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With a shrug, the man twirled his walking stick. “Contrary to your present belief, I don’t much care what you and your wife do in Blackpool. I only want to ensure that my family is protected.”
“Rohan didn’t go there that night to hurt you.”
“Then maybe you’d care to tell me why that man was sneaking through my house? How he managed to steal past a very sophisticated security system?”
Michael didn’t have an answer.
Crowe nodded arrogantly. “I thought as much.” He adjusted the tea rose in his lapel, then started to walk out of the room. “Take care, Michael. These lost causes you and your wife have a habit of chasing after might one day turn around and bite you.”
CHAPTER TWO
THE BRIGHT YELLOW FLOATPLANE bobbed in the air as it fought turbulence. Getting to Blackpool was difficult by road, and the floatplane service was the quickest mode of transportation.
Shading her eyes even though she wore sunglasses, Molly Graham watched the plane’s descent. She stood at the end of the pier that thrust out into the Blackpool harbor. Noise from all the diesel-and petrol-powered engines created a disturbing cacophony that battered her with sonic fists. The salt air stung as it filled her nostrils.
She wore a casual business suit—a dove-gray jacket and skirt with a simple white button-down and a gray herringbone fedora with a white band. She also wore sensible dark gray strappy ankle boots with wide four-inch heels that wouldn’t get caught in the planks of the pier. Her handbag matched the shoes. The wind shifted and her dark auburn hair danced across her shoulders.
Irwin Jaeger stood at Molly’s side. He was the Grahams’ houseman, one of the two full-time employees that came with the manor house she and Michael had purchased. Irwin was thin and in his early seventies and he wore his black livery like a suit of armor. His bushy mustache twitched a little. “Appears to be a bit of a draft up there.”
Molly surveyed the water. Chop stirred the surface. “I’m beginning to think we should have picked up Mrs. Myrie in London.”
“It was her wish to come with all due speed. If we had picked her up, she wouldn’t have arrived in Blackpool until late this evening.”
“I know.”
“And she did inquire about possible air transport here.”
“Yes, but a floatplane? At her age?”
Irwin stiffened slightly. “Might I suggest that age and infirmity don’t always go together? That there is nothing wrong with keeping longevity in close orbit with a sense of adventure?”
“Sorry.”
Irwin smiled at that and adjusted his thick bifocals. His muddy-brown eyes twinkled. “It could well be that, under other circumstances, Mrs. Myrie might consider flying in a floatplane to be one of her grandest adventures.”
Under other circumstances. Molly wished that the visit had been just that. She hadn’t gotten to know Rohan Wallace quite as well as Michael had, but she’d liked the man. Over the phone, his grandmother had come across as a darling woman with a large personality.
“Well, let’s hope she doesn’t have too much adventure.” As Molly refocused her attention on the plane, it began to circle, losing speed and altitude.
A moment later, the floatplane splashed into the harbor, hopped a few times, tilted crazily for an instant, then recovered. After a quick adjustment, the aircraft turned and sped toward the pier. The propeller cut the air and powered them forward, skipping over the chop.
When the floatplane neared the pier, Irwin picked up a mooring line. Even before the plane stopped moving forward, the cockpit door opened and a teenager with wild green hair shoved his head and shoulders out. Sunlight gleamed on his facial piercings. He wore a black T-shirt that had a skull in a top hat and black powder pistols crossed under its chin.
Molly groaned. “I can’t believe Solomon let Rory fly Mrs. Myrie out here. I specifically asked him to do it himself.”
On occasion, she and Michael had hired Solomon Crates to fly them into London. Generally that was only on days that Michael had to handle some emergency meeting at his video-game company.
Rory caught the line when Irwin threw it, then used both hands to haul the plane toward the pier. “Hallo, Mrs. G.” He waved enthusiastically.
“Hello, Rory. Where’s your dad?”
“Himself is back at home. Mother insisted on eating something different last night.” Rory grinned, looking every bit of twelve though Molly knew he was at least sixteen. “From all indications, the sushi didn’t agree with him. He couldn’t bring Mrs. Myrie over, so he asked me to.” He made a “tah-dah” gesture. “So here we are. And I gotta admit, she’s quite the flyer.”
