by Dave Daren
“Diana,” I said, and she froze just as her hand went into her pocket. “I understand that I’m representing your husband, but I still want to advise you in this situation. You’re not required to show the police your phone unless they have a court order.”
Waska nodded with pride at what he thought was a selfless act, and I almost felt a little bad for deceiving him. Ansong, on the other hand, stared at me, and although I couldn’t read any expression on her face, I was nearly certain she was trying to figure out what angle I was playing with helping the wife.
“Thank you, Mr. Brooks,” Diana said with a smile. “I appreciate your advice, but I have nothing to hide.”
Like I expected, she retrieved her smartphone from her pocket, unlocked the device, and then handed it to Ansong. We all watched in silence as Ansong’s intense eyes roamed the phone’s screen. The fingers of the middle-aged officer tapped and glided across the touchscreen for what felt like a long time until she finally handed the phone back to its owner. The three of us knew we weren’t going to find anything since it didn’t make sense for Diana to offer up a device full of incriminating evidence.
“Do you own another electronic device?” Ansong asked, although we all knew the question was pointless.
If Diana had used a burner phone to get in contact with Vann, it was long gone by now. If she was smart, and she certainly was proving to be, then she would have thrown the phone away in a dumpster the night of his murder or had chucked it into the ocean.
“Just the computer at the house,” Diana said with a shrug. “I’m not very tech savvy, I’m afraid.”
“You never had any contact with Vann at all two years ago, then?” Ansong asked.
“No, I did,” Diana admitted as she grimaced from her migraine. “He approached me while I was in the middle of buying supplies for the next fishing trip. We had a little chat, and he invited me to lunch. I thought it was a bit odd since he was Morris’ rival, but I figured either he didn’t see me as part of the crew, or he wanted to bury the hatchet and thought he could start peace talks through me. When he started flirting, that’s when I realized what was going on, and I told him I was married. My marriage with Austin isn’t perfect, but it’s not to the point where I would cheat on him.”
“I’m happy to hear that,” Waska announced with a grin, and I pretended to express the same relief.
Ansong glared at both of us, and this prompted Waska to stare at the ground. The older woman returned her attention to Diana once Waska was properly chastised, and she stared down the pale wife as she waited for the other woman to wilt. Diana held the gaze for a moment before ultimately looking away and increasing the force of the massage on her head.
“Answer me this, Diana,” the middle-aged officer began. “If nothing happened between you and Vann, then why did he tell Yura something did?”
“I don’t know,” the fragile woman mumbled with a shrug of her shoulders, and then her eyes glazed over.
“Are you okay?” I asked, though I believed her sickly demeanor was an act.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” she answered with a weak smile. “I have a migraine, but when do I not?”
She chuckled at this, and Waska did as well out of politeness.
“It’ll pass,” Diana continued and turned her attention back to Ansong. “Maybe Yura lied? Or she guessed. She probably knew he was cheating on her and figured I was the one, though I’m not sure why she would set her sights on me. We’ve rarely spoken to each other.”
“According to her, Vann started a relationship with you to get information on Morris’ fishing habits,” Ansong explained.
“Oh,” Diana gasped with wide eyes. “I understand what’s going on now. This is about what happened in the Arctic Ocean, isn’t it? Since Harrison knew, she figured I was the one who told him, right?”
I pressed my lips into a thin line to keep myself from yelling at her to shut up about the damn fishing spots. I cleared my throat instead, and this drew her attention. We made eye contact, and I shook my head slightly at her, though I wondered if she would listen. Revealing the real reason Morris had sought out Vann that night would be the final nail in the coffin for this case, and I knew that was exactly what Diana wanted. I shook my head again in the hopes that she trusted me enough to believe I had both her and her husband’s best interests at heart.
“What Arctic Ocean thing?” Ansong asked as she began to follow Diana’s gaze.
