Dead in the Water

by Lesley A. Diehl

  “Are they mean about everything like that?”

  “I thought they’d be nicer to me after Winston was killed, but they seem to resent my presence in the apartment. The worst is Sophia. No one likes her. Boris can be nice if he wants to.”

  I pulled out the chair across from her and sat.

  “I find Sophia pretty unpleasant myself. Boris is an enigma. He rarely says anything. What did the two of them do when they were in Russia, I mean what kind of work?”

  “They were in the army. She was a slupner.”

  I couldn’t make out the last word because she was talking with a mouthful of egg and muffin.

  “What?”

  “She was a sniper.”

  Interesting.

  “Was Boris, too?”

  “No, he had some kind of desk job. But then the family immigrated here. The Russian army was behind in paying their personnel anyway. I’m not certain what they did once they got here. Winston seemed to always be giving them money.”

  “He was a generous man. What about the other sister? She was younger?”

  Darlene put down the last of her sandwich and gave me a suspicious look. “Are you pumping me for information? What’s that all about?”

  “I was just curious, that’s all. Don’t forget that I was being tapped for ransom money also. I thought if I knew more about them I might find out something to lead us to the Russians holding the sister. If the authorities had been pulled in on this, they would have examined the family’s background in depth. Yours, too.”

  She coughed on her muffin and took a gulp of her coffee. “Dry. Must have been made really early this morning.”

  “I don’t recall the sister’s name.”

  “Me, either.” She spread out the muffin wrapper and picked crumbs and melted cheese off it. It seemed all her willingness to talk about the family evaporated as the food disappeared down her throat, and I had no more time left before I opened shop to purchase her more.

  “There is one thing I remember about the sister.”

  I turned at the door and looked back at her. “Yes?”

  “Sophia really did not like her sister. Sophia hated her, actually.”

  “How do you know this?”

  “Boris told me. I think Sophia would have been happy to let the sister remain in the Russians’ hands.”

  I found that fascinating, given Sophia’s insistence on getting the money out of me. What an actress she was.

  “Stay put. Nappi’s going to make the ransom drop tonight. Everything will be over by then.”

  “Nappi. Phew. That man gives me the jitters.”

  Nappi had that effect on some people—the ones with something to hide.

  Madeleine returned from the coast with her arms full of dresses, skirts, blouses, and shoes, thanks to our patrons there. All the garments were name-brand merchandise so gently used that occasionally the tags had been left on them. I knew that those had been worn with the tags tucked inside, in case their purchasers decided to return the merchandise. Even the wealthy can be frugal or cheap, to be honest. I guess Madeleine nagged them enough that they gave her even those items they intended to return along with used articles they wanted money for. It was easier because we picked up.

  They loved us because we made them money, but they didn’t want our van camped on their doorsteps. We tried to be discreet and decided against having our name on the side of the van, only the logo of a woman dressed in evening wear. Classy, very classy. “Oh, that van? It was the dry cleaners,” I heard them say to friends, the very friends who also used our services. “Admit nothing, ask no questions, provide no answers” must have been the catch phrase of West Palm matrons.

  We sorted through what Madeleine had obtained and were about to begin tagging the items when my cell rang. It was Alex, not happy that he had Darlene bivouacked in his apartment, but thrilled to have reached me, which meant I wasn’t in jail or being held at gunpoint. The information he obtained, along with what I’d learned earlier in my computer search, gave me a more textured picture of Sophia and Boris. It was the sister I needed to know more about. Alex found out she lived in Pahokee, only thirty short miles from here, not up north as Sophia had led me to believe. The sister had changed her name several years ago, perhaps an indication she wanted to put as much distance as possible between her and her siblings, probably Sophia. She was now known as Mary Ford, a nice, American-sounding name. She was in the phone book. I punched in her number, expecting it to be disconnected. If I was lucky enough to get an answering machine, I thought I might leave a message. “Sorry to hear about your kidnapping. Hang in there. You’ll be rescued tonight.” I knew she’d not get it before the ransom drop, but it might be a nice sentiment to come home to. If she made it home.

