Storm warning, p.23
Storm Warning, page 23
I drop to my knees. “Oh, shit, Stanley.”
“I was…coming back…”
Alaina crouches down next to Stanley’s head, studies his gash.
“Coming back? From where?”
“Roof…blew off…couldn’t get…out of…the way…”
“Okay, Stanley. Don’t worry. You don’t have to explain. Let’s get you inside.”
“Jake…I’m sorry.”
“Sorry for what?”
His eyes flutter shut.
“Stanley?”
No response.
“Stanley, are you with us?”
“He’s lost a lot of blood, Jake.” Alaina has her hands under his head like she’s a paramedic. “Like, way too much blood.”
“Stanley, stay with me.”
His breathing grows shallow. I check his pulse. It’s barely there.
“Come on, Stanley.”
His lips move, but no words come out. He keeps working his lips.
“Do you want to say something, Stanley?” I lean as close as I can. My ear is almost against his mouth. “What are you apologizing for?”
“Security…the owners…he’s here…”
“Tyler?”
“New…owners…he’s here…I…I…helped…”
“You helped him? The security guy for the new owners? And he’s here on the island?”
“Wants…Dallas…Hazel…”
“Hazel? What does he want with Hazel, Stanley?”
His lips move, but there’s nothing. No sound at all.
“What the hell, Stanley? What are you trying to tell me?”
A gurgling sound comes from his mouth, like his throat is filling with fluid. His head falls sharply to the side, dropping into the soggy grass.
“Stanley? Damn it, Stanley. Wake up right now.”
But it’s too late. He’s gone. He bled out. Right here on the wet ground. With the rain pouring on top of him.
“Fuck,” I say. “Fuck, fuck, fuck.”
Sixty-Seven
As we climb the steps to Lloyd’s apartment—well aware that yet again everyone is going to get a surprise when we return—I try to make sense of Stanley’s words.
He apologized. Why did he apologize? He said he was working with—helping, he said—a security guy hired by the new owners. Not the sellers who sent Tyler to check on the property. The buyers. The developers who intend to tear down our building and fill the island with luxury condos that’ll sell for one and a half million dollars.
They sent a guy. And Stanley was helping him.
But why apologize for that?
And what did this security guy want from Dallas and Hazel?
Alaina must see the questions on my face. “Why would the new owners send someone to talk to Dallas? Or Hazel?”
I pause on the landing between the first and second floors. “I have no idea. The sale hasn’t gone through yet, but it’s close. But why would the new owners care what happens during the hurricane? If they’re just going to tear these buildings down? Hell, they’re probably rooting for Kylie to take them out. It would probably save them time. And money.”
“But they don’t want anyone to die, right?”
“Maybe not. But they’re not going to lose any sleep over it either. Who are we to them? We’re just strangers. If one of us dies during the hurricane, it won’t be any different to them than if someone on the mainland died.”
“So, who is he? This other security guy?”
“I saw someone downstairs. And so did you. That must have been him.”
“And do you think…do you think he’s the one who killed Dallas?”
“Maybe. Maybe Dallas knew something that could scotch the deal. And maybe Tyler knew who killed Dallas, so he was silenced too.”
Alaina makes a face. “Do you think he’s the one who helped me?”
“I’m betting that was Stanley. For all I know, Stanley was protecting you. Maybe he put you to bed so this guy wouldn’t see you. Maybe he thought you witnessed something….”
Her look of disgust softens. “You think Stanley was protecting me?”
“Maybe. I think he cared more than we realized. He seemed kind of remorseful out there.”
“People are always full of regret when they’re dying, Jake.”
I can’t argue with that.
“But what would he want with Hazel? She’s batshit crazy.”
“She’s not crazy, Alaina. She’s old. She has dementia.”
“Like I said…” She shrugs. “Batshit.”
I ignore her comment. “Ethan was helping Hazel, and he got attacked in his apartment. Could those two things be connected?”
The building lets out a long groan, and then something makes a screeching sound above our heads. We both look up just as a giant chunk of stucco falls from the top of the building. It plummets to the ground, splatting on the grass not far from where Stanley’s body still lies.
“Shit,” Alaina says. “This place is literally falling down around us.”
As she says it, the wind picks up. The rain comes down harder.
The eye will soon be past us.
I look directly into Alaina’s face. I need someone to hear what I’m about to say. “I don’t know if we can stay in this building. I don’t know if it’s safe.”
Sixty-Eight
6:16 a.m.
I use the secret knock.
But no one answers.
I try again, pressing my ear to the door.
It’s nearly impossible to hear anything over the increasing sound of the wind and rain. I press my ear closer and think I hear rustling behind the door.
“Maybe they can’t hear the knocking?” Alaina says.
I knock again, pounding the code as hard as I can.
The chain rattles against the other side of the door. Then the lock tumbles. The door swings in. Lloyd stands on the other side, with the Glock pointed out through the small open space between the door and the wall. He’s ready to shoot my face off.
I step back, hold my hands up. “Whoa—it’s just us.”
