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Unknown Enemy (A Green Dory Inn Mystery #1)

By Janet Sketchley

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Dry-mouthed, Landon watched the runway speed beneath her window. Vibration from the landing gear drilled into her core.

She shouldn’t have come back. But she couldn’t refuse, not when Anna needed her.

The plane’s intercom crackled. “This is your captain speaking. Welcome to Halifax. Local time is two twelve.”

Around her, seat belts clicked open despite the warning lights. A few people stood and rummaged in the overhead bins. The plane hadn’t fully stopped. What was the hurry?

Yet the other passengers’ sense of urgency had her reaching for her purse.

She followed the herd into the terminal, pulling her borrowed carry-on and checking the overhead signs. When she reached the baggage area, she stood against the wall, watching reunions. Friends, lovers. Two women, clearly mother and daughter, crying as they embraced. She turned away.

A scruffy-haired man with glasses hurried toward the meeting point. He dodged a woman with a pet carrier and stopped beside a pillar. Scanning the crowd, he raised a white cardboard sign: Landon Smith.

Anna’s neighbour had promised to send his grandson to meet her at the airport. Funny, she’d expected a teenager. This guy was closer to thirty, five or six years older than she was. Tousled hair and a few days’ growth of beard made him look like he’d just crawled out of bed.

He gave the room another once-over, and then angled himself to face the passengers still straggling through the arrival gates.

She grasped the handle of her carry-on and walked up beside him. “Hi. I’m Landon.”

He turned to her and froze, wide-eyed, a half-formed smile suddenly dead on his lips.

Really? Landon had been gone almost ten years, but this guy had clearly heard something about her. Truth or speculation, he must have thought he could handle it until they were face to face.

It could be a long, silent drive to Anna’s inn.

Landon glanced around at the crowd, giving him time to compose himself. When she looked back, his cheeks had darkened to an ugly, mottled red.

Stepping back, he swallowed hard, not meeting her eyes. “Roy asked me to meet you.” He lowered the sign as if he’d just realized his arm was still in the air. “Bobby. Bobby Hawke.”

He waved a hand toward the luggage carousels. “What colour’s your bag?”

Landon danced the little black carry-on on its wheels. “I have everything here.”

Bobby looked at the luggage, eyebrows raised.

She flipped her hair with her free hand and forced a bright tone. “I’m only here for a few days. Why bring all my worldly goods?”

“My girlfriend needs a full-sized case for one night, and my mother’s just as bad.” He turned toward the door. “Let’s go, then.”

He set a brisk pace from arrivals to the parking garage.

They weren’t outside long, but the misty air raised goosebumps on Landon’s bare arms. “It was hot and sunny in Toronto.”

He paid at the ticket station and she followed him along the rows of cars. Ahead of them, a white Corvette beeped and flashed its lights.

The trunk lid opened, and Landon gave her carry-on a push that sent it skittering to Bobby’s side.

He stowed it and headed for the driver’s door. “Hop in.”

The guy hadn’t made eye contact since he broke out of his initial stare. She’d had awkward encounters before, but the emotion bleeding through his barriers felt like fear. Or shame. It stirred her homecoming dread into queasiness.

She buckled her seat belt as loosely as she could and gripped her purse on her lap.

They’d been on the highway for a good fifteen minutes before he opened his mouth. “How was your flight?”

“Fine.” She hadn’t flown before, but he didn’t need to know that. “Thank you for picking me up. This is most of your day.”

He pulled out to pass an SUV, driving fast, but without the typical sports car swagger. “It’s only a few hours, and I like a good highway run.”

Landon tried to block out their destination and concentrate on the ride. Her seat felt like it’d be amazingly comfortable if she could relax.

When she couldn’t take any more silence, she cleared her throat. “Whatever you heard about me…”

Bobby’s fingers whitened on the wheel. “It’s not you.”

His tone slammed the door between them.

She shut her mouth and stared at the trees streaking past.

Eventually Bobby let out a soft groan. “I’m sorry. You look like someone I used to know.” His laugh sounded forced. “I guess you have an evil twin.”

A strangled gasp became a giggle that she barely caught in time. She turned it into a cough.

He’d never understand her crazy relief, and it’d sound like she was minimizing his pain. Plus, it could get him asking questions she didn’t want to answer. Still, she had to say something. “I get it. The past has long fingers.”

She sneaked a glance at him. The set of his stubbled jaw and the pinch at the corner of his mouth said his wound ran deep.

He wouldn’t want her sympathy, nor words of comfort from a stranger.

At least the silence had lost its threatening undertone. Landon turned her gaze out the window again. The mixed forests, the occasional glimpses of water along the way, even the names of towns they passed, whispered “home.” Her breathing quickened. This would never be home again.

