Murder at the Marina

by Ellen Jacobson

  Ned sat down in the other armchair. “Really? What’s it about?”

  Before I could tell Ned what had happened to Sandy, the door burst open, and Katy and Sam ran in. “Look what we got!” Katy shouted, holding out her hands. Sam ran up next to her and held out his hands eagerly too.

  “Well, would you look at that!” Ned said, peering at Katy’s and Sam’s yo-yos. “What did you do to talk grandma into getting those?”

  “We promised we wouldn’t tell anyone what she said to Jack. She said it was a secret and that we couldn’t tell anyone about it, not even you.”

  “Oh, is that right?” Ned pressed his lips together. “I’ll tell you what—why don’t we go back to the store to see grandma? Maybe she’ll tell me her secret and give me one of those yo-yos so I don’t tell anyone either.”

  “Oh, grandpa, don’t be silly. These are just for kids,” Katy said.

  “Yeah, grandpa, you’re a grown-up, not a kid,” Sam added.

  “Grandpa is being silly, isn’t he?” Katy asked me. The calico hopped over to the coffee table, trying to get a glimpse of the yo-yos. “Don’t be silly, Mrs. Moto,” Katy said. “These aren’t for cats either.”

  Sam laughed. “Yeah, Mrs. Moto, you’re a cat, not a kid.”

  Ned got up from his chair. “Come on, kids, let’s go next door and see grandma.” He picked up his bucket of cleaning supplies, and the three of them left the lounge. Katy and Sam looked excited. Ned looked concerned.

  AFTER NED AND THE KIDS left, I typed away for another hour, finished up my report, gathered my courage, and hit Send. Considering all that work, I figured I deserved a treat.

  As I went to grab my purse, Mrs. Moto reached over and stuck her paw inside. She pulled out the piece of paper she had brought to me earlier on the beach and dropped it on my lap. I think she was trying to tell me something. I had another look at the IOU and wondered how big Ben’s money problems were. I tucked it back in my bag and said thank you to Mrs. Moto for reminding me about it by way of a few scratches on her belly.

  Sandy’s cat followed me out of the lounge, but when I entered the marina office, she wisely scurried away. I quickly shut the screen door behind me, but not quickly enough. Nancy glared at me and got out her flyswatter. Hoping to avoid being mistaken for a fly, I hurried over to the back, where Katy and Sam were playing with their yo-yos.

  “Is there any chocolate left? Or have you two munchkins eaten it all?” I asked.

  “We want more chocolate!” Katy screamed.

  “Yeah, more chocolate!” Sam agreed.

  “You’ve had plenty of chocolate,” Nancy said. “Maybe it’s time for some apples instead?” Katy and Sam stared at her like she had developed some sort of dementia and went back to playing with their yo-yos.

  “Their mother is going to be thrilled when she picks them up with all that sugar running through their system. But that’s what grandmothers are for,” Nancy said as she smiled fondly at her grandchildren.

  Ned poked his head out of the back room. “Nancy, can you give me a hand with this?” She helped him carry out some heavy-looking boxes and stacked them next to the counter.

  “It looks like this job keeps you fit,” I said.

  “I make an effort to stay in shape,” Nancy said as she opened up one of the boxes and began stocking the shelves. “I go for a walk every morning on the beach, and I lift some light weights as well. That’s the only way I can keep up with those two.”

  “Are there any more of those dark chocolate butterscotch crunch bars left?” I asked.

  “Are we out already? I wonder how that happened?” Nancy smiled at Katy and Sam. “Let me just finish this, and I’ll go in the back and get some more.”

  While I waited, I studied a display of sailing books by the door. I picked up one on cruising in the Bahamas and flipped through it. The glossy photos of sandy beaches, colorful fish, and picturesque towns almost had me thinking that this sailing thing might be okay.

  The screen door opened, interrupting my daydreams of tropical cocktails. That young couple—whom I had started to think of as Mr. and Mrs. Diamond—seemed to be following me around. First at our anniversary dinner, then at lunch, and now here.

  “Hi there,” Ned said, looking up from the computer. “You’re the folks out on the catamaran, aren’t you? How can I help you?”

