Death By Blue Water (A Hayden Kent Mystery Book 1) (20 page)

“Not into your personal life. Thank you for stopping by. I’d like to keep the photo if I may.” Paul stood. Clearly, the interview was over.

Hayden and Mallory walked out into the sunshine. “Wrong scent, Mallory. I’m lost. I thought for sure he’d worn the same aftershave.”

“Men change it from time to time, just like women change perfume.”

“Yeah, but this was distinctive, and I smelled it before. Look,” Hayden pointed to a silver Crown Victoria parked in the cyclone fence enclosure alongside the Station. She walked over to the fence, took out her transcriber, and dictated the tag numbers into it.

“This car was on my street yesterday. With the rest of the police cars.”

Thirty-Six

Officer Barton and Detective Landsdown arrived within minutes of each other. Hayden’s driveway looked like a parking lot. Hayden’s car was the only one missing. Her Tahoe still sat in front of Mallory’s house.

Detective Landsdown parked his unmarked unit on the swale in front of the house. Mounting the two steps to the porch, he nodded to Barton waiting for him behind the screen door. She opened the door and ushered him inside, through the house and out into the air-conditioned Florida room. He nodded to Hayden who introduced him to Mallory and Janice. Hayden took a deep breath. Landsdown was wearing an aftershave, but it was tangier, more citrus than the one she’s smelled last night.

Barton took out her notebook and sat beside Landsdown. Neither one interrupted Hayden as she told her story, although Landsdown grimaced when she got to the part about conducting her own investigation. Hayden thought he would swallow his teeth when she mentioned telling Paul about the smuggling. She could nearly see steam coming out of his ears. She would have laughed, except her head hurt too much. Finally, Hayden ended her narration and turned the tape recorder over to him.

“This isn’t legal, you should know that. You’re a paralegal. Even if you don’t do criminal work, you should have a basic knowledge of the law.” He put the device down on the end table. “I don’t want to touch it. It compromises the whole investigation. Nothing we find from what’s on this tape will be admissible. Fruit of the poison tree.” He looked at Hayden and said, “You’ve heard of that doctrine?”

Hayden vigorously nodded her head. “I know, I know, you don’t have to worry. I didn’t illegally tape anything.”

A look of sheer disbelief crossed the detective’s face. “A trained law enforcement officer let you tape his statement?”

“No, of course not, I didn’t even ask. I recorded my recollections immediately after the meeting. Janice and Mallory suggested it.” Hayden nodded in the direction of the two women. “Just in case my physical state created questions about my memory. I didn’t tape any of it during the meeting.

“Another thing, there are some tag numbers on there. They belong to a silver Crown Vic. I’ve seen it three times now. Once in front of my house during the body recovery from the boat slip at the end of the street. A second time I saw it next door to Elena Anderson’s house on Big Pine Key. And now, parked in the Coast Guard officer’s parking lot.”

“Same car?”

“Can’t be sure. The tag came back to Paul Muller. Janice ran it.”

“Makes sense. He works there. Crown Vics are a dime a dozen. Many are reclaimed auction patrol cars; they’ve had hard use but you can get them cheap.”

“You’ve had a rough couple of days.” Officer Barton said, and patted Hayden’s hand. “You’re clearly in pain now. We’ll type up your statement and ask you to come up to Plantation in a few days to read and sign it.” Landsdown and Barton rose and headed for the door.

“One more thing.” Landsdown turned back and said to Hayden before he reached the door from the Florida room. “No more investigating. Stay out of the cop business. And that goes for your friends, at least as far as this investigation goes. Kirby, do you understand me or do I have to talk to your major? You need to get out of this investigation. Your sister is involved. At the least, she’s a suspect. As hard as it is for you, keep it professional or take leave.”

“I understand. Will you be raising the boat or should I get my agency involved from that aspect?”

Landsdown looked sharply at Hayden. “Did you tell Muller about the boat?”

“No, no I didn’t.” She struggled up from the couch. The pain in her head was now white hot. She managed to walk Barton and Landsdown to the front door.

“Good, keep it that way. This investigation is not his business, or FWC’s business.” He looked pointedly at Janice. “It’s in our jurisdiction. It needs to stay that way. Ms. Kent, no more investigating. You could be stepping on someone’s toes. You could get even more hurt than you have been.”

