The Tell Tail Heart

by Cate Conte

  “Maybe he was thinking of moving here and wanted to try out a different season,” Damian said.

  “Maybe.” I wasn’t convinced. “And don’t say for peace and quiet,” I said when he opened his mouth again.

  He closed it, then said, “Okay, but why not?”

  “He’s from the West Coast. There are plenty of places for peace and quiet out there that aren’t this cold.”

  “Maybe he likes the cold,” Damian pointed out.

  I gave him a death glare.

  Damian chuckled. “Fine, no one’s allowed to like the cold. What are you thinking, then?”

  “I’m not sure,” I said. “But I definitely feel like he was here for a reason.”

  “And you think that reason got him killed.”

  I paused at my car, pulling my hoodie tighter. The rain had let up some, but the winds were gusting around us like they were trying to send us to Oz. “I guess it depends on the reason.”

  “And you want to find out that reason,” Damian said.

  I kept my gaze level with his but didn’t say anything.

  Damian smiled. “You are certainly your grandpa’s granddaughter,” he said. “Aren’t the police doing that? Or your grandfather?”

  “Whatever my grandfather’s doing, he’s not including me,” I said, hoping the hurt didn’t come through in my voice.

  “You think he’s investigating? I knew it. He’s such a cool guy,” Damian said.

  I grunted.

  “Why don’t you ask him if you can investigate with him?” Damian suggested. “He likes when you help.”

  “Not this time. Look, forget I said anything. I have to go.”

  “Maddie.” Damian put out a hand to stop me. “Why do you care so much?”

  “Why?” It seemed obvious to me why everyone should care, but maybe I was the crazy one. “Because it’s our island, and because we aren’t some big city with a high murder rate. People don’t usually get murdered here. It’s giving us all a bad name.” He was kind of right, though, about me being Grandpa’s granddaughter. We both liked to tie things up in neat bows and solve problems. It was what made him a good cop and me a good entrepreneur. It wasn’t my fault that sometimes the two merged together.

  Damian looked thoughtful. “I guess you’re right,” he said. “If it matters, my lobster bisque is made for tonight. And I have absolutely nothing good to do today. So if you want some company or someone to bounce ideas off of, I can help.”

  He looked hopeful. I liked Damian. He was a good guy, genuine, honest, and loved the island. He was also a transplant with no family here, and I knew how lonely things could get out here during the off-season. He wanted people to belong to. I got it. But he clearly had some allegiance to Grandpa Leo, too. And I didn’t necessarily want Grandpa to know that I was sticking my nose into this, especially since I didn’t even understand how he was involved. And I wasn’t sure if I could trust Damian enough to tell him about the mysterious trailer and what I’d seen there.

  But since two heads were definitely better than one, I knew I should probably take advantage of the second-head offer. Lucas, my preferred other head, wasn’t available, and my own head was kind of biased at this point. And if Damian could find out something, anything, about Thea Coleman, that would free me up to track down Leopard Man. Also, it would be less suspect if Damian was asking about her than if I was, since by now most of the island knew that she and I were kind of at war. Plus, the Leopard Man angle was something I definitely wanted to do alone, out of respect for a man I’d always liked. And for his friendship with Grandpa.

  “I was going to do a little research,” I said slowly. “If you’re interested. But you have to be discreet.”

  He looked surprised, then pleased. “I am. For sure. You’ve never met anyone more discreet.” He puffed out his chest.

  I bit back a smile. He was eager to please, which meant he would be mindful of my asks. “Okay. There’s a woman who came to the island recently. She came to my cafe and latched on to this crazy idea that JJ belongs to her.”

  “What? I’ll run her over myself,” Damian said, outraged. He loved JJ. He fed him fish every time he saw him. Which meant JJ also loved him. Damian reached down to pet JJ, as if to reassure himself he was still there.

  I filled him in on the Thea Coleman saga and how she might be the person of interest the police were referring to. “I saw her out on the street near the ferry the night Holt was killed.”

