Page 35 of Smuggler’s Cove (Twin Lights #1)

“Now, who’s being funny?” Madison took a pull from her glass.

“I will call the tenants tomorrow and ask if they would be willing to let people tromp through the house. I will give them an incentive. Half month’s rent.”

“That works for me.” Madison was all atwitter at this new phase that was unfolding.

“Then I will call the agent that has been hounding me. She’s probably called me every other month for the past year.”

“Gail, right? Nice woman.”

“It’s an ideal neighborhood for a young family.

” Madison thought back to the days when she was a little girl and played on the swing her grandfather made from rope.

She was happy it was still there and intact.

Her reminiscence led to the days when she was in exile from New York. She sighed. “Lots of memories.”

“Should I give Mom a call while we’re on the subject?” Lincoln asked.

“Do you know what time zone she’s in?” Madison chuckled.

“She is in Toronto. Same as ours.”

“Daylight Savings Time always throws me,” Madison said.

Lincoln pulled out his cell phone, dialed her number, and put it on speaker. Gwen answered after two rings. “Lincoln, honey. Everything okay?”

“Hey, Mom. Yes, everything is fine. Why do you think there is always a problem when I call?” Lincoln smirked.

“It’s a mother’s reaction,” Gwen replied. “What are you up to?”

“I’m with Maddie and Olivia.”

“Hey, Mom!” Madison called out.

“Hello, Gwen.” Olivia was never comfortable calling her Gwen, and she also did not want to call her Mom. But when the girls were in their twenties, Gwen insisted on it.

“We went down to see Uncle Kirby’s place. It’s a bit of a mess, and so is the paperwork, but we will figure it out.”

“Kirby was a good soul. He loved you and your sister,” Gwen recalled. “Is there something in particular you wanted to discuss, because I know next to nothing about it.”

“There’s some legal mumbo jumbo we need to iron out about the water rights, which could take months.

We thought rather than have the place just sit there for a season, we could fix it up, hire someone to run it, and make a little money.

” Lincoln moved the papers around. “According to his banking records, he took in almost thirty-five thousand dollars last year.”

“Really?” Gwen sounded surprised.

“Yes, but the place could use a refurb.” He looked to his sister and then Olivia for moral support. “We were thinking about maybe putting Nana and Pop’s house on the market.” He held his breath.

“I think that’s a great idea.” Gwen was reassuring. “You have been managing the place, and even though we get a small sum each month, I think it is a good time to sell it. I am sure we could all use a little extra cash.”

Madison leaned closer to the phone. “There’s a seafood festival on May thirty-first, and they are honoring Uncle Kirby.

There is an emergency fund for families of fishermen.

They do a raffle, and then they put his name on a plaque.

It is rather quaint. I am sure Uncle Kirby would be proud to have his name on something besides an old marina.

I have not mentioned this to Linc or Livvy, but if we go ahead and fix the place up, I think we should change the name from Taylor to Kirby’s Marina. ”

“That’s a wonderful idea,” Gwen gushed.

Lincoln gave his sister a high-five. “Alright. We are good to go. I am going to call the tenants and the real estate agent tomorrow.”

“Keep me posted. I love you!” Gwen signed off.

“Love you, too!” everyone said in unison.

As soon as they knew the call was over, Madison chimed in, “You forgot to mention the dead body.”

“I am sure that is something she could do without knowing,” Olivia put in her two cents. “She worries enough about the two of you.”

Over the years, Gwen was in constant contact with Olivia’s mother, Sandra.

In the beginning, Gwen was incredibly careful about communicating with her children.

It was her way of protecting them. Sandra played a key role in keeping Gwen up to date, and Sandra confided in Olivia, who was part of their underground communications.

Olivia often felt she was keeping things from her best friend, but she also had an allegiance to her own mother.

She comforted herself knowing that everyone was looking out for one another, and it was not important who knew or did not know.

“Now let’s look at that house,” Madison urged Olivia, who was pulling up the website.

It was a front-to-back split-level. When you entered the house, there was a large room to one side that could serve as a bonus room or a den.

Across from it was a bedroom and bath. From there, you could go up a short flight of steps to the bedrooms, or down a short flight to the kitchen, dining area, and a great room.

