Chapter 28

I noticed blue flashing lights once I walked by the boathouse. Crowds of people were standing under the garage. I noticed Wade’s jeep was parked behind my car. Police were moving the crowd back and applying yellow tape around the area. I searched for Perry or Wade. My heart began to pound, as fear made me colder. Something must have happened to them. Had David hurt them? And the car that tried to run David and I off the road…did it have something to do with the police being here.

I slipped under the tape. Ignoring the shouts from the police, Iran up the stairs to the Pirate. Every light in the house was on and the place was creeping with policemen. Wade’s voice cut through the din of voices talking at once, “Ahoy Perry, I’ve found Kerrie.”

He hurried over to me, “Missy, where have you been?” He hugged me, but hurriedly pulled away when I soaked his shirt. “Why are you soaking wet?” He shouted, “Someone fetch me a couple of towels? Perry’s been going ape-crazy. We didn’t know what had happened to you. You’re car's here, but you were missing in action. The last time Perry saw you, he said you were standing beside it. Where have you been?”

“Wade, what’s happened?” I asked, shivering.

“Something awful has happened, Kerrie. Melinda’s dead.”

“What? Melinda’s dead? How? Oh My God!” When would the night stop shocking me? I thought of Perry. “Does Perry know? Is he okay? My God Wade, what happened?”

Wade wouldn’t answer me. He went in search of towels. But instead of bringing them to me, he sent them by a young policeman. I stood in the kitchen, trying to stay out of everyone’s way. The last thing I wanted to do was obstruct an investigation. I buried my face in one of the towels, inhaling the soft scent of floral fabric softener, seeking some calming effects from its comforting appeal. Then I wrapped my hair in one of the towels and then attempted to wipe some of the wetness of my dress. It dawned on me how ridiculous it was, when all I had to do was change clothes.

Hurriedly I slipped into my bedroom to only find a sight that would give me nightmares for a week. A woman was lying in the space between the bed and the vanity. Blood covered her hair completely and a large pool made a halo around her head. The face had been pulverized and I couldn’t distinguish any identifiable feature. She wore a lavender dress, the same lavender dress that Melinda had on earlier this morning. I screamed when I realized it was her body and she really was dead.

From the depth of my scream, a comforting pair of arms folded me into a protective hug. I recognized Perry’s scent. It sliced through the horror of seeing Melinda and I clung to him, crying hysterically. He squeezed me tight, whispering to me until I calmed down. Gently, he ushered me out of the room. “Ahoy Wade,” he called, “Kerrie needs some whiskey. I think she’s in shock. She’s cold as ice.”

Perry led me to the couch. Wade must have found my liquor stock, because suddenly a glass pressed against my lips and I was urged to drink. I took a large gulp of the strong liquor, its taste was bitter. I took another swallow and was rewarded with a warming sensation that started in my chest. I pushed the glass away. I didn’t need to get light headed. Too much had happened tonight and it would be easy to become catatonic. I let myself be led to another room, where miraculously warm dry clothes appeared. Perry helped me get out of my wet clothes and into a warm dry ones. He pulled me into his lap to put socks on my frigid feet.

“Kerrie, are you all right?” He asked. I nodded. “Come on, the police will want to ask you some questions. If you aren’t strong enough, I’ll tell them to come back later.”

“Thank you, Perry, but I’m okay. Shaken and in shock but okay. What happened? Does anyone know?”

He took my hand, “We don’t know yet. Wade found her. When I got home, Wade was looking for you. I told him to check the house, while I went to the walkway with the binoculars to see if you were somewhere on the beach. I figured you went for a walk.”

I nodded in agreement. “I did. I headed south towards the pier.”

“Wade went through the house, searching the rooms and he found Melinda.” He put his hand on my chin, forcing my head up so he could see my eyes. “We both thought it was you at first. Her car wasn’t anywhere around and you both are wearing lavender. But when I saw that her knee wasn’t bruised, I realized it wasn’t you. I took a closer look and recognized her watch. I had given it to her on for our last anniversary.”

A young policeman interrupted us. “Mr. O’Brien, we found Miss Jones’ car. It’s parked in the garage of Bill Burns’ cottage, 'The Ninth Hole.' It’s the green ocean front cottage that’s about four houses down. When we were going door to door, asking if anyone had seen anything, Todd Peters said Bill was on a cruise to Jamaica and that a strange car was in the garage. We ran the plates and her name came up as the registered owner. She must have parked the car and walked over here.” He glanced at me. “Is this Miss Rosewood? The Chief is asking for her.”

We followed him to a room on the upper floor. I rarely used the top floor. I preferred the lower level, because it was easier to use a few rooms than get lost in a maze. Perry had transferred this room into a small library with a large antique cherry wood desk. It reminded me of the Colonial days. I could envision Ben Franklin writing his memoirs behind a desk like this one. But instead of Ben, a large balding man sat writing notes on a legal pad. When we entered, he looked up and pointed to a chair beside the desk. “Miss Rosewood, I’m sorry to meet you under these circumstances. Please have a seat.”

Perry spoke from behind me. “Kerrie, this is Chief Nettles.” To the Chief he said, “Go easy on her. She’s in shock.”

The Chief nodded. He gave me time to get comfortable. My body was still shaking, but I could feel the cold drifting away from my bones. I took a deep breath and met the Chief’s inquiring eyes.