“Be right there,” a woman’s voice called.
Reminiscent of Betty—she hoped this woman wasn’t also an oddball.
“Hi, sorry to make you wait. The twins are throwing their evening tantrum.” The woman looked to be around her own age. Wholesome, with short brown hair and brown eyes, she looked tired, but in a good way. She wore cut-off jean shorts and an orange T-shirt with a gator on the front. Like Kimberly, she had a golden tan, shapely legs, and Alison noticed she wore a gold toe ring. Weren’t those out of style? As in, the 1980s out of style?
“No problem; I didn’t hear your kids,” Alison said. “I just wanted to see if you had a place for tonight, maybe tomorrow night, too.”
“I’m Lacey. We’ve got a few vacancies. Just you?” she asked as she took a seat behind the blue desk. Clicking the keyboard, she swirled the monitor around so Alison could view the rooms.
“This is the Pink Flamingo. It’s available this week. This”—she scrolled down to another cottage—“this is Suzi Sails Seashells and Pelican Landing, both of which have two bedrooms.”
Alison smiled. “Very appropriate names,” she said, seeing the décor in each cottage replicated the name. “They’re all adorable, so whatever you have for a couple nights, I’ll take.”
“Normally we only rent by the week, but it’s off-season, so a couple nights is fine. You need to stay longer, no worries,” Lacey said. “I just need an ID and a credit or debit card.”
Alison was a cash-only person. She had checks from her investment account, but no credit or debit card. “I have cash,” she told Lacey.
“That’ll work, too. Nowadays, everyone seems to forget we still take cash. Just an ID, and I’ll set you up in the pink cottage.”
“That would be great.” She took her driver’s license from her purse and three one-hundred-dollar bills.
“That’s too much . . .” Lacey glanced at her ID, then gave it back to her. “Alison. We’re fifty bucks a night, and since you have cash, you’ll get the Florida six-percent discount.”
“You’re sure?” she asked, thinking the price too low, given that each room was more like a mini apartment with a full kitchen, bathroom, and living area; plus, the area where the bed was placed appeared as though it were a separate room.
“Yep, I’m sure,” Lacey said. “Here is the key; you can park in the front of the cottage. The password for the Internet is Mariner-one-one-two-one.”
“No need, but thanks.” Maybe once she settled into her new home, she would think about getting a computer.
Lacey chuckled. “That’s usually the first question our guests ask. People come here to get away from it all, and as soon as they get here, they want to get back to Facebook and Instagram. Can’t leave their social media behind.”
“I’m a little behind in the tech world,” Alison said, gripping the key. She debated whether she should share her news with Lacey, then decided to, since she was soon to be a permanent resident. “I just bought the yellow cottage on the island, so we’ll probably bump into one another at the store or some place,” she said awkwardly.
Lacey’s expression went from pleasant to surprised. “I see.”
First Renée, now Lacey. Odd that Valentina didn’t seem to think her purchasing the cottage was a bad idea. “Is there something I should know about? The real estate agent said the place is in decent shape.”
Lacey shook her head. “I think you need to ask your agent. Was Brian McMann your agent?”
“No. Kimberly.” She took the girl’s card from her purse. “Everette.”
“She must be new,” Lacey said. “Brian is my brother-in-law. He owns Diamond Realty, though he isn’t around much these days.”
“Now I feel like I’ve been ripped off,” Alison said.
“Have you taken a mortgage out? I know it’s none of my business,” Lacey said.
“No, I was going to pay cash, I am going to pay cash. It needs a bit of work, but I didn’t see anything unusual when I was there.”
“You misunderstand me. It’s not the cottage itself. Though I’ve never been inside, I assume it’s structurally sound; otherwise, Brian wouldn’t have taken the listing.”
“Then what?” Alison said. Before she plunked down a hundred grand, she wanted to make sure she wasn’t throwing her money down the drain. She’d worked too hard to earn enough to live the life she’d always wanted; she wasn’t going to let some half-assed real estate agent rip her off.
“This Kimberly, she didn’t tell you anything?”
“If you mean did she tell me something horrible, no. She seemed quite comfortable, brought the specs from the architect that originally built the cottage. A first-class snob is the only complaint I have about her.”
“Look, I may be wrong, I’ve only lived here for six years. Right after we bought this place, I heard there was an accident there. A bad one.” Lacey paused. “A little girl’s body was found buried there, or at least what was left of it. Bones.”
“What? No one mentioned this to me. Are you sure?” The island was isolated. If this were true, surely Valentina would’ve told her this. Alison knew small towns, and the gossips were always the same. A tragedy in a small town would be repeated until it was totally out of proportion. Valentina had said it was the best deal on the island. She would struggle, she’d told her, but whatever she struggled with, she’d get through it with no problems. Had she only heard what she wanted to hear? No, she was positive Valentina said to buy the place. She’d had good vibes, the house was just that, a house.
Lacey twisted a bracelet made out of seashells on her wrist. “I could be wrong, so please don’t base your decision on what I heard. It might be just gossip. I’ve never spoken about this to anyone, though I’m sure if you really wanted the facts, Brian would know. I can call him, see if it’s true.”
It couldn’t be that simple. If a body had been found on the property, it would be the talk of the island. Even that jerk John would know about it. She recalled what Renée and her mother said about him. He hurt little girls. Maybe he’d done more than that. Maybe he was involved somehow. “Did you ever hear how old this child was?”
“No, though I assume she was very young, maybe seven or eight, the way folks talked.”
“I’ll call Kimberly first thing tomorrow. If there is anything she isn’t telling me, she’ll be really sorry she lied to me, tried to rip me off.”
“As I said, I’m not positive, but I’ll call my brother-in-law. I can ask him.”
“No, I won’t involve you in this. I’ll find out if this is true one way or another.”
If it was, could she live there?
“If you change your mind, I’ll call Brian. As I said, he wouldn’t have listed the place if he thought it wasn’t up to par.”
“It’s fine, really. I’ll call Kimberly in the morning, so no worries,” she told Lacey. Concerned, but smart enough to know that gossip could spread like wildfires, until Alison had actual confirmation, she wasn’t going to allow Lacey’s bad news spoil her good news.