Lunenburg held nothing for her but pain and memories of lost innocence. The worst had come later, but this was the flash point. Because of that, Landon had vowed to never return.

Until Anna’s need overrode her fear.

At least Anna’s inn was a neutral place unconnected to the past. Anna and her husband hadn’t lived there when Landon was a child.

Bobby avoided the town of Lunenburg and drove along a winding coastal road. By the time he slowed at the Green Dory Inn sign, she was practically vibrating in her seat.

As long as Landon could remember, Anna had been a family friend. She’d taken the girls to vacation Bible school, sometimes to church when their parents agreed, although her own children were a few years older.

When Landon’s world shattered, it was Anna who became her surrogate mother, mentor, and confidante. Always ready to listen, or talk, or pray—once Landon was open to prayer.

Anna’s prayers were a big part of the reason Landon was whole today. And now something had Anna’s neighbour worried enough to beg Landon to come.

“What’s going on with Anna, Bobby? Roy didn’t want to skew my perceptions, but it means I’m going in blind.”

“He thinks it’s emotional more than physical. I’ve only been here a few weeks, but yeah, maybe. Or maybe she just needs cheering up. Seeing you could turn it around.”

Emotional? Anna was one of the most cheerful, stable people Landon knew. Still, sudden widowhood would rock anyone’s world.

The long, narrow driveway led past a green fishing dory, brimming with yellow and orange flowers in the middle of the lawn. Beyond it rose a grey-sided house, two storeys with twin dormer windows framing the traditional “Lunenburg bump” extended dormer above a sunshine-yellow front door.

Instead of parking with the other car in the lot behind the house, Bobby stopped beside the walkway to the front door. “Leave your suitcase for now. Let’s see if we can get in before she knows it’s you.”

Landon heard the little boy in him, bursting to surprise a favourite teacher with a gift. It made a nice change from Mr. Prickly. “She knows someone’s coming?”

“Gramp didn’t want to spring an unexpected guest on her. She thinks I’m bringing my girlfriend.”

They hurried along the walkway and up the wide, shallow front steps. A chime sounded as they stepped into a spacious hallway.

From the rear of the house, a voice called, “Hello.”

Anna bustled toward them, sandals slapping on the hardwood floor. A black cat with white bib and paws trotted to keep up. “Welcome. How was your—”

She gave a little cry and pulled Landon into a hug. “You’re home!”

Landon leaned in, absorbing the unconditional love.

When she stepped back, their gazes held. Anna’s eyes were shadowed, and a surprising amount of grey streaked her bobbed brown hair, but her wide, face-lighting smile hadn’t dimmed.

Some of the tension unwound in Landon’s stomach. She breathed a silent prayer of thanks. Anna was a constant. She had to be okay.

Anna pressed the cuff of her light cardigan against her eyes. “I thought you were in the middle of another course.”

“I have to be back in class on Monday, but at least we’ll have the weekend together. And I didn’t need to bring too much work with me.”

Some of the joy faded from Anna’s face. She spread her hands to the rooms on either side of the entryway. “Well, you’re here for now, and I’m so glad. I wish I’d known, I’d have bought something special for supper.” A tiny frown creased her broad forehead, as if she were mentally inventorying the fridge.

Bobby held out a hand. “You’re both invited to eat with Gramp and me tonight, like Jessie would have done if she’d really been your guest. I hope you’ll forgive the deceit.”

No way would he want to see Landon’s face any longer than necessary. She glanced at him. “We can’t impose. Especially with Roy’s leg in a cast. Kitchen work must be hard.”

The clench his jaw beneath the stubble showed how hard it was to meet her eyes, but he did it without changing colour. He even managed a tight smile. “Stew and a fresh loaf from the bread machine. I set everything up before I left. Gramp’ll be disappointed if you don’t come.”

Breakfast had been rushed, and Landon had only brought an apple and some trail mix for her flight. “That sounds great.”

Bobby reddened slightly, but it looked like pleasure and not more awkwardness. “A slow cooker is a writer’s best friend. Next to a laptop, of course.”

Landon felt some heat in her own cheeks. All the silence in the car, and she hadn’t even asked what he did. “What do you write?”

His gaze cut to the side. “Science fiction. You probably haven’t heard of my books.”

“I’m not much of a reader.” Oops, that sounded like a put-down. “I go for podcasts and audio books.”

“Those are great ways to get the content.”

Bobby backed toward the door. “I’ll set your suitcase just inside, here, and go tell Gramp we’re back. You two can start catching up.”

“Thank you, Bobby. We’ll see you in about an hour and a half?” Anna’s tone held an unfamiliar stiffness.

Landon glanced at her. As soon as they were alone, she asked, “Don’t you want to go? Save us cooking?”

“Let me show you around.”

