The Indigo Brothers Trilogy Boxed Set Page 6

  Whether it was the jet lag or the situation, reminiscing about their sister caused Garret’s eyes to tear up. “She’ll be okay, won’t she? Tell me, Livvy will be okay.”

  Jackson wasn’t sure it was that easy of a thing to promise. But he tried to be as upbeat as he could. “Livvy was always one to take care of herself. She didn’t take crap off any of us.”

  “She took plenty of crap off Walker,” Garret pointed out.

  There was no point denying it. But even as Jackson thought of encouraging words to assure his brother of a hopeful outcome, there was a part of him that couldn’t deny the wad of doubt that lodged in his throat.

  Later, the setting sun painted the bottom half of the sky a swath of orange and red. Clouds and haze topped off the canvas by helping to create a majestic velvet purple edge. Across the horizon a crown of new stars popped overhead like a ribbon of blue canvas laden with shimmering diamonds. Tessa had never seen the Atlantic such a brilliant bluish green. It reminded her of The Outer Banks back home.

  She pulled up in front of a white frame foursquare with blue shutters, parked at the curb under a row of sugar maples and cut the engine. Second thoughts began to seep in. Sitting behind the wheel in her sporty little metallic blue Toyota Coupe, a jangle of nerves made her wonder if this was the right course of action.

  She stared up at the well-tended yard. Orange camellias and bright pink azaleas flourished in the flowerbeds next to a crop of colorful coleus. Despite the foliage and curb appeal, the doubts lingered and caused her stomach to churn.

  In the five days she’d been on the Key searching for her brother, her options had been limited. It seemed none of the townspeople wanted to talk to her about Ryan. In fact, they’d stonewalled her efforts. So far she’d been unable to get anyone to open up to her satisfaction. How could the people in such a small town not have seen her brother? The only verification that he’d spent five days here had been his hotel bill. Thank goodness the staff at the Mainsail Lodge had confirmed that. Otherwise, there were times she doubted whether he’d been here at all. She’d even considered the possibility that she might’ve misunderstood Ryan’s intent.

  Back in Nags Head her stepmother, Suzanne, had already deemed the trip a total waste of time, which didn’t help matters. Even though she couldn’t entirely disagree with that, sitting back in North Carolina and worrying seemed to make less sense than the journey here. Who was she kidding? There had been times during the past week that Tessa thought about giving up the quest and heading home.

  But she’d stuck it out and prayed her luck might turn. Maybe hooking up with the Indigos would do something to jumpstart locating Ryan. If there was a chance that this Indigo brood could accomplish more than what she’d been able to do, and the name alone said they could, it might be the last hope she had of finding out what happened.

  Just as she unclipped her seatbelt, a tap on the glass made her jolt. Her hand went to her heart as she looked up to see Jackson standing next to the window.

  “Whoa there. It’s okay. I didn’t mean to make you jump.”

  “I’m on edge.”

  “I see that.” Jackson flipped the handle and swung the car door open. “I think you’ll find the Indigos are an interesting bunch. We’re loud. We’ve been known to vigorously argue our point and defend our viewpoint. Somehow we’re always able to make sure we’re heard. With six of us it was always like growing up at a political convention, lots of jockeying for position and bartering for votes. But for all our faults, we rarely take a bite out of anyone. So relax and know that my mom and dad are looking forward to having you here.”

  To prove it, the minute they reached the porch, the front door flew open and Lenore latched on to their guest. “Come on in. Jackson tells us what a tough time you’ve had getting people to talk to you. Believe me, you won’t have that problem with any of us. We’ll blather on about anything.”

  “I appreciate y’all having me over during such a difficult time like this.” Tessa’s Carolina drawl came through loud and clear. She let Lenore guide her into a small, but orderly living room decorated with comfy but dated furniture. Smells of fried chicken wafted on the air and Tessa guessed right away what was on the menu for dinner.

