Page 59 of Echoes at Driftwood Cottage

“There was no child in the grave. None at all.”

Rowan blinked in disbelief. “What?”

“Yeah.” Brent took her by the arm and escorted her toward a bench overlooking the pier. “Take a seat.”

Eyeing him with concern, she plopped onto the bench. “You’re beginning to scare me.”

“That’s not my intent.” Brent rubbed his chin hard before finally spitting out what he wanted to say. “There was no child in the grave. Okay? What we found was two adults—one male, one female—probably a couple buried underneath the cheap coffin the Dewhursts bought so they could bury a fake grandchild.”

Stunned, Rowan listened as Brent went on, “The headstone was a ruse. Don’t ask me why they put your name on the headstone. Because the answer is ‘I don’t know yet’ but I would imagine it was some sort of mix-up and it was too costly to fix. At that point, they had more pressing issues to worry about like how to get away with murder, burying two bodies, and covering up a double homicide. For now, I believe Jim and Lynette didn’t think anyone would notice.”

Rowan finally found her voice. “So, not only are the Dewhursts not my grandparents, but they could be the main suspects in a double murder? How did this couple die?”

“I can’t tell you that with any certainty until the forensics comes back. But I will say they died by unnatural means. They didn’t bury themselves in a grave paid for by Jim and Lynette Dewhurst. We’ll go into this more, later, probably tonight. But right now, I need to contact the nursing home where Gwynn lives and make sure Gwynn is Gwynn. I’ll need DNA from her and your permission to do it since you’re listed as her legal guardian. It cuts through a lot of red tape that way.”

“Sure. Anything to help. She’s in Sage Crossing in San Sebastian. Do I need to sign anything?”

Brent took a piece of paper from his jacket and a pen from his pocket. “This will do for starters.”

She scribbled her signature on the paper without reading it. “By asking for DNA, do you mean Gwynn could’ve killed them and Jim and Lynette helped cover it up?”

“Stop with the second-guessing. Okay? I don’t know yet. But I have a list to check off and each one takes time. Gwynn is a big part of this investigation. I’m also going to need to swab you for DNA in an official capacity. A police officer needs to perform the swab procedure. I’ll send someone around to your house later today. Right now, my priority is to get to the nursing home to do the same thing with Gwynn and send it off to the lab.”

“Okay. I’m happy to call the nursing home now and let them know you’re on your way. I’m on a first-name basis with Gwynn’s caregiver.”

“Do it. I’ll see you tonight when I’ll go into more detail.”

“Sure. Like the fact that this couple could be my parents.” When that got a peculiar look from Brent, she added, “I’m not stupid. I know there’s a good chance they are.”

“Yeah, well, I wouldn’t go counting my chickens just yet. We’ve only just started. You have questions. So do I.”

“I’m afraid there’s a hideous backstory to this somewhere,” Rowan declared.

“Definitely ugly. And I want to find out why it happened.” He turned to go but hesitated. “One more thing. Stop with the online sleuthing. I have enough of those in town already. I don’t need you to conduct your own investigation. Are we clear?”

“Yes. But I just sent you one email, one newspaper article about a woman’s drowning on November 27, 1999. Does that date sound familiar? I know you guys don’t like coincidences. Did you even bother to read it?”

“As a matter of fact, I did. What I couldn’t figure out is how any of it pertained to you?”

“Maybe I was there at the party. Maybe I was the kid Tamsin Southwick tried to save. Maybe it’s the reason I have nightmares about drowning, the reason I have a fear of water.”

“Now you’re reaching.” But his eyes narrowed, realizing she was serious. “You do have a tendency to let your imagination run wild. I’ll ask Eastlyn to look into it.”

“It’s not so much my vivid imagination. During the six years I spent with Gwynn she dragged me to a lot of places that weren’t exactly known for its kid-friendly themes.”

“I get it. I’ll see what I can turn up. In the meantime, make me a list of those places she frequented, anything you can remember that was out of the ordinary.”

“How long should this list be?” she asked as he headed back to his SUV. “You’re doing this to keep me busy and out of your hair, aren’t you?”

“You want to be an investigator? Grunt work is part of it.”

After explaining the two bodies found in the grave to Daniel, he tried to send her home. “Rowan, you don’t need to be here.”

“I want to stay. I need to keep busy.”

Daniel glanced around the now-empty shop. “Crowds come and go. Go home and work on your house.”

“It sounds like you’re trying to get rid of me. Am I not doing a good job?”

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