Page 50 of Skin and Bones

“Just what?” he prompted, his voice dropping and his gaze dropping to my lips.

Before I could answer, Walt approached us with purposeful strides, interrupting the moment.

“I’ve got a plan of attack,” he said, holding up his list. “Wish me luck.”

As Walt left I turned back to Dash. “I’m pretty sure he’s going to interrogate those construction workers like they’re enemy combatants.”

Dash chuckled. “He’s formidable. I’d have loved to have someone like him on my team when I was in Afghanistan. He’ll be a great asset for this case.”

My eyes widen at the bit of information he let slip about himself, but I didn’t say anything, hoping he’d reveal more. “None of them are to be underestimated. They’ve all had impressive careers, and now they’re channeling all that expertise into this case.”

“I’m starting to realize that,” Dash said as the group filed out, each with their assigned mission.

“I better get to that budget meeting,” he said reluctantly. He hesitated, looking like he wanted to say more, but instead simply nodded and headed for the door. Just before exiting, he turned back.

“By the way,” he said, those dark eyes finding mine across the room, “you look nice today.”

And then he was gone, leaving me with a fresh wave of butterflies and the unmistakable feeling that my carefully constructed widowhood was crumbling faster than I could shore it up.

“I got through to Lucinda,” Dottie announced, making me jump. I’d forgotten she was still in the tea shop. “It just so happens she’s coming to the island tomorrow to visit her sister. She’ll meet us for lunch at The Blue Crab at eleven o’clock.”

“That’s great,” I said. “We can head over to Vanessa’s boutique now. I’ve never met her.”

“You’re not missing out on much,” Dottie said, rolling her eyes. “Milton deserved every bit of that horror show.”

I laughed and served sandwiches while we waited for Genevieve to show up to take the afternoon shift.

Dottie and I walked down Harbor Street and took a right onto Driftwood toward Vanessa’s boutique. I intentionally slowed my pace some to make sure Dottie could keep up, but I ended up having to lengthen my stride. She was spry for a woman her age.

“So you’re friends with Milton’s first wife?” I asked.

“Oh, I’ve known Lucinda since we were girls,” Dottie said. “Her maiden name is Conroy. She comes from one of the founding families. Those Conroy girls were something else back in the day. They were wild as wild could be, but they were fun. Everyone on the island wanted to be invited to a Conroy party. I think that’s why Milton wanted Lucinda. He was always about having a good time. The dummy. Never did grow up.”

“Amazing he was ever elected sheriff in the first place,” I said.

“Lucinda’s daddy helped with that,” she said. “Wanted to make sure he could support his baby girl. Then Lucinda’s sister Marjorie ended up marrying one of Roy Milton’s cousins, but they divorced not long after Roy and Lucinda split up. Marjorie has pretty severe MS and can’t travel easily, so Lucinda comes back to visit and check on things. But Roy burned her pretty badly.”

“I’m surprised Lucinda moved away if her roots run that deep,” I said.

Dottie nodded. “She’s still got a lot of family here. And she owns property here. But being married to Milton must have been too much for her to bear, and she made her escape when she could. Family ties are hard to break here.”

“Then good for her,” I said.

Dottie looked at me with an intuitive gaze that made me uneasy. “You’re thinking of the ties to your own family?” she asked.

I shrugged and said, “Families like the ones on Grimm Island fascinate me. Generations upon generations of the same last names and family properties. I never knew my grandparents. My mom’s parents were divorced and she took off to marry my dad when she was barely seventeen. They didn’t approve so she never talked to them again. Both of my dad’s parents died in a car wreck when he was fifteen and he was swept into the foster care system. It’s why he joined the military. It’s just such an odd feeling to live in a place where you know you’ll always be an outsider.”

“And then you married Patrick and got an instant family with deep ties to the island,” she said.

I grimaced, remembering the scandal. “I didn’t have a lot of friends when the announcement was made that Patrick and I would be married, even though I’d grown up on the island. But once we got engaged, I had even less friends and a whole lot more enemies.”

“Oh, I remember,” Dottie said, chuckling. “Patrick’s grandmother and I were contemporaries of sorts, but in all honesty I never cared for her much. She was a bit high in the hoof for a woman who’d been the daughter of a cotton farmer. Maybe that’s why she was so hoity toity. But once she married Andrew DuBose you’d have thought she was the Queen of Sheba. She was a formidable woman, and she wouldn’t have approved of anyone for Patrick unless she’d picked the woman herself.”

I chuckled, remembering that Patrick had told me she’d tried to do just that.

“I had to give credit to Patrick though,” she continued. “He took one look at you and it didn’t matter a twig what his family said. They even threatened to cut him off you know.”

“Yes, I know,” I said softly. “He didn’t care. He’d made his own way in the world and he was proud of that. He didn’t need his family’s money.” I couldn’t keep the pride from my voice.

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