The Killing Tide

by Dani Pettrey

  Gabby smiled, casting her attention to the counter as “Sweet Caroline” rang out.

  The Paul and Smitty show was beginning.

  Finn angled his chair for a better view.

  “Order up,” Smitty said.

  “Ring it out.” Paul grinned.

  “A triple cinnamon soy latte, triple nonfat mocha, grande iced quad macchiato . . .”

  Paul started juggling cups as Smitty called out the orders in quick succession.

  Someone in the crowd whistled.

  Finn glanced at Gabby, her eyes wide with enjoyment.

  “Keep ’em coming,” Paul said, juggling faster and higher.

  “Grande cocoa nitro with steamed cream and three stevia, tall hot chocolate with whip, green tea, and a blueberry smoothie.”

  Paul worked in three more cups, juggling half a dozen.

  People got to their feet, clapping and singing along with the chorus as Paul and Smitty juggled the cups between them—tossing them in loops from one end of the counter to the other. Gabby started clapping and Finn joined in as they really got into it.

  Paul tossed one cup after another under his leg, across the open space to Smitty, who tossed it back to him. Then one by one he flipped the cups under the syrups and started pumping while Smitty positioned himself on the other side, grabbing the cups and sliding them under the espresso machine.

  Steam rose as everyone got to their feet, belting out “Sweet Caroline,” as Rissi said they did in the middle of every eighth inning at Fenway Park in Boston, where she, and apparently Smitty, had ended up in Wilmington from. Milk poured, the blender whirled, and Smitty and Paul sang as they performed their dance routine. Finally, it concluded to a roar of applause.

  Gabby sank back in her chair, practically doubling over with laughter. “Those guys are the best.”

  “I think they’ve watched the hippy-hippy-shake one too many times.” He laughed with her, his smile widening as his gaze fixed on her.

  “What?” She tried to stop herself from laughing, but it seemed futile.

  “I like it when you smile.”

  She bit her bottom lip, her smile alight.

  Noah entered the Coffee Connection, the bell over the door signaling his presence.

  Spotting Finn and Gabby in the rear, he strode for their table.

  Gabby’s gaze met his, and she paled. So she had pulled something.

  He arched a brow as he reached her side. “Do I want to ask?”

  She straightened her shoulders. “Nope.” She lifted her oversized yellow mug and took a sip of her frothy drink.

  He squeezed Finn’s shoulder and pulled up a chair, settling it between them. “Let’s hear it.”

  Gabby looked to Finn.

  He held up his hands. “Your story to tell.”

  “Fine.” She exhaled, shifting to face Noah.

  “On that note . . .” Finn stood. “I should head back to the station. I’ve got a ton of paperwork to fill out. I’ll take my food to go.”

  Noah nodded. “Sounds good.”

  Finn smiled at Gabby in a way not lost on Noah. “Gabby.”

  She waggled her fingers at Finn, then shifted to face Noah again. “Let’s get this over with.”

  Noah rested his hand on her shoulder, dipping his head to look her in the eye. “This is your life, Gabs. Someone tried to kill you.”

  “Not for the first time, and I doubt it’ll be the last.”

  He leaned forward, the scent of yeast and freshly baked bread swirling in the air. “What happened today?”

  She bit her bottom lip.

  Noah stiffened. This wasn’t going to be good.

  He listened while she relayed the day’s events to his horror. He rubbed his brow, praying for wisdom and restraint. “Seriously, Gabs? You’re lucky Finn came when he did.”

  “I had it. I knocked the guy out.”

  “You shouldn’t have put yourself in that position in the first place. And what about Tess—a pregnant woman who lost her husband yesterday?” He sighed. Please let her hear me, Lord. “I’m just trying to keep you safe.”

  She looked to the side and exhaled as she always did before she softened her reply. Maybe he was getting through to her. “I know you’re just looking out for me and I appreciate it, but . . .”

  There was always a but with her.

  “But you can’t ask me to give up being me. Hunting down stories is my calling. It’s what God created me to do. I don’t like to cause you or Mom or Kenzie worry, but I can’t stop doing what brings me alive. If I do, I won’t be me.”