Lloyd blinks, studying me like I’m a long-lost relative he’s not sure he recognizes. “What happened? Was the dinghy gone?”
“Can we come in? The rain’s picking up.”
He looks past us and nods, stepping back to let us inside.
Everyone from the hallway gawks at us, their mouths half-open in shock.
Once the door is closed, I tell them Alaina and I decided to come back without Jordan and Mackenzie.
“You sent them across the water alone?” Kiara asks. “Your wife and child?”
“Shh,” Nina says.
“Jordan can handle that boat better than I ever could. She wouldn’t have tried it if she didn’t think she could make it.”
“But we won’t know for sure until—”
“Shh,” Nina says.
“No, Kiara, we won’t. But it was the least bad option. Sometimes that’s the only choice we have.”
“You came back to help?” Sawyer says. “That’s admirable.”
“Why is Alaina here?” Nina asks, ignoring Sawyer. “I thought she wanted to leave.”
I decide to let Alaina speak for herself. I fully expect her to tell the truth—to blame me for keeping her from seeing her child. She has every right to, I suppose. Instead, Alaina looks at me and lies to everyone else. “I got scared. After what happened before…I couldn’t do it. If I freaked out while we were crossing in the dinghy, it could be bad. So I came back with Jake.”
It sounds perfectly reasonable, and everyone nods, accepting her story.
I’m grateful for the lie.
“You both look a bit worse for wear,” Lloyd says. “Anything else happen outside?”
There’s no point in hiding the truth. Not after everything we’ve all been through. “We found Stanley.”
“Where was he?” Ethan asks. “In the dinghy?”
“No, we heard him when we got back. He was calling for help. He was trapped under a piece of metal roofing on the grass out front. Crushed, really. He got hit when it flew off the roof.” I pause before delivering the final blow. “He died not long after we found him.”
A murmur of shock moves through the room. I don’t think Stanley was anyone’s favorite person, but it’s still overwhelming to learn someone’s been killed. Someone you know. Even when at least two other people have died.
Been murdered, actually.
“So he wasn’t up to something?” Sawyer asks. “He just ran into some bad luck? Literally.”
“Not exactly.” I look back to the door. “Did anyone else come to the door while we were gone?”
“No,” Lloyd says. “Except for the storm, it was quiet.”
I consider not revealing in front of the whole group what Stanley told me, but what would be the point? It’s like trying to keep a secret in a family. If one person knows, we all do.
“Stanley told me the new owners sent a guy to the island.” I let my eyes land on Hazel for the first time since I got back. “And that he was here looking for Hazel.”
“Hazel?” Nina says. “Really?”
“But Stanley didn’t or couldn’t say why.” I intensify my gaze on Hazel, hoping to spur her to remember. “Hazel, do you have any idea why this guy would be looking for you?”
All heads turn her way.
For a moment, Hazel looks surprised. Then something kicks in. She lifts her chin a little, pushes her shoulders back. She’s ready for her moment in the spotlight.
“I’ve been telling you, Jacob, telling all of you, that a man has been stalking me. Isn’t it obvious this is who it is? He’s been following me around for weeks.” She turns her head. “Ethan, tell them what I told you. Go ahead—tell them.”
Ethan looks uncomfortable with what’s happening. Like someone is gradually shutting off the air supply to his brain. “Well, maybe that’s your news to share.”
“Tell them.” I’ve got to hand it to Hazel. She’s a force when she wants to be.
Ethan searches for a lifeline. “Well…” He clears his throat. “Hazel told me that this man—I guess I should say a man—approached her at the grocery store a few weeks ago. I think Dallas had given her a ride so she could shop.”
“Go on,” Hazel says.
“The man approached her when she was alone. The only person in the aisle. And he knew her name. Said he wanted to take her out to dinner and get to know her better.”
“He was stalking me,” Hazel says. “I believe he intended to propose marriage.”
I feel like I must be hearing things. Did she just say “propose marriage”?
“Don’t you see?” She turns in a slow circle, taking in her audience. “Don’t you all see? He wants to marry me so he can get his hands on my things. And that’s not all. He controls the weather too. That’s why he’s on the island with us. Causing this storm.”
The feeling of disappointment in the room is palpable. Everyone deflates at once. For a moment, just a moment, it felt like we were getting closer to some answers. Instead, Hazel’s words push us further away.
Hazel goes on. “But you don’t have to worry. This island was protected by its Native people. They enchanted this land. It can’t be harmed. And the people who are from here can’t be either. That’s why young Alaina survived what she did.”
Hazel starts making low muttering sounds. For a second, I think her speech has become garbled, that she’s having some kind of stroke.
But there’s a rhythm to her speech. Actually, she’s not speaking. She’s chanting.
She’s chanting something like a song or a prayer.
“What the hell is that?” Alaina asks. “Is she okay?”
“She’s fine,” Ethan says. “That’s one of her incarnations.”
Lloyd corrects him. “Incantations.”
“Yeah, that’s it. She does this sometimes. She says it protects her. And everyone on the island.”
