Death of a Hot Chick (31 page)

“
Yeah, I know.”

“
How? Oh, no. He came to the boat,
didn’t he? What happened? What’s he like? Is he scary? Are you
okay?”

“
I’m not exactly sure.”

“
That you’re okay or that he’s
scary?”

Instead of answering, I said, “I tried to
call you earlier. Where were you?”

“
I was at another meeting of the
Joline Foundation to discuss the fifty thousand dollars Pop donated
to the foundation. No one seems to connect it to Nicole’s boat. Was
Pop actually buying her boat? If so, where does that leave
you?”

“
First tell me,” I said. “Did you know
Al was cheating on me?”

“
He.... Ah.... Al cheated on you? I
guess he did, but....”

So, she knew. “But you didn’t tell me,
right?”

“
Now, I didn’t say I knew anything,
did I? Where are you? At the boat? I’ll come by.”

“
No, I’m not. Pop bought it. I’ll get
back to you later.” No way did I want to tell her I was taking a
shower at Gregory’s house. And walking around in nothing but a
towel. I sneaked into the laundry. Gregory wasn’t there, but my
clothes were dry. I grabbed a handful and headed back into the
bathroom. My color combination wasn’t very well thought out, but I
did have the required undergarments, a pair of formerly red shorts
and a washed-out yellow T.

I padded bare-foot through the house until I
found Gregory. He was taking care of business, sitting at a desk
with a computer open, his phone to his ear, and saying, “Can you be
at the dock by nine? They want to leave before ten.”

The answer must have been affirmative,
because he hung up and turned to his computer. But, he must have
sensed my presence, because he turned. “Hey,” he said.

I had to know. “Gregory, I want to ask you a
question.” Suddenly I had his full attention. “Did you know Al was
cheating on me?”

“
God, Cyd.”

I bit my lip. He knew. He didn’t tell me. I
felt my eyes water. Had everyone known?

In a low voice, Gregory said, “If I’d known,
he’d never have made it out of town alive.”

Didn’t make sense, but I whispered, “Thank
you.” He held his hand out to me. I didn’t take it. “I better
go.”

“
Everybody lets you down. First me,
getting blotto, then Al.” When I nodded, afraid to say a word lest
I start a crying jag, he added, “Okay, sorry. Too soon,” stood
back, and let me gather the rest of my clean clothes. “Sorry about
before. Can I drop you off someplace?”

“
No. But, do you mind if I borrow this
plastic bag?” He didn’t. I folded everything while he watched. I
left. I didn’t turn to see, but I could feel his eyes on my back. I
walked, head high down his long hall until I reached the corner.
I’d known he’d be out of sight. I just didn’t know where I was
going, or what I’d do when I got there.

Nor did I know if anyone would ever find out
who killed Nicole.

Chapter 25

I did have a destination for the evening.
Lizzie had promised to take me in.

Which Kaye knew. She waited for me at Smith
Harbor Marina with questions. I had questions, but I wouldn’t
mention Al’s name again. If she’d known he was cheating, she didn’t
want to believe it, just like Teddy. She wanted to protect me. So I
told her about Pop and his giving ways.

“
Two...
hundred
for each of you?”

“
And buying the boat, as is, for
twenty thousand over the going price.”

Kaye was momentarily silenced, which didn’t
last long. By the time I had answered every question she asked at
least twice, and explained, several times, that I knew absolutely
no details of the sale, we were both sitting cross-legged on the
dock. “So, Pop will pay me and even after I pay off Wes and the
lawyer, I’ll have more money than I’ve ever had,” I finished.

“
But you’re still wondering about
Slim’s connection to an ex-con. What could it possibly
be?”

I shrugged. “Who knows?” I didn’t want to
admit the probable reason. Family was involved somehow.

“
This is all good news. We have no
more worries about Pop,” Kaye said. “But we still have to worry
about Lizzie and the killer. Mr. Joline will come tonight, you
know.”

“
Don’t forget there are other
suspects. Chester, and Finley’s choice, Brandon Bates.”

