Chapter 1
Finding a dead body stuffed in the utility room at the Park Hotel pool was not the way I’d anticipated my new life would roll out. Not by a long shot. My fallback job had only just begun, and it was already filled with turmoil. I would have stuck with being a lawyer, but they’d kicked me out. Every time I thought about it, which was too often, the unfairness of it all gave me heartburn.
I’d been suspended. Indefinitely. Thinking I was going to be offered a low-level partnership after six long years, I’d walked into the meeting with the managing partners feeling excited and nervous at the same time.
“Sit down, Andi,” Richard Chambers had told me, gesturing to one of the chairs across the long conference table. “We need to talk. About Rucker.”
I blinked twice at Derek, the senior managing partner of Alcott, Chambers & Rucker. He was the Alcott. He pointed at the empty chair as if I was a little thick or something. Since my knees were a bit wobbly, I slid into the suggested chair and put my hands in my lap. There was a slight tremble in my hands that I wouldn’t allow them to see.
Which was when Richard accused me of helping Jeremy Rucker, my boss and the third managing partner, embezzle several million dollars from the firm’s clients. “Where did you stash the money, Ms. Steele?”
“I’m a-afraid I don’t q-quite understand the q-question,” I stammered. I did understand, of course. I’d worked closely with Jeremy. It wasn’t a big leap for them to accuse me of being in cahoots with the thief. Still, it was shocking to hear the words. I stalled to get my thoughts in order so I didn’t babble like an incompetent moron.
There were stacks of files on the table. The top file belonged to Beatrice Sorokin. She was one of the firm’s long-time clients. Her entire estate had been entrusted to us. I had worked with Jeremy on her account. Seeing her name there made it all too real. The life I’d built for myself was crashing down around me, and there wasn’t a damn thing I could do to stop it.
“You were aware that Jeremy was stealing money from client accounts and funneling it into offshore accounts of his own, were you not?” Derek asked.
What? Are you kidding me?
“Absolutely not,” I said as calmly as I could. Sweat trickled down my neck and under the collar of my blouse. Fifteen more minutes and I was definitely going to have a sweat stain the size and shape of Texas on my back.
“You were aware that he had a gambling problem, of course. He couldn’t possibly have hidden that from you. You worked on every single one of his client matters. You traveled out of town together. You had to know.” This from Richard, who had that look on his face. It didn’t matter what I said. He believed I’d known what Jeremy was doing at the very least…and most likely participated.
“No, I wasn’t. Aware, that is. I didn’t know.” Although I was pretty certain Jeremy had a stack of scratch-and-win lotto cards in his desk drawer. When I said “stack,” I meant a mini-mountain of over a hundred. I’d mentioned the cards to him once, and he waved it off as just a bit of fun. Something he did to relax. Who knew the silly lotto cards were a gateway to something more ominous? Not me.
So I didn’t know what Jeremy was doing. I’ve always been nosy by nature. I have to know what’s going on. At all times. I love to figure things out and to fix them. I try to see things others miss. I check everything twice. Make sure I’ve dotted every “i” and crossed every “t”. Every time. Partly, this is the way I control the unpredictable nature of life. I try to see the bad stuff coming straight at me like a speeding bullet. These are perfect character traits for a lawyer, after all. Which is why I’d been so good at my job. So looking back on it, I kicked myself because I should have known about Jeremy. Shouldn’t I have? Hindsight is always twenty-twenty. But still.
Derek put his hand on the stack of files. “Ms. Steele, we’ve been through the files for all of Jeremy’s clients. For those he defrauded, you performed legal work on one hundred percent of those matters. You couldn’t possibly have been in the dark about this.”
“Well, I do work for Jeremy. So it makes sense that I dealt with his clients in some capacity.” I was stalling because that’s all I could do.
“It’s precisely that capacity we’re trying to work out,” Richard said, no humor in his tone at all. Like I was a five-year-old being chastised by her daddy for serious transgressions and no excuse would ever suffice.
“What does Jeremy say?” I was afraid to ask the question, but I had to know if he had thrown me under the bus. How much trouble was I in? I’d probably be smart to retain a good lawyer. I groaned.
They glanced at each other, and then Derek replied, “He really hasn’t said much at this point.”
“There will be an investigation,” Richard said, “You’ll need to make a statement.”
“I understand.”
“And you’ll take some time off,” Derek said, leaving me no wiggle room.
