Oh, Fudge!

by Nancy CoCo

  “Up here is where you steer,” he said.

  I put Mal down and climbed the metal stair up to a small room with two captain’s chairs. There was room for four people up here and it had windows on all four sides. “Wow, I’ve never been in this part of a yacht,” I said and ran my hand along the well-polished, wood wainscot beneath the windows. “You can see a lot from here.”

  “It’s really helpful when you take it out. I like to sit up here to get the best views of the islands and the mainland when we take it out.”

  “There’s a lot of room here,” I said. “Do they have a galley?”

  “Oh yeah,” he said. “That’s the best part. It’s so seventies. Even the dishes are straight out of the era.” He went down the small flight of metal stairs and I followed him. Mal followed from the deck as he opened a door under the stairs and went into the belly of the boat. It was dark inside, so he turned on a light.

  Mal came down with us, happy to sniff. She was especially interested in the rag rug that sat on top of the teak floorboards. She barked and wagged her stub tail as if to say, “I found it!”

  I swallowed hard as I recognized the paneling and the rug. The chair was moved back to a small side table that was bolted down. “This is amazing,” I said. “Can I take some pictures?”

  “Sure,” Matt said with a shrug. “I don’t think the Sikeses would care.”

  I snapped a few pictures with my cell phone. “This is really cool,” I said and fussed over the carved cabinets and the avocado green dishes. “Oh, would you take my picture?”

  “Sure,” Matt said.

  “I’ll drag this chair over here by the wall so you can get Mal and me,” I said as casually as possible. I handed Matt my phone and pulled over the pine chair to the spot I estimated was where Tori’s picture was taken. Then I sat down with Mal in my lap.

  “Smile,” Matt said and took the picture.

  Mal barked and leapt out of my hands.

  “What is going on here?” Fred Sikes said as he came down the stairs.

  My heart went into my throat. He didn’t look happy at all. “Um, Matt was showing me around.” I took my phone from Matt.

  “Sorry, Mr. Sikes,” he said and stood up straight as if at attention. “She asked to see the inside of the boat.”

  “Why the heck would you want to do that?”

  I swallowed hard and secretly sent the picture of me and Mal to Jenn’s phone. “The seniors at the center were telling me about the parties your mom used to throw.”

  “Why would they do that?” he asked, his eyes narrowing as he advanced toward me.

  “I was looking for a rag rug,” I quickly made up the lie. “They said that there was one on the boat that was authentic to the seventies.”

  “And that made you think you could barge onto my property without my permission?”

  “Oh no. You see, I ran into Matt and asked about the Scoundrel. He told me how great the boat was,” I said. “He said it was in mint vintage condition.”

  “So now you’re interested in old boats,” he said and took me by the elbow. “I think you need to leave. Now.” He practically dragged me to the stairs. Mal barked and grabbed a hold of his pant leg and shook it, growling viciously. I’d never seen her act like that. “What the heck? Get this dog off me.”

  “I’m sorry,” I said and gathered Mal in my arms. She continued to growl at him. “I’ve never seen her like this. We’ll be leaving now.”

  I hurried up the stairs and out into the sunlight. Mr. Sikes strode purposely behind me. “Get off the boat and don’t come back. Have I made myself clear?”

  “Yes, sir,” I said and scrambled down the gangplank to the dock.

  “If that dog so much as looks at me again, I’ll call animal control. We have leash laws you know.” He brushed his suit coat. “Matthew Alvin, you are fired.”

  “Oh no, don’t fire him. It was my fault. I asked him to—”

  “This is none of your business, Miss Busybody.”

  “But.”

  “It’s okay, Ms. McMurphy,” Matt said and climbed down the gangplank. “I should have known better.”

  “No, it’s not all right,” I said. “Really, Mr. Sikes, I didn’t take anything. Matthew was simply showing me the boat.”

  “Good day, Ms. McMurphy,” he said and stormed toward the cabin.

  “I’m so sorry,” I said to Matt.

