Death of a Hot Chick (34 page)

“
Maybe later,” I wanted to say, but I
didn’t. “I can’t.... You know, things are still awfully confused
right now. I don’t think I can handle it.”

“
You aren’t signing on with anyone
else, are you? You will work for Norris Charter?”

“
That’s...not what I mean.” What did I
mean? I had to change the subject, but quick. “Right now, I have to
prove who killed Nicole. She knows but....”

“
That’s the second time you’ve done
that.”

“
Done what?” I should have said, but I
didn’t. I stared at Gregory. He’d definitely gone with the subject
switch. And, he still knew me too well. He wouldn’t accept that
answer. “Okay, Nicole finally knows who killed her because her
ghost told me, right after you hauled Lizzie out of the water.” I
paused to see if he was still with me. I couldn’t tell. He nodded
with raised eyebrows. I continued. “Except she didn’t tell me who
it was. She just said I’d found him and she should have
known.”

He stopped nodding, leaned forward, and took
my hand. “You’re seeing ghosts now? Since when?”

“
Not ghosts in the plural. Just
Nicole. Just since she was killed,” I said as he rubbed my palm
with his thumb. I didn’t pull away, but kept talking. “In fact, I
heard her even before I knew she was dead.”

“
Hey,” he said, which made no sense at
all.

“
Are you listening?” I jumped up. “I
have to find out and prove who killed Nicole, and I don’t know how
to do it. Right now I’m getting that shower.”

“
I’ve got a letter for you from
Finley,” Gregory said. Before I could say, “What?” or, “Why?” or
even think, he added. “She’s gone.”

“
Finley? Gone? Where?”

He shrugged, dug into a pocket and handed me
an envelope.

“
Kaye,” I called. “Gregory brought a
letter from Finley. She’s gone.” Carefully, I slipped a finger
under the flap and unsealed the envelope. There were two sheets and
a photograph inside. One of the sheets was completely
blank.

Kaye, who must have been awfully close, came
in. “What’s she say? Where is she?”

“
Just a minute.” I read the few lines.
“All it says is, ‘I’ve gone to the islands to be married. He has a
business there. Sorry to bug out on you. The picture is one of two
I kept. Finley.’ ”

“
What island?”

“
There’s a P.S. ‘Too bad Nicole wasn’t
able to give you that gold ring. Could be under water now.’
“

The ring thing confused me, but, Finley,
getting married? I scanned both sides of the two papers. “That’s
it. That’s all she said.”

“
What about the photo?”

I turned it over. On the back was printed in
wobbly block letters, “Michelle and Nicole forever.” I stroked the
surface. Did I get any vibes?

“
No address?”

“
And no name, because she sure won’t
be Finley Swent after she’s married.”

Gregory said, “Well, look at it this way.
Finley is not your average gal. She probably didn’t think to add
anything else. Just wanted you to know she’d be gone.”

“
Now she’ll never know who killed
Nicole,” I said. “Except, maybe she was right.”

“
What’s on that second sheet of
paper?” Kaye asked.

“
Nothing.”

“
Look at it carefully.”

“
I looked carefully. I can’t see
nothing, can I?”

“
Why would she send a blank
sheet?”

An idea tried to force its way to the top of
my sleepy brain, but it didn’t quite.... “A secret message!” I
said.

Gregory spoke up. “Don’t go overboard on
this detective bit. That is so Hardy Boys, if not the Bobbsey
Twins. No, the blank paper is so the writing wouldn’t show through
the envelope. After all, it isn’t a security envelope.”

“
Nancy Drew, not Hardy Boys,” I said.
“Hey, she and I talked about secret messages.”

“
You did?” Kaye reached for a lamp,
turned it on and took off the shade. “We’ll let it warm up for a
couple of minutes.”

“
I can’t believe it,” Gregory said.
“Now, Cyd, she’d.... But Kaye?”

“
She had a bag of lemons in her
refrigerator. Nothing else!”

“
And that proves?”

“
Yes, that proves it.”

After an anxious two minutes, I said, “It’s
hot enough right now.” Kaye reached for the paper, but I said,
“It’s my letter.” I held the paper against the light bulb while the
other two looked over my shoulders.