Hayden leaned in the open doorway and watched Landsdown and Barton walk to their individual cars. Landsdown’s car, she noticed idly, was a silver Crown Vic. No wonder he was so adamant about her jumping to conclusions. Landsdown called Barton over to his car. He leaned out his open window and spoke to her. Barton looked back up at Hayden’s house. Feeling like she’d been caught eavesdropping, Hayden waved and closed the door.

“I’m whipped,” Hayden announced when she got back to the Florida room. “Ladies, if you don’t mind, I need to get some sleep.”

Janice’s cell phone rang as she was walking out the door. Looking at the caller ID, she said, “My sister.”

“You’d better take it in the house. Once you get outside, the power lines kill the signal. A fact of life in the Fabulous Florida Keys.”

Even from across the room, Hayden could tell that Elena was hysterical. Color rose in Janice’s cheeks. She paced the floor and spoke to her in Spanish.

Elena’s hysterical voice carried through the room. Nothing Janice said calmed her. Clicking off Janice said, “Monroe County is at my sister’s house. They’re bringing the boat up. Elena is beside herself. She thinks they’re going to arrest her. Damn, I should have gone down earlier.”

Hayden looked down at the floor. Embarrassed that except for her urging, Janice could have offered her sister comfort, and maybe a little preparation. “I’m sorry, Janice, it’s my fault…”

Janice waved the apology away. “It wouldn’t have mattered, even now, I can’t tell her they won’t arrest her and she’d have had more time to worry if I’d gotten there earlier. I don’t know what to tell her. I’m going to Big Pine. If you need me, Hayden, let me give you my cell number.” Janice removed a card from her handbag, scribbled ten numbers on the reverse and handed it to her. “Landsdown was right about one thing. I need to take leave until I know where my sister stands in this. I won’t be at the office for a while.”

Nodding her thanks, Hayden tucked the card into her phone book. After assuring Mallory that she didn’t need to stay, Hayden locked the door, with the key Mallory had located in her junk drawer, made a mental note to call a locksmith and have the thumb locks replaced with deadbolts, and set the alarm on instant.

Thirty-Seven

Loud knocking brought Hayden back to her front door. She looked out and saw Janice on her front porch. Hayden deactivated the alarm and opened the door.

“Do you feel up to coming with me?” Janice asked. “Elena trusts you, has from the moment she met you. I’ll feel safer if you can be with her.”

A mixture of emotions filled Hayden. Fear for Elena made up one part. Curiosity another. A feeling that she could only describe as fate made up the lion’s share. If the boat was Richard’s, it could hold the answer to his fate.

Janice’s face fell as the silence dragged on. “I guess I overstepped.” A deep red blush covered her face. Hayden read disappointment and embarrassment in the officer’s eyes.

“Are you sure you want me there?” Their friendship was new. Why did Janice want her present at what might turn out to be the worst day of her sister’s life? A sudden thought struck Hayden with the force of a hurricane. Did Janice have some information that implicated her? If things didn’t go well for Elena, did Janice have a way to turn Hayden into a sacrificial lamb? She searched the woman’s eyes for a clue to what the invitation really meant.

Janice must have read something in Hayden’s face. Her eyes slewed away from Hayden’s. “I’m thinking that if you can stay with Elena, I’ll be able to join in the investigation. See what’s really going on.” She lifted her gaze to meet Hayden’s pale green eyes.

“Count me in.”

Controlled chaos greeted Janice and Hayden as Janice’s aging Toyota pulled around the corner. She expertly maneuvered the small vehicle into the gap between an ambulance and a Monroe County Sheriff’s office patrol unit. One of the cops double-timed it over to the car before either woman pushed a door open.

The uniformed officer made a cranking motion with his hand. Instead of restarting the car to activate the power windows, Janice cracked her door and stuck her head out the opening.

“One of you live here?” the cop asked. The look in his eyes expressed disbelief even before Janice answered.

“No. This is my sister’s house.”

“Stay in the car. Let me check with my supervisor.” He leaned over and looked past Janice. “Is this your sister’s house too?”

“Good friend of the family,” Janice answered for Hayden.

The cop keyed the mike attached to his shoulder as he walked to the rear of the vehicle. The Florida heat intensified in the car. Hayden saw that the stickiness ratcheted Janice’s anxiety level to a new height.

“It’s so hot,” Janice said. “I can’t imagine how Elena feels, pregnant in this awful heat.”

It occurred to Hayden that Elena was inside in air conditioning. Heat would not be an issue. Instead she said, “Tell him. Maybe he’ll understand that she needs her sister.”

