief of Police of this damn island, of course I’m okay!” He made an exasperated noise. “I’m not in any danger , thank you very much. I’m just—well, I’m just extremely surprised. Let’s leave it at that.” He gave a grunt. “I gotta go. Thanks again for what you did today. I know that Lorraine would be very grateful.”
    Darby hung up the phone. There was one thing left to do before she got some rest. She pulled on her boots and the long down coat and headed into the cold.
    _____
    Donny fidgeted, watching Tina as she scrutinized the photograph. He’d come to her house in a sudden burst of courage, explaining that he had something important to show her. Did he dare hope that she would even consider his idea? He waited, his eyes on her face, nails digging into his palms, hoping she would see the beauty of Beach Lady as he did.
    Finally she put down the image and shook her red curls. “It’s a cute little cabana, but I don’t see how we can do it, Donny. Not this year.”
    Donny felt something dropping inside him. “Why not?” he mumbled. “I’ve got money saved. Let me spend it on a vacation for us. It will be like a long honeymoon.”
    “Donny, did you forget that I just got my real estate license? I’m building my client base, is what I’m doing, and I can hardly afford to go anywhere now. Why, I can’t leave town for a week, much less a month! March could end up to be a super busy time for me—the spring market and all. I’m sorry, but we can’t do it.”
    He tried to keep his hands from shaking. “What happened to what you told me when we got engaged, Tina? That you were ready to have some adventures?” His face colored and his voice dropped to a whisper. “Adventures with me?”
    “That was before I became an agent, Donny!”
    “Why does that have to change things?”
    “Now I’m busy. I’m making money—real money—for the first time in my life. I have a career, an office, a whole new life.” Her lips were set in a thin red line, her brilliant blue eyes blazing.
    Donny rose slowly to his feet. He reached for the photograph of Beach Lady and tucked it carefully under his arm. His legs felt like they were weighted with heavy chains. Making them move was going to be difficult.
    “You have a whole new life,” he said, his voice stony. “And a whole new way of looking at things, too. Since you got your real estate
license, all you ever talk about are your deals. Well, I tell you what. You can make a deal to get married to some other fellow, ’cause I’ve changed my mind.” He grabbed his coat and stalked out the door, leaving Tina frowning behind him.
    _____
    Alcott Bridges could not sleep. He pulled the covers off his bed and grabbed a worn flannel bathrobe. Pulling it over his thin frame, he