The Last Word

Chapter 4

At a dinner party one should eat wisely but not too well, and talk well but not too wisely.

—WILLIAM SOMERSET MAUGHAM

The following Monday Olivia began her search into the history of Harris’s house at the offices of the Oyster Bay Gazette. She could have just asked Laurel to look into the matter, as her friend wrote for the paper, but Laurel had enough to juggle as it was.

The receptionist at the Gazette listened politely to Olivia’s request to root through the paper’s archives but was quick to offer her an alternative to spending hours going through decades’ worth of dusty tomes. “You should just talk to Mrs. Fairchild over at the library. She’s lived here forever and has a larger memory capacity than my computer. If your research has anything to do with this town or its residents, she’s the person to see.” She shook her head. “Wow, I’m having a major case of déjà vu. I made the same suggestion to that good-looking author, Nick Plumley, last month.”

Olivia did her best to appear disinterested in this bit of gossip. Thanking the woman, she got back in the Range Rover and drove to the public library. She didn’t park in the lot, opting for a space in front of the historical society instead.

She opened Haviland’s door, and the pair strolled along the sidewalk. Olivia slowed to a halt as they arrived at the tree-lined parking lot.

“I haven’t been inside that building since I was six years old,” she told Haviland. “Nearly seven. I’d just finished reading Misty of Chincoteague, and the librarian, her name was Miss Leona, gave me a horse sticker as a prize.” Olivia smiled at the memory. “I didn’t need any incentive, of course. Even then, I knew the stories were their own reward, but Miss Leona used to put all my favorites on hold. She made me the prettiest bookmarks out of felt. I cherished every one.”

Haviland veered off to the left, his attention diverted by a squirrel chattering in one of the high branches of an oak tree. Olivia followed the poodle’s gaze, her eyes traveling over the sun-dappled foliage and the aged bark, and then she reached out and touched the trunk.

It was here, a few feet away, that Olivia’s mother had died. She’d worked as a librarian in the building at the end of the lot. There were three full-time librarians back then. Miss Leona, Mrs. Dubney, and Olivia’s mother. The women were a tight-knit group. Olivia knew this from the tenderness that would enter her mother’s voice whenever she spoke of her coworkers. At a time when most careers were dominated by males, this triumvirate of women ruled the Oyster Bay library with wisdom and kindness.

They also looked after one another outside of work. When Miss Leona was diagnosed with breast cancer, the other women covered her shifts and cooked her meals. When Mrs. Dubney’s husband died, they offered her food and company. Olivia remembered tagging along to the older woman’s house weekend after weekend.

She’d weed the vegetable garden or sweep the front path while her mother whispered words of comfort. Mrs. Dubney would take out photo albums or sit on the porch swing and tell rose-colored stories about her husband. Her entire body would shake with sobs, and the tears would stream down her cheeks until there were no more left. Olivia’s mother would hold her friend’s hand and listen, long after the stories began to repeat and the widow was able to smile during her reminiscences.

Eventually, the weekend visits to Mrs. Dubney became less frequent, yet there was always another townsperson who required compassion or cookies or a ride to work, and Olivia’s mother never failed a neighbor in need. Olivia did not resent the time or affection bestowed on these people because her mother always set out on each visit by saying, “They’re not lucky like I am, Livie. From the moment you were born and I held you in my arms, I knew I could never be unhappy again.”

Naturally, Olivia’s doting mother wanted her only child’s seventh birthday to be truly memorable and refused to allow the onset of a category two hurricane to stop her from picking up Olivia’s special gift. The big surprise, a Labrador puppy who’d been dropped off at the library by the breeder, was being cared for by Miss Leona until Olivia’s mother could collect the dog from the library staff room.

Because Olivia’s mother had been preoccupied decorating the house and baking her daughter a butterscotch cake, it was evening by the time she left the lighthouse keeper’s cottage and headed into town for the puppy. Wary of the storm, Miss Leona had closed the library early and had headed home, guiltily leaving the young dog in his crate in the staff room. The pup whined and yelped in fear as the rain smacked against the roof and the wind shook the trees around the building.

