First In Series Sampler, Volume 1

Chapter 8

Dylan"s words hung in the air. Morgan had never called a place home before, but as soon as he said it, she knew it was true. The island was now her home, and whether her aunt intended to leave it to her or not, the Seaver house was now hers. She was the last Seaver alive. Her mother had died years before in a tragic accident not far off the coast from where the Seaver house stood, looking out over the ocean. Meredith had never told Morgan the full details of her mother"s death, and she had never asked. As the knowledge of being the last of her family penetrated, Morgan knew she had responsibilities that needed to be taken care of, starting with her aunt. She looked at Dylan, and it was as if he could read her mind. He smiled sadly before he spoke.

"There"s nothing that you need to worry about Morgan. Meredith made sure that all her final plans were made. She didn"t want you to have to deal with anything. The only thing she really wanted was to make sure that you would feel at home here and stay. I"m going to leave now. But if you open the desk drawer, you"ll find your aunt left you some letters in case of an emergency. I"ll be back later. In the meantime, stick close to the house. There is a killer loose, and you may not know who friend or foe is."

Dylan gave her shoulders a squeeze in comfort and encouragement, then pointed at the desk with one hand and with the other got a key from his pocket. "This is my key. Your aunt has another copy on her key ring, but she insisted I have a copy too. You"ll understand more when you read the letters, and I"m sure you"ll have tons of questions for me. I"ll bring dinner when I return, and we can sit and talk. I"ll answer as many of your questions as I can."

Without giving Morgan a chance to say anything, Dylan pressed the key into the palm of her hand and then left. Morgan wondered what she would find in the desk. Part of her was curious; the other part was anxious. Staring at the desk, she knew it contained some of her answers and probably more questions. She found she was eager to know, even postmortem, a little bit more about her aunt.

Shrugging her shoulders to fight her hesitation, Morgan walked around to sit in the grand chair behind the desk. The chair was perfect for a queen and was comfortable. The desk was hand-carved, beautifully ornate, and when she looked closely, she saw that the engravings were of mermaids and sea creatures, and she wondered who had done such beautiful work.

"Sitting here staring at the desk isn"t going to find my answers. Use that key and unlock it, girl." Morgan scoffed at herself. This was a habit she often had, talking to herself. Maybe it was because, in her profession, she was alone most of the time, and she needed to hear the sound of her own voice.

Taking a deep breath, Morgan used the key and unlocked the drawer. Pulling it open, she saw inside three envelopes and two jewelry boxes. Two of the envelopes looked official in their legal size, sealed with an old-fashioned wax seal. But it was the third envelope that caught Morgan"s attention. She recognized her Aunt Meredith"s elegant handwriting, and she knew without even touching it that she would find it was a personal letter to her. Like a child wanting to save the best candy for last, she pushed the envelope to the side and reached for the jewelry boxes. She was curious because she couldn’t remember seeing her aunt wear anything other than a ring, and the ring was vague in her memory; she just knew that her aunt always wore it. She flipped the lid of the larger flat box and gasped at the beauty lying in the black velvet insides of the box. She had never seen a more perfect set of pearls in her life, but they weren"t the traditional white pearls. No, these were a mixture of colors: white, gray, black, pink, and every other color she"d ever seen in a pearl. The box held the highest quality of each of those colors, gathered and strung together to create this masterpiece. Reverently, she picked them up out of the box and held them against her throat. She instantly felt a sense of peace, and when she pulled the pearls away, her throat felt warm where they had laid. Looking at the box, she saw there was a matching bracelet. She placed the necklace back in the box and reached for the smaller ring size box.

Before Morgan could open the box, something caught her eye outside the window. It was a slight movement, and she turned to find herself staring into the beautiful brown eyes of a longhaired tabby kitten on the other side of the window. The animal had jumped up onto the windowsill and seemed to be watching Morgan"s every movement.

"Funny, I don"t remember Meredith having a cat. Poor thing"s probably looking for some food."

Pushing the drawer closed, Meredith jumped to her feet, intent on finding the cat and making sure it had food and water. She"d always had a soft spot for cats, and she hoped this one was friendly, someone she could talk to in this big old house.

But by the time Morgan walked across her aunt"s office to the French doors that led out to the patio, the cat had disappeared.

"Oh well, he"ll come back if he"s hungry," Morgan said to herself, but she couldn"t help but feel disappointed.

As Morgan stood looking out into the courtyard, she swallowed and realized all the coffee she had drank had only made her thirstier, and the only cure for that was a cold drink of water. As she walked by the desk, she reached out and grabbed the envelope that had been written by her aunt. She could deal with the rest later, but somehow, she felt it was important she read this letter immediately. It was as if the letter beckoned her with its urgency, and Morgan hoped she would find answers she needed within her aunts words.