Lowcountry Stranger Page 6

  Jamie held out his hand. “Give me your car keys? And I’ll drive you.”

  “Who’s going to close up if we both leave?” Sam asked.

  Lovie rushed to her side. “Don’t worry about a thing, honey. You and Jamie need to go see about Eli. Annie and the twins are still here. The four of us will manage just fine,” she said, nudging Sam toward the door.

  With Jamie at the wheel, they flew through the slippery streets of downtown Prospect, arriving in less than five minutes at the shopping center where the Bank of Prospect was located. They hopped out of the Wrangler and worked their way to the front of the crowd that was gathered around the outparcel building.

  Eli’s partner, Brad Swanson, approached them. “Sam, I’m glad you’re here. I’ve been trying to call you.”

  “We’ve been swamped all day at the market and I haven’t checked my cell phone in hours. Are the rumors true, Brad? Is it Eli? Has he been taken hostage?”

  Brad hung his head. “Unfortunately, the rumors are true.”

  Sam raised her hand to her throat and fingered the silver heart pendant Eli had given her for her birthday a week ago. “I don’t understand. Why were you not with him? Oh, sorry. That didn’t come out right. Considering the circumstances, I’m glad you’re not with him. But you’re his partner. Why were the two of you not together?”

  “We went off duty at three. When I saw Eli leaving the station in plainclothes, I asked him where he was going. He told me he had a meeting with a loan officer on personal business, but he didn’t offer specifics. He must have been in that meeting when the bank got robbed. According to our sources, around three-thirty, two scraggly Caucasian men in their midthirties entered the bank and held a teller at gunpoint. They ordered all the customers to lie flat on the floor while the security guard sealed off the building. I don’t have all the details, but somewhere along the line, one of the robbers handcuffed a briefcase to Eli’s wrist.”

  “What’s in the briefcase, Brad?” Jamie asked, the color draining from his face.

  “We’ve yet to confirm the reports, but the gunmen are apparently claiming there’s a bomb in the briefcase.”

  Sam gulped back a sob. “What are you doing to get him out of there?”

  “Our local hostage negotiator has attempted, unsuccessfully, to make contact with the gunmen. We are waiting for FBI reinforcements from Charleston. They should be here any minute.” Brad stopped talking and held his finger to the headset in his ear. “Okay listen. I need to clear these pedestrians out of the way. Why don’t you two come with me?” He walked them over to his squad car, and opened the back door for them. “You’ll be safe in here, but whatever you do, don’t get out of this car until I come back. You can listen to the radio while you wait.”

  Sam climbed into the backseat and Jamie slid in beside her. She burst into tears and he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close. She couldn’t bear the thought of Eli in danger. And to have a bomb handcuffed to his wrist. He must be terrified out of his mind.

  “Eli might not be the biggest or the strongest person, Mom, but he’s the most intelligent guy I’ve ever met. He will outsmart his captors. I trust him, and you need to trust him too.”

  “Of course I trust him,” Sam said. “How could I not after everything he helped us through last summer? But he’s alone in that bank, Jamie. With none of his officers to back him up.”

  “His backup is here.” Jamie pointed at the police officers lined up in front of the squad car. “Just because they’re not inside the building doesn’t mean they aren’t supporting him.”

  Sam’s cell phone vibrated with incoming text messages and calls from her family. “I can’t deal with this right now.” She shoved the phone at Jamie. “Will you please respond to them?”

  He took the phone from her. “I’ll create a group text,” he said, his thumbs navigating the screen.

  If he survived the ordeal, Eli would need his loved ones around to support him. Sam didn’t think she should be, or could be, the one. “I need to call Kyle.” Snatching her phone away from Jamie, she punched in a number and briefly explained the situation to Eli’s older brother.

  “I’m on my way,” Kyle said before ending the call.

  Kyle and his wife, Shay, owned and operated a sushi restaurant in downtown Charleston. Considering the weather and late afternoon traffic, it would take them at least an hour to get there if they left right away.

  Since breaking up with Eli on Saturday night, Sam had done her best not to think about him. But she missed him. She longed to feel his arms around her, to see his gray eyes darken with lust for her. What if Eli didn’t make it out of the bank alive?