“After that rough landing, I’ll be surprised if she ever considers flying again.” Molly tried to peer into the plane.
Rory put a finger to his lips and held up a hand. He smiled encouragingly. “I thought it was a good landing myself.” He waved for Molly to agree.
“Don’t make no excuses for me, young man,” came a voice from the plane. “That was one of the worst landings I’ve made in a while. But it’s been years since I had the chance to land a plane, so I thank you for the opportunity.”
Incredulous, Molly stared as Rory dropped down to the floating dock and reached back toward the door.
Nanny Myrie, Rohan’s grandmother, appeared in the doorway. She wasn’t exactly what Molly had imagined when she’d talked to the woman over the phone. She was around five feet tall and full figured. White hair with dark charcoal streaks framed a round, golden-brown face. She wore a colorful blue-and-green dress and a silver necklace.
“That landing wasn’t none of this boy’s fault.” Nanny reached down to take Rory’s hand.
“What are you talking about?” Rory gently helped the woman onto the dock. “That was a fantastic bit of flyin’, Mrs. M. Absolutely brill. I was never worried for a minute.”
“You flew the plane?” Molly gaped at the older woman.
Beside her, Irwin stifled a laugh, failed and had to cover it with a cough. “Pardon me. I had something in my throat.”
“I did fly the plane.” Nanny Myrie crossed the floating dock with ease and climbed the ladder to the pier without pause. “I haven’t had the opportunity in a long time. It brought back a lot of memories. Good memories.”
Irwin offered his hand and the woman took it. He helped her up to the pier and introduced himself.
“You’re Mrs. Graham?” The woman turned to Molly.
“I am. But please call me Molly.” With a smile, she shook her hand.
The older woman’s grip was firm and strong and rough with calluses. “Molly, you may call me Nanny.”
“Of course.”
“You’re American, correct?”
“Yes.”
“But your husband’s not? He didn’t sound American when I talked with him on the phone.”
“Right, Michael is British.”
“You’ll have to tell me how you two met sometime.” Nanny rubbed the back of Molly’s hand. “I’m sure there’s a story there.”
“There is.”
“I appreciate you and your husband flying me in.”
“It’s our pleasure.”
“Well, I just wanted you to know that. Once I learned Rohan was here in the hospital, I had to find a way to get to him. I’m all the family that boy has left.”
At the sadness in Nanny’s voice, Molly’s heart went out to the woman. “I’m sure Rohan feels very lucky.”
Nanny’s hand tightened on Molly’s briefly. She looked past her to the harbor. “Awfully busy place.”
“There’s a lot going on right now.”
“The policeman I talked to—”
“Detective Chief Inspector Maurice Paddington.”
Nanny nodded. “Yes, that’s the one. He said that you’re responsible for a lot of this.”
Thank you for that, Inspector Paddington. “Unfortunately I seem to have stirred up more than I’d thought possible.” Molly was a grant writer. Usually she worked for nonprofit companies, as she had with the projects in Blackpool, but she’d also worked with corporate entities for a percentage. Her success had enabled her to take an early retirement, and one that she felt was well deserved after all her hard work.
Keeping up the pace she’d had before she’d met Michael wouldn’t have allowed the close marriage they had now. Michael had stepped away from much of his design work for the same reasons. Both of them had enough money invested to be financially stable for the rest of their lives. But they also picked up the occasional project that appealed to them. Michael hadn’t quit working on his own brands, though he did turn the games out at a slower rate these days.
“Mr. Paddington seems to think that some of the things you and your husband have been interested in might be what got my grandson in trouble.”
Molly searched the woman’s dark eyes but found no accusation there. “To be honest, Michael and I don’t know what Rohan was doing at the Crowe house that night.”
“The policeman led me to believe Rohan was friends with your husband.”
“They were. They are. Michael likes Rohan a lot. They’ve been working on a project together.”
“What project?”
“I’m sure Michael will show you if you want to see it. Explaining it just isn’t the same.” Nanny nodded.
“But Rohan didn’t tell us much, I’m afraid,” Molly added. “He was a very private person.”
“That boy has always been too quiet. Always thinking, always with his head up in the clouds. Never could get nothing out of him unless he was ready to talk about it.”