  “We’re not normally ones to complain, but there was someone speeding through the mooring field last night. I was worried he was going to ram into our boat,” Mr. Diamond said. His wife nodded while she toyed with her diamond necklace.

  “Could you make out who it was?” Ned asked.

  “No, I didn’t recognize him. I did see him anchor his boat on the far side of the beach and meet up with a couple of guys. It’s probably no big deal, but we thought you should know.”

  “Well, I appreciate you letting me know. Folks shouldn’t be driving through there like that. About what time was it, do you reckon?”

  “Sweetie, what time was that at?” he asked.

  Mrs. Diamond thought about it for a few seconds. “A little after we got back to our boat from the barbecue. Maybe seven.”

  Mr. Diamond and Ned continued to chat about reckless drivers, both on land and water, while Mrs. Diamond grabbed some milk and eggs from the cooler. As she walked past me, she pointed at the book I was reading. “Are you thinking of going to the Bahamas?” she asked. “If you are, that’s a wonderful cruising guide. We’d definitely recommend it. It’s got lots of useful information about anchorages, things to do in the area, and good charts.”

  “I don’t even know how to sail,” I said. “I can’t even begin to imagine going to the Bahamas except on a cruise ship.”

  Ned overheard us and chuckled. “Can you believe she doesn’t know how to sail, and her husband just bought her a boat for their anniversary?”

  “Wow, that’s some present,” she said. “Sailing must be something you’ve always wanted to do.”

  “Let’s just say that it’s something my husband is interested in,” I replied tersely, staring at her necklace. I closed the book firmly and put it back on the shelf. While Ned was ringing their sale up, Nancy placed a stack of chocolate bars on the counter.

  Katy and Sam looked up from their yo-yos and screamed in unison, “Chocolate!”

  Ned peeked out the window. “I see your mom walking this way. Let’s go show her your new toys.” As they rushed out the door, followed by Nancy, Ned said, “That was a close call. They sure can go through a lot of chocolate.”

  I handed a bar to Ned to ring up. “It’s never too early to learn good taste.”

  “Well, I suppose. I don’t really have a sweet tooth myself.”

  “Good, more chocolate for the rest of us.” I glanced around to make sure Nancy was still outside. “Did you find out what Jack and Nancy discussed?”

  “Oh, that was nothing. Kids exaggerate.” He sat down and peered intently at the computer. “I better get this inventory done before Nancy gets back. You know how she is.”

  I SAT AT ONE OF THE patio tables and checked my phone for emails. I managed to resist sampling the chocolate, despite the anxious feeling I had in the pit of my stomach over the report I had submitted. Was it good enough to beat out Lola? No email from Brian, but plenty of texts from my mom.

  Murder!! What murder??

  Where are you? Is it safe to be there?

  Why haven’t you responded? If you don’t text me back, I’m going to call the local police to check on you.

  Yikes. I hoped she hadn’t contacted the police. I could only imagine the acrobatics Chief Dalton’s eyebrows would perform if he had to field a phone call from my mother. I looked at my watch and realized I was late getting back to the boat. I sent a quick text to let her know everything was okay.

  Don’t worry. I’m fine. I’m hot on the trail of the killer. Gotta go.

  As I got up, I noticed a copy of the local newspaper on a nearby table. I picked it up and scanned the headlines.
Sure enough, Captain Dan’s murder was the lead story. His picture still looked familiar, but I couldn’t place how I knew him. I tucked the paper into my bag and walked down the dock, trying to figure out how I would have known a boat broker, when I’d known nothing about boats until recently.

  “AHOY, IS ANYONE THERE?” I called out when I got to Marjorie Jane. I figured if we owned a boat, I might as well start getting used to talking like a sailor.

  “We’re down here,” Scooter replied. “Wait until you see what we found.”

  I climbed down the ladder, wondering if they had found a tasteful diamond brooch.

  Scooter was jumping up and down with excitement. Well, not exactly jumping. When you’re a six-foot-tall man and the ceiling height is only six foot two, jumping up and down can be dangerous. It was more like extremely enthusiastic hopping.

