by Dave Daren
“I told you before that the police have a copy of your bank statements as well,” I told him as I dusted the dirt off my parka. “They’ll eventually come around with questions. You might as well confess to them before it happens.”
He nodded in agreement, but there was a deep frown on his face. I figured his gambling addiction, his guilt, and his fear of the police were all at war.
“There’s no jail time or fines for illegal gambling,” I told him in the hopes of making his decision easier.
His face softened as if the statement brought him comfort, but he was still lost in thought. Maybe he realized that the embezzlement might still land him in hot water and had probably moved him to the top of the suspect list. He looked back at me, and I could see him wondering if he should ask for my help.
But I couldn’t risk the conflict of interest, so I shrugged and walked toward my truck. Besides, his decision on what to confess to didn’t matter. Ansong and Jackson would pay him a visit eventually, and even if the mustached fisherman decided to keep his gambling a secret, Ansong would see right through him.
I slipped back into the truck and watched Ronan trudge back to his front door. I was debating what to do next when my phone rang. The number was one that had become very familiar over the last twenty-four hours.
“Give me some good news,” I said when I answered the phone.
“Well, you’re just in luck,” Cassandra replied.
“The jet ski had evidence on it?” I guessed as I started the engine.
“Nope,” she answered. “Unfortunately, the jet ski offered nothing. Vann’s phone is still locked, too.”
“Then what could you possibly have that’s good?” I asked.
“Forensics found traces of a drug in the wine glass that was left on the boat,” the paralegal explained. “They’re still trying to identify it, but they suspect it’s likely a sleeping drug since they’re so prevalent in this town.”
“This is perfect,” I gasped. “This confirms someone was on the boat before Morris, and they had their own plan in motion for murdering Vann. Vann wouldn’t have ever taken the drugs willingly, not while in charge of manning the boat.”
“Well…” Cassandra began.
“Well, what?” I asked.
“That’s not exactly how the police are framing it,” she answered. “They agree that this confirms a third person, but they think Mr. Morris and his accomplice planned for Vann to be drugged.”
“Of course, they do,” I groaned as I leaned my head onto the steering wheel. “It makes perfect sense. Someone waits below deck with Vann to drink with him. Morris shows up and draws Vann on deck. The accomplice adds the drug to Vann’s drink while he’s distracted.”
“Exactly,” my paralegal confirmed. “But don’t worry. I think they’re getting close to unlocking Vann’s phone. Surely something on that device will prove Mr. Morris’ innocence. What about Ronan? How’d that conversation go?”
I looked up through my window to see that he had disappeared into his house. The door was firmly shut again and the windows all covered with blackout curtains. In fact, no one was outside anywhere along the road. The neighborhood was quiet except for the wind that rattled the windows in the truck.
“I don’t think it’s Ronan,” I said. “He was indeed taking money from the crew, but Vann never confronted him about it, at least, not directly. Seems Vann liked to have people under his thumb, and he might have used Ronan’s embezzlement to convince him to destroy the net. Kept telling Ronan they were good friends and wouldn’t Ronan do anything for him. Anyway, Ronan instantly felt guilty and agreed to destroy the net.”
“You think Vann knew and guilt-tripped him into acting,” she said.
“It seems to be a theme with Vann,” I replied.
“Could Ronan have been on the boat?” she asked.
“He claims he was gambling online at home on the night of Vann’s murder,” I said.
“There’s no way to confirm that,” Cassandra argued. “Even if we check his computer, it could have been anyone sitting there.”
“I know,” I agreed. “But for now, he’s not at the top of the suspect list.”
“Who is?” she asked.
I sighed and tapped my scar as I ran through the list of possibilities.
“I’m not sure,” I answered. “If Vann was drugged so he’d be unconscious, then drowning him would have been a lot easier. Even if he had jolted awake, he would have been too disoriented and tired to fight back. Yura and Diana come to mind since they would have benefitted the most from drugging Vann in order to kill him. But really, anyone could have done it.”
“That’s true,” my paralegal agreed. “Is Mr. Marniq completely out of the question?”
“No, not at all,” I said. “He has the strength to drown a sober Vann, but to lighten the burden on his conscience, he might have drugged Vann and thrown him overboard. If Vann was heavily sedated, then it wouldn’t have been necessary to hold him underwater to drown him.”
“Sounds like we’re back to square one,” Cassandra sighed. “I guess I didn’t really deliver any good news.”
“No, it’s fine,” I reassured her. “Once the drug is identified, we might be able to pinpoint the killer. I do like the idea of heading back to square one, though.”
“Not sure what that means, but I’ll leave you to it,” she said. “Keep me posted.”
“Bye,” I said.
I put the car in reverse, pulled onto the street, and then stared ahead at the hospital. I realized a lot had occurred since I’d last spoken to Morris. I now knew a lot more about him than he ever intended to let on, and I knew more about the dynamic between him and Vann. I wanted to check in on him and see if he could offer any insights on the current state of the case.
It was time to pay him a visit.