Hearing his cries, Olivia’s mother rushed into the library, leaving sodden boot prints on the carpet in her wake. She touched the puppy’s silken ears and stroked him tenderly. But he wouldn’t be consoled, so she grabbed the crate and tried to comfort the shivering pup after she’d settled him onto the passenger seat. Seconds later, a rotten telephone pole crashed through the windshield, killing the young wife and mother instantly.

The dog was unharmed.

Olivia never laid eyes on the puppy. And she planned to never go near the library again. Yet here she was.

“I guess we’ll find out if the current librarians like dogs,” she told Haviland and resolutely made her way toward the double doors.

The building had been given a facelift while Olivia was away at school. The facade was a mass of sparkling glass windows through which metal sculptures of flying gulls hung from vaulted ceilings. Their steel wings caught the light and threw reflections onto the lobby’s tiled floor.

“Lovely,” Olivia remarked as Haviland sniffed a rolling cart containing hardcovers for sale at a dollar apiece. “Anything good?” she asked him and then noticed a copy of The Barbed Wire Flower on the top shelf. Thinking the book might serve as a useful prop when she tried to glean information on Nick Plumley’s current research, Olivia took it from the cart along with a copy of Jodi Picoult’s latest release.

“I should shop here more often,” she murmured, recalling how awkward it had felt the last time she’d patronized her former lover’s bookstore.

She hesitated at the automatic door leading to a spacious carpeted area where the most popular fiction releases were displayed on shelves of blond wood. Olivia knew that while most local businesses welcomed Haviland and knew that he had impeccable manners, there were merchants who preferred him to remain in the Range Rover while Olivia did her shopping.

Olivia tended to judge people based on their reaction to her constant companion. As she approached the circulation desk, she steeled herself against possible disapproval and kept her gaze deliberately fixed upon the woman behind the counter. Olivia didn’t dare glance in the direction of the reference desk. That had been her mother’s desk, her mother’s blue swivel chair, her mother’s perfume clinging to the flyers and bookmarks and summer reading lists. If Olivia turned, she might be haunted by the sound of a tender whisper or a sweet smile.

“Livie?” A woman’s voice inquired softly. “My gracious, after all this time!”

Olivia knew her instantly. “Miss Leona. I can’t believe it’s you!”

The older woman chuckled, hiding her mirth behind her hand. “Well now, I haven’t been a ‘miss’ for decades, dear. I’m Mrs. Fairchild, but since I’ve known you since you were in diapers, you can just call me Leona.”

Olivia was amazed that Leona was still working at the same library after all these years. She’d been younger than Olivia’s mother and had aged gracefully. Now in her midfifties, Leona’s bright blond hair had become a darker, more muted shade, like the beach at twilight. She had laugh lines radiating from the corners of her gull gray eyes, and her figure was fuller, but she carried her extra weight well on her tall frame. Unruffled by Olivia’s scrutiny, she gazed at the daughter of her old friend with a frank gentleness unchanged by the passage of time.

To Olivia’s extreme annoyance, she suddenly felt shy and uncertain in the librarian’s presence. Not only was Leona one of the few townsfolk who’d known her as a child, but she’d also been privy to the intimate thoughts and secret longings of Olivia’s mother.

“Is it okay for Haviland to be here?” Olivia whispered.

Grinning, Leona reached out and stroked the poodle. “As long as he doesn’t lift his leg on the periodicals, it’s fine by me.” Her smile disappeared. “I know it wasn’t easy for you to come in, but I believe your sweet mama would have expected you to be a regular patron. There wasn’t a day that went by when she didn’t try to find you a special book or ask the other librarians for advice on how to instill in you a lifelong love of reading.”

“She succeeded in that goal,” Olivia said and noticed a look of satisfaction settle on the librarian’s face. “I’d like to sign up for a library card, but I’m also here on a research mission. Do you have a few minutes to spare?”

