Page 82 of A Spot of Tea
Joey flew to the mainland and printed the pictures, then flew straight to Orcas Island. He landed at The Grand Madrona Hotel docks. Patty once mentioned a friend of hers ran the place; he hoped dropping her name would be enough to keep him from getting screamed at. Luckily, no one approached him at all.
According to Eliza’s research, Derek’s trailer sat on a small plot of land a mile and a half from the hotel.
Joey walked up the gravel driveway to the main road and a guy leaving stopped to ask if he wanted a ride. He accepted, climbing into the blue truck.
“Headed to a friend’s?” the driver asked.
“Something like that.” He kept his eyes watching the road, memorizing where he’d need to run if things went south.
They stopped at theNO TRESPASSINGsign.
“Thanks.” Joey popped the door to the truck open and hopped out. A narrow dirt driveway wove uphill, into the trees. He walked on, heart thundering in his ears.
The trailer sat at the top of the hill. The top and bottom third were a grey white, the middle a yellow stripe. A door sat at the edge, the top of it bent and misshapen.
Joey knocked. He heard rustling before the door flung open. Derek stood in a white tank top, his dark curly hair flopping over his forehead.
Joey’s heart skipped a beat when he saw Derek’s gold-flecked eyes squinting into the rising sun.
“Can I help you?”
He took a slow breath. “I’m Joey. I need to talk to you.”
Derek crossed his arms over his chest. “I don’t know any Joeys.”
“It’s about Stacy.”
His muscles stiffened. “I don’t know any Stacys either. Get out of here before I call the police.”
Joey put up a hand. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you. Stacy might already have the police looking for you.”
His face twisted. “What? Why?”
“That’s what we need to talk about.” Joey forced a sigh. “Do you want to get arrested right now or not?”
Derek peered over Joey’s shoulder. All Joey could hear was his own breathing.
“Get inside.”
The door closed with a clap, Derek slipping inside.
Joey’s lungs burned like he’d just run ten miles. He took a deep breath and pulled the door open. His eyes adjusted to the warm glow of light inside the trailer. A counter straight ahead held a stack of papers. On top of that was a ukulele. The sink overflowed with empty cans, the lids standing straight up like knives.
Derek sat on a cracked blue couch. “How do you know Stacy?”
Joey reached into his pocket and pulled out the stack of glossy pictures. The one on top was of him and Stacy at a picnic. He handed them over. “I could ask you the same question.”
Derek passed through the pictures, getting to the back of the stack, eyes lingering. “So she’s been keeping you on the side.”
“No.” Joey crossed his arms over his chest. He could feel his pulse in every vein. “She’s keepingyouon the side. Stacy and I have been together for years.” He shrugged. “On and off.”
Derek tossed the stack of pictures onto the couch cushion next to him and shrugged. “Did you come here to fight me? You can have her.”
“I’m not here to fight you. I want to get back at her.”
Derek smirked and sat back. “That’s fine. Leave me out of it.”
“She told me about you. About the banks.”
