Lighthouse Reef (A Pelican Pointe Novel Book 4)

by Vickie McKeehan

  “And another reason you wanted nothing to do with the town.”

  Finally someone got it. “I dragged my feet enough times, told myself there was no reason to ever come back here. After all, there were no family ties for me here anymore. But…about six months ago I was on the Internet one night, came across the lighthouse for sale. It was like a sign or something.”

  “You were checking out the town, looking for any updated news on Megan’s case.” It wasn’t a question.

  “You have it pegged pretty well. That’s when I got in touch with Ethan Cody. He hadn’t given up wearing a badge then. We got to emailing each other back and forth regularly, one thing led to another.”

  “When did you learn about the other missing girls?”

  “I found articles here and there doing random searches on the Internet, but nothing ever definitive. Then I came across a website listing the names of people gone missing. On that list was another seventeen-year-old, who had left Washington State for Hollywood some twenty-five years ago and was never seen or heard from again. The blog post mentioned she’d last been seen on the Coast Highway near Pelican Pointe. Her name was Carly Radigan. I tracked down her brother, Ian Radigan. From there, Ian and I started digging. Before that though, I’d never found anyone I could relate to. We still email each other off and on.”

  All of a sudden realization hit her. “Logan, twenty-five years ago you would have been around ten years old at the time Carly Radigan went missing.”

  “Exactly, which means there’s one mean-ass son of a bitch out there who’s been killing girls a helluva long time. And I want him stopped.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  Because Kinsey and Logan had locked themselves away from the world all day Monday in their own little cocoon, they had no idea Gina Purvis had gone missing. When Logan got to the job site on Tuesday morning though, it was all both crews had on their minds. No one had seen or heard from the young woman since she had left home Saturday night around eight-thirty to return a box of items belonging to Troy Dayton. Gina had never made it back home.

  While Logan was still trying to wrap his mind around the fact that another woman had disappeared, he learned Troy had spent the better part of Memorial Day answering questions from Dan Garver about the last time Troy had seen Gina.

  “Garver acted like he thought I did something to her,” Troy groaned.

  “Did you?” Sam Turley asked. “I always thought she was a little hottie. You were stupid for breaking it off with her.”

  “I never even saw her Saturday night. I haven’t seen her in weeks. And I didn’t break it off. She’s the one who broke up with me. She always seemed pissed off at me about something because she said I never had any money. She always wanted to go out and do stuff, stuff I couldn’t afford to do.”

  “That’s women for you, Troy,” Drake Boedekker added. “Always wanting to spend a man’s cash.”

  “What exactly did Garver say to you?” Logan asked, as a nagging feeling started to crawl up his neck.

  “He wanted to know where I was Saturday night, stuff like that.”

  “You were with Mona, right?” Logan wanted to know.

  “Well, not all night,” Troy admitted sheepishly. “It was our first date for chrissakes. But I was with her until around midnight when I walked her home. You know they found Gina’s car near my trailer. I told Garver that Gina had been bugging me, texting me for the better part of a damn week to come by and pick up a box of my stuff she said was in the way. That’s the last time I even heard from her.”

  That left Logan to wonder if Troy’s interrogation meant the cops had already jumped to a swift conclusion.

  About that time, Derek slapped his nephew on the back and said, “Don’t worry, son, I’m sure she’ll turn up and when she does she’ll probably be all pissed off about something else.”

  As the morning wore on Troy took some light-hearted ribbing from the rest of the crew about what he’d done to the difficult Gina. But Logan found it no more amusing than Troy did.

  They’d just finished lunch when Logan looked up and saw a patrol car making its way down the bumpy road toward the work site. As soon as Dan Garver stepped out of his patrol car, Logan somehow knew what was about to happen.

  “Troy,” Dan said. “I have a warrant for your arrest.”

  “For what? Why?”

  “The first degree murder of Gina Purvis.”

  “But I didn’t do nothing, I swear it, Mr. Donnelly.”

  Logan listened as Dan proceeded to read Troy his Miranda rights and then put the kid in handcuffs. Logan pointed at Troy and cautioned him, “Don’t say a word, Troy. I’ll get you a lawyer.”

