Rough Waters

by Maggie Toussaint

  “Actually, if the debt is paid off, and it is, Tarpley and I would split what we found. That was our agreement.”

  “So, he didn’t steal the coins. He was keeping them safe for y’all?”

  “I wouldn’t go that far. But if we find the coins, he is entitled to half of their value.”

  Jeanie’s jaw dropped. “The man tried to kill you. Twice.”

  “But he didn’t. Maybe he didn’t on purpose. He could’ve tried to make it look as though he wanted me dead. He could’ve used more C-4 on the boat. He could’ve made the call on the cell right away to ignite the gas in my kitchen. For that matter, he could’ve put a bullet in me long ago and been done with me. He didn’t have to drag this out for months.”

  “Good point, but even if he was playing the middle, that didn’t work out so well.”

  Rock sighed. “I tried to help him, but you can’t fix somebody who doesn’t want to be fixed. Whatever happens to him, at least now he’s away from Larry. And, we need to get a move on if we plan to search the marina after the cops are done with us.”

  Chapter 62

  “Tarpley’s dead?” Rock sagged in the molded plastic chair as the cop shop’s conference room’s walls closed in on him. Jeanie reached for his hand and squeezed. Her touch quieted the howling winds in his gut.

  “He coded before he made it to the operating room,” Detective Bailey said, his expression grim.

  There was so much Rock wanted to ask Tarpley, so many memories he wanted to re-examine in light of the information they were half-brothers.

  “I don’t know what to say,” Rock admitted. “I thought I’d lost him before, then I learn he’s still alive and gunning for me. Now he’s dead. Really dead. I feel terrible. For him. For me. For not knowing our connection all these years. I feel stupid.”

  “He conned you. For money.” Bailey’s voice softened a little, then roughened again. “But you were still a suspect in his shooting until we ruled you out. The good news is there was no gunshot residue on your hands yesterday, or Mrs. Munro’s, but your Colt Defender was the murder weapon.”

  “I didn’t shoot Tarpley.”

  Detective Hernandez leaned forward in her chair, her hands folded in front of her on the conference table. “Lucky for you, Larry Orio tested positive for GSR on his hands and clothes.”

  “Tarp never should have gotten mixed up with Larry.”

  “He may not have had any choice,” Bailey added. “Larry is also known as Keith Willard, and Keith has a record a mile long. Larry found a way to stay under the radar until we ran his prints. He’s got priors for extortion and blackmail. He had hidden cameras all over the marina. No doubt he saw Tarpley do something not quite kosher and called him on it. We also found a stash of recently dated videos of Tarpley and several sweet young things having sex on various boats in the marina. My guess is we’ll find them posted on the internet. “

  The only thing Rock could do was groan and put a hand to his bent head. All along, he’d thought Larry was the perfect dock master because he didn’t micromanage his tenants, just stayed in the bait shop. Looked like Larry didn’t need to leave the premises to have a bird’s eye view of everything. Through his cameras, Larry had found what he needed to exploit Tarp’s weaknesses. Tarp would’ve hated being on the wrong end of a con.

  Rock tried to put the information in context. “Tarpley wouldn’t have wanted me to know he’d messed up so badly. Drinking and fighting, that’s just par for the course. But something like this...I can see how he would have gone along with Larry.”

  “And by doing so, he just got snared tighter in Larry’s evil web. I’d venture to say one or more of those girls was underage. Doesn’t matter that they cooperated fully. He didn’t force anyone, but it’s still statutory rape.”

  Just like the base commander’s daughter. But Rock let that sleeping dog lie. They’d find out soon enough if they wanted to. Or maybe they’d just let Tarpley rest in peace.

  “Our tech guys worked all night on Larry’s electronics. Larry also had video files of Tarpley messing with your boat, of him receiving money from Vince Palamiri. No way to connect the two, but we thought you’d want to know. FYI, Larry had no files with your name on them.”

  Before Rock could respond, Jeanie chimed in. “Did Larry confess?”

  Hernandez’s cheek twitched. “He didn’t say much of anything until he learned his cousin was singing. Then he dug himself into the ground and tried to pin everything on Palamiri. Larry Orio isn’t going anywhere for a very long time.”

