Page 30 of Light of Day (Sea Smoke Island #1)

“Is Andy going to face any charges?” Luke took note of Lily’s bloodshot eyes and frazzled appearance.

She wore sandals and drawstring linen pants that looked casual but probably cost a mint.

The entire Highgrove house had the same vibe, messy but expensive, like the Hawaiian lei casually tossed over a gold statue of a Hindu goddess. “I know he meant well.”

“He kidnapped someone and held them captive on a boat for three days.”

“Yes, but…” She clutched her hands under her chin. “He had good intentions. I know intention isn’t as important as impact, but…”

“Impact? He held a woman prisoner. Come on, Lily.”

She waved her hands as if trying to erase his words from the atmosphere. “Oh, you know Andy. He wouldn’t hurt anyone. On an energetic level, he was trying to protect Gabby. They were friends.”

Luke caught a smothered snort from Heather’s direction, and shot her a warning glance. So far, she was respecting his request to let him handle this interview. But he also wouldn’t blame her if she burst out laughing at Lily’s efforts to justify her son’s actions.

“Maybe so, but on a legal level, he could be in big trouble.”

“You have to help him, Luke. Please.”

Boom. He had her. “I’ll do what I can, but I’m going to need you to tell me everything he said. Word for word.”

“Well, he was in quite a state after you brought him home. I…I don’t remember exactly what he…

I was pretty stoned,” she admitted. “We were celebrating the anniversary of…something. Hmm, okay, what did he say?” She drummed her fingers against her skull as if to wake it up.

“He said that he’d overheard something when he was delivering lobsters to the inn.

That’s part of what he does for Gary, you know, as his deckhand. ”

“What did he overhear?”

“I don’t remember exactly, but whatever it was alarmed him.”

Luke narrowed his eyes at her. “I’m going to need more, Lily. Think. Try to remember.”

She lowered her head and squeezed her eyes shut.

“Okay, think, think, Lily…Hmmm…the words were, ‘that Black girl is going to be a problem. We need to do something. Stall until it’s done.’ Something like that.

” She lifted her head with a relieved grin.

“Yes, that was it. Andy knew they were talking about Gabby. He thought of her as a friend, and he would do anything for a friend. Oh!” She remembered something else and snapped her fingers.

“I asked Andy why he didn’t go to you, because I know he likes you.

He said the people who were talking were both Carmichaels. ”

Luke’s gut tightened. He wasn’t surprised, necessarily, but it was hard to hear nonetheless. He knew how ruthless his father could be, since Luke had been on the receiving end of his anger for years now. But his siblings? “Did he say which Carmichaels?”

“No. I’m sorry. I…well, I assumed it would be your father. He’s in charge of everything over there, isn’t he?”

Luke didn’t answer, but they all knew it was true.

It was time for his father to answer some questions. But that might be a job for the Harbortown police. Not only were they running the Simms case, but it would be a conflict for him to do it.

“What else, Lily? Can you think of anything more that might help?”

“My poor boy is terrified. That’s why he shut down. He’s been having nightmares lately, waking up screaming.”

Luke shared a quick glance with Heather. “Do you know what they were about?”

“He said they were about school. Which is odd, because he always enjoyed school, despite his challenges.”

“Maybe they weren’t about his school,” said Heather gently. Luke nodded to her to continue. “Did he describe the school at all?”

“He said it was full of zombies. Feeble-minded zombies.”

“Feeble-minded?” Luke said sharply. That phrasing couldn’t be a coincidence. “Are those the exact words he used?”

“Yes. Odd, right? That’s not a phrase people use very often. I don’t know where he got it. Except from one of those old history buffs he’s been hanging around.”

Now they were getting somewhere. “Tell me more about that.”

“Oh, well, I doubt it’s relevant.”

“You never know. Sometimes the tiniest, most random thing can crack a case. I do a true crime podcast with my friend,” Heather explained when Lily looked at her, puzzled.

“Well, it’s more a ‘expose the bad guys’ podcast. And my friend’s been being doing most of the work, but anyway, my point is that you literally never know what the key piece of information ends up being. ”

Lily got to her feet, and for a moment, Luke feared that she was ending the interview. “I love podcasts. I’ve been thinking of starting my own, all about life on an offshore island. Do you think people would be interested?”

“Oh, definitely. I can even help you get it going.”

Heather had pushed the right button. Looking thrilled by her offer, Lily beckoned them to follow her. “I guess I should show you Andy’s latest obsession then.”

They trooped through a set of French doors, down a path lined with rhododendrons and tiger lilies, to a small cedar-shingled guesthouse with tidy blue trim.

“This is where Andy stays,” Lily explained.

“He can’t live away from home, but this way he has some independence.

That’s why we let him do that lobstering job too.

