Sweet Fortune

Island?”
    “That's what they call it,” Jessie said. “Apparently they own it, so I guess they can call it anything they want.”
    “Sounds completely screwy to me.” Lilian shook her head over a pair of red heels the saleswoman was offering.
    “We'll be given a tour that lasts a couple of hours and then flown back to the island where we spent the night. That's all there is to it.” Jessie shook her head regretfully. “I'm not sure how much I can possibly learn about Susan Attwood's fate or the leader of this DEL thing in just a couple of hours. But at least it's a starting point.”
    “Well, I suppose there's really nothing to worry about. Hatch should be able to take care of anything that comes up. He's a very competent sort of man, isn't he?”
    “Uh, yes. In some ways.”
    Lilian gave her a sly smile. “I get the impression the big romance is heating up rapidly. Connie says she thinks you and Hatch are already sleeping together.”
    “That's what I like about this family. Absolutely no privacy.”
    Lilian chuckled. “You know as well as I do that we're all hoping you and Hatch will work it out.”
    “I'm not so sure Aunt Glenna feels that way.”
    “Nonsense. Glenna knows that a marriage between you and Hatch would be the best thing for all concerned. It's the only viable solution to the situation.”
    Jessie gazed broodingly at the pair of Italian leather sandals her mother had on at that moment. “Doesn't it strike you that it's a bit strange that Hatch is thirty-seven years old and still single?”
    Lilian flashed her a look of genuine surprise. “Didn't anyone tell you he was married once?”
    Jessie stared at her, dumbfounded. “No. No one mentioned that little fact.” Least of all, Hatch. “Divorced?”
    “Widowed, I think. Connie told me about it. She said Vince mentioned it in passing a few days ago.”
    “Widowed. I see.” Jessie absorbed that bit of information slowly, examining it from every angle. “I wonder why Hatch never told me about his first wife.”
    “I gather she died several years ago. Don't fret about it, Jessie. I'm sure he'll tell you all about his first marriage in his own good time.”
    Jessie rested her elbows on the arms of the chair and laced her fingers together. She stared sightlessly at a display of glittery evening shoes and contemplated the many similarities she had often observed between Constance and Lilian.
    Men are creatures of habit. Second wives often resemble first wives .
    Jessie felt a small chill go down her spine. “I hope I don't look like her,” she whispered, not realizing she had spoken aloud.
    Her mother gave her a sharp glance. “What are you talking about?”
    “Hatch's first wife. I hope I don't resemble her. I wouldn't want to be a stand-in for a ghost.”
    Lilian frowned. “For heaven's sake, Jessie. There's no need to get carried away with the dramatics of the situation.”
    “Right. This is business, isn't it?”
    “You know, I'm amazed you got Hatch to agree to take a couple of days off just to go up to the San Juans with you,” Lilian said in an obvious attempt to redirect the conversation.
    Jessie stared gloomily at the evening shoes. “No big deal when you think about it. Like I said, it's business.’

CHAPTER EIGHT

    M rs. Valentine, ensconced in an old-fashioned rocking chair in the living room of her sister's Victorian-style house on Monday afternoon was looking appreciably improved. But her expression of welcome turned to one of dismay as Jessie concluded her report.
    “You're going to go up there? To the headquarters of these DEL people? Oh, dear, Jessie, I don't think that's a good idea at all. Not at all.”
    “Don't worry,” Jessie said soothingly. “I won't be alone. Hatch will be with me. And we're just going to look the place over. We're not going to try to rescue Susan Attwood or anything. Remember, we're only trying to find some evidence that Bright is a phony.”
    “Oh, dear,” Mrs. Valentine said again. Her fingers toyed nervously with a deck of tarot cards in her lap. “Have you told Mrs. Attwood?”
    “Of course.” Jessie recalled the conversation with Martha Attwood that had taken place earlier. Mrs. Attwood had been very excited that something concrete was finally going to happen. “She's very anxious for a report. Her main concern is to find out if her daughter is on the island. I'm not sure we'll be able to do that, but we might get lucky. Hatch and I are just going to play it by