“No, I just need a few minutes to myself.”
Nancy watched him walk away, then looked at me. “That makes two bodies you’ve found, doesn’t it?” Great, another math whiz. I guess simple arithmetic is important if you’re a small-business owner too.
“That’s not really the point, is it, Nancy? The question is whether or not it was a murder.”
Nancy muttered, “That’s all we need. Another murder at the marina. This really isn’t the kind of publicity that’s going to help us attract new customers.”
By this point, Scooter had a glazed expression in his eyes and was noticeably unsteady. He pointed at something on the dock. “Is that what I think it is?” he asked.
Chief Dalton reached down and picked it up. “It’s just an M&M’S bag, sir.”
Scooter stared hopefully at it. “Are there any left?”
Nancy pushed Scooter aside. “Well, Chief, was it murder or not?” she asked impatiently.
“That’s not for me to say. That’s for the coroner to determine. Hopefully we’ll know more tomorrow. In the meantime, I’ll need to speak with everyone, just like last time. We’ll also need to notify his wife.”
“I’ll come with you,” Nancy said. “She’ll probably need someone to support her when she hears the bad news.”
“Fine. Why don’t you go with Officer Moore? After you’re finished there, I’ll have a word with you and your husband.” He turned to me. “Now, shall we start with you?”
SCOOTER HAD A MINOR meltdown the next morning when he went to pour some Froot Loops into his bowl only to find there weren’t any left. He looked at me accusingly. I suggested that aliens might have abducted his candy-colored, crunchy nuggets. After agreeing to disagree on the cause of the disappearing cereal, we headed to the Sailor’s Corner Cafe for breakfast.
“Did you hear what happened at the marina last night?” Alejandra asked as we walked in the door. “There was another murder!”
“How do you know it was a murder?” Scooter asked.
“I overheard a couple of the police officers talking. They always come in here in the morning before their shift starts. While I was cashing them out I heard one of them say that a man had been struck with a heavy object, and then his body had been dumped in the water.” She showed us to our table, handed us our menus, and said, “You know, I can’t decide if all these murders are good for business or bad.” She pointed to the crowded dining room. “We’ve been slammed with customers all morning and that’s all they’re talking about.”
“They’re probably looking for a side of gossip with their coffee,” Scooter said as he pulled my chair out for me.
“Speaking of coffee,” I said as I sat down.
“Coming right up.” Alejandra grabbed a pot from the counter.
“So, what do you know about what happened?” she asked as she filled our cups up.
“Well, Mollie was the one who found the body,” Scooter said as he passed me a couple of sugar packets.
“You were?” Alejandra gasped. “Wait a minute, wasn’t it you who found Captain Dan when he was murdered, chica?” I nodded. “Wow, that makes, what...”
“Yes, yes, I know. Two bodies in four days,” I said. “Can I get a short stack of blueberry pancakes and a couple of strips of bacon?”
“And I’ll have a Western omelet with home fries,” Scooter said as he handed Alejandra our menus.
“Why do they call them Western omelets?” I mused as I sipped my coffee. “I know they have ham, green bell pepper, and onion in them, but what makes that Western?”
“Maybe the chefs wear tiny cowboy hats when they make them,” Scooter said. “I remember the best Western omelet I ever had was at the little hole-in-the-wall place we ate at in Texas when we were there for your FAROUT convention. Do you remember that place?”
“I do. They had great French toast.” I stirred some more sugar into my coffee. It was feeling like a three-pack morning. “Those are the best kinds of places. The ones you just happen to run across. If we hadn’t stopped at that drugstore next door, we would have never found it.”
“It was right across from that place with the funny name, wasn’t it?” Scooter asked.
“Oh yeah, that used-car lot we made fun of. What was it called again?”
Scooter shook his head. “I can’t remember. Something corny.” He held out his cup for a refill as Alejandra passed by.
“Your order will be right up,” she said. “More coffee for you, Mollie?”
“Sure, why not? It was a long night. I’m struggling to wake up this morning.”
As Alejandra filled my cup, she asked, “Who do you think did it?”
