I looked back at my house and at the crew waiting to process the crime scene before saying, “I’ll be right there.” Then I turned my attention to my detective friends, “You two want to give me a heads up what this is all about?”
“The skinny?” Detective Roxy asked. She bit her bottom lip, removing a section of Candy Apple lip gloss in the process.
I nodded quickly, knowing my time was short.
It was Detective Brandle who answered, holding out his arms for me to hand over Captain Jack at the same time. “Finn and his buddies were arrested for a robbery a decade ago. A big robbery. But evidence came up missing before the FBI could make their case, and well, now they can.”
I blinked a couple of times, not sure if I understood what he was saying. If Finn was a millionaire, it was news to me.
Officer Kevin joined us. “Real quick, do you know the victim?” Kevin used his thumb to motion back to my houseboat. He had an orange sawhorse under his arm. I remembered they used them before to block off the dock at a previous crime scene. The sawhorses served to keep curious onlookers from accidentally finding their way into a crime scene. As far as I could tell, it worked.
“No, I’ve never seen him,” I said and then walked away to meet Agent Cooper. That of course was a lie.
2
“You honestly think my husband would murder a man, right next to me, and I wouldn’t hear anything?”
We were sitting inside Sweet Thangs, my cinnamon roll and chai latte sitting completely untouched (a crime in and of itself) and I had already had it with Agent Cooper’s assumptions.
“No, I don’t. So, what is it you’re not telling me?” Agent Cooper asked, his voice steely.
My mouth snapped shut and I glared something fierce at my table companion.
“You don’t think that it’s suspicious that you wake up next to a dead body, in your bed, and you have no idea how he got there?” It was Agent Cooper’s turn to be incredulous.
I threw my hands up, which were thankfully squeaky clean along with my shirt courtesy of Sweet Thangs manager, Marigold. Silky material with belled sleeves and a scoop neck wasn’t my style, but fashion was the least of my worries at the moment. I was just thankful to have a clean shirt on and that I was able to scrub up some more in the employees’ bathroom. Officer Kevin also did me a favor by retrieving my purse and cell phone from the houseboat. I felt a little more put together, but not much.
“What do you know about Finnigan’s past?” Agent Cooper asked.
I had been waiting for this question. “Not a lot,” I replied, which was the truth. “But I know he has a good heart and he’s a good person.”
“There’s a winning endorsement,” Agent Cooper mumbled while taking a sip of his black coffee. Even I had to admit that it sounded weak, but I really didn’t know much about Finn’s past. His father had dotted in and out of his life, his mother was even more unstable, and Finn kept getting into trouble until Mr. Murphy came along and set him straight. I decided to elaborate and say just as much to Agent Cooper.
He followed up with, “Do you have a relationship with his sister?”
That question caught me off guard and Agent Cooper knew it. The agent must’ve really done his homework to ask about Katherine.
“Yes,” I said, measuring my words. “She pops in from time to time, or we meet her for lunch.” More like she serves us fried pickles and beer at the bar she works at, but same difference. Kat was a bit of a firecracker. Whip smart and feisty. Men had a tendency to fall at her feet, and she stepped on them. Instead of pouring her brains into books and studying, she poured herself into her work and the drinks she served five days a week at Red’s.
The agent brought up a picture on his phone and placed it on the table for me to view. Four high school boys, looking like trouble, stared back at the camera. I spotted Finn right away. He was on the far right, his hands tucked into his shorts pockets, trouble-making grin on his face. My heart pounded a little harder as I realized the kid next to him, Cody, was the same murdered man from this morning. He may be about 20 years younger, but he had the same light features and curly hair. A total surfer dude. The other two boys’ identities were lost to me.
I pointed Finn out to Agent Cooper but told him I didn’t know the rest of the boys.
“Take a good look. Are you sure no one else looks familiar?”
I took a second look but gave the same answer.
“And you’re certain you don’t know the victim on the boat.”
“Not a clue.”