“
In any event, we must protect Lizzie.
You’ll be with her tonight, but we could use the rest of our group.
I’ve tried to round them up and I got nowhere. Teddy said it’s
over. Finley didn’t answer. Have you heard from her?”

“
No. How about Doug
Yarnell?”

“
He laughed.”

“
That’s it? He laughed?”

“
Oh, he listened, but he didn’t commit
to helping. It’s up to you and me to save Lizzie and catch the
killer.””

“
But he
laughed
?”

“
He might have characterized it as a
chuckle.”

That sounded like Doug. “Maybe all of them
are right. Like Teddy says, it’s over. Chester is...just let me
say, I wouldn’t sell him any life insurance.”

“
You really think his life is in
danger?”

I nodded. “And the other two are smart
enough to figure it out. Our trap, I mean.”

“
Then why not stay with me instead of
Lizzie?” When I didn’t answer. Kaye jumped right on it. “Aha! You
don’t think the danger is over. You agree with me. You do believe
the killer will come after Lizzie.”

“
Better safe than sorry,” I muttered,
which reminded me of Granny and her adages. Which reminded me of
something else. “Dad has a slip all saved for me. He wanted to cart
me and my boat off yesterday.”

“
Was that what he wanted? After what
happened, perhaps you should have done it.”

“
Hind sight,” I mumbled. Another of
Granny’s favorites.

“
Of course. But eventually this will
be over, one way or another.”

“
You sound so nonchalant. In other
words, either Lizzie will be killed or she won’t. Either we’ll trap
the killer or we won’t.”

“
Then you’ll move in with me,” Kaye
said, ignoring me entirely, and taking up her favorite refrain ever
since the police told me about the demise of Al and my little
boat.

“
Kaye, forget it. I have other
options. Don’t forget the money Pop will pay me for my
boat.”

“
Until then, you don’t have a place to
sleep. You’ll stay at my house. But first, maybe you can talk sense
into Lizzie. I put up a cot for you so you can both stay with me.
You do agree Lizzie is in almost as much danger tonight as she was
last night.”

“
Possibly.” Did I really want to move
in with Kaye? Even temporarily? Not really. But, I couldn’t just
live on the boat proceeds indefinitely. I’d have to find another
job, and some place to stay. I did have a promise of a job with
Gregory. But when? I hadn’t asked. “I suppose you called the state
police and struck out there too.”

Kaye said, “Come on. Let’s talk to
Lizzie.”

Hadn’t Kaye called the state troopers?
Or, she didn’t want to admit she’d been ignored there as well?
Either way, no police would come. I followed Kaye as she headed for
Lizzie’s boat
Podunk
.

“
Try to convince Lizzie that she’s in
danger,” Kaye said. “You certainly would feel guilty if she’s
killed tonight.”

Kaye obviously was perfecting the
guilt-trip-method our mother used so well. However, she did have a
point.

~
~

“
You told me the same thing
yesterday,” Lizzie said. “No killers came to my boat, did they? So
why should I believe you today?”

I knew exactly how Lizzie felt, but I said,
“I’d feel awful if the killer didn’t read the paper until today and
he came here and killed you. It’s possible.”

“
Even if the killer read the
newspaper, he may have seen us preparing to catch him last night,”
Kaye said. “Think about it. You’d be all alone. No one would hear
you scream. No one would be around to save you.”

“
You’re worried about me being alone?”
Lizzie asked. “I won’t be alone. Cyd will be here. She sure can’t
sleep on her boat.”

Kaye finally admitted defeat. She said.
“We’ll go out to dinner, my treat, and discuss our strategy.

I heard, “...dinner, my treat,” and
nodded.

Lizzie heard the same thing, because she
said, “Fine. I could eat a bear. But I’ve got money, you know. You
don’t have to pay for me.”

During our meal, Kaye got to the strategy
part, with elaborate sneaking-around plans to give the appearance
that Lizzie would be alone.

“
I have a much simpler idea,” I said.
“Why don’t we just cruise by and be sure no one is in the area. You
know, no cars with engines running. No killers lurking behind a
piling. Then we can enter any way we like.”