Anna led her to the left, into a cozy common room with upholstered chairs and a heavy wooden bookcase. By the window stood a polished oak table with a half-completed jigsaw puzzle of a schooner. Chunks of blue sky and water lay waiting to be filled in.

The main door opened and shut. A minute later, Bobby’s car drove back toward the road. The look Anna sent after it wasn’t altogether friendly.

Anna, who loved everybody. Landon touched her shoulder. “Is something wrong?”

“Roy should mind his own business.” She marched across the hall.

Landon bit her lip. Emotional, Bobby had said.

She followed Anna into a cheery breakfast room with white-painted tables and chairs. Each of the pale yellow tablecloths held a little vase of bright blue pansies.

Anna’s fingers curled around one of the chair backs. “This was Roy’s idea, wasn’t it? How did he get in touch with you—dig through my files for your number?”

This suspicious tone was so not Anna. And from everything she’d said about Roy since she and her husband had moved here, the older man was a good friend as well as a good neighbour.

Landon made eye contact, trying to project calm. “He phoned your daughter, but she couldn’t get away. She had my phone number from the funeral, so she put us in touch.”

“The old gossip! No wonder my kids are fretting at me. Grief takes time. They should know that.”

“Anna...” Landon adjusted a vase on one of the tables. “Nobody’s conspiring against you. Roy wants to help. That’s what friends do. It’s what you do.”

“Did he tell you I’m going crazy? Seeing things at night?”

“No.” Her fingers twitched and she caught the vase just before it tipped. Turning to face Anna, she tried for a casual tone. “What have you seen?”

“Lights. Movement in the shadows. Sounds, sometimes. Voices. Whistling. Not every night, but just when I start convincing myself it was my imagination, it happens again.”

“You’ve phoned the police?”

“An officer’s been out a few times. He can’t find any sign of trespassers. Bobby hasn’t found anything either.” Her lips twisted. “The only one who believes me is Nigel Foley, and he thinks it’s aliens.”

Chill settled in Landon’s stomach. “You’re not on any kind of medication, are you? To help with the grief, or for sleeping?”

Anna’s eyes narrowed. “No.”

“Hey, it’s a fair question.”

She waited until Anna gave a reluctant nod. “So if anything happens while I’m here, wake me. You’ll have a witness.” There must be a rational explanation.

“The guests haven’t seen anything, but they’re usually in the front rooms with the water view. What I’ve seen has been in the back.”

Anna started toward an arched doorway with white swinging doors. “This inn was Murdoch’s dream. It’s hard without him, but I’m coping. I’ve hired a friend’s daughter to help when I need her.”

Likely another girl who needed someone to believe in her.

Landon followed Anna into a gleaming white and stainless steel kitchen. A wide window over the double sink overlooked a wooden deck, then a grassy stretch leading to an airy, mixed forest. The small parking lot was to the left, with a windowless grey barn at its edge. Along the tree line to the right lay a flower garden and a small shed.

The outbuildings would give easy shelter to anyone skulking around. If he approached through the trees, guests facing the water would never see him.

She turned back to Anna. “The inn and grounds are lovely. Are you busy?”

“It’s early in the season. Bookings are slow, but we have enough for now. Meaghan’s still learning the ropes, and I’m feeling my age.”

Anna was what, fifty-two? She’d never been bouncy, but her steady, purposeful bustle should keep her motoring well into her nineties.

Anna’s shoulders straightened, and she seemed to shake off her melancholy. She pulled a key from her pocket. “Let me show you your room. We’ll grab your things on the way.”

At the top of the stairs lay a wide, open space bordered by four doors, each one ajar to reveal a glimpse of an inviting bedroom. The dormer windows over the main entrance sheltered a cozy conversation nook.

Anna led her to one of the rooms looking out on the forest.

Good. She’d be able to keep an eye out for the prowler.

The bedroom walls were a warm peach, with stretched-canvas prints of brilliant-coloured butterflies. A plain sage duvet on the four-poster bed held a butterfly-shaped pillow, wings outspread. Above the window, the wall sloped inward to the ceiling.

She spun in a slow circle, taking it all in. “It’s perfect!”

A smile lit Anna’s face. “I’ll leave you to settle in. Come down when you’re ready.”

Alone, Landon ran a hand down a satin-smooth bedpost the colour of aged honey. This room could have been designed for her. A shiver chased across her shoulders.

The glow in Anna’s expression at her reaction to the room. Before that, the tear-filled welcome “home” when she hadn’t known Landon was coming. The poorly-veiled disappointment that it was only for the weekend.

She leaned her forehead against the post. Anna was big on reconciliation. Restoration. The woman’s prayers had played a huge part in Landon’s salvation and healing, as had her wise counsel these past few years. How long had she secretly been praying for Landon to “come home”?

Pain closed her throat. This visit was supposed to help. Not add to Anna’s hurt.

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