“What were you helping her with, Ethan?” I ask. “On the computer. Was it anything important?”
Hazel continues to chant, but her voice gets lower.
“I don’t know what it was, Jake. To be honest, we didn’t get much done, because she kept getting distracted. Every time we’d start, she’d stop what we were doing and want to look for something else. Some piece of paper in all those piles of endless paper. I don’t think we ever got anywhere.”
The building groans. Loudly. Something bangs and crashes outside, loudly enough for us to hear over the wind and rain.
“Jake?” Alaina has her eyes trained on the ceiling. “Remember that thing we were talking about outside? I think that’s more important than this Hazel stuff.”
She’s right.
I look from Lloyd to Kiara to Hazel before delivering the bad news. “I hate to say this, everyone, but I think we all need to leave the building.”
Sixty-Nine
“What are you saying?” Kiara asks.
I cast my eyes upward, as if I can show them exactly what I’m talking about. I can’t. But they’ve heard the sounds. They’ve seen the dripping water.
“The roof is gone. We confirmed that when we got outside. It’s scattered all over the grounds. Pieces of it are everywhere. So water is hitting the top floor directly. And the wind is having its way with the building. There’s a massive chunk of the top floor missing. It’s a hole the size of probably three apartments.”
Hazel gasps.
“Not your place, Hazel,” Alaina says.
“Then, when we came up the stairs, a giant piece of stucco broke away from the top of the building and crashed into the yard.”
“We heard it loud and clear.” Lloyd is still holding the gun, now at his side.
“And that crash just now? That was probably more of the building coming down. Here’s the thing—the eye is going over us right now. Things are relatively calm. But when the back side of this storm hits, it’s going to get bad again. Very bad. Because the integrity of this building has already been severely compromised. The front end of Kylie beat the crap out of this place. It may not make it through her second act.”
The room descends into silence. Except for Hazel, who has resumed her chanting.
“Where can we go?” Sawyer asks. “And keep in mind”—he points his cane around the room—“not all of us are mobile.”
My eyes trail across the room to Catalina. She looks peaceful, hands folded on top of the blanket, the candle casting soft light on the side of her face. I avoid looking at Lloyd.
“We can’t go to one of the other two buildings,” I say. “They’re likely in worse shape than this one. No one’s even been keeping them up. They’ve been gutted.”
“There might be squatters there,” Ethan says.
“That too. Although I’m less worried about that.”
“Then where?” Alaina asks.
“There’s that storage building in the middle of the island. It’s made of cinder block. It should be able to take a pretty bad punch. The drawback is, it’s low. It’s ground level. So if the storm surge gets bad…”
“It’ll fill up like an aquarium,” Ethan says.
“Maybe not that bad. But it could get dangerous. Plus, there’s not much ventilation. There’s no fresh air in here either, but that place will be like a can of tuna. We’ll be jammed in tight, and it will be miserably hot. We’d just have to ride it out that way.”
“You think that’s safer than here?” Kiara asks. “I mean…we’re on the second floor here. And safe from the water.”
Everyone looks at me. “I think we’d be safer out there. In that shed.” No one looks convinced, so I just come out with it. “This building is a death trap.” I pat my pocket. “I have Dallas’ passkey. He told me it opens everything on the island, including the outbuildings.”
“Okay,” Sawyer says, “but that outbuilding is a hundred yards away. It’s going to be tough, if not impossible, to get us all there.”
“And it’s really wet,” Alaina says. “Like, really wet out there.”
“We can help each other,” I say. “Those who can move better will help those who can’t. Like Hazel and Sawyer. We’re talking two half flights down to the ground level, and then flatland to the outbuilding.”
No one says anything else. The wind rattles the door. It’s getting strong again.
Lloyd and I lock eyes.
“We won’t be going with you, Jake. We’ll take our chances here.”
Catalina’s bell rings.
Lloyd goes over to her side and bends down. She seems unable to get any words out, and the futile movement of her lips regrettably brings images of Stanley’s last moments back to me.
Finally, Catalina gives up trying to speak. She lifts her hand and makes a shooing gesture toward the door, her eyes locked on Lloyd.
It’s clear to all of us what she’s telling him to do.
“No, ma’am. I’m sorry, but I’m staying right here with you.”
She starts to shake her head, but he cuts her off again.
“You heard me. I’m staying put.” To prove his point, Lloyd grabs the chair, scoots as close to the side of the bed as he can, and plops down into it. “See? You’re stuck with me.”
I step closer, again feeling like I’m intruding, but still compelled to speak.
“Lloyd, do you want to try to carry the bed—”
He shakes his head and runs his hand through the air in a slicing motion. “Now, Jake, you already know how this is going to go. We’re staying put. But I agree you should get these other folks out of here. And that outbuilding sounds like your best bet. You’re going to be packed in tight, but it’s the best chance you’ve got.”
“If you’re sure.” Lloyd gives me a steely look. This conversation is over for him. “Catalina?” She closes her eyes and nods. There’s nothing more I can do.
