“No, she never drinks on the job. She never eats either. She’s always conscientious about that.”
No alcohol is good news, Ed thinks. If she didn’t eat or drink then she probably wasn’t drugged either intentionally or accidentally. But they can’t rule it out.
“And then what happened?”
“I turned the boat around and we headed back.”
“When did you hear about the fire?”
Lamont’s eyes, Zara notices, are red from the smoke or from emotion. “Are they out there looking for her now? Is the Coast Guard looking for her right this second?”
“Yes,” Ed says. “Lucy has two boats out and she’s asking for a helicopter from Woods Hole.” He pauses. “They’ll find her.”
Zara doubles down. “Lamont, this is very important. We need to know where Coco was when news of the fire broke. We need to know who the last person to see her was.” Zara pauses and softens her tone. “Was it you?”
“Doubtful,” he says. “She was cleaning up, coming and going. There were guests everywhere. I lost track of her.”
“Another guest told us she saw Coco clearing champagne glasses right before they heard about the fire,” Zara says. “Was Coco still on the boat when that news broke?”
“I assume so, though it was chaos. Bull ordered me to lower the sails and motor back to Pocomo. I wasn’t thinking about where Coco was.” He takes a breath to say more, then stops.
“What is it?” Zara says.
“Nothing,” he says. “Not important.”
“We understand Bull Richardson was on the bow when he heard about the fire,” Zara says.
“Yes.”
“Where was Leslee Richardson?”
“I don’t remember,” Lamont says. “Bull was calling for Leslee, so she must have been somewhere else on the boat.”
“Below deck?” Zara asks. “On the stern?”
“She might have been using the head?” Lamont says. “I have no idea. Their house was on fire, I needed to get back to Pocomo, that was my focus. I wasn’t thinking about anything else. I figured Coco was down in the galley washing glasses or maybe helping Bull locate Leslee. Coco had a lot of responsibilities.” He shakes his head. “It never occurred to me, not for one second, that she’d gone overboard. She’d been on the boat plenty of times; she was sure-footed. The only thing…”
“Yes?” Zara says.
“There’s a spot in the back of the boat where people can dive off, and there’s a swim ladder. That area is secured by a gate, and the latch of the gate doesn’t work properly. It closes, but not firmly with a click. I ordered a new part but it hadn’t arrived, and when I told Bull and Leslee that, they said not to worry about it, just go ahead with the sail.”
“Ah,” the Chief says. He’s surprised the Coast Guard didn’t mention this, but then again, they were looking for the girl, not inspecting the safety of the boat.
“So possibly Coco fell,” Zara says. “Can she swim?”
“Yes,” Lamont says. “She’s a strong swimmer. That’s the only reason I’m even halfway sane right now. She can swim.”
Lamont reminds Zara of one of her nephews. He’s clean-cut and earnest—but Zara herself is the mother of two and she gets the distinct feeling Lamont is holding something back.
“Is there something else you want to say, son?”
Lamont looks from Zara to the Chief. “You’re questioning the Richardsons, right?”
16. Morning Buns
Talk of the Richardsons’ Pink and White Party is everywhere. Baxter Morse’s mother, Celadon, is dying for the details. She bumps into Dr. Andy and Rachel McMann at Tupancy Links while they’re walking their dogs and Rachel shows Celadon the videos she took: “Here are the pink cocktails, here’s the crowd on the dance floor wearing pink wigs, here’s the Frank Sinatra tribute band at the after-party, here’s a blurry one of everybody skinny-dipping at the Richardsons’ private beach under a crescent moon.”
The videos, Celadon thinks, do not disappoint.
The Richardsons instantly become the island’s sweethearts. They routinely double-book at restaurants, reserving tables at both Ventuno and Lola 41 for eight p.m. on a Friday and then deciding at the last minute which they’d prefer, which is a huge no-no that would normally result in a couple being placed on the naughty list—but the Richardsons are forgiven. When we see them out on the town, we jockey to introduce ourselves and explain our relevance: Megan manages the ERF boutique in town; would Leslee like a private shopping experience, and can Megan gift her a few items? Thaoi delivers for UPS; have Leslee’s packages been arriving on time? The Winslows are summer residents from the Main Line—would Bull and Leslee like to join them at their home on Eel Point Road for cocktails?