Leona took Olivia’s hand and gave it a squeeze. “For you? I have nothing but time.”

After listening to a single sentence, the librarian cut Olivia’s request short. “How strange! Mr. Plumley wanted information on the same house.” She lowered her voice until it was barely audible. “Tell me. Is it haunted? I don’t recall a single episode of violence occurring in that house, and there are no records documenting anything unusual about the people who lived there, but something must set that house apart. Within one month, a bestselling author and the long-absent daughter of my dear friend and colleague are seeking information on the same property.” She put her hands on her hips. “I suggest we trade information. You show me your cards and I’ll show you mine.”

Olivia hadn’t expected the librarian to be so plucky, but she liked her all the more for it. She raised her hands in surrender. “I’ll come clean, but what I’m about to say is for your ears alone.”

Leona led Olivia and Haviland into the staff room. She poured two cups of coffee, set them on the table, and offered the poodle a bowl of cool water. “Nick Plumley said he was conducting research for his sequel to The Barbed Wire Flower. You’re read it, haven’t you?”

Brandishing the hardcovers she had tucked under her arm, Olivia said, “Yes. I thought it was a compelling story.”

“Me too.” The librarian poured a generous splash of milk into her coffee and, seeing no spoon handy, stirred it with a plastic straw. “As you know, the novel is based on a prison camp set up in New Bern. It was a large camp and employed many families from the surrounding counties. Men who were too old or had a physical disability that prevented them from enlisting became the prison’s guards. Some of the German POWs spent four years in that camp. Plumley’s descriptions of the guards educating their captives about democracy and capitalism are accurate. He was also correct in his depiction of how well the prisoners were treated. It was, for most of the war, a community of men exhibiting mutual respect and even friendship.”

Though this recap was interesting, Olivia didn’t see that it had much to do with Harris’s house. “Yes, I remember that. The Germans were also encouraged to make items out of scrap materials for their own use or to sell. They were allowed to keep every cent of the profits they earned. The prisoners were so content that they never tried to escape—at least not until the pivotal scene in which a disgruntled Nazi captured and transported here toward the end of the war plans a rebellion. One of his confederates kills a guard, and together the escapees hop a freight train for the Midwest and are never seen again.”

“What many people don’t know is that the event Plumley depicts so graphically actually happened,” the librarian stated solemnly. “The murdered guard was from Oyster Bay. His name was James Hatcher. Plumley gave both him and the Germans fictional names, of course, but I’ve met Hatcher’s son, and he believes Plumley described that night in perfect detail.”

Olivia tried to rein in her impatience. “Did James Hatcher live in the house Plumley’s researching?”

“No. I thought one of his descendants might have and that’s why Mr. Plumley was fixated on it, but that turned out to be a dead end.” Leona took a sip of coffee and stared at Haviland, her eyes glazing as she traveled into the past. Olivia began to shake her foot under the table. She was not accustomed to sitting still.

Finally, the librarian blinked twice and, surfacing from the past, returned her attention to Olivia. “I wrote down the names of three families who’ve lived in the house. During the war, it was the Whites, but they moved out of town before the armistice. The next family, the Carters, were there the longest. They raised two boys in that house before moving to Florida in the early nineties. After that, it belonged to the Robinsons, the couple that sold it to your friend last month. They’re childless, and if the gossip chain is accurate, the wife is an agoraphobic.”

That explains the dated interior, Olivia thought.

“And there was nothing extraordinary about the Whites or the Carters?” she asked.

Leona shook her head. “Not on paper. I pulled every bit of microfiche that had any bearing on those families and shared them with Mr. Plumley. Like you, I wondered why he was so interested in these rather unremarkable folks.”

“If Plumley’s working on a sequel, there might be a connection between someone who lived in the house and the prison camp,” Olivia insisted.

“That was my theory as well, but those families were made up of fathers who went to the office five days a week, mothers who tended house, and children who did their best in school and stayed out of trouble. They were churchgoers and sailors, gardeners and Masons. They played baseball and went to proms. I don’t see them as book material.”

