Hook, Line, and Murder

by Tegan Maher

  I was pretty sure the woman was gonna have a heart attack right there in the middle of the parlor, and I couldn't wait to see what she did next. Coralee was still standing at the desk, pencil poised over her calendar while she waited for the woman to answer.

  In a colorful storm, she spun about and stomped out the front door.

  "Do you at least want me to style it for your meeting?" Coralee called as the door slammed shut.

  "That was epic," Shelby exclaimed as Coralee separated the money and gave me what was due for Brew and Bobbie Sue's.

  Coralee shook her head. "I don't like to resort to that, but sometimes, people just gotta be taught."

  Belle just puffed up with pride. "That's my girl," she said. "Taught her everything she knows!"

  Nobody doubted her for a second.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

  GETTING TO SEE TWO crappy people get their comeuppance in one day was fabulous, but I was exhausted. We stopped at Bobbie Sue's just long enough to give Louise the money and say hello, then pointed the truck toward home.

  We giggled all the way there, and I was happy to see Hunter's truck in the drive.

  He was sitting on the porch having a beer, pushing back and forth in the swing and talking to Max.

  "Hey you," I said, stepping gingerly out of the truck. He was still a little miffed at me, but I was wearing him down. To be honest, he couldn't be more unhappy with me than I was with myself, and I think that was part of the reason he wasn't holding much of a grudge. If it turned out that was her blood on the fabric, I was going to be crushed.

  "Hey, yourself," he said. "Please, do me a favor, and until all this is resolved, let me know when you're leaving the house and where you're going, okay?"

  Shelby rolled her eyes. "Sorry, Dad. I snuck her out of the house because I was ready to kill her."

  Hunter gave her a little shove. "Save the sass, brat. I worry—about both of you."

  I looked down at his boots and noticed they were thick with red clay. "Where'd you get into mud at?"

  Glancing down, he replied, "Oh, I just went and helped Smitty do something at his place."

  It slid off a little too easy, but without calling him a liar flat-out, there wasn't much I could say. My phone rang, interrupting whatever I'd have said anyway. It was Moira.

  I listened for a few minutes then asked a couple of questions and hung up.

  "What was that about?" Hunter asked.

  “She found pictures of the two Elizabeths, and one of them is ours. So now she knows who she is, but she died of a heart attack, not drowning. The coroner's report says there was nothing out of the ordinary with her death, other than a lifetime of fried chicken and biscuits."

  "That's weird," Shelby said. "She's had that drowning vision like ten times."

  "Yeah. They're trying to think of a plausible reason to talk to her grandson. He stayed with her and still lives in the house."

  "Well, on to other topics," Hunter said. "They did manage to get DNA from the skin under your fingernails, but it doesn't match anything in the system. And the blood on the cloth is the same type as Missy's."

  "So that leaves us basically nowhere until we actually catch somebody," I said, discouraged.

  "Yup, pretty much. Except we have discovered that the judge's alibi for that night doesn't hold up."

  "Wait, you questioned him?"

  He shook his head. "No. Jim goes fishing with his PA, and he just asked him. The judge was supposed to be at some fancy seafood restaurant up there with the missus, but he didn't show up for their reservation. She did, but he didn't. She made some type of excuse for him, but it was lame even to the server."

  "So in theory, he coulda done it."

  "Yeah," he said, "but still, it's speculation."

  I gave myself another kicking, and knowing me the way he did, he changed the subject. "So what did you girls get into while you were out and about? Anything good?"

  We described the day's events to him, and he was smiling by the time we finished the story about what happened at the salon.

  "She tried to file a complaint against Coralee. Said she robbed her and destroyed her public image. Peggy Sue told her she ruined her own image and hung up on her."

  Ahh. Justice.

  We'd gotten the stuff to make spaghetti and meatballs before I'd pooped out at the grocery store, and I'd set the bread out to proof before we'd left. It was nice and tall and ready to bake, so I heated up the oven and put the sauce together. Hunter poured me a glass of wine and grabbed himself a beer while Shelby brought the horses in.