“It’s a stupid joke I make,” the pale woman quickly answered as she returned her gaze back to Ansong. “I always tell Morris and his crew that they can make more money fishing in the Arctic Ocean if they’re willing to risk it. I think I told Harrison that during our friendly chat, and he must have said it to Yura.”
“Oh, really?” Ansong said with a skeptical arch of her eyebrows. “And that convinced Yura into thinking Vann was having an affair with you?”
“Maybe,” Diana chuckled, but her face turned serious in response to Ansong’s intense gaze. “What I really think is that Harrison lied. If he planned to form a relationship with me and then failed to do that, he might have lied to her to protect his pride. He was a rumored Cassanova, remember?”
Ansong leaned back in her chair and folded her arms across her chest. She wasn’t looking at Diana anymore, but more like past her, as though the older woman were in thought.
The officer had to know this was all bullshit, and if not bullshit, then at least very suspicious. The gears turned in her head, and I tried to guess what she was thinking. Diana’s confession to having an affair would have secured the case for Ansong since that gave Morris multiple motives for murder. Diana’s denial didn’t change anything in regard to Morris’ innocence, though, and so the officer shrugged her shoulders at last.
“That’s all I have to discuss with you,” the middle-aged officer announced as she got up from the table.
“What happens now?” Diana asked.
“What do you mean?” the older officer responded.
“Well, I mean, does this help Austin?” the pale woman persisted as she moved her fingers to rub her forehead. “Does this change anything for him? You said there were text messages that confirmed someone else was on the boat with Harrison. Are you going to look for that person now and leave my husband alone?”
“I wish it worked like that,” Waska sighed. “We know there was a lady friend with Harrison that night, but there’s nothing that suggests she killed him. Until we locate her, we’re still going to be bothering Austin. Sorry.”
Ansong said nothing to contradict this and instead turned away to head toward the ladder. Her face revealed nothing, but I refused to believe she didn’t think Diana was Vann’s ‘lady friend.’ The middle-aged officer climbed up to the deck.
“Enjoy your fishing trip,” Waska said as he started to head toward the ladder.
“I don’t think it’s going to happen,” Diana mumbled as she grimaced, and this stopped Waska in his tracks. “I feel too sick.”
“Yeah, I noticed,” the young officer replied with a sheepish smile.
“Maybe you guys should turn the boat around and head back to Utqiagvik,” I suggested as I offered a sympathetic smile. “I think you need to rest at home.”
“Yeah, you’re probably right,” Diana agreed. “I don’t know what I was thinking trying to make this trip happen. Austin’s going to be so disappointed in me. Marlene, too.”
“I think they’d both be even more upset if you forced yourself to go through with this trip while sick,” I said.
She nodded at this and slowly got up from the table. Waska and I let her pass between us and climb out of the cabin.
“See?” Waska said once she was gone. “I knew she couldn’t have done it, but now we don't know who was on the boat with Harrison.”
“Yeah,” was all I said in response.
I didn’t have the time or patience to explain to him how naïve it was to believe everything coming out of someone’s mouth, and as I climbed up the la
dder behind him, I hoped Ansong was willing to do the job for me. Once I was back on the top deck, I found Diana and Tash standing on the far side of the bow while engaged in a conversation. I couldn’t see Diana’s face since she had her back to me, but I could see that Tash was both annoyed and concerned at whatever it was Diana was telling her.
“Come on, man,” Waska called to me as he headed to the stern.
I followed him around the corner a moment later and found Waska standing on the stern with Ansong while the pair talked with Marniq.
“You guys are done talking to Diana?” the fisherman asked.
“Yeah, and she’s not feeling well,” Waska answered. “She’s telling Marlene right now that she wants to head back. We’re leaving, too.”
“Actually,” I cut in as I looked at Marniq. “If it’s alright with you, I’d like to stay on the boat and head back with you guys. I think I’ve had my fill of listening to the engine of a motorboat at full speed.”
“You’re more than welcome to,” Marniq said with a smile, but Ansong arched an eyebrow at me.
“Travel safely,” the middle-aged officer told the fisherman.
