Captain Dead Man (Sweetfern Harbor Mystery Book 3)

by Wendy Meadows

The Confession

  Brenda savored the cold lemonade. She looked toward the door of the shop to see Pete Graham walk in. Sweetfern Harbor’s postal carrier wiped his brow and handed Molly her mail. Their eyes locked lovingly for a few seconds before he pulled away and greeted Mac and Brenda. He looked longingly at their lemonades. Before he could open his mouth to say hello, he saw one more glass slide onto the table in front of him. Molly smiled at him when he turned in surprise and told him she knew he needed a break.

  “How’s the case coming along?” he asked the detective as he took a long swig from his glass.

  Mac and Brenda exchanged a quick glance. They knew better than to share too much information with Pete Graham. It seemed his mission in life was not just to carry the mail, but to carry as much gossip from shop to shop on his route as possible.

  “It’s coming along, but nothing concrete yet.” Mac sipped his drink.

  “Everyone hopes the killer is found out soon,” Pete said. “I met Captain Eddy a few times. He seemed like a real nice guy. The whole town is upset he was killed that way. Poor man. I’m sure his memorial service will be packed when they hold it next week. I keep thinking about how he must have suffered fighting off his killer.” Pete shook his head sadly.

  The other two agreed. “The murderer will be found out. When that time comes, everyone will get the news.” Brenda smiled after her statement. Pete’s eyes held disappointment that he didn’t get any scoops to share, but he had no choice other than to accept the news.

  Mac and Brenda laughed softly together after he left. “I know he was hoping for more but he’s crazy if he thinks we don’t know his reputation for gossip. We can’t let anything out yet,” Mac said. Brenda nodded and looked at the menu when Molly approached with her notepad poised for their orders. She ordered a tossed salad and more lemonade and Mac ordered a ham salad sandwich. “I’ll take more lemonade, too,” he told Molly and she returned to the kitchen to prepare their orders.

  “I think we should bring Bryce back in when we call Scully,” Brenda said, thinking over how the new discovery of the boat switch might change everyone’s perspective. Mac showed surprise and she explained her thinking. “He should see the whole picture and know why that boat sank. I’ll get all the photos of Captain Pratt’s boat from him. We should put them up on a sort of display board before they come in.”

  “Do you mean like an investigation board?” Brenda nodded yes. “We have a huge bulletin board where we sometimes pin up evidence to be studied during a crime investigation. I think it is available now or, if it isn’t, we have another one in the back storeroom. I think we should include Wally, too. He can back up our findings and shed some light on this for the others.” As their food arrived and they ate, they eagerly went over the details of what could be included on the board to help visualize the various components of the investigation.

  Once back at the police station, Mac placed the large board in the larger interrogation room and Brenda fetched helpful supplies like pushpins, a spare map, and some labels. Then Mac summoned Bryce, Wally and Captain Scully down to headquarters. “Be here in half an hour,” he told all three.

  Meanwhile, Brenda called Captain Pratt and asked him to bring the photos down to the police station right away. She wanted him there before the others so he could help get the pictures in order up on the board. He arrived a few minutes later, and they pinned them up alongside the map, which they labeled with the various locations pertinent to the investigation.

  “That boat is a beauty for sure,” said Brenda, stepping back to admire their handiwork. She noted how Pratt beamed at the compliment.

  “Wally Doyle knows how to build a boat,” he said. His smile dimmed. “I can’t believe it’s down underwater. I hoped to use that boat for many years to come.”

  Mac stuck his head in the door. He told Captain Pratt to wait where he was. While Pratt waited in the large interrogation room musing over the photographs, Brenda went to talk with Mac. He told her to give the presentation since she discovered the boat switch when Pratt took her to the harbor. Brenda happily agreed and was proud to know that Mac had such confidence in her. They discussed certain points to be made. While Brenda spoke, Mac would observe reactions from the small group of suspects.