Chapter 11
When I entered the hospital, I discovered a man sitting behind the counter. Because he had never seen me before, I walked toward the counter to introduce myself and get permission to see Morris, but the man waved me away and gestured toward the hallway that led to Morris’ room. He didn’t need to confirm my identity to let me do as I pleased, and that officially made me a local celebrity. Based on what the fishermen had said yesterday, I knew I wasn’t famous for a good reason.
I acknowledged the gesture with a nod and was on my way. I walked into Morris’ room and was surprised to find him alone given everything that had happened just in the last few hours. I had expected Ansong and Jackson to be in the room as well with questions about his bank statements, but maybe someone or something else had caught their attention. Was it Ronan? Had I just missed them by mere minutes? Or were they following up on a lead that even those at the station weren’t aware of, and therefore couldn’t be reported to me by Cassandra?
As much as I welcomed their absence right then, I was worried they were going to throw a wrench in this case with whatever they were doing. I wouldn’t have been so worried if there was a chance they would uncover evidence that proved Morris’ innocence, but with the way things were going, I didn’t believe that would ever happen. If anything, those two officers were more likely to find the real killer and offer a plea deal that involved testifying against Morris.
I shook my head at the thought as I entered the room and then tried to plaster a smile on my face for my client. I caught Morris’ look in my direction when he heard my footsteps, but I clearly wasn’t the person he’d been hoping to see.
He released a disappointed huff and then reached for the TV remote. He hesitated for a moment as if he were having an internal debate about what to do, and then he finally shut the TV off so he could give me his full attention. His skin was vibrant with color for a change, both from the blood coursing in his veins and the bruises that speckled his face and neck in an array of blues and purples. Blatant annoyance covered his face, and I wondered if my presence was the cause of his bad mood, or if it was because I wasn’t the person he’d been hoping to see.
In
fact, the last time we had spoken, I had snapped at him for lying to Ansong and Jackson and then lectured him on what I expected from clients. Was it possible he was still upset about that? If anyone had a right to be upset, it was me, and so I regarded his bad temperament with a confused arched eyebrow while I waited for him to enlighten me.
“What’s with the confused face?” he snapped as he glared at me.
I widened my eyes at the anger in his voice.
“You seem to be in a bad mood,” I said as I inched toward his bedside.
“What?” he snapped again, and he made an apologetic face. “Sorry, sorry. I’m not angry at you. I’m just annoyed I’m still cooped up in here. I thought I’d be released today since the twenty-four hour observation is over. All I have now are bruises and cuts, and I don’t need to be in the hospital for those to heal.”
“Why can’t you leave?” I asked.
“My doctor told me I can’t go fishing for a while,” he explained. “She wants me to take it easy and have Diana observe me. Well, like a goddamn fool, I told her Diana wasn’t going to be home for who knows how long because she was going fishing in my place. Unless I can convince Diana to not go on the trip, I’m stuck in this hospital until either she returns, or I’m confirmed to not have a concussion.”
“I see,” I said.
The captain huffed and slouched down in his bed as he folded his arms across his chest. Irritability was a symptom of a concussion, but since I hadn’t met Morris prior to his injury, I wasn’t sure if he was the type to be easily and visibly annoyed. That was something Diana would know, and her absence from her husband’s side continued to make her look suspicious in my eyes, especially now that there was evidence that suggested Vann had been drugged.
“Did Diana pay you a visit this morning?” I asked as I walked over to one of the chairs. “Or maybe even yesterday evening?”
“No,” Morris answered. “She hasn’t stopped by since I was first admitted, but we have spoken on the phone several times. We spoke just an hour ago after my doctor told me to stay in the hospital.”
“You were trying to convince her to stay in town,” I guessed as I took a seat.
“That’s right,” he said with a nod. “I thought she’d be happy to hear she didn’t need to go fishing since she was never a fan of it in the first place, but we argued instead. She told me it’d be impossible for Luke and Marleen to do the fishing all on their own. She said they needed her help.”
“I’ve met Diana,” I said. “And now I see why you don’t believe she could have murdered Vann. With that being said, I don’t see how she can help catch fish, either. Don’t you find her insistence on leaving town to go fishing odd?”
“It is odd,” he admitted, but his anger changed to sadness. “She’s running away.”
I sat up straight in response to his statement, and I felt my heart start to race. Dread filled me for a moment as I considered the possibility that Morris was about to admit to his wife being involved in Vann’s murder or even worse, they had conspired together to kill him. Why else would she suddenly run away?
I could picture the scene as Diana had drugged the deceased Captain during a prearranged meeting to discuss… what? Morris would have snuck on board before the boat left the dock, and once Diana gave the signal, Morris would have thrown him overboard. The story about falling unconscious was a complete fabrication in the hopes of making Morris appear innocent, and I had been hired to ensure he didn’t receive a guilty verdict.
The idea was outrageous, but I had encountered several crazy things in this town already. Morris himself was full of surprises, and he clearly had no qualms about committing a crime. It was very possible he had roped me into just such a horrendous situation, and I’d walked into it without doing an appropriate background check. All of that flashed through my mind in a single heartbeat while I waited for Morris to explain.
