Dead in the Water (26 page)

I hadn't noticed the duffel in his hand until now. It looked familiar, despite the mud on it and a few rips and tears in the side. One of the carry straps was gone too.

He dropped it on the floor and looked at me with trepidation in his eyes.

I met his look with a stern face. “Is all the money in it?”

“
I guess.”

“
Where?”

“
It washed ashore near my uncle's old fishing shack where the river takes a turn eastward.”

I reconsidered my earlier impulse to remove the Egrets from my list of suspects.

“
Like Grandfather told you. The swamp takes things, then gives them back.”

“
Don't hand me that line of Indian mumbo jumbo. Why did you take this? You created nothing but trouble for a lot of people.”

“
Okay, okay. The swamp didn't take it. The explanation is pretty simple. Some kids in the tribe saw your uncle dump it off. They got excited and took it, even more excited when they found the money in it, then terrified because they knew it wasn't theirs. They didn't know what to do, so they hid it for a while, then finally told their parents. The parents came to us for help, and Grandfather said we would take care of it.”

“
You should have taken it to the cops and spun this story for them to laugh at.” I knew I was being mean to him. I could see the truth in his face, but I was crazy with lack of sleep and with how losing this money had probably resulted in Madeleine's kidnapping and worse. It had to be connected to my uncle's murder somehow. I dropped my gaze to the floor and refused to meet his eyes. I wanted to believe him, but could I?

“
I'm going. Believe what you want to believe.” He shoved the duffel toward me with the toe of his shoe as if it was contaminated with some disgusting virus. He slammed the door, leaving me with half a million soggy dollars at my feet. Well, wasn't this a fine mess?

I determined not to make a move until I talked with Nappi tonight, but for now, I had a business to run. I shoved the duffel into the back of my bedroom closet, took a quick shower and headed for the shop.

When I arrived at the shop Madeleine had already opened the doors. And we had another visitor. Frida.

“
Okay, Eve. Let's talk. Actually, I mean you talk and I'll listen. I'm sure you have a lot to tell me.”

Oops. From the expression of complete certainty on her face, it was clear Frida had done her homework on my uncle. I had no idea how much she knew so I couldn't decide what to tell her and what to keep to myself. Anything to do with ransom money was off the table for discussion with the cops, and Frida was a cop. The rest of the story I would be safe spilling.

Frida leaned against the counter in the back room. “Just to get you in the mood for chatting, I can tell you this. Winston's phone, a ‘burner' I believe it's called, was meant to be destroyed, but instead found its way into your couch, probably fell out of Winston's pocket the morning of the airboat ride. It had some interesting numbers on it. Contacts for his business. All mob related. Nothing from his personal life. Nappi's number was there. Did you know they were doing business together?”

I know I looked shocked, but not for the reason Frida suspected. Nappi had lied to me. He said they never used the phone, that they only met in person.

“
So here's where I'm at in this investigation. The only contact in that phone who has direct ties to this area of the country is your Mr. Napolitani. Aside from him, a known family man, the other possibilities for Winston's killer or killers have to be the Hardys. We know they were working for someone, and we're certain their airboat business was only a front for drugs, money transport or other illegal activities. Now they're in the wind. We'd like to have a chat with them, like the one we had with your friend, Nappi. Can you help us with that?”

I shook my head.

“
Okay, then is there anything you can fill us in on that we don't know?”

“
There was money involved.” I thought about the bag filled with cash that I'd moved into the back of my closet.
Not that money.

I swallowed. “Here's all I know. Winston made a deal with his bosses to do a final job for them before he retired.”

Frida let out a snort of a laugh. “No one retires from the mob.”

“
They do if they can get someone in the mob to broker the deal.”

“
Nappi. So you're saying that's why his number was on Winston's burner?”

Well, no, I was not saying that, but it was fine with me if Frida thought so. I'd deal with Nappi later. Tonight, over pasta and clam sauce.

“
Winston was to deliver a large sum of money for his bosses to someone here. I think it was the Hardys.” There, I said it.

Frida smiled. “Bingo. He left the money in the swamp, and it got taken or lost or misplaced or something. The mob got mad and killed him.” She paused, giving me time to collect the pieces of a story I could tell her.

“
Nappi told you as he did me that the mob never kills someone because that person takes their money. They get it back first; then they may kill the individual. Or worse. I don't think the mob did in my uncle.”

“
Just testing out a theory, but I know you're right. The bullet that killed him according to ballistics probably came from a rifle, maybe a Kalashnikov. Not the way the mob does hits.”

Well, not the American mob but Russian mob, maybe.

“
Okay, Eve, you tell me. Who do you think killed him?”

“
I don't know.”

“
I don't either, but I'm going to keep the pressure on to find the Hardys, and I'll be talking on and off with Mr. Napolitani. They're my best leads.”

“
So you don't think Nappi did it?”

“
He produced an alibi for the time. Of course, he could have had your uncle killed.”

I shook my head.

“
You still trust that guy? You are one naïve woman. We had to drop the charges because of the alibi, but he's still on my radar.”

Mine, too. Why had he lied to me and told me he and Winston never made phone contact? He seemed so certain his number wouldn't turn up on my uncle's burner phone.

Frida left, cautioning me again about continuing my friendship with Nappi. If only she knew he was cooking me dinner at my place tonight. I contemplated telling her, but thought better of it.

The store was busy, giving Madeleine and me little time to talk about Frida's visit. The last time I promised to drop by our clients in West Palm I'd reneged and came back with nothing to add to our stock. After all the sales today, our store looked as if we had just had an “everything must go” event and were about to close up shop forever.