“Will do,” Marniq responded as he backed away to head toward the bow. “And you guys be careful as well.”
As soon as the man was out of sight, Ansong turned her attention to me.
“What are you planning?” she asked as she folded her arms across her chest, and Waska nervously glanced between her and me.
“Nothing,” I reassured her. “Not yet anyway.”
I tapped my chin.
“So what do you think?” I asked. “Was she telling the truth?”
“Oh, absolutely not,” Ansong said with a harsh chuckle, and Waska’s eyes nearly fell out of his head from the reaction.
“Wait, what?” he nearly yelled. “What do you mean? Both of you? Both of you didn’t believe her?”
“Of course not,” Ansong snapped. “The problem is, I can’t figure out if she’s lying because she wants to protect her husband, is afraid of her husband, or because she’s the one who actually killed Vann.”
She narrowed her eyes at me, and it was clear she wanted to hear what I had to say on the subject.
“I already know what you think,” she said. “What was that about the Arctic Ocean?”
I sighed.
“I’ll tell you when this case is over,” I promised. “What are your next steps?”
She glared at me, and I figured she wasn’t going to answer the question. She had no reason to since we weren’t allies, and I wasn’t in law enforcement, but she sighed suddenly.
“I’m going to get a warrant to search Austin’s house,” she finally answered. “I doubt the phone she used to keep in touch with Vann is there, but I have a hard time believing she would easily part with the necklace he got her.”
“That’s a good point,” I said as I nodded.
“The problem, however, is that it’s going to take time to get a search warrant,” Ansong continued. “The afternoon is coming to an end, and that means I’ll probably get the warrant tomorrow. After today’s interrogation, I’m confident she’ll either discard the gift as soon as she gets home or hide it somewhere else. It would be nice if someone could invite themselves into her house before then and locate the gift.”
She held my gaze for a moment, and before I could respond to this heavy-handed suggestion, she turned away and climbed down into her anchored motorboat. She ignored Waska’s amazed expression as she beckoned for him to follow along. The young officer turned his astonished gaze to me, patted me on the shoulder that was injured, and then descended into the motorboat.
I grimaced as I reached up to touch my shoulder. The medication had finally worn off, and now that the adrenaline of the day was also waning, I could feel my stomach growling at me. I ignored my hunger as I watched Ansong free her boat from the trawler and then speed off in the opposite direction. I realized then that the trawler was also slowly turning back toward shore and the docks that lined the beach.
I watched until the speedboat was little more than a dot on the horizon, and then I returned to the bow where I found Marniq and Diana. I looked back at the wheelhouse, and through the windows, I could see Tash. She made eye contact with me and winked before turning her attention back to the helm in front of her. I smirked and turned my gaze back to Marniq and Diana.
“Is the fresh air helping?” I asked as I approached the two.
They turned to look at me, and Diana smiled.
“A little,” she answered. “I still feel terrible, though.”
“It might be calories,” Marniq suggested. “You’ve probably burned more calories than usual today since Marleen made you do all that physical labor. We have a couple of hours before we get back. I can make us something to eat with the groceries I got. It’s not like we’re going to need the food now anyway.”
I nodded in agreement with this plan, less so because I thought he was right about the source of Diana’s migraine and more so because I wanted to address my own growling stomach. Fortunately, my encouragement was all Marniq needed to head toward the hatch. I watched him descend down the ladder, and I assumed Diana would follow after him, but instead, I found her staring at me when I turned around.
“I’m sorry about earlier,” she apologized. “I almost told them about the Arctic Ocean. I had no idea they still didn’t know. I thought someone, either Yura or even Luke, would have told them by now.”
“No, it’s okay,” I lied. “I’m surprised the secret has been kept safe for this long, too. Turns out Harrison never told his crew about it. The secret died with him.”
“Hmm,” she responded as she nodded and then moved toward the wheelhouse rather than toward the hatch.
“I’m going to keep Marlene company,” she said in response to my confused expression. “I don’t want her to get bored. Besides, that cabin is so small. I’d just be in the way while he’s cooking.”
