Close to the Bone (Widow's Island #1)(17)

“What is the real story of Elias and Ruby? There’s no mention of her in his museum.”

“I rarely meet someone who doesn’t know the story.” She rested her chin on her hands, her eyes distant as she thought. “Elias started as a shipbuilder in Seattle. He built ships for the US Navy but moved to the islands for an early retirement because Camilla loved this location. She came from a poor coastal family on another island but became a snob with Elias’s success. I heard she never spoke to her family once she’d married Elias. When they’d settled here, their son joined them and started his own family. Somewhere during that time, Elias met Ruby. He was much older than her.”

“Of course.”

“I don’t know how long the affair went on, but at some point Elias built a home for Ruby on Widow’s—my grandmother still lives there. It’s not huge like the Bishop mansion, but it’s a nice, quality house. And he constructed a small summer place for her on Ruby’s Island.”

“The location where Rex Conan built his colossus.”

“Yes. Ruby had a baby, and Camilla was furious and made her life hell. Elias and Ruby’s affair was a poorly kept secret.”

“Understandable, since he built her two homes. The public had to notice that.” He couldn’t look away from Cate. The animation in her face as she told the story had hooked him.

“After that the story gets a little murky, but Ruby and Elias were found dead among the rocks at the bottom of Widow’s Walk one morning.”

“Camilla did it,” Henry said flatly.

“Did she?” Cate asked with a quirk of an eyebrow. “Or did they leap off the cliff together, wanting to be with each other in the afterlife, where it’s peaceful?”

“No one falls that deeply in love. Only in movies. What happened to their baby?”

“She was raised by Ruby’s sister, who had been her nanny. That baby was Jane’s mother.”

“Did Camilla go to jail?” The story had sucked him in.

“No, she had an alibi from her groundskeeper.”

“Right. Groundskeeper. You weren’t kidding about the soap opera reference. What happened next?” Henry was enamored that Cate was part of the crazy bloodline.

“Well, Camilla became the most hated woman on the island. Ruby had been a kind young woman, so Camilla was now the evil crone who many believed offed her husband and his lover.”

“I feel a little sorry for Camilla.”

“Me too. Being ostracized can’t be fun. The islanders decided to name the tiny bay island Ruby’s Island, and you can imagine how Camilla reacted. I suspect they primarily did it to annoy her.”

“But the other two nearby islands are named Camilla and Elias. She complained even though she had her own island?”

“Yep. Anyway, Camilla lived a long, miserable life in the Bishop mansion. They say she haunts the mansion, but my friend Samantha lived there and never saw anything. Samantha’s mother, Marsha, lost the huge house a while back. She’s been a little mentally unstable since her daughter vanished.” Cate looked at her plate and fiddled with a fry. “It didn’t help that her husband committed suicide not long after Samantha disappeared. He was suspected in Samantha’s disappearance and hounded by the police.”

“You didn’t agree.”

“No. He barely paid attention to Samantha. He was too busy with the Harbor View Inn and Elias’s little museum. He was kind . . . just overworked.” She laid the fry down without eating it. “The Bishop bloodline fizzled out after that.”

“You have Bishop blood.”

She shrugged. “To me, my side of the Bishop blood represents strong women. The other side of the blood was about Elias’s money. Ruby’s sister proudly raised that baby despite all the rumors and taught that little girl to be resilient and tenacious. The pride and strength continued through each generation. Jane is a perfect example.”

Jane’s granddaughter is too. She was shot and is back to work like nothing happened.

“Everything you’ve told me is true, right? I won’t make a fool of myself if I mention some of the story?” Uncertainty filled his voice.

Cate choked on a sip of water. “Yes. All true. I’m sorry you’ve been teased.”

“You told me about Ruby’s ghost in the lighthouse last night.”

“That’s true.” Her tone was sincere.

Henry studied her. I can’t tell if she’s joking.

“No teasing. I actually saw her during my teenage years, but please don’t tell anyone.” Her eyes were earnest, stronger than any gaze he’d seen from her. “Jane says I see her because we’re related.”

I believe her.

“You made a believer out of me somehow,” he said slowly, accepting the truth in his words. He was floored. He didn’t believe in ghosts. Until now.

“I promise to always tell you the truth about the island stories,” she said solemnly and held out her hand across the table to seal the bargain.

A faint warmth shot through his limbs as he took her hand. He shook it, reluctant to let go. “Deal.”





8


After lunch with Henry, Cate drove to Stan Irish’s home.

She had recognized the address. There was no need for her to use GPS on the island because she had a permanent road map in her head. Stan’s location was among a string of rural farms halfway between the town of North Sound and Harlot Harbor. As she drove she called Daphne Conan, Becca’s mother. Missing the ease of the Bluetooth connection in her vehicle back home, she wore earbuds with a mic.