Here’s the thing: I wasn’t exactly sure why I was keeping Cody’s identity a secret. Agent Cooper obviously knew who he was, but it seemed important to me to feign ignorance. Maybe it’s because Cody had been the best computer hacker this side of the Mason Dixon. Seeing that included all of Chicago, Tampa and New York City, that’s saying something. In fact, Cody had helped me out on a case in Tampa last year, hacking into a plastic surgeon’s personal computer for me. Of course, back then I didn’t know him personally or even by name. Finn had brokered the deal, but Cody had introduced himself after Finn and I got married, and he trusted me with his secret. It felt like identifying Cody would implicate me in far more than a name and face match.
“Here’s what I think happened,” Agent Cooper said. “Finn’s on the run. That guy on your houseboat? He was a hired hand, paid to kill Finn for his past crimes, only Finn got the jump on him.”
I actually might have snorted; I know I laughed. “So wait, you’re saying Finn killed a hitman, in our bed, left me there with the body and fled off into the night?” I dabbed the corner of my eyes with my napkin, more for show than actually having any tears from laughing. “That’s impressive, and I know you don’t believe that for a second.”
“Just like how you don’t know anyone else in this photo,” Agent Cooper responded.
Touché.
I looked up at Agent Cooper and met his eyes. He thought I was full of it. That made two of us. We were at an impasse.
As if sensing the turn of conversation, my cell phone miraculously rang. I looked down at the unknown number and answered it, welcoming the interruption.
“Ziva Hudson,” I said, standing up and walking away from the table.
Agent Cooper gave an amused laugh at the sound of my surname. I resisted the urge to flip him off. He had a serious beef with my hubby and I had no idea what it was.
“Mrs. Hudson. Nile Anders. Your friend Aria told me to call you right away,” the man on the phone said.
Bless my bestie. News travels fast in a small town. Leave it to her to think to call an attorney. Heaven knows I needed one.
“Awesome, yes, thank you so much for calling me.”
“I understand you’re having an official meeting at the moment,” Mr. Anders said.
“Mm-hmm,” I said by way of confirmation. How in the world would Mr. Anders have known that? I scanned the bakery, smiling the second I spotted my bestie outside the front window. Aria was parked out front in her hot little sports car, just waiting until I was free to pounce.
“Well as an attorney, I’m going to advise you to stop talking at this moment. Let the authorities know that you’ve retained legal counsel, that is, if that is your wish?”
“That would be wonderful,” I said, turning around and smiling while saying the words to Mr. Special Agent. My amusement was lost on him. “And I think I’ll take you up on your advice.”
“Excellent. Let me see what I can do with my schedule and then I’ll phone you back. We should meet sometime today.”
“Okay, sounds great.” I also thought it must be nice to have Delgado as a surname. Aria’s husband commanded respect. People fell over themselves to please him (hence the early morning phone call from the best attorney in Savannah). Regardless of Mr. Anders’ motives, I was pleased to have retained him.
I clicked off with the attorney and put my phone in my purse.
“Well it just so happens that was my attorney. I’ve been advise
d to cut this little conversation short and he’ll take it up from here.” I waited a beat for Agent Cooper to speak, and when he didn’t, I picked up my drink, turned on my heel, and walked out of Sweet Thangs. Usually one of my favorite places, I was more than happy to put the candy-cane stripped columns behind me.
The second I was outside, Aria waved for me to join her, and I thought that was an excellent plan.
“What’s up with the shirt?” Aria asked me.
Leave it to my bestie to question my wardrobe choices as opposed to the pressing matter at hand. “Fashion emergency,” I responded, getting settled in her car and clicking on my seatbelt. The movement made my shoulder ache.
“What’s wrong?” Aria asked.
“Nothing. I just slept on it wrong.” I rubbed the pain away.
Aria handed me a fresh chai latte, iced this time, and a box of chocolates. The Valentine’s Day clearance sticker was still plastered on the front, but I didn’t care. In my opinion, February 15th was the best holiday of all—all the chocolates go on sale. Nothing sweeter than that.