“
It’s working!” Kaye said.

Slowly, words came into view, brightening
and disappearing as I moved the paper. I read the strange
combination of letters. “BuRN tHis. KeeP leTTer. Nikky FoUnd it.
TuRn in For RewArd. MY name.”

“
That’s it?” Kaye asked.

“
What does it mean?” Gregory
said.

“
Pop’s loot,” I said, looking at Kaye
for agreement.

“
Oh, yes,” Kaye said. “Nicole found
Pop’s loot.” She added, “Oh, my god. He’ll think you took it,
Cyd.”

Did I want a mobster after me for his loot?
I dropped my face into my hands. “Oh, no.”

“
Maybe not,” Gregory said. “I couldn’t
figure out what Finley meant, but maybe this explains what she told
me.”

“
What, what?”

“
She kept saying, ‘Cyd’s in the
clear.’ And, ‘I’m right about Brandon.’ But then she said, ‘New
subject. Tell them another suspect wouldn’t take the ring.’ She
didn’t tell me anything about, ‘what ring.’ Didn’t make any sense
at the time. Still doesn’t.”

“
I’d better burn this,” Kaye
said.

“
Wait,” Gregory said. “That proves Cyd
didn’t get any loot off that boat. Just in case the mobster comes
after you.”

“
Burn it,” I said.

“
You could always....” Gregory
started. He glanced at Kaye.

“
You want me to leave again?” she
asked.

“
No,” I said as I felt my face heat. I
remembered something else. Slowly, I said, “Finley mentioned a
ring? I forgot, but Nicole did have a ring on a chain around her
neck.” She’d held it up, made a promise on it. Kaye and Gregory
faded as I remembered that day on
Snapdragon
. I felt my own throat, remembered the
times I’d sensed Nicole and sometimes even felt a flash of pain in
my throat.

I picked up the photograph, closed my eyes,
and waited for a scene that I could only imagine. “Nicole, show
me,” I thought. “I did what you wanted. Show me what happened.”

But nothing came. I rubbed my ears and
forehead, pushed my finger tips into my hair. Did I see anything?
Children? Two little girls? Did I hear giggles?

“
Cyd,” I heard. “Cyd!”

No, no. I slipped my head lower. What had I
seen? Or remembered? Nicole told me about the friendship ring,
but....

“
Cyd, snap out of it,” Gregory said.
He shook me. When I opened my eyes, Kaye stood over me.

“
You’re so white and still. Are you
okay?” she asked.

“
No, I’m not okay. I almost had it,
but she’s gone now.”

Chapter 29

Kaye insisted on accompanying me to
the lawyer while I signed over
Snapdragon
and received a most welcome check. She
oversaw my deposit, she took me shopping for essentials, she filled
me with delicious meals. Not that I wasn’t completely appreciative,
but I had to escape from my sister. I needed to find
Nicole.

Smith Harbor Marina was busier than
I’d ever seen it after sunset. Way too many people hovered around
the sunken
Snapdragon
where
slings and cranes filled all available space. My suspect Chester
wasn’t there, but his Uncle Pop was, supervising the work. Had
Chester killed, then run away? Kaye’s suspect, Mr. Joline wasn’t
there, but his shadow Rolf was. Had he killed Nicole on her
father’s orders? And Finley’s suspect Brandon was there in person.
Did they all know each other?

Everybody wanted to be in on the
excitement—to watch while they discovered the hidden loot. If there
was hidden loot. I wanted to be far, far away, because there was no
loot. I avoided my old finger pier and returned to the spot, just
off the marina property, where I’d found Nicole’s body. The sun was
long gone. The moon hung just over the horizon.

“
Nicole, are you here?” I
asked.

She didn’t answer.

This could be hard. Nicole had her
answer. Why would she come back to give
me
an answer? I opened the envelope and took out
the picture. Nicole and her friend Michelle. Sweet little girls,
maybe eight or ten, or even younger?

