Madison Westin 02-Deception in Paradise (15 page)

“What will I be doing?”

“Run interference. It doesn’t take that long to attach it to the underside of the car, and I don’t want to attract any attention.”

“Do I get paid?”

“You haven’t worked off your current IOUs,” Fab reminded me.

“Will I ever?”

“You have to ask for them back.”

“There’s nothing written down.”

“Hard to keep track of then, huh?” Fab smiled.

I shook my head and made a mental note get my own IOUs. “What have you heard about Jax?”

“I called Kevin. Jax was picked up because he’s on Harder’s ‘person of interest’ list. Originally, they were going to hold him on the probation violation. But guess what? South Carolina said the case was closed. Harder’s plans to hold him in jail indefinitely fell through.”

“So sometime tonight, he’ll be back at The Cottages,” I said.

“How do you feel about that?”

I sighed. “I’ll be glad when this case gets solved.”

“Kevin said Harder was going to jerk Jax around, and it would be an all-night interview. I asked him to let me know when they let him loose.” Fab paused. “Do you mind if I spend the night?”

“The guest bedroom and bathroom is free of Jax cooties. You can stay tonight and any other night. It’s not as if you need a key. Is everything okay with Marco?”

“He’s never home. Besides, I like your couch, and I don’t feel like driving.”

I sat there running through my options of what to do about Jax.

“What are you thinking about?” Fab asked.

“You’ll think I’m crazy.”

“Seriously? Crazy? Tell me already,” Fab said.

“Life gets back on track when we figure out who killed Pavel. Harder chasing Jax is a waste of time.”

“We? Do you have a plan?”

“Not entirely. That’s where you come in.”

“So you need me, do you?” Fab swung into the parking lot and jerked a ticket out the machine.

“What do you want me to do?”

“The car’s right over there, one row over and three cars down.” Fab pointed in that direction. “Stand guard in the aisle and let me know if anyone comes this way.”

I pulled my keys from my purse.

“What are you doing?” Fab asked.

“If I see anyone coming, I’ll act like I’m looking for my car. Then, I’ll alert you and walk this way.”

“It’s a bad sign when you start coming up with your own ideas.”

Fab planted her tracker in less than five minutes, and we left the garage and were back on the street.

“Since this is Brick’s case, why didn’t he plant his own tracker?”

Fab laughed. “Brick doesn’t crawl under cars.”

“You’re the one experienced at this investigation thing,” I said. “I need your help.”

“You need to leave this to Zach.”

“Why? It’s the same old song. Protect Madison from herself. Guess what? I’ve proven I can take care of myself. Keep your damn eyes on the road.” I pointed through the windshield. “So I’m not you. I could be a Fab-in-training.”

She laughed, but her expression told me she was thinking about the idea. “Who would want Pavel dead?” She slammed on the brakes at a red light. “I think we can cross off the four who were on the boat. They didn’t know him, the exception being the girlfriend, and I can’t see that pale, boozy girl killing someone without maiming herself.”

“There’s no evidence Pavel was killed on the boat. It didn’t look like a bloody crime scene to me.”

Fab pulled up to my house and parked, blocking the driveway. “I called Dan today at the Coast Guard, and he told me no blood was found on the boat, inside or out. You don’t blow off a guy’s head without blood and tissue ending up everywhere.”

“What if Pavel jumped overboard? Only this time, the joke doesn’t have a happy ending. He swims to shore and someone shoots him.” We got out of the car and walked into the house.

“That makes more sense than him being murdered by Jax.”

Tossing my purse on the kitchen counter, I looked at Fab. “I say we conduct our own investigation. I want the truth so it doesn’t haunt me for forever.”

“Zach and your mother will hate this when they find out.”

“We don’t tell anyone.”

“It’ll work for a while.” Fab shook her head. “Then it will explode on you.”

I ignored her words of advice. “We need to talk to Pavel’s friends to see if they can give us more information than the reports Anoui sent over. What kind of reports were those anyway? Three reports, one on Pavel and what a regular guy he was, the one on Jax said nothing, and a copy of the initial accident report. They’re sitting on my desk. Help yourself.”

“That surprises me. I know Anoui, and she’s good.”

“I better not get a bill.”

