visit her, I’ll occasionally stop by to see my old friend at the pawnshop, too. The first time I went back to Florida, I’d been living up here for a couple of years. I thought alarms would go off as soon as I crossed the state line, but nothing happened. I went to the pawnshop, then I drove by Alice’s parents’ house. No sign of her. I stalked their house for a few days, and finally she showed up, with a guy and a couple of kids. She looked good. She looked happy. I couldn’t ruin that, so I just drove away.”
“I’m so sorry, Dmi . . . Jimmy?”
He shook his head. “Please call me Dmitri. I haven’t been Jimmy Novak in what seems a lifetime.”
“You’ve lived here for so long carrying these secrets around. Does anyone know? Does my father know?”
“No one knows, except you and Shari now. There were times I so badly wanted to confide in someone. The community here has been so good to me. Your family has been so good to me. I grew to love my life here, and I just couldn’t risk revealing my secret. The statute of limitations has run out on those crimes. I could go back to Florida and shout my name from the rooftops and there’d be nothing the cops could do about it, but what purpose would that serve? That was another life, and I was another person. A person I’m not at all proud of, but Dmitri is an honest, law-abiding citizen. Well, except when I go to Florida and fence stolen goods. I suppose that’s still criminal. A technicality, I’d say.”
“You still do that?” My heart fell a little.
“Only when it’s absolutely necessary. I make enough money to get by on around here, but every now and then I need a bit of cash. The jewels I have left are my retirement fund.”
“So you just have, what, diamond necklaces lying around someplace? In a nightstand or something?”
He chuckled. “No, in the base of my bee houses. Ingenious, yes?”
“I suppose, but if the statute of limitations has run out, why would a private detective be looking for you?”
Dmitri heaved a big sigh. “Because I don’t think he’s a private detective. I think it’s Mick.”
“Mick, your partner?”
“Yeah. He got sentenced to three years for the burglary at the hotel, but after his release, he tried to rob somebody else, and this time he had a gun, so it was straight back to prison for him. I think he may have just gotten released again, and he may think I owe him some jewels or compensation. If it’s not Mick, then I have no idea who it is.”
“Well, we have to make sure he doesn’t find you!” My concerns were all twisted around. I wanted him to come clean, and yet I wanted to protect him, too.
“Honestly, Brooke, if he did find me, I guess I’d give him what I have left and hope that satisfied him. He went to prison and I didn’t, so maybe I do owe him.”
“Is he dangerous? Would he try to hurt you or somebody else? Because maybe we should tell my dad.”
Dmitri’s face fell. “So many times, I’ve wanted to come clean with Harlan. I’ve hated lying to him. I’ve hated lying to everyone, but I’ve never had the courage to tell the whole truth. At first, I was just too scared about going to prison, but now I’m devoted to this island and to the people. I would hate to lose everyone’s respect. Brooke, I won’t ask you to lie for me, but I can’t deny I hope you’ll keep this secret for me.”
Dmitri had kept a secret for me. Did I owe him? Maybe, but my secret didn’t involve any illegal activity.
“I don’t know, Dmitri. It’s kind of a big thing. I’ll have to think about it, but I promise I won’t do anything without telling you first, and now that I know the circumstances, I can understand why you did the things you did. I mean, maybe not the stealing part, but the hiding out part.”
“Thank you. I know I’m not in a position to even ask this, but could I ask a favor? If you feel it’s essential that Harlan know, could I tell him myself?”
“Of course. Absolutely.”
“Thank you,” he said again. “Now, do you suppose I could see those letters?”
After all this, I’d practically forgotten about the letters. I pushed the plastic bag toward him. It had been