  “Hold out your hands and close your eyes,” Scooter said, finally coming to a standstill. Close my eyes? Hold out my hands? Maybe it really was a diamond brooch.

  Scooter placed a flat, metallic object in my hands. It seemed kind of large and heavy for a brooch. I didn’t feel anything that could be diamonds on the outside. Wait a minute—maybe this was a gift box, and the brooch was inside. I opened my eyes. Hmm...if this was a gift box, it looked an awful lot like an old compass.

  “Isn’t it amazing?” Ben asked. “Just look at the filigree work. And check out the etching of a whale on the other side. You don’t see too many of these, do you?”

  No, I had to agree. You don’t see too many old compasses with whales on them. Then again, you don’t see too many diamond brooches either. At least, I don’t.

  Ben blathered away for what felt like ages on the finer points of antique compasses. Scooter nodded and did that weird hopping thing again.

  “Whoa, fellas. Calm down and take a deep breath. Where did you find this?”

  “In the V-berth. It was behind a hidden panel under one of the storage lockers, wrapped in bubble wrap,” Ben said. “I found it after I cleaned up the blood stains from the floor.”

  I checked out the floor. Not a trace of blood left. I glanced at Scooter. He looked pale. “Don’t worry, we can put a throw rug or something over that spot. It’ll be like it never even happened,” I said. He looked unconvinced.

  Ben, oblivious to Scooter’s discomfort, motioned to me. “Come on over here, Mollie. Stand where the blood stains were and you can see better. Now, look where the floor meets the bottom of the berth. You can just about make the secret panel out near that wood trim.” I saw a faint outline. Ben reached down, pushed on the corner, and the panel opened up. “The compass was right in there!”

  While I inspected the secret compartment, Scooter picked up a magazine from the table. “We found a copy of Nautical Antiquities magazine in there too.” He turned to a page marked with a paper clip. “There’s an article on an antique compass that’s identical to the one we found. You’ll never believe how much it’s worth.”

  Scooter named an outrageous sum. He was right. I didn’t believe him. I grabbed the magazine and had a look for myself to make sure he hadn’t inadvertently added a few zeros where they didn’t belong. He hadn’t. “Wow, that’s some serious money,” I said. “There’s got to be a connection between the compass and Captain Dan’s murder.”

  Ben held up the compass. “Imagine, someone bashing you over the head with a winch handle for this.”

  By this point, Scooter looked like he was in dire need of chocolate. I pointed at my purse. He pawed through the contents, clearly relieved when he found a dark chocolate butterscotch crunch bar.

  While Scooter snarfed down chocolate and got some color back in his face, Ben and I tossed around ideas about the murder.

  “But if someone killed Captain Dan for the compass, why didn’t they get it out of the compartment after he was dead?” I asked.

  “Maybe they didn’t know how to open the compartment,” Ben replied. “You’ve got to press on it just right for the door to open. Maybe they didn’t even know about the compartment.”

  “Maybe they didn’t even know about the compass,” I suggested. “It could have been an entirely different motive, like revenge. A lot of people were mad at Captain Dan because he cheated them, including yourself.”

  Ben stiffened. “Yeah, he owed me for some work I did for him that he never paid me for. But like I told you before, I was stuck on my boat the whole night ’cause the engine on my dinghy didn’t work.” He exhaled slowly, then handed me the compass. “What do you want to do with this? It was found on your boat, so finders keepers, right?”

  I glanced over at Scooter. He appeared to be doing better, probably due to the fact that there was a supply of chocolate at hand. He looked at the antiques magazine and sighed. “It sure is worth a lot of money. But we should give it to Chief Dalton. It could be related to the, you know, the...”

  “Investigation?” I prompted. Scooter nodded. “I think you’re right. How about if I go drop this off at the police station, give the chief an update, and pick up a pizza for dinner? It’s late, and I’m sure you two have worked up quite an appetite. Meet you back on the patio in an hour?”

  I DECIDED TO WALK INTO town to drop off the compass and pick up the pizza rather than drive. I needed to work off some of the chocolate-related calories I had accumulated so that I could replace them with pizza calories. Sandy had told me about a path that ran through a wooded area along the beach and ended up behind Penelope’s Sugar Shack.

