Dead Reckoning
Lantern Beach Mayday, Book 2
Christy Barritt
Contents
Complete Book List
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Coming Next: Tipping Point
Also by Christy Barritt:
Other Books in the Lantern Beach Series:
About the Author
Complete Book List
Squeaky Clean Mysteries:
#1 Hazardous Duty
#2 Suspicious Minds
#2.5 It Came Upon a Midnight Crime (novella)
#3 Organized Grime
#4 Dirty Deeds
#5 The Scum of All Fears
#6 To Love, Honor and Perish
#7 Mucky Streak
#8 Foul Play
#9 Broom & Gloom
#10 Dust and Obey
#11 Thrill Squeaker
#11.5 Swept Away (novella)
#12 Cunning Attractions
#13 Cold Case: Clean Getaway
#14 Cold Case: Clean Sweep
#15 Cold Case: Clean Break
#16 Cleans to an End
While You Were Sweeping, A Riley Thomas Spinoff
The Sierra Files:
#1 Pounced
#2 Hunted
#3 Pranced
#4 Rattled
The Gabby St. Claire Diaries (a Tween Mystery series):
The Curtain Call Caper
The Disappearing Dog Dilemma
The Bungled Bike Burglaries
The Worst Detective Ever
#1 Ready to Fumble
#2 Reign of Error
#3 Safety in Blunders
#4 Join the Flub
#5 Blooper Freak
#6 Flaw Abiding Citizen
#7 Gaffe Out Loud
#8 Joke and Dagger
#9 Wreck the Halls
#10 Glitch and Famous
Raven Remington
Relentless 1
Relentless 2 (coming soon)
Holly Anna Paladin Mysteries:
#1 Random Acts of Murder
#2 Random Acts of Deceit
#2.5 Random Acts of Scrooge
#3 Random Acts of Malice
#4 Random Acts of Greed
#5 Random Acts of Fraud
#6 Random Acts of Outrage
#7 Random Acts of Iniquity
Lantern Beach Mysteries
#1 Hidden Currents
#2 Flood Watch
#3 Storm Surge
#4 Dangerous Waters
#5 Perilous Riptide
#6 Deadly Undertow
Lantern Beach Romantic Suspense
Tides of Deception
Shadow of Intrigue
Storm of Doubt
Winds of Danger
Rains of Remorse
Torrents of Fear
Lantern Beach P.D.
On the Lookout
Attempt to Locate
First Degree Murder
Dead on Arrival
Plan of Action
Lantern Beach Escape
Afterglow (a novelette)
Lantern Beach Blackout
Dark Water
Safe Harbor
Ripple Effect
Rising Tide
Lantern Beach Guardians
Hide and Seek
Shock and Awe
Safe and Sound
Lantern Beach Blackout: The New Recruits
Rocco
Axel
Beckett
Gabe
Lantern Beach Mayday
Run Aground
Dead Reckoning
Tipping Point
Crime á la Mode
Deadman’s Float
Milkshake Up
Bomb Pop Threat
Banana Split Personalities
The Sidekick’s Survival Guide
The Art of Eavesdropping
The Perks of Meddling
The Exercise of Interfering
The Practice of Prying
The Skill of Snooping
The Craft of Being Covert
Saltwater Cowboys
Saltwater Cowboy
Breakwater Protector
Cape Corral Keeper
Seagrass Secrets
Driftwood Danger
Beach House Mysteries
The Cottage on Ghost Lane
Carolina Moon Series
Home Before Dark
Gone By Dark
Wait Until Dark
Light the Dark
Taken By Dark
Suburban Sleuth Mysteries:
Death of the Couch Potato’s Wife
Fog Lake Suspense:
Edge of Peril
Margin of Error
Brink of Danger
Line of Duty
Cape Thomas Series:
Dubiosity
Disillusioned
Distorted
Standalone Romantic Mystery:
The Good Girl
Suspense:
Imperfect
The Wrecking
Sweet Christmas Novella:
Home to Chestnut Grove
Standalone Romantic-Suspense:
Keeping Guard
The Last Target
Race Against Time
Ricochet
Key Witness
Lifeline
High-Stakes Holiday Reunion
Desperate Measures
Hidden Agenda
Mountain Hideaway
Dark Harbor
Shadow of Suspicion
The Baby Assignment
The Cradle Conspiracy
Trained to Defend
Mountain Survival
Nonfiction:
Characters in the Kitchen
Changed: True Stories of Finding God through Christian Music (out of print)
The Novel in Me: The Beginner’s Guide to Writing and Publishing a Novel (out of print)
Chapter One
“Are you sure you’ll be okay out here by yourself for a few minutes?”