I looked from Derek to Richard, a lump forming in my throat. All I ever wanted to be was a lawyer. I watched old reruns of lawyer shows on late night TV. Stuff like Perry Mason and Matlock. I grew up laughing at Ally McBeal, promising myself never to be as careless with the law or with clients as she was. I had a poster of Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch on my bedroom wall. I’d worked hard in law school to graduate summa cum laude. I was good at my job. I loved my job. I was my job. And now…now they had yanked everything away from me for no fault of my own.
“Are you f-firing me?” The question came out as incredulously as I felt.
Derek put his hand up, palm out. “We didn’t say that. You are suspended without pay while these allegations are investigated. We have no choice.”
I stood, anger making my knees ramrod straight. “I don’t think so.”
“I’m sorry?” Derek frowned.
“You can’t suspend me. You have no evidence that I did anything wrong. Because I didn’t. Jeremy may have taken client money. I don’t know. But not me. I. Did. Not. Do. That.”
“Now, Andi…” Richard started, but I didn’t let him finish.
“Call any of those clients, and they will tell you my work is exemplary.” Using my fingers, I started ticking off my reasons. “For the past six years, I’ve never, ever missed a deadline. Never had a client complaint of any sort. I’ve worked twelve hours a day, six to seven days a week. I’ve worked holidays. Never taken off more than two consecutive days at a time, and the only time I did was for my grandma’s funeral in Michigan. I’ve devoted my life to this firm and to the law, and I won’t be pushed out for something over which I had zero control.”
It was a nice speech. It got me nowhere. They held all the power. But it made me feel better. Which I suppose was a small victory.
Derek and Richard remained firm. They suspended me from work. They assured me I wouldn’t be disbarred and never allowed to practice law again. Not yet, anyway.
I held my head high and walked out of the boardroom with dignity intact. Never let them see you sweat, baby girl, my nanny Miss Charlotte always used to say when I was nervous about something. Problem was my blouse was already soaked with sweat and sticking to me.
They’d emptied my desk and packed up my stuff. All of it fit into a single box. They took my parking pass. And the glass door to the entrance of the firm actually swung back before I could get all the way outside and smacked me in the ass. Whatever.
“Damn it, Jeremy!” I shouted to no one when I got outside. But I was mostly angry at myself. How oblivious could an experienced lawyer be?
They were right. I should’ve known he was embezzling. There must’ve been signs. I should’ve taken a closer look at our client files. Maybe I would’ve seen the discrepancies.
“Knock it off. Can’t change, it. Move on,” I said sternly. These were orders I gave myself fairly often over the next few weeks. It was good advice, but I just didn’t seem to be able to make it so.
Two months went by, where I ate excessive amounts of cake and pouted and talked to my cats Jem and Scout. They were sick of me. I was sick of me. The firm had promised that my suspension was temporary. Didn’t matter. I wouldn’t go back there now if they begged me. Which, of course, they’d never do.
Time to throw in the towel, cut my losses. I needed a new plan before I went bankrupt, too. My very, very last resort was to call my parents. They would’ve helped me out, of course. I was their only child, after all. But the price was more than I wanted to pay. And despite the dire circumstances, I wasn’t totally at the end of my rope yet. Instead, I called my best friend Ginny Park, and the wheels were set in motion.
Before I gave up my rented apartment in California, I sent a letter to Miss Charlotte. I couldn’t simply leave the state and not tell Miss Charlotte where I was going and why—it was different with her than it was with my parents, on so many levels. I’d have called her, but speaking the words aloud would disappoint her beyond my ability to accept. I was brave, but not that brave.
After several drafts, I finally gave up trying to find the right words to say and scribbled the facts on my last piece of stationery, without mentioning my parents, because I already knew Miss Charlotte wouldn’t approve of me not telling them.
Dear Miss Charlotte,
So, this is will probably come as a huge surprise to you—it did to me—but I’m moving. Back to Michigan. Frontenac Island to be exact. I’ll be working and living in the Park Hotel with Ginny Park’s family. You remember Ginny? She was my best friend in college. We did everything together. I went to her family house for all the holidays. They are good people, and I’m relieved they are taking me in. Of course, my cats Jem and Scout will go with me. I couldn’t possibly leave them.
You’re probably wondering why I’m moving.
Well, I’ve been suspended from the practice of law. No fault of my own, mind you. My boss embezzled money from our clients. Stupid idiot. Of course, he got caught. And he never once thought about how it would affect me. Oh, I could strangle him. And I will if I ever see him again.
So, despite the fact I had nothing to do with it, that he acted on his own and I had no knowledge of his criminal actions, the firm, naturally, blamed me, too. They said they were investigating and would probably clear me, but I have my doubts. So I figured the best course of action was to be proactive and move on.
