“Winsted’s up to something,” John said later when he arrived at Annie’s, kissed her quickly, then ran his hand through his buzz cut. “I can tell.”
“Wow,” Annie said, “you sound like your father.” She didn’t say that she, too, was worried about Rex’s presence.
“But, unlike my dad, I tend not to hold grudges.”
Annie didn’t know what to say because she hadn’t noticed that Earl did that. She believed he was kind to everyone he’d ever met or had known.
“Winsted’s older than me,” John went on, “so I don’t remember him well. It’s true he was the neighborhood thug, but I guess he didn’t bother with me because I was too young. What matters now is that Taylor didn’t seem afraid of him when she saw him. Not that she was overly happy. But she told him he could sleep in the house tonight and move into the garage apartment if he plans to stay.”
“Will he stay?”
“Don’t know. Still don’t know why he’s here.”
“Did you ask?”
He laughed again. “Actually, I did. You might remember I am a detective. I’ve been trained to ask questions.”
She smirked. “Very funny.”
“I asked if he’d come back to the island for business, but he said, ‘No business, bro. It’s home. You know?’ I couldn’t argue with that.”
“Is he alone? I only saw Jonas’s car . . .”
John put his arms around her. “You are so perceptive. No wonder I’m going to marry you. But, yes, he’s alone. He said he took the bus from the boat into town, then walked to the house from theOn Timewhen it was still daylight. He said he doesn’t have a car because he didn’t need one in the city.”
Annie supposed it added up. And chances were, Rex Winsted had walked the route from the Chappy Ferry hundreds of times, so he certainly would have known the way.
“I am suspicious as to why he’s here, but until he shows any clear indication that he’s up to no good, we have to give the guy a chance. It’s called ‘innocent until proven guilty,’ okay?”
“Sure,” she replied. “But I think we should keep Francine and Bella away from him. Jonas can do whatever he wants.”
“And my bet is that Jonas would rather be wherever those girls are.”
She smiled. “I agree.”
“If it makes you feel better, when I left, I brought Kevin outside and told him to let me know right away if he learns anything of consequence. I gave him some of Rex’s backstory, so he’s prepared. With any luck, it’s ancient history.”
“With any luck,” Annie repeated.
Then John drew his arms more tightly around her, looked at her with the eyes she found so captivating . . . and let him steer her into the bedroom. “In the meantime,” he added, “in case you’ve forgotten, my girls are with their mother, so I’ll be here through the weekend. Shall I get my pack out of my truck?”
“Oh, Detective, there’s plenty of time for that.” Then she kicked the door shut.
Which was when John spotted the garment bag hanging over the full-length mirror.
“Whoa. What’s this? A wedding dress?”
Annie laughed. “What makes you say that?”
“A little birdie named Judy. From the dry cleaners.”
“Not fair! It’s a secret.”
“Well . . . Judy is married to Lou Simpson, who’s a retired cop and volunteers for traffic duty during Christmas in Edgartown, and he was at the station yesterday going over the schedule . . . and it doesn’t matter, does it? It’s not like I know anything about the dress. Except it’s supposed to be special.”
“It’s special, all right. But if you know what’s good for you, you won’t look at it yet. And please, don’t say anything about it to your mother. She’s excited that you’ll be surprised.”
“Mum’s the word. No pun intended.”
