Murder On the Rocks (28 page)

When I opened my eyes, Ogden lay crumpled in a heap on the floor of the cave. I limped over toward the flashlight, the pain in my thigh throbbing as I moved, and trained the beam on Ogden. He was still breathing. I turned the beam on my leg. The shovel had opened a huge gash, and as I watched, what looked like pints of my blood poured out, blackening my jeans and growing into a dark, wet pool on the floor. As the blood leaked from my body, my vision began to close in around the edges. I swayed to the ground and struggled to pull off my windbreaker. I needed a tourniquet.

My head felt swaddled in cotton as I tied the arm of my jacket around the top of my thigh and pulled. Water thundered out in the main part of the cove-soon, I realized fuzzily, the cave would be filled with water, and I would be trapped here with Ogden until the next low tide. Despite my muddled state, a seed of panic took root. I grabbed the flashlight and pulled myself toward the small opening in the wall, dragging my wounded leg behind me. When I peered through the low hole, my throat closed up-the cove was already half full, and the water was rising quickly. Ogden’s skiff was tied up behind mine. If I could make it into his boat, I had a chance.

As I clambered through the hole in the wall and stood up, blackness encroached on the edges of my vision. I wasn’t sure I could make it to the boat-I’d lost too much blood-but I had to try. Water licked the soles of my shoes as I leaned against the rocky wall for support, and I had only made it halfway to the boat when my legs gave out. I sank down onto my knees in the icy water. The cold jolted me-I couldn’t give up now-and I crawled the remaining few yards through a shallow puddle of seawater, my leg screaming as the salty waves kissed the open wound.

I pulled myself forward on my hands and knees for what felt like miles before I finally reached Ogden’s boat and heaved myself over the side. My head cracked against the seat as I tumbled into the boat’s wooden belly, and I lay there on the cold wet boards for a moment, listening to the water thundering into the little cove. You’re not out of the woods yet, Nat. I dragged myself to my knees and lurched toward the front of the boat, fumbling at the rope with thick fingers. After several clumsy attempts, I managed to loosen the knot, but as the rope snaked into the water, the skiff immediately turned sideways, slamming the bow into the wall opposite the shelf. I staggered to the back of the boat, scrabbled at the second rope until it came loose, and with my last remaining strength, pulled the starter to the engine.

Nothing happened. As the water hurled the wooden boat against the rocky wall again, I pulled a second time, but the engine remained still; I didn’t have the strength to start it. The boat was now careening around the cove like a ball in a pinball machine. I braced myself for a third pull and heard a splintering noise. As I squinted in the dim light, trying to find the source of the noise, icy water began pooling around my feet. I soon located the problem; one of the rocks had ripped a gaping hole in the left side of the boat, and the sea was gushing in. Soon, the cold crept past my feet to claim my calves, and I realized with frightening clarity what was going to happen next. I was going to drown.

Suddenly, the sound of a boat’s motor filled the cove. “Natalie!” Despite the cold seeping through my limbs, I felt a sudden rush of warmth at the sound of John’s voice. I waved feebly, then slumped to the bottom of the rapidly filling boat and let the blackness enfold me.

I OPENED MY EYES to a pale fluorescent light embedded in a ceiling of acoustic tiles. As I sat up with a groan, I realized my hand was attached to something-an IV tube. A dull pain throbbed in my leg, and my finger was hovering above the orange “nurse” button on the side of my bed when the door opened and John walked in with a vase filled with beach roses.

“Hey,” he said, his green eyes crinkling into a smile. Despite my weakened condition, I found myself admiring the fit of his faded blue jeans as he turned to set the vase on a shelf in front of the small room’s only window, and my pulse picked up as he turned and pulled up a chair next to my bed. I hoped he wouldn’t notice it on the monitor.

“Thanks for the roses,” I croaked. Their heady perfume was already drowning out the antiseptic smell of hospital, reminding me of Cranberry Island and the inn.

“Prickly little buggers, aren’t they? I think my hands are permanently perforated.”

I laughed. “Next time, wear gloves.” As I drank in his disheveled sandy hair and the sprinkling of gold and gray whiskers on his tanned face, it occurred to me that I had no idea where I was or what day it was. “Where am I, by the way? And how long have I been here?”