Olivia didn’t either, but asked Leona for printouts of the same material Plumley had collected.

“That’ll be quite a bit of work on my part,” Leona said with a playful wink. “I’m perfectly willing to do it and I understand that you feel protective of your young friend, but I doubt he faces any danger from the house or from Mr. Plumley. He seems like a good man and he is an author.

High praise from a librarian, Olivia thought and decided she would have to find an alternate means of snooping or run the risk of offending her mother’s friend by confessing that she suspected Plumley’s interest in Harris’s house wasn’t as innocent as it seemed. “You’re right,” she conceded. “I’m sure the real source of my anxiety stems from the fact that Mr. Plumley will be a guest at our book writer’s group next week and my chapter is up for review.”

“You’re writing a book?” Leona clasped her hands together in delight. “My dear girl, your mother would be so proud!”

To Olivia’s dismay, a lump formed in her throat and her eyes grew moist. Abruptly, she pushed back her chair, stood, and carried her empty mug to the sink. The librarian’s words had caught her by surprise and moved her deeply, but she didn’t want it to show. Gesturing for Haviland to follow, she moved toward the staff room door. “Thank you for your help.”

Leona didn’t rise but studied Olivia fondly. “She’s still with you, child. We carry those we love in our hearts. It’s where heaven truly exists.”

Olivia paused at the threshold. “If you believe in heaven,” she murmured to herself as she walked away.

Thwarted in her detective work, Olivia turned her attention back to the grand opening of The Bayside Crab House. She arrived at the restaurant in a sour mood that neither the smell of fresh paint nor the sight of the banners announcing opening day could dispel. The visit to the library had raised too many old memories, and Olivia disliked how vulnerable she felt whenever the past collided with the present. Failing to discover what Nick Plumley was after was extremely frustrating, but since April Howard was waiting, eager to show off the restaurant’s interior, Olivia did her best to adopt an amicable expression.

The Bayside Crab House was a formidable structure. The entrance, with its heavy wood entry doors flanked by rows of porthole windows, faced Water Street. Customers would enter under a cheerful red awning, pass by oversized planters brimming with coleus, red geranium, and marigolds, and finally step up onto a gentle ramp built to feel like a dock. Ship’s anchors partially submerged in a sea of blue gravel surrounded both sides of the makeshift wharf.

Olivia had decided to maintain the original appearance of the warehouse by keeping the clapboard the same dolphin gray hue. Most of the wall space to the right of the entrance now featured an electrified sign bearing the restaurant’s name and the image of a smiling neon red crab.

Inside, the tables, chairs, and floor were of pine, but the uniform appearance of yellowish wood complemented the bright, checkered tablecloths, red napkins, and multicolored nautical flags pinned to the walls.

A large bar area occupied the length of the left-hand wall and featured five television screens and a small stage where local musicians would perform on weekend nights. Nautical pennants dangled a few feet above a mirror reflecting an impressive pyramid of liquor bottles. Old barrels, sawed in half and turned on their sides, served as storage vessels for the restaurant’s wine selection.

“It’s perfect,” Olivia told April, allowing a sigh of satisfaction to escape from between her lips. “You’ve done an amazing job.”

April smiled. “I’ll probably never pour so much of myself into a project again, but it was worth it. This building helped me put myself together. The least I could do was return the favor.”

“And I hear Clyde’s taken you on as a full-time employee. You’ll be working for the best contractor in town. Congratulations.”

“Yep. I’m the first woman on his team,” April replied proudly.

Olivia shook her head. “About time he came to his senses. Come on, Haviland, let’s check out the outdoor seating area.”

April moved ahead of the pair and opened a set of double doors leading to the deck with a triumphant flourish. Immediately, the jovial sound of fiddle music burst into the air.

“What’s going on?” Olivia stepped out onto the expansive deck and immediately smelled jasmine. Pots of the vine bearing heady yellow flowers flanked the doors and had grown halfway up the lattice trellis that covered the deck. Thousands of tiny white electric lights shone down from the trellis’s frame and would compete with the stars on clear summer nights.

