Page 50 of In the Pursuit of Haven
What had happened on that island?
Had Drake found something there or did he die trying to get to it? Why not both? Someone could’ve targeted him so that they could pry whatever clue he’d found from his dead fingers.
And I was standing here with a complete stranger. With possible murderers on the trail, that was pretty stupid. Licking my lips, I straightened. “What did you say your name was?”
“Robert,” he said. “Robert Corwin.”
Shock ran through me. He hadn’t gone down with Matthew’s ship? Clearly not, since he stood in front of me, alive and breathing. “You—you…!”
“Your auntie’s mentioned me?”
Not even a little bit, except what she’d written in those letters.“She might’ve said a few things…”
“I know we didn’t part on the best of terms,” he said, “but when you get old like me, you want to put unpleasant things behind you.”
How to ask for details without sounding rude? “I understand,” I said. We needed to sit down and talk this all out. I consulted the time on my phone. It was barely eight o’clock. “Would you like to grab a bite to eat with me?” I asked. “You can tell me all about the good times. I’d love to hear about you and my aunt.”
“I’d love nothing better. There’s a place just down the road. Did you bring a car?”
“Just my boat.”
“I can take you,” he said.
Normally, I’d balk at going alone with a stranger, but this was Robert! Plus, if he’d wanted to do anything sinister, we were alone in the middle of a graveyard and he hadn’t lifted a finger. So far, he was passing my tests of “stranger danger” with flying colors.
I decided if Jessie could take chances then so could I. “Yeah, sure.”
“Roxy, there you are.”
I stiffened when I recognized Jessie’s voice. He jogged through the darkness, joining me and Robert at Cheever’s grave. He leaned against the Story’s family tomb,like that isn’t the spookiest thing in the world. “You should’ve told me that you wanted to visit Haven’s gravesite,” Jessie said. “I would’ve taken you.”
“It was just something I…” My heart thudded with alarm as I watched the two men size each other up. I’d be stupid not to sense the hostile vibes. “… I uh had—had to do this on my own,” I stuttered.
Robert glared at my husband, looking exactly like the threat he’d been when he’d followed me yesterday. The guy had done such a complete one-eighty while we studied Cheever’s gravestone together that I’d almost thought I’d imagined how scary he’d been.
I was startled how quickly his face darkened murderously, like Mr. Hyde taking over Dr. Jekyll.
“This is Robert Corwin,” I said hurriedly.
“We know each other,” Jessie said in a clipped voice. “Can I talk to you… alone, Roxy?”
That was incredibly rude, but then again… Robert’s scowl was giving me the creeps. I turned to the man in question. “Do you mind?”
“No, no,” Robert said gruffly. “Not at all. Let’s put a rain check on that meal,” he said that with a warning look at Jessie. Clearly, my husband wasn’t included in that invitation. “If you want to know more about this place, Roxy, I have a lot to tell you. I’d hate to see the secrets of the dead get buried with them.”
A jolt of shock ran through me. He knew what I was doing here.
For a moment I was infinitely grateful to Jessie for stopping me from going off with this volatile man alone. And the next, I realized that none of this was coincidental. They’d both tracked me to this place.
Jessie pushed his hand into the small of my back, ushering me away. I glanced back at Robert. Disgruntled, the guy shoved his hands into the pockets of his coat. “Tell your old man ‘hello’ for me,” he growled low at Jessie’s back. “I’ll be visiting him soon.”
Jessie spun around so fast to face him, I was left gaping.
I grabbed his arm, not sure what I was keeping him back from doing, only that he needed to be kept in check. “Jessie!”
Robert chuckled darkly and went the opposite direction, his shoulders hunched like I’d seen him do when he was following me like a mad man yesterday.
Jessie’s breathing had turned ragged beside me. He watched Robert leave before finding my eyes. “Why’d you come here at night? It’s dangerous.”