  As I trudged along the path, wishing I had worn sneakers instead of flip-flops, I heard arguing on the beach. I couldn’t see who it was through the brush, but one of the voices sounded familiar. I pushed my way through the prickly shrubs growing among the palm trees. As I slowly inched forward, I stubbed my big toe on one of the coconuts littering the ground. I yelped in pain, cursing my sandals.

  “What was that?” the familiar voice asked.

  I peeked through the leaves, trying to get a glimpse of the speaker. Unfortunately, the man with the familiar voice had his back to me.

  “Probably just a raccoon or a wild boar,” grumbled a man with a dark crew cut. “If you’re going to get spooked by some critters, then you’re really not cut out for this.” I looked around nervously for raccoons and wild boar. Sandy hadn’t mentioned anything about encountering dangerous wildlife when she’d recommended this trail.

  An older man with silver hair and a beard was standing next to crew-cut guy. He was holding a coconut, which he tossed between his hands forcefully. “Where’s our money?” he demanded.

  The man with the familiar voice held his hands up. “Like I told you fellows, I don’t have it.”

  The man with the beard continued to slam the coconut back and forth between his hands. “That wasn’t our deal. We delivered the goods, and now we want our money.”

  “I’ll get it to you,” he stammered. “It’s just that with what’s happened here at the marina, it’s going to take some time to unload everything.”

  Crew-cut guy grabbed him by his collar. “You’ve got one more day. You remember what happened to the last guy who double-crossed us, don’t you?” He turned to his bearded friend. “Come on, let’s get out of here.” They strode down the beach, got into a speedboat, and took off.

  The man with the familiar voice put his head in his hands and started to shake. Then he drew a deep breath and turned to pick up a backpack off the ground. When I saw his face, I gasped. What was he doing here? What was he doing with those scary-looking guys?

  I slowly backed up toward the path, trying not to make any noise, but then I tripped over a coconut, stumbled, and cried out in pain.

  “Who’s there?” he shouted as he pushed his way through the brush.

  “MOLLIE, ARE YOU OKAY?” I opened my eyes and rubbed my head. It felt sore.

  “Is that you, Scooter? What am I doing here on the ground?” I tried to get up.

  “Just stay right there. The ambulance is on its way. Let’s get you checked out
first before you make any sudden movements.”

  “What time is it? I forgot to get the pizza!”

  “I can’t believe you’re worried about the pizza,” Scooter chuckled as he stroked my forehead. His expression sobered. “I’m so glad you’re okay. When Sandy told me she found you lying here, I was so worried. What would I do without you?”

  “Sandy found me?”

  “Yes, she went out for a walk and came across you. Looks like you got hit in the head with a coconut and it knocked you out.”

  My head was throbbing. I reached up and felt my forehead. Scooter took my hand and kissed the back of it. “I think you’re going to have a pretty spectacular lump,” he said.

  “I guess there isn’t any blood.”

  “Why do you say that?”

  “You’re not eating any chocolate.”

  Scooter smiled. “Here come the EMTs. They’ll get you to the hospital, and I’ll meet you there.”

  As they started to wheel me down the path, I suddenly recalled something. “Scooter, wait! I remember what happened. It wasn’t a coconut—it was Jack.”

  CHAPTER 9

  PRETTY IN PINK

  “OTHER THAN A NASTY bump on her head, your wife will be fine,” the doctor said as she scribbled some notes on my chart. “Just keep an eye on her for the next twenty-four hours to make sure she’s okay.”

  “Are you sure I should be the one monitoring her?” Scooter asked. “I’m not that good with medical stuff.”

  “He really isn’t,” I agreed.

  “Oh, you’ll be fine. It’s just a minor head wound. There wasn’t even any bleeding.” Scooter didn’t look convinced.

  The doctor handed me a prescription for pain medicine. “You’re probably going to have a nasty headache. If it gets any worse, come straight back in. Otherwise, make a follow-up appointment with your regular doctor for next week.” She patted me on the arm and walked out the door briskly.