  “Good,” Jeanie said. “We want to make sure all the bad guys are rounded up. I need to get my kids back, but I won’t do it until we’re safe.”

  “Rest assured that Orio was denied bail,” Bailey said. “We’ve also heard from the Mossy Bog P.D. They will extradite Vince Palamiri up here to stand charges for his crimes after he’s done with the Georgia court system.”

  “We’re free to go?” Jeanie asked, exchanging a hopeful glance with Rock.

  “The coins that started this whole thing,” Hernandez said. “Neither Orio or Palamiri claim to have them.”

  “The stolen coins are my property, and I still hope to recover them,” Rock said.

  “I think Drake Tarpley stole the coins from Rock,” Jeanie said. “We’re going back to the marina to search after we finish here.”

  The detectives stared, unspeaking.

  “Jeanie has a hunch,” Rock said. “She was the first to suggest Tarpley might still be alive. I’ve learned to take her hunches seriously.”

  ****

  They combed through Palamiri’s Reel Fun in the boatyard. Rock saw no sign of the coins or a wooden jewelry chest, even though it was clear from the beer bottles and dirty clothes that Tarpley had been living on board.

  Castor and Pollox circled the boat alternately barking and whining. Rock shushed them.

  “They want to come up here,” Jeanie said.

  “It’s too high a climb for them, and they might get hurt trying to get back down. They need to stay right where they are.”

  Jeanie sat in the captain’s chair. “We’ve looked everywhere. I thought for sure he would’ve stashed the coins at the marina. I can’t believe I’m wrong.”

  “I was hoping he’d stashed the small wooden chest on one of the boats in storage. Larry never mentioned the chest, so he wouldn’t have known to look for it.”

  “Any chance Tarpley tried to tell you while you were together yesterday?”

  Rock’s arm still throbbed, and his jaw was still tender. Tarp had been making a statement with his assault. Pent-up rage would do that to a man. He’d seen it plenty in the service. “When he was punching me and hitting my sore arm?”

  “Yeah.”

  “No. He didn’t offer any insights into what he did. He kept saying how much he hated me.”

  “Did he say anything else?”

  “Can’t remember much else.” Tarp’s bloody image flashed in Rock’s head. “I was too stunned. Wait. He did say something else. It made no sense. He kept talking about bait. Said it was everything.”

  “Bait? Literal bait as in what Larry sold in the shop?”

  Rock briefly considered Larry’s cricket bin and his worm hills as hiding places. “I doubt he’d hide the coins in Larry’s domain. He’d want someplace out of sight. Someplace no one would think of.”

  “What about one of those places on boats where you keep live bait?” Jeanie asked.

  “A bait well? I’ve looked in the bait wells of every boat out here. Nothing there.”

  “Hmm. That seems like such a good clue. Bait. Where else would you keep bait?”

  “Tarpley was in charge of bait for our fishing trips.” Rock snapped his fingers. “That’s it. Tarp kept a spare bait well tied to the dock in our slip. What do you bet it’s still there?”

  “Business hasn’t exactly been booming around here since your accident. If anything was left in your spot, it probably hasn’t been touched. Let’s go look.�
�

  Rock followed Jeanie down the ladder, across the boatyard, and showed her over to his former slip. He glanced around to see if any visible cameras pointed at his feet. They didn’t. His palms itched at this stroke of fortune.

  Even better, the rope holding the bait well was sun-faded and fouled with marine life. The well was submerged. If you didn’t know it was there, you wouldn’t even notice the rope tied below the dock’s covering of planks.

  Rock knelt, the dogs crowding around him. He motioned them back, and they obeyed. He reached for the rope. The bait well felt heavier than usual. He pulled it up to the surface. Water sprinkled through the tiny side holes of the bait well. Rock removed the lid, unable to breathe.

  There. At the bottom. Something shifted. More water drained. Three gold coins shone up at him. “They’re here. I can’t believe it.”

  “Careful! Don’t drop them,” Jeanie said. “After all we’ve been through because of those coins, I don’t want to risk losing them.”