“You’re at the Mount Desert Island hospital. You’ve been here coming up on twenty-four hours now. You lost a whole lot of blood out at Smuggler’s Cove, and the salt water didn’t help. Ogden nicked a big artery with that rusty shovel of his. Major tetanus shot material.” His face grew serious. “If you hadn’t had the presence of mind to tie that tourniquet, you might not be here.”

I shivered. “And if you hadn’t shown up when you did . . Goosebumps prickled my arms at the memory of the cold water rushing into Ogden’s boat. “What happened to Ogden?”

“You gave him a good wallop, but there’s no permanent damage, unfortunately.” He grinned. “He’s recovering under police guard, and they’ve arrested Stanley, too. As soon as Ogden’s well enough to be moved, they’ll be transporting him to other quarters.”

“How did Grimes take the news that I’m not a murderer?”

John rolled his eyes. “He acted as if he’d known it was Ogden the whole time, of course.”

“All the evidence was intact?”

“Yup. Right down to the plane tickets to Rio. I hope they were refundable.” His woodsy scent wafted over me as he shifted on the orange plastic chair.

“And Estelle?”

“She came out of her coma just a few hours ago. The doctors were worried at first, but she’s already complaining about the bed, the food, the service . . “He chuckled. “I think the staff is ready to declare her recovered just to get her out of their hair.”

I laughed. “I never thought I’d say it, but I’m glad she’s okay.”

John leaned forward in his chair. “It’s a good thing you found her when you did. Otherwise, she wouldn’t be bugging the hospital staff much” The scent of beach roses wafted over to the bed, and I sat up with a jerk.

“Oh my God-what about the inn?”

John patted my hand. “Relax. Everything’s taken care of. Gwen and Charlene have it under control-and besides, now that Ogden’s out of the picture, it’s only Barbara, and she’s heading back this afternoon.”

I sat back, relieved. “It was Barbara’s article that got me on the right track, you know. That, and a bank statement I saw in Ogden’s room just before the board meeting. I have to thank her for writing that article. If she hadn’t, that resort would probably have been a go … and it might be me in custody now.” I stared at the brilliant pink roses for a moment. A few lavender sweet peas had been tucked in among the pink blooms.

John’s eyes followed mine. “I got them from your garden. I hope you don’t mind.”

“Mind? No, I’m delighted. I was just wondering, though. Now that I’ve found the money Ogden and Stanley embezzled from PRI, do you think the resort will go through?” The thought of losing my inn was like a brick in my stomach.

“I think Katz was in more trouble than just Ogden’s scam,” John replied. “The funds you found may be enough to pay back investors, but I doubt they’ll be able to scrape up enough money to make the land deal go through, much less develop it. Besides, if they did anything, I imagine they’d work on finishing the resorts they already have under construction.”

“Or thought they did.” I grinned. “I don’t imagine Holding Construction Company has a lot to show for the last eighteen months” John rubbed the top of my hand, and the warmth of his touch tingled as it traveled up my arm.

“You know,” I said, “one thing that puzzles me is, who threw that rock through my window and cut the brake lines on my bike? I thought it was Ogden, but he didn’t know anything about it.”

John tilted his head back. “I forgot to tell you-the prints came back from the rock.”

“You mean Grimes actually did something with it?”

“Amazing, isn’t it? At any rate, it turns out they belong to one Murray Selfridge. Looks like he was trying to protect his investment by scaring off the opposition.”

I blinked. “Murray Selfridge? If he’s the one who cut my brake lines, he almost killed me. I have half a mind to press charges.” “

“You probably should,” John replied. “What I don’t understand is why he didn’t try to scare you off earlier, before the board meeting. And he really didn’t start getting that coalition of his together until after the vote, either.”

I can answer that question.”

John’s lips twitched into a grin. “This wouldn’t have anything to do with breaking or entering or anything else I don’t want to know about, would it?”

“Not breaking or entering, no. But I think I’ll keep my sources secret. I haven’t decided what to do with the information yet. If I tell you, will you promise me you won’t tell Grimes?”

He sighed. “No can do. That might be obstructing justice.”

“Okay, then, let’s just say I’m pretty sure Katz knew how the vote was going to go before it happened, and I imagine Murray knew too.”

“How?”

“I think Katz did a little bit of information gathering on certain key individuals, and that he found a few of the things he uncovered-how shall I put it-useful.”