“Well, I have my suspicions,” I said. The young woman leaned forward. “I saw Jack arguing with two guys on the beach the other night. That’s the night I got this.” I pointed at my forehead. My lump was going down, but you could still see it.
“Right, that’s when the coconut hit you,” she said. “I’m always telling the tourists to be careful of falling coconuts.”
“It wasn’t a—never mind. Anyway, I think Jack was into something dodgy. He was fencing stolen goods and he owed these guys money.”
“Now, you don’t know that for sure,” Scooter said. “Let the police do their investigation.”
A bell dinged from the kitchen. Alejandra said, “That’s probably your order.” As she placed our plates in front of us, Nancy, Katy, and Sam walked through the door.
Katy skipped up to us, followed by her brother. “Hi! Guess what grandma is getting us?” she asked.
“More chocolate?” I ventured.
“No, silly. It’s too early in the morning for chocolate!” Katy said.
“Chocolate!” Sam shouted.
I tried again. “A kitten?”
“No, it’s not a kitten,” Katy said. “Grandma doesn’t like kittens.”
“Kittens!” Sam cried.
“You’re really a terrible guesser,” Katy said. “But I’ll give you one more chance.”
I thought long and hard about it. “Okay, let me see. Your grandma is going to get you an alligator.”
Katy and Sam burst into giggles. “No, it’s not an alligator,” Katy said. “Grandma is going to get us cocoa for breakfast. And since we’ve been good this morning, we get to have extra marshmallows in it.”
“Cocoa!” Sam shouted.
Nancy smiled behind them. “Come on, kids, our table’s free. Go sit down, and I’m sure Alejandra will bring you your cocoa straight away.” She watched as they ran over to the table. “I let them have cocoa every time we go out for breakfast. I can’t figure out why they think it’s such a treat. But the promise of extra marshmallows does seem to produce better behavior.”
“Hey, whatever works,” Scooter said.
“How long were the police there last night?” I asked.
“Thankfully, not as late as last time. Because it happened during the week, there were fewer people around for them to have to question.”
“Alejandra was telling us that it was a murder, not an accident.” I took a sip of coffee. “Have you heard anything about it?”
“Chief Dalton called this morning and said it could be homicide. It probably happened not too long before you found him, Mollie. Wasn’t that around seven-thirty?”
Goose bumps covered my arms. “About then,” I said, wrapping my arms around myself.
“Well, someone saw Jack earlier, around six.”
“Do you know what happened?” I asked.
“Someone hit him over the head. Then he either fell or was pushed in the water. Who would do such a thing? And why? Sure, Jack had his faults, but he was a nice man. Ned is just devastated. He and Jack have been friends for years.” Katy and Sam started to have a pretend sword fight with their knives. “I better go over there and break things up.”
Scooter glanced over at the kids and smiled, then asked, “Before you go, Nancy, how’s Sandy doing?”
“Not great. She ended up b
reaking down in hysterics. Pretty understandable. They took her to the hospital for the night and sedated her.”
WHEN I ARRIVED AT THE hospital, I ran into the doctor who had treated me in the ER. “Hello there, Mrs. McGhie. Is everything okay? Have you been experiencing any side effects from the bump to your head? Those coconuts sure can be nasty.”
“It wasn’t a coconut,” I said under my breath.
The doctor examined my forehead. “It looks like it’s healing nicely. You were lucky the coconut didn’t hit you harder. So, why are you here?”
“There was another murder at the marina last night, and the victim’s wife was taken here. I wanted to check and see how she’s doing. I don’t think she has any family in the area, and we became close over the past few days. I figured maybe I could help.”
“I’m sure she’ll appreciate the company. The volunteers at the front desk can let you know where her room is.” She smiled. “Be sure to stay clear of palm trees from now on. I don’t want to see you back in here for another coconut-related injury.”
“It wasn’t a coconut,” I muttered under my breath as she walked away.
One of the volunteers printed out a visitor badge, circled Sandy’s room on a map, and pointed me to the elevators. I pressed the button to the third floor and tried to decide if I should tell Sandy’s doctor about her abduction. I knew that most medical professionals scoffed at the idea of alien abduction, but not all of them. Maybe Sandy’s doctor was more open-minded.