Molly wanted to turn the conversation to a lighter subject. “Speaking of up in the clouds, where did you learn to fly a floatplane?”
Nanny smiled. “In Kingston. I did crop dusting for farmers and I hauled tourists around in helicopters.”
“You fly helicopters, too?”
“Not anymore. But I probably still can. It’s not something you forget how to do.”
Rory passed the woman’s bags up to Irwin, then clambered up to help Irwin carry them to the waiting vintage limousine. The luxury car had come with the house, as well, and Michael and Molly seldom used it. However, Irwin loved taking it out every chance he got. He’d absolutely insisted on driving it to pick up their guest.
“Have you seen my grandson today, Molly?”
“Only a short time ago. We left Michael at the hospital with him.” Molly hesitated. “Michael’s been to visit Rohan at least once every day.”
“He’s a good friend to my grandbaby.”
“Michael’s a good person.”
“This thing that happened to Rohan, it must be hard on your husband.”
“It is.”
Nanny looked out across the harbor, but Molly knew the woman wasn’t seeing the ships and the buildings around the marina. She felt certain Nanny Myrie was thinking about that little boy Rohan Wallace had once been.
“The most difficult question for Michael is why Rohan was at the Crowes’ house that night.” Molly spoke softly, hoping not to offend. “Michael keeps wanting to blame himself. I’ve tried to talk to him about it, but until he finds out what happened, I’m afraid he’s going to remain disconsolate.”
Turning back to Molly, Nanny patted her on the arm. “Don’t you be fretting too much about that husband of yours, Molly. I can tell you now, just like I’ll tell your Michael—this had nothing to do with some project. Rohan was obsessed with digging into the Crowes. That’s why he came all this way. The paths of that family and mine crossed a long time ago.”
“What do you mean?”
“Rohan didn’t end up in Blackpool by chance, Molly. He came here for a reason. Let’s get to the hospital and I’ll tell you and your husband about it. Ain’t no reason for him to be feeling responsible one minute longer.”
The woman’s declaration lifted some of the dread from Molly’s heart. She hated not knowing what was going on, and she hated the fact that Michael felt it was his fault.
“Ladies, the car is ready.” Irwin stood politely waiting.
Nanny stuck her arm through Molly’s and they walked up the pier toward the waiting car. Sensing someone watching her, Molly glanced up at the marina. Most, if not all, of the town knew who she was, but there were a number of tourists in Blackpool, as well.
A long-haired young man in dark clothes stood staring at her. Even when she caught him looking at her, he didn’t turn away. He just grinned, but there was no mirth in his expression. Judging by the black leather jacket, tattoos and facial piercings, he was one of Stefan Draghici’s gypsy family. The Draghici family had shown up in Blackpool several months ago claiming that the Crowe family owed them a fortune in Romanian gold that had been stolen from their ancestors.
“Irwin.” Molly reached into her jacket pocket for her iPhone.
“I see him, miss.”
“Do you recognize him?”
“No.”
“Was he there before?”
“This is the first I’ve noticed him.” Irwin paused. “I don’t think we’re in for any trouble. There are too many people in the vicinity.”
And if he was going to do something, he would have done it already. Molly knew that was what Irwin hadn’t said. The thought chilled her even more than the breeze blowing in off the sea. She blinked and the young man was gone.
CHAPTER THREE
IN THE HOSPITAL LOUNGE, Michael helped himself to a cup of tea while he talked to Keith over his iPhone. Keith was a good friend and the primary artist on the current video game they were designing. The game revolved around an underwater fantasy world filled with fantastic creatures, mermaids and adventure. Lots and lots of adventure. At present, they were working on a downloadable-content episode to add to the original game. “No, no, loved the sketches of the undersea city, mate.”
“So what’s your problem, then?” Keith sounded irritable, but that was because he’d just gotten up. “Something must be wrong.”
“Nobody said anything was wrong with them. Didn’t you get my notes?”
Keith sighed. “I got your book, if that’s what you emailed me. A note, Michael, is something that fits on a Post-it. Or a three-by-five-inch index card. That’s a bloody note. What you sent me was a freaking history.”
“Sorry. I thought maybe you’d want to see the document. It has a detailed history of the city.”
