by Kait Carson
“Didn’t his parents ever try to talk to her, find out for themselves how she felt? These were their grandchildren, after all. Didn’t they stand for something in their lives?” Mallory asked.
Shaking her head, Janice looked at Grant. “You were their lawyer. Did they ever say anything to you?”
Sighing, Grant said, “Normally, I wouldn’t be able to answer your question, it would be covered under the attorney/client privilege. In this instance, however, I can honestly say, I had no idea. They never mentioned anything to me. In fact, I knew very little about either of the Anderson sons, and nothing of the grandchildren. So little that even though I played golf with Kevin, I didn’t make the connection between Kevin Anderson and my Anderson clients.”
Grant opened the box of chocolates and passed them around to each of the women.
“I thought I’d offer them if you weren’t going to,” he said to Hayden. A large smile lit his face and he winked. “Please continue.”
“All along Richard connived to get money for himself. He didn’t care if he had to use Elena to do it. He jumped at Paul’s scheme and Richard brought Kevin in. Kevin hooked up with them because of the diving.”
She nodded at Mallory, “You were right when you suggested that Paul was the mystery boater who showed up when Kevin dove with us. He’d write out the smuggling information on a slate. Kevin would get it to Richard. Kevin got five hundred per person. All he did to earn it was mule information about patrol sectors back to his brother. Richard got a grand, but he ran more risks. He shuttled the refugees from the go-fast to supposedly safe beaches.” Hayden paused and selected one of the dark chocolates. She bit into it and rolled her eyes. “Heaven.”
A soft knock caused all the heads in the room to turn. A woman in a white lab coat stood outside. “Why don’t you all step out for a moment? I think your patient may be released sooner than you think.”
Grant stood and headed for the door followed by Janice and Mallory, the box of chocolates still in his hands.
“Thank you,” the doctor said. “Not often I get offered something so luscious.”
A look of confusion crossed Grant’s face. He followed the direction of the doctor’s hand and began to laugh. “If this is what it takes to ransom her out, then we’re all for it. Hayden, we’ll be outside.”
The doctor inspected Hayden’s hand and went over the MRI results from the brain scan. She checked vitals and plumped up the pillow behind her neck. “If you didn’t look so cozy here, I would recommend springing you today,” the woman smiled. She raised a hand as Hayden sat up. “But you’ve got one more night in captivity. No diving until the doctor gives his okay.”
Hayden’s friends trooped in after the doctor left and settled into the same chairs they had just vacated.
“We were hoping you were going to get released,” Grant grumbled. “I guess they know you better than I thought they did.”
“You hoped,” Hayden retorted. “How do you think I feel?”
“What were you saying? About Richard?” Janice asked.
Hayden rummaged in the chocolate box. “The immigration services rarely stop fishing boats,” she continued. “Especially well-known local fishing boats in near shore waters. A go-fast is another story. And on the nights he couldn’t make it, the smugglers just came in closer believing Paul would let them know if anyone patrolled the vicinity.”
“Why Samantha? She had no real part in this. How does she figure in?” Mallory asked.
“Sam was in it for the rush. She liked the adrenaline of being involved. She muled the money from Paul to Kevin and Richard.”
“Paul killed Richard,” Janice said. “It hasn’t been announced yet, but it’s in the incident report. What tipped you?” she asked Hayden.
“The aftershave. When I recognized who wore it, it all came into focus. He was the only one who had means, motive, and opportunity. Paul was fighting for his life, personally and professionally. What does the report say?”
“The young girl who lost the bracelet died on Richard’s boat before he got near enough to a shore or shoal to drop his group. No one knows why: exposure, some underlying illness. The autopsy showed she had a bad heart and several other problems but the official cause of death is unknown. Anyway, Richard panicked. He dropped off the other refugees in deeper water than usual and in the confusion left with her still on board. He went out to sea and dumped her body. What he was thinking, no one knows.
“He called Paul in a panic telling him he had to cover for him if the body floated up and someone tried to point a finger at him. Paul thought sharks would get her, and if not, then her death would be attributed to go-fast smugglers. Of course, that’s exactly what happened. But Paul’s report helped.” The group was silent for a while each digesting the information in their own way.
“Richard noticed the bracelet. He took it off her hoping by the time she was found she’d be too decomposed for anyone to identify her. He threw the bracelet overboard on his way back in and told Paul about it. He also told him that because his risks were increasing, he wanted more money. He confronted Paul in a restaurant near the Coast Guard Station. It was late, few people were around but Paul decided Richard was a loose cannon.”
“Paul admitted all this?” Mallory asked.
“No,” Grant responded. “Kevin is implicating him. He’s looking to cut a deal.”