Now, I know you’re thinking, why didn’t I call you? Because I know you’d open your arms wide and invite me in. I couldn’t let you do that, Miss Charlotte. You have done so much for me over the years, been there for me when my parents couldn’t care less, and I know you have your hands full with your nephews. They need your wise, level-headed counsel. You took care of me for eighteen years like I was your own. You raised me to be strong and independent, and I don’t want to fail you now by running to you with my tail between my legs. I won’t. You taught me better than that.
Once I’m settled at the Park Hotel, I’ll let you know how to reach me. Not sure how long I’ll be there, but I feel like that’s where I’m being led. Maybe you’ll be able to come for a vacation. I would love to see you.
All my love,
Andi
And that’s how I’d ended up at the Park Hotel, working as a concierge. Where I found the dead body.
Chapter 2
Ginny Park and I had been the best of friends since college. We spent every day together at the University of Michigan before I left for Stanford to study law. She knew everything about me, including my isolated childhood. How I was raised by Miss Charlotte, my African-American nanny. How I loved Miss Charlotte to pieces, even now. And I knew everything about Ginny, including that she never wanted to get married and have children, to the chagrin of her parents.
So, of course, Ginny was the one I turned to when my life went to hell. And she was the one who offered me the only port in a very stormy situation.
She came to pick me up at the airport to take me to my new home. She’d sent photos of a lovely room at the Park Hotel on touristy and historic Frontenac Island, which her family owned and operated. I’d loved the place all of my life. It seemed like a dream come true that I’d actually live there, even under these circumstances.
“Andi!” Ginny shouted when she saw me, and in seconds, she had enveloped me in her skinny arms and a cloud of vanilla sweetness. I inhaled her welcome, realizing how much I’d truly missed her.
She squeezed me once more, then pulled back to really look at me. Echoing my thoughts, she said, “God, I’ve missed you.”
“Me, too.”
“You’re thinner.”
I looked down at myself, thinking that I’d probably put on five pounds in the past month, all on my hips. That was one thing I realized during this ordeal—I was definitely an emotional eater. I knew the cashier at the Dairy Queen by her first name. Jada and I had started to become very close. I even knew her kids’ names.
I countered with, “Well, you seem a lot taller, somehow.”
Ginny pulled up her boot-cut jeans to reveal platform heels.
“How can you walk in those?”
“Very carefully.” She laughed, then her gaze tracked down to the cheap running shoes on my feet. They definitely didn’t enhance the pinstriped cotton pants and sheer blouse I was wearing.
“My heel broke when I ran to catch my flight. I bought these in Detroit,” I shook my head. “It’s been a long day.”
Ginny swung an arm around me, guiding me to the only luggage carousel in the terminal. “Let’s get your luggage and get you home.”
Home. I liked the sound of that. I only hoped it would feel like that when I got there. The last time I truly felt at home anywhere was when Ginny invited me to her parents’ place in Kalamazoo for the holidays back in college.
My parents, who lived in Hong Kong now, didn’t celebrate our holidays here in the US. Except for my birthday. That did warrant a ten-minute phone call from my mother and usually consisted of the obligatory questions about my job, my eating habits, and if I was in any sort of long-term relationship. Which I wasn’t. Yet another reason why she was forever disappointed in me. I could only imagine how she’d react to my temporary suspension from practicing law. So, of course, I simply didn’t tell her.
I stood at the carousel as it just started to turn. I heard my fur babies long before I saw them when their cat carriers came around the conveyor belt. The airline wouldn’t let me take them into the cabin with me, and I’d been nervous as hell about leaving them on their own for the long trip. Ginny beamed as she grabbed the carriers. “Oh my God, they’re so cute.”
I reached in and petted Scout then Jem, and was rewarded with twin purrs. I smiled. They’d weathered the three flights just fine. Like me, they had indomitable spirits. I hoped they would be comfortable in their new home. If not, we’d have to move.
During the car ride to Frontenac City where we would catch the ferry over to the island, Ginny talked nonstop. I loved that about her, actually. There was never a lull where I felt required to jump in with something mundane or irrelevant. Ginny could always carry the conversational ball.
Although I already knew the basic story, she filled me in on her parents’ move to the island five years ago to run the hotel after Ginny’s granddad finally retired. It was a family affair. Ginny was the event organizer. Her brother Eric was the accountant, and his wife Nicole ran the restaurant.