  Dan shook his head. “You’ll be wasting your money, Mr. Donnelly. But then I guess you have enough of it to toss around on crazy shit like this.” Dan threw his arms out wide. “No one in town cares about this lighthouse coming back. It’s an eyesore and as such ought to be torn down, if you ask me.”

  “I don’t think anyone asked you, Deputy. But I’d like to know why you think I’d be wasting my money on a lawyer for Troy?” Logan demanded.

  “Because a couple of hours ago we found the body of Gina Purvis dumped not fifty yards from Troy Dayton’s trailer.”

  “So? What does that prove exactly? Do you even have a cause of death yet?” Logan asked.

  “Well, I don’t exactly need the coroner to tell me Gina was raped and strangled.”

  Logan watched the sickening look form on Troy’s face at hearing those words. He knew then with absolute certainly that Troy hadn’t killed Gina Purvis.

  “What do I do now, Mr. Donnelly?” Troy yelled, almost in tears from the backseat of the police car. “What’s gonna happen to me now?”

  Dan glanced back at Logan and sent him a look. “He’ll be arraigned some time tomorrow morning. No sooner than that because it’s too late in the day to take place before then.”

  And with that, Logan watched as the car bounced along the jagged landscape with Troy on his way to jail.

  Logan turned to Derek. “Do you have the money for an attorney?”

  Derek shook his head. “I’ve been barely scraping by for six months or more. So has Troy.”

  “Okay, that’s all I needed to know. Somebody give me directions how to get to Aaron Hartley’s place. Then all of you get back to work. Now! I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

  “Logan? Thanks,” Derek muttered. “The boy’s a good kid. I don’t think he killed anyone.”

  “I know that. And I know someone else who’ll think the same thing.”

  When Logan got to the house on Landings Bay he wasn’t sure whether it was an office or a home, wasn’t sure he should knock or walk right in. He rang the bell. It was Kinsey who answered the door.

  “Well, hello. To what do I owe this visit? Need a lawyer?” Kinsey cracked. But when she noticed the serious look on Logan’s face, she added, “What’s wrong?” She motioned her head for him to come inside.

  “Garver just arrested Troy.”

  “For what?”

  “For killing Gina Purvis. A couple of hours ago they found her body near Troy’s trailer. I don’t have any more details than that.”

  “What? I don’t believe that. Troy doesn’t have it in him to kill.”

  About that time Aaron appeared in the entryway. “Are we representing Troy Dayton? Because if we are, I may have to recuse myself and let you handle whatever needs doing.”

  “Why?” Kinsey asked.

  “For one, I’m in no shape to take on anything as serious as murder. And two, I’ve known Clint and Eileen Purvis for years, was at Gina’s christening three weeks after she was born.” When he saw the letdown on Kinsey’s face, he lifted one thin shoulder. “I have to pick my battles, Kinsey. The ways of a small town.”

  “I may have known Troy for only a matter of weeks, but I’m not letting him go through this by himself. He’s my friend, Aaron. My first friend in Pelican Pointe. And I believe in him.”


  Logan nodded. “Same here. As of right now, I’m retaining Kinsey as Troy’s lawyer.”

  Kinsey sighed. “Now wait a minute, slow down. I don’t have the legal chops to handle something like this. I won’t risk Troy’s freedom depending on me.”

  “I’m afraid for now you’re it, Kinsey,” Aaron said. “Unless you want to turn Troy over to a public defender to handle his arraignment, you’d best find him a good defense attorney and fast.”

  “He’s right,” Logan agreed.

  “How serious are you about going to bat for Troy,” Aaron asked, narrowing his eyes at Logan. “In other words how deep do your pockets go for a guy you’ve known for such a short amount of time?”

  “I believe in the kid,” Logan stated flatly. He wasn’t sure why exactly he felt so adamant only that he did. He glanced over at Kinsey, waited for an indication from her.

  “Ditto.”

  “Then I’d get Collier Davis out of San Francisco. He’s the best. And something tells me, you’re going to need the very best.”