  Noah let his shoulders drop. How did he argue with that?

  “Your job isn’t exactly one of safety,” she said, lifting her cup and taking a sip as he pondered that. She looked up with a frothy mustache clinging to her upper lip.

  He couldn’t help but smile.

  “There,” she said. “I haven’t seen you do that since you hijacked me at the office.”

  “I’d hardly call it hijacking.”

  She tilted her head. “Then what would you call it?”

  He shrugged. “I commandeered you.”

  “I’m not a ship.”

  “You’re as obstinate to maneuver.”

  She punched his arm.

  He grimaced. She packed a wallop. Then again, he’d taught her how.

  “All levity aside . . . I’m just trying to keep my baby sister safe.”

  She clapped her hands over his. “I know, and I appreciate it, but I’m not a baby anymore.”

  He exhaled. “Well, it was much easier keeping an eye on you then, but you were always into mischief.”

  She straightened. “I prefer to call it exploring.”

  “You can prefer what you want, but we both know it’s true. And you’ve never changed.”

  “So why do you think I’m going to change now?”

  He leaned his head back, staring at the ceiling. She was right, but why did she have to be so obstinate?

  Noah pulled out of the on-street parking spot and merged into the flow of traffic. He draped his left arm across the wheel. “How’s it going with Finn?”

  “Fine. . . .” Where exactly was her brother going with this?

  He swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing. “You know he’s crazy about you.”

  Warmth spread up her neck, flushing her cheeks. “Awkward alert. I am not talking about guys with my brother.”

  “Guy,” he said, holding up his index finger. “Just one.”

  He was seriously going there?

  “I’m just saying.” He shrugged. “It’s painfully obvious.”

  “Dude, I’m not talking guys with my brother,” she reiterated, praying he took the very unsubtle hint. She straightened, preparing to jump from the moving vehicle if he didn’t cease and desist. Didn’t he get how awkward this was?

  “When you left last winter, he was in bad shape.”

  She bit her bottom lip. Had Finn really been that bad off? To be honest, she hadn’t been much better. She just hadn’t been there for them to witness her heartache. Yes, it’d been her choice—or rather, her flight mode kicking in—but it’d crushed her all the same.

  “I’m sorry I hurt him. That wasn’t my intention.” It’d been self-preservation, definitely not the intention of harm, that had fueled her decision to take the job Lawrence offered.

  His fingers danced rapidly on top of the steering wheel. “This isn’t exactly a comfortable conversation for me, but—”

  “Then stop.” Please.

  “Okay. Give me one more comment, and I’ll stop.”

  She exhaled the nervousness ticking through her heightened pulse. “Do I have a choice?”

  “No.”

  “Fine. One and you’re done.” She clenched her teeth, the heat of embarrassment raking over her skin.

  “As his boss, I need Finn fully functioning for the team, but as his friend”—he glanced over at her—“watching his heart break was painful to see.”

  forty-fou
r

  Noah stood by the whiteboard as they all found seats on the couches facing it. “Let’s start with Finn”—Noah looked to her with resignation fixed on his brow—“and Gabby. Where are you guys at?”

  “Litman Limited had a package delivered via UPS to the home of a Craig Bowen. He passed six months ago, and his family lives overseas. His neighbor, Mrs. Dolores Finksburg, keeps an eye on the place.”

  “And has she seen anyone enter the home?”

  “She said the mailman still comes and slips the mail through the door slot,” Gabby offered.

  “And occasionally a UPS driver,” Finn added.

  “Right,” Gabby continued. “We’re thinking maybe the person retrieving the package either posed as one or the other. Or came at night while Mrs. Finksburg was sleeping.”

  “Did she say what happens to packages left on the stoop?” Noah asked. “I’m assuming the UPS driver leaves them out front since there’s no one there to take them.”

  “She said she’s never seen packages on the stoop.”

  Noah arched his brows. “Then what is UPS delivering?”