As the commodore and chairperson of the membership committee at the Field and Oar Club, Busy Ambrose receives the nominating letter for the Richardsons from Phoebe Wheeler. Busy decides to write a seconding letter herself. She’s certain the Richardsons will have no problem finding three other members to write letters, and maybe as soon as the August vote, they can admit the Richardsons to the Field and Oar. It will be such a coup, snapping them up before any other club does.
Fast Eddie is thrilled when Bull Richardson emails him and Addison on Monday afternoon and invites them out to Triple Eight for a breakfast meeting the next morning so they can discuss the potential of the Jackson lots. Eddie and Addison decide it would be best to drive together, present a united front, yada yada, so Addison swings by in his Aston Martin convertible to pick Eddie up. As they cruise out the Polpis Road, they talk about what kind of cut they should offer Bull. A significant one, they decide, since he’s fronting the money. All Eddie can think is: This deal could change my life. If it works out, he’ll be back on top. He and his wife could finally move out of the tiny cottage on Lily Street (which was all they could afford after Eddie’s disgrace) and buy a waterfront property similar to the one they lost. He wonders what Addison dreams of. Addison already has a pile of money, a beautiful home, and a lovely family. He’s in this deal only for the sport of it, Eddie suspects, and Eddie tries to convey the same kind of sexy indifference. What has he learned? The person who needs the least will always have the power.
When Addison pulls into the long white-shell driveway of Triple Eight, Eddie can’t help but flash back to Saturday night. He has clear recollections of cocktails, dinner, and dancing to DJ Billy Voss and drummer Joe; he even remembers throwing back the pink shots and donning the pink wig. After that, things get hazy. According to Grace, there was a Frank Sinatra impersonator and trays of cheeseburgers, and Eddie vaguely remembers tipping a paper cone of French fries down his gullet, but how that led to him waking up in the Richardsons’ living room in a soaking-wet pair of boxer shorts with Grace buck naked beside him is something of a mystery.
“Skinny-dipping,” Grace told him. “We all went skinny-dipping—don’t you remember?”
Does he?
The Richardsons’ house, which only three days earlier was the site of a debauchery this island had never before seen, is now giving clean-and-sober weekday-morning vibes. The sprinklers are gently misting the pink hydrangea bushes, and Eddie sees one of Benton Coe’s landscaping trucks parked in front of the garage. There’s some kind of garden installation going in. Eddie is relieved Benton’s personal truck isn’t here; he’s the last person Eddie wants to see on any given day, but especially after Saturday night. When Eddie asked Grace who, exactly, went skinny-dipping, she said, “You and me, Leslee Richardson, Addison, Phoebe, Benton, and some of the kids, I think.”
“Benton?” Eddie said, and Grace mmm-hmmed as though seeing Benton naked was no big deal. Well, Eddie thought, it was nothing she hadn’t seen before.
Eddie hasn’t mentioned the skinny-dipping or the party in general to Addison because, frankly, Eddie feels a bit ashamed that he was part of it. He remembers Rachel McMann taking videos of them on the dance floor; he should have insisted that Rachel delete them. Grace would no doubt tell Eddie he’s being paranoid; everyone they know was at the party, including Ed Kapenash, the chief of police! Grace views their invitation as a badge of honor. Eddie overheard Grace talking about the party with their daughter, Allegra, on Sunday afternoon. “We didn’t get home until five in the morning and I was missing a shoe! Yes, I’m serious!” Grace sounded delighted with herself.
Bull answers the door looking fresh and clean-shaven with a hearty “G’day!” He leads Eddie and Addison upstairs to the kitchen, which smells richly of coffee. On the counter is a colorful fruit salad and a platter of morning buns from Wicked Island Bakery.