  I felt bad that I hadn't been able to do chores all week, but everybody'd pulled together so nobody was stuck doing them all the time. Justin had called asking to stay at the farm, but I was afraid to have him there until things were resolved, even with the wards.

  "So," I said, leaning my head back against his shoulder on the swing. "Are you going to tell me what Matt's doing for Anna Mae's birthday?"

  He thought for a minute while the swing rocked. "I suppose it won't hurt to tell you now," he said. "He's building her a koi pond with a fountain. He was going to coordinate with you so he could have her gone for a day but didn't want to since you got trounced."

  "Pht," I said. "What better time? I'll tell her I need somebody to keep me company."

  He didn't say anything to that, and I tilted my chin up so I could see his face. "What's the problem?" I asked.

  He sighed. "It's just that she doesn't really have what it takes to protect you if push comes to shove."

  I started to protest that we had the wards, then remembered the weirdness I'd felt in them the other night. "Then send her over, and we'll have a movie and makeup day," I said. “I'll have Rae and Levana over. Surely with those two here, you'd be comfortable. Rae's off tomorrow, and Levana's working the short shift. Rae just hired a third person, and she's ready to go on the floor, so she and Angel are closing."

  He considered it. "That'll work. I'll let him know. Make sure you get them all here, and it needs to be for the day. He's been putting together the individual components, but the rest needs to be done on-site."

  "Don't worry," I laughed. "I think I can manage."

  It wasn't long before the spaghetti was ready. Cody had shown up to help Shelby, and Matt got home right as we were sitting down to eat.

  "Perfect timing," I said when he poked his nose in. I swear the man had a food radar.

  "I know," he said, smiling. "Hunter texted me."

  At least I knew what type of radar he had, then. Hunter lifted a shoulder. "Bro code," he said, wrapping a huge bite of spaghetti around his fork. "When there's a huge spread of delicious food, you have to pass the word."

  "Whatever," I mumbled around a mouthful of garlic bread. It made me happy to see everybody enjoying my cooking, though. Good food, great company—that was one of the things that made life worth living.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

  ADDY HAD TOLD LIZZIE who she was and how she'd died. Belle was worried about her because she was fizzling in and out again, so they'd decided to take her to her home and face things head-on.

  "Are you sure that's a good idea?" I asked the next morning when she popped in during breakfast. "What if something really awful happens? Or what if he can't see you?"

  Addy pursed her lips. "I never thought of that. You should call and invite him over."

  "Me?" I said, my voice an octave higher than normal. "Why me?"

  "He's a landscaper. Just tell him you want to have some work done around the pool."

  She glanced out the back windows. "It's really not a lie," she said. "It looks kinda bare and ragged back there."

  She had a point, but I hated to lie to him just to get him there. I said as much.

  "Then hire him if he has good ideas," she said. "It's not like it doesn't need done."

  "Fine," I said, "but Anna Mae, Rae, and Levana are going to be here tomorrow."

  "Good," she said. "More moral support for Lizzie."

&nbs
p; I called and scheduled the appointment. "He couldn't come 'til Saturday," I said, "and that's when we're having the cookout."

  I wanted to be irritated at her bossiness, but couldn't. I felt bad for Lizzy and wanted her to have closure.

  Shelby was home all evening, and Hunter joined us late. We'd just settled in for a movie when Trouble popped in, frantic. "You have to get to the lake, now," she said. "It's life or death. Some girl's gonna be murdered."

  Hunter and Shelby sprang to their feet, and I followed, still a little slower than they were. "Wait for me," I said, following them to the truck.

  Trouble rode along with us, explaining as we went. "There's been a girl hanging out at the beach all week," she said. "She pretended to party but didn't really look like she was having fun. She caught my eye because she looked like the girl who was killed."

  Lucy Lane, then. "Who was she partying with?" I asked.

  "Never the same crowd," she said, worrying her translucent peasant skirt between her fingers. "Drive faster, Hunter. I have a bad feeling about this."

  The truck was barely stopped when we jumped out in the parking lot. There wasn't a soul in sight.

