Page 156 of Cold Case, Warm Hearts

WINDIGO TWILIGHT

COLLEEN COBLE

PROLOGUE

The sun threw a last golden glow across the horizon of Lake Superior. From her vantage point about five miles from Eagle Island, Suzanne Baxter could see nothing but the cold, clear waters of the big lake they call Gitchee Gumee.

She leaned against the railing of the forty-foot yacht and lifted her face to the breeze. Her husband, Mason, joined her.

“I’m glad we came,” she said, turning to slip her arms around his still trim body. Even at fifty-four, he could still make her heart race like a teenager’s. They’d come through so much over the years.

He dropped a kiss on top of her head. “Me too. It was time to make amends.”

She bristled. “You mean let them make amends.Youdidn’t do anything.”

“Don’t start,” he said. “It was the right thing to do.”

“I’m not so sure anyone but your mother feels that way. The rest stand to lose a lot of money with you back in your mother’s good graces. She intends to leave you the lion’s share now as her only living child.” She pulled away and rubbed her arms.

“They’ll get used to it.” He swept his hand over the railing. “I can’t believe we allowed ourselves to be gone from this for fifteen years. The kids should have been here every summer.”

“We’ll all come out in August. Jake will be done with his dig by mid-July, and Wynne’s dive should be over about the same time. Becca will be out of school. I miss them.”

“We’ll be home by Wednesday. You could call Becca on the ship-to-shore phone. She should be around.”

Suzanne hesitated. She’d like nothing better than to share things with her youngest child, but something still didn’t feel right about the situation. She’d caught undercurrents at the old manor house, eddies of danger she wasn’t about to share with her daughter yet. Becca would just worry. “I’ll see her in a few days,” she said.

He nodded and pulled her back against his chest as they watched the sun plunging into the water.

A rumble started under her feet, a vibration that made her toes feel tingly. It radiated up her calves. “What is that?” she asked Mason.

He frowned. His hand began to slide from her waist as he turned to check it out. But the rumble became a roar as the hull of the boat burst apart. The explosion tossed Suzanne into the air. As she hurtled toward the frigid Lake Superior water, her last regretful thought was of her children.

CHAPTER ONE

“Iapplied for a job on the island.” Waiting for a response from her siblings on the three-way conference call, Rebecca Baxter gripped her cordless phone until her fingers cramped. No telling how loud the opposition would be, though it was in her favor that her brother was in Montserrat and her sister in Argentina.

The answering hum in the line made her wonder if the conference call with her siblings had gotten disconnected. Then she heard Jake’s long sigh and braced herself for his reaction.

“You’re not going anywhere. The estate isn’t settled yet, and you promised to do it,” Jake said.

Her brother’s reaction was surprisingly mild, but after twenty-five years, Becca knew he was the maddest when he was the quietest. She entwined her dolphin necklace—a birthday present from her parents—around her fingers.

“I had a phone interview this afternoon, and it went great. Not many people know about the Ojibwa culture and not many would be wiling to go to a deserted island in the middle of Lake Superior. I’m pretty sure I’ll get the job.” Her voice didn’t even tremble, and she gave herself a thumbs up of approval. Shecouldn’t let them know how terrified she really was. This was the new Becca—strong and courageous.

“Jake, settle down.” Her sister Wynne’s soft voice was mellow enough to tame a tyrannosaurus rex like Jake. As head of an archeological team, Jake sometimes forgot his sisters didn’t have to jump at his command, not even Becca, the youngest.

“Don’t encourage her!” This time there was no doubt about his displeasure.

Becca winced and held the phone out from her ear for a moment then put it back. She lifted her chin, even though no one but knew it. “You can’t stop me, Jake. Max Duncan seemed very impressed with my credentials.” Even if he sounded as gruff as a grizzly bear. She grimaced and waited for the next objection.

“That was cousin Laura’s husband, right?” Wynne asked. “He’s still there even though she’s dead?”

“Yep. He’s a writer. I found out he was researching a new novel set on an Ojibwa reservation and offered my expertise.”

Jake snorted. “A perfect job for a career student like you. You’ve done some harebrained things in the past, but we’re both too far away to bail you out of trouble this time.”

“Jake,” Wynne warned again.

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