Part 16 (2/2)

I tried to figure out how his story fit and what it meant. ”What do you think was in Ray's camp trunk?”

He laughed. ”I told you. I'm sure it was for some soph.o.m.oric prank at my wedding. Some best man high jinx. I loved Ray, but he had a highly questionable sense of humor.”

”Etienne said Ray came to the island a few weeks ago to scout it out for a prank. Do you think Ray went out to Morrow Island the night of his murder to set up a joke?”

”And what? Ran into some mad man?”

I didn't respond, but that was exactly what I thought. A mad man in the form of Jean-Jacques. But I wasn't going to tell Tony. It was time to tackle the second subject I had to discuss with him. ”The prank wasn't the only reason Ray went to Morrow Island the first time.” I kept my voice steady. All business.

”True.” Tony took a long draw on the beer. ”He was looking at Morrow Island for our company.”

”Did he like what he saw?”

”He did.” Tony's voice was even, too. Professional. ”Losing Ray is a huge setback to my business. But I still want your island. I'll give you one point five million dollars for it.”

”That's a quarter of the amount Ray mentioned to Etienne!” One and a half million was exactly the amount we owed the bank. Did Tony know that?

”Those were just feelers. Ray and I had never agreed on a specific amount. And now, it seems your business is in distress.”

There was no point in denying it. ”The business was in distress when Ray talked to Etienne and Sonny, too.”

”Yes, but back then, those guys believed you were going to save it. You were their great hope.” Tony s.h.i.+fted back into his chair. ”But it didn't work out that way. Instead, you structured a deal with the bank that's going to put you out of business before the season's even really started.”

He didn't just know the amount we owed the bank, he knew the terms. He knew about the five closed days. He'd been talking to Bob Ditzy. If he didn't get the island from my family, he'd get it from the bank.

My cheeks burned with embarra.s.sment and shame. What Tony said was true. It wasn't my fault there'd been a murder and a fire on Morrow Island. But it was entirely my fault that the bank was in a position to shut us down just a week into the season. What had I been thinking? What a stupid, stupid deal I'd constructed.

”It's not my island to sell,” I said unnecessarily. Tony had done his homework well. I was sure he knew my mother owned Morrow Island.

”I'm confident your mother will do whatever you advise. You're the financial whiz in the family. The offer's firm. You have until midnight tomorrow to decide. Then the offer goes away and I move on.”

My dreams of being the hero and saving the business were in tatters. My brief fantasy of selling the island for six million dollars and having money for Page, Livvie, and Mom was gone, too. But the money Tony was offering was enough to pay off all the debt and save my mother's house. If we sold off the Jacquie II and some smaller a.s.sets, it would provide a comfortable life for my mother. I had to tell my family about Tony's offer.

Chapter 41.

Dinner was quiet again that night. Mom, Livvie, Sonny, and I had a lot to discuss, but not in front of Page, and not while eating.

After we finished, I cleared the table while Livvie washed the dishes. I came up behind her at the sink and gave her a hug. ”We need to talk.”

”I know. Sonny told me we're closed again tomorrow. That's the fifth day.”

While I'd stayed on the porch with Tony Poitras, Sonny had rushed in and told Livvie all his troubles. I longed for that. For someone to tell my troubles to who would always be on my side. For months now, that person had been Chris. I missed him in a way I felt physically.

”Jamie kissed me last night.”

”Julia!” Livvie turned from the sink and put her soapy arms around my neck. ”That's wonderful. It's what we've been hoping for.”

”We?”

”Sonny and me, silly. And Mom. And Page. He's perfect. And he's loved you all his life.”

He has? ”But I like Chris,” I whispered.

Livvie turned back to the sink. ”Chris comes with baggage,” she said barely audibly above the rush of water. ”Besides, you've been having lunch with him all these months. Don't you think if something were going to happen, it would have by now?”

Livvie gave Page a piece of leftover rhubarb coffee cake and parked her in front of the television. Then she and I joined Mom and Sonny on the front porch.

Mom looked up and saw the three of us looking serious. She put a hand to her chest and said, ”Oh, no. What is it?”

I sat on the wicker ottoman at her knee, so I could look directly at her. Livvie and Sonny stood behind me. I realized as I proceeded through the story, talking first about the five closed days and the probability the bank would call the loan, that we'd made a mistake trying to s.h.i.+eld my mother from the recent issues with the business. She was doing her best to keep up, but the effect of the murder and the fire was a lot to take in.

”But how can it be over before the season's even begun?” she asked.

Red-faced, I explained about the business plan and the structure of our agreement with the bank.

”So the island and the business aren't gone yet?”

”Technically, no.” I hadn't even told them about the messages on my phone from Bob Ditzy. I noticed Mom focused on losing Morrow Island and the Snowden Family Clambake. She hadn't said a word about her own house.

”What could save us?”

”If we're closed tomorrow, which we're certain to be, the bank will undoubtedly call the loan. I suppose if someone were arrested for the murder and the fire, then we'd be in a better position with the bank, because we could guarantee when we'd reopen. I've tried to explain to Bob Ditzy that if our revenues are higher than the plan I've given him, we can survive a few more closed days and still pay what we've agreed by the end of the summer. I'm not sure he's heard me, and all this day-to-day uncertainty-not knowing when we'll open again-isn't helping.”

”So we can still save it, if someone's arrested tomorrow?”

”Oh, Mom.” Tears sprang to my eyes. I couldn't stand the hopeful tone in her voice. If I lost control and started crying, I thought we all would. I swallowed hard and continued. ”I just had a conversation with Tony Poitras. He's offered to buy the island for one and a half million dollars.” Behind me, I heard Sonny's sharp intake of breath. The last figure he'd heard-from me-was six million.

”We're not selling Morrow Island,” my mother said.

”Mom, I think you have to consider this deal. It would pay off our debt and save this house. After we sold the Jacquie II, you'd have some income to live on. It's an opening offer. Maybe we can do better. And maybe we can't. Tony knows if he waits, he can buy it from the bank. The alternative is that you're penniless. No house. No income from the business or any other source. Just Social Security. That's it. You haven't set foot on Morrow Island since Dad got sick. I'm not sure how much you'll miss the island, but I know you'll miss this house.”

Mom gave her head a little shake. ”I don't understand. Wasn't Tony the groom at that wedding for your friend?”

I could see her working hard to take all it in.

Livvie moved to the chair next to her and took her hand. ”He is, Mom. But he also develops resorts on private islands.”

”I think you'd better tell me everything.”

I told her everything I knew about the night before the wedding and what had happened since. Livvie listened quietly while I explained that Ray Wilson was Tyler Halsey's father and, at least according to Tony, Ray had told Sarah he planned to sue for visitation. Sarah was Livvie's friend, but it appeared she hadn't known any of it.

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