  Sam put her phone on the seat and sat with Jamie in silence, neither of them knowing what to say to the other. Aside from discussions regarding market business, Jamie had barely spoken to her since Saturday night. She knew what her son was thinking. Because she was wondering it as well. Is this life-and-death situation enough to bring us back together?

  The world would be a lesser place without Officer Eli Marshall. He showed kindness and compassion to everyone he met both professionally and personally. She didn’t need him to be taken hostage in order to prove how much she loved him. Her love for him was never in question. Eli knew that. Didn’t he?

  The holidays had always been difficult for Sam and Jamie. Sure, they’d had plenty of family around for Easter brunches and Christmas Eve dinners, most of which were held out at the farm. But the unaccounted for member of the family—Sam’s husband, Jamie’s father—was the elephant everyone danced around and no one dared to mention. Because of Eli, this past Thanksgiving had been the happiest in her life.

  With plans for an early morning duck hunt with Jamie on Thanksgiving Day, Eli had spent Wednesday night in her guest room, respecting Sam’s wishes that no hanky-panky occur under her roof while Jamie was home from school. She’d slept in, a rare luxury for Sam, then spent the morning puttering around the kitchen in her robe and slippers, working on her contributions to the potluck Thanksgiving dinner they would attend later that day.

  After the past few days, Sam needed downtime to regain her composure. Her testimony as a key witness in the trial of Faith’s soon-to-be-ex-husband had helped send him to prison for a long time. But in the process, the prosecution and defense attorneys had forced her to relive the painful events of the previous summer, which had made her crave a drink worse than ever.

  Now—with Curtis locked away and Faith racing toward a speedy divorce—the Sweeney family had plenty to be grateful for. Mack invited the entire Sweeney family to his property on the outskirts of town for a picnic celebration, an oyster roast and turkey fry. The weather was unseasonably warm, not unusual for late November in the Lowcountry. Mack and Lovie supplied the oysters and the turkeys, and everyone else contributed the fixings. While the adults prepared the meal, Jamie and the twins fished off the dock and Bitsy swung in the rope swing Mack had hung from the branch of a sprawling live oak down by the water.

  They all gathered later around the farm table Jackie had rented and helped themselves to the casserole dishes and trays of oysters and turkey. Mack offered the blessing, and then everyone took a turn sharing what they were especially thankful for that year. Mack nudged Eli to go first.

  “At the risk of stating the obvious… I think I speak for everyone here when I say how thankful I am that Curtis is behind bars.”

  “Here, here,” Mike said, and they all clinked glasses of tea and wine and bottles of beer.

  They continued to circle the table with each of the remaining family members expressing their gratitude for friends, family, love, and health.

  Jamie was the last to speak. Looking up from his plate, he stared directly at Eli. “I am most thankful for you. I never knew what it was like to have a father, until you came into our lives.”

  Voices chirped from the radio as the local officers discussed the FBI’s progress in making contact with the bank robbers and setting up the SWAT team. Fr
om the sound of the conversation, Sam and Eli were in for a long wait. The only thing she knew to do was pray.

  Minutes dragged into hours. The clock on the cruiser’s dash was approaching six when Brad came to them with an update. “The negotiators have reached an agreement with the gunmen. The crisis should be over soon.”

  Sam fell back against the seat, relieved. “What happens now?”

  “The gunmen claim that the briefcase is a prop, that the bomb inside isn’t live. But we can’t take any chances with it handcuffed to Eli’s wrist. The bomb squad is standing by. They’ll go in as soon as they get the signal.”

  “That’s great news, Brad,” Sam said. “Thanks for keeping us informed.”

  “I’ll see if I can get word to Eli, to let him know you’re here.”

  When Jamie shot Sam an expectant look, she turned away from him. “I’m not sure that’s such a good idea. Eli and I… Well, we’re not together anymore. He probably mentioned it to you.”

  “Actually, he didn’t.” Brad looked away, toward the bank where his partner was fighting for his life. “But that explains a lot about his bad mood today.”