  “We know someone got into Wally’s shop to get that engine back,” Mac said. “It may have been Wally himself who did that, for all we know. As much as Bryce gets on my nerves, I can’t see him jeopardizing his up-and-coming career by killing someone. Besides, he wouldn’t have been so excited to race that boat if he knew it was ready to sink. Captain Scully remains a mystery.”

  “Maybe Captain Pratt knew the boats were switched. Maybe something happened the day he and Eddy went fishing.” Brenda breathed deeply. “We’ll find out before the end of this presentation. I’m going to lay out all the facts as we have them.”

  They heard the three men enter the front office area. Mac went out and took them to the designated room. He watched all three as their eyes landed on the photo display in surprise. Brenda followed them in and stood before them. Once they settled in their chairs, she began.

  “Captain Pratt took these photos of his boat after Wally built it.” She pointed to the photo showing the kitchen area. “As you can see, the curtains have sailboat designs in them. That was his preference and an important fact here. If you will note something else in the kitchen you will see that there is no clutter. It had only what he deemed necessary for a kitchen.” She mentioned the salt and pepper shakers secured in a special holder so they wouldn’t go flying when the boat took a sharp turn, a small skillet turned over on the stove and other incidentals needed in a kitchen.

  “What does all of this have to do with anything?” Bryce asked in an incredulous tone. Brenda stared hard at him and he bent his head downward.

  “If you will take a look at the engine Captain Pratt showed off so proudly to the other two captains you will see it is sparkling new. This engine was replaced by Wally since Pratt’s original engine malfunctioned the week before on a fishing trip. The reality of the situation was that the engine could have caught the boat on fire, or it could have caused the boat to sink if the raw-water hose had ruptured. Am I right so far, Wally?”

  “Yes, that is what I saw on the old engine. It looked as if someone may have purposely caused a rupture in the hose. I can’t be sure of that but the engine itself was faulty and that’s why it needed to be replaced.”

  “Where is the old engine, Wally?” Brenda asked. Mac was scrutinizing everyone’s faces carefully as they watched Brenda’s presentation.

  “I still have no idea. It’s like I told you and Mac. I put it there and tagged it with the boat numbers and Captain Pratt’s name on it. I wanted to take a closer look later when I had more time, maybe switch out a few parts. As you know, when you were in my shop earlier, the engine was nowhere to be found. I asked around and none of my guys had seen it, either.”

  “That’s because we believe the engine was stolen from your shop and put back into the boat that sank. We believe the same person then killed Captain Eddy, though we don’t know the motive.” Brenda looked at Mac. “Perhaps you want to tell them our conclusion as to how Captain Eddy died.”

  Mac stepped forward. “When we saw the wooden barrel on the deck of the Eddy, we also noticed red marks down the outside of it. The marks were on one side and after examining Eddy’s hands, it was determined he fought his killer, trying to pull his head from the water. The killer held his head under until he died. His upper clothing was wet and that told us it was unlikely that he could have drowned anywhere but in that barrel. It took a strong person to lift him and take him to his cabin where we found him.” The men were quiet for a moment as they absorbed this information.

  “I know a lot about boating,” said Bryce, “but if the engine had been put back into the boat, why didn’t it sink while sitting on the water, docked?”

  “I’ll ask Wally to answer that.”

  Wally explained why
it would sink once the boat was running, if indeed the hose had been tampered with. Everyone seemed satisfied with his answer, though this scenario was no less shocking. Who would sabotage a boat like that? Brenda glanced at Captain Scully. His hands were large and his physique was muscular. This observation seemed more and more important, especially given Wally’s known back injury; and though Bryce was fit, she doubted he could lift someone like Captain Eddy. Her eyes locked with Captain Scully’s. He shifted several times in his chair.

  “Whoever killed Captain Eddy had no idea that Detective Bryce Jones would be the one to take over the boat,” Brenda continued, not looking away from Scully for an instant. “The person who put the old engine back in thought it would slow down the captain of that boat and cause him to lose the race. That person wanted Captain Eddy to lose, and in a big way. Unfortunately, the murderer decided that sabotage wasn’t enough, and their intentions shifted to kill the captain of the boat, too.”