  “You’re having your own difficult time,” Lenore told her before introducing the others. When she caught Tessa staring at a wall lined with family photographs that took up the length of the parlor, she added, “This is our own photo archive. It documents our past. Livvy’s doing. She took most of these at one time or another through the years.”

  Tessa looked back at the crowd and found a bank of eyes aimed at her. She noted the group of men all bore very similar features, dark hair, striking dark eyes, a definite contrast to their fair-haired mother. Tessa decided she wasn’t all that comfortable knowing she was the focus of their interest.

  As if sensing that, Jackson took her by the hand and led her into the kitchen. “You look thirsty. Will iced tea do the trick? If not, there’s always a cold beer.”

  “Tea’s fine.”

  Lenore went over to the stove to check on the chicken while Jackson got down a glass from the cupboard, chunked in ice. “Mom makes it fairly strong but the ice should melt and weaken it some.”

  “I’m sure it’s fine,” Tessa said again, sniffing the air. “It smells like home in here.”

  Lenore studied the redhead. “I bet you miss your family, especially your brother. Jackson explained to us how Walker owed him money.”

  “Told you so,” Tanner threw in before their guest could take her first long drink. “I’m telling you Walker is up to no good. This is all his fault.”

  Lenore waved a hand toward her husband. “Tanner, what do you say we let our guest catch her breath first before we go off on a tangent and air our misgivings about our son-in-law.” She turned back to Tessa. “I hope you like chicken.”

  “I do. I’d like to help.”

  Lenore patted Tessa on the shoulder. “Don’t you worry none about it. I have three strapping boys for that. I spent the better part of this afternoon frying up enough to feed this bunch. I’ll get one of my handsome sons to help me get supper on the table. Now you go on and sit yourself down outside where it’s cooler. Jackson, you see to it this pretty lady settles in.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Jackson said, snatching Tessa’s hand and pulling her through the back door and out into a large yard.

  A thriving vegetable garden took up a slice of landscape along the side. A long stone barbecue grill had been carefully crafted by hand and looked like an outdoor kitchen. It stood next to a circular fire pit with a collection of mismatched chairs arranged in a circle. There was a hammock in the corner, strung from one mighty magnolia to another. Under a pergola sat the biggest round picnic table she’d ever seen. It was already decorated with a pretty blue tablecloth and plates of different colors and set with linen napkins in various shades of green and purple.

  “Your mother shouldn’t have gone to so much trouble,” Tessa noted, taking in the homey atmosphere.

  “There’s no need to regret your decision to come tonight,” Jackson stated. “What’s the worst that could happen? You’ll eat a home-cooked meal instead of fast food, have some key lime pie to top it off, and get to know my family. My mom has been cooking since Mitch got here last night. He says she hasn’t sat down for longer than fifteen minutes at a time before she’s bouncing back up again to do something, trying to stay busy instead of worrying.”

  “All the more reason she shouldn’t have put herself out like this.”

  Garret sidled up to their pretty guest. “Jackson’s right. Mom wanted you to get a decent meal. In case you were wondering, we’re not all as bad as Jackson. He mostly just scares off women and very small children. He gets that after Dad.”

  “I heard that, Garret Davis Indigo,” Tanner roared from the doorway. With a twinkle in his eyes he set down the huge platter of chicken in the middle of the table and turned to give the stink eye to his youngest boy.
“At least Jackson and Mitch had more sense than to ever smoke a whole pack of unfiltered Camels. You got so sick you puked for a week.”

  Right behind his father, Mitch placed another plate of fried chicken at the other end of the table. “Dad’s got you there. As I remember it, your skin even turned green for a week. What were you, twelve at the time?”

  Garret winced at the memory. “Yep. And I thought I was so cool when I won those things at the county fair. Last time I ever put a cigarette to my lips, I’ll tell you that.”

  “If only that applied to weed,” Jackson murmured in Garret’s ear as he slapped his brother on the back.

  Garret gave him a brotherly shove. “Get real. I gave that stuff up years ago. To compete on the tour, there’s random drug testing now.”

  “When did that happen?”

  “2011.”