  “We should probably go.” Sam made a move to get out of the car. “Eli’s brother, Kyle, should be here somewhere. He’s the one you should be communicating with.”

  Sam climbed out of the car and, with Jamie on her heels, dodged the crowd on her way back to the Jeep.

  “What the fuck was that about, Mom? Are you crazy?”

  Sam put the key in the ignition and started the Jeep. “Watch your language, son.”

  He raked his hands through his dark curls. “Are you kidding me? The man who is like a father to me could have died today, and you are telling me to watch my language. Didn’t you learn anything from this ordeal?”

  “If you’re asking me whether I suddenly changed my mind about breaking up with Eli, the answer is no.”

  “Stop the car!” He slammed his hands against the dash. “I want to get out.” He reached for the door handle. “You may be a heartless bitch, but I’m not leaving here until I see Eli.” He slammed the door behind him, and Sam spun out of the parking lot.

  Jamie was too young to understand that she was doing him a favor. Eli made it through this crisis, but who’s to say he would survive the next. Better to end the relationship with her emotions intact than risk having her life destroyed later down the line. When their relationship was more complicated. When they were married.

  Ten

  Faith

  Faith was on her way to take Bitsy for her one o’clock appointment, her bucket of rust stalling out at every stop along the way, when Moses’s receptionist called. “Dr. Ingram had to go to the hospital on an emergency call for one of his patients. He asked if he could see Bitsy later this afternoon, around five.”

  Faith jumped at the opportunity. Postponing the appointment would allow for a rainy afternoon cozied up to her daughter in their new home. She called the market to see if she was needed there, but her mother was adamant they had plenty of help.

  Bitsy and Faith settled in with ham and swiss sandwiches at the banquette in the breakfast room. They watched through the bank of windows as the rain poured in sheets, the heavy droplets bouncing off the creek and beating the annuals in the window boxes until the plants lay limp and lifeless. She couldn’t believe this new beautiful house belonged to her—with its stainless steel appliances and granite countertops, reclaimed pine floors and ten-foot ceilings—when less than a year ago she lived in a run-down trailer in the woods.

  Barely touching her food, Bitsy babbled on about the morning she’d spent with Annie. While she was encouraged by her daughter’s enthusiasm for her new friend, Faith found some of Bitsy’s chatter disturbing. In the case of Annie Dawn, two and two did not add up to four. She dismissed her daughter’s talk as best she could, reminding herself that these disclosures were coming from the perspective of a seven-year-old. Besides, Faith hadn’t heard her daughter talk in months. She couldn’t be sure what ran through her little mind anymore.

  As Bitsy washed the last bites of her sandwich down with lemonade Faith was relieved to see her daughter’s eyelids becoming heavy.

  “I think someone needs a little quiet time,” Faith said, stacking their plates on top of one another. “Do you want to go curl up in your bed with some of your books?”

  Nodding, Bitsy stuck her thumb in her mouth.

  She brushed Bitsy’s hair out of her face. “The dentist says your pretty new permanent teeth will grow in crooked if you don’t stop sucking your thumb.”

  Removing her thumb from her mouth, Bitsy examined it from all angles before sucking it back in.

  “Have it your way,” Faith said with a scowl. Lifting her daughter from the banquette bench, she carried her to her room and lay her down on the antique cannonball bed Mike had painstakingly stripped and pickled white.

  With her Aunt Jackie’s help, Bitsy had chosen the flowery bedspread, yellow-green shag carpet, and pale-pink striped wallpaper. Faith and Mike wanted their daughter to think of her bedroom as a safe haven and not the prison her father had turned her room into when they lived in the trailer in the woods in the middle of nowhere. After her divorce was final, Faith had tried to sell their property just outside of town. It’d come as no surprise when no one wanted to buy it.

  Faith and Bitsy had moved to Moss Creek Farm and shared the master bedroom in the guest cottage. It was only now that Faith understood what a mistake that had been. She couldn’t expect Mike’s patience to last forever.

