by Robin Mahle
“The Coast Guard?” The captain asked.
Montoya nodded. “They were nearby performing a vessel safety check when a boater was trying to moor up. The boater radioed for help and the Coast Guard heard the call come in. They called us. I need to go out there.”
“You’re working a double homicide right now. Let Alvarez take this one.”
“That double homicide happened a few blocks from there, Captain. I’d like to at least go with him to make sure we aren’t overlapping.”
“Fine. Keep me posted,” the captain replied.
Shane was in the hall several feet away from Montoya and waited there as he started back.
“What’s up, Sully?” Montoya asked.
“Did I hear you right? Someone found a body in the marina?”
“Yeah, so? Last I checked, you didn’t work in Major Crimes. Besides, Alvarez is taking it, but I’m going with him.”
“Listen, I got Hart over there and you know, she’s a witness to your double homicide. I don’t want to overstep but that marina is damn close to your crime scene. What are the odds there’s a connection?”
Montoya regarded Shane. “Why don’t you just come out and ask if you can tag along? That’s what you want, right?”
“Look man, I’m not trying to step on your toes here.”
“I get it. I don’t mean to be a prick. I just don’t want the P.I.s to think they have some sort of authority to do what we do, you know?”
“Yeah, sure. I get it. But this one over here,” Shane thumbed to Allison. “She was just doing her job.”
“Then why does it matter to you if there’s a body at the marina?” Montoya asked. “What are you not telling me, Sully?”
Shane peered back at Allison.
“You need to clear this with your girl over there or something?” Montoya pressed on.
“No, man. It’s just. I get you don’t like what these guys do. That they put their noses where they don’t belong, but she’s different. Look, she just wants to see this through, you know? That’s all it is. We can hang back; won’t get in your way at all. You can’t tell me a body turning up that close to Channelside is a coincidence. You wouldn’t want in on it if that was the case.”
Montoya shifted his gaze between Shane and Allison who was still several feet away. “Fine. You both can come with, but this is Alvarez’s deal unless and until it isn’t. You got me?”
“Got it. Thanks, man.” Shane stepped out of Montoya’s path and quickly walked back to Allison. “Okay. We’re going to the marina. A body was found.
“Oh no.”
“There’s no point in jumping the gun, Allison. We’ll know more when we get there,” Shane replied.
The waters of the bay glistened and the boats swayed in the breeze. The view would’ve been stunning to see were Allison not preoccupied with what they would find. The detectives were well ahead of them and had dismissed their presence altogether. There was no point in taking it personally. They were there to do a job and she was lucky to have been allowed to come along.
The squawking of the seagulls, the waves lapping, and the bells clanging made this all seem so normal. But Allison knew this was anything but. Perspiration at the back of her neck dripped along her collar bones and down the front of her shirt. She wiped it away with a handkerchief in her shorts pocket and noticed the detectives ahead reach the location where the body had been spotted.
Alvarez stood beside the boater and his son with a pad and pencil in his hand. “Mr. Randy Newsome? I’m Detective Alvarez. Thanks for sticking around. If you don’t mind, I’d like to ask you a few questions.”
“Of course.” The man placed his arm around his son and pulled him close.
Allison and Shane kept some distance and watched as Alvarez took the boater’s statement.
“And you noticed something in the slip, is that right?”
“Yes, sir,” Randy replied. “My son spotted it—him—and I…”
“I understand,” Alvarez continued.
The Coast Guard officer stood nearby and Montoya approached, pulling him aside. “Thanks for calling this in.”
“This one’s out of my hands, I’m afraid,” the officer replied.
“I know.” Montoya approached Alvarez and interrupted. “Mr. Newsome? I’m Detective Montoya. I’m going to be helping out Detective Alvarez. You mind if I listen in?”
“No.” The father still appeared shaken up by the incident.
“Did you touch the—body?” Alvarez began.
Randy peered at his son and then at the Coast Guard officer.
The officer seemed to pick up on the father’s discomfort. “How about we get you a soda while your dad talks to these fine officers?”
The boy peered at his dad.
“It’s okay, son. Go on. We’ll just be a minute and then we can go home, okay?”
The boy nodded and the officer led him away.
Randy waited until his son was out of earshot. “We were heading back in after I had some trouble with my GPS. My boy was helping me prepare to dock when he spotted something bobbing in the water. We didn’t touch anything. Just called in for help.”
Alvarez nodded. “Okay. Why don’t you show me where exactly you spotted the body?”
Randy walked to the slip and pointed into the water. “Right here.”
Alvarez squatted and peered in between the slip and the water. He shook his head and stood again. “Okay. Let’s get him out of there and see if we can ID him.” He turned back to Randy and retrieved one of his cards. “If you think of anything else, please give me a call. Whatever small detail it might be, it could still help.”
“Of course. Is it all right for me to take my boy home?”
“Yes, sir. Thank you again for your cooperation.” He waited for the man to walk away before turning to Montoya. “Why are they here?” Alvarez tossed a glance to Shane and Allison.
“I think we know this is probably tied to the double murders last night. I think Sully might want his girl over there to see if she can identify the body.”