The door to her room was open. I poked my head in. “Knock, knock.”
Sandy looked up from the magazine she was reading and said, “Mollie, is that you? What a nice surprise.”
“How are you doing?” I asked as I sat in the chair next to her bed. “I saw Nancy earlier this morning, and she said they admitted you last night.”
Sandy put her magazine down and reached out for my hand. “It means the world to me that you came. I can’t believe I broke down the way I did last night. They ended up sedating me. It’s just so embarrassing.”
“Nonsense. It isn’t embarrassing at all. I would have reacted the same way if it had been Scooter. Jack was your husband, after all. It’s a devastating blow to lose him, especially like that.”
“What do you mean, like that?” she asked, looking confused.
“Nothing,” I said hurriedly. “I didn’t mean anything by it. Have the police been by to see you yet this morning?”
“No, but the nurse said that they’ll be coming by soon. Why?”
“Oh, no reason. I’m sure they just want to give you an update on the case.”
“What case? Jack’s death was an accident. There isn’t any case, is there?” I eyed the call button next to Sandy’s bed and was debating whether or not to buzz it when she started sobbing. I passed her the box of tissues. “I’m sorry, Mollie, I just need a moment. It’s so much to take in.”
“Of course. I understand. Can I get you anything?”
“A glass of water would be nice,” she said between sniffles. “There’s a pitcher over there on that table.” She handed me her magazine. “Here, can you put that over there too?”
While I was filling up her water glass, I glanced at the cover. It was one of those tabloid publications that they sell at grocery checkout lines. This one had a ridiculous headline about a UFO crash-landing in a small town in North Dakota. Apparently, the residents had taken a liking to the little green men and were sheltering them inside one of the local churches. Who would believe something like that? Publications like this gave reputable organizations like FAROUT a bad name.
But still, if Sandy was reading this, maybe that meant that she was a believer. Perhaps the memories she had been repressing were beginning to surface.
Sandy interrupted my thoughts. “Mollie, could I get that water from you?”
“Oh, I’m sorry,” I said, passing her the cup. “I got distracted looking at your magazine.”
“That piece of trash? It was already here, otherwise I wouldn’t be caught dead reading something like that. Did you see the headline about aliens in North Dakota? What kind of people believe things like that?”
I sat back in the chair deflated, clutching the magazine in my hand.
“You can have that if you want,” Sandy said.
“No, that’s all right.” I heard a light tapping on the door.
“Mrs. Holt, it’s Chief Dalton and Officer Moore. Can we come in?”
“Of course,” Sandy said, settling back into her pillows. She looked pale.
“Are you okay, Sandy?” I asked. “Do you want me to get the nurse? You know, you don’t need to talk to the police just yet if you aren’t up to it.”
“Mrs. McGhie, what a surprise to see you here,” the chief said, his eyebrows twitching.
“I’m just looking out for Sandy,” I said.
He looked at the magazine in my hand. “Do you write for them?” he asked. “I’m sure they’ve got some great stories about alien abductions in there.”
“No, I don’t,” I said. I tossed the magazine into the garbage can. “Sandy, if you’re sure you’re okay to talk to the police, I’ll get going now.”
Sandy reached out and grabbed my hand. “Would you mind staying? I’d feel a lot better if I had a friend here. If that’s okay, officers?”
Chief Dalton reluctantly agreed. “Ma’am, I’m sorry to have to tell you this, but your husband was murdered.”
Sandy gasped and clutched my hand harder. She had a strong grip. “Murdered? Are you sure?”
“Yes, we’re sure. The coroner found—”
Sandy interrupted. “No, please don’t tell me the details. I can’t bear to think about it.” She clenched my hand even tighter. Then she sobbed loudly. My hand was really starting to hurt, and although I hated to see her cry, I was kind of glad, because that meant she needed both of her hands to wipe away her tears and blow her nose.
“Do you want me to call a nurse?” the burly man asked kindly.
