Dead in the Water (Kate Ryan Mysteries Book 10) (23 page)

“Then you went down to the engine room and set off that device at midnight. When everything was disabled, you tossed it overboard to get rid of any evidence.”

“And the splash Miss Markham heard just after midnight was you tossing the device overboard.”

“All speculation, Kate, sorry,” Daryl said with a wide grin, which I wanted to slap off his face.

“It’s true,” Mr. Sheldon said. “Without it, there’s no evidence. Only our theory.”

“You’re right,” I said. “But, Daryl, you messed up back in Chicago.”

All eyes were on me then. I saw the look of admiration in Maggie’s eyes. And for a moment, I was lost in them. I nearly forgot that I asked this woman to marry me twenty-four hours earlier.

And I almost forgot I had a murder to solve.

What a weekend.

Chapter 21

“Chicago?” Monty asked. “He was in Chicago?”

“Oh, Daryl was in Chicago, all right. About four or five months ago,” I said.

“What the hell are you talking about?” Daryl laughed. “You’re crazy. I haven’t been to that fricking city since I had to deal with you numbnuts.”

“But you were,” I assured him. “How else could you get the EMP from Chad Henson?”

Daryl paled and tried to swallow; I practically heard him comically gulp.

“Who in the hell is Chad Henson?” Mr. Sheldon asked.

“He was a scientist and Phil Bledsoe’s business partner. He agreed to help Phil’s father, David. He devised the EMP. You went to their shop to pick it up. You must have argued over something. I’m not sure what. But you killed him.”

“What?” Monty asked.

Everyone else gasped in surprise.

Daryl just smiled. “Nice theory,” he said. “But no proof.”

“Well, here’s the thing,” I said. “And this is another coincidence. You see, Phil Bledsoe came to me a few days ago. His business partner, Chad Henson, was killed about four months ago. The police had nothing to go on, no clues, and no evidence. They couldn’t find a thing, so after a few months, they had to call it a robbery. Oh, they’ll keep the file open, but there’s little chance of finding out what really happened. But Phil thought Chad was murdered. He wasn’t satisfied with what the police determined. So he came to me, hoping I could find something to prove it wasn’t just a random robbery.”

“And what did you find?” Daryl asked with an air of nonchalance. But I saw the tiny beads of perspiration on his brow.

“Whoever killed Chad didn’t take anything. They left the petty cash in the drawer. They didn’t take any merchandise. But the killer was smart enough to retrieve the bullet casing. The police couldn’t find that. So I asked myself why would a random thief take the time to find the bullet casing?”

“Because it wasn’t random,” Mr. Sheldon said angrily, while he watched Daryl.

“No, it wasn’t random. Was it, Daryl? What did you argue about—money?”

When Daryl said nothing, Maggie turned to me. “Tell them how you know it was Daryl, Kate.”

“Oh, you tell them,” I said to her.

“Let me!” Hannah raised her hand.

“Ladies…” Simon said.

Hannah stood with a flourish and paced by the table. I shook my head and patiently waited.

“When we decided to take the case, we went to the police and asked to see the file. They agreed, and after careful deliberation of the file, the autopsy report, and…” She leaned on the table, right in front of Daryl. “…the surveillance tape, of course, we saw nothing. The murderer was very careful not to show his face. But we saw one thing that caught our eye. And you know what that was?” She whirled around in dramatic fashion to face the rest of us.

They all sat there, mouths agape, shaking their heads.

“Get on with it, Miss Marple,” I said sweetly.

Hannah gave me a sour look and whirled back to Daryl. “We have a picture of a hand as it reached out to grab poor Chad Henson. And on that hand was a tattoo. Right by the thumb knuckle.” She pointed to Daryl’s hand. “A tattoo of the U.S. Marine Corps globe and anchor. Just like the one you have.”

Hannah preened like a peacock and sat down. “I rest my case.”

Daryl looked down at his hand and chuckled. “I really fucking hate you guys.”

“I’ll be damned,” Mr. Sheldon said. “You did do all this, didn’t you? The feds in Washington will have a field day with you. An ex-government agent?”

“I suspect a lawyer will be needed when Mr. Smith goes to Washington. Oh!” Simon grinned when he realized what he had said. “A serendipitous moment.”

“Really?” I asked him.

“What I really don’t understand is why you had to kill that poor man. Was that part of David’s plan, as well? I can’t help but think it was not,” Monty said to Daryl.

“I ain’t saying another word. You screwballs go and try to pitch this to the police. So I have a tattoo. Big deal. A lot of guys get tattoos.”

“Not like that one,” I assured him. “But at least we have something. And we have you.”

“Now all we need is the Coast Guard to come to the rescue,” Maggie said, biting at her bottom lip.

“I’m curious,” Paul said. “What was your plan to escape? You had to have a plan.”

A scenario flashed through my mind. “I don’t think Daryl is going to talk anymore. So let me take a stab at it.”

Daryl smiled with a prodding nod.

“I think I’m as surprised to see Daryl as he was to see me at dinner last night. My guess? I think he saw me and Maggie sitting at the table when he was about to come into the dining room. He did an about-face…” I looked at the one crew member. “As if he’d been shot…”

“Right!”