  A woman answered on the third ring. “Hello.”

  I almost dropped the phone. I recovered as fast as I could. “Is this Ms. Mary Ford?

  “Yes. Who is this?”

  The accent sounded Russian.

  “This is the catalogue department at JCPenny. Your order is in.”

  “I didn’t order anything. Goodbye.” She hung up.

  I couldn’t tell from our short conversation if she was stressed or not. The kidnappers could be holding her at her own house. What better place, but in plain sight?

  I connected again.

  “This is JCPenny again. You don’t want your order?”

  “You stupid American. I didn’t order anything. Leave me alone.” She hung up again.

  She certainly didn’t sound stressed. Perturbed, yes. Angry, put out, annoyed enough to want to jump through the phone and grab me by my Vera Wang shirt? Absolutely. This was no kidnapping victim. This was a Sophia clone. The attitude must have been in the genes.

  I tried again. This time I had something I thought she’d want to hear.

  “I tell you, don’t call me. I hang up again.”

  “No, don’t do that. Now that we know you haven’t been kidnapped, here’s a message from Mr. Napolitani you can deliver to Sophia and Boris. There’s been a change in plans. If they want any money, tell them to meet at the original drop-off site in the swamp. Tonight at eight. We’ll exchange money for the identity of my uncle’s killer. If they try to get in touch with Mr. Napolitani, then they get no money at all, and we’ll turn this all over to the cops.”

  I ended the call, my heart pounding.

  What if she knew nothing about the kidnapping? No problem. She’d either call Sophia and Boris and deliver my message anyway or forget about the call. I was certain now there was no kidnapping, so no one was in danger. No one except perhaps for me. What the hell was I doing? It sounded a bit risky even to my ears, but I’d just call Nappi and tell him what I had arranged. He’d be happy to provide back-up. I’d be quite safe. Quite safe. Sure.

  I then wondered who Sophia and Boris would put up for my uncle’s killer. I bet it would be Darlene. I was curious to hear how they’d work that one out. They’d want to get rid of her so she couldn’t defend herself, but I was convinced I’d hidden her well. I’d let her be for now, safe and snug in Alex’s apartment, raiding his refrigerator, swearing when she found nothing.

  “Who were you talking to on the phone just now?” Madeleine’s voice brought me back to the present.

  “That was Alex. He was doing a job for me.”

  “A job? You hired him?”

  “Kind of. I promised him compensation in the form of nights spent together without interruption.”

  “Maybe you can tell me all about it when you get the chance. I have a feeling I’m not going to like what you’re up to.”

  “I’m not up to anything.”

  “You’re breathing hard. You only do that when you are hot over some guy, hate someone, or have some crazy plan in mind, usually one that threatens someone’s life, often yours.”

  “Okay. Listen to this. I called the sister of Sophia and Boris. She answered. Can you believe that? She certainly didn’t sound like she was under dur
ess. In fact, I think she’s a co-kidnapper, if there is such a thing. It was all a hoax, set up by Sophia and Boris, and it got my uncle killed.”

  I hit the contact number for Jerry. It rang and rang, but didn’t go to voicemail. The service came on, saying the individual was away from the phone. Damn. Jerry was my only contact with Nappi, and I needed them both tonight. Alex was out of town, and I didn’t have enough information to go to Frida. I was screwed. No I wasn’t.

  “Madeleine, could you close up for me? Sorry to ask, but I have an errand to run.”

  She shook her head and gave me a pitying look. “Eve, Eve, Eve. You are so bad. You’re going to get yourself killed one of these days.”

  “Don’t worry. I have a plan.”

  “You always say you have a plan when what you really mean is that you have an impulse to meddle.”

  I love Madeleine to pieces, but she’s always so negative, especially when it comes to murder.