Kenzie Anderson smiled up at Jimmy James Gamble as he hovered in front of her, a worried look in his eyes. “I’ll be fine. I like it out here on the marina at night. It’s . . . it’s peaceful.”
Jimmy James glanced at the harbor behind him and shrugged as if skeptical. “I guess.”
His gaze wandered back to hers then at the harbor again. He surveyed everything another moment.
Kenzie knew why.
He was looking for any signs of trouble.
She loved the protective side of him. He made her fe
el so safe, so important. There were very few people in her life that she could honestly say would put themselves in harm’s way for her.
Jimmy James was one of them.
“Just give me a minute,” he finally muttered as he turned back to her. “I need to check the fishing charter schedule for tomorrow and then I’ll be right out.”
Kenzie nodded, finding his serious tone adorable. “Take as much time as you need. I’m just going to enjoy the fresh air out here.”
Fresh air that included the scent of fish and salty seawater. It might sound weird to some, but she loved it. Her uncle had once told her she had saltwater for blood.
She leaned back against the outside wall of the marina office. A dim light hummed overhead, insects buzzing in its glow.
Two days had passed since Kenzie and the rest of the crew of Almost Paradise had returned from their first luxury charter. If everything remained on schedule, they’d leave again in two days for another trip.
After the boat had been unwittingly snared in a web of crime, the superyacht had finally been cleared. The boat’s owner, a man named Bill Robertson, was firming up all the details for their next charter—including finding a new captain to replace Jimmy James, who’d filled in after the former captain was killed.
In the meantime, Kenzie planned on enjoying the little North Carolina island of Lantern Beach for a while longer.
She let out a sigh and stared at the boats in the distance. They were all so lovely as they bobbed in the water.
Some were fishing boats with towers perched high at the center so fishermen wanting the big catch could see below into the water. Others were sailboats with towering masts that created a striking skyline.
Then there was Almost Paradise with its imposing presence in the small harbor. A one hundred twenty-foot yacht tended to do that. Kenzie still thought it was weird that this was the boat’s home port, but the more she heard about Mr. Robertson, the more she realized how quirky the man was. According to Jimmy James, the entrepreneur was also a fierce businessman.
Movement in the distance caught Kenzie’s eye, and she stared at a smaller yacht docked at the end of the harbor. With only the moonlight to illuminate the night, it was hard to see.
She thought she saw two shadows onboard. As she squinted, trying to get a better look, an argument drifted with the breeze.
“I don’t care what you say,” a distinctly female voice said. “I’m done.”
“You’re not done until I say you’re done!”
Kenzie bristled at the anger in the man’s voice. The water caused their words to echo across the harbor, almost acting as an amplifier.
The woman said something indiscernible back to him.
As Kenzie’s gaze focused, the two figures came into clearer view. They stood on the top deck of the yacht, their figures mere silhouettes in the moonlight.
Her heart thumped into her chest as she watched them. What was going on? A lover’s quarrel? A business disagreement? A family argument?
She glanced toward the marina office’s front door, wondering how much longer it would be until Jimmy James emerged. She suddenly felt like she was intruding on a private moment.
The next instant, a cry of pain drifted through the air.
Kenzie squinted. The man gripped the woman’s neck.
He was choking her!
The next instant, the woman’s body went limp.
The man pushed her away, and the woman fell backward.
Over the railing.
Airborne and limp.
Until she plunged into the water.
“No!” A scream left Kenzie’s lips before she realized what was happening.
At the sound, the man glanced toward her.
Kenzie’s breath caught.
He’d seen her, hadn’t he? Had the dim light above her made her recognizable? Even at such a distance?
She didn’t know.
But she needed to get Jimmy James.
Now.
She threw open the squeaky screen door and darted inside the office.
The door slammed shut behind her, adding more noise—and drawing more attention—to her.
Jimmy James must have heard her scream because he met her by the door. He grasped her arms as he stared down at her.