  Bryce watched Brenda with admiration. He thought she had not found her true calling. She was cut out for what she was doing at this moment. He watched her face raptly as she continued.

  “You will now understand just why the kitchen and other areas of Pratt’s boat are important to this crime. When I went onboard with Pratt last night to look at his boat for possible clues, it was the first time he had stepped on board since the race. And he was most surprised that the curtains in the boat were patterned with yachts instead of sailboats. Also, the counter was cluttered with small nautical knick-knacks. There were scuff marks on the floor that did not match any of his shoes.” She looked at Pratt and smiled.

  Mac stepped forward when Brenda looked his way. “The most notable thing of all in regard to this boat is that the name had been painted over. Someone painstakingly painted the name Pratt, but using a special light we were able to reveal that it originally had Eddy’s name. In summary, gentlemen, the boats were switched.” The silence in the room was palpable.

  Captain Scully was the first to move in his chair. All eyes landed on him at the disturbance. He spread his hands on top of the table and took a deep breath.

  “You don’t have to look any farther,” he said in a gravelly tone. “I was the one who switched the boats. It started as a joke at first. I was just going to show Eddy a thing or two about who’s the best captain around here...until I heard him and Pratt talking about a recent fishing expedition. I usually went with them. We did everything together.” His eyes pled with Captain Pratt. “We were like brothers, once. We did things together. But they had just left me behind.”

  “What about the engine?” Pratt asked, gobsmacked. “Are you the one who switched them?”

  “Yes. It’s easy enough for a strong man with a big truck. No one suspected a thing. I walked into your shop, Wally, early evening before the race day. Two of your workers were in the back out of sight. I suppose they were working on something late. The shop door was unlocked and I went in and found the original engine.” He studied his calloused hands. “I did mean it to be a joke on Eddy. I expected Eddy to be slowed down out there on the water and lose the race. He was a good seaman and could take care of himself if anything happened.”

  Those in the room were stunned at his confession. No one said anything and all knew there was more to come. Scully finally looked at Brenda.

  “I came into the coffee shop one morning, hoping to find Pratt and Eddy. While I ordered my coffee at the counter, I overheard them planning a fishing trip. They didn’t see me because they were sitting way in the back of the shop in one of the secluded booths. Eddy appeared a quiet man to most, but he was excited during their conversation. He even suggested to Pratt they plan more things together out on the waters once the race was over.” He bitterly turned to Pratt and spat out his next words. “Neither one of you mentioned me at all. Until that moment, I only thought about switching the engines as a joke. I was upset that after all these years my friendship meant nothing. Nothing.”

  Captain Pratt spoke first. “Good God, Scully, we didn’t intentionally exclude you. If we had seen you come into the shop we would have called you over and asked if you wanted to join us. It was a spur of the moment thing. How could you do this?”

  All eyes riveted again on Captain Scully. He seemed to have aged ten years from the time he started his story, sinking into his chair with despair.

  “After I came up with the prank with the engines, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. It made me sick at heart. It wasn’t a joke anymore. I paid a local fisherman who is handy with painting boat names to paint over Eddy’s name and copy Pratt’s name there. I told him it was for a prank. He also helped me switch the places where the boats docked. I swore him to secrecy and he is truly innocent in everything that happened later. He had no idea of what followed once that part was done. I confronted Eddy about the planned trip. Wally had been speaking with all three of us down at the dock that night and then left. Pratt went back to Main Street. It was just me and Eddy. The night watchman was taking a break and I convinced Eddy to board his boat with me so we could talk more. He had no idea he was on Pratt’s boat and not his...it was dark so he probably couldn’t see too well.” Scully coughed and then wiped his forehead with his hand.

  He appeared reluctant to continue. “You’ve come this far, Captain Scully. You may as well finish it now.” Mac’s voice held command. “This is your chance to tell all of us what you did next.”