I peeled off the cellophane and dug into a heart-shaped chocolate. Raspberry cream melted into my mouth. I took a second to savor it before coming back down to reality.
“Better?” Aria asked while maneuvering into traffic.
“Slightly.” I popped another chocolate into my mouth. Double chocolate this time. Even better. I would’ve offered Aria one, but she’d just as soon eat dirt. That is, if dirt could be considered a health food.
“How did you hear?” I asked Aria, referring to my morning.
“Mrs. J., who else? I guess she figured if anyone would know what had happened, it would be me.”
“Smart thinking. You were first on my list to call.” I went for my third chocolate. Hazelnut, which was also delicious.
“So, what is going on?” Aria asked.
I took a shaky breath before attempting to speak, something completely out of character.
Aria noticed. “Are you okay?”
What was it with me? I was usually so composed, even when dealing with dead bodies. I suppose it was a big indicator as to just how big and upsetting this morning had been, given the fact that I thought the victim had been Finn and that he was still missing.
“Yeah, I’m okay. It’s just, I woke this morning to a dead man in my bed.”
“You what?!” Aria swerved over to the side of the road. I’m guessing she wasn’t expecting that.
I kept talking. “At first I thought it was Finn, you know? Who else would be sleeping next to me? It turned out to be a buddy of his, someone from his past, a longtime friend if you will.”
“You knew him?”
I nodded but waved Aria’s question away. “But even more bizarre, I have no idea where Finn is. For all I know, whoever murdered his buddy could’ve made off with him.”
“You don’t think—” Aria left the unspoken question in the air.
“That Finn had anything to do with it? Sweet sugar, I sincerely hope not, but if he did, he’d have a damn good reason.”
“That he would. And you can bet he wouldn’t have left you there.”
“That’s what I tried to tell the FBI, but they seem to think that is just the sort of thing that Finn would do.”
“The FBI?” Aria asked.
“Oh yeah, it gets better. The FBI has its sights set on Finn for a past crime. They were planning on interviewing him this morning. Detective Brandle has even been brought back in.”
“So, the FBI wants to question your husband, but instead they find you and a dead body.”
“Yep,” I replied.
“Holy guacamole.”
“You can say that again.” I sipped my iced latte and tried to wash the worry away. It didn’t budge.
“So, no word from Finn?” Aria asked.
“No.” I checked my phone for the hundredth time in the last two hours. “I need to talk to Mr. Murphy,” I said suddenly. Mr. Murphy was Finn’s surrogate father-figure. With soft white hair, round-rimmed glasses and a cherry-colored nose, he often reminded me of Geppetto from Pinocchio. He owned the marina and most mornings could usually be found running the bait shop.
“Want me to come with?” Aria asked.
“No, but do me a favor. See if they’ll let you on board the house, or better yet, ask Detective Roxy if she can pack me an overnight bag.” I was thinking the body should be gone by now, but I knew my home was still an active crime scene. I wasn’t sure what could be removed. Hopefully my underwear and toothbrush were an exception.
“Okay, yeah, I can do that.”
“Thanks, girl. It’ll probably only take a few minutes with Mr. Murphy. I can pop in to chat with him while you do that.” Inside I was praying Finn had gotten in touch with the old man and given us some kind of clue as to what is going on. None of this was making any sense. And even deeper than that, if I allowed myself to think about it, I wondered if Finn was still alive.
I spotted Finn’s right-hand man, Chris, stocking the ice chest outside the bait shop. Chris had taken over many of Finn’s jobs on the docks now that Finn was focusing on charter fishing.
“Chris, you didn’t see anything did you?” Like most deckhands, Chris would be onsite before the sunrise. It was one aspect of the job that I would never be able to cut. Well that and the open ocean made me nervous. The sharks anyway.
“’Fraid not. I came in late this morning. Molly had her first ultrasound appointment.” Chris beamed.
Chris and Molly had just celebrated their one-year wedding anniversary last month.
“Oh my goodness, I hadn’t heard. Congratulations!” I exclaimed.