  The coins. So much had happened because of the coins. Rock replaced the lid of the bait well and reached in his pocket for a knife. Moments later, the bait well rope was cut clean. He pulled the bait well out. Another object followed it up. His jaw dropped in surprise.

  “What’s that?” Jeanie asked from over his shoulder.

  “Looks like a Wet Bag.”

  “It’s wet all right. Must’ve sprung a leak.”

  The bag clunked on the dock. “I’ve got a hunch this time. The wooden jewelry chest is in the bag.”

  Jeanie grinned. “You’re getting the hang of this hunch business.”

  Rock stared at the bait well and Wet Bag. His treasure. Recovered. He was happy, but not overjoyed. Two weeks ago, hunting treasure had meant the world to him. Now, he saw his hobby as a closed chapter in his life. He might take up diving again, but searching for shipwrecks? Not enough money in the world for him to do that. He’d rather hang out on dry land with Jeanie and her kids.

  “You’re awful silent,” Jeanie said.

  He pulled her close. Kissed her. “I thought I knew what treasure looked like. Now gold sovereigns and a carved jewelry chest don’t hold a candle to the real thing. You’re my treasure, Jeanie.”

  Chapter 63

  “I can’t wait to hug my kids,” Jeanie said as the miles between North Carolina and Georgia rolled by. With Larry Orio and Vince Palamiri behind bars and Tarpley six feet under, she could take a full breath. Even better, Shandy had been detained for using Vince’s credit card in Brunswick, and her fingerprints, as well as Vince’s, matched those in Jeanie’s burglarized home and shop. Shandy wouldn’t bother her again for a very long time.

  Finally, everything was settled with the police, and they were allowed to go home.

  “You’ll see them today,” Rock said. “But we need to switch vehicles in Mossy Bog first. I need to buy car seats for the Lariat.”

  “What about the dogs?” she asked, glancing at Castor and Pollox sprawled on the pickup’s backseat.

  “You worried about the kids accepting them?”

  She petted both dogs. “Don’t be silly. The kids love your dogs. They’re part of our blended family. I don’t want anyone ever coming after our family again.”

  “They won’t. Palamiri and Orio will serve hard time. Shandy Herndon, too. Lyle understands I want nothing to do with him.”

  Jeanie settled in her seat again. “You, I trust. Him, not so much.” The four days they’d spent in North Carolina had allowed her to reflect on the truth. Rock wasn’t his father’s son. He was his own man.

  The man she loved.

  Rock patted her jean-clad leg. “We’re of like mind on that. I still plan to do the DNA test so that I’ll have proof one way or another, but the results won’t change how I feel.”

  Jeanie nodded, letting the miles roll by. So much had happened in a short span of time. With Rock, she’d had the adventure she once craved, had it and found it wasn’t enough for her. She didn’t feel whole with her kids so far away. Her entire body ached from missing their hugs, their innocent slumber, their powder-fresh scents. How she longed to see them jumping in the warm bedding fresh from the dryer, to hear their shrieks of joy, to have them cuddle beside her at bedtime for story time.

  Rock seemed at home with adventure, but he valued family as much as she did. They could continue the adventure with family activities like boating picnics, camping, and seeing the country. It was the future tailor made for her. For them.

  “You know,” she began, “we figured out almost everything. The burglaries at my home and business, my kidnapping, Tarpley being alive. Heck, we even found the stolen treasure. But one thing still isn’t resolved.”

  “What’s that?”

  “The flowers. We never found out who sent them.”

  Rock’s hand jerked on the steering wheel, and the truck veered toward the shoulder. He made a course correction and shot her a wolfish grin. “Uh. About that. I have a confession.”

  Jeanie bit back a smile. “Do tell.”

  “I did it. Through my SEAL connections. I’d been in Mossy Bog a week and hadn’t come up with a way to meet you. I thought the flowers would be a nice touch. You know, win-win.”

  “How so?”

  “You got more business. I got to meet the woman of my dreams.” He raised her hand to his lips, kissed it. “When can we be married?”

  Tingles shot up her arm from their clasped fingers, clouding her thoughts momentarily. Marriage. Living with kids 24/7 was a huge commitment, especially for a bachelor. “You should try living with two little kids first. You have no idea what chaos you’re getting into.”