  Chapter 21

  “He’s off fishing tonight.” Grandfather sat on his porch, puffing on his pipe. He leaned forward to give my request additional consideration. “But I guess I could help you.”

  “I don’t want to put you to any trouble.”

  “No trouble. Besides, I want to be in on this. You’re going to find your uncle’s killer, aren’t you?”

  “Yes, but—”

  “It’s more exciting than selling clothes to ladies. You and Sammy have all the fun.”

  “I’ll come here at seven, and we can get to the site early.”

  “Maybe the real cops would like to be in on the action.”

  “I’d tell my friend Frida, but she doesn’t know about the kidnapping and it would take too long to explain and she wouldn’t believe me anyway and then she’d yell at me.” I stopped long enough to catch my breath. “I don’t think it would work out well.”

  “Okay, I get it, but I think we should do this sooner.”

  “Why?”

  He pointed toward the western sky, where black clouds were thickening. “Big storm coming in.”

  “We’ll be quick about this.”

  He smiled. “What’s the plan?”

  Plan? I didn’t have one. Except maybe to bluff my way through this.

  Maybe I should rethink this meeting. I tried Jerry’s phone again. Same message. With my luck, he’d left his phone in a motel room with some bimbo he met. I’d framed the message I gave to the sister in such a way that Sophia and Boris would expect me and Nappi. Where there was a Nappi, there would be weapons and men who could shoot them. It was certain Sophia and Boris would arm themselves with as much firepower as they could carry. Grandfather and I would have a shotgun and two sharp things that required us to be in stabbing distance of the enemy. And Sophia was a sniper. Yeah, that sounded like a fair fight. Maybe I could just stay home and watch television.

  Madeleine was right. My plans were always the product of impulse rather than strategy.

  Grandfather Egret could see I was struggling. “How do you feel about snakes?”

  “Ugh. I hate them.” I shivered just thinking about them.

  “Most people do. Did you know there’s a bounty on Burmese pythons?”

  “Grandfather, I hate to interrupt you, but I think I’ve made a mistake. These people will have weapons. What do we have? Nothing.”

  He chuckled. “We’ve got snakes.”

  His plan was simple, but clever. I hoped he was right about most people hating snakes. Ugh. I couldn’t stop shivering at the thought of the creepy creatures.

  The wind picked up as we loaded our gear into the airboat. It reminded me of the time, not so long ago, that Sammy and I spent time in the swamps.

  In his usual way, Grandfather seemed to read my mind. He tossed the duffel of money into the boat, then set down his burlap bag. “This storm will be bigger than the one you and Sammy weathered, close to hurricane strength winds. We’d best hurry. I want to get back and make myself a hot toddy. My sinuses are bothering me. They always do when the air pressure slides.”

  On the way out to the site, Grandfather pointed out the inherent flaw in my information for money exchange: if Sophia and Boris were the ones who killed my uncle, why would my offer of money make them confess to being the killers? He slowed to idle so we could hear each other.

  “They’ll tell me because they intend to kill me anyway.”

  “That won’t do you any good.”

  “You’ll be listening.”

  “That won’t do you any good.”

  “I know. You’re right. Turn the boat around and let’s go back home.”

  “We can do this. We just have to out-think them and be quicker than they are. And surprise them.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Nope.” Yet the grin on his face said this was something he fully intended to enjoy.

  “Do you have some kind of a death wish?”

  “Do you?”

  “No.”

  He chuckled. “Me either.”

  He kicked it up, and we flew over the water toward our rendezvous.

  We were a good hour and a half early and there was no sign of Sophia and Boris. I trusted they would come alone. They’d be well-armed, so why would they need back-up?

  I untied the small rowboat with its tiny motor from the back of the airboat and left it pulled up to the shore. Grandfather drove the airboat down the shore and hid it in the reeds there. I stepped into the clearing with care, making sure that the mama alligator was nowhere around.

  “Don’t worry about her. She’s in her hidey hole, waiting out the storm.”