  "We need something to go on," I told her. “Do you know the name of the boat or what direction they went?"

  She took a deep breath, then faded out, her voice trailing behind her. "I'll be right back."

  It wasn't ten seconds and she was back. "She's on a boat called the Misty Moon, and it's heading that way." She pointed toward the left.

  "So west," Hunter said.

  "Sure," she said, rolling her eyes and motioning in the same direction she'd just pointed. "Whatever direction that is. And hurry. It's getting ugly."

  He looked around desperately. "We have no way to get there!"

  The county boat was sitting on a trailer in Skeet's impound lot because people kept stealing the equipment out of it when they'd parked it at the dock.

  Mel's words came floating back to me. When you realize why misty is important, your heart's desire will get you through.

  What the hell did that mean? I repeated the phrase to Hunter and Trouble.

  "The heart's desire," Trouble exclaimed. "Follow me!"

  She floated so quickly we could barely keep up, but she stopped short in front of an old ski boat tied loosely to a rented dock. Painted across the transom in faded paint was her name—Heart's Desire. Hunter jumped aboard and hollered for me to join him. Just as I did, the twin engines roared to life. I untied her and pulled the ropes in as he pulled anchor, and we were off, Trouble guiding us from ahead.

  Fortunately, whoever owned the boat must have done a lot of night fishing because it had plenty of lights. Hunter ran with the throttle wide open, and I was soaked within the first two minutes from the spray. I wiped the water from my eyes, keeping watch for any sign of another boat.

  "There," I said, pointing. The masthead light from a sailboat glowed in front of us, and about a quarter of a mile from it, Hunter throttled down to an idle, letting the momentum carry us forward.

  "How many people are on there?" Hunter asked.

  "Two that I could see," Trouble replied. "Plus Angus."

  "Can you and Angus cause a distraction so we can get aboard?" I asked.

  She grinned. "My pleasure. I've always wanted to do the whole scary-ghost thing, and we’ve been practicing."

  It wasn't ten seconds before we heard screams, and he powered forward a little faster. I grabbed the ladder when we were close and almost screamed when pain tore through my torso. My ribs weren't as healed as I'd thought they were, but at least I'd managed to stay quiet. Or at least quiet enough that they couldn't hear me over Angus and Trouble, who were playing it for all it was worth.

  I must have screamed in my head though, because it wasn't five seconds later that Rae and Shelby were both in my head, panicked. I gave them a rundown of what was going on. Shelby growled in frustration—she couldn't port to somewhere she hadn't been.

  Just get Skeet on the phone, and tell him to call Smitty, too.

  Okay Rae answered. Dialing now. Hold on ’til we get there.

  Hunter had crossed over me and pulled himself onto the ladder, then secured the Heart's Desire to the Misty Moon. He was already on board before I could even pull myself onto the ladder, and gave me stern instructions to stay put. I don't even know why he bothered. I did stay back though. The element of surprise is never a bad thing.

  There were two people—a man and a woman—standing on the bow of the boat and a third tied up on the floor. A couple of Coleman lanterns sat on the deck. Their voices carried to me, and it sounded like the couple was arguing.

  "We can't do it this way," the girl said, and she sounded young. "If we do, it'll haunt us. Always there in the back of our minds."

  "This is the only way," the guy replied. "Then we can go away."

  Judging from their voices, they were both in their early twenties.

  "It's not right," she said. "We need to go to the police. Tell them what happened. Everybody says that new sheriff is fair, and my mom said the Flynn girl was kind to her."

  I pulled in a breath. Lucy Lane, if I had to bet.

  "They'll never understand. Not with my record," he said, pulling up anchor. "They'll lock me up and throw away the key."

  "They won't. I was there. I saw what happened!" She was crying, and the girl on the deck was shouting through the gag.

  Hunter stepped into the light, his gun drawn. "Maybe you should listen to her," he said. "Drop the anchor and put your hands up."

  I waited to see if they were going to comply. The girl stepped forward, hands up. She could have been a sister to the dead girl. The guy heaved a deep breath and stepped forward, too.