  Matt shook his head. “It’s okay. He’s right. I shouldn’t have showed the boat without his permission. It’s just that he never comes down here. I didn’t expect him to be anywhere near the Scoundrel.”

  “I don’t know what to say.”

  “It’s okay. I can’t work on his boat, but there are plenty of others who don’t mind being friendly.”

  Mal and I walked off the docks. My phone dinged and I looked down at the text from Jenn. It said, Holy Moses, are you okay?

  I texted back. Yes, I’m fine. Going to see Rex.

  Okay.

  * * *

  “What were you thinking?” Rex practically shouted at me when I showed him the picture. “If anyone saw you on the boat, you could have been hurt.”

  Mal squirmed in my arms and whined at Rex’s tone of voice. “We didn’t get hurt. It seemed harmless enough. I ran into Matt Alvin and he showed me the boat.” I didn’t tell him the part where Mr. Sikes showed up. It seemed incidental....

  “Are you kidding me? You were trespassing. It’s as bad as breaking and entering. The Sikeses could have you arrested and you come here to show me proof that you did this?”

  “No, no,” I said. “I didn’t break into the boat. Matt gave me a tour is all.”

  He ran his hands over his face and sat down. “What made you want a tour of the Scoundrel?”

  “I showed the seniors at the center Tori’s proof of life picture,” I said. “I wanted to know if they recognized the rug or the chair and they did. Mrs. Finch told me it was the interior of the Scoundrel.”

  “Allie—”

  “Don’t get mad,” I said. “If I had brought you this information, you would have said that you couldn’t do anything.”

  “So you went to the marina and broke into the boat to see if it was the crime scene.”

  “Yes—no, I went to the marina and Matt said he could give me a tour,” I said. “He told me that the Sikeses only take the boat out once or twice a season. Instead he or a member of his care crew take the boat out once a week to keep the engine in proper working condition. It’s a classic.”

  “You took a terrible risk,” Rex said. “You need to stop this. You saw what happened to Victoria. I don’t want that to happen to you.”

  “It won’t,” I said. “I’ll be careful.”

  “Careful isn’t good enough,” I said. “The perpetrators have already killed two and tried to kill your cousin. They would think nothing of killing you or anyone else who got in their way.”

  “Yes, well, I’ve dealt with killers before.”

  “And you have been extremely lucky,” he said and sat back. “Allie, one of these days your luck is going to run out.”

  “That day isn’t today.” I raised my chin in defiance. “Are you going to get a warrant for the Scoundrel? I think I’ve given you enough cause.”

  “Yes, I’ll look into it. Now, please, Allie, let me and my team do our job. The last thing I want to do is have to drag you out of the water half-dead.”

  “That won’t happen,” I said with more bravado than I actually felt.

  “How is Victoria?” he asked.

  “I talked to my aunt on the way over here. She told me that they are taking Tori out of the medically induced coma today. She should be up and talking by this afternoon.”

  “Good,” he said.

  “Rex.”

  “Yes?”

  “We make a good team. Don’t you think?”

  He looked up at me, his gorgeous blue gaze sincere. “I do think so.”

  I swallowed hard. There was a sudden tens
ion in the room that I hadn’t felt in a while. “I mean as crime solvers.”

  “Yes, that, too,” he said.

  “Yeah, okay, well, let me know what your people find out about the boat.”

  He tilted his head. “I’m sure you’ll have Jenn ask Shane to give you all the particulars.”

  A blush rushed up my cheeks. “It doesn’t mean I don’t like to hear your take on things.”

  “Good-bye, Allie.”

  “Keep me posted, Rex.”

  * * *

  “Sending me that photo was not funny,” Jenn scolded me when I arrived back at the McMurphy. “You scared me half to death.”

  “I didn’t mean to scare you. I sent the photo because Mr. Sikes caught us taking pictures on his boat, and if he was the killer I wanted someone to have proof of where I was before I disappeared.”

  “You are crazy,” Jenn said. “Seriously. What if he had been the killer?”

  “Then you would have taken the picture to Rex and he would have found me.”

