Page 37 of The Restaurant on Plum Island
“I do like them.” Daniella nodded in agreement before looking at their uncle. “If we’re not going to get the information Nancy Drew style, then what do you suggest? We can’t wait around in limbo for the PIs to crack and start talking.”
“I have an idea,” Sam told them, glancing at Carly. “But you’re not going to like it.”
Carly’s senses went on high alert, and a tingling sensation skittered up her spine, spreading to her fingers and toes. She knew before her uncle voiced his idea of what he would say.
“I’m sure, right now, when we have nothing,” Daniella expressed in frustration, “we have to contemplate things we’re not going to like if we have any hope of reclaiming some normalcy.”
“Daniella’s right.” Carly’s voice dropped and was filled with resignation. “We’re at the ‘do whatever it takes to get results’ stage.”
“Then I suggest you take the lead role in the second season of the Cobble Cove Mysteries television series,” Sam suggested. “Because, Carly, my lovely niece, I fear what happened to youandEthan three years ago wasn’t just about ruining or tarnishing both of your careers.”
“Both of our careers?” Carly’s brow furrowed in confusion as she stared at her uncle in disbelief.Is he really showing sympathy for Ethan over what happened three years ago?“Ethan got a mere,Oh, dear, Ethan Blackwell’s first flop!After which, he dusted off the bit of the sky that trickled down on him and returned to being the most sought-after film director in the United States.”
“Honey,” Sam said, his voice ringing with patience and compassion, but a touch of warning. “Remember what I’ve always tried to instill in the three of you.”
“Which part?” Daniella asked him, and Carly could see her cousin was just as annoyed with her uncle as she must’ve also picked up on Uncle Sam’s change of heart toward Ethan. “The ‘how to defend ourselves’ part? ‘Everyone gets fooled once; that’s on the other person, but if they do it again, it’s on you’ part?” Her eyes narrowed. “Because right now, I can see how both would fit into this situation.”
“Danny!” Sam sighed at his bristling niece. “I was thinking more along the lines of nothing is ever as it seems. Always turn over a few more stones before jumping to conclusions.”
“What are you saying?” Daniella answered before Carly could. “That you think Ethan is somehow innocent in what happened to Carly three years ago, and you’re buying into some theory that he was also a target?”
“Yes.” Sam nodded, looking at her, impressed by her deduction skills. “That is what I believe to be true.”
“So this is just a theory, and you have no hard evidence to back it up?” Daniella asked Sam for clarification.
“Sweetheart, you really should’ve been a lawyer.” Sam grinned at Daniella proudly before turning to Carly. “Honey, has Daniellasidetracked me long enough so you could think, given you enough time to contemplate my idea?”
“What?” Daniella spluttered. “I wasn’t sidetracking you.”
“Oh, sweety, you and your cousin have been doing this ‘distract while the other either deduces a plan or flees’ routine to me since you were kids,” Sam pointed out. “You conveniently forget I was a US Marshal for over thirty years.”
“I don’t know, Uncle Sam,” Carly told him truthfully. “It’s a big decision, and this will not only affect me.” She gestured with her hands. “There’s Reef, Emily, you, Harley, and what about the one with the most precarious situation?” Her eyes slid worriedly toward her cousin.
“Oh, Carly, don’t let me get in the way,” Daniella told her, distressed that Carly was holding back to protect her. “Em and I are back at the house with Uncle Sam. He has people shadowing us day and night. We have all these protocols in place.”
“You really have amazing deduction skills, kiddo,” Sam complimented Daniella. “I told my men to be discreet when they kept an eye on you all.”
“So I wasn’t being paranoid!” Carly shook her head in disbelief at her uncle. “You should’ve warned us you put a protection detail onus as I’ve felt like I’m being watched the entire day, and it freaked me out.”
“I’m sorry,” Sam apologized. “But it’s less effective when you know a tail is on you.”
“So it was your men in the black car that looked a cross between an SUV and a sedan?” Carly asked.
“No!” Sam’s eyes widened in alarm. “My men are all on foot. Can you describe the vehicle or have a partial plate for it?”
“No, other than it was black and looked like one of those squashed SUVs or tall sedans,” Carly tried to describe it. “And the windows were tinted. I didn’t get a plate as I was too distracted by being run into by Daphne Rose.”
“Daphne Rose?” Sam and Daniella said in unison.
“Oh, did I not tell you about that?” Carly asked. “Sorry, my mind has been all over the place with everything happening.” She told Daniella and Sam about the peculiar meeting with Daphne,
“Has she tried to contact you again?” Sam asked.
“No.” Carly shook her head, staring at her uncle. “Uncle Sam, do you think I should take the roll and step back into the limelight?”
“Honey, I think we all know deep down that you miss the acting,” Sam told her honestly. “What, whoever did this to…”
“The Blackwells!” Daniella clarified. “It was the Blackwells. Or at least they were the ones that pulled the initial thread that unraveled Carly’s life.”