At one end, a fiddler was swaying on the balls of his feet while a young woman bobbed her head in time with the music. The fiddler dipped his chin her way, and she lifted a pennywhistle and effortlessly fell into harmony with his jaunty tune.

The Bayside Book Writers, seated at a large picnic table in the center of the deck, began to clap, and the musicians responded to their encouragement by putting even more energy into the song.

“Welcome aboard!” Millay shouted. She rose to her feet and saluted Olivia with a glass of beer. Haviland darted toward the table, clearly hoping to escape the high pitch of the pennywhistle. The lucky poodle was greeted warmly by Laurel, who slipped him something under the table and stroked his black fur.

“I kind of feel like we’re embarking on an ocean voyage,” Laurel said. “A feast before we set off to raid and pillage.”

Harris gestured at Rawlings with a king crab claw. “Sounds like your book, Chief.”

“Congratulations, Olivia.” Rawlings also stood and gave her a warm smile. “This place is going to be a hit.”

At that moment, Hudson walked onto the deck carrying a pair of oval platters filled with crab cakes, lobster tail, and fried shrimp. Kim followed behind bearing a bowl of cheese grits and a basket of hushpuppies.

“Caitlyn’s eating in the kitchen,” Kim whispered in Olivia’s ear. “Too many people for her liking.”

“I’ll bring Haviland back to keep her company,” Olivia replied and then indicated the food-laden table. “I take it this impromptu party is your idea.”

Kim shrugged, her face pink with happiness. “What better way to test the kitchen before the big day?”

Rawlings pulled out the chair placed at the end of the table and bowed gallantly at Olivia. Their eyes met, and as always, Olivia found it difficult to look away. “Thank you,” she said as he laid a napkin on her lap and then let his fingertips linger on the nape of her neck long enough to send a shiver down her spine.

Millay handed her a glass of beer. “A toast to vats of melted butter and food you can hit with a hammer!”

The company shouted a hearty, “Here! Here!” and then eagerly began to pass dishes around the table.

Olivia waited until she’d had her fill of scallops tossed in a Parmesan cream sauce, Creole-style crab cakes, and Hudson’s homemade slaw before taking Haviland into the kitchen. “Someone wanted to see you,” she told Caitlyn. “Do you think there are any leftovers for a hungry poodle?”

Caitlyn nodded shyly. “I could fix him something.”

“That would be splendid. No shrimp though. Too many of those aren’t good for his tummy.” Olivia walked around the kitchen, newly christened with dirty pots, remnants of steam, and a blend of scents, the most notable being crabmeat and cayenne.

Hudson had made the entire meal himself, and Olivia was impressed by his versatility. She was also relieved that she’d trusted her instincts in offering him the manager’s job, but he told her that he was meant to wear an apron, not a jacket and tie. He’d hired several assistant cooks but told her that he planned to be in the kitchen as much as possible.

“I can run the place a helluva lot better from behind a stove,” he’d said. “If the food isn’t right, folks won’t come back. Kim’ll do the books. She can’t boil an egg, but she’s got a good head for numbers.”

“Can she handle that responsibility with a newborn at home?” Olivia had asked.

“She’s juggled more than that before. We’ll make this place our second home, you’ll see.” Hudson had put a hand on her shoulder to reinforce his point, and for once, Olivia backed down. She could tell that her brother and his wife were completely dedicated to seeing that The Bayside Crab House was a success.

So far, Kim had managed the preopening pressure without difficulty, but her due date was only days away, and tonight she was looking worn to a nub. When she came into the kitchen to fetch extra bowls of melted butter, she leaned heavily on the counter near Caitlyn. Her eyes were bloodshot from lack of sleep and the skin on her face had a sallow tinge. When Olivia looked down at her sister-in-law’s ankles, she gasped.