  “And you think she had something to do with it?”

  “I don’t know,” I said. “But I’m interested in knowing why she’s really here. And her ties to the island.”

  Damian nodded excitedly. “For sure. She could be the culprit, right?”

  “It’s possible,” I said. “And Holt got run over with his own car. Which means someone had to have access to his keys or he was really careless and he left the keys in the car. I think she knew Holt, so maybe she had access.”

  He whistled. “The plot thickens. Why do you think she knew him?”

  “They … bumped into each other at the cafe. They kind of acted like they knew each other.”

  “Hmmm. Did they get fingerprints off the steering wheel or anything?”

  I thought about that. Of course the police wouldn’t reveal anything like that, but it was a good question. If there were fingerprints and the person had a record, obviously they’d have a good idea of who they were looking for. If there were fingerprints, but the person didn’t have a record, it meant nothing. And if there weren’t fingerprints, then someone had come prepared with gloves. Or they were just cold. Which was entirely possible right now. I wasn’t leaving the house without gloves, for sure.

  “I don’t know,” I said. “But it’s an interesting question. I mean, someone could’ve seen an opportunity to steal his car and it could’ve been totally random, right? Someone needing money or something, and they saw him coming back and panicked? Ran him over, then tried to hide the body? If that’s the case maybe they would have left prints. Desperate criminals are dumb, right? There are a million ways this could’ve gone.”

  “But would they have bothered trying to hide the body if they just stole the car?” Damian asked. “I mean, if they were that dumb and inexperienced, wouldn’t they have just ditched the car and run?”

  He had a point. “So you think it was on purpose,” I said.

  He shrugged. “Just following the thought. Hey, this is kind of fun. Well, if someone wasn’t dead it would be more fun,” he amended. “Sure, I can do some digging on this chick. Thea Coleman, you say?”

  I nodded. “But it might not be her real name. I can’t find anything about her online. And Holt’s almost ex-wife is here on the island, too. Lexie.”

  “Ooh. Why is she here?”

  “Apparently to ID the body,” I said.

  He frowned. “She the only one who could do that? That stinks.”

  The way he said it made me wonder if he had an ex-wife somewhere who he’d be less than pleased to have identify his dead body. I refrained from asking. “I agree,” I said. “Although I met her and she seems genuinely sad he’s dead. But it’s curious, right? For a famous guy, why didn’t he have more friends? Or a new girlfriend?” A new thought struck me. “What if she and Thea Coleman were friends? Or the wife hired Thea as a PI?”

  Damian stared at me. “Wow. You really do have a knack for this. You’d make a great conspiracy theorist.”

  I swatted his arm. “There’s more. Holt’s co-writer is also on the island.”

  “Jeez,” Damian said. “This guy travels in a pack, huh?”

  “He came to my cafe looking for some of Holt’s work. Said he didn’t want the wife to get it, basically.”

  Damian whistled. “This dude had some stuff going on. Okay. I’ll check around and let you know what I find out. Where are you going now?”

  “I have a quick errand to run,” I said. “I’ll circle back with you later.”

  “Do we have a comman
d center or anything?” he asked.

  I watched him for a clue that he was being funny, but he seemed dead serious. “I hadn’t thought about that, but I guess we could,” I said, trying hard not to smile. It wasn’t a crazy idea. But it seemed so official. I was starting to feel like I was on a TV show or something.

  “The Shack,” he said immediately. “I’ll put some chowder—I mean chowdah—on while we’re there. Since you don’t want your grandpa to hear all this, right?”

  Good point. “I’ll see you there later on,” I said. “Should I call first?”

  He shook his head. “It’s just me and the lobsters. I really need to get a pet or something.”

  “Well,” I said. “You can come pick out a cat anytime at the cafe. We have a few.”

