Shot Through Velvet (39 page)

He knocked back some beer and greeted them with a wave. “Y’all come on aboard.”

“So this is the
Blue Devil
,” Lacey said, shielding her eyes from the low winter sun. She’d heard so much about the boat, she thought it would be bigger. The
Blue Devil
looked sleek and streamlined, but she wasn’t quite the luxury yacht Lacey was expecting.
This is the Corvette of fishing boats?
At least she was painted blue.

“Not for long,” Hank said. “She’ll be the
Gypsy Princess
again soon. Like she always was. New coat of paint soon too.” He ran his hand over the wheel lovingly and hopped down from the boat.

“You’re buying her back?” Vic asked.

Hank grinned. “For one whole dollar. Honey asked Dirk and me to take her off her hands. She didn’t know what else to do with her. We just have to sign some papers. Pay some taxes. Course, I know she’s just trying to put things right.”

“She’s trying to ease her guilty conscience?” Lacey asked.

“Honey’s got no reason to feel guilty. She’s just a decent lady.” He sighed with satisfaction and nodded toward the boat. “We’ll be fishing the spring bass soon. Mighty fine fishing here. So, what brings y’all out here? I don’t imagine it’s the direct route back home for you two.”

“Just wondering if you’ve seen Kira Evans,” Vic said casually.

“Kira?” Hank paused and thought about it. “We don’t exactly keep company, you know, though I’d be happy to, if she showed an interest.” He finished his beer and crumpled the can in his hand. “Haven’t seen her since the funeral. Want a beer? Come on aboard. Lemme show you my boat. She’s a beauty.”

“We’d love to. Some other time.” Vic pressed his lips together. “Got to get back to town.”

“Why do you want to see Kira?” Hank asked, but he didn’t seem overly interested.

“She was working on a project for Nicholson,” Lacey said. “About Rod stealing from the company.”

“Oh, that. Yeah, everyone knew about that. Only question was how much.”

It was a typical small-town answer, Lacey thought. Everybody knows everything, except what might be important. And if everybody knew, did that mean Rod Gibbs knew they knew?

“Just wanted to touch base with her on it,” Vic said. “See what she found out.”

“It’s the weekend. She’s got family somewhere. Her daughter’s a good kid. I’m sure nothing about Rod’s so important it can’t wait till tomorrow. He ain’t gonna get any deader.” Hank paused and looked away from them, out over the lake. “Be awful damn nice if people would just leave Kira the hell alone. She’s had enough trouble in her life.”

“You’re right there,” Vic agreed. “We just came out to see the lake on this beautiful Sunday afternoon. Thought she might be around, or maybe you might have seen her. Good to see you again, Richards.”

As they turned back toward Vic’s Jeep, Lacey called out, “I hope the fishing is good.”

“Fishing’s always good on Lake Anna,” Richards said. “Rod only used this old girl a couple of times after he weaseled her away from us. He was a born fool.” He climbed back into the boat and grabbed another cold one. He was still sitting behind the wheel, watching the sun drop low over the lake when they pulled away.

They drove in silence for a few minutes, lost in thought. Vic called Armstrong on his cell. He hadn’t located Kira or her brother, and they’d already asked Honey. Vic called Turtledove. No answer. Just past the Lake Anna Marina, he turned the Jeep down a bumpy side road toward something the sign called THE ANNA CABANA.

It turned out to be a cute seafood restaurant on a little knoll right on the waterfront, with its own docks and boardwalk and a nice view of the lake. The deck was covered with snow, but there were boats docked and a few couples dining inside. Crab cakes seemed to be the Anna Cabana’s specialty. Vic and Lacey ordered a crab-dip appetizer, but they didn’t have much appetite. What they needed was to find Kira Evans.

Vic tried Turtledove’s cell again. Still no answer. He left another voice mail. Their brief visit with Hank Richards and the
Gypsy Princess
hung over Lake Anna like a dark cloud.

“Richards didn’t buy a word of that,” Vic finally said, staring into the distance across the lake.

“He probably helped her with Gibbs,” Lacey said, poking at the crab dip. She suddenly felt very sad. “I wonder which one killed him.”

Vic was silent for a moment, and then he nodded. “Gut feeling or fashion clue?”