“Kim, look how swollen you are!” Olivia pushed a stack of empty crates across the floor and gestured at them. “Sit down on this stool and put your feet up this instant. I’ll bring the damn butter out.” She locked eyes with Caitlyn. “You watch your mother. Do not let her get up. Your shift is over, Kim!” Olivia was angry with Hudson, not Kim, and forced herself to speak more gently. “Thank you for arranging this for me. I’m really thrilled by all you and Hudson have accomplished, but you need to go home. I don’t want my niece or nephew being born on my new floor.”

Outside, Olivia dumped the butter unceremoniously on the table and glared at Hudson. “Your wife needs to lie down. Her legs look like tree trunks, and she’s so exhausted she can barely hold her head up.”

Hudson didn’t respond. Instead, he shrugged and took a long pull from his beer bottle. As Olivia felt her indignation mounting, Rawlings put a hand on Hudson’s shoulder. “We’ll take care of the dishes. It’s the least we can do after you’ve served us a feast fit for Poseidon himself.” He gave Hudson a coaxing smile. “Go on, man. You deserve to spend the rest of this fine evening watching a ball game on TV.”

Laurel and Millay hugged the gruff cook, and he was clearly startled to be the recipient of their affection. He didn’t return the embraces, but there was a smile in his eyes and he gave Olivia a nearly imperceptible nod as he passed.

Olivia turned to Rawlings, wanting to demonstrate her gratitude with a look, but his eyes were focused on the remnants of food on his plate. For a moment, she wished they were alone together. No friends, no musicians, no family members, just the two of them sharing a meal beneath the open sky and the glimmer of tiny white lights.

Yet she’d decided to push him away, closing herself off to possible heartbreak. Her life was too complicated for anything other than a one-night stand, and she knew that Rawlings would never enter into a shallow relationship. He wanted to know her, body and soul, and she’d placed her privacy above his feelings.

As she watched Rawlings now, however, she felt her flesh humming with desire for him. She imagined being pressed against his bearlike chest, exposing deeply concealed feelings to the man, but fantasy was as far as she was willing to go.

I belong only to myself. If the trade-off for independence is loneliness, then I’ll be lonely.

The mention of Nick Plumley’s name brought an end to Olivia’s ruminations.

“What did you say?” she asked Harris.

“Nick’s coming over to pick up my manuscript on Tuesday. He’s going to read the whole thing! Isn’t that awesome?”

Olivia raised her brows. “He’s coming to the office or to your house?”

“The house. He’s going to hang out and read while I paint the living room. I told him I’d taken a personal day from work and that things were going to be chaotic because the floor guys will be laying tile in the kitchen and removing the nasty carpet from the stairs.” Harris winked at her. “All thanks to a friend who gave me a grade-A, killer housewarming present.”

“How sweet of Mr. Plumley,” Laurel stated, stacking dirty dishes into a tall pile. “We all think of him as this rich and famous novelist, but he’s only human, and it sounds like he’s looking to make some new friends.” She grabbed the stack of dishes and headed inside, signaling the end of the party.

After making sure she and the Bayside Book Writers had left the restaurant kitchen spotlessly clean, Olivia and Haviland headed home. Instead of going inside, the pair strolled along the beach. Olivia removed her shoes and stepped into the cold water, staring at the distant lights of the boats in the harbor and the illuminated windows of town buildings.

Olivia considered Laurel’s words about the celebrity writer. Was Plumley lonely? Had she completely misjudged him? Being a writer could be a lonely existence, and not everyone cherished solitude like she did. Perhaps he was looking for a little companionship.

By the time Haviland was ready to call it a night, Olivia had grown bored of brooding.

“I’m a hypocrite,” she told the poodle. “Just because Plumley’s rich and acts a bit eccentric doesn’t mean he’s full of character flaws. People have judged me by the same standards and I’ve resented them for it. Starting tomorrow, I will try to get to know Nick Plumley. Maybe then, he’ll willingly share his secrets.”

After kissing Haviland on the nose, Olivia collected her shoes and turned toward home, where she planned to slip between her cool, clean sheets and allow the whisper of the surf to ease her into a dreamless sleep.

It would be the last restful night she would have for a long time to come.