After hearing Vivienne’s story, Ten and Ronan had done a lot of research, not only on the hotel, but on the hurricane as well. The storm claimed almost three hundred lives in New York and New England. Granted, weather forecasting and information dissemination were more advanced now than they had been ninety-plus years ago, but technology in no way diminished the danger and destruction Sophie could bring.
As the television news turned to the dismal season the Red Sox were having, two servers brought their lunch to the table. If Sophie was going to put an early end to their vacation, at least their last meal would be the best Ronan had ever eaten.
Digging into his lunch, Ronan vowed to put thoughts of Lanie and Sophie out of his mind so he could enjoy the rest of the afternoon in Newport. There would be plenty of time later to reckon with Mother Nature.
12
Tennyson
After lunch, Ronan treated everyone to an ice cream cone and Ten handed out wet wipes to clean up sticky hands. They’d loaded up the van to drive back to Hurricane Pointe, more aptly named now than it had been hours ago before they’d heard Sophie’s name.
When the kids were settled with movies and snacks, Ten pulled out his phone and went looking for the latest information about Sophie. At the moment, she was situated one hundred and fifty miles off the Virginia coast, moving at seventeen miles per hour. Sophie was meandering up the coast, taking her sweet time. According to three different websites, the storm was headed for New Jersey, New York and New England, but no one had firm information to show where she’d make landfall, just those weird spaghetti models, which didn’t give Ten a lot of confidence.
Ten was going to have to pay close attention not only to the forecast for Southern Rhode Island, but for Salem as well. If the storm hit Long Island and/or southern New England, it would bring rains and wind to eastern Massachusetts as the hurricane became a tropical storm. A worse scenario would be the storm coming ashore full-force in Massachusetts, which would cause flooding, power outages, property damage and weeks of clean-up. Ten wished Sophie would stay far out to sea. His gift wasn’t giving him any information. When it came to the weather, Ten never had psychic visions.
There was nothing Ten could do about Sophie at the moment. He pulled his book out and prepared to get lost in the world of Agatha Christie.
“You okay?” Ronan asked, taking the seat beside Ten.
Ten jumped, he’d been so deep into the book, he’d forgotten where he was. Looking up, Ten saw the van was only minutes from the hotel. “Yeah. I’m worried about Lainie and Sophie, but other than that, I’m okay.”
“I’m gonna speak to the front desk and ask what happens if we have to evacuate or cut our stay short because of the storm. Do we get our money back for the days we don’t use or are we shit out of luck?”
“That’s a good question. Not only do we have to worry about the storm coming ashore here but at home too. If we need to board up the windows and pull in the patio furniture, we’re going to need to leave early.” Ten hated the idea of disappointing the kids and packing up early, but if that’s what had to be done, he’d make it up to the kids later.
“Stores are going to be insane with people scrambling for bread and other non-perishable food, not to mention bottled water, batteries, flashlights, and what not.” Ronan added.
“When was the last time Massachusetts got a direct hit from a hurricane?” Ten asked.
“It was 1991. Hurricane Bob. I was little, but I remember Mom singing songs and coloring with me when the power went out. We lived in Quincy at the time, which is an ocean town. We had a bit of flooding, but it was the Cape and southeastern Massachusetts that took the biggest hit. There was massive flooding and property damage. The power outages lasted for a few days. Thankfully we got ours back the next day. It hit at the end of August, just before Labor Day.”
“Talk about history repeating itself.” Ten shook his head, as Fitzgibbon pulled into the hotel’s parking lot.
“What do you want to do for the rest of the afternoon?” Ronan asked.
“I’m gonna see if Everly wants to reach out to Vivienne and see if we can get her to tell us what happened on the day she died. Who killed her? Why? How?”
Ronan grinned. “Good plan. Vivienne’s the only one who can say for sure what happened that day. If we know how she was killed, we might be able to save Lainie from the same fate.”
“What are you going to do?” Ten asked, resting his head on Ronan’s shoulder.
“First thing I want to do is speak with someone at the hotel about their storm preparedness and evacuation plan. We don’t know how current it is or if the staff has done evacuation drills. We can’t count on them to keep us safe. There are a lot of winding roads to get from here back to the highway. When we did it on the way here, it took thirty minutes. If this place is in the middle of a mandatory evacuation, there’s going to be a huge traffic jam. Leaving a few days early might be the best plan.”
Ten nodded. “Agreed. You guys speak with the hotel staff. Everly and I will reach out to Vivienne and we’ll go from there.”
Ronan pressed a kiss to Ten’s temple. “All ashore!” He pulled open the side door and climbed out. He started helping the kids and their various shopping bags out of the van.
“I’m ready, Dad,” Everly said, stopping at his seat. She wore a determined look on her face.
“Ready to reach out to Vivienne?”
“Yes,” Everly agreed. “I told Aurora I’d meet her at the beach later. This is more important than working on my tan.”
“It sure is, honey.” Ten took his daughter’s hand and led her into the hotel. Father and daughter were quiet as they rode the elevator. Stepping into the hall, Ten grabbed his key and let them into the suite.
“I’m gonna wash up, but I’ll be right back.” Everly headed toward her room, shopping bags swung from her right hand.
Ten took a seat on the sofa and practiced his breathing exercises. He hadn’t wanted to say anything at the lunch table or on the ride back to the hotel, but Sophie scared him.
