“Sure you do,” Ellis told him, nudging him gently towards the weatherbeaten gray house. “Ebbtide’s still here. It’s not going anywhere. And neither am I.”
Epilogue
Julia burst through the kitchen door. “Ellis,” she exclaimed. “I just got back from my run and noticed that Madison’s car is gone! I called the hospital and they told me she got herself discharged early this morning, AMA—that means ‘against medical advice.’”
Ellis finished wrapping the last pink-and-green-flowered dinner plate with a sheet of newspaper and nestled it tenderly in a box with the other dishes from the now-empty cupboard. “Madison’s gone,” she said calmly.
Julia opened the refrigerator door and stood there, letting the chill spread over her sweat-soaked body. “You don’t sound too surprised.”
Ellis gestured towards the kitchen table, where the high-heeled Christian Louboutin sandals rested atop a scap of paper. “I was originally. But I guess it’s not really all that shocking that she would leave like this. Not when you think about it.”
“Okay if I read it?” Julia asked, craning her neck to look over at the note.
“Of course,” Ellis said. “It’s addressed to all of us.”
Dorie came wandering into the kitchen then, barefoot and dressed in a navy blue Dare County Police Academy T-shirt over her shorty-pajama bottoms. She yawned and ran her fingers through her tousled strawberry blond locks. “What’s addressed to us?”
“This,” Julia said, holding the note. “It’s from Madison.”
“Madison?” Dorie scrunched up her face in confusion. “Isn’t Madison in the hospital?”
“Not anymore,” Ellis said. “Read the note, Julia.”
Dear Ellis, Dorie, and Julia: I’m no good at good-byes, so this will have to do. The ER docs say I don’t have a concussion, and they managed to stitch up my head and pop my shoulder back in place, so aside from some cuts and bruises, I’m good as new. Which means it’s time to hit the road. I want to thank the three of you for giving me something I’ve never had before—friends. Real, true girlfriends. I know I’m not easy to warm up to—hah!—understatement, right, Julia? The three of you—and Ty—saved my life this summer, not to mention last night, literally. Now it’s time for me to start over. Not sure where I’ll end up, or what I’ll do next, but I do know I’ll try hard not to screw up this time around. You guys take care. Your friend, Madison.
P.S. The nurses at the hospital tell me Don has a fractured skull—and something they call “blunt force trauma” to the testicles. Bravo, Ellis! P.P.S. Dorie, your friend Connor is a nice guy. He called the police in Jersey and found out that the cops in Camden discovered Adam’s body Friday morning. It was stuffed in the trunk of his car, parked in a mall. I would have been in that trunk too, if it hadn’t been for you guys. So, thanks again. -M-
“Aww,” Dorie said, sniffing and blotting her eyes with the tail of her T-shirt. “Where’d you find this, Ellis?”
“On the front porch,” Ellis said. “I woke up around six thirty, because I thought I heard a car door. After everything else that happened last night, I guess I was still on edge. I ran downstairs and looked out the living room window, just in time to see a taxi pulling away. Madison’s Volvo was right behind it. She left the note and those shoes.”
“Wow,” Dorie said, sinking down into a chair. “Poor Madison. First she finds out the only person she trusted betrayed her, and then she finds out he’s dead. That’s a lot to handle.”
Julia plucked a peach from a bowl on the kitchen counter, and sank her teeth into it. For a moment, she chewed busily, letting the pink juice dribble down her chin. “I know it’s awful, but I’m not gonna waste any time feeling bad for that guy. I’m guessing Adam’s the one who told Don where he could find Madison. He sold her out!”
“I don’t guess we’ll ever know the truth about that,” Ellis said. “I suppose there’ll be a trial, either here or up in New Jersey. Wonder if Madison will show up to testify? Or if she’ll just disappear all over again.”
“I bet she’ll testify,” Dorie said loyally. “She cared about Adam, even after she was pretty sure he’d turned on her. She’s a good person at heart. I mean, she could have taken off with all that money, if she’d been a crook. But she didn’t, did she?”
“About that money,” Julia said slowly. “What happens with that? A hundred thousand dollars is nothing to sneeze at.”
“I saw one of the cops putting the laptop bag in the back of his cruiser,” Dorie volunteered. “Maybe they’ll give it back to the company Shackleford stole it from? I’ll ask Connor.”
“And when are you seeing your new boyfriend again?” Julia teased.
“He’s coming over this morning to pick up the rain slicker I borrowed last night, and to help me pack the van,” Dorie admitted. “But you’ve got to stop calling him my boyfriend. He’s just a friend.…”
“Who happens to be a boy, who has a major crush on you,” Ellis pointed out. “What’s he think about you heading home to Savannah today?”
Dorie sighed. “He wanted to help me drive home, since Julia’s not coming back with me, but I told him I didn’t think that was a good idea. I’ve got so much to do when I get home, getting the house packed up, meetings at school, and classes start next week. Not to mention, I’ve got to have a long talk with my mother. Oh yeah, and meet with my divorce lawyer! Connor’s got a week of vacation in October, and he wants to visit then.”
“Have you decided where you’re going to live?” Ellis asked.
Dorie’s face brightened. “Willa—bless her interfering heart—managed to work that out for me. I think she must have laid a major guilt trip on Phyllis. Can you believe it? Mama called this morning and told me she wants me to move into my nana’s house in Ardsley Park! Rent-free! She says my brother is fine with it.”
“Of course Nash is fine with it,” Julia said. “He’s probably thrilled at the idea of you living there and cooking and cleaning for him.”
Dorie shook her head. “Nuh-uh. Nash will have another think coming if he thinks I’m gonna be his personal housekeeper. I am done being Dorie the Doormat,” she declared.
“What do you hear from Stephen?” Julia asked.
“He wants to see me as soon as I get home,” Dorie said. “And he asked if he can come to my next OB appointment. He wants to be there for the ultrasound I’ve got scheduled.”
“So, give him a printout,” Julia snapped.
“I told him I’m fine with him coming,” Dorie said. “He’s the baby’s father. I’ve seen Phyllis struggle with being a single mom. And I’ve been the kid whose dad never came to back-to-school night. I don’t want that for this baby. No matter how I feel about the decisions Stephen’s made, he’s not a monster. He’s a good man. And I want him in my child’s life.”
“You are such an adult,” Julia said, shaking her head in admiration. “Really, Dorie. You amaze me.”
Dorie dipped a curtsy. “Thanks. Sometimes I amaze me too. We’ll see. How ’bout you, Julia? What time are you expecting Booker?”
“With Booker, you never know,” Julia laughed. “He’s driving down in the new car he bought me. I haven’t owned my own car in years, but Book insists I’ll need one, working here and living part-time in Atlanta. Thank God I kept up my Georgia driver’s license.” Julia glanced at her watch. “Which reminds me, I’ve got a production meeting at Joe’s hotel in fifteen minutes. I know you need to get your car loaded, Ellis, but do you think Ty would mind loaning me his Bronco? Just for an hour or so?”
“What’s this about taking my car?” The three women turned their heads in unison as Ty walked, stiff legged, into the kitchen. He was unshaven, and dressed in a threadbare blue terry cloth bathrobe, but otherwise looked remarkably fit for a man who’d been shot only hours before.
“Well,” Julia started, “I just need to run up to Kitty Hawk for our production meeting, and I know Ellis probably wants to get on the road, so I thought maybe…”