Clam Wake (32 page)

“Do you know how long the Blomquists are staying here?”

Em shook her head. “I hope it's for a few days, though. They have some plans, so maybe I'll get to babysit again.”

“Plans to . . . maybe stay on for Mr. Glover's funeral?”

“I don't know about that. I just heard the kids' dad say something about a plan. Or plans. Brad was crying, so I didn't catch all of it.”

Puzzled, Judith surrendered, deciding that she shouldn't badger Em any longer. “I should go. It's quiet in the living room now. You probably want to watch TV.”

“There isn't a TV here.” Em smiled wryly as she and Judith both stood up. “Kind of weird, huh? But I've got my homework.”

“You're very conscientious,” Judith said. “Do you live close by?”

“In back of this house,” Em replied. “If my parents weren't right there, I'd be kind of scared to stay alone with little kids.”

“I don't blame you.” Judith paused with her hand on the doorknob. “If anyone else comes to the door, ask who it is before you open it.”

Em grimaced. “I will. That was really dumb of me not to do that. But their parents told me they'd be home by eight. It's almost that now.”

Judith wished Em good night and left. Sure enough, a car was coming along the road in her direction. She hurried to the Subaru, but once inside, she waited to make sure it was the younger Glovers. Up close she saw that the vehicle was some kind of big SUV. It slowed down next to her and stopped. The driver rolled down the window.

“Hey,” Zach Bendarek shouted in a suspicious voice. “What's up?”

Judith pressed the button for the passenger window. “It's me,” she called back, glimpsing Katie and Greg behind the Bendareks. “I'm just leaving.”

“Oh,” Zach said. “Take it easy. I think somebody's trying to break into the Weber house. Have a good one.” He rolled the window back up.

J
udith couldn't see any cause for alarm at her aunt and uncle's house. She assumed Zach had seen Jack Larrabee trying to get Renie's attention. But as she turned onto the main road to reach the garage, she saw no sign of Jack's car. Mild panic set in as she hurried up the stairs and pounded on the door. There was no immediate response. Heedless of what anyone within hearing range might think, she yelled Renie's name.

To her relief, she finally heard her cousin's voice. “What's the password?” Renie inquired.

“Pig,” Judith yelled. “Open up!”

It took Renie several seconds to unlock the door. “Is someone chasing you?” she asked. “You look awful.”

“Never mind. Zach told me someone was trying to break in here.”

“Oh. Right.” Renie stretched and yawned. “It was Jack. He's in the can. His car broke down right before he saw us turn off. He's been waiting for AAA to rescue him. The Nissan was towed into Langton.”

“You mean we've got another overnight guest?” Judith asked, struggling to get out of her car coat.

“Probably,” Renie said grudgingly. “We seem to have inherited Auntie Vance's knack for hospitality. Or yours.”

“I get paid for it,” Judith murmured. “Wait,” she said, brightening. “We can drive him over to Scratchit Head and then watch for the phantom ship.”

“Oh . . .” Renie twirled around the kitchen floor. “I'd hoped you'd forgotten that nutty idea.”

Jack had emerged from the bathroom and was about to sit down in the recliner. “What nutty idea?” he asked.

“You don't want to know,” Renie said, opening the wooden bread box on the kitchen counter. “I forgot about Auntie Vance's coffee cake.”

“You can't be hungry already,” Judith declared.

“Homemade coffee cake?” Jack inquired. “I haven't tasted that since my wife left me for the piano tuner.”

“It has to be warmed up,” Renie said after cutting off a slice. “Vance must've made it Wednesday or Thursday.”

“You got any coffee to go with it?” Jack asked.

“No coffee this late,” Renie shot back. “Have some booze like everybody else does up here.”

Jack declined the liquor. “Why do you think my wife left me?” he murmured. “She doesn't know how to play the piano.” He turned to Judith, who'd sat down on the sofa. “You know anything about Ernie Glover's murder?”

“Not really,” Judith replied. “Do you?”