“What did Pavel do for Byce?” Fab asked. “All kinds of illegal activity goes on up and down the docks in the Keys.”

“He was a full-time employee. When the fishing boats docked, he unloaded them into the warehouse. The fish was then sent to Byce’s seafood stores and restaurant.”

“I say we start there. We need to be careful Byce doesn’t find out,” Fab said.

“What do you know about Sid Byce? I’d never heard of him before the accident and hadn’t eaten at his restaurant, though I’ve heard good things about the food.”

“His family ran this town back in the day. When his father died, his mother took control of the family holdings. The Byce family is all about power, and they get what they want. Mrs. Byce controls the family with an iron fist. I met his mother once, a tall, big-boned woman with beady eyes, and a lot tougher than her son.”

“Dickie told us Byce blames Jax and wants him to pay,” I reminded Fab. “Why wouldn’t Byce want the real killer behind bars and not the first guy he can pin it on?”

“When the cops arrest someone and it makes headlines, then ‘Oops, sorry, wrong guy,’ no one believes it. The mentality is if he was arrested, then he’s guilty. First one accused is the culprit, and lots of people never change their minds.”

“It’s all fun with the finger-pointing until it happens to someone you know,” I said.

“Where did Pavel live?” Fab asked.

“He lived in an apartment behind the Pass boardwalk; the only access is from the alley. We also need to ask around about Kym. I think it’s a long shot, but maybe there’s a link to her.”

“We don’t have much to go on here,” Fab said.

“We know he wasn’t killed on the boat.”

“Look, Fabulous-wannabe, we have to be careful who we ask questions. There’s a killer out there, and a real possibility of kicking the proverbial hornet’s nest.”

“I’m not going to be a ‘Wannabe’ because we both know that’s what you’ll shorten it to.”

“Fabulous Two. Is that better?”

“Madison’s good.”

“You’re no fun,” Fab said. “We need to find someone else to get the information. We ask one question ourselves, and it’ll be all over town in an hour.”

“We need our own Information Specialist. I want information on Kym and Byce without Zach finding out and putting a stop to it.”

“It has to be someone connected to the local area and who won’t attract attention. We need a dock connection, and that will probably cost. I’ll check around,” Fab said.

“I just realized I have my own Anoui, and he always has way better information than what I read in her reports.”

“I’m afraid to ask.”

“Joseph can get us the info we need,” I said.

Fab sniffed. “He’s unreliable and always has his own agenda.”

“If you’d have sex with Joseph, we wouldn’t have any problems with him,” I managed to say with a straight face.

She glared at me. “You’re lucky we’re friends, or I’d shoot you.”

“I am lucky.”

“Have you skipped down the road in that thought process of yours, 007?” Fab continued. “What happens when we find the murderer? You do remember that we’re chasing someone who has killed at least one person, right?”

“At that point, we give the information to Kevin or Zach.”

“And that’s where Zach kills us both,” Fab said.

“Zach can just get over himself.”

“And the rest of your family?”

“We agreed we tell no one. Especially my mother and brother. There’s always going to be the issue of me not doing what I’m told.”

“You’re walking a thin line. They’re all going to find out, and being the good friend that I am, I’ll be the first to say I told you so.”

Fab was right. My family cared about the outcome, but not at the expense of my getting hurt. The others had agendas having nothing to do with truth. “Once we find the killer, then I’ll blame it all on you,” I told her.

“I’m glad you think that’s funny because I don’t.”

“If we’re going to be partners, you need to know I’m a regular comedian.”

CHAPTER 21

Fab’s phone rang. “Hi, Kevin. Any news?” The called lasted under a minute.

“Jax was released,” Fab told me. “He was questioned by Harder for a couple of hours, along with his attorney, Tucker.”

“Tucker Davis? How in the hell did those two hook up?”

“I imagine Tucker salivated over the thought of representing your ex-husband.”

“Tucker would love to serve up a huge payback to me, ever since the shopping mall project got scrapped. And his fixation on owning this house goes back to when Elizabeth died.”

“You shouldn’t have gone against him at the city council meeting.” Fab shook her head. “Your impassioned speech on his mall project being not only a blight in The Cove but the entire Keys had people listening. Plus, you organized all the store owners to show up en masse. You were so good even I paid attention.”