I didn’t want to think that Kaye, Gregory,
and even Officer Doug were right. There was nothing I could do,
they’d said. I didn’t know who killed her. Brandon Bates? It wasn’t
his car they’d found abandoned. He’d had an alibi—a party at his
house with twenty friends who swore he was there. His hair had been
wet because they’d been pouring beer on each other. It could have
been Rolf, or even Chester Foltz. Kaye saw a tall man who wasn’t
Mr. Joline. But with the unexpected sight of a mostly bare body,
how could she be sure? Almost anyone would look tall with skinny
legs. I kept thinking about the ring, the friendship ring Nicole
had shown me, the ring Finley mentioned. I hadn’t seen it on the
body, but would I have noticed?

Did Nicole die right here, where I’d found
her? “Is this the spot, Nicole?”

Somehow, I knew it wasn’t. Without thinking,
I followed a breeze. I walked along the shore, past Lizzie’s pier,
past the second dock, then followed the breeze to the dock farthest
out into the water. The closest marina light was two docks away.
Here I could watch the moon and its silver path. I took everything
out of my pockets—my cell phone, the two plastic bags, one with the
washed out paper note, the other with the single strand of long,
blond hair, and the picture. I put the phone aside. I opened the
bag with the strand of hair and coiled it on top of the picture of
two little girls.

“
Nicole, are you here?”

I heard nothing but the lap of waves against
the pilings.

“
Nicole, it’s just you and me. No one
else cares who killed you. The police are watching over Lizzie. You
said you know, but no one else does. You wanted me to find out.
Tell me who it is.”

I saw nothing but the ripple of waves along
the silver path and an outline of trees barely touching the
moon.

Would she come back? She had her
answer, she didn’t care about Lizzie. Finally, I thought
it
. Nicole, I need you. Who is your
killer
?

As if I’d said the words aloud, I heard
steps behind me. A voice. “Who’s there?” A man’s voice. Which one?
Then, after a light flashed momentarily, “That you Cyd?”

I didn’t turn toward Brandon. Without
conscious thought, I said, “Nicole should have been buried with
that ring, you know.”

He didn’t say anything until I looked at
him. “You mean like my sister was buried with her ring?”

Oops, shouldn’t have mentioned that.
However, I said, “Yes. Like that.”

Damn, this was supposed to be just between
me and Nicole. I watched as he got closer. Why didn’t he stay with
the others? I wound the strand of hair around my finger and sent a
mental plea to Nicole. I listened as Brandon said, “I had nothing
from my sister. She had everything—the memories and the ring.”

I clutched the picture, brought my clenched
hands to my mouth. Whispered, “Nicole, he’s here.”

He stood over me. Did I dare move and push
the instant dial to Kaye or the other to 911? I moved my hand
toward it.

And screamed as he stamped on my wrist.

Suddenly he grabbed my throat with one hand.
“You’re dead,” he said. “You and that bitch—both dead.”

I tore myself away, kicked, rolled toward
the side of the dock. My big mouth. I’d misjudged him. Nicole had
too. Frantically, I reached....

“
You are dead, you know,” he said and
grabbed my foot. He twisted and I twisted too, kicking. I reached
for my phone, but I couldn’t see it. My foot was free. I sidled
away, like a crab.

“
Oh, you won’t make it,” he said.
“You’ll be deader than Nicole. She deserved to die. And that old
biddy should have died too. Maybe she still will.”

A sudden wind blew me backward. Nicole! Had
she come? The wind blew. Lightning flashed. Buckets and tools flew
through the air. I ducked.

So did Brandon. He grabbed my throat with
both hands. I clawed at them, but I felt myself fading. I heard
ringing, saw blinding lights. Heard voices.

“
Give me the ring, you
louse. You killed me for a ring?”

Suddenly I fell away—freed from his hands.
Brandon turned away, toward Nicole, toward her voice. “Who are you?
Where are you?”

Nicole floated out over the
water.
“I’m here, sweetheart. I love you.
Will you marry me? I’m all yours.”

“
You’re dead, you bitch. I killed you.
Stay dead.”

She’d come.

And he’d forgotten me. I dialed 911. As the
phone rang I scooted back, away from Brandon.

“
Come and get me, darling.
I’m all yours. Kill me again.”