He has no need for money, but it makes him feel self-sufficient.

Normally I would never come in here without his permission.

I feel very strongly about that. But if it will help keep him out of jail… ”

If Luke had had his own guesthouse at the age of nineteen, it would have been littered with pizza boxes and Blue-rays.

But Andy kept his space immaculate and orderly—books arranged by the color of the spine, for instance.

Not a single dish had been left in the sink to be washed, not a single piece of fruit sat on the counter growing mold spots.

Heather whistled. “Does he ever take on cleaning jobs? Can I send him to my mother’s house?”

Lily managed a pained smile. “He has a touch of OCD. He can’t sleep if something’s out of place. He definitely didn’t get that from me. Anyway, when Andy gets interested in something, he can’t let it go. He’s like a dog with a bone. Lately he’s been spending time at that beach with all the shells.”

“Shell Beach?” Heather’s eyes widened.

“Is that the name? Can’t we come up with a more imaginative name?

For such a beautiful place, this island can be very prosaic.

But yes, that’s the one. He was spending hours and hours out there.

I even got a call from Gary asking me to remind Andy that he has a real job.

When he wasn’t at the beach, he was hanging out with those gossips at the historical society.

But he was very secretive about it all. Every time I asked, he told me to butt out. ”

“So you don’t know what he was up to?”

“I didn’t say that.” She stepped to a worktable set up in one corner, with a gooseneck lamp in Andy’s favorite color, orange. Luke was already familiar with Andy’s obsession with orange. Pulling out her key chain, she unlocked the bottom drawer. “Take a look at this.”

Luke set aside his squeamishness at invading Andy’s privacy. His mother had invited them in, after all. The drawer was filled with what looked like beach flotsam. A weathered scrap of rope, the base of a hurricane lantern, handfuls of sea glass…and buttons.

“Did he find all that at Shell Beach?”

“Yes. Every bit. He’s been keeping quiet about it because that beach has all kinds of silly rules.

He’s been cataloguing everything he found.

” She tugged a manila folder from the front of the drawer and handed it to Luke.

He flipped through the contents. Each page featured a photograph of an item, along with a verbal description and GPS coordinates of where he’d found it.

In a “notes” section were various handwritten comments.

Luke read one of them out loud. “‘This spoon was made in Georgia around the time of the Civil War. It was probably brought here by a freed slave.’” His head jerked up. “Wait, what?”

“Isn’t it fascinating? I snuck in here one day while he was fishing and couldn’t believe my eyes. It’s like he’s a real archeologist. If only he could manage college…but no. He doesn’t want to leave home.” Lily shook her head sadly, her crystal earrings catching the light.

Heather read the next note out loud. “‘This button went out of style at the turn of the century.’ How on earth did he find out all this stuff?”

“Like I said, he’s like a dog with a bone when he’s onto something.

He goes online, he emails museums and universities.

If he doesn’t get an answer, he’ll just call them up and pester them until he does.

Everything in here is verified. He wouldn’t write it down if it wasn’t.

” Lily’s smile combined pride with sadness.

“It’s just too bad he can’t turn this stuff into a job. Deckhand work is hard on the back.”

Luke could hardly believe the treasure trove of information Andy had gathered. “Who else knew about all this?”

“Gabby, of course. He took her out there. And I assume the historical society maniacs knew.”

“Maniacs?”

“Have you been to one of their meetings? They get upset about anything that doesn’t ‘reflect well’ on Sea Smoke Island.

They’ve actually banned the word ‘pirate’ at their meetings.

‘Shipwreck’ is out too, and ‘mistress.’ Especially mistress.

Apparently Sea Smoke Island was founded by people who had never heard of extramarital sex. ”

Luke resisted the urge to laugh, although the mirth in Heather’s eyes made it difficult. “Can we take this folder?”

Lily screwed up her face. “I don’t know…”

“How about we just take pictures of it,” Heather offered. “We’ll leave the folder here for Andy.”

“Do you really think this is important?”

“Yes,” said Luke simply. “Very important. Another thing—do you know the names of the people he was talking to at the Historical Society? Was Amy Lou one of them?”

“Oh no, he avoided Amy Lou. She doesn’t like him. It was mostly someone else, a man.”

“Maybe Jimmy Simms? Or Denton?”

But Lily shook her head. “No, I got the impression this guy is younger.”

“A younger guy at the historical society?” Heather, who was busy snapping photos of the items Andy had gathered, gave Lily an irreverent smile. “There can’t be too many of those.”

Lily managed a weak smile. “I hope all this helps and that you go easy on Andy. I don’t think he’s the bad guy in any of this.” She put her hands together at her heart and bowed her head toward Luke, then Heather. “Blessed be. Blessed be.”