“Then you must think it’s the P.I. who Diaz hired.”
“Could be. You want me to call them over?” Montoya asked.
“Can’t hurt anything,” Alvarez replied.
“Sully?” Montoya motioned for them to approach. “You two want to see this or what?”
Shane glanced at Allison. “Looks like you’re up. You sure you want to do this?”
“I’m here aren’t I?” Allison made her way to the detectives and Shane followed. She inhaled a deep breath to calm her rattled nerves and was about to be initiated into an exclusive club. Seeing a dead body, let alone one she might know, wasn’t a club she ever expected to join. If this was Boyce, hell, whoever it was, it would change her forever. It would change anyone.
“Okay, Ms. Hart. This is why you’re here, right?” Montoya asked. “You and I might be on the same page with this one. Go on. Tell me what you see.”
Allison squatted low at the edge of the slip. Her legs trembled until she almost lost her balance. The air smelled of rotting fish or maybe it was rotting flesh. It was enough to turn her stomach.
The plump body rolled and bounced with each wave, sometimes crashing into the nearby pillar. Montoya walked around the edge with another officer. “Can you guys harness this and pull him out of there. We need to get a better look.”
“Sure thing.” The officer gathered two other men.
One of them was in a wetsuit and plunged into the water. He wrapped a harness around the wide midsection of the body and gave a thumbs up, attaching the end to another rope. “Here.” He handed it to one of the officers on the dock. “Let’s pull him up.”
Allison looked on with a sense of dread weighing down her shoulders.
Shane placed his hand on her back as she remained crouched low. “You okay?”
She didn’t look at him, only nodded and watched the body rise from the water.
It went limp. The arms fell to it
s side, the head dangled from the neck and the legs swung as they heaved.
She stood up and covered her mouth. Her eyes welled and tears streamed down.
“Ms. Hart,” Montoya’s tone was much softer. “Do you know who this is?”
Allison nodded and finally pulled away her hand. “It’s Tommy Boyce.”
“You’re sure?” Alvarez asked.
“As sure as I’m standing here, yes. That’s Tommy.”
Montoya nodded. “Okay. Then we have ourselves a bigger problem now.”
Allison gazed through the passenger window as Shane drove them back to the station. “How am I going to tell Lucy? She has no one else. No one here in Florida anyway.”
“I understand that you’re concerned about Boyce’s kid but I’m more concerned for you right now. This is a big deal. You were working for Boyce and now he’s dead, and you were there when his targets were killed. Who put you in contact with him?”
“Milo,” she replied.
“Nash? From the D.A.’s office?”
“Yeah.”
“How would he know Tommy Boyce?”
“I have no idea. Milo’s been around a while. Their paths must’ve crossed at some point.” Allison turned to him. “Looks like I picked the wrong time to change careers.”
He chuckled. “Yeah.” Shane gripped the steering wheel and appeared at a loss for words. Then he began, “I think the right thing to do now is let Montoya in on everything.”
“I already gave him a statement,” she replied.
“He needs to know about Boyce’s office and his kid. That’s the way it has to be, Allison.”
“He’s going to shut me out. How will I be able to help Lucy?”
He shifted the car into park and stepped out, waiting for her to join him. “I’ll do what I can to keep you in the loop, okay? But I need you to see how dangerous this is. Whoever killed Boyce is likely to be the same one who killed the other two. We’re talking about professionals here.”
They walked toward the entrance of the station.
“What do I do about the girl?” She asked.
“You can’t be the one to tell her about her dad. It needs to come from the authorities. Montoya or Alvarez will do the dirty work.”
“I saw the car, Shane. Maybe not well enough but I don’t want to sit on the sidelines.”
“I said I’d do what I could to keep you in the loop. You’ll have to trust me on this, Allison. I won’t let you down. You should know that by now.” Shane opened the door and waited for her to enter.
“I do trust you. But since when have you known me to back away from a promise?”
8
The directive from Shane for Allison to elaborate on her original statement only served as fodder for Detective Montoya’s already low opinion of private investigators. Allison wasn’t a P.I. yet, but he already lumped her in with the rest.
However, pointing out that Tommy’s office had been turned upside down on the same night jumpstarted Alvarez’s investigation into Tommy’s death. Two murders and now a third had made for a complex case.
Allison was left with no choice but to rely on Shane to keep his word as to the detectives’ progress but in the meantime, there was something she could do to keep her promise to Lucy and that was to visit Milo Nash. He had put her in contact with Tommy Boyce. If he hadn’t known what happened, he was about to.
Allison entered the District Attorney’s office and walked to the front desk. It was tough to shake the melancholy, but she did her best to conceal it. “Afternoon. Hey, is Milo around by chance?”
“He is. I’ll let him know you’re here, Allison.” The receptionist made the call and relayed the message before turning back to her. “He’ll be right out.”
“Thanks.” She wandered aimlessly inside the lobby.
“Allison,” Milo said. “How are you?”
“I’ve been better. But by your expression, I’m guessing you must already know why.”
