Page 31 of Wild Tides
Her voice was husky, resonating with a rich softness that reminded me of a cozy blanket. It wasn’t concern, not exactly, but I couldn’t quite name her tone.
“I’m okay, but my laptop’s missing.” It came out more brusquely than I intended, but the low clutch of panic was making it difficult to draw a complete breath. While I backed up my work, someone could still make an unholy mess of my documents if they were malicious or motivated enough. My current draft represented months of work. I couldn’t afford to lose that progress if I wanted to make my editorial deadline. A bead of sweat trickled between my shoulder blades. “Have you seen it?”
“Not recently. I’ve been at the shop all day. You left before me this morning. You didn’t take it with you?”
“No. I had errands to run with Drew. I left it in my office.”
“Weird. I’m sure it will turn up. Did you checkWhat’s New, Friday Harboryet? Everyone on island is pretty good about posting lost and found items.”
Something about her calmness tickled at the back of my brain. Like I’d missed a clue.
“No, not yet. That’s a good idea though, thanks.” I frowned, examining the windows downstairs before shuffling back to thefront door. “Was the laptop at the house this morning when you left? Were you able to lock up okay?”
“As far as I know,” she said.
I sighed, running a hand through my hair. The laptop itself wasn’t worth much, but I’d lose days waiting for a replacement to arrive. We didn’t have an electronics store on island. And I was in no shape to take the ferry to Anacortes without help. Taking one of my friends off-island for a day of shopping was one favor too many.
“I might have to call Sheriff Walker.”
“I really think you should check WNFH first,” Vi cautioned.
Her insistence finally clicked. Maybe it was my overactive writer-brain at work again, but I paused. “Do you know more than you’re telling me, Violet?”
She chuckled, low and resonant, but it sounded forced. “More than you could possibly fathom, Murphy. Check for posts. I’m sure your laptop will turn up soon.”
The urge to pace the living room, to tear my hair out, was nearly overwhelming. I hated that my ankle put it out of my reach. Instead, I flopped on the couch, pulling up the WNFH page on my phone. Vi sounded entirely too smug at the end of our conversation.
The first post griping about a new construction project the county was funding didn’t interest me, but the second post featured a picture of a very familiar laptop from an anonymous poster. Quickly, I scanned the caption.Look what turned up: one missing laptop. To get it back, I’ll need a glamor shot of the owner dressed like their high school yearbook photo. Extra points for bad hair and a letterman jacket.
The whole thing smacked of a dare. Of revenge.
A slow grin spread across my face. If this is what Violet needed to move on, I’d give it to her. In spades. But if Vi was theculprit, I’d need a helper of my own to meet the laptop-napper’s demands. I couldn’t exactly ask her to dig through my closet.
Lee: Can one of you give me an assist?
Drew: I’m tied up.
Zach: I’ve got you. I can be there around 3.
Lee: Thanks.
Zach let himself in. Violet was still at the shop, giving me another hour or two to come through on the dare before she got home.
“Hey. How’s the leg?” Zach propped himself against the door to my office.
“So-so. I’m trying to stay off the stairs, so I need a hand digging some stuff out of my closet.”
Zach raised a brow. “Need me to dispose of your porn stash before my sister sees it?”
I chuckled. “No. I need you to find my letterman jacket and a baseball cap.”
Zach held up his hands. “I don’t want to know what kind of kinky role play you’re into.”
That angle hadn’t even occurred to me. But maybe it’d get my laptop back faster – and if it did, well, that was just a bonus. Violet had missed out on a lot of high school experiences thanks to me and her brothers. I’d already set my plan into motion to make up for that with more adult memories to rewrite the past, but I’d been thinking too small.
“Relax. It’s just for a dare. You haven’t seenWhat’s New, Friday Harbortoday?”
“No. Too busy at Harbor Brews. What’s the drama this time?”