  “You take too many chances,” Frances scolded me.

  “I only went to see if the Scoundrel was the boat that held Victoria hostage. When I saw that it was, I took pictures. Rex says I need proof to back up my accusations. So I got proof.”

  “You don’t think Mr. Sikes did it?” Jenn asked.

  “I don’t know,” I said. “According to Matt, the Sikeses only use the boat once or twice a year.”

  “And yet the minute you are on there taking pictures, he’s right there to throw you off the boat.”

  I chewed on the inside of my mouth. “It does sound suspicious, but all he did was kick me off.”

  “He saw you taking pictures?”

  “Yes, well, Matt was taking pictures with my phone, and Mr. Sikes didn’t take my phone away,” I pointed out. “It hardly sounds like the actions of a guilty man.”

  “Did you ask him about Victoria?” Jenn said. “Did you show him the pictures?”

  “No,” I said with a shake of my head. “I’m letting Rex do that.”

  “Well, at least you are getting smarter,” Frances said. “Now, the couple in 201 want to stay an extra night. Where do you think I should put the new arrivals who have booked that room?”

  * * *

  After the afternoon fudge demonstration and some bill paying, I called my Aunt June to check on Victoria.

  “She’s awake and talking to the police,” Aunt June said. There was relief in her voice. “Officer Manning just left.”

  “Did Tori say who took her?”

  “She said they wore masks.”

  “Oh,” I said. “Well, good, then they didn’t mean to kill her. Listen, I discovered the boat they held her in belongs to the Sikeses. I took pictures of the interior and they match.”

  “The Sikeses? Why would they hurt my baby?”

  “I’m not sure they did,” I said. “I was talking to a kid from the marina and he told me that they only use the yacht once or twice a year. Anyone with access to the keys could have taken Victoria.”

  “Tori says it was two males and they were pretty strong and she thought they were young.”

  “Why did she think that?”

  “She says their voices weren’t as low as grown men.”

  “So perhaps guys in their late teens, early twenties?”

  “Yes.”

  “That confirms the theory that it wasn’t the Sikeses,” I said. “Did she tell you why or how she was taken? Did she get close to finding out Barbara’s killer?”

  “She said that she was walking behind the Butterfly House retracing her steps from the morning when she found Barbara. She remembered seeing someone running toward St. Anne’s church. At the time she didn’t think anything about it. They were in jogging clothes and it was early morning.”

  “Did she remember who it was?”

  “A woman,” my aunt said. “But before she could remember anything more, they grabbed her from behind, put a bag over her head, and hauled her away.”

  “Wait, the cottage door was open. I thought she was taken from the house?”

  “Tori said they wanted us to think so,” my aunt said.

  “Wow, that was pretty brave to grab her in the daylight,” I said.

  “Whoever it was knew the back routes away from the tourists and even the workers.”

  “Do you think she’ll be able to ID their voices? I’m certain Rex will get them for kidnapping and attempted murder.”

  “She thinks she can,” Aunt June said. “Tori says she’ll never forget their voices.”

  “Is she safe? Does Rex think they will come back once they find out she’s alive?”

  “Rex has a policeman stationed at her door.”

  “It’s for her protection, right? Surely not because she’s still a person of interest in Barbara’s murder.”

  “Rex said Tori was free to leave Mackinac. After the kidnapping he is certain she didn’t do it.”

  “Oh good. Did Rex give you any idea who his new suspects are?”

  “No,” Aunt June said. “But he did say that he thinks that Barbara’s death was not planned. He thinks she was killed by the diamond smugglers who killed Dan.”

  “What about the woman Tori saw running?”

  “It could be anyone up early for a jog,” Aunt June said.

  I thought about my early walks with Mal and shuddered. “Is there anything else Victoria remembers?”

  “Frankly the coma scrambled her thoughts a bit. They have her sedated still,” Aunt June said. “The doctors told us they are going to keep her one more day to ensure she doesn’t get pneumonia and then release her.”