  “Who?”

  He smiled at me. “You know, the big gal you’re worried about.”

  Damn. His ability to read my mind made me feel weird.

  “Let’s get these weapons up there.” He pointed up at the top of one of the palms in the small clearing where my uncle had left the money.

  Grandfather tossed a rope up, and it caught in one of the palm fronds. When he tugged on it, it came down. Time seemed to rush by, and we were not yet set up to receive our guests. He tossed the rope again, and it flew over the fronds and dangled on the other side, just out of reach.

  “I’ll go on up there and get it.”

  I watched in awe as he shimmied up the tree, using only his hands and feet to grip it until he could reach the end of the rope.

  “Here.” He pulled the rope down and threw it to me. “Now tie the end around that sack.”

  I shook my head.

  “Don’t you know how to tie a knot?”

  “That’s not it. I don’t want to get too close. Those things are armed.”

  “Okay, I’ll come on down and do it.” He sounded disappointed in me.

  “Never mind. I’ll do it.” I approached the bag and tried to pull it along the ground with two fingers, but the contents were too heavy and I had to grasp it with both hands to meet the end of the rope. I tied a knot as fast as I could, but my fingers were shaking, and I worried it might not hold.

  “If that knot doesn’t hold, the contents of that bag will be all over the ground.” He sounded amused at the possibility.

  Again with the mind reading. I examined my knot, adjusted it and signaled him to pull it up. He grabbed the other end of the rope and we watched the bag move heavenward. With all the wind blowing and the sky darkening, I couldn’t track it all the way up. I tossed another rope to Grandfather, who tied it around his waist and used it to help him ascend to the top of the tree. He too disappeared from sight, and I felt alone.

  “You okay up there?” The wind blew my words back to me. I waited for his response, but heard nothing. Suddenly, I heard something drop at my feet. I jumped, then sighed with relief. It was only the extra rope.

  The wind let up for a moment and Grandfather shouted to me. “I’m all set. What time is it?”

  I looked at my watch. It was only seven fifteen, but because of the black clouds covering the final rays of the sun, it felt later. I heard the sound o
f an airboat. Sophia and Boris were arriving early, as I suspected they would. Maybe they were already in place before Grandfather and I got here. I tried to swallow my fear. That was a chance we’d have to take. I carried the duffel nearer the water and stood behind it. If this crazy plan of Grandfather’s was to work, we had to time everything with precision and make certain Sophia and Boris were in the right position.

  The airboat pulled up beside the motor boat I wanted them to assume I’d driven here.

  They stopped the engine and jumped off the vessel. I couldn’t see them well. They seemed to fade into the blackness of the impending storm. Then I realized they were both dressed in their ninja attire. All I could discern of their faces was their eyes—cold, colder than arctic winds. I worried about Grandfather in his aerie but I knew I couldn’t look up to check if he was safe.

  “Open up the bag. Let’s see the money.” The voice was male, but it was difficult to tell with all the wind noise if it was Boris. I thought I caught the Russian accent.

  “Tell me first who killed my uncle.”

  He laughed and I knew it was Boris “Sure, why not. You don’t really think you and that old Indian in the tree are going to get out of here alive, do you? We’re not stupid. We watched the two of you arrive and then he went up the tree, but he didn’t have a weapon. What’s he going to do, throw coconuts down on us?”

  I crossed my fingers that the poor visibility had made it impossible for them to see the bag go up the tree.

  “He can stay up there if he likes. When I shoot him the drop to the ground will make his death all the more certain.” Boris sounded happy at the prospect of Grandfather’s death.

  “Tell me. If you killed my uncle, why did you do it? He was your stepfather. He was going to rescue your sister.”

  “We led him to believe my sister had been taken by the Russian Mafia, a story easy for him to buy because of his own mob connections. The money was for us. And why not? We knew he left everything to you. Then someone took our money, and we had to try to persuade you to give us your inheritance. You weren’t as easy to convince.”