  Gabby looked at Finn, and he nodded for her to continue. “We’re thinking only packages that fit through the mail slot. It’s wide enough to fit a nine-by-eleven padded envelope. I looked in and saw letters fanned across the floor as well as a padded UPS envelope.”

  Noah wrote UPS Packages on the whiteboard underneath the facts they’d amassed thus far.

  “I put in for a warrant,” Finn said. “It’s taking longer than I expected, but given Litman Limited’s tie to three of our prisoners, I’m confident it’ll come through.”

  “In the meantime, Litman might send someone to make a pickup,” Noah said, glancing around the room. His gaze landed on Logan. “Logan, I’m putting you on watch at the house until morning.”

  “Roger that,” Logan said. “Should I head out now?”

  “Yes,” Noah said.

  Logan had just exited the office door when Emmy said, “I’m going to take him some of the leftover food on my way out. I’m sure he didn’t stop and think about needing food, being the man-child he is.”

  Gabby laughed. “That’s one way to describe him.”

  “I’ve got a batch of chocolate oatmeal cookies in the oven,” Rissi said.

  “Is that what smells so good?” Caleb asked.

  Gabby had been wondering the very same thing. It smelled of cinnamon, chocolate, and brown sugar. Though, when had Rissi had time to whip up a batch of cookies?

  “I think best when I bake,” Rissi said, reading her thoughts.

  “Gotcha. I hate cleaning, but it’s when my mind best processes clues and stories,” Gabby said. “For some reason, it helps me put the pieces together. That and surfing.”

  “Kenzie’s board worked well for you?” Noah asked.

  “I’d say.” Finn smiled.

  Everyone shifted their gazes to Finn and then to her.

  She pulled her lips into her mouth, warmth kissing her cheeks. “We were both out this morning.”

  Noah smiled but didn’t say anything.

  “I can swap out with Logan in the morning,” Caleb said, thankfully shifting the focus off of her and Finn. She considered mouthing a thank-you but wasn’t sure if he’d taken the heat off her on purpose or if it’d been a happy accident. Caleb didn’t seem the most astute when it came to emotional subtleties.

  “Thanks.” Finn nodded. “That’ll free me to speak with Fletcher tomorrow about his supposed friend who’s sitting in our cell and check in with Hadley about Sam’s autopsy.”

  A hush of silence blanketed the room.

  “Sorry,” he said.

  “No . . .” Noah cleared his throat. “We all knew he’d need one performed, given he was murdered.”

  Rissi curled up her legs on the gray couch, grabbing the toss pillow and fiddling with the cream fringe surrounding it. “I still can’t believe he’s gone.”

  Noah released a slow exhale. “I don’t think any of us can.” He rested his hand on the top corner of the silver-framed whiteboard. “I talked with Beth today, and she’s planning a service for the day after tomorrow.”

  “How are Beth and Ali?” Finn asked.

  “Struggling,” Noah said.

  “It’ll be that way for a good while . . . as happy as they were,” Emmalyne said.

  Gabby picked at her sparkling gray nail polish. In her experience, it was when she was happiest that the bottom dropped out.

  Noah tapped the dry-erase marker against his palm. “Let’s shift to the death of John Layton. Rissi, what did you find out about him?”

  “He was the senior customs agent at Wilmington International in the ILM international office. Worked there for twenty years.”

  “Customs, huh?” Noah said, writing it down in black marker under John Layton’s picture. “Okay, until Finn and I can dive down and inspect the Calliope, let’s keep digging into Layton. See if there’s any tie between him and Mo, or his crew, that might cause them to want to harm Layton.”

  “On it,” Rissi said. “I’m also pulling Layton’s financials, and I’ll head to the airport and interview his coworkers.”

  “While you’re there, ask to see the manifests for the last month. Let’s find out what he’s been letting in and make sure everything was accounted for.”

  Rissi nodded. “So you’re thinking foul play was involved with Layton’s death?”

  Noah sighed. “There’s enough there to warrant a full investigation. I’m hoping we will know more once we retrieve his body and an autopsy is performed. But the longer his body is down there, the more compromised it becomes. We also need to retrieve Layton’s dive gear, make sure everything was working properly. Of course, that is if we can find it, and if it wasn’t damaged in the explosion.”