She turned away, and I watched her go before I climbed down the hatch. In a couple of hours, we would be back in Utqiagvik, and in addition to filling my stomach during that time, I needed to come up with a reason to get myself inside the Morris house.
Chapter 15
From the bow, Diana and I watched Marniq anchor the Arctic Wizard to the dock. With the sun high in the sky and the surrounding area devoid of any human life, it felt like no time had passed since I had last been in the area earlier that day. My hunger, one of the few signs of time passing, had been addressed, and the exhaustion I should have felt from riding in a speedboat all day was strangely absent. If anything, I felt energized, and I blamed the sudden rejuvenation on the meal I had enjoyed. Even my shoulder had stopped bothering me.
“We’re back, and nothing has changed,” Tash said as she emerged from the wheelhouse. “Sometimes I think I’m stuck in a time loop.”
“Yeah, I can understand that,” Marniq agreed as he moved closer to her side.
The two crew members exchanged a quick glance, and then as one, they turned to look at the two outsiders, me and Diana.
“I’m sorry for wasting your time,” the pale woman said to the duo with an embarrassed smile. “I really thought I could do it.”
“I didn’t,” Tash said and brought an arm around the fragile woman’s shoulders. “But that’s okay. I enjoyed our hours on the water. Would have been nice to enjoy some actual nightfall on the Pacific Ocean, though. Do you need a ride home?”
“I can drive her home,” I offered politely before Diana had a chance to answer.
I never imagined the opportunity to invite myself into the Morris house would present itself so easily. I knew someone would need to take Diana home, but I wasn’t sure how I could make the offer without appearing too eager.
Tash looked at me with an arched eyebrow, but Marniq didn’t seem to care. Diana, for her part, looked torn, and she looked back and forth between me and Tash.
“I figure you guys probably need to clean the ship up before
you head home,” I explained. “And I’ve got some other stops to make around town, so it’s no big deal.”
“Thank you, Mr. Brooks,” Diana said with a smile. “That would be fine.”
Tash didn’t look too happy about the offer, and I wondered if she had hoped Marniq would offer to drive Diana home instead. That way I could stick around to ‘help’ clean up. But she squeezed Diana’s shoulders before she removed her arm, and she even managed to flash a pleasant smile at the smaller woman.
“Are you parked nearby?” the fisherwoman asked as if she was worried about how far Diana would have to walk.
“Yeah, I’m….” I trailed off as I remembered I had left my truck in front of the police station. “Actually, I’m parked by the police station, but that’s not a far walk, only a couple of minutes.”
“Yeah, well, Luke is parked right across the street, so he can take Diana home,” Tash said with a smile as she looked over at Marniq.
The burly fisherman shook his head and crossed his arms. He clearly didn’t like the suggestion any better than I did.
“No,” he said. “Last time I checked, we worked for Austin, not Mrs. Brooks. Why in the world would you even suggest a lawyer help clean the boat? Besides, he’s right. The police station isn’t that far.”
Tash opened her mouth to protest, but Marniq hooked an arm around her shoulders and dragged her toward the back of the boat. The fisherwoman looked back to arch her eyebrows at me as a way to suggest that I say or do something, but I only smirked as she was led away. I heard her groan, and then Marniq leaned in to whisper something in her ear.
“Well, I guess we should be on our way,” Diana said.
“Right,” I agreed as I turned back to my suspect.
I helped her off the boat and onto the dock, and I saw her rub her wrist again as we started along the planks. When we reached the shore, I debated which route to take, and I turned to look at Diana.
“Let’s walk along the beach,” she suggested. “It makes me nervous when I have to walk in the middle of the road.”
I nodded in agreement, and we set off across the sand. The pale woman trailed behind me at first, and I had to make an effort to slow my pace to walk by her side. This gesture made her offer an embarrassed smile at me, and then she tilted her head forward so that her bangs did a better job of hiding her face.
