Deep Waters

heavens Elias had been into his Zenny-mode last night. In his effort to affirm his own prodigious powers of self-control, he had given her a chance to come to her senses.
    Breathing space. That was what he had inadvertently given her last night. Breathing space. This morning she was resolved to take advantage of it.
    She needed time. She needed to think things through. Before she made any major moves, she needed to know a hell of a lot more about Elias Winters. She must remember Davis's advice. Watch your step with Winters. Rumor has it he's not just a player, he's a winner. Every time.
    No two ways about it, she'd had a very close call.
    Whatever was fated to happen between herself and Elias would definitely have to be postponed until they were better acquainted. Much better acquainted.
    Blah, blah, blah.

    She'd been giving herself the same lecture for hours. The words were a litany in her brain. She was beginning to sound like Crazy Otis.
    "Good morning, Charity." The heels of Phyllis's Italian pumps clicked sharply on the shop floor.
    "Hello, Phyllis." Charity stationed herself squarely behind the counter. "Something tells me you didn't come in to buy a book. Are you here on business or politics?"
    "A little of both." Phyllis came to a halt and favored Charity with a cool smile that was all width and no depth. It was a practiced, charming smile that showed a lot of white, capped teeth.
    It would have been easy to dislike Phyllis, Charity thought. After all, the two of them had become fierce adversaries as they did battle over the fate of Crazy Otis Landing. Their confrontations at town council meetings had already become legendary in Whispering Waters Cove. But Charity had been cursed from Day One of their association with a deeply rooted sense of sympathy for her new nemesis.
    She knew her empathy was ridiculous, and she took great pains to conceal it, but she was unable to shake it. Phyllis reminded her of the person she, herself, had once been. A classic overachiever. A driven workaholic, obsessively goal-oriented. She wondered if Phyllis had ever had a panic attack.
    Phyllis had a law degree from the University of Washington. She ran her own law practice in Whispering Waters Cove. She fulfilled her duties as town mayor with tireless energy. In her free time she campaigned for all the right candidates in state elections and got herself invited to the right cocktail parties in Seattle and Olympia.
    She was a tall, sleek woman in her mid-thirties. Her sophistication would have caused her to stand out in Seattle. In a small town like Whispering Waters Cove, she stood out so much she looked out of place.
    Phyllis was the only woman in town who habitually wore a suit. Today's version had been crisply tailored in summer-weight linen that was already properly crumpled even though it was only five minutes after ten. The jacket was equipped with impressive shoulder pads that gave her figure a strong forties' silhouette.
    Phyllis drove to Seattle every month to have her light brown hair cut in a dashing wedge. After Jennifer Pitt had given every woman in town a taste for sculpted nails, Phyllis had become a regular at Nails by Radiance. The special color Radiance had created for her was called Dartmoor Mauve.
    "Are you alone?" Phyllis glanced around the obviously empty bookshop.
    "At the moment. My assistant went to get himself an iced latte at Bea's place and it's a little early for weekend tourists. What can I do for you?"
    "I wanted to talk to you about the new owner of Crazy Otis Landing."
    "Why don't you talk to him, instead?"
    "I've already tried that." Phyllis's mouth tightened. "He was civil but completely uncooperative. Kept wanting to discuss water, of all things."
    "You went to see Elias?" Charity was horrified by the very unpleasant twinge that shot through her. She prayed it was not jealousy.
    "Ran into him at the post office. He acted totally disinterested in what I had to say."
    Charity relaxed a little. "So? What do you expect me to do?"
    Phyllis lowered her voice to a gratingly confidential tone. "I understand the two of you are seeing each other."
    "Every day." Charity smiled blandly. "Can't miss each other, what with both of us running shops right here on the same pier."
    "That's not what I meant, and I think you know it." A steely expression appeared in Phyllis's eyes. "The rumor is that you've started seeing him socially."
    Charity was amazed. She had made no effort to keep last night's date a