“I’ll join you,” Lori said.
“Great.” Tessa speared a forkful of eggs. “Misty will be overjoyed.”
“I’m sure she’ll love having a few walks in one day,” Lori agreed, though privately she doubted anything could truly tire out that German Shepherd. The dog had boundless energy.
They ate in comfortable silence for a few minutes. Lori watched Tessa eat and wondered, not for the first time, what was going on in that brilliant mind of hers.
“So, Ryan secured the window in the basement last night,” Tessa said, breaking the silence. “He really wedged that thing in there. Used wood braces and everything. It’s not opening again without some serious effort.”
“Good,” Lori said. “I’ll sleep better knowing that.”
“Yes, me too,” Tessa agreed.
“Is that why you went and checked that it was secure in the early hours of the morning?” Lori pointed out, keeping her tone light. She’d heard Tessa moving around downstairs around three in the morning. The old cottage creaked with every footstep.
Tessa had the grace to look sheepish. “Sorry if I woke you.”
“No, to be honest, after everything that’s happened...” Lori shook her head and set down her fork. “I haven’t been sleeping very well. I keep thinking I hear things. Footsteps outside. Branches scraping the windows. Every little sound makes me jump.”
“Me either,” Tessa admitted. She set down her own fork and met Lori’s eyes. “To be honest, I was glad Ryan stayed on the sofa bed last night. I know he’s just one person, and I know we have locks and security cameras now, but...”
“But it helps to know he’s there,” Lori finished. “I know exactly what you mean.”
Silence fell between them again, but this time it wasn’t comfortable. It was weighted with everything they weren’t saying. All the fear and uncertainty that had taken up residence in this cottage along with them.
Lori pushed her eggs around her plate, her appetite suddenly gone. The weight of what she’d seen on Mitch’s phone last night pressed down on her chest like a stone. She’d tried to put it out of her mind, tried to tell herself it was nothing, but the words kept circling back.
Sally Lane. Client. Security firm.
“Is everything okay, Lori?” Tessa asked. Her keen eyes were assessing her now, that lawyer instinct kicking in. Tessa had always been able to tell when someone was holding something back.
Lori set down her fork. There was no point in trying to hide it. Tessa would just keep pushing until she got the truth anyway.
“Last night, when I went over to change Mitch’s dressing while you and Ryan were getting the fuses installed,” Lori began, choosing her words carefully, “I saw a message on his phone. I didn’t mean to snoop. It just popped up on the screen while I was standing there, and I saw it before I could look away.”
“Okay,” Tessa said slowly. “What did it say?”
“Apparently, Mitch has a contact who’s been looking into that man we keep seeing. The one with the beige windbreaker.” Lori idly turned her coffee mug on the counter beside her.
“Yes, he did say he was looking into it,” Tessa replied, her eyes narrowing with curiosity. “Did the contact find something?”
“Well, I saw a message from that contact,” Lori told her, her voice dropping lower even though they were alone in the cottage. “He said that Sally Lane was a client of the security company that man, the beige windbreaker man, works for.”
Tessa’s brows shot up so fast they nearly disappeared into her hairline. “Sally Lane, as in the Sally that dated Mitch?”
“Yes.” Lori leaned forward, lowering her voice even more. “The same Sally who keeps showing up with lasagna. The same Sally who made it very clear she wants Mitch back.”
Lori was quiet for a moment, her eyes dropping to her uneaten breakfast before she looked at Tessa again, her eyes narrowed questioningly. “How well do you and your mother know Sally?”
“I wouldn’t say very well,” Tessa told her, tapping her fingers against her coffee mug. “Mom knows her from Mitch, but I don’t think they were ever close. I know that she came here a few months after a messy divorce about three years ago.” She sipped her coffee thoughtfully. “We know her brother and nephew better than we actually know her.”
“Her brother?” Lori asked, surprised. “How do you know her brother? Does he live on Nantucket, too?”
“Yes, Jim Brewster from the hardware store in town.” Tessa’s words left Lori cold. “He’s her older brother. They’re locals who grew up here, apparently. The Brewster family has been on Nantucket for generations.”
“I would never have said Jim was Sally’s brother,” Lori gasped. The friendly man who’d helped her at the hardware store didn’t seem like he could be related to the polished, calculating woman who’d shown up at her door with wine. “I’ve only met him once, but he is such a kindly, polite man. Very down to earth.”
“Jim is a honey,” Tessa told her warmly. “He and his wife are the nicest people you’ll ever meet. Jim is always willing to help and always has a smile on his face. His wife, Diane, is lovely too, and bakes the best cheesecake you have ever tasted. And their son Jake is just as nice. He’s in the Air Force.” She smiled. “They are just all around good people.”