  Logan and Kinsey soon discovered that getting a high-powered defense attorney to rearrange his schedule to travel from the Bay down to Pelican Pointe overnight was no easy task. In fact, it was turning out to be impossible. So far they had yet to even get Collier Davis to return Logan’s phone call.

  Because of that, Logan and Kinsey stood inside the criminal court building in Santa Cruz the next morning. By nine o’ clock it became clear they had two choices. They could postpone Troy’s arraignment, which would only prolong his confinement. Or it would be up to Kinsey to get through what Aaron had assured her was a very brief process.

  Dressed in her Donna Karan suit, Kinsey paced up and down behind the defense table. She sucked in a breath and looked around the room. Who would believe Kinsey Wyatt stood in an actual courtroom about to speak to a judge as an attorney? She was so nervous her underarms felt like she hadn’t taken a shower in two days. “Uh, Logan, how many times do I have to remind you that I haven’t actually appeared before a judge before? As in ever. Well, except for that time I fought a traffic ticket. But that was traffic court, Logan. This is completely different. I don’t think I’m doing Troy any favors here.”

  “Kinsey, there’s no one else. Aaron took you through all the steps last night—twice—now’s your chance to show ’em what you’re made of. Besides...” He didn’t even have time to finish his sentence before a deputy appeared at a side door. Wearing the typical orange jumpsuit, Troy shuffled along in ankle chains and handcuffs.

  “Kinsey!” Troy uttered in disbelief, brightening almost immediately. “I can’t believe you actually came. And Mr. Donnelly.” He reached out to shake Logan’s hand with both of his handcuffed ones.

  “Troy, I need to know…”

  But he didn’t let her finish. “No…no…Kinsey, I didn’t do this. I never laid a hand on Gina.”

  But there was no more time to talk as Judge Driscoll Leonard strolled to the bench carrying a manila folder. A steely-eyed man in his late fifties, Leonard sat down, immediately tapped his gavel once and began to go over the file. “Is the accused Troy Dayton represented by counsel?”

  A nervous Kinsey cleared her throat. “Yes, your honor. Kinsey Wyatt, attorney-at-law, Pelican Pointe.”

  “Ms. Wyatt, have you read the indictment?”

  “Yes, Judge Leonard, I have.”

  “Then you know your client, Troy Dayton, is charged with the first degree murder of one,” Judge Leonard looked down, referred to the paperwork again. “Gina Purvis, twenty-one years of age. How does your client plead?”

  “Mr. Dayton is rendering a plea of not guilty, your honor.”

  “Let the court records show the accused pleads not guilty.” Judge Leonard stared at Kinsey straight on and asked, “Are you aware, Ms. Wyatt, the district attorney has filed a motion to deny bond?”

  “Yes sir. But the accused has a steady job. He’s never been in trouble before with the law in any way. And we assert that he is not a flight risk. He doesn’t even have a passport.”

  The judge looked over at George Stein, the prosecuting attorney, a short man twice as old as Kinsey. “Mr. Stein, let’s hear your argument to oppose bail?”

  “Judge Leonard, the state doesn’t believe Mr. Dayton should be released back into the community due to the violent nature of the crime. Your honor, Miss Purvis was strangled with some force. Her hyoid bone wasn’t just fractured, it was shattered. She was also sexually violated. Because of that, we respectfully ask the court to keep Troy Dayton in custody.”

  The minute Kinsey saw Judge Leonard nod his head, she knew without his words what the ruling would be. Troy wasn’t going anywhere.

  But then the judge made it official. “The court agrees. Bond denied.”

  Kinsey spoke up, stuttering slightly. “Your…honor…we would like to schedule…a bail hearing as soon as it’s convenient to the court.”

  Judge Leonard turned to a laptop computer bought up his calendar. “Counselor, how does a week from today sound?”

  “A week from today will be fine,” Kinsey nodded.

  Judge Leonard tapped his gavel and with that, Troy’s arraignment came to an abrupt end.