  Lenore appeared holding yet another platter, this one with ears of corn piled high. “Quit your squawking in front of our guest and get ready to eat. Tell us, Tessa, if you favor any part of the chicken over another, say white versus dark meat. Ally and Livvy always fought over the pullybone.”

  “That’s what we call the wishbone,” Jackson piped up. “I remember Livvy and Ally refused to touch any other part of the chicken.”

  “Not me,” Tessa offered. “I’ll eat dark, white, I’ll even eat my fair share of chicken wings drenched in hot sauce. I’m not a picky eater.”

  “My kind of girl,” Tanner said with a wink as he directed Tessa over to the table. “Have a seat and dig in before these big brutes push you out of the way to get to the food. With so many kids scrambling at suppertime you learn to look out for yourself around here.”

  Jackson noticed his mother’s lips trembling and the tears forming at the corners of her eyes. “What’s the matter?”

  “I miss Livvy and the kids. I thought for sure they’d be back for now.”

  Jackson sat down next to his mother and wrapped her up in his arms. “Come on now. Don’t do that. You need to eat some of this great food you spent all day cooking.”

  Tessa watched the oldest son interact with his mom. There was something about a grown man comforting his mother that made her heart do an extra flip and flutter. Never mind that he was easy on the eyes. That southern drawl of his brought out a sexual appeal she’d felt only a few other times in her life. That thought was broken when she found a platter of fried meat shoved in her face. She busied filling up her plate until she realized Mitch had said something to her.

  “Where were you just now?”

  Embarrassed at being caught salivating over his older brother, she stumbled over the words. “I guess I was thinking of better days.” When she realized what she’d said might be taken as an insult, she added, “Uh, no offense. I just meant other times back home.”

  Charmed with the redhead’s southern roots, Mitch grinned. “None taken. I’m curious though. Once your brother arrived in town, did you have any communication with him at all?”

  Tessa shook her head. “It’s something I regret now. But that Labor Day weekend was busy. I went over to New Hope to see a cousin of mine to help her with plans for her wedding next spring. Stayed there all weekend.”

  She moved the food around on her plate, suddenly losing her appetite. “Your police chief verified that Ryan checked in at the Mainsail on September 1st at six-thirty in the evening and checked out September 6th a little after eleven a.m. That means he had several days to fish and pick up the check from Walker before he should’ve been back on the road for home. Allowing for stops, it’s a sixteen-hour drive up I-95 back to Nags Head. But Ryan never called home to say he was heading back. And he never made it.”

  Tessa cleared her throat. “There’s something else you should know. I hacked into Ryan’s email account a couple days after settling into the hotel.” She mistook the looks she got from everyone around the table as judgmental. “Before you think I went too far…”

  “It isn’t that,” Jackson added quickly. “As far as I’m concerned, I’m impressed with your expertise. Not just anyone could do that. Do those particular skills come with your bent toward blogging or something you acquired along the way?”

  The corners of Tessa’s mouth curved up. “Actually it comes in handy in situations like now when you’re desperate. I was desperate to find out who Ryan had been in contact with right before he disappeared. Ryan’s email trail was one way to do that. One thing popped up right away. Until then, there was nothing to indicate Walker would have trouble paying. That was back in August. As a small business owner you look for red flags. There were no red flags in the exchanges Ryan initially had with Walker, just the normal course of doing business. But by the time your brother-in-law asked Ryan to come to Florida, Walker was blaming his financial woes on his extravagant wife’s lifestyle. That would be your sister.”

  “That’s bullshit,” Jackson said, tossing his napkin on the table. “Show me the email.”

  “Us,” Tanner corrected. “Show us Walker’s email.”

  Tessa took out her cell phone, thumbed through the messages until she found the right one. She held it out to Jackson. “See, he tells Ryan that he’s having cash flow problems because his wife is spending money faster than he’s able to make it.”

  Jackson frowned as he read the accusation with his own eyes. He passed it around for everyone else to read. In that moment of understanding, his razor-thin support for Walker evaporated. “That bastard has no right to make up such lies.”