The entire lower level faced a large patio with a pool, which overlooked the bay to the left and the ocean to the right.

There was a pool house to the side that could also be used for houseguests.

“I think I’m loving this place.” Madison kept swiping through the photos. “Is this the one that’s fifteen grand for the summer?”

“That’s what it says.”

“Sounds kind of cheap.” Madison swiped again. “Is it close to a refinery? Garbage dump?”

Lincoln chimed in, “How about taking a ride to look at it? We can also Google Map it.”

Olivia checked the website and tapped in the address. From what they could tell, there wasn’t anything around except a large park and a few other houses. “What about calling Detective Burton and asking him? If anyone knows the area, he surely does.”

“Excellent idea, Olivia. Are you sure you do not want to come and work for me?” Madison chuckled.

Olivia rolled her eyes.

“Do you think it’s too late to call Burton now?”

Lincoln checked the time. It was almost eight. “I can leave him a voicemail. Maddie, you have his number handy?”

She scrolled through her incoming calls and gave Lincoln the number.

“This is Burton,” he answered on the first ring.

“Detective? This is Lincoln Wainwright. Sorry to be bothering you at this hour. First, I want to thank you for keeping Uncle Kirby’s legacy alive.”

“He was beloved by the community.”

“Well, since we most likely won’t have an outcome about the water rights for a while, we would like to go ahead and refurbish the place and keep it open for the summer.”

Burton became interested. “I think your uncle would be happy to hear that. I know Hannah and Charlie will be.”

“I am glad you approve. Which brings me to the next thing.” Lincoln paused, then said, “We’re thinking about renting a place for the summer. There is a house on Portland Road that we are interested in, but I was hoping we could get your opinion on it.”

Burton was surprised. “What’s the address?”

Lincoln read it to Burton.

“Nice place. The people who own it live in Colorado now and rent it out for the summer.”

“Is there any reason we shouldn’t pursue this? The rent seemed more than reasonable, and it made me wonder why.”

“They want to cover the property taxes until they know where they will be living permanently. They work for a government contractor and are in Colorado for the next two years.”

“Oh, I see. Do you know the agent who is overseeing it? Irene Mariska?”

“Sure do. She’s been around here longer than most people. Knows the area like the back of her hand.”

“Great. I will give her a call tomorrow to arrange for a walk-through,” Lincoln said.

“Sounds good. Let me know if you need any help with anything.”

“Thanks. We will try to stay out of your hair.”

Burton laughed. “That should be relatively easy.”

That’s when Lincoln realized what he said to a bald man. “Sorry. No offense.”

“None taken.” The detective chuckled. “Enjoy the rest of your evening.”

“Thanks. You do the same.” Lincoln turned to his siter and his wife. “Well, gals, looks like we may have a summer house.”

“Yippee!” Madison screeched, sending Mario and Luigi running. “Sorry, guys. Mommy is excited.” Then she paused. “What about your nephews?” she asked, looking at Lincoln.

Lincoln gave her a quizzical look. “Nephews?” Then it dawned on him she was talking about her cats. “Let’s see what the place looks like, and then we can ask about pets.”

“As long as there’s a space where they won’t be able to get out.”

“You could leave them here over the weekend, no?” Lincoln asked.

“But what if I decide I want to work remotely?” Madison asked, doodling on the paper in front of her.

“Let’s take this one step at a time,” Lincoln urged his impatient sister.

Olivia reached over and touched Madison’s hand. “Everything in its own time.”

“Yes. I know. But everything is happening so quickly. One minute, we are unaware there is a marina, then there is one, and then there’s a dead body, and now we are going to rent a place for the summer.

If my calculations are correct, dear math-genius brother, all of this has happened in less than three days. ”

He mocked her by ticking off the days on his fingers. “Yes, you are correct. But you have always been resilient, and quickly adapt. Why not now?”

“Because I’m not as young as I used to be?” she mocked herself.

“Stop,” Olivia urged. “You don’t look a day over forty-ish.”

“It’s the ish part,” Madison said, pouting.

“You’re only forty-eight,” Olivia responded.

“Going on forty-nine,” she reminded everyone.

“Still not the big five-oh,” Lincoln teased.