“What’s wrong?” Urgency filled his actions and his words.
“I . . .” She licked her lips, unsure if she could find her voice.
“You what? Are you okay?”
She nodded, still feeling dazed. Finally, she forced the words out. “I just saw . . . I just saw . . . a murder.”
Alarm raced through Jimmy James.
“A murder?” he repeated, just to make sure he’d heard correctly.
Based on Kenzie’s pale face, she was dead serious. There was no misunderstanding.
“This man . . .” She gulped in a deep breath between her words and ran a hand over her face. “He . . . he strangled this woman . . . and pushed her overboard.”
“Where?”
She pointed to a boat in the distance. “Over there.”
His spine straightened as he glanced in the direction she indicated.
He locked his gaze with Kenzie, knowing he had no time to waste. “Stay here. Lock the door behind me and call Chief Chambers.”
He waited until Kenzie nodded before darting out the door. If a woman had fallen into the water, she would need help. Every second counted.
He darted in the direction Kenzie had pointed, expecting to hear splashing. Yelling. Commotion.
Something.
But silence stretched around him like the calm before a storm.
Maybe the woman was dead. Kenzie said the woman had been strangled.
Still, this felt too surreal. He needed to examine every angle.
He reached the wooden walkway bordering the water and paused.
It almost seemed like no one was out here. But that couldn’t be true. Not based on what Kenzie had seen.
If a woman had gone into the water . . . that meant her killer had to be close by.
His muscles bristled as he glanced around again.
Was someone watching him?
He wasn’t sure. But he couldn’t just stand here.
Instead, he paced the dock, looking for signs that something had happened.
But this harbor felt like a ghost town.
Not like the scene of a crime.
However, if what Kenzie said was accurate and someone had been strangled and pushed into the water, Jimmy James needed to find her and help her.
Unless it was too late.
He rushed back to the marina office.
If he was going to find the woman in time, he was going to need Kenzie’s help. Otherwise, this felt like a wild goose chase.
Chapter Two
“Tell me again exactly what you saw.” Police Chief Cassidy Chambers stood in front of Kenzie and Jimmy James at the harbor, not far from the boat Kenzie had seen the woman pushed from.
The darkness continued to deepen around them, only offset by the glow of the headlights from the chief’s SUV and the beam of two flashlights carried by her officers as they searched the area.
Kenzie shivered and repeated her story . . . again.
As she finished, she rubbed her temples, feeling the start of a headache coming on.
What a nightmare.
She thought things would get back to normal after the chaos of her first charter. But that clearly wasn’t true. There was still more turmoil in her future.
Chief Chambers turned her gaze on Jimmy James. “By the time you got out here, you didn’t see anything? There were no signs of this woman?”
Jimmy James shook his head, a grim expression on his face. “Unfortunately, no. It was probably less than five minutes from the time I heard Kenzie scream until I reached the water by the yacht. But there were no signs of movement anywhere.”
“The man who did this obviously ran and hid.” It was the only thing that made sense to Kenzie.
Actually, none of this made sense.
The woman’s body should be floating in the water. The man should have run to evade capture. There should be some kind of evidence somewhere.
But there was none.
Chief Chambers lowered her notepad and focused her gaze on Kenzie. Her tone was soft as she said, “I’m not saying I don’t believe you, Kenzie. I’m just trying to collect all the facts. My officers are searching the docks for any evidence.”
“Can’t you search that man’s boat? Maybe there’s evidence there.” Kenzie nodded at the yacht where the incident had occurred. The boat’s name was Seas the Day, and, if she had to guess, it was probably fifty-five feet, with a sleek design.
“We’re waiting for our search warrant first,” the chief explained. “Sometimes, these things take time. But we’re working on it.”
Kenzie nodded, although she didn’t feel certain about anything. She knew what she’d seen. That man had strangled the woman and then pushed her from the top deck of the boat.
Every time Kenzie closed her eyes, the images replayed there.
Jimmy James put his arm around her shoulders, pulled her close, and murmured, “It’s going to be okay.”
She nodded, unable to shake the shock still coursing through her. Shock mixed with anger at what the man had done, what he might get away with. The combination of emotions felt toxic.
Chief Chambers turned to Jimmy James. “Do you have a list in the office of who’s renting this boat slip?” She nodded toward Seas the Day.
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