  Chapter 45

  After I was sure Damian had gone home, JJ and I got in the car and drove in the opposite direction. Back toward the beach. I wanted to see if Leopard Man was still at this trailer. Or if Thea Coleman was. I hoped I could find it again. Some of those roads down in that area were more like pathways, and there were so many of them. Plus, they all looked the same in the dark. And it wasn’t much lighter today. The sky was still dark as night, with all the storm clouds. The weather was terrible, and there were a couple spots on the road that had detours due to flooding. I wondered how that weird little trailer had fared on the beach in this storm.

  But I was determined. So I turned my radio up and said a silent prayer that I’d find what I was looking for.

  On the way I called Val. She answered, which I considered a win, but she sounded cranky.

  “Hey, it’s me,” I said.

  Silence.

  O-kay. “Have you talked to Ava-Rose?” I asked. “I was wondering what happened with Drake. If that came to anything.”

  Val sighed. “I haven’t talked to her. I tried to call her this morning, but she didn’t answer. Which is weird. Do you think that’s weird? You don’t think they arrested her, do you?”

  I wondered which of those was the trick question. “I have no idea if it’s weird,” I said. “I don’t know her schedule. And I haven’t heard about her getting arrested, Val. That’s a little extreme. Was she supposed to meet you or something?”

  “No, I just usually hear from her by now. We’re down to the wire and there’s a lot to do. Never mind. I’m sure I’m just imagining things.”

  I winced a little at the sarcasm. “Val—”

  “Anyway, I’ll let you know if I hear anything,” Val said, and hung up. So much for me being back in her good graces.

  I cranked up the radio, figuring I’d solve one problem at a time. But my phone rang again. My mother this time.

  “Sam’s stranded on the mainland,” she said, sounding worried.

  My sister had been over in Boston for a yoga retreat. “Lucas is, too,” I said.

  “You’re kidding. Well, that’s not good! What if they can’t get back for Thanksgiving? Lucas is coming for Thanksgiving, isn’t he? I planned on it. Things seem to be going so well with you two. I’m going to make those potatoes he told me he likes.”

  Thanksgiving. I’d barely given it a passing thought since all of this craziness started. And I’d really been looking forward to it this year, too, although I hadn’t asked Lucas yet if he’d be spending it with me. “Mom. Thanksgiving is Thursday. The storm isn’t going to last that long.” I muttered a curse as my car went through a pretty big puddle.

  “Still. That’s cutting it close. So is he coming then?”

  “We haven’t had a chance to talk about it yet,” I said, trying to concentrate on the road and avoid any puddles that might flood my car and get me stranded. There were a few that were iffy, especially as I got closer to where I thought we had been. But I figured as soon as he got back I would. Maybe it was time to really see if he wanted to take things to the next level. He’d given some indication that he did, and usually it was me stalling and screwing around.

  Yes, maybe it was time. I felt a little tingle of excitement spread in my belly. It felt right.

  “Oh. When do you think you will? And do you want me to make you fudge this year?” My mother made the best fudge.

  “Of course I do. I’ll talk to him when he’s back, Mom. I promise I’ll let you know.”

  “Are you busy? You sound distracted,” my mother said.

  I thought I was getting closer to where I’d been last night and I had to pay attention. “Actually, I kind of am. Can I call you back?” I hung up without waiting for an answer, slowed down, and moved to the shoulder of the road, peering down each tiny driveway/road. Some of them were paved, and some of them were dirt paths. I did remember that the one Thea had gone down last night was paved, so that at least gave me a starting point.

  Luckily, there weren’t a lot of cars coming, because I was crawling along. Finally, I recognized a tree—at least I thought I did—and pulled over. I jogged a little ways down the tiny street and realized it was the wrong one. There was a cottage ahead of me. There definitely hadn’t been a cottage last night.

  I went back to the car and tried two more driveways, both wrong.

  Then I found it. I mentally kicked myself for not remembering sooner that right where Val had pulled over was where the road widened for a brief period of time to include a passing lane. I remembered she had used the extra space to pull a U-turn last night. Gleeful, I parked and turned to JJ. “I’ll be right back. Don’t leave without me.”

