It was really and truly done, and ready to send off. And, since she’d texted Harriet three days earlier that she’d finished the first draft, her practical agent had sent her an overnight package that arrived shortly after Oscar had left. In it was Teddy’s smartphone and, thank God, a Wi-Fi hub—so she was able to email the document to both Harriet and her editor.
Then, before she got dragged into looking at all of the email she hadn’t checked for two weeks—fan mail, administrative things, updates from friends and family, and, of course, spam—she closed her laptop firmly. And smiled with satisfaction.
That smile ebbed a little as she wished she had someone to share the moment with. Celebrate.Talk.Dance.
Since she didn’t, and she didn’t have a vehicle to go anywhere, Teddy found herself at loose ends. A quick text to Declan garnered a response that he was in Grand Rapids at a concert with Leslie, Stephanie, and a friend of his daughter’s. They’d be gone overnight.
“So I’m stuck here,” Teddy said, frowning at the ominous clouds gathering over Lake Michigan. She couldn’t chance the four-mile walk into town with the weather looking like that. “At least I have a bottle of wine and a frozen pizza to celebrate with. And a Wi-Fi hub that’ll let me streamSuits. OrHarlot.”
Or she could do a re-watch ofFriday Night LightsorPoldark.
That idea perked her up—after all, she hadn’t watched anything—or read anything for pleasure—for weeks.
Plus, she thought, there was still a mystery to solve. Maybe she’d try her hand at some more Nancy Drew-ing first. See if there were any other signs of mischief down by the lake or on the grounds.
That got her out of the cottage to stretch her legs. There was nothing like putting her feet in the water of a gently surging lake.
But it wasn’t until she’d walked down to the beach and back again that Teddy noticed something strange.
The huge, climbing rosebush growing up a piece of lattice on the far lakeside of the lighthouse was off-kilter. Actually, the rose wasn’t off-kilter, but the lattice, which at first glance appeared to be affixed to the exterior wall of the lighthouse, wasn’t attached at all. It was merely leaning against the brickwork. What had caught Teddy’s attention was that it was leaning at a more acute angle than previously.
As if it had been moved.
“How did we not notice this before?” she said, watching for loose stones and snakes in the overgrown garden as she made her way toward the lattice. After all, Bruce Banner had hiked his leg over it just a few days ago.
She wished for gloves, but had no idea where to find any on site, so she had to move very gingerly as she investigated. But when she got close enough to see behind the lattice, Teddy very nearly lost her shit and fell into the prickly roses—for there, behind the climbing rose, was adoor.
A door that led right into the base of the lighthouse.
And in the dirt below, she could see a gentle groove where the lattice had been pushed aside like a sliding door. Someone had been here. Recently. She shivered, then felt ill.
Had they come into the cottage this way?
She looked around in case whoever it was had come back, or was lurking in the woods beyond. No sign of anyone, but the light was fading due to the gathering storm clouds.
Teddy turned back to the door, carefully slipping between the lattice and the lighthouse wall, and just as she reached for the knob, a loud crack of thunder startled her.
It was so unexpected and creepy that she shrieked, jolted, and stumbled against the rosebush.
“Ouch!” she cried, extricating herself from a set of really ugly thorns—big, honking, sharp ones that left scrapes and welts as well as punctures in her arm and shoulder.
Cursing at the obnoxious thing, she glanced up at the sky—it wasn’t that dark yet, and despite the thunder, it wasn’t raining—and made a quick decision to run inside and put on better clothing. And, she thought as inspiration struck, she’d grab a couple of oven mitts.
* * *
Garbed in a hoodie, jeans, and athletic shoes to protect herself from the thorns, Teddy was back outside forty minutes later (she’d had to call her agent back after finding a message of congratulations on her mobile phone). This time, she brought a flashlight she’d found in a drawer in the kitchen, along with the ring of keys she’d used when accessing the lantern room of the lighthouse.
It would be a long shot if one of those keys fit the doorknob, but she had to try.
But when she inched her way behind the lattice and carefully grasped the knob, she found the door wasn’t even locked. Her heart thudding with excitement and nervousness, she carefully pushed it open and beamed the flashlight inside.
Instead of the dusty, abandoned room she’d half expected to find, Teddy discovered about a half-dozen large plastic storage tubs that shone dust-free in the dim light. Assured that the room was empty of anything living (at least larger than a mouse), she slipped inside and shined the light around.
It was a small room with the exterior wall slightly rounded, and two other partitions joining at a sharp angle, making the space the shape of a pie quarter. Since it lacked windows, she concluded it was just a storage room—probably used at one time for lawn tools. But someone had been there recently, because the storage bins were obviously new.
She was about to lift the lid on a bin when the beam of her flashlight fell along one of the two interior walls, revealing an unobtrusive door near their juncture. From its position, she knew it had to lead to the inside of the lighthouse. With her heart in her throat, Teddy abandoned the unopened plastic tub and eased over to the door that was tucked into the dark shadows of the room.
She wasn’t worried about stepping on mice or walking into spider webs or anything like that. She was afraid she’d discover that the door had been used.