  Tanner sat back with a smug look on his face. “I don’t want to say I told you so but…Livvy wasn’t the one throwing money around like a sailor on shore leave.”

  “You did try to tell us,” Jackson admitted.

  Empathy for the family moved through Tessa. “Just a suggestion, but the chief of police could certainly get Walker’s cell phone records and make them available to you. That way we could backtrack, go through the timelines and maybe find out what happened three weeks ago when my brother first got to town.”

  Jackson stared at her. “That’s an excellent start. Have you tried that with Ryan’s phone?”

  “Yes, but the carrier refuses to give me the data without a warrant.”

  “Then we’ll ask Chief Sinclair to do it. There’s someone else though who might hold the key. It’s time I had a face to face talk with Royce Buchanan.”

  “Then I’m going with you,” Tessa insisted.

  “No, you’re not,” Jackson returned. “And here’s why. Royce will be reluctant to talk to me anyway. As you’ve gathered by now, he’s not exactly this family’s favorite person. The feeling is mutual. I doubt he’ll feel the urge to disclose anything of a personal nature regarding his son in front of you, a total stranger. You’ve already discovered firsthand how closed-mouthed this town is.”

  “Fine. But I’m still going even if I have to wait in the car.”

  “Forty-five minutes is a long time to sit in a hot car,” Jackson noted.

  Tessa looked out beyond the dark patio. “Not if we go over there right now. I promise I’ll open a car window, stick my head out if necessary, and won’t wander off without my leash.”

  Mitch snickered at the levity.

  Even though she was getting too tired to play nice, Tessa wasn’t opposed to bargaining. “Look, if I don’t go with you what else do I have to do but sit in my hotel room worrying? I’ve done that already. Don’t make me spend the evening like that. If this Buchanan guy might hold one small piece of the puzzle, don’t make me spend another night wondering about Ryan. I normally wouldn’t beg but…”

  Garret’s heart went out to her. “She has a point. The sooner we hit the ground running proving Walker’s charge false, the better off we’ll be at finding out where the hell they went. I didn’t come half way around the world to sit around and wait for answers to come to us. We have to go out and get them. Royce might know more than we do.”

  Mitch nodded. “I’m with Garret. We have to be ready to pound the pavement. No one k
nows this area better than we do or the people living here.”

  Jackson caught the grim looks around the table. “Okay, okay. I guess I’ll talk to Royce tonight.” He turned to Tessa. “As long as you understand that it could take an hour or more before I get Royce to open up. He’s always been a standoffish sort even on his good days.”

  “That’s okay. I’ll take my Kindle with me and delve into the book I downloaded this morning.” She got to her feet, but stopped short. “By the way, when do you plan to saturate the area with more posters and officially kick off a search?”

  Jackson made a distressed sound in his throat. “A friend of ours started putting up flyers already. I have a feeling that isn’t what you’re talking about.”

  Tessa shook her head. “Nope. That’s fine for Indigo Key. I’m thinking more along the lines of sending the info across the entire state of Florida. If you agree, I’d like to add my brother’s photo to whatever packets you come up with.”

  Jackson looked at his family, ran a hand through his hair. “I guess we need to talk about all this when I get back. But as far as I’m concerned, the sooner we contact the right agencies the better.”

  Tanner tightened his jaw. “We have missing kids. That means the center for missing children should be top on that list.”

  “That’s a good idea.” Jackson turned to Tessa. “Something tells me you’ve already done the research on the pertinent law enforcement agencies in the area where to send out Ryan’s poster.”

  “Last Monday I began making a list of all those in the general vicinity. But there’s more yet to do since some of the businesses here in town wouldn’t let me leave Ryan’s flyers to go in their windows.”

  An appalled look crossed Jackson’s face. “Make a list of which businesses gave you a hard time because that kind of attitude is damn well gonna change.” He sent a look of unity toward Mitch.

  His brother bobbed his head. “I’ll make a note of that when I touch base with Jimmy Don about coordinating the search tomorrow.”