Page 26 of Summer Rose

Rebecca grimaced. “I’ve never seen him look like that. He was so broken. And he hasn’t come out of the guest room all morning.”

“And still no help from the police?”

Rebecca shook her head.

“Let’s go to the station,” Bethany stuttered. “I don’t want to face Dad right now. It’s just too much.”

Rebecca locked the SUV, and together, the Sutton sisters traipsed across the parking lot toward the downtown police station. Bethany’s head twitched as she took in the once-familiar sights and sounds of the island. “I can’t believe we’re really here,” she breathed.

“Tell me about it. It’s been like a nightmare ever since I arrived,” Rebecca admitted. “And wait till you see your bedroom.”

Bethany’s jaw dropped. “It’s the same?”

“Almost,” Rebecca affirmed. “It’s like a time capsule.”

Rebecca didn’t mention the room down the hall, the one Esme had kept like a museum. None of them had any right to go in there. Esme probably only entered to dust and vacuum, thus preserving the space, just as she always had. But this made Rebecca even more ashamed. She’d run off and built her own life. All the while, Esme had been stuck at home, ensuring that room remained the same. She hadn’t been able to run from it.

The police station was a one-story red-brick building, and the officers inside were accustomed to simple tourist complaints and the occasional bar fight. Growing up on Nantucket had meant that “hard crime” was in another dimension.

Rebecca and Bethany greeted the woman at the front desk with matching smiles.

“Good afternoon! Are Franklin or Conner around?” Rebecca’s voice was chipper.

“They are. What is this regarding?”

“A missing person,” Bethany said forcefully. “The issue was not handled sufficiently yesterday, so we would like to address it further.” She paused and locked eyes with Rebecca. “I am not afraid to take my worries off the island and get the state involved.”

The woman at the front desk bristled. As she hurried off to find Franklin or Conner, Rebecca whispered, “That was intense.”

Bethany shrugged. “I have to sound authoritative during surgery. It helps elsewhere sometimes.”

Franklin and Conner returned to the front desk with the helpless-looking secretary. They eyed Bethany and Rebecca warily.

“Hello, Rebecca. Hello, Bethany.” Conner crossed his arms over his chest. “I assume this means your mother hasn’t come home?”

Rebecca stuttered. “Don’t you think it’s strange, Conner? Wouldn’t you be worried if your mother hadn’t come home for two days?”

“The fridge is fully stocked!” Bethany cried. Apparently, this detail had really stuck.

Franklin and Conner exchanged glances. Rebecca had a hunch the secretary had passed on Bethany’s threat.

“We’ll make some phone calls,” Franklin said. “Leave your numbers here.” He slid a pad of paper across the counter.

“Thank you,” Bethany said, scowling as she scrawled her number. Rebecca followed suit.

Afterward, Bethany and Rebecca wandered the gorgeous streets of downtown Nantucket. They were quiet, their minds whirling. Bethany snuck into a corner store and bought a bottle of water, which she shared with Rebecca as they continued to walk. Rebecca was nervous that being on Nantucket would be too much for Bethany, and she would decide to leave later that day.

Before they knew what they’d done, they’d wandered to the Sutton Book Club. The old colonial stood on a patch of lush green grass, shrouded with ancient oaks and maples. The sign out front—the Sutton Book Club—had been set up by their Grandpa Thomas when they were children. He’d wanted the place to have his only grandchildren’s last name. To Rebecca’s memory, Grandpa Thomas had been thrilled with Victor as a son-in-law, so much so that they’d spent hours going over theoretical ideas and philosophical texts, usually deep into the night. Rebecca remembered listening to the murmur of their conversations through the walls.

“Have you been inside?” Bethany asked as they walked up the front porch.

“It was locked when we got here,” Rebecca explained. She then dropped down to peer under the welcome mat. Sure enough, another set of keys glinted.

“Are you sure we should?” Bethany asked.

“Maybe there’s a clue about where she went,” Rebecca said, cursing herself for not looking before.

The Sutton Book Club was a three-story part library, part community center, part whatever Nantucket needed it to be. Their grandfather and then Esme had worked tirelessly to amass a monumental collection of books, most of which they checked out to the public. The front part of the first floor also served as a bookstore, where Esme sold Nantucket trinkets, paintings from local artists, and, of course, novels, nonfiction texts about Nantucket, poetry books, and so much more. As teenagers, the girls worked a few days a week at the bookstore in return for five dollars per hour. My, how times had changed.

---