“And he ran over the other poor guy and sent him flying. Then kept right on going. And no one saw him again until he went to the bridge. Patrick knew nothing of what happened in the kitchen, I doubt he would care.”

“So seeing Kate, you had to change your plans,” Paul said.

“What was it, Daryl? If it hadn’t been for me throwing a stick in your spokes, you’d have just played along and been just as confounded and confused as the rest of them. Not knowing what caused the engine failure. You got rid of the evidence and any chance of them sending up a flare for help. And you’d just sit back like a member of the crew until someone came to the rescue.”

“Brilliant,” Shirley said.

“Yes,” I said. “And you’d give a statement to the police, just like the others would. And you’d be dismissed and fade into the crowd. Just like you did after you killed Chad Henson. Monty would be blamed for negligence and subsequently ruined financially, and David Bledsoe would get his revenge. Simple, no one gets hurt.”

“And what of Mr. Whitehead?” Monty asked sadly. “I’ll bet David didn’t consider him having a heart attack and dying.” He sat and rubbed his forehead. “Just a waste. For what—revenge? Was that it, Mr. Smith, if that is your name?”

Daryl cleared this throat before spitting once again. “In light of the recent accusations, I’m pleadin’ the Fifth.”

“Plead it all you want,” I said. “The truth will come out. It always does.”

Chapter 22

I stretched out on the bed in our stateroom. Maggie sat on the edge of the bed next to me.

“Well, that certainly was surreal,” she said, flopping back against me.

“It certainly was. I hope they can keep him tied up until the cavalry gets here. Whenever that may be. You could have knocked me over with a feather when I saw him.”

“Me too. It really scared me to see him again. It brought back the memory of that Christmas.”

I felt her body tremble, so I pulled her into my arms. “I know. That was one screwy Christmas.”

“But every time something like this happens, we get closer,” she whispered.

“That’s one good thing to come out of all this. Hey, I did ask you to marry me, right?”

She looked up and grinned. “You asked that before, and the answer is still the same. Yes, you did. And I said yes.”

“Hmm. And did I ask you if you were crazy?”

She laughed and cuddled closer. “Yep.”

“And what was your answer?”

“I’m crazy for you,” she said happily.

“Then we’re both crazy.” I turned and lay on my side; she did the same. “So you’re crazy for me, huh?”

She nodded. “Completely.”

I took her hand in mine, kissing the sapphire ring. “I’m glad you like the ring. I wasn’t going to get you one, but…”

Maggie sat up. “What?”

Oops.

“Uh…”

“What were you going to propose with?”

“Um…well, you already had my class ring. I thought—” I didn’t know what to say, but I knew I had to say something. “It’s Hannah’s fault.”

Maggie raised an eyebrow. “Really? How so?”

“She started going on about a church wedding and dresses, then Matt started about having the reception at his restaurant, and I got all turned around. And…”

Maggie put her fingertips against my lips. “I understand completely now, honey. If Aunt Hannah and Matt were involved, I’m surprised you didn’t implode. I forgive you.” She leaned in and kissed me.

I melted and pulled her close. “It was horrible.”

“I know,” she whispered and kissed me again.

“Hannah mentioned Holy Name Cathedral.”

“Poor thing,” she said, kissing my neck.

It was all a blur after that, a heavenly blur.

*******

Someone was knocking at the door, and all I knew was I was naked, and Maggie was sleeping on top of me, equally naked. Since she slept like a dead woman, I had to struggle to get out from under her to get to my robe. Maggie was still sleeping when I covered her with the quilt.

“Good thing there’s not a fire,” I said, tying my robe and quickly answering the door.

Of course, it was Hannah.

“Did I interrupt?” she asked. “Nice ’do.”

I ran my fingers through my wild hair. “No, you would have interrupted about an hour ago.” I looked beyond her at the setting sun. “What time is it?”

“Nearly eight o’clock. We think the Coast Guard is on the way.”

“Really?”

“Monty and the crew have been searching the lake with binoculars—”

“We’re going to be rescued.” Simon ran up to the door. “They’ve been spotted off the port bow!”

“Thanks, Admiral. Let me wake Maggie. We’ll meet you on deck.”

Hannah held me back and pulled me into a hug. “You’ve done it again, Kate. Solved another one.”

“With your help. Couldn’t have done it without you.”

“I love you, dear. Now do wake up sleeping beauty,” she said, pushing me toward the door.

I walked back to Maggie, who not surprisingly, was still sleeping, sprawled out on her stomach. I gently pulled the quilt away, exposing her lovely body. I placed a kiss on her back.

“Sweetie?” I whispered.

“Hmm.”

“Time to get up.”

“No,” she whined. “I don’t want you to stop.”

“As much as I’d love to make love to you again, the Coast Guard has been spotted off the port—”

She jumped up, nearly knocking me off the bed. “They found us? Let’s go.”

“A second ago, you didn’t want me to stop,” I said, flexing my back.

“We have a lifetime, Kate. Let’s get off this ship and get it started.”

She laughed, gathered her clothes, and pulled me along with her.