  He gave me a look and went back to sleep.

  I hurried down the driveway, keeping to the trees again, my hoodie pulled tight around my face as the rain pelted me. It felt like little needles stinging me.

  When I finally got to the clearing heading out to the beach, I stopped. And blinked the water out of my eyes.

  There was nothing there. No trailer, no car, no nothing. Just a clear view of the beach, which was being pounded by angry surf. I worried about the eroding coastline and hoped this storm wasn’t contributing heavily to that phenomenon.

  I frowned. Had I been that far off in my calculations? No. I felt strongly that I was in the right place.

  So where was Leopard Man? Where was that odd little trailer? I stood there for a minute, not sure what to do. Or if I was crazy.

  I started back up the driveway, then veered off to the tree line again, in what I thought was the general vicinity of where I’d stood last night. I scoured the ground in a pretty wide radius, pushing around frozen leaves that hadn’t been cleaned up yet to see if I could find my rock. I started to feel like I’d crawled around the length of a football field, and I still wasn’t seeing anything.

  I sat back on my heels and rubbed at my wet jeans, frustrated. I knew I wasn’t crazy. I had been here. I knew this was the spot. And unless the whole thing was some kind of hallucination, this was where Grandpa Leo and Leopard Man had been last night, receiving Thea Coleman.

  So where were they now? And where was this trailer? I felt like Alice, staring down a rabbit hole. But unlike Alice, I knew last night had been real. Now I was more determined than ever to figure out what they were up to. And that included my very secretive grandfather.

  I took one more look around in the leaves, then got up and surveyed the area, just in case I was missing … something. I had no idea what. The big something was the trailer, and that clearly wasn’t here. Ugh. Part of me wondered if I really was losing my mind.

  Giving up, I hurried back to my car. I shook off as much water as I could and slid in, then pulled out my phone, about to call Lucas. I wanted to tell him everything that had been going on and get his input. I could really use his perspective. Lucas was one of the most level-headed people I knew—rational but unflappable. Ethan was easygoing, but he sometimes slid over into the “too chill” category. I needed someone to talk to who had the right balance. Plus, I missed his voice.

  But before I could call him, my phone rang. Damian. “When are you coming by?” he asked without preamble. “I got some good info.”

>   Ooh. That sounded promising. “On my way now.”

  Chapter 46

  I pulled into the parking lot of Damian’s Lobstah Shack ten minutes later and hurried to the side door. JJ had perked up when we’d pulled into the parking lot, recognizing that he’d get some treats while he was here.

  Damian had made the place a little more than a shack since he’d taken over, expanding the kitchen a bit. He had one tiny table and a couple chairs he used as his “break room.” He was sitting there with his computer and a notebook, looking very serious.

  “What’s going on?” I asked, sliding into the chair across from him.

  “Thea Coleman. I didn’t find anything. But I’m going to keep looking.”

  I wasn’t surprised, given the research I’d tried to do.

  He slid a plate in front of JJ, who attacked it. “But I did look into the wife and the other writer,” he continued. “Found some interesting things. Turns out our victim was having a rough time in his life.”

  I frowned. “What do you mean?”

  “Well. His divorce sounds like it got ugly. Rumors of an affair. And like the soon-to-be ex-wife got a big chunk of change up front and rights to his future earnings.”

  “Whose affair? His or hers?”

  “There were rumors of both, but it sounds like it was on her side. And then she tried to hit back with her own accusations.”

  “Okay,” I said slowly. “But wouldn’t that just mean he had a reason to kill her, instead of vice versa?”

  “I guess,” Damian said. “Then there were other rumors about her not feeling like the settlement was enough, and he’d been ordered by a judge to take out a huge life insurance policy and list her as the benefactor.”

  “Whoa.” I sat back. “Are you sure? Where did you find this out?” He’d been “investigating” for barely more than an hour and he already knew way more than I did.