“Ha, ha. Let us not rush things.” Madison leaned her elbow on the table and rested her chin on her fist.

“I am going to call the real estate agent. They usually don’t keep normal business hours,” Lincoln said.

He knew it was past eight, but he also knew agents were always ready to sell or rent.

He dialed the number, and it went to voicemail.

“Hello, Ms. Mariska, my name is Lincoln Wainwright. My wife, my sister, and I are interested in looking at the rental property on Portland Road. Can you please let me know if it is still available and when it would be convenient to look at it? We are in Manhattan.” He left the number, and within minutes, his phone rang.

“Hello?”

“Mr. Wainwright? This is Irene Mariska. You phoned about the place on Portland Road?”

“Yes, hello, Ms. Mariska.”

“Please, call me Irene.”

“If you call me Lincoln.”

“Deal, Lincoln. It’s a lovely place. And the rent is quite reasonable.”

“Yes, I just got off the phone with Detective Burton, who told me about the property.”

“Rob? Good guy. His wife owns a floral shop in town. When is it convenient for you?”

“It will take us over an hour to get there, but . . .”

Irene interrupted him. “Do you know about the ferry?”

“Ferry?” Lincoln asked. He nodded to Olivia, who was already looking it up online.

“Yes. There’s a ferry that runs from East Thirty-fifth or Wall Street. Takes forty minutes. I can pick you up at the ferry terminal in town.”

“That’s very nice of you, Irene.”

“No problem. I can give you a little tour of the area if you’d like.” Then she paused. “Are you the people who took over Kirby’s place?”

“Sort of. He was our uncle,” Lincoln added. “We hope to refurbish the place and get it up and running for the summer.”

“That would be wonderful. It’s a great little hangout place,” Irene added.

“So it seems,” Lincoln acknowledged her remark.

“Hannah and Charlie make a heck of a fried clam sandwich,” Irene gushed. “And wait until crab season. Hannah can whip up a serious crab dip, steamed crabs, you name it. If it’s crabby, it’s on the menu.”

Olivia turned her laptop so Lincoln could see the ferry schedule.

“There is a ferry that gets in at noon. Would that work for you?” he asked Irene.

“Perfect. I’ll be wearing a red blazer, driving a white Cadillac SUV.”

“Excellent. We will see you tomorrow. Thanks, Irene,” Lincoln said.

“Thank you, Lincoln. Looking forward to meeting you, your sister, and your wife.”

Lincoln ended the call and turned toward his sister. “You can sneak out of the office for a couple of hours, right?”

Olivia was nodding. She knew Madison’s schedule better than Madison did. “According to the ferry schedule, there are several in the afternoon that would get us back into the city between four and five.”

“Excellent!” Madison was buoyant.

“I’ll look for the agent’s number in Connecticut and give her a call tomorrow. I am sure she will be as eager as Irene.” Lincoln smiled. “Do you think Giada will join us over the summer?”

“It will depend on which boyfriend she’s dating.” Olivia chuckled. “She and her roommate usually rent something for a week on Long Beach Island during summer break, but she hasn’t mentioned it yet. I’m sure they will come up with something.”

“She’s really enjoying living in Philly, eh?”

“Don’t remind me.” Lincoln hung his head. “I know, I know. She is in her twenties now, but she’s still Daddy’s little girl.”

Madison’s emotions were always a mess when it came to paternal affection. She adored the way Lincoln cared for his daughter, something she never experienced with her own father. She was grateful that Lincoln’s instincts were far greater than what he’d experienced.

It was almost nine when Olivia suggested she and Lincoln head home.

“We have another big day ahead.” She put her hand on Madison’s shoulder and indicated she wanted to speak to her in private.

The two women had their own secret language, ever since they were children.

Madison led the way into the kitchen and raised an eyebrow.

“Maybe you should let the captain know you are going to be in town,” Olivia whispered.

“Oh, stop. I can’t do that,” Madison said in an equally hushed voice. “What would I even say?”

“Madison, you are never at a loss for words. You’ll think of something,” Olivia said, smiling.

“Hopefully, he’ll be at the seafood festival.” Madison couldn’t wait to see him again.

“Oh, I think we have to make sure of that!” Olivia winked.