“No, I’ll be fine. Could I have another glass of water, though?” Officer Moore filled her glass up, while the chief got out his notebook.
“If you’re sure you’re okay, I just have a few questions. Do you have any idea who might have done this?”
“No, of course not. Why would anyone want Jack dead?” Sandy asked. “Everyone loved him. He’s lived here all his life and has lots of friends.”
“I understand he was having some financial difficulties. Is that true?”
Sandy squeezed her crumpled-up tissues in her hand. Better the tissues than my hand. Finally, she replied with a tight voice. “Yes, he was having financial issues. But it wasn’t his fault. He got in over his head and then, when Captain Dan swindled him, he didn’t know what to do. Ned was nice enough to loan him some money, but it wasn’t enough to settle his debts. It was causing him a lot of stress.” She took a sip of water. “Do you think it’s possible it wasn’t murder, but suicide?” she asked with a trembling voice. “Maybe the stress drove him to...” She began sobbing again.
A nurse came rushing in. “Is everything okay here?”
“We were just asking Mrs. Holt a few questions,” Chief Dalton said apologetically.
“Well, you’re upsetting her,” the nurse replied. “I’ll have to ask you to leave. You too,” he said, nodding to me.
As I was walking out of Sandy’s room, she called out. “Mollie, will you look after Mrs. Moto? Nancy has a key to our boat in the office.”
I UNLOCKED JACK AND Sandy’s boat and made my way down below. After digging through a few lockers, I eventually found where Sandy stored the cat food. Just as I was pulling back the lid of a can of Fisherman’s Delight, I felt a set of claws digging into my leg, and a furry face looked up at me expectantly. I scooped out the contents of the can into a dish and set it on the floor. I have to say, Fisherman’s Delight certainly didn’t smell delightful, but that didn’t seem to be stopping Mrs. Moto.
The Japanese bobtail finished her meal,
jumped up on the couch, and washed behind her ears. I poked around in the cabinets until I found where Sandy hid the cookies. I made myself some coffee, grabbed a couple of cookies, and sat down next to her. She sniffed at the snacks but decided they weren’t nearly as delightful as Fisherman’s Delight. She curled up on my lap for a post-lunch nap.
I might have taken a bit of a nap too.
Both of us were woken up by the sound of a couple trying to dock their boat. When we heard a loud thud, Mrs. Moto ran into the aft cabin. I took this as an opportunity to check out the rest of Jack and Sandy’s boat. Although I guess it was just Sandy’s boat now.
“Here, kitty, kitty,” I cried out as I made my way to the rear. It was a similar setup to our boat—a bed against one side with a love seat running along the other side. What they had, which we didn’t, was a large closet with a set of drawers next to it. They also had a small sink beside their bed, which seemed strange. I rarely have the desire to get up in the middle of the night to wash my face, but maybe it’s a thing for people who live on sailboats.
I couldn’t see Mrs. Moto anywhere, so I sat on the bed and peered out the hatch. I have to admit, the view of palm trees swaying in the breeze overhead was pretty special. I lay down to get a closer look. There was definitely some high thread count going on here. The sheets were soft and silky. I might have had another nap. When I woke up again, I found the calico nestled against me.
I glanced at the clock. How had it gotten so late? Had Scooter noticed how long I had been missing? Or had he been so caught up in boat projects that he hadn’t even given my absence a second thought? Both the cat and I had a quick stretch, although hers was far more impressive than mine. If I had attempted what she did, I would have pulled muscles in my body that I didn’t even know existed.
After stretching, Mrs. Moto leaped to the floor and stuck her paw into the gap of one of the opened drawers. After a few attempts, she snagged something, dragged it out, and meowed loudly. I picked it up and turned it over. It was a blurry photograph of two people sitting on the hood of a car in what appeared to be a car dealership. I rubbed my eyes and inspected it more closely. The woman had long, blonde hair and was wearing a pink blouse belted over a pair of jeans. The man next to her had a large cowboy hat, cowboy boots, and a three-piece suit that looked like it was made out of some sort of horrible man-made fabric. They had their arms around each other, smiling broadly into the camera.
Murder at the Marina Page 16