  Scully nodded, resigned. “I don’t know what came over me. I was so mad, but Eddy argued the whole matter was an innocent one and that if I was bent on going with them I could go the next time. At that point, I had the feeling he didn’t mean what he said. After all, everyone had heard how he bragged about how much fun he and Pratt had that day. They told jokes with each other and caught enough fish to take down to the market on the harbor. I asked him why they didn’t call me up and take me along.” He looked at Brenda again. “Fishing is my passion. I’d rather be doing that than out racing. And we’ve been like brothers for years. It burned me up, wondering why he didn’t think of me. I had to ask him why. Why.”

  “What did Eddy say when you asked?” Brenda said.

  “He said ‘I guess I didn’t think of you at all.’ Can you imagine such a thing?” Scully seemed half broken as he said it, and Brenda almost had pity for the man, who hid this well of loneliness and despair beneath his outwardly jovial demeanor.

  Mac thought Captain Scully was a little unhinged. Why would he get so upset over a simple fishing trip like that? It was as if he was a child on the playground left out of a game. No sooner had this thought crossed Mac’s mind when Captain Pratt leaned forward toward Scully. “You’re sounding like an immature school boy. This was one time we didn’t go fishing together and you had to kill our friend over it? It just doesn’t make sense to me.”

  Scully didn’t answer at first. He finally spoke. “After being friends for thirty years you can’t understand how hurtful it was to me. I love you both like brothers. We’re more than family, out there on the ocean. I may have taken it too far. I have no excuse except to say the anger and disappointment I felt in the moment overtook me. I wasn’t thinking rationally, I know, but the rage inside me caused me to strike out at Eddy in a way I’d never imagined could happen. He just made me so angry. I know I have a short fuse sometimes but that night...”

  “What happened?” Mac asked.

  “He said some harsh words to me in the cabin. We scuffled with one another until it seemed like I would burst, and my rage just took over. I would make him understand. I forced him to go up to the deck with me. I think he thought I did that so we could get some air and talk more reasonably. Instead I shoved him toward that barrel. I knew it was filled with water. I struck him again and... probably said some more things I shouldn’t have...I remember I managed to get my arm around his neck to control him. He was surprised and that gave me an edge. I pushed him hard to the bucket and while holding him I shoved his face into the water. He fought like everything
but by then I could barely see through my rage. I guess...I was determined to finish what I started. He finally took his last breath and was limp. I had to half carry him and half drag him to the cabin. He looked serene once I placed him on the bed. Then I realized how bad it would look and mopped up the marks made when I dragged him to the cabin. During the race, I knew the boat would sink, and take the rest of the evidence with it. But it was still terrifying when I saw young Bryce signal for help. When I turned around to reach his boat, I was prepared to stop the race officials from boarding it to inspect the engine, if need be. But that hose did all the work and the crime scene sank to the bottom of the harbor faster than I ever imagined. Now it’s all gone. Everything.” Scully stopped as if these last words had taken what was left of his spirit out of him. His voice was monotone and he barely moved.

  Brenda was in shock at his confession. She realized this also meant that perhaps Scully had meant to pin the crime on Pratt, who was left with Eddy’s original boat.

  Mac quietly told Pratt, Wally and Bryce to wait in the lobby for him. He then called for two cops and told them to book Captain Scully for murder. Captain Scully simply sat at the table where he had been left alone, motionless.

  Captain Pratt hung back and looked at his former friend. Only then did Scully stir.

  “I regret my actions, Pratt. When Jones got ahead of us right away I had the feeling the boat was going to sink before the end of the race. Wally had mentioned it was a matter of a short time before it would have happened out on the water. I tampered with the hose to make sure it would sink. I didn’t care that much about winning the race and I knew I had to help save Bryce when it happened. But I also wanted to give you the chance to win.” He looked at his fellow captain with something akin to hope, as if this slim offering could possibly offset his monstrous crime.

  Captain Pratt’s eyes held sympathy mixed with disbelief and a hint of scorn for the man in front of him. In the end, his silence was its own reply. Captain Pratt did not reply to his former friend. He turned and joined the other two men in the lobby while Captain Scully was handcuffed and taken to his cell.