“
It's a poor showing for two gals who pride themselves on their fashion sense,” I said. “One of us is going to have to nag the matrons on the coast for items. Just because the stock market has bounced back doesn't mean they won't need a bit of cash to use at the casinos.”

I combined two racks of dresses into one, making it look full, but tricks like that wouldn't put more inventory in our store.

“
I'll pay them a visit tomorrow,” Madeleine said as she pushed the empty rack into the back of the store. “They'll come through with something. What other consignment shop comes to your house to pick up items?”

The bell dinged, signaling a customer had entered.

“
Go ahead and take off, Madeleine. You've been doing more than your share here, and you'll need to get up early to drive to the coast tomorrow.”

Madeleine stared at the customer. “It's just as well. She's not someone I want to deal with anyway.”

I was surprised at her comment until I realized the person was Darlene. Madeleine gave her a curt nod of the head and left.

“
I'm getting ready to close.” I wasn't keen on dealing with Darlene, either.

“
That's why I'm here. I've got something important to talk about. She reached back and flipped the sign in the window to closed. “I don't want anybody to see me.”

I wasn't quite comfortable being alone in the store with her. I was taller than she was, sure, and younger too, but there was something edgy about the woman that set me on guard. Usually. Today, however, all I picked up from her was raw terror.

“
Let's go back here. I've got a pot of coffee on.”

“
No booze?” She followed me into the back room.

“
It's a consignment shop, not a bar.”

She unwound the scarf she was wearing around her neck and over her hair. I noticed she'd been neglecting her roots, which were stark white against the bottle red.

“
I'll just come right out with it. I took the money. Here.” She plopped her huge purse on the counter, and with shaking hands, extracted the other satchel Winston had carried the day of his death. “You take it. I know someone is tailing me, watching me. I don't want it. It's too much trouble.”

I tried not to look surprised, but I was in a state of shock. Two missing bags of money appearing in one day. And dropped into my hands. I did not want the responsibility for either of them.

“
It's not my money, Darlene. It belongs to the mob.”

“
Right. So you can return it to the mob.”

“
Why me?”

“
Cuz you've got mob contacts.”

“
So do you.”

“
Mine don't like me or trust me much, and I feel the same about them. Your contact is your buddy, friend, the big Kahuna. He can get it to the right people.” She cleared her throat and looked around the room as if expecting someone to jump out from under the dress racks. “I gotta run.”

I reached out and grabbed her arm. “Whoa. You're not leaving until you answer a few of my questions. Sit.” I pushed her into a chair.

“
First, why did you take it? You knew it would cause trouble for Winston.”

“
I don't know. I sort of panicked. It was sitting there on the floor of the boat, and Winston was babbling on and on about the ride with you. It just seemed so easy. I reached down and dropped the duffel into my purse. Once I'd done it, it was as if the money didn't exist anymore. It was gone. It was mine then.”

“
You did this just before he was shot?”

“
Right after the driver of the boat did that wheelie thing, before we pulled up to the dock. Don't you see? There was all this money and it was going into the hands of the wrong people. I've never had much of anything and—”

“
And he'd just dropped the ransom for the Russians in the swamp. He'd gotten directions to do that from the kidnappers, right? He was killing two birds with one stone: money dropped in the swamp for the Russian mob and money in the remaining duffel the delivery for the American mob, his bosses.”

“
Yes. I knew about the Russians taking Sophia and Boris' sister. And he told me this was his last job for his bosses.”

“
You're not making any sense. It was so stupid taking the money. You'd have been found out sooner or later.”

“
I know, I know. I wasn't thinking …. Then Winston was shot and I was ….” Darlene teared up.

“
You were home free. And wasn't that a lucky break for you? I thought you loved my uncle. You had us running around in circles trying to figure out what happened. But eventually someone would suspect you.”

“
I know that now. So I returned it.”

“
Did Sophia and Boris know you took it?”

“
No.”

“
Do you think they suspect you took it?”

“
Maybe.”

“
You can't make this all go away by giving me the money.”

“
I guess being around so much money that day made me kind of crazy for a while. But now I know better.” She jumped up from the chair and ran for the door. She was faster than I expected for a woman of her age and girth. Before I could stop her she ran out into the parking area. I caught her just as she unlocked her rental.

“
I'm going to talk to Mr. Napolitani. I'll tell him what you said and about the money. We'll see what we can do. Where will you be tonight?”

She turned to me, a black look on her face. “You are a foolish woman. Don't you understand that he would only support his mob associates? I'm as good as dead if that man or Winston's bosses get a hold of me.”

“
I have a place for you to hide,” I said. It was a stupid gesture on my part, but it meant I could keep track of where she was.

Madeleine's smile at seeing me on her doorstep faded quickly when she heard what I had to say. She was almost too enraged to speak. “Are you out of your mind? Absolutely not. First, I can't stand the woman. Second, she's a criminal. Who knows what else she will do? I don't want it done in my house.”

Madeleine had a right to be angry with me. Everything she said about Darlene was true, but I didn't know where else to stash the woman. It had to be a place where I could keep an eye on her and where no one she knew would look for her. Since everyone was aware of the enmity between her and Madeleine, it seemed like a perfect solution. Except Madeleine didn't like it, and it was her house. She stamped her foot and stood unmoving in her front doorway. There was no way of getting beyond her without the help of an army of invading Visigoths.