“Just snatches of information I've picked up in Langton and the folks at Scratchit Head,” Jack said, staring at his scuffed black leather boots. “Unreliable for a reporter. I need facts. I figured out approximately where the victim was found because my pal Jerry's wife had spotted what looked like emergency people congregating on the beach Friday afternoon.” His gaze flicked over the cousins. “I've no idea who discovered the body and called the cops. Evelyn—Jerry's wife—thought she saw a couple of women.” The keen gray eyes finally fixed on Judith.

“Okay,” she said reluctantly. “So Renie and I found Ernie Glover. That doesn't mean we have any idea who killed him. We'd just arrived less than an hour before we went down to the beach. And no, we'd never met the victim.”

Jack's expression was bland. “Your relatives must've known him. How did they react to his murder?”

“They haven't reacted,” Renie asserted. “They're in Nebraska.”

The hint of a smile touched Jack's wide mouth. “I think they have phones in Cornhusker country.”

As if on cue, a phone rang. Judith started to get up, but stopped when she saw Jack reach into his shirt pocket and take out his cell. “Larrabee,” he said, and listened to whoever was at the other end. “Okay, so what time will you be back?”

Renie was still in the kitchen. “Damn. This coffee cake's stale. I'll make popcorn. Those portions at Cabaret weren't very big, not even two of them put together.”

Judith sighed, but turned her attention to Jack, who was looking resigned as he listened to the caller. “Then I'll have to walk back to Scratchit Head,” he said into the cell. “My hosts are out for the evening. Tell the auto repair shop to call me tomorrow at this number when they get finished.” He paused. “How backed up can they be in a little town? . . . Right, I know it's a big island. Is there a car rental nearby?” Another pause. “How I am supposed to get way up to Hoak Arbor? . . . Screw it.” He clicked off the cell. “Damned isolated small towns. Only one mechanic at this end of the island and he's busy. Why didn't I stay on the mainland?”

“Quit bitching,” Renie called from the stove, where she was heating oil in a kettle. “You think you've got a problem? The Webers don't have any microwave popcorn. I have to do this the old-fashioned way.”

Jack shot her a dirty look, but when he spoke it was to Judith. “You're stuck with me because Jerry and Evelyn are out for the evening. They won't get back until after midnight. I should call them now to see if they can pick me up on their way home from Libertyville.” He reached again for the cell.

“Wait,” Judith said. “We can drive you over to your friends' house, around eleven. Do you have a key?”

“I know where they keep the spare,” he replied, “but why wait?”

Judith raised her voice to be heard over the sound of popcorn popping. “Well . . . I'm kind of tired. It's been a long day. We dug clams earlier. And,” she went on, kicking herself for admitting it even if the excuse was exaggerated, “I have an artificial hip. I have to rest it.”

“Oh. Of course.” Jack seemed satisfied with the explanation.

“Hey,” Renie called out as she removed the kettle from the stove, “we can play three-handed pinochle. How about it, Larrabee?”

“I'm game,” he said.

“Then we're on,” Renie declared.

For the next two hours, Judith put murder out of her mind. Instead, she made a killing of her own, collecting a dollar and fifty cents' worth of the quarters they had put into the pot for each game. At ten after eleven, they left the house, driving out into the moonless night. The clouds still hung low, but no rain had fallen. Nor were there many cars on the road. Shortly after eleven thirty they let Jack off at the well-tended rambler owned by Jerry and Evelyn. The cousins waited to make sure he found the key and got inside before they drove away.

But they didn't go far. Judith parked at the end of the Scratchit Head road that stopped where the narrow inlet cut into the island. They could see out not only to the bay, but also to the small, narrow settlement below Obsession Shores and the marina belonging to the spit's homeowners.

Renie peered at her watch. “We've got fifteen minutes to wait for the phantom ship,” she informed Judith. “I can't believe we didn't have any visitors while we were playing cards.”

“I can't either,” Judith admitted. “In fact, it's kind of creepy.”

Renie stared at her cousin. “What do you mean?”

Judith shook herself. “I don't know. It's as if . . . it's like the lull before the storm. That's the only way I can describe the feeling.”

Renie gazed out through the windshield. “Storms aren't uncommon up here this time of year. But I assume that's not what you mean.”