Kaye agreed to a compromise. She parked at
the marina. She reminded me, twice, that she’d already programmed
her cell number into my phone with a one-button access. “In
emergencies time is at an essence,” she said. “Just push this
button, and I’ll know you are in trouble.”

“
Still overkill,” I said.

“
Maybe, maybe not.”

After a lot of useless sneaking back and
forth, and senseless “Good-byes” in loud voices, Lizzie and I were
both successfully inside her boat.

Bedding was another unexpected
controversy.

“
This is where I sleep,” Lizzie said,
as she unfolded a cot in the salon near the hatch. We hadn’t seen
that the night before.

“
You should be in the V-berth,” I
said. “You’ll be out of the way of any killers coming
in.”

“
Yeah, and out of any fresh air.
You’ll find out. That’s a stuffy, lumpy place to sleep. Can’t get
the windows open no how. Here, I just leave the back hatch door
open, and this one window over here. Cross ventilation.”

“
How can I protect you from behind
you?” I asked.

“
I got this broom. Anybody comes in
here gets it in the kisser.”

“
Do you have to leave the door
open?”

Lizzie didn’t answer that one. She just
pulled a sheet and a pillow out from somewhere, laid it out just
so, said, “Good night,” and snuggled in.

I discovered Lizzie had been right about the
lumps, and the ventilation. She hadn’t mentioned the way the only
light bulb in this part of the marina shone through the hatch.
Eventually, I fell asleep.

~
~

Almost midnight

Deep in sleep—it had to be a dream. No
one was saying,
“It’s time.
” I
pulled the pillow over my ear. Or was it a dream? I opened an eye.
I saw Nicole. She glowed in an eerie light that seemed to ooze from
inside the cabin. I sat up. There was no sound except the voice in
my head.

“
Wake up, get
up.
”

The light disappeared, and so did
Nicole. I snuggled back into my pillow, but the voice
continued.
“He’s
here.
”

“
Go away, Nicole,” I murmured into the
pillow.

But the boat started rocking. Outside,
the wind blew. Inside it swirled around me, with a whisper that
seemed to say,
“He’s here. He’s
here.”

“
What?” I sat up.

Lizzie screamed.

I wasn’t dreaming.

As the boat bucked and writhed, Lizzie
screamed again and again. I jumped up, fumbled for my cell phone,
pushed the button, then ran forward. Lizzie wasn’t in her cot. Her
screams came from outside. I put a hand out to steady myself, but
the boat wasn’t moving.

Was this another of Nicole’s storms? A dream
after all? Kaye would be so mad. But the screaming continued. Where
was Lizzie? I couldn’t see. The single light bulb that shone last
night was out.

I heard a blare from the horn and saw the
headlights illuminate the dark. Kaye was on shore, in her car. But
where was Lizzie? Dimly, I saw a tangle of struggling, gasping
bodies headed for the boat’s lifeline, then falling overboard.

A single glub, a strangled, “Help,” came
from the water and the screams stopped.

The water roiled. I jumped on top of bodies,
writhing beneath me. I felt a head of short hair. Not Lizzie’s. I
grabbed a handful and yanked.

Suddenly there were too many arms. “Lizzie,”
I yelled. Then my head was underwater, with a hand, or something,
forcing me down.

Chapter 26

I’d die? I knew it. I had to get away. I
struggled, kicked, turned, kicked again and hit something soft. For
a moment, the pressure left my head and I pushed away. But
something grabbed at me again, pushed me to the bottom. I ducked
down until I touched the mud below with my fingers. I doubled my
feet underneath me, surged up, and knew there was no longer anyone
in my way. With lungs about to burst, I kicked to the surface.

As I gulped the air, I heard Kaye shriek,
“Cyd, Cyd.” A beam of light flashed over my face.

I took another breath before I answered.
“Where’s Lizzie?”

“
I don’t know.”

I dived down again. Too dark to see
anything. I felt around, then pushed up for another breath of air.
Down again. Up again. Down, and finally, I felt Lizzie. I tugged
her up. “Kaye, help me.”