“Yes, their plan wasn’t working out. They left the note in the trailer, and when Bobby Valentine called the police-as I’m sure they thought he would-no one was arrested. They probably realized they had a problem when that happened. We knew the body was there. But we weren’t talking. I guess that spooked them and they waited until the house was deserted in the evening, took down the canoe, and removed Courtney. I imagine they would have dumped her in the bay, but that wasn’t a safe option once the island started buzzing with talk of a possible dredging.”

“So there they were, stuck with a body that was going to start to decompose,” Sam said, nodding.

“Yes, there aren’t a lot of refrigerators or freezers on the island where you can stash something that large and not expect it to be found right away.”

“Sounds as though you’ve done a bit of thinking about this yourself,” Sam said.

“Uh, yes. But that’s not important. What’s important is that I overheard Bobby Valentine arguing with someone when I was on the phone with you the other day. He must have been arguing with Howard. And that’s probably when Cheryl and Howard decided to pin the murder on him.”

“So they put the body in the trailer where he would find it.”

“Yes. But they panicked again and moved it. They probably thought he would tell someone about it, and when the body vanished, he would be arrested. That’s why they returned with the wig and left it there.”

“Josie, you may be right about all this. It makes a certain amount of sense. But I don’t see what happened that caused you to suspect them.”

“Annette and Chad.”

“Excuse me?”

“I never would have thought of Howard and Cheryl if they had just shut up. But they kept complaining about Annette and Chad being on their property and I suddenly realized why. Annette and Chad weren’t doing anything wrong. Howard and Cheryl were concerned about being seen moving the body, so they were upset when Annette and Chad slipped over their property line looking for a place to be alone. It must have seemed to Cheryl and Howard that whenever they planned on moving a body, there was a young couple necking in the bushes close by. Close enough to see what was going on. If they had cared to look.”

“Which they didn’t,” Sam guessed.

“When you were young and in love, would you have?”

“Even at this advanced age, I’m likely to be so involved in the person I love that I don’t notice a whole lot going on around me,” Sam said, pulling Josie over to his side of the car.

“Sam, don’t you think we ought to get going? We don’t even know if Howard or Bobby won the fight.”

“Remember, I’ve had some personal experience there. And, frankly, I’d place my money on Bobby Valentine any day.”

THIRTY-TWO

SAM AND JOSIE were enjoying a rare day at the beach. Labor Day was just around the corner and they both felt the need to relax and catch up on their reading. He had brought a pile of New York magazines and some New Yorkers. They lay by his side as he dozed in the sun. Josie had a trashy novel in her lap, but she was reading a letter.

Sam opened one eye and peeked out. “What’s that?”

“A note from Dr. Naomi Van Ripper.”

“A doctor… Are you all right?”

“I’m fine. She’s not a medical doctor. She’s the librarian from my hometown. Remember?”

“Of course, she was Courtney Castle’s friend. Why is she writing you?”

“To lecture me.”

“About what?”

“My personal relationships.”

“She has a lot of nerve. Her close, personal relationship with Courtney turned out to be a lie. Courtney was using her to get to the money her sister’s foundation was giving out, if I remember correctly.”

“Yes. But Dr. Van Ripper got something out of the relationship, too. She got to schmooze with a celebrity. And we learned just how far people would go for that at the beginning of summer.” Josie sat up and stared off at the hazy horizon.

“Strange that she was in town at the same time Courtney was here. Or wasn’t that a coincidence?” Sam asked.

“Not at all. We talked later. It turned out that Courtney invited Dr. Van Ripper here to see just how successful she had become with her own show and her new trailer and all. And possibly Courtney knew Dr. Van Ripper would be able to fill me with guilt for being a dreadful child. And Courtney loved making me miserable. Always did. But you know what amazed me?”

“What?”

“Courtney was still mad about her boyfriend getting me pregnant. She wanted to embarrass me and she set up the interview questions to do just that. After all these years, she was still angry.”

“But she didn’t know you were on the island when she planned this show, did she?”

“Probably not. But the first thing she found out about Island Contracting would have been the name of its owner. She must have been thrilled. She thought she was going to get her new trailer, a great series of fund-raising shows, and revenge for an old wrong.”

“Instead she ended up in a Dumpster down by the commercial fishing pier.”

“Yeah. It was typical of Howard and Cheryl that they didn’t even think of an original place to dump the body.” She paused for a minute. “I was relieved when they confessed.”

“I understand it wasn’t exactly a confession. Each one blamed the other long and loudly down at the police station, is what Chief Rodney told me.”

“Sounds like them. They aren’t exactly a loving couple.”

Sam reached over and took her hand. “I don’t want to pry, but have you thought more about contacting your parents?”

“I’ve been thinking about it for weeks and weeks,” she admitted quietly. “And I… I was going to talk to you about it.”

“Does that mean you’ve made a decision?”

“I called.”

“You called your home? Your parents’ house?”

“Yes. I spoke with my mother.”

“How was she? How was the call?” Sam seemed to be having trouble knowing what question to ask.

“She… she said she and my father were thrilled to know that they had a grandson and… they were hoping we… the four of us… could get together soon.”

“And is that what you want?” Sam asked gently.

Josie looked from the horizon to all the happy families on the beach. “I don’t know if what I want is even possible,” she answered quietly. “But I know that I have to see them again. I have to discover what is possible.”

“And Tyler? What does he think about your decision?”

“I haven’t told him anything about it. He goes back to school next week. I’m going to drive him there and stop off to see my parents on the way back here.”

“You’re not going to tell him about them?”

“Not yet. I’ve thought about it. But, Sam, Tyler is happy and well adjusted. If he misses having an extended family, it doesn’t show. I want to resolve any problems I have with my mother and father before introducing them to one another.”

“They’ll love him, Josie. Everyone loves Tyler. He’s a remarkable kid. You’ve done a fine job raising him.”

“Thanks. I wonder how he’s doing?”

“Now?”

“Yeah. He and that other kid from Family Video entered the sandcastle competition that the lifeguards sponsor every year. They left home at dawn with buckets, shovels, trowels, and assorted tools. They were really enthusiastic. They’re convinced they have a good chance of winning.”

“Really? What’s the theme this year?”

“Theme?”

“Yes. There’s always a theme. A few years ago it was monsters from the deep. The guys who won created a fifty-foot-long sea monster. The fins sticking up from the spine were Coors bottles. I went to see it because they had been dashing in and out of the store for almost eight hours buying twelve-packs. Since it’s illegal to drink alcohol on the beach, I always wondered where they stopped and imbibed on the way. Or if they just dumped out the contents. It was a pretty impressive sand sculpture.”