“That's right. I don't.”

“Hey,” Renie said, straining for a better look at Scratchit Head's main road, “I see a car. That must be Jack's friends.”

“Probably,” Judith murmured, but kept her eyes fixed on the marina. “Fifty boats, but only thirty-six houses. Interesting.”

“It is?” Renie sounded skeptical. “Why?”

“It could mean that people who don't live along the spit can rent marina space to outsiders.”

“Or,” Renie said drolly, “some of the residents have more than one boat. Are you suggesting that the phantom ship comes from there?”

“That's my best guess,” Judith responded. “I keep waiting for somebody to come down to the marina. It'd take some time to start the boat and head out toward the bay.”

“Most of the houses are dark,” Renie noted. “I wonder if they're permanent residents or summer retreats. I don't recall Auntie Vance ever talking about the people at the spit.”

“They're very isolated. Not much of a view, except at the west end by the bay. The bluffs on both sides cut them off. There's not a lot of room for gardens. Maybe the people who live there are privacy fiends. From what little I can see, the houses are rather handsome. It could be a gated community. You certainly can't see anything from the road.”

Renie checked her watch again. “It's seven to midnight. Maybe the mystery boat's skipper doesn't go out on Sundays.”

“Just our luck if he doesn't.” Judith shifted uncomfortably in the driver's seat. “Damn. I've been sitting too long. I've got to get up and stretch. Don't take your eyes off the marina.”

“I can't,” Renie muttered. “I'm starting to feel as if I'm hypnotized.”

“Stay that way,” Judith said, opening the door. “I'll walk around the car a couple of times.”

“Go for it.” Renie kept staring.

The damp air invigorated Judith as she carefully walked around the Subaru once before pausing to look over to Obsession Shores. There was nothing she could see. The bluff by the spit blotted out everything except the forest between the development and the road. Shrugging, she started to take a second turn, but suddenly stopped as something to her left caught her eye. Judith stood transfixed, watching the single running light move from what must have been the boathouse at Obsession Shores. She hurried back to the driver's side of the Subaru, leaning in to alert Renie.

“Mystery ship just came out of the boathouse. Quick, take a look.”

Scrambling out of the car, Renie glanced again at her watch. “I'll be damned,” she breathed. “It's midnight!”

“Who is it?” Judith muttered, as much to herself as to her cousin. “I was certain the boat must've come from here or even Scratchit Head.”

“At least you've narrowed the suspects,” Renie remarked. “Too bad we don't know all of the boat owners.”

“Whoever it is appears to be turning north and out of sight,” Judith said. “Let's go back to Obsession Shores. We can't find out anything from standing here.”

The cousins drove back in virtual silence, both lost in thought. And conjecture. But five minutes later, when they reached the Weber house, Judith turned off the headlights, but kept going.

“Oh, no!” Renie cried. “We're not staying up all night waiting for the boat to come back, are we?”

“Cut me some slack,” Judith pleaded, driving slowly down the road to the beach steps. “Twenty minutes, that's all. I can't think what any of those rather small boats would be doing every night, especially during the winter. Aren't you curious?”

Renie shot Judith a disparaging glance. “Only about whether or not you've lost your mind.”

Judith braked, then put the car into reverse as she backed away from the staircase while keeping the boathouse within view. “Go ahead, time me.”

“I'll give you until twelve thirty,” Renie replied.

“Fine.” Judith sat back and folded her arms.

“I see a ship,” Renie announced after a few minutes had passed. “It's a freighter. Do you care?”

“Not unless it rammed the little boat.”

“It's a pretty sight, though. I wonder where it came from,” Renie mused. “Malaysia, maybe. Or Costa Rica or Madagascar. Cargo might be bananas or coconuts or petroleum. It could bring vast wealth to our hometown. Tuna fish, maybe, or tires. It might even be a slave ship from a country that has its name changed so often that I—”

Judith glared at Renie. “Would you please stop jabbering? You're getting on my nerves.”

Renie uttered an exaggerated sigh. “I'm bored.” She peered at her watch. “It's twelve eighteen.”