Madison Westin 02-Deception in Paradise

by Deborah Brown

  CHAPTER 34

  I loved eating out, especially in new restaurants, but not tonight. Fab had arranged a meeting for us with Zach. The Grotto was the newest seafood restaurant in town and was like walking into a giant aquarium with its floor-to-ceiling views of colorful tropical fish. A sign said there were over one hundred species from the all over the globe. I wondered if the fish knew some of their friends hadn’t made it into the giant fish tank, but were dinner instead.

  Fab and Zach sat at a table facing the entrance, along with Slice.

  “I’ll have a margarita, rocks,” I told the waiter as I sat down. Fab and Slice looked uncomfortable, and Zach seemed irritated.

  “Imagine my surprise when Fab called and asked to meet for dinner,” Zach said.

  “Hi, Slice. Thanks for your help with Liam.” I leaned over and kissed his cheek.

  “I’m here for backup.” Slice had a completely different personality off the job, easygoing and always in a good mood. There was no mistaking that underneath the charm, he was lethal, much like his partner.

  “Me, too,” I confided. “Fab, since we didn’t flip, you go first.” The waiter set my drink in front of me, and I had to stop myself from gulping it down.

  “Okay, here’s the deal,” Fab started. “I’ve been asking a few discreet questions regarding Pavel and have uncovered some information.” Fab had finished her drink and her fingers wrapped tightly around the stem of her glass, a bad sign.

  Zach glared at Fab. “Nobody talks to you. It must have been her.” He pointed at me.

  “You’re right, it was me.” I narrowed my eyes at Zach. “I asked Joseph to find out what he could about Pavel. Fab and I have information, and it’s more than the two of us can handle.”

  “I knew you wouldn’t stay out of it and let me do my job,” Zach growled.

  “Didn’t you tell me case closed? You came up empty-handed. Unless you lied to me.”

  His dark blue eyes turned to slits. “What did you find out?”

  I related everything Joseph had discovered, and that he had put me in touch with one of Pavel’s co-workers, who had since left town. I made it sound like Tomas had told me about the things Fab and I had seen on the docks.

  “No one in this town is going to make a move against Sid Byce based on the word of a disgruntled co-worker who’s left town,” Zach said.

  “Lower your voices,” Slice said. “The whole restaurant doesn’t need to hear you accusing Byce of murder.”

  Fab patted me on the shoulder.

  “When did you get so touchy-feely?” Zach asked Fab.

  I interrupted before Fab kicked him out of his chair. “Zach, it’s okay with you that drugs come into The Cove via our docks?”

  “That’s not what I said. I know Sid Byce, and frankly, I don’t believe any of this. He would never allow drug trafficking out of his warehouse.”

  “I’m not a liar. I didn’t make this up.”

  “You may not be a chronic liar, but you only tell the truth when it suits you and only what you think I want to hear, which you’ve been doing a lot of lately.”

  “Takes one to know one.”

  Fab and Slice laughed.

  Zach looked at me as if he wanted to strangle me. “That was childish.”

  “You only tell me what you want me to know, which is nothing,” I said. “It’s always in my best interest. Didn’t you tell me I was stupid? Madison needs a keeper if she leaves the house?”

  Zach leaned forward. “That’s right.”

  There was complete silence at the table for a full minute.

  “Let’s get back on track,” Slice suggested.

  “For you to believe me, you’d need to catch Byce with a suitcase full of drugs in one hand and a briefcase full of cash in the other,” I said.

  “We can get that kind of proof,” Fab spoke up.

  “You two keep up your snooping, and you’ll both end up a missing person’s case that never gets solved,” Zach hissed.

  “Why are you involved in this, anyway?” Slice asked me. “You’ve no part in any of this case, or am I wrong?”

  “Wouldn’t you want your murder solved? The real killer on trial?” I asked. “But hey, I guess if Byce murdered someone and deals drugs, it’s okay with everyone in this town. Who am I to speak up?”