  Kinsey turned to Troy. “I’m sorry. Look, don’t panic. I’ll—”

  “It isn’t your fault, Kinsey. But I didn’t do this. I swear I never laid a hand on Gina, let alone kill her. Last time I seen her, was when she broke up with me, standing right there on her front porch. That’s the last time. I swear it on my mom’s grave, Kinsey. You of all people know what she meant to me.”

  Kinsey put a hand on his. “I believe you, Troy. If I thought otherwise, I wouldn’t be standing here. But it’s apparent you need a really good defense attorney. Logan and I will work on that before the bail hearing next week. Just…hang in there.”

  “We both believe in you, Troy,” Logan told the younger man. Beside Logan, Derek Stovall spoke up, “Troy, I know you didn’t do this.”

  “Thanks,” Troy muttered as the deputy began to lead him back through the side door. “But I want you to represent me, Kinsey. I trust you. I don’t want no stranger.”

  In spite of the deputy’s sneer, Kinsey leaned over as far as she could so that Troy could hear her. “Troy, I’d love nothing more, but this is over my head, way over. You need a seasoned attorney, not some novice like me. Don’t worry though, Logan and I will find you the best one we can get. We’ve already made some calls.”

  As two deputies led Troy through the door, Logan raised his voice. “We know you didn’t do this, Troy. Kinsey and I both believe in you.”

  After Troy was gone, Logan took Kinsey’s hand from behind the railing where he stood. “Relax, you did fine.”

  “Not really. Troy’s still in jail.” Still on wobbly knees, she scooted back her hair from her face. “I can’t believe this is happening,” Kinsey lamented as she picked up her bag. But then something hit her. “Oh my God!”

  “What’s wrong?”

  “It just occurred to me. Gina Purvis was raped. They must have DNA. If they have DNA, that has to exonerate Troy.”

  Hours later back in Pelican Pointe, Kinsey sat at her desk with that nugget of hope still fresh on her mind. While Aaron rested in his room upstairs, Kinsey had taken off her suit jacket to pore over the stack of law books he’d left piled on her desk. Little sticky notes adorned the pages indicating how to handle discovery and subpoenas. She had her nose stuck in a book when Logan walked in, sweaty from manual labor.

  “Has anyone ever told you how sexy you look in lawyer mode? Just like in court this morning.”

  “I’m pretty sure I’ve never been in lawyer mode until this morning. What you saw was sheer panic along with a good dose of fear.”

  He scooted textbooks aside to prop a hip on the corner of her desk. Tucking a strand of long caramel hair behind her ear, he told her, “What I saw was a lawyer who cared. Troy saw it, too. You here all by yourself?”

  She saw that flicker of desire she
’d taken advantage of for most of yesterday cloud his green eyes. “Aaron’s upstairs. Asleep. Afternoon nap. He usually takes one about now.”

  Logan cocked a brow. “He does need his rest.”

  “Why are you here?”

  “Why do you think?” He ran his finger from ear to throat. “You have a sexy neck. Especially this little spot right here.” He nibbled along her jaw to her mouth. “What’s your attitude toward sex in the workplace?” He grinned when he saw her mouth gape open. “I can see I’ve interrupted your train of thought. Chalk it up to my bohemian lifestyle.”

  She chuckled. “I heard that about you. The long hair, the gold hoop earring, throw in your mysterious past, and it all makes you a little too avant-garde for Pelican Pointe.”

  “Who me? I’m an old-fashioned romantic, a traditionalist when it comes to the classics, a lover of black and white movies—and my stock portfolio is packed with nothing but conservative investments.”

  “But a risk taker when it comes to your art, like the bronze sculpture outside the symphony hall in Seattle or the spectacular piece you did for the science center in Santa Fe.”

  He smiled. “You know my work rather well. But you never answered my question.”

  She waved a hand toward the doorframe. “As you can see there’s no door to close and lock.”

  “Hmm, small problem but nothing we can’t deal with. What about the copy room? I’m thinking you need desk sex to spice up your afternoon.”

  She snickered. “The copier is in Aaron’s office.”

  He raised a brow. “And does his office have a door?”