Janice stuck her head around the door. “My sister is pregnant. The first three months are a real problem. She passes out. Escort us if you want to, but…”

“Janice Kirby?” The officer put his hand on the side of the window and pulled the door further open.

“Yes.”

“I didn’t recognize you. You should have said you were an officer.” A light blush tinged his cheeks. “What about your friend?”

“I brought her to stay with my sister. In case there are questions you want me to answer. I don’t want Elena alone.”

Hayden noticed Janice avoided using her name. Probably didn’t want to take the risk that the officer would know her status as a suspect.

He pulled the door open for Janice and nodded in Hayden’s direction. Hayden left the heat of the vehicle. Janice climbed out from behind the wheel and extended her hand. “Do I know you?”

A look of compassion blended with his air of confidence. “No, ma’am. But your tag comes back to Janice Kirby and the dispatcher tells me you’re with FWC.” He paused a few beats. “Damien Reilly. Officer Reilly. I’m sorry about your sister. Do you want to go to her now, or I’ll take your friend to your sister, if you want to watch the salvage?”

“We’ll see it from inside. The entire back wall of this place is glass.”

Reilly matched his stride to Janice’s and walked alongside her as they went to the front door.

“Have the divers been down yet?” Hayden asked.

“Only to attach the ropes.” He looked over her shoulder and seemed to concentrate on whatever he was watching. The man was stalling. Trying to find words to tell them something. Hayden could almost hear Janice search her memory for a topic she could ask that would help him. The dark haired woman shifted from foot to foot as she waited for him to allow them into the house. The silence lengthened. Janice put her hand on the door handle and prepared to turn it. Reilly’s green clad arm shot out to stop her.

“Officer, I want to see my sister. Is there a problem?”

The man’s Adam’s apple worked up and down. “Do you know the name of your brother-in-law’s boat?”

Her bloodless fingers dropped to her side. “Yes, she is the Elena Mia.”

“We haven’t told your sister. That’s the boat at the dock.”

“Is there more to this?” A trickle of sweat ran down Janice’s face from her hairline. To Hayden, her words sounded forced out from between clenched lips.

“Won’t know until we float her.” He jutted his chin in the direction of the back yard. “That could take some time. The water here is thirty-five feet deep. Unusual.” He swung the door open. “I think your sister is in the Florida room.”

Janice and Hayden walked through the open door and cold air wrapped around them. Hayden gave an involuntary shiver and followed Janice through the entry way and the more formal living room toward the back of the house. She nearly collided with her when she paused at the French doors that divided the kitchen great room from the Florida room. Elena stood with her head against the sliding glass windows of the room. Even from this vantage point, they saw the clenched fists and the tears that ran down her cheeks.

“Elenacita?” Janice whispered.

The tearful woman let out a howl loud enough to attract the attention of the officers lining the dock. The sharp staccato of footsteps sounded from the powder room. A policewoman half walked, half trotted to Elena’s side. The woman wrapped her arms around Elena, then held her at arm’s length. “Mrs. Anderson, can I get you anything? You should be in bed.”

“You can go,” Janice barked. “I will take care of my sister.”

The uniformed woman looked up. “Who are you? How did you get in here?” Elena struggled in her arms.

“You’ll hurt her, she’s pregnant. You fool.” Janice eyed the nameplate on the woman’s shirt pocket. “Officer Esposito.”

“I know. She told us.”

Officer Esposito didn’t relax her grip.

Elena gave a mighty wrench, managed to free herself from Esposito’s grasp, and dove into Janice’s arms sending her crashing backwards into the sliding glass door. Janice managed to hang on to both Elena and the frame of the window stopping them from flying outside. As she straightened, she set Elena on her feet and cupped her face in her hands. Elena was angry. Outraged at the intrusion, but she wasn’t afraid. So far, she hadn’t registered Hayden’s presence.

“It’s the Elena Mia, they won’t tell me. I know it is.” Elena stamped her foot. “Richard is dead, his boat is here, home port.” She looked into her sister’s face. “You are on the water. Isn’t home port safety?” Elena allowed Janice to steer her toward a brightly colored sofa as she spoke. Janice settled her in the corner and sat next to her.

Officer Esposito stood watching the scene, her head cocked to one side. A flame of red receding from her face and neck.

“Let me get you something to calm you. Some tea?” Hayden spoke for the first time.