  Zach looked at me with disgust. “Sid Byce didn’t kill anyone. You’re delusional, and I’d stake my reputation on it. That’s how well I know him. And another thing, if Tomas really saw drugs being unloaded, that doesn’t equal murder.”

  “Drug dealers want to move their product in peace,” Slice said. “The main goal is to stay under the radar of the cops. What you’re suggesting is pretty brazen.”

  “If this is where I apologize for getting involved, don’t hold your breath,” I said. “If you’re half the investigator you advertise, Zach, even you can see this makes more sense than no-motive Jax killing Pavel.”

  “It all comes back to the husband.” Zach smirked. “Isn’t that sweet?”

  “Ex,” I said loudly. “What’s with you? You’re like Byce: blame anyone you want.”

  “Keep it down, you two. People are staring,” Slice reminded.

  “If it makes you feel better, I heard the same drug rumors. I spoke to Kevin, and detectives were assigned and are conducting an investigation,” Zach said.

  “Why not just say from the beginning that there’s an open investigation?” I asked.

  Zach shrugged. “I needed to find out what you knew.”

  “All I ever asked was for you to be straight with me, keep me in the loop,” I said. “You created this situation with your inability to be truthful.”

  “Yeah, okay, blame me,” Zach said. “I was up-front when I told you to stay out of it. This situation is being handled by professionals, which you are not.”

  “You’re a bigger bastard than ever,” Fab said.

  “When did you speak to Kevin?” I asked. I found it hard to believe that Fab and Zach occasionally worked together on cases in the past.

  Zach shot Fab a dirty look. “I forget the exact date.”

  “Was it before you came to my house, looked me in the face, and said you knew squat?” I asked.

  “What matters here,” Slice intervened, “is that there’s an active investigation going on now. No one else needs to get hurt or worse. Can you two agree to let the police handle this and stay out of their way?”

  Frustrated, I counted to five so I wouldn’t yell. “With Sid Byce’s connections, the drugs and any evidence will be swept right out into the Gulf, and nothing will come of it.”

  “It’s nice that you have Sid tried and convicted,” Zach said.

  “Just like Byce did Jax,” I shot back. “But then, Byce’s your friend, and Jax isn’t.”

  Fab cut in, “Slice is right. If the police are involved and there’s any connection to Pavel’s death, they’ll figure it out. Kevin’s one hundred percent straight up.”

  Slice nodded. “Are we ready to order?”

  “No, thanks.” I stood and walked out of the restaurant. It depressed me to think that there might never be a resolution to the murder case.

  CHAPTER 35

  I stood at the kitchen sink and watched the postman walk across the courtyard, an oversized envelope in his hand. I opened the front door before he could knock.

  “Too big for your box,” he said, turning to go back to his truck.

  “Thanks, Henry.”

  After going back in the house, I studied the envelope. There was no return address. I opened it, stripped away the bubble wrap, and pulled out a DVD. A note was taped to the case. ‘I knew you would be the right person to send this to. Thanks for your help in getting home.’ Signed “Tomas.”

  I put the disk in the DVD player and hit Play. Two men appeared on the screen, sitting in what looked like an office. I recognized the dark-haired one as the one who had sent me airborne into water that night on the dock.

  “What in the hell happ
ened last night?” The blond-haired one sitting behind the desk asked. He was clean cut, wearing a polo shirt and expensive Topsiders, which were kicked up on the desk. He had the spoiled, snotty look down to a tee.

  “I saw Pavel sneaking around. When I came around the building, he stopped to take a pee in the channel, and I shot him. I shoved him into the water with my foot,” the dark-haired one replied. His hair slicked back into a ponytail, and he sported a black beard. He looked ready for a fight with a gun holstered to his left side. “You said to take care of any problems.”

  “Are you fucking crazy?” Blondie shouted. “I didn’t tell you to kill anyone.”

  “He won’t wash up.” The dark one sounded confident.

  “You’re not much of a thinker, are you? Did you weigh him down and take his body out to the middle of the Gulf? No, you didn’t.”

  “He’s a nobody. No one’s going to care anyway.” The dark guy shrugged.