  “From the moment I saw you, I knew you were family. Convincing you took me a few days, though.”

  “Soon, then.” She glanced at his mother’s diamond ring. She’d pinched herself plenty of times since he’d put the ring on her finger. Rock understood about family. He would never abandon anyone.

  This time she’d found the right man. “Very soon. I need time to break the news to my mom and kids first.”

  “Whatever you say, love.”

  ****

  “Mom!” Nathaniel and Sable swarmed her as soon as she opened the van door. “We missed you.”

  “I missed you.” She knelt beside them, drew them close. They smelled right. They looked healthy. She couldn’t stop beaming. She hugged them again, drawing their sweet scent deeply into her lungs. She gave each child a sloppy kiss and a tickle. It had been six long days.

  Her mother cornered Rock on the other side of the van. “Details, young man,” her mother said, speaking loud enough for Jeanie to hear.

  “You’ll have to ask Jeanie, ma’am,” he said.

  “That’s no way to talk to your future mother-in-law,” mom said.

  “You know?”

  “I knew as soon as you dropped us off in St. Augustine. We Deals have an instinct about that sort of thing. Have you asked her yet?”

  “I did.”

  Amidst the kids whooping and hollering, Jeanie heard her mom’s squeal of joy. She straightened, Sable in her arms and Nathaniel attached to her leg, and hobbled around to join them.

  “We’re engaged,” she said, showing off her ring.

  “Congratulations,” Mom said, giving her a big hug. “About time you found someone who treasured you.”

  Nathaniel tugged on her jeans. “What’s engaged?”

  “It’s when you decide you want to get married.” Jeanie held her breath.

  Her son’s face scrunched up. “Dad’s coming home?”

  Her heart panged. Would the kids accept Rock? She knelt beside her son again. “Not your dad, though he will always be part of your life. Mr. Mackenzie wants to join our family. What do you think?”

  “Will the dogs be part of our family?”

  She nodded. “They will.”

  “Deal.” His face glowed with excitement. “I’ll have a mom, a grandmom, a sister, a dad, anuther dad, and two dog brothers. I’m the lu
ckiest kid on the planet.”

  Sable echoed her brother. “Wucky.”

  After Rock picked up Nathaniel and twirled him, Sable wanted her turn with Rock. Jeanie rejoiced at their acceptance. It wouldn’t all be smooth sailing, not when children were involved, but she’d make sure no one in her family lacked for love.

  Her mother pulled her aside. “Quite a rock on your finger. He loaded?”

  “Not exactly, but we received word the insurance settlement on his boat finally went through. The paperwork was sidelined in someone’s inbox.” She rolled her eyes. “Seems they suspected Rock of blowing up his own boat.”

  “What about those stolen coins?” Mom asked.

  “We found them and locked them up for safekeeping. Rock doesn’t know what he wants to do with them. He’s asked me if we could start an education fund for the kids, but I told him the coins were his and his alone.”

  “I’m sure he doesn’t see it that way. You have to read between the lines with men. He’s doing right by you. You’ve never had that before. And I was right, wasn’t I? Your adventure did you a world of good.”

  The coins had caused so much trouble and heartache, but they’d also brought her the peace she’d been seeking her whole life. A man who understood the value of family. A man who faced trouble head-on. A man who swept her off her feet with merely a glance.

  “What’s the smile for?” Rock approached, drew her into his arms, the kids buzzing about on the lawn.

  She stared into his warm gaze, thinking of the treasure trove of love stockpiled there. “Thinking about happily-ever-afters. They do exist.”

  He ruffled her pink hair, murmuring softly, “You got that right, sweetheart.”

  A word about the author...

  Formerly an aquatic toxicologist contracted to the U.S. Army and a freelance reporter, Southern author Maggie Toussaint loves blending romance and suspense. She’s published five romantic suspenses and six mysteries, with Gone and Done It, her most recent mystery release.

  Her debut release, House of Lies, won Best Romantic Suspense in the 2007 National Readers Choice Awards. Hot Water is an EPIC eBook Award Winner for Romantic Suspense. Two books, No Second Chance and Hot Water, have won cover art awards.