She sighed and put her knife down. “Hank’s got a secret and he’s very calm about it. He’s made up his mind about something. And he’s very protective of Kira.”

“So we don’t want to get him riled up, not before we talk to Kira,” Vic said.

“You think he’s on to us?”

“He’s not stupid. He’s got something to hide. Then again, we’re not sure what that is, or if he was the one who helped her. And how does he connect with Pojack and the blue ribbons? We’re not sure about anything, are we, Lacey?”

“Not one hundred percent.” She breathed in deeply and watched the setting sun light the lake aglow. It was a beautiful place. “More like ninety-seven percent. Yeah, he’s on to us.”

Vic’s phone jingled. It was Turtledove calling back. He finally had something for them.

“You up for a late night?” Vic asked Lacey after he clicked off. He waved to the waiter for the check.

“Turtledove found Kira?”

“No. But he found her brother’s address for us.”

“You really want me there?” Lacey was flattered and a little nervous. They were walking fast toward the Jeep.

“She might find talking with a woman there a little easier. Less threatening.”

“And you find me less threatening?”

“Good God, no,” Vic said. “You terrify me, darling. But you can speak her language. That private language between women.”

“That’s better. I’d love to talk to her.”

The sun set behind them on Lake Anna as Vic pointed the Jeep toward the highway.

Chapter 36

It seemed a shame to shatter the Sunday-evening stillness of that quiet cottage home in Arlington, that family, and Kira’s life. But other lives were in danger. Lacey gathered her strength and walked with Vic up the sidewalk to the door.

Vic rang the bell and Kira came to answer it. Her eyes looked frightened. She did not ask them in.

“We’d just like to speak with you about the night Rod Gibbs died,” Vic said.

“I don’t know.” Kira looked behind her as if she was afraid of being overheard. “I’m not alone.”

“Where’s your daughter?” asked Lacey.

“Out shopping with her cousins.” Kira looked around, almost ready to panic. “This is my brother’s home, his family. My family. We can’t talk here.”

Vic suggested they get something to drink at Whitlow’s on Wilson, just a few blocks away. It would be neutral territory. Kira reluctantly agreed. She picked up her coat and purse and told someone in another room she would be out for a while.

Whitlow’s looked better when there were local bands playing and the lights were turned down low, Lacey decided. But even a marching band wouldn’t raise her spirits tonight. They took a table in a side room where no one else was seated.

No one was in the mood for a meal, but Kira looked like she hadn’t had a bite to eat since Lacey first met her. They settled on the hot spinach-and-artichoke dip with pita chips, and sodas all around.

“I’ve answered all their questions,” Kira said. “All those cops. I don’t have to tell you anything.”

Vic gave her a friendly smile. “No, you don’t, Kira. But something is eating at you. Anyone can see that. I can see that.”

“Did you know someone else has been killed?” Lacey asked. She left her notebook in her purse and folded her hands on the table. “It’s in the paper today.”

“I don’t believe you.” Kira looked miserable. The drinks came. She kept her head down, not meeting their gazes.

“Wait.” Lacey left the table and walked outside to a news box on the corner. There was one last copy of
The Eye Street Observer
. She brought it back and handed it to Kira. “Someone at my newspaper was killed. Two more people are in danger. The killer sent them blue velvet ribbons in the mail. Blue velvet, like the ribbon left in Rod’s hand in the coffin. Blue velvet, like he was tied up with when he died.”

“Kira, we just want to prevent more murders.” Vic reached out and touched her arm.

The waitress set down their order while Kira read the story on Walter Pojack’s death.

“The papers all say this Avenger guy killed Rod,” Kira said, spilling her Coke and wiping it up with napkins.

“The killer had to be someone from the factory, with knowledge of its machinery and layout,” Vic said. “What they did with Rod wouldn’t have come from an outsider.”

“Tom Nicholson said you found Rod’s paper trail, how he stole money from the company,” Lacey said.

Kira nodded, unsure where this was headed. “It wasn’t even that much, and he didn’t need the money. He did it because he could, I think. Everything was a mean little game to Rod. He liked to put things over on people. God knows what he’d do if news of his skimming money came out. He might have blamed Tom. Or me. We had to be pretty careful.”