Janice nodded. “Richard and Paul took their discussion on the water. Paul said he wanted to fish and they’d be able to talk there. They argued, Paul knocked him out and tossed him overboard weighted by the anchor. Dumb luck that he landed on the Humboldt.
“Paul called Kevin from the boat. That’s how Kevin got the information. He threatened to set Kevin up for the murder. Paul knew Kevin denied his brother lived in South Florida and that Kevin served time years ago for assault. Framing him for the murder wasn’t too difficult.”
“Kevin decided to set me up instead,” Hayden interrupted. “Paul and Kevin were arguing about it while they were hunting me. He hoped Paul would let him continue to collect the bounties, and maybe let him take over Richard’s job. Richard told him why I’d canceled our meeting. Kevin knew how bad my migraines are. He came and got me out of the house, carried me to the car and drove me to the Marina. The keys on the table next to mine were the Mako keys. A spare set. I never touched them so when they found them, there was nothing to connect them to me. He tossed a bucket of pool water on me to try to wake me up. It failed, but I stayed wet, and the marina pool is sea water. It was dumb luck on my part that I found Richard, and the bracelet.
“Kevin saw the bracelet when he came to get the dive gear. Paul mentioned it to him when he taunted him about Richard’s death. They decided to get it back. Kevin still had a key and, he thought, the code. He didn’t realize I’d changed it. Kevin came in and found the alarm off. He replaced the bathroom battery with a dead one. He forgot the alarm hadn’t been set though. To cover his tracks he set it when he left. Unfortunately, it exposed him. When an alarm battery showed out of service, I normally bypassed it for a few days. Kevin knew that. Mallory,” she smiled at her friend, “is more anal retentive than I am. She replaced it. The bathroom window is largely concealed by shrubbery. It’s a good choice for a little breaking and entering, especially if you know the alarm is off on that zone.”
The effects of the last few days made Hayden tired. She took the bed controller and lifted the head of the bed higher. Then she rested her head back against the pillows. “What I don’t get is why Paul and Kevin tried to kill me. Why not just let me take the fall?”
“Paul knew Elena was going to be arrested for Richard’s murder. Landsdown would have shared the information with him, or have Barton do it,” Janice said. “Paul knew you’d been doing your own investigation. Kevin says he was convinced you’d figured it all out and were going to go to Landsdown and lay it
out for him. When Paul and Kevin saw you going north, Paul decided Kevin was right and you had to go.”
Grant patted Hayden on the leg and said, “I’m glad you’re a tenacious woman. Let me take over from here. No matter what, there’s sufficient evidence for Kevin and Paul to serve a long time behind bars. You never know what a jury is going to do in the long run, but Kevin has confessed. Paul maintains his innocence for now. I understand the Coast Guard has evidence Paul won’t survive.
“Sam, who Kevin had been dating all along, is being indicted as an accessory to murder. You, Hayden, were nothing but a dive decoy. Kevin used you and your constant diving as an excuse to get underwater and meet with Paul. He wanted witnesses to his dives. According to him, he thought he could deny meeting Paul that way.
“Janice, the Andersons have asked me to get in touch with Elena. I’m going to her house in Big Pine as soon as I leave here. They want her to stay in the house. In fact, they’re deeding it to her. They want to get to know their grandchildren.”
The angry red line crossing Hayden’s palm was the only outward reminder of her adventure. It caught her eye as she hooked up her regulator to her tank on Cappy’s boat. She glanced at the healed wound and then at Mallory and Cappy.
“You ready to go, girl?” Cappy asked.
For an answer, Hayden balanced on the port gunnels of the little boat and looked over at Mallory opposite her on the starboard side. She gave a hard nod and leaned backwards into her back roll.
The warm water of the Atlantic closed over her head. She checked her gear to be sure it wasn’t disarrayed by hitting the water, gave Cappy the okay sign, and jackknifed her body to start her dive. The Humboldt spread out beneath her. The wheelhouse looked so close. Hayden thought she could touch it from the surface. She swam to the buoy line and waited for Mallory to catch her up. Together the two friends headed for the wreck. At the sixty-foot marker, Mallory tugged on Hayden’s arm and pointed down. The moray eel’s head protruded from the cable wheel on the bow. They’d see lots of little fish today.
About the Author
Kait has been writing mysteries since the fourth grade when she penned the words, “pop, pop, pop, here comes the cop” for a story poetry assignment. She opted for a career as a paralegal practicing in the area of probate, tax, and probate litigation. When she’s not writing, you can find her scuba diving or in the air with her pilot husband. Kait lives with her husband, eight (count ’em) rescue cats, a cockatoo, and a harlequin macaw at an airpark in Fort Denaud, Florida.
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