  "See, Michael," Lucy said. "This was how it was meant to be. Now we can tell them everything. I'm tired of hiding it anyway. And her boyfriend, he'll go to jail, where he should be."

  Hunter was bent down, untying the girl on the deck.

  The hair on my arms stood up a second too late. A gun prodded me in the ribs and a voice I'd have recognized anywhere said, "Step into the light there, beside your mighty boyfriend."

  CHAPTER FORTY

  I PUT MY HANDS IN THE air and stepped forward. I wasn't going to give him a second chance. He messed up by not knocking me from behind like he'd done a few days before. My magic crackled through me, but I held back until we could figure out what was going on.

  Hunter either heard the guy or saw me out of the corner of his eye because he stood up and put his hand out. I gave a small shake of my head, and he stayed put.

  "Okay," I said. "Now that we're all in one spot on the boat, why don't we start from the beginning? Who wants to go first?"

  He shoved me from behind, and I almost fell over the girl on the deck, whose face was still hidden. Hunter caught me, and I turned around to face the guy.

  "Shut up, or I'll give you another taste," he snarled.

  "Hunter," I said, "meet the guy who beat me like a drum a few days ago."

  His body stiffened behind me, and I reached out to him with my mind.

  Let's get the story first. I've got this.

  I'd only done that to him one other time because I really didn't like it. That's why I'd insisted on the Bluetooth for the helmets, even though he was okay communicating like this. Once I'd pointed out to him what exactly I might see, he'd been quick to agree.

  Okay, but don't play the heroine.

  Lucy whimpered, and the girl on the deck tried to move to a sitting position.

  Jerkface pointed toward her with his gun. "One of y'all untie her."

  Hunter bent to do it, and once he had, she pushed to her feet and moved toward the guy with the gun.

  "I want to shoot the redheaded bitch, baby," she said.

  Once she was standing and I could see her face, I gasped. In retrospect, the only thing that really surprised me was that she had a boyfriend.

  "Kasey, I'd say it's a pleasure to see you again, but I really can't see anythi
ng beyond that giant wart on your chin," I said. "Now, somebody tell me what's going on."

  As I watched, a new wart was sprouting right between her eyes, and I smothered a laugh. Apparently, when she'd called me a bitch, it had triggered Shelby's curse. I'd thought at the time it was an empty threat, but I should have known my little sister didn't do anything by halves.

  Her hand flew to her face, and she snatched the gun from Jerkface's hand. "Make it stop, right now!"

  I held up my hand. "No can do, girlfriend. That's my sister's doing, not mine. I'd suggest you keep from talkin' smack on any of us again, because it looks like she wasn't kidding."

  Hunter spoke up. "This doesn't need to go any further than it already has. Who wants to explain?"

  Lucy stepped forward, then froze when the gun swung to her.

  "I'll tell you what's going on," Kasey sneered. "We solved your murder for you, that's what. Right there"—she pointed to the other guy—"is your killer. We got pictures."

  I pivoted my head enough to see him from the corner of my eye then pushed back against Hunter so that he moved back against the rail. I wanted to see everybody, and close off the option of getting us from behind.

  My eyes snapped to Lucy, who was crying. "Explain."

  Jerkface stepped toward me, and I held up my hand. "If you like your body exactly the way it is, don't take another step."

  He started to move forward, but Kasey put her hand on his arm.

  "That's a good little heifer," I said. "Keep your man in line. Lucy, please continue."

  She moved toward us a little. "The night Missy ran off, I followed her. I knew where she'd come, and I called Michael on my way here."

  She glanced at him, and I could tell she had it bad. "We've been dating for over a year, but Daddy doesn't know. I'm not allowed to date, and even if I were, Daddy would never approve."

  Michael stepped in front of her some so that he was between her and the gun, and my esteem for him went up.

  "Anyway," Lucy continued, "she was at the dock, and she was untying a boat.” She looked around. "This boat, in fact. It's been docked there forever, abandoned, but sometimes kids take it out to party on it. We managed to jump aboard before she pulled away from the dock."