“He knew you were on to him, didn’t he?” Vic said. “You were the bookkeeper. You could see discrepancies in the books. But time was running out. The factory was closing. Is that why he went there that night?”

“No. I’m not sure why he was there.” Kira clutched her hands together. Her face was flushed. “I don’t know.”

“You saw Rod that night,” Lacey said.

“No, I already told the police—”

“I’m just the security guy, Kira,” Vic said in his most reassuring voice. It was low and warm. “What happened to Gibbs that night was not your fault, was it?”

Kira looked unsure of everything. She didn’t know who to trust or what to think. She buried her face in her hands.

“There could be more deaths,” Lacey said. “We think he’s targeted two more people.”

“But it’s the Avenger, it’s some crazy stranger, it’s not—” Tears sprang to Kira’s eyes. “Oh my God. What am I going to do?” She started to hyperventilate.

Lacey and Vic exchanged a look. He sat back, while Lacey leaned forward and took Kira’s hands in hers. They were ice cold.

“It will be better if you tell us,” Lacey said. “Everything can still turn out for the best, if you can help us. But it can’t if you don’t tell us what really happened.”

“But I have a daughter.”

“If it was self-defense, Kira—”

“Who’s going to believe that? Rod being strung up and dyed blue that way,” Kira cried. “It’s awful. It’s a horrible thing to do to anyone. Even Rod.”

“You didn’t do that by yourself, did you?” Vic said.

“No.” Kira said it so softly it was hard to hear.

“Kira, the sooner you can explain what happened, the sooner this mess can be cleared up,” Vic said. “Especially if there are extenuating circumstances.”

Kira took a deep breath. Her words came out as if she were choking, but as she talked she calmed down. “The last crew had gone home. I just wanted to stay a little longer. It was easier to work on Tom’s project that way. Nobody looking over my shoulder. I needed the overtime too.”

“You proved Gibbs was stealing money from the company?” Lacey asked.

“Yes,” she nodded. “It was pretty easy to see, if you went looking for it. No one was around after about ten. Wade eventually rattled around, like a big old friendly dog that didn’t know what he was supposed to do. I don’t think he even saw me. Wade wasn’t much of a guard, and he’s not the brightest bulb on the tree, but he’s big, and I figured he’d scare off most anyone. Except Rod. Rod came back.”

“What time was that?” Vic asked her.

“I’m not sure. It must have been after midnight. I got kind of engrossed in what I was finding.”

“What about your daughter?” Lacey asked.

“Sara was home. She’d always call me when I worked late, and we checked on each other before she went to bed. Anyway, I didn’t hear him come in. I looked up and there he was, right outside the glass wall of my office. Staring at me. I nearly jumped out of my skin. I tried to lock the files away, but he stormed in and grabbed them out of my hands. He didn’t even look at them, just threw them on the floor.”

“What about Wade? Where was he?”

“I don’t know. I hollered for him. Rod said Wade was in no shape to help me. Everyone knows Wade’s too fond of his liquor, but he never was that drunk on the job,” Kira said. “At least not before that night.”

That tallied with what Wade had said. Vic nodded slightly.

“Rod was there because of you,” Lacey said. “He wanted to make sure his thefts wouldn’t come to light. And I think he never got over the harassment complaint you filed.”

“He never really stopped. I just wanted him to go away.” Kira took a pita chip and dipped it into the artichoke dip, but she set it down on her plate uneaten. “I was so scared.”

“We know Rod never let go—he kept hurting people till he crushed them. That’s why he connived to get the boat away from Dirk Sykes and Hank Richards, why he was trying to take everything away from Honey in the divorce,” Lacey said.

“You were the woman who said no to him. He never forgave you for that, did he?” Vic asked.

“He was determined to get what he was after for the last couple of years,” Lacey said. “Did he assault you?”

Tears ran down Kira’s face. “How do you know all this?” She put her head down and sobbed.

“You wore a turtleneck to work that day,” Lacey said. “It was too hot in the factory to wear that. Inez teased you about having a hickey. But it wasn’t a love bite you were hiding. It was bruises, wasn’t it?”

“No.” But Kira’s hands went to her throat. Today she was wearing a brown boatneck top. Yellow shadows of the bruises remained.

“You didn’t want anyone to see them because they might find out Rod slapped you around just before he died?”