Page 62 of Light of Day
“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.”
28
“So we were right,”Luke told Heather when they were back in the truck. “Based on the evidence Andy collected, this island was settled much earlier than when the hotel was built.”
“I think we’re getting somewhere, finally. But I agree with Lily. I don’t think Andy’s the bad guy.” Heather fastened her seatbelt and pulled out her phone. “I’m airdropping all these photos to you.”
“Want to go back to my place and look through them?” he asked, trying to sound casual.
Really, he just wanted to get her back into his bed.
She laughed. “Very smooth.”
“I know. I really have a way with the ladies.” He winked at her as he started his truck.
“Of course you do. It’s the man-in-uniform thing. Maybe also a rich kid thing. And then there’s the hottie thing. I’d say you have a few things going for you.”
“Is that a yes?” he asked hopefully, making her laugh again.
Just then her phone buzzed. “Hang on. I set my phone to alert me if any priority emails came in.” She pulled it from her pocket. “It’s from Gabby!” Scanning it quickly, she said, “Phew. She’s fine. She says she’s not worried about any of that and is just focused on putting together the most explosive episode our podcast has ever done.”