“She told me people have been treating her differently since the case began,” the captain continued. “People are calling her the wife of a murderer, and that kind of talk is getting to her. She’d rather face the dangers of fishing than stay here in town. I don’t blame her. If I could run from Officer Ansong’s cold stare, I would.”
I leaned back in my chair, covered my face with my hands, and breathed a huge sigh of relief. Of course, that made much more sense, and I should have recognized that at once. Maybe the constant sun was taking a bigger toll on my brain than I’d realized.
Once I‹d composed myself and dropped my hands into my lap, I found Morris giving me a quizzical look. I didn’t dare explain the thoughts that had raced through my head so I made do with a nod of understanding.
“Has Officer Ansong spoken to her?” I asked as I tried to fight back the relieved smile that threatened to overtake my face.
“Not that I’m aware of,” he answered. “Officer Ansong spoke to us together when I was first checked into the hospital, and even then most of the questions were directed at me.”
I rubbed the scar on my nose.
“Has either Officer Ansong or Officer Jackson been here since I last visited?” I asked.
“No, actually, they haven’t,” Morris said in realization. “And even if they had, I wouldn’t have said a word to them.”
“Good,” I said. “But the fact that they didn’t confront you about your bank statements worries me. Maybe they plan on doing that later today, but I think the most likely course of action is to ask Diana.”
“Well, they’d be wasting their time!” the captain yelled as his anger returned. “I told Diana not to say a word to them. Besides, why are they interested in my money anyway? What does that have to do with Vann?”
“For one thing, your bank statement shows how reliant you are on your income,” I explained. “All those purchases you make can only happen so long as you go fishing. So then what would happen if your ability to fish was tampered with? Say by destroying a new net? How far would you go to protect your livelihood?”
Morris balled his hands into fists, and he glared down at his blanket. He remained in that position for a while as he took several deep breaths, presumably to compose himself, and then he finally looked up. Whatever breathing exercises he might have been attempting didn’t work, though, because the rage was still visible on his face when he looked at me.
“Now I’m being judged for the way I spend my money?” he complained.
“As long as you’re a suspect, everything you do is going to be scrutinized,” I reminded him.
He scoffed at this and shook his head. “Well, how close are you to finding the real killer?” he asked with impatience.
I was starting to get annoyed by his moodiness, especially since he was the one who had come to me for help. More than anyone, I wanted to solve this case and prove his innocence, but it was hard to stay motivated when the man in question wasn’t satisfied with the effort being made. But then I realized he probably didn’t know what I had been up to since I last saw him, especially if no one had been by to talk to him.
The hospital acted as a void of sorts, where barely anyone roamed the halls, and the only employees I had met were nurses. Not a single doctor had shown his or her face while I’d been there, though to be fair, the only rooms I had visited in this entire building were the lobby and Morris’ room.
Clearly, there were doctors hidden somewhere in the building since Morris, at least, had talked to them. Still, I wondered if anyone had told Morris about the brawl that had taken place on the beach or the fact that the jet ski had been found. The only one I could picture doing that since Diana was missing in action was Marniq, but the other man apparently hadn’t been by.
“These things take time, Mr. Morris,” I told him with a slight edge in my voice. “I understand you’re frustrated, but let me remind you I’m not the one who put you in this situation.”
Left unsaid was the accusation that he alone was responsible for the mess he was in, but I could see from his widened eyes that the message had be
en delivered nonetheless. I watched him open his mouth to say something and then closed it as he thought. The anger drained from his face, but I suspected it would flare up again if the right topic were to be presented.
“I understand, Mr. Brooks,” he finally said. “I should have climbed onto my boat and driven off when I saw Harrison was dead. Then I wouldn’t be in this mess.”
“Not necessarily,” I said. “Your handprints were on the deck and walls. Unless you took the time to wipe everything down, the police would have eventually come after you. I am curious, though. Why didn’t you leave?”
“I just… wasn’t thinking,” he sighed with a shrug. “I saw Harrison’s body being pushed toward the boat by the waves, and my first thought was to make sure he was okay. The fact that he was floating should have been a sign that he wasn’t alright, but I was in shock. Everything I did after I found out he was dead was an action not based on reason. I couldn’t believe Harrison was dead, and though I knew I had nothing to do with his death, I couldn’t figure out how he’d died. It never once occurred to me to get on my boat and run away. What did I need to run away from? It also never occurred to me to drive his boat back to town rather than wait for the police to arrive. I had it in my mind that I was stuck there with the body. We were anchored.”
Morris covered his face with his hands and sighed, which made it harder for me to read him. It was tempting to reach over and pull his hands down, but he continued speaking before I could come up with a reasonable way to do it.
“Let me try again,” he said in a hoarse voice. “What have you learned since we last spoke? How close do you think you are to finding the real killer?”
After a moment of thought, I got up from my seat, walked to his bedside, and patted him on the shoulder. I felt the shudder that ran through his body, and then he finally lowered his hands. I was met with somber eyes as he looked up at me, but there was still a suppressed rage as well. I imagined he felt terrible about Harrison’s death, but there was also a level of outrage in knowing that the other man’s death had caused so much turmoil in Morris’ own life. Grief was a tumultuous emotion, especially for someone with so little self-control.