“Thanks. Yeah, she’s due in October and hasn’t been feeling well. But I heard that’s normal?” Chris seemed unsure and a tad concerned. It was cute.
“Yeah, that it is. Tell her I said congrats, and promise me you’ll call me if you hear from Finn, got it?”
Chris looked uneasy but nodded that he would. I wasn’t sure I trusted his response and I had a feeling his growing family had something to do with it. Can’t say that I blamed him. If the roles were reversed, I’d avoid murder investigations and missing husbands, too.
“Mr. Murphy inside?” I motioned to the shop. Chris nodded. I said my goodbyes and walked on in.
I was relieved to find the bait shop empty. Obviously, the authorities hadn’t thought to interview Mr. Murphy, but I knew they’d be in there any moment. Agent Cooper might not know who Mr. Murphy was— well, at least I didn’t think he did—but Detective Roxy sure did. She was a good cop, and I knew she’d pass the information on. Something I was both grateful for and terrified of. I tried to remind myself that my husband was a good man, but that doesn’t mean that had always been the case. Was this Karma coming to right all his wrongs? Sweet sugar, I hoped it wasn’t all that bad.
I let out a long breath and scanned the bait shop. Mr. Murphy was where I expected him, sitting behind the counter, reading the paper. If it wasn’t for the chaos outside of the window, it would’ve seemed like an ordinary day at the docks.
“Ziva my dear, I’d ask how you’re doing, but I know not well. So how about I ask how I can help?”
“Have you heard from him? Do you know where he is?”
“Not a clue.”
Mr. Murphy’s response hit me harder than I wanted it to. A tear leaked from my eye despite my best effort to keep them in check.
“Now don’t go crying. I’m sure everything will be all right.”
“How can you say that?” I asked, needing more reassurance than I wanted to admit.
“He’s been in hotter water before.”
“He has?” I know I’ve had my fair share of close encounters of the homicidal variety, but not Finn.
Mr. Murphy folded down the paper and gave me a level stare before speaking. “I’m going to assume Finn didn’t fully confess his past deeds before you two said I do.”
“I guess not, I mean, I don’t know. He told me bits and pi
eces, never a full story though. I guess I didn’t want to know.” I looked down at my hands. I was absentmindedly spinning the rose gold ring on my finger. “Agent Cooper had a few things to say, but I just don’t know if I can believe it.”
“The one thing you can be sure of is that Finn won’t be away from you for long. He’ll find a way back. Of that, I’m sure.”
“I hope so,” I replied.
“In the meantime, I’m here if you need anything. Don’t be a stranger.”
I promised I wouldn’t be as I stepped out of the bait shop and walked towards Aria’s car, purposely avoiding looking at the docks. It was too much.
While walking across the gravel parking, my phone vibrated in my pocket. I retrieved it faster than you could say Jackie Robinson and fumbled to look at the screen. Of course, I had been desperately praying for it to be Finn, but instead I was greeted by the name Sugar & Sass across my screen.
My flagship store, here in Port Haven, was my baby. When we transferred back from Tampa to Port Haven this past Christmas, the manager and I swapped spots, and now she headed up my Tampa location while I took back home base. I had thought it would be fun and exciting to live someplace new, but the truth was I loved my hometown and wanted to be close to my family and my bestie. Especially after the fiasco in Puerto Rico, I realized just how much my family meant to me.
Sugar & Sass carried an all-natural organic line of beauty products—sugar scrubs, lotion bars, and cosmetics. I had incorporated all my years of experience as a Beauty Secrets Representative into my own beauty line business. In a year and a half, my little store had grown to include a spa line that was carried in some of the top hotel spas in the world and sold in high-end luxury magazines across the country. We had one store in Port Haven, another in Tampa, and a third would soon sprout up in Chicago and possibly even in New York City. My business was growing, and I couldn’t be prouder, which is why no matter how crazy my morning had been, I answered the phone.
“Anna, what’s up?” I said when I answered the line.
Charm & Deception Page 2
