Deadly Gift (22 page)

“A letter from home already? How nice,” Sean said.

She nodded and stuffed the envelope in her pocket. “A friend,” she said briefly. “I guess he misses me.”

“A friend, huh?” Kat teased.

Caer tried to laugh easily. She knew they were all studying her. “Not that kind of a friend. Just a guy I work with,” she assured them.

“Friends and family are the stuff of life,” Sean said gruffly.

“Okay, then, we’re out of here. Later, folks,” Zach said, sounding impatient.

He hadn’t said a word about the letter. And she knew he was still suspicious of her, no matter how close they might have become in some ways.

As he ushered her out, she felt the letter burning against her flesh through the layers of her clothing, as if it were on fire.

“W
hat the hell are we doing out here?” Caer demanded, sitting next to Zach as he drove them to the wharf.

“Even I would have expected you to be investigating those blueberries.”

“Product tampering is a federal crime,” he told her. “The police and the FBI will be doing everything that can be done. Although I have to admit, I think the person behind it is in Sean’s household.”

She gasped. “What?”

“We have to go back to the beginning,” he said. “Eddie missing, Eddie dead. Sean sick—but so soon after he left the States that it’s more than possible that he consumed whatever caused it while he was here. They tested for every bacterium in the world, but they never tested for metals. Arsenic. More exotic things.”

“You think someone has been dosing him with arsenic?”

“Maybe. It’s possible. Or it might not be a metal at all. There’s always the gyromitra family.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

He laughed. “Gyromitra. The false morels. And some of them don’t cause any physical effects for hours.”

“And then they cause severe abdominal pain, vomiting and diarrhea?”

“You guessed it. It’s unlikely the doctors would have recognized it, because by the time he got to the hospital, nothing would have been left in his stomach to act as evidence.”

“Do you think Sean was meant to die, then?”

“Definitely.”

“But why would someone want to kill him?”

“He’s rich.”

“But…his share of the business would go to Kat, and neither of us thinks she would ever hurt her father. So…why?”

“I think someone wanted him out of the way because Eddie had discovered something.

“Sean and Eddie had a whole separate business. You know how fascinated Sean is with Nigel Bridgewater. I’ve been using Eddie’s computer to check out his research. Here’s the thing, both Eddie and Sean believed that Nigel was carrying huge sums of money, as well as crucial documents, when he learned that the British were on his trail. When he was apprehended, he had nothing on him. It was important to him not to implicate anyone who had financed or otherwise helped him. Remember, the British considered the Revolution to be an act of treason. It wasn’t called a war until it was over. Anyone who signed the Declaration of Independence was ready to accept a hangman’s noose if apprehended.”

“They signed it anyway.”

“Yes, and we take what they did for granted because the war was won, but it might not have been. Back then, plenty of people prayed for independence from Great Britain, but that didn’t mean they were ready to die for it. Nigel Bridgewater was a careful man with a great respect for those who wanted to help him but might not have wanted to die for it. So he hid whatever he was carrying, papers
and
money, which means it’s possible he really did leave behind a buried treasure.”

“And Sean and Eddie were hunting for that treasure,” Caer said thoughtfully.

“I may be way off, but Eddie also loved Sean like a brother, and we know that he sent him something that he considered a big deal. With any luck, whatever it is will show up soon, because I think it will prove me right. I think Eddie discovered the treasure.”

“But…if Eddie did find the treasure and was killed for it, wouldn’t whoever killed him have taken the treasure and made off with it by now?”

“Not if Eddie didn’t actually have the treasure in his possession but had only left some kind of clue, which this person hasn’t discovered as yet,” Sean explained. “I’m assuming the killer wanted timing. Eddie and Sean gone at once, or practically at once, or why kill Eddie without having the treasure? Unless the killer was certain there was a clue that would lead him—or her—to the treasure whether Eddie was around or not.
Or,
Eddie was growing suspicious and the killer had to take the chance that he/she would still find the treasure.”