“I do. Please, let’s go to my office.” Milo started back. “I got the call from Shane a short while ago. He said I should expect your visit.”
“Did he?” she replied.
Milo stopped and turned back to her. “He’s worried about you.”
“I’m worried about Tommy’s daughter. That’s why I’m here.”
Milo held open his office door. “Allison, if I’d known…”
She walked inside. “How could you have? I know you’d never do anything to put me in a dangerous situation.” Allison waited for him to sit at his desk. “I’m here because I need to ask you some questions about Tommy. Can you tell me how you met him?”
Milo appeared to think on the question. “He was a cop with Tampa PD for a short while, then retired. He’d been a cop for years prior to moving here. We crossed paths during his stint with our force. He and his family moved to the area, oh, I don’t know, maybe 8, 10 years ago. After he retired, he started his own agency. Shortly after that, his wife passed. Honestly Allison, I’m just beside myself over what happened.”
“Me too.”
“Anyway, we got along well and next thing you know we were having beers together and became great friends.” Milo’s grief appeared to catch up to him. “I can’t believe he’s gone.”
“Milo, is there anyone you can think of who might’ve, I don’t know, maybe held a grudge against him? Was looking for payback?”
“If I knew that I wouldn’t keep it to myself, that’s for damn sure. I know how the game is played, Allison. I’ve been keeping score for a long time.”
“Look, I realize this is something I should let the detectives handle, but they have their hands full and I just can’t face Lucy Boyce without bringing something to the table. I’m here because I want to know if you can put me in touch with any of his associates. Someone who was familiar with Tommy’s current caseload.”
Milo turned to his computer. “Let me see what I have in here. Last I talked to him, well, before I mentioned you, he said he’d been keeping pretty busy. We know some of the same folks in the business.” He continued to search. “Yes, here it is. You might want to write this down.”
Allison pulled a sticky note from a pad on Milo’s desk and grabbed a nearby pen. “I’m ready.”
“Finley Dawson. He goes by Fin and he’s a private eye too. I’ve worked with him once or twice, but I know he and Tommy were real close.” He looked away. “Criminy, I wonder if he knows yet.”
“If they’re as close as you say they are, he probably does,” Allison replied. “Not that I want to be the one to tell him.”
“I’ll tell you what, I’ll give him a buzz and let him know what happened if he doesn’t already know. Then I’ll tell him to expect your call. That will make it easier on you, I think.” Milo regarded her with concern. “Allison, the police do know what they’re doing. Are you sure you want to go down this road? I don’t know anyone who would want to harm Tommy let alone kill him, but whoever did this is probably someone you don’t want to be messing with. You’re charting a new course for yourself, Allison. This could derail you.”
“You’re one of the toughest prosecutors I’ve ever seen, Milo. If you thought you could help, wouldn’t you?”
He nodded. “Well, all I’m saying is be careful.”
Allison stood from her chair. “I’m a divorced, middle-aged mother of two. I’m everyone’s worst nightmare. They should be worried about me.”
Milo laughed. “Probably so.”
Maternal instinct wasn’t something that could be turned off like a faucet. Allison was desperate to reach out to Lucy and offer love and support. Regardless of the obvious parallels to her relationship with Micah, Allison was going to do everything she could to help Lucy even if the two had only just met.
Allison returned home to catch her breath and collect her thoughts. She had identified the body of a man she knew. It wouldn’t be easy to overcome something so traumatic. Although it was nothing compared to what Lucy Boyce would suffer when the d
etectives knocked on her door.
Nolan walked into the living room. “Hey mom. How are you doing?”
“I’m fine. Just a little tired. What are you doing home? What time is it?”
“It’s 4. My last class is was 2.” He sat down next to her. “You sure you’re okay? I mean, after what happened…”
Allison placed her hand on his knee. “I’m fine. I had to go back and talk to the police about what happened. But it’s all over now. What do you have going on this afternoon? No practice?”
“Tomorrow. I think Dad said he was going to stop by in a little while. I kind of mentioned what happened and he got worried.”
“Oh, honey.”
“I know. But he still cares about us, Mom.”
“Of course he does, but this doesn’t involve him.” Allison held his gaze. “Nolan, honey, I need to make a quick call.”
He stood up. “Sure. Okay. I’ll leave you alone. Let me know when Dad gets here?”
“I will.” She waited until he returned to his room and closed his door.
Milo had texted her on the way home telling her that Finley Dawson was expecting a call and that he relayed the devastating news. Allison felt like a vulture ready to eat roadkill, pouncing on a grieving man like this, but there was no point in delaying it. A murderer was free. He would understand, she hoped.
“Hello?”
Allison picked up on his placid tone. “Is this Finley Dawson?”
“Who is this?” he replied.
“My name is Allison Hart. Milo Nash mentioned to you I would be calling?” She waited for a reply but there was only silence. “I understand you were a friend of Tommy Boyce?”
“I was, yes,” he replied flatly.
“I’m so sorry about what happened. I don’t know how much Milo told you, but I helped the police identify him…” she trailed off, wishing she had never made this call now.
“Why are you calling me, Ms. Hart?” He asked.