  “When the cops find out Pavel worked here, they’re going to be all over this place, dimwit.”

  “What do you want me to do?”

  “I want you to stay out of sight and not open your trap to gloat to one single person about what you’ve done. In short, shut up. Got that? Now get out of here.” The blonde guy pointed at the door. “You wait to hear from me.”

  The dark-haired guy practically ran out of the door.

  “And stay out of the bars!” Blondie yelled. He leaned back in his chair and picked up the phone. “Big problem. I need some help, and Dad can’t find out.”

  Whoever was on the line must have been yelling, because Blondie held the phone away from his ear. After a second, he said, “The guy they pulled from the water worked for us. Keep the cops away from here. In fact, make all of this go away.”

  After a pause, Blondie said, “I didn’t kill him.” Another pause. “Thanks, I owe you big for this.” He smirked. “Remember, not one word to Dad.”

  Once he hung up, his phone rang again. He checked the screen and didn’t answer. He jumped out of his chair, picked up his jacket, and flew down the stairs.

  I hit the rewind button and watched the DVD again. Afterward, I picked up my phone. “Where are you?” I asked when Fab answered.

  “I’m on my way home.”

  “You need to turn around and come to my house. I have something you need to see.” I hit the rewind button.

  I sat in my overstuffed chair, a favorite of my aunt’s. Jazz leaped onto my lap, and we waited for Fab. Twenty minutes later, she walked through the French doors.

  I handed her the remote control. “Press Play.”

  She sat in the chair opposite me and watched the tape. “What the hell was that?” Fab asked as she hit rewind. “So trigger-happy didn’t even know if Pavel was on to them? This is the smoking gun we needed.”

  “Do you know the blonde one? The dark-haired guy was the one who hit me on the docks.”

  “The blond-haired one is Alex Byce, heir apparent. I’ve never seen the other one before. My guess is if he’s smart he’s no longer around.”

  “Who do we give this to?” I asked.

  “I think we should hand it over to Kevin. Zach won’t like being the last to know, but oh well.”

  “I thought of Zach as basically a good guy. Now I wonder if he knew about the drugs and looked the other way because Byce is his friend.”

  “It’s more involved than that. When you try to catch a big fish like Byce, you have to cover your bases and check and recheck them. To complicate matters, Sid and Zach are friends.”

  “As it turns out, it was never Sid Byce, but Alexander,” I said.

  “Even more complicated, Byce’s over-the-top reaction says he either knew about Alexander’s involvement or suspected. In the end, will Zach do the right thing?”

  “I agree with you. Give it to Kevin,” I told Fab.

  “What’s up with you and Zach anyway?”

  “Nothing. Jax kissed me today, and I kissed him back.” I sighed.

  “Do you want him back?”

  “We can’t make each other happy. We tried and failed. But I don’t want anything bad to happen to him.”

  “What was today all about?” Fab asked.

  “Guilt. I still feel guilty I couldn’t fix our marriage.”

  “Why do we women always blame ourselves?”

  “Good question. Jax and I were a lot alike. We had the same interests, the seemingly perfect couple, or so I thought. I loved his family. He introduced me to NASCAR, for which I dumped my old love of football.”

  “I don’t do sports.”

  I didn’t see Fab as a spectator, more like she’d race her own car and crew chief at the same time. “You can stay the night.”

  “I think I’ll drop this DVD off to Kevin. I feel like waking up in my own bed.”

  “Call me if you hear anything.”

  Fab stopped and looked at me. “I know that look. What are you up to?”

  “I’m going to go ask Joseph tomorrow for the lowdown on Alex.”

  “You’re going to hear he’s a big piece of shit,” Fab said. “I’ll call you tomorrow. I’m serving move-out notices on a flop house building in the morning.”

  “You’re so funny. Be careful.”

  “The building has a new owner, and his motto is pay or move.”

  A couple of minutes later, I heard a knock on the door. I wondered what Fab had forgotten, and why she didn’t just walk in.

  “What did you forget?” I asked to an empty doorstep.