John’s green eyes widened as he worked this out. “You mean he blackmailed Ingrid?”

“I said nothing of the sort”

“Who else did he go after?”

I grinned. “If you want to know, you’ll have to find out for yourself. But if you have any unidentified prints from the night I was brained in Katz’s room, I would recommend comparing them with the prints of certain prominent islanders.”

John raised his eyebrows in disbelief. “You mean Ingrid knocked you out?”

I smiled at John, but didn’t respond. I wasn’t one-hundredpercent sure it was Ingrid, but I couldn’t think of anyone else it could be. She had been at the store when I told Charlene the forensics crew was coming to examine Bernard Katz’s room-she’d dropped something right after I mentioned it to Charlene-and I knew she was paranoid about exposing her son’s drug arrest.

“How did you find all this out?”

I fluttered my lashes at him. “Feminine intuition?”

John groaned.

“Speaking of finding things out, how did you know to come find me at Smuggler’s Cove?”

“I caught a glimpse of a familiar boat while I was waiting for the forensics team to show up. I didn’t know what you were up to down there, but with your lack of experience on the water, I was afraid it wouldn’t be good.” He shook his head at me. “You know, I almost didn’t check the cove. I didn’t know you knew about it.” I shivered, thinking of what would have happened if I hadn’t swung out from the cliffs far enough for him to spot me. Suddenly the phone jangled, startling both of us.

“Hello?”

“Natalie? This is Gertrude Pickens.” Before I had a chance to respond, she rushed on. “I just want to say how sorry I am about the article in the paper earlier this week. I don’t have to say it too often, but it looks like I was way off this time. I want to make full restitution, write an article that really shows your point of view, and details how you caught the killer. I hope you’ll be sure to talk to the local paper first.”

“Thanks, Gertrude. I’d love to, but I’ll have to call you back later. I have a visitor.” She was still talking as I replaced the receiver on the hook.

John eyed the phone. “Persistent, isn’t she?”

“At least she’s not trying to get me put behind bars anymore.” I leaned back against the pillow. “By the way, I hate to ask, but how’s the Little Marian?”

“What, you mean aside from the splintered sides and the sheared prop?”

I looked at him sheepishly.

“We had her towed over to Eleazer’s shop. Once he’s finished working on Adam’s boat, he’ll get her back into shape ” He fixed me with a stern look. “He’s under strict orders not to return her to you until you’ve promised me you’ll take me with you for at least the first ten times you go out.” He shook his head. “I’m afraid to ask how you managed to get into that cove with no propeller.”

I blushed. “I got lucky, I guess.”

“You call that lucky?”

“Well, I’m not the primary suspect in a murder case anymore, am I?”

“True. I guess that is pretty lucky,” he said, then leaned down and kissed my cheek, his bristly chin hot against my skin. The warm, woodsy scent of him overwhelmed me, and I was glad I was lying down, because my legs turned to jelly. “You’d better hurry up and recover quickly,” he murmured into my ear. Goosebumps traveled up and down my body-the good kind, this time. “I’m expecting dinner after all of this.”

The thought that had been squirming in the back of my mind wriggled to the surface. I pulled my eyes from John’s deep green ones with difficulty. “What about your girlfriend in Portland?”

I glanced back at John. He looked stunned. “Girlfriend in Portland? What girlfriend?”

“You know, the woman who called when I was over to dinner.”

He looked puzzled for a moment. Then his face cleared. “Oh, you mean Olivia?” He laughed. “She’s married to my brother. She just likes to call me all the time to complain about him.”

“She’s your sister-in-law?”

“Yup” He sat up straight in his chair. “Scout’s honor”

I laughed. “Well, for once Charlene’s grapevine is wrong.”

“Charlene told you I had a girlfriend? I’d better go set her straight” He eyed me sideways. “Although if I play my cards right, maybe soon that won’t be a lie.”

He got up and stretched as I tried to form a response, and saved me from answering. “I’ve kept you up long enough. The nurses will be after me if I don’t leave you alone. I’ve got to run into town for a little bit, but I’ll be back this evening.” He leaned down and gave me another quick, heart-quickening peck on the cheek. “They say you’ll be out of here soon. Get as much rest as you can, so I can hurry up and get you back home.” He smiled one last, dazzling smile and disappeared through the door.