Elena glanced at her. A look of recognition in her eyes. She nodded and patted the cushion next to her. “They’re going to find my handbag you know. It’s on the boat.”

Janice cast a quick glance at the Sheriff’s Department officer. The woman had removed a small notebook and pencil from her pocket. Janice winced hearing her sister’s comments through the ears of a policeman.

“She didn’t mean anything by that remark,” Janice announced to the officer.

Esposito looked up from her pad. “You know the drill. I have to take it down.”

“Elena, don’t say another word. Not until we can speak alone or with a lawyer present.” Her voice sounded harsh.

“They will know.” The light haired woman looked down at the clenched fists in her lap.

“Elena…”

“Where will they find the handbag?” Officer Esposito asked.

Janice balled her hands into fists. Hayden could tell she wanted to rip the ears from the woman’s head. Sweat dappled her blouse. “Leave her alone,” she hissed. She dropped her head to her sister and whispered in her ear, “Say nothing. Say no more.”

Esposito cast a glance of contempt at Janice. “Leave. I was instructed to stay with her. You have to go.”

“I’m family.”

“You’re obstructing, get out or I will have you removed and will have my supervisor file a complaint.”

“You have no right…”

Both women stopped their bickering at Elena’s loud wail. While Janice watched, she pushed herself to her feet and crumpled to the floor. Officer Esposito keyed her mike and called for the ambulance crew. Janice grabbed a couch pillow and placed it under her sister’s head. “Get something to cover her with. I don’t want her to go into shock,” she ordered Hayden.

Hayden looked around for something, anything. The woman didn’t have even an afghan in the Florida room. She headed for the living room. The sound of running feet entering the house froze her in place. The paramedics were in the room. Janice sat on the spotless floor massaging her sister’s forehead. As one of the men flipped the latches on the first aid box he carried, Elena opened her eyes. She pushed the medic out of her way and pointed to the window. “Look.”

The boat, a light green coating covering the formerly pristine hull, emerged. A heavy curtain of seawater dripped from the exposed surfaces. Swathes of torn Bimini top hung from its aluminum skeleton. It was more like a scene from a movie than reality. Hayden half expected to see the creature from the black lagoon step back from the wheel. Even the medics were fascinated by the vision unfolding before them. The pump worked furiously to keep up with the volume of water. As the boat stabilized, one of the divers hoisted himself out of the water and onto the dock. From there he crossed the boat and stepped over the gunnel.

A glance passed between the sisters. Elena propped herself up, using one of the medic’s arms, so she could get a better view.

The diver came back to the dock and walked up to a waiting police officer that Hayden recognized as Officer Barton. The two stood talking for a few moments, then Barton turned and walked toward the house. In her hand she held a clear dry bag. The contents of the dry bag looked to be a woman’s handbag. Elena fell back to the pillows her sister had placed beneath her. The medics, as if just remembering why they were in the house, began the well-choreographed routine of caring for their patient.

As if in slow motion, Janice and Hayden watched Barton move toward the sliding glass doors. Officer Esposito moved into their field of vision as she rolled the sliding glass door back to admit the taller policewoman.

Barton’s face softened as she glanced at Elena on the floor. She moved quietly to Janice, the dry bag still gripped in her hand.

“She okay?” The woman indicated Elena with a sweep of her hand.

“Yes. She gets like this every pregnancy.” Janice’s face was mottled. Her eyes held a sheen of unshed tears. “What have you got?”

“Do you know if this is her handbag?”

Janice took the dry bag and without opening it looked at the contents. A soggy designer envelope style clutch. “She was so thrilled when she found the purse in a thrift store in Key West. I didn’t want to tell her it was probably a fake. It seemed harmless for her to believe she had a real designer handbag.” Tears spilled from her eyes. “That bastard she was married to could have given her the real thing. Instead, he treated her on the cheap.” Janice looked surprised at the look on Barton’s face.

“I didn’t like him. It’s no secret. But she did, loved him in fact. Made every excuse in the book to stay with him. He was the father of her children. The one she’s carrying now. The bastard raped her.” Janice handed the dry bag back. “Yes. It’s my sister’s handbag. Where was it?”

“The petcocks were wide open. The boat didn’t sink, it was sunk.” Officer Barton’s face softened. “You’ll be responsible for her?”

When Janice nodded, Barton continued, “We’ve got more investigation to do, but Janice, you do understand…”

“You’re going to apply for a warrant.”