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Back The Newcomer Save as PDF
Chapters (71)
  1. Title Page
  2. Copyright Notice
  3. Dedication
  4. 1
  5. 2
  6. 3
  7. 4
  8. 5
  9. 6
  10. 7
  11. 8
  12. 9
  13. 10
  14. 11
  15. 12
  16. 13
  17. 14
  18. 15
  19. 16
  20. 17
  21. 18
  22. 19
  23. 20
  24. 21
  25. 22
  26. 23
  27. 24
  28. 25
  29. 26
  30. 27
  31. 28
  32. 29
  33. 30
  34. 31
  35. 32
  36. 33
  37. 34
  38. 35
  39. 36
  40. 37
  41. 38
  42. 39
  43. 40
  44. 41
  45. 42
  46. 43
  47. 44
  48. 45
  49. 46
  50. 47
  51. 48
  52. 49
  53. 50
  54. 51
  55. 52
  56. 53
  57. 54
  58. 55
  59. 56
  60. 57
  61. 58
  62. 59
  63. 60
  64. 61
  65. 62
  66. 63
  67. Epilogue
  68. Acknowledgments
  69. Also by Mary Kay Andrews
  70. About the Author
  71. Newsletter Sign-up

Letty drained her mug and stood up. “I guess we’ll find out soon enough.”

57

MAYA CURLED UP ON THE bed beside her with Ellie tucked in the crook of her arm. When her breaths became even and slower, Letty smoothed the child’s curls, kissed her forehead, and eased away.

She fixed a cup of tea and took it and her phone out to the patio. It was midafternoon, sunny, and the breeze wafted through a strand of sea oats on the nearest dune. She scrolled through the call log on her phone until she found the number she wanted, praying the woman on the other end would pick up.

“Hello? This is Samiya. Who’s this?”

“Sammi? It’s Letty Carnahan, Tanya’s sister.”

“Oh, Letty!” the lawyer exclaimed. “I’ve been so worried. Are you and Maya all right? I’ve wanted to call, but didn’t want to cause complications.…”

“We’re fine. Now. I think I should catch you up with what’s going on.”

Letty gave Sammi a brief recap of the past week’s events, ending with the most recent development. “Evan Wingfield was arrested down here this afternoon.”

“Down here?” Sammi said.

“Right. I forgot you don’t know where we went after Tanya was killed. We’ve been living in a little motel in Treasure Island, Florida.”

“Treasure Island? You mean, like the Robert Louis Stevenson story?”

“Not quite,” Letty said with a laugh. “It’s a beach town near St. Petersburg. There’s a long story about how and why we ended up at the Murmuring Surf, but it was actually all Tanya’s doing.”

“The Murmuring Surf? It sounds charming.”

Letty sat up and looked around. The tiny patio garden was alive with blooming jasmine and hibiscus and the herbs and flowers Harry Bronson had nurtured. She could see the pale turquoise waters of the Gulf of Mexico from here, and hear the rustle of palm fronds against her window.

“Actually, I guess it is pretty charming,” Letty said. “The thing is, now that I know Evan is no longer a danger to Maya, I guess I need to figure out what happens next. For both of us.”

“Yes,” Sammi said. “Well, there’s a lot for us to talk about, especially concerning Maya’s future. As we expected, Mr. Wingfield filed notice that he intends to challenge your sister’s will, and your guardianship. One quick question: has he been charged in connection with your sister’s death?”

“Not yet,” Letty said. She took a sip of tea. “But I think that will happen. Maya told us this morning that she actually saw Evan kill Tanya.”

“Oh my. That poor child,” Sammi said. “Will the police believe her?”

“I hope so,” Letty said. “But it’s the word of a four-year-old against an adult, who has every resource in the world to keep lying about his innocence.”