“I wish I could take credit for the project being dumped. I heard from Zach that Tucker lost a lot of his influence when his seedy reputation turned into headlines. His backers pulled out. They were scared their names would get muddied in all the negative publicity Tucker was generating.”

“I wonder if Tucker found Jax, or the other way around,” Fab said. “I’m putting my money on Tucker doing the finding.”

“Insert Tucker into the Jax fiasco and everything makes sense. How some unknown lawyer found out where I moved to, about the house, and my life in general. Jax is a smart man, but he’s not a scammer. He wouldn’t do this on his own. Enter Tucker using Jax against me.”

Fab grabbed a waffle from the freezer and popped it in the toaster. “The upside for Jax is that none of the plan so far has been illegal, just a nuisance.”

“My aunt lived in The Cove her entire life. It astounds me that she used Tucker to draw up her will. She had to know his reputation.”

“Elizabeth probably didn’t know how obsessed Tucker was with her, or how he’d insinuate himself into your life after her death,” Fab said.

“I’m confident Tucker will get Jax off if there’s something in it for him. You and I both know that ‘something’ is my house.”

I left Fab feeding Jazz waffle pieces that he chewed on and spit back at her. He knew the difference between waffles and turkey.

* * *

I pounded on Jax’s door like an impatient cop with a warrant in my hand. I knew the blood drained from his face when he heard the knock. The thought put a smile on my face.

The blinds moved. “Why in the hell do you knock like that?” Jax said, opening the door.

“Like what?” I asked.

“It’s early.”

“We have a lot to talk about. Give me a good reason why I shouldn’t kick your butt to the curb right now.” I looked around; the place was a wreck. The ashtrays overflowed; empty beer cans and wet beach towels were everywhere.

“I’m not hard of hearing,” he said, sitting on the couch. “Give me a break. My head hurts. Why are you yelling?”

“You’re so loud,” Apple whined from the chair next to the couch. Her face was chalky, and her long hair hung in a ponytail. She pulled a blanket over her head.

“Get her out of here today. If you don’t, you’re out tomorrow.”

Jax covered his ears. “You don’t understand.”

“Oh shut up with the ‘I don’t understand.’ Get dressed and come outside so we can talk.”

He looked at the clock. “We’ll have to do this later. I’m meeting with my lawyer.”

“Tucker? Tucker Davis? Tell me, is he your lawyer on the lawsuit?”

He stared at me, obviously trying to decide how to answer. “He is now.”

“Our agreement was that I would be the first to know if anything happened. Who made the first contact, you or him?”

“He did, referred by Lloyd Samuels,” he said, looking away. “I don’t like him, but his fee is right: free.”

“Jax, you’ve jumped in bed with a snake. He’s going to screw you good.”

“Why? And tell me, what’s the deal with your house? It’s nice, but why doesn’t he just buy one that’s available?”

“It’s a long story that goes back to my aunt. Please don’t do anything that will jeopardize my property.”

He tipped my face to his. “I won’t. I have to go. I have an appointment with the snake, and then I’m going to Moron’s.” He walked into the bathroom. “Have you talked with your lawyer yet?” He didn’t wait for an answer before slamming the door.

“Call me when you get back!” I yelled. I left knowing he wouldn’t call. He hated confrontation. Fab and I would have to track him down and tie him to a chair.

I walked across the yard to Joseph’s unit and knocked on the door.

He answered with a beer in his hand. “Want one?”

“I can’t chase waffles with a beer and not throw up.”

Joseph shook his head. “I’d still be asleep if you weren’t out there yelling at your husband.”

“Ex-husband, and I wasn’t yelling.”

“My ass. You woke half the neighborhood.”

“I need a favor,” I said.

“What else is new?”

“You owe me, and you need to start returning favors, or the next time you need a ride home from jail, you can use your thumb.”

“Let me guess. Spy on the trio over there.” He pointed to Jax’s cottage. “And report back.”

“I can do that legwork myself.” Jax had never been able to hide anything from me indefinitely. When we were married, I turned out to be a quick learner.

Joseph sighed. “So what now?”

“I need to find out everything I can about Pavel and his girlfriend Kym. And I need this information yesterday without anyone knowing I’m the one doing the asking.”