I wondered what it would be like to see Eric again. We’d had a bit of a fling when I was in school with Ginny. After I realized he had a crush on me, we went on a couple of dates, but it didn’t amount to much. He just wasn’t my type, but Ginny told me later that I had hurt him deeply. This made things awkward for him and for me, but it was all water under the bridge. I hoped.
I grabbed Ginny’s hand as she talked about the hotel, seeing she was starting to choke up a little. Her dad, Henry, had died three years ago, and I knew they’d been close. Actually, the whole family was close, something that I had always envied greatly.
My parents had literally never been there for me, and I didn’t have any siblings. Ginny was basically the sister I’d never had; her parents the funny uncle and warm aunt I’d never experienced. I still kicked myself regularly for not coming to Henry’s funeral because the firm wouldn’t give me the time off.
“Are you sure your mom’s okay with me coming to stay?”
“Oh God, yes. She loves you. She’s always talked about how accomplished you are. She’s very proud of you. I think she loves you more than me.” Ginny laughed, but I could see something troubling in her expression.
“That can’t be true. You’re the perfect daughter.”
“I’m just kidding around. I mean, she’s not your mother, right?” Ginny’s smile wavered a bit too much.
“Exactly right. According to my mother, I’m far, far from perfect.” I squeezed her hand. “You’re an absolute gem, you know that, right?”
“I know.” She gave me her goofy Ginny grin that I missed so much. “You’re going to love it, Andi. I promise you that. Lots of places you’ll want to explore, the way you looooooove to do. Tons of stuff going on all the time. You’ll never want to leave.”
I returned her smile, then looked out the window as we neared the ferry station. I loved the water. It was one of the reasons I had stayed in California, so I could enjoy the ocean whenever I had the time. Which unfortunately did not turn out to be as much as I had hoped, but still it was there if I ever needed to see it.
Lake Michigan wasn’t the Pacific Ocean, but from the shore, it could’ve easily passed because it was so huge. The lake had waves, too. Not as rolling or large as the ocean, but still present with the driving force of the wind. The smell was a bit different, too. Ocean air smelled and tasted salty—not so with the Great Lakes. The aroma was fresher, cleaner, like it had been washed by rain moments ago. I rolled down my window and inhaled it all in.
Then we were driving into the ferry’s reserved parking lot for the twenty-five-minute ride across the water to the island. Ginny chatted with Peggy, the girl at the ferry station ticket booth, and introduced us when she bought my season pass that would allow me unlimited trips for the summer.
If I wasn’t excited before, I was now. We walked onto the ferry and went to sit on the top deck. The ferry was full to capacity, but most of the tourists sat below, out of the wind, watching the approach to the grand old place.
The green of the island was the first thing I noticed. There were trees everywhere. Next was the bay we were docking into. The water was so clear and blue, and the beach sand was actually soft in some areas. The beaches around most of the island were rocky. Maybe they had sand shipped in for swimmers hardy enough to brave the icy water. This was a tourist destination after all.
But what took my breath away was the huge Park Hotel perched on the cliff side. It was a colonial style, three stories with white clapboard siding and round pillars and a cupola on top that housed a charming old-fashioned bar with spectacular views. Even from the water, I could see the colorful umbrellas dotting the massive garden that spread out from the hotel to the cliff. The sight was breathtaking.
Ginny nudged me in the side. “What do you think?”
“I think I’m going to love my new home.”
Chapter 3
Once we were tied up, Ginny and I walked off the ferry, each with a cat carrier in hand. She waved to the two old guys sitting at a table on the dock playing a game of chess.
“That’s JC and Reggie,” she said of the two grizzled men. “They’re permanent fixtures down here. But if you are ever in need of information about the island, they’ll give you the lowdown and then some.” She laughed. “Sometimes they’re in disagreement about the accuracy of the lowdown, but you’ll be wiser for it anyway.”
I waved to JC and Reggie, just to be friendly. Main Street was filled with locals and tourists riding bicycles and horse-drawn carriages. I sneezed. Twice. The aroma of horse droppings in the street was pungent, not to mention the actual traveling hazards presented.
“You’ll get used to it,” Ginny grinned. “I’m sorry the Park’s carriage couldn’t pick us up, but we’re just too busy this weekend. One of the guys will collect your luggage later. But we’ll need to walk up the hill to the hotel. Are you good with that?”
I nodded and shifted Jem’s carrier to my other hand. “I could use the exercise. But Jem and Scout will get pretty heavy.”
We hope you are enjoying the book so far. To continue reading...
Copyright © 2024 All Rights Reserved
Please log in to recommend or discuss...