  Noah cleared his throat. “While we’re on the subject of diving . . . you all should know I put in a request for a new agent with a specialty in dive investigation.”

  “Already?” Rissi sat forward.

  Noah’s shoulders dropped. “I know it’s hard to think of replacing Sam, but we need an investigative diver on our team.”

  Everyone nodded, but based on their tense expressions, the news was clearly difficult for the team to hear. Gabby understood. It was so very soon after Sam’s loss, but Noah had made the right call.

  The front office door opened, and everyone’s attention flashed to it.

  “Hey, Kenz,” Noah said.

  Her puffy, red-rimmed eyes blinked back tears.

  Noah’s brow creased. “What’s wrong?”

  “Mark’s being deployed.”

  Gabby rushed forward, enveloping her sister in a big hug.

  forty-five

  “I can’t imagine being in Kenzie’s place, my husband being sent to who knows where, for who knows how long,” Gabby said as Finn drove toward home.

  “You’ve been deployed all over the world as a reporter.”

  “Yeah, but it’s different.”

  He narrowed his eyes and glanced toward her. “How?”

  The oncoming headlights glinted off the green flecks in her otherwise blue eyes.

  “Because she’s losing her husband.” She swallowed. “I didn’t leave anybody behind for South Sudan.”

  She had left him for Raleigh. Though their relationship hadn’t been fully defined over the winter, his feelings were fixed. But she’d cut it off at the roots. Taking the job in Raleigh, she’d left him and the budding relationship in the dust.

  He understood journalism was her passion, what she was made to do, but she hadn’t given any indication she wanted to continue things over the distance. Instead, she’d simply said she had to go and wished him well. Wished him well? That was something you said to an acquaintance, not a man you were falling in love with.

  Maybe he’d read the signals wrong. Maybe their talks hadn’t been as deep and significant for her. Maybe . . .

  He inhaled and released it. He’d spent enough time cha
sing down that rabbit trail. It was time to accept the fact that they were never going to happen. But being back in her presence, knowing she’d never be his . . . It was like losing her all over again.

  “I just can’t imagine losing my other half.” Gabby shook her head. “It’s how Kenzie said she’s feeling. I can’t imagine any part of that.”

  “What do you mean? Having another half or being in love?”

  She bit her bottom lip, then looked out the window. “I mean . . .” She turned back to face him, vulnerability instead of weariness radiating in her eyes. “I understand being in love, but to the extent of someone being my other half, it . . .”

  “Scares you.” He called it like he saw it.

  “No.” She released a nervous laugh. “It doesn’t scare me.” She rested her arm along the windowsill, her fingers tapping the tan lining. “I don’t get scared.”

  He arched his brows. “Everybody is scared of something.”

  She linked her arms across her chest, clinging tightly to herself. “Well, I’m not scared of that.”

  He tapped the wheel. “You sure about that?”

  His Bluetooth rang at the most inconvenient time. “Hey, Logan.”

  “We had a visitor at the drop spot. I have him in custody, along with the package he collected.”

  “Excellent. Where are you now?”

  “Standing outside my car with him cuffed in the backseat. I thought I’d take him into the station and you could meet us there.”

  “Be there in fifteen.” He hung up. “Hang on,” he said to Gabby as he pulled a U-turn.

  forty-six

  “I’ll run you to Noah’s before I head to the office,” Finn said.

  “I’m fine going with you.”

  “It could be several hours.”

  “I’m fine waiting at the office. It’s been a long day for Noah, and I can find something to do.”

  Finn tilted his head, glancing over at her.

  “I’ll stay put.”

  He arched his brows. “Promise?”

  “Promise.”

  “Okay.” His shoulders relaxed.

  She leaned against the door, ducking her head to gaze up at the nearly full moon. A couple of days and it’d be a super moon. She couldn’t wait. Big, full, and round—a super moon made her feel as if she could practically reach out and touch it.