“So we’re going out looking for treasure?”

“Yup.”

“And you think we’re going to be able to find a treasure no one else has been able to find?” she asked skeptically.

“Exactly. Not even the killer, who probably thought he had it figured out, then discovered he’d killed Eddie and gone after Sean prematurely. Why is he still trying to kill? Fear of exposure. Or fear that he won’t get to the treasure first.”

“You’re crazy, too,” she told him.

He smiled. “There are a number of charts in Sean’s office.”

“Maritime charts,” she agreed.

“One of them was taken out of the frame, and lines were drawn on it,” he said.

“And no one else noticed?”

“No, it’s subtle, just a darkening of some of the original markings. If Sean were to really study it, he would see it. If I hadn’t been in there looking around last night, I might not have noticed it, either.”

“So you have a line on a chart?” she asked him.

“Yes.”

“And it leads to…?”

“Cow Cay. Eddie’s boat was found right off of Cow Cay,” he explained.

She frowned, and met his gaze. “Zach, do you realize that you’ve passed the wharf?”

“Of course I do.”

“So where are we going?”

“To buy supplies.”

“Like?”

“Shovels. How else do you dig for buried treasure?”

“You
are
crazy,” she told him.

“I don’t think so.”

“Crazy people never think they’re crazy,” she said.

He shrugged. “All right, maybe I’m a
little
crazy. I guess it was the birds last night.”

“The birds?”

“You didn’t see them? There must have been hundreds of them.”

“What kind of birds?”

To Zach’s surprise, Caer appeared agitated.

“Crows, I think. Maybe ravens. They were big crows, if they weren’t ravens.”

“No, I didn’t see them,” she told him. She was looking straight ahead. Had he imagined the tension she suddenly displayed?

“Are you afraid of birds?”

“What?”

“Birds. Do they frighten you?”

“No, of course not. It would be sad to go through life afraid of birds, don’t you think?”

“I’m sure plenty of people do,” he told her. “Bridey thought that they were a foretelling of something.”

“Maybe she’s right,” Caer said, and he realized that she was studying him closely. “I mean, we all go through life believing in what we see and feel, but most of us have some kind of faith, as well.”

“So you think that a bunch of birds flying around last night means something?” he asked, and he couldn’t help sounding slightly amused.

She hesitated. “Don’t you sometimes believe in something that you can’t see or feel? Don’t you adhere to some kind of faith?”

“Are you asking me if I believe in God? Yes, I do. Probably a legacy of my Irish mother,” he told her.

He was surprised that she seemed to be watching him with such intent passion in her beautiful blue eyes. “If you believe in God, then why not believe in ghosts, in miracles, and even in the devil?” she asked quietly.

“Because I believe that God expects us to go through life with common sense. And common sense says birds are just birds,” he told her flatly.

She laughed suddenly.

“What?” he demanded.

“All right, granted I haven’t seen much of Cow Cay and it’s not a large island. But you’re just going to buy two shovels and in the course of this afternoon we’re going to solve a centuries-old mystery?”

“I’d say you’re forgetting the birds,” he said, “but I didn’t fully explain.”

“So please do.”

“There’s a border around the chart with pictures of various landmarks in the area. One of them is rather interestingly named.”

“What is it?”

“Banshee Rock.”

“
What?
”

“Banshee Rock. It’s an outcrop of granite that just happens to sit on—”

“Cow Cay?”

“You guessed it, gorgeous,” he said lightly.

She blushed, and he found himself wishing desperately that they weren’t going out looking for buried treasure, that they were heading out to a remote ski cabin that boasted a whirlpool and a fireplace, where they could sit and bask in the glow of the fire, and make love without inhibitions.

He returned his attention to the matter at hand and drove into the parking lot of the little strip mall where he could purchase what they would need.

He hadn’t come to a major chain store but a smaller, mom-and-pop place run by Slim and Sally Jenkins, a couple he had gotten to know during his trips up this way as a kid.