  Faith selected three books from the built-in rack on the wall opposite the bed and handed them to Bitsy. “I’m going to stretch out on the sofa and read for a while, if you need me.” She pulled the covers over her daughter and tucked in beside her the cloth doll Mike had given her. With brown-colored yarn hair and green button eyes, Dolly reminded Mike of his new daughter. And Bitsy never went anywhere without her.

  The steady pounding of rain on the roof lulled mother and daughter to sleep. A few minutes after four, the sound of mail dropping through the slot in the front door woke Faith—just in time to rouse Bitsy from her nap, brush their teeth, and get over to Dr. Ingram’s office for their five o’clock appointment.

  As she did every week, Faith sat in the waiting room, skimming through magazines and chatting with the receptionist while Bitsy met with the doctor in his office. Fifty minutes later, Mo’s office door opened and Bitsy skipped out.

  “Alice, will you please take Bitsy down to the vending machines and buy her a juice?” Mo said to his receptionist. “Unless her mother thinks it’ll spoil her dinner.”

  “Not at all.” Faith removed a five-dollar bill from her wallet and handed it to Alice. “Juice only, though. No soda and no snacks this close to dinner.” Bitsy had eaten half a bag of parmesan-flavored Goldfish on the way over.

  Moses showed Faith into his office, and she took her usual seat on the end of the sofa nearest the window in anticipation of Moses’s briefing on his session with Bitsy.

  “I must say marriage agrees with you, Mrs. Neilson,” Moses said, sitting down in the club chair opposite her. “You look wonderful.”

  Her face blushed pink. “I didn’t know it was possible to be this happy. If only I could get my baby girl straightened out.” Faith settled back against the sofa cushions. “Don’t get me wrong. I’m thrilled my daughter has regained the use of her speech. But I’m not sure if the underlying reason for her not talking all those months has been sorted out.” Faith told Moses about Bitsy’s confession, about her fear of Curtis breaking out of jail and coming back to hurt her. “Why would Bitsy open up to Annie, a total stranger, and not her family?”

  “Because she sensed the stranger wouldn’t judge her. Sometimes when people meet, they experience an immediate connection. That seems to be the case between Bitsy and Annie.” He laced his fingers together and rested them in his lap. “I agree with you. I don’t think your daughter’s sudden willingness to speak means she’s an
y less vulnerable But admitting her fears is an enormous breakthrough.

  “Our session today was productive for a change. It helps when Bitsy is a willing participant. But she seemed tired, and I didn’t want to push her. I only touched on the subject of Annie. Your daughter is quite enamored with her new friend. I’m curious what you think about this newcomer?”

  Faith crossed her legs. “I haven’t been around Annie enough to have an opinion about her one way or another. Although Bitsy told me several things about the time they spent together today that didn’t sit well with me.”

  “Such as?”

  “According to Bitsy, Annie was asking a lot of questions about our family. She told Bitsy they would one day be cousins.”

  Moses wrinkled his brow. “I’m not sure how that’s going to happen unless Annie marries Cooper, Sean, or Jamie. Perhaps that’s wishful thinking on Bitsy’s part. What else concerned you?”

  “Without asking permission, Bitsy and Annie played dress up in Jackie’s closet,” Faith said. “It struck me as being presumptuous. But maybe that’s because I know how fussy my sister is about her clothes.”

  “No, I agree. It was a bold move on her part. I’m afraid to ask how Jackie reacted when she found out.”

  “I haven’t told her yet. She’s in Charleston, working. I need to establish some ground rules with Annie, declaring Jackie’s house strictly off limits.”

  Moses leaned in, propping his elbows on his knees. “If you don’t mind me asking, why is Annie babysitting for Bitsy at the farm?”

  “Jackie suggested it, and I agreed. With the twins coming and going, since Bitsy knows them so well and Annie is a stranger to us, it seemed to make sense. Besides, we both thought it might help Bitsy adjust to the move to the new house.”

  “Adjust, or is it dragging out the inevitable?” Mo asked. “Why not take advantage of your daughter’s comfortable relationship with Annie by having them spend time together at your new home?”

  Faith stared at the ceiling as she contemplated the idea. “I like knowing Cooper and Sean are around if Bitsy should need them. But you make a good point. We’ll give it a couple of days before we make the change.”