***
Lin jerked awake from a small brown head pushing against her leg. She rubbed her eyes and looked about the room, disoriented. Nicky put his paws on her chair and gave a whine to indicate it was time to be let outside. Lin pushed herself up and took a quick look at the wall clock, afraid she was late to meet Viv for dinner. She let out a sigh of relief when she realized that she still had an hour before she was supposed to be at the restaurant.
Lin and the dog stepped onto the deck. Nicky ran off to the rear of the property while Lin stepped down from the deck onto the stone patio that ran the length of the house. A short stone wall stood along the edge of the patio and beyond was a bit of lawn ringed by bushes and trees.
The sun had sunk behind the wooded property line. Lin stretched and yawned and turned her attention to the field behind the neighbor’s house. A strange mist rose from the land and hung in the air several feet above the grasses. Part of the fog rode the breeze and floated into Lin’s backyard. Admiring the way the mist softened the landscape, she pulled her phone from her pocket to photograph the mysterious looking scene.
She took two shots and brought one of the photos into view on the phone screen. Smiling at how nice it came out, she used her fingers to enlarge the first photograph. A gasp escaped from Lin’s throat and her eyes bugged from their sockets. Her hand shook so violently from what she saw on the phone’s screen that it slipped from her hand and she had to move like a juggler to keep from dropping it.
An icy chill raced through her inner core. She looked at the photo on the screen again. There in the mist of her backyard, stood an old man dressed in eighteenth-century style clothing. His hair was gray and the sides hung down and touched the top of his shirt collar. Lin’s head jerked around to the wooded area behind the house, her eyes searching for the man.
No one was there. She looked back at the phone and used her finger to swipe to the second photograph. It was a lovely shot of the misty landscape. She swiped back to the first picture. Enlarging it, she brought the phone close to her eyes.
The man was no longer in the shot. Lin blinked hard several times and switched back and forth between the two photos.
Her heart pounding, she turned again to look out over her yard and the adjacent field. The mist was clearing, rising up and evaporating. She jumped when Nicky pressed his cool nose against her leg.
“I didn’t see you come back.” Lin’s heart was still racing as she reached down to pat the dog’s head. Glancing back over her shoulder, she headed for the door to the living room. “Come on, Nick. Let’s go inside.”
As she reached for the doorknob, the brown dog woofed. Lin looked down at him. He was gazing towards the field, wagging his tail, and whining. Scanning the field one more time, her hand shook as she turned away, grasped the knob, and opened the door. “Come, Nick. I need to go meet Viv.” Her voice was shaky.
Reluctantly, the little dog entered the living room with his owner. Lin closed the door and bolted the lock. She wondered how in the world she could have imagined that there had been a man in her photograph.
Chapter 3
Lin walked through town dodging the tourists who strolled past the shops and restaurants. She headed to one of the popular pubs down near the boat docks where many locals hung out enjoying tasty food and a drink or two.
Lin spotted her cousin standing near the entrance to the pub. Viv was talking to a man who looked to be in his forties. The man was tall and thin. He had a dark tan and his salt and pepper colored hair was cut close to his scalp. He looked like someone who spent many hours outdoors in the sun.
Lines creased Viv’s forehead giving her a serious expression and her shoulders were pulled straight up in an almost defensive posture. Her lips were tight as she shook her head. Clearly the two people were engaged in a heated discussion, but Lin couldn’t imagine what was causing Viv’s annoyance. A surge of adrenaline pulsed through Lin’s body.
“You need to stop asking me.” Viv’s hand flew about like a bird evading capture. “I’ve told you over and over, I have no interest whatsoever.”
The man took a menacing step closer.
Lin approached and stood next to her cousin. “What’s going on?” She glanced at Viv before turning her attention to the man. “Is there a problem?”
“Yeah, there’s a problem.” The man’s dark eyes flashed at Lin. “You might want to stay out of it.”
“And you might want to mind your manners.” Lin had a hand on her hip. “We’re late to meet our friends. Have a nice evening.” She looped her arm around Viv’s waist and led her away from the harassing pest. Lowering her voice, she asked, “Who is that? What’s he going on about?”
Viv exhaled loudly and rolled her eyes. “He has been haunting me the past couple of weeks. He shows up at the bookstore, he stands on the sidewalk outside my house. I walk around in town doing errands and I spot him watching me.”
“He asks you out?”
“God, no.” Viv shook her head. “He wants to buy my house.”
Lin’s eyes went wide. “He follows you around like some creep because he wants to buy your house?”
“It’s weird, isn’t it?”
Since their friends hadn’t arrived yet, the hostess showed them to a table.
Lin was concerned. “Did you report him to the police?”
Viv held her hands up. “What would I say to them? I see a man around town. Sometimes he comes into my bookstore?”
“Tell them he’s a creep who keeps bothering you.”
Viv tilted her head to one side. “It would just make me seem like the crazy one.”
Lin sighed. “I guess. Maybe you should file a report anyway, just to have it on record.”
The waitress brought glasses of water and Viv lifted hers to her lips and gulped. She ordered a beer that was brewed on the island and Lin ordered a glass of sangria.
“When did that guy first show up?” Lin leaned in closer. “He made you an offer for your house? Is he from the island?”
A smile spread over Viv’s lips. “I don’t need to go to the police since I have an interrogator right here.” She chuckled. “He knocked on my door one evening. He introduced himself and said he would be very interested in purchasing my property because he’d always admired it.” Viv crossed her arms and leaned on the table. “I thanked him, but said I’d grown up in the house and that I was planning to remain there until I grew old.”
“What did he say to that?” Lin worried that this man might be using the desire to buy the house to disguise other intentions.
“He said that maybe I’d like to hear his offer. I told him it wouldn’t make any difference and thanked him again. I suggested he go talk to John so that he could find an appropriate home for him.” Viv’s boyfriend of six years, John Clayton, was an island Realtor. He lived on a boat in the harbor and was also a musician who played several instruments. He and Viv had been playing together in bands for years.
Viv continued. “The guy became disgruntled. His reaction made me nervous so I said I was expecting visitors and had to see to something I had in the oven.”
“Did he go away?”
Viv ran her hand threw her hair. “He told me that he would speak to me another time. Then he left.”
“He showed up again?”