He sent Caer to look for the shovels while he went to get a pick and a couple sieves to sift the sand. Even having a fair idea of what Eddie had been up to, he knew they would be looking for a needle in a haystack.

He recognized the young man behind the counter as Slim’s son.

“Hey, Jorey, how are you?”

“I’m fine—going to college down in New York now. How are you? Haven’t seen you in a long time.” He looked at Zach with a sad expression then. “I know you’re close to the O’Rileys. Will you tell them I’m really sorry about Eddie? I don’t know what he was thinking, taking out that weird dude.”

“You saw him?” Zach asked, startled.

“I saw Eddie at the coffee shop that day.” Jorey went pale. “Wow, the way you’re looking at me…is something wrong with that?”

“No, no, it’s just—you never said anything to the cops?”

“No. I—I guess I should’ve, huh? I only got a glimpse of the guy when I was buying coffee for the drive back to New York, so I never really thought about it. I saw Eddie meet the guy after he left the coffee shop. I’d never recognize him. He was wearing a heavy coat and carrying a duffel bag. And he had on a hat, like a fedora. Who the hell wears a fedora on a boat? Have I done something wrong?”

“No, of course not. I was just curious. The cops have been asking for any kind of help, though, so you ought to give them a call.”

“I will. I’m really sorry—I wouldn’t keep back information on purpose.”

“Jorey, do you think the bag was big enough to hold scuba gear?”

Jorey’s eyes widened. “Yeah, maybe. It was a big bag. The dude was kinda short, too. The bag seemed heavy for him.”

“What did he look like?”

“I didn’t really see his face. The hat was pulled down, and he had a big ugly mustache.”

Caer returned with the shovels just then and Jorey looked at her, then kept looking.

“Hi,” he said.

“Hi,” she returned pleasantly.

“Can I help you?” Jorey asked.

“We’re together,” Caer told Jorey, indicating Zach.

“Irish?” Jorey asked her, still staring and smiling. Smitten.

“Yes, I am.”

“Jorey, is there anything else you can tell me?” Zach asked.

“What?” Jorey sounded as if he’d completely forgotten Zach existed, then collected himself.

“Oh, yeah. Let me think….” After a minute, he said, “He was out of place, know what I mean? Eddie was making fun of him in the coffee shop, asking who the hell went around with that much cash these days. Oh, and Eddie said he’d insisted on the
Sea Maiden.
” He paused. “You think this guy killed him, huh?”

Zach nodded grimly.

“I wish I had paid more attention,” Jorey said. “Tried to stop him, even.”

“Hey, you didn’t know,” Zach reassured him. “Eddie was a grown man, I doubt if you could have talked him out of taking a paying customer.”

“I guess not.”

Zach scribbled down Detective Morrissey’s phone number. “Give this guy a call. He’s a good cop, and he may think of a question I haven’t. But, listen, I need a few more things, and you know what? If anyone wants to know, you never saw me today, okay?”

“Anything you say,” Jorey said, but he was looking at Caer again, grinning foolishly.

In no time, they were ready to go, with their shovels, sieves, a pick and two metal detectors, and a canvas duffel to carry everything in.

When they reached the dockside office, Zach pointed out the
Sea Sprite,
a small, one-masted boat with a powerful motor and shallow draft. “I need you to go inside, and if Cal and Marni are both in there, give me a wave, then keep them occupied for a few minutes.”

She stared at him as if she thought he was nuts for playing at being James Bond.

“Caer, please, we have no idea just who might be involved in all this.”

“What do I say to them?”

“Ask Marni if she’s all right after the incident with the pie yesterday.”

Caer nodded.

A few moments later, she opened the door and waved to him, then stepped back inside. He hauled his bag onto the little boat, checked the gas gauge and looked her over, then headed for the office.

“Morning, Zach,” Cal greeted him. “Did you see the paper this morning?”