  I walked into the courtyard, and chills went up my spine. I turned to hurry back inside and saw a knife stuck in the middle of my door. I looked over my shoulder, then pulled the knife out of the wood, grabbing the note it held before it could fall. Inside the house, I slammed and locked the door.

  This is your last warning.

  I ran to the kitchen windows and dropped the blinds, and then I moved to the patio doors, closing and locking them. I picked up the side table that hid my floor safe. I opened it and took out a loaded Glock.

  I sat at the bottom of my stairs, wondering what to do next. I had no one to call. I knew Fab and I had rattled cages. I’d rushed headlong into danger. So there I sat, gun in my lap.

  CHAPTER 36

  The next morning, I slid my SUV into a space at the back of the main beach parking lot. I kicked off my shoes and walked the three blocks to The Cottages.

  I snuck alongside the garage and cut between two cottages. Turning the corner, I was grabbed from behind, one arm across my chest, another clamped over my mouth. I struggled, and the grip tightened.

  “Calm down,” a male voice whispered in my ear. “Don’t scream.” He slowly took his hand away his hand from my mouth. “Why are you sneaking around?”

  He loosened his grip and turned me around to face him. Creole smiled down at me. He pushed my back against the side of the cottage, covering my body with his. He wrapped his finger around a strand of my hair. “I like red curls.”

  My face pressed to his chest, I wanted to run my hands under his shirt and rip it off him. “Let me go.” I tried to sound stern. Instead, it came out a throaty whisper, my post-sex, out-of-breath voice.

  “You tell me what you’re up to, and I’ll think about it.” He ran a finger across my lips.

  “I own this property, and I can come and go as I please.”

  “I’m disappointed. I thought you’d do better than that.”

  He reached into my shirt pocket, sending a shock through my breast, and pulled out my cell phone. “In case you ever need my help.” He programmed his number and put the phone back in my pocket.

  “I always enjoy running into you.” He lowered his mouth to mine, and then kissed my cheek and walked away.

  I stumbled back against the wall of the cottage, exhaled slowly, and forced myself to breathe. I could still feel the imprints of his hands.

  * * *

  Joseph’s door stood open. “Anyone home?” I called.

  Joseph walked out
of the bathroom, zipping his shorts. A cigarette was stuck between his lips. “Wanna beer?”

  “I want information on Alex Byce.” I pushed some newspapers aside and sat down.

  “You need to stay away from him. He’s an unstable S.O.B.” He looked out the door. “Did anyone see you?” He kicked the door shut and threw the bolt.

  “Paranoid much?”

  Joseph was looking a lot less like death, and his ankles were back to their normal size. He’d gotten sun on his cheeks, giving color to his usual putrid pallor.

  “Where’s your pimp ride?” he asked, looking out the window.

  “It’s out there.”

  “Limo tint, squatty antenna on the back, your ride is as recognizable as your friend’s.” He stared at me.

  “It’s over in the main lot.”

  He looked me over. “From one paranoid to another, you need to do more sneaking around. I like this side of you.”

  “Can we get back to little Byce?” I asked.

  “Your smart mouth needs to stay out of his way.”

  “I save this mouth for special people.”

  Joseph rolled his eyes. “He’s spoiled. What’s his is his, and what’s yours is his. He’s a poor imitation of the old man; looks are all they have in common. The DNA definitely got watered down in the next generation.”

  “I need another favor.”

  “No, no, and no,” he yelled. “I’m done. Someone’s going to get hurt, and it isn’t going to be me.”

  “Hey, I came through on the dogs, didn’t I?”

  “Ellie brought me back from a doctor’s appointment earlier, and we stopped at Tropical Slumber. There were no cars in the parking lot, so I went in to see for myself that Astro and Necco were okay.”

  “And?”

  “You did good. Raul was out in the back tossing a Frisbee with them. The dogs were jumping around, having a great time. Dickie seems less weird when he’s with Raul, if that makes any sense.”

  “You’re becoming such a softie.” I smiled.

  “What’s the favor?” he grumbled.

  “Find out what you can on Alex.”