  “Oh good,” I said. “Please let her know that I’m wishing her well. I sent flowers.”

  “She got them,” Aunt June said. “I tell you what—when they release her I’m taking her back to California with me and not letting her anywhere near the island again for a long time.”

  “Aunt June,” I said.

  “Yes, dear?”

  “Are you and Uncle Alex angry because Papa left the McMurphy to me? Tori was pretty upset with me for getting all the rights to the place.”

  “Oh no. In fact, Alex asked Papa to leave that headache of an old monstrosity to you.”

  I felt relief inside. “But Tori said she wanted her fair share. In fact, she was so angry she wasn’t talking to me when she first got on the island.”

  “I love my daughter, Allie, but after this I’m not going to let her anywhere near Mackinac Island or the McMurphy.”

  “I’m pretty sure the island is safe, but the McMurphy does seem to take a lot of upkeep.”

  “See, quite frankly we’re glad you took over that money pit.”

  “I wish Victoria felt the same way. She said she was going to sue me for a portion. I told her I would give it to her.”

  “Don’t you dare. It’s your inheritance. I’ll have a talk with her.”

  “Thanks, Aunt June.”

  “Stay safe, Allie,” she said. “I don’t want to find you in the hospital as well.”

  “Yes, ma’am.” I hung up my phone and stared off. So Victoria wasn’t taken because she found a clue to the murders. At least it didn’t seem like it. So they took her for the money? Why take Tori? Why not me or Jenn? She had to have seen something. She had to have remembered something.

  I chewed on my lip. Was the jogger a clue? If so, what did she look like? Maybe Tori’s memory would return eventually. Maybe she did have a clue who was behind everything.

  I blew out a long breath. Aunt June was right. The McMurphy could be a money pit, but it was my money pit and I’m glad she understood that. All I had to do now was hope that Victoria would agree with her parents.

  * * *

  Later that night I walked Mal outside on her last nightly trip. We walked out the back door and down the alley. Mal used her favorite patch of grass to do her business. I heard a noise and turned quickly to see a man come out of the shadows. My heartbeat raced. Mal started
to growl again.

  “How is your cousin Victoria doing?” Mr. Sikes asked.

  I swallowed my fear and pulled Mal over toward me. “She’s out of the medically induced coma,” I said.

  “I see,” he said and put his hands in the pockets of his dress slacks. He wore a dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up. “And she’s talking, I presume.”

  A nudge of fear crept up my spine and I took two steps back as he advanced. “My Aunt June says that her memory is scrambled from the lack of oxygen.” I lied. “Thanks for asking.”

  “But you know the truth, don’t you, Allie?”

  “Excuse me?”

  “Those pictures were taken on the boat today. You gave them to the cops. They’ve been all over my boat looking for evidence. I have you to blame for that, don’t I?”

  “I don’t know what you mean,” I said and took two more steps away from him. Mal stayed beside me, growling. There was a Dumpster beside me. I could push it between me and him if I had to.

  “I don’t like liars,” he said. “You have to know you’ve cost me dearly. Those diamonds are mine. I want them back and I don’t want any of those cheap knockoffs you tried to pass on as the real deal.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “Come, come, Allie,” he said. “Diamonds are etched with a serial number. The ones you tried to ransom your cousin with were fakes.”

  “You are the one who has been smuggling diamonds in with the butterfly chrysalises.”

  “Now you’re catching on,” he said. “I need my diamonds back.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous,” I said, my hands starting to tremble as I took another step back. “The cops will have them in evidence for at least thirty days. There’s no way they would give them to me.”

  “That’s not what I think.”

  Mal barked and I glanced behind me to find two men in ski masks approaching. I tried to duck behind the trash bin, but they grabbed my arms. I let go of Mal. “Run, Mal, get Rex!”

  Mal raced past Mr. Sikes, but he caught hold of her leash. “Oh no, you don’t, little dog.” He pulled the leash tight until she was left dangling from her harness and whining.

  “Put her down!” I said and struggled against the two men who held me.