Deadly Gift

by Heather Graham

  “What about Morrissey?” Kat asked.

  “Call Aidan first,” Zach said. Did he mistrust Morrissey now? Or was he just being paranoid?

  Morrissey had been decent from the beginning, a good cop.

  He was being paranoid, he decided. He didn’t like the idea of going to Providence; he felt as if he should stay with them. But someone had to go. And it needed to be him.

  He paused, watching the two women: Kat, the feisty little sprite who was like his sister, and Caer, beautiful, regal, strangely sad and serene.

  He gave Kat a kiss on the cheek, then pulled Caer up into his arms and kissed her lips tenderly.

  Kat whistled.

  Caer pulled away, blushing….

  “Go,” she said. “We’ll be fine. Maybe we can even convince Sean to take us out sailing. We can check out the boat and have some fun at the same time. We’ll be fine.”

  He nodded, turned and left.

  Everyone was dressed and ready.

  Amanda even seemed excited.

  “I actually think this will be fun,” she said, packing a canvas tote bag in the kitchen. “Coffee, we have to take coffee. And some whiskey.”

  Caer, gathering things from the kitchen as Amanda suggested them, was startled when her cell phone rang.

  She answered, thinking that it might be Zach.

  But it wasn’t. It was Michael.

  She smiled weakly at Amanda and stepped out of the kitchen, knowing the other woman was watching her suspiciously.

  “Michael, what do you want? I can’t talk to you now.”

  “Have you been outside?” he asked.

  She frowned. “Why? Are you out there? I thought you had a lot of business to attend to here. Why are you hounding me? I’m doing my best.”

  “Go outside.”

  Caer made her way along the hallway, through the foyer and out the front door.

  There were birds everywhere. They were on the eaves of the house. In the trees. Flying above in great swooping crowds.

  Black birds.

  Dozens of them were even sitting on the lawn.

  “Michael, what’s going on?”

  “The list…your list, to be specific—is changing. Names are appearing and disappearing. Right now, Caer, your purpose is what matters. You’ve got to forget your…entanglements and pay attention. This isn’t supposed to be happening. You’ll upset the entire scheme of things if you don’t prevent what’s coming.”

  “Michael,” she said, desperate, “help me. What should I do? What should I not do? What’s coming?”

  “You know I can’t tell you that. It’s not even that I won’t tell you, but I honestly can’t foresee what’s next. Too many things are in flux. Keep on as you are, but be on the lookout. Be careful, and stay sharp.”

  The phone went dead.

  She hung up and looked around. As she did, the black birds blanketing the front lawn suddenly let out a shrieking, dreadful cry, en masse, and with a thunderous flurry of wings, they rose into the sky like one giant omen of doom.

  After he arrived at the morgue, the receptionist took Zach to meet Dr. Jon Wong.

  He was cordial and serene, which Zach supposed was one way to cope with death on a daily basis.

  He asked that the body be brought into autopsy room A, and the two of them chatted idly as they waited for the remains.

  Zach had seen just about everything during his days in the forensic department in Miami-Dade. Body parts in barrels, bones that had been dug out of the Everglades, fresh bodies, looking as if they might leap up from the gurney, slashed flesh, burned flesh, shot flesh, mangled flesh.

  But Eddie was bad.

  That was what happened after so many days in the water. So many days as the target of hungry fish. His finger had been chewed to the bone.

  Where once his eyes had been, only empty sockets remained. The corpse was hardly recognizable as Eddie.

  But it was Eddie.

  Dental records would clinch the ID, but the tattoo remained, along with the medallion he wore, a piece of Spanish gold drilled through and hung on a chain.

  “It is Edward Ray?” Wong asked.

  Zach nodded. “Cause of death?”

  “The soft tissue around the wound was eaten way,” Wong said, showing Eddie’s exposed ribcage. “But there are marks on the bones made by something very sharp.”

  “Did you find anything that could help us find his killer?” Zach asked.

  Wong shook his head sadly. “No, but that kind of wound…I think the killer took him by surprise. My guess is that he was killed and thrown off the boat almost simultaneously, maybe caught off balance as he died. What was left of his clothing is with the forensic department at the police station. Feel free to stop by there and see what they can tell you. Meanwhile, I expect we’ll be releasing the body in another few days.”

  Zach thanked him, and headed to the police lab.

  Amanda looked at the bags and hampers she’d readied for the day. “What a shame. We had all those strapping Flynn brothers here before, but now that we could use their help with all this, they’re gone. Oh, well. Tom, I’m sorry, but would you mind grabbing that bag?”

  Kat looked at Caer, incredulous that Amanda was being so nice. As she walked past Caer, picking up one of the hampers, she said, “Almost scary, huh?”

  “You know what, Tom?” Amanda said suddenly. “I think you and Clara should come along today.”

  Kat and Caer stared at her.

  Tom gaped.

  “You want the two of us to come sailing with you?”

  Clara, standing at the sink, said, “Oh, no. We couldn’t.”

  “Of course you can,” Amanda insisted. “I’ve invited Cal and Marni, too, but Tom would be a big help. Sean still shouldn’t be doing anything strenuous, you know.”

  Tom looked at his wife. Her eyes widened, and she shrugged. “All right, then.” She still looked stunned by the offer.

  Cal and Marni arrived just as the car was being packed up. Entering through the open garage door, they gave the others a start.

  “Sorry. We thought we’d see if you needed some help getting ready,” Marni said, apologizing for startling them all.

  “I think we’re good. Let’s get going,” Amanda said.

  “We’ve got a bottle of Irish whiskey,” Marni said. “We can drink to Eddie. It was his favorite. Hey, where’s Zach?”

  Everyone went still for a moment.

  “I guess Dad didn’t want to tell you until they were sure,” Kat said. “A body washed up near Providence. Zach went to see if it’s Eddie.”

  “Oh, God, no,” Cal said, his shoulders drooping.

  “Let me go get my father so we can get out of here. Let’s let Dad have a good day,” Kat said.

  “Good idea,” Amanda agreed. “Sean? Are you ready? It’s time to go,” she called, her voice rising.

  Sean appeared, zipping up his waterproof Windbreaker. “This is it? Let’s roll.”

  He took it in stride that Tom and Clara were joining them as Tom opened the rear door of the black sedan, and Sean and Amanda slipped in.

  Kat wedged in next to them. She wasn’t leaving her father. “Caer, sit up front with Tom and Clara,” Kat told her.

  Amanda giggled and squeezed closer to Sean. Kat was tight-lipped. Caer saw Tom exchange glances with his wife. They both smiled, but they looked wary.

  They reached the wharf and started loading the boat. With that many people, it was quick work. Caer was in the galley with Kat and Amanda when Marni came down the steps into the cabin. “She’s ready to go as soon as Cal gets here. But you know how he is. He ducked into the office the minute we got here and got hung up on a call. He’ll be a few minutes, so I say, let’s break out that whiskey. We’ll toast Eddie, and by then Cal should be back and we can get under way.”

  “Where’s the whiskey?” Kat asked.

  “Topside,” Marni told them. “So come on up.”

  “I’ll get the glasses,” Amanda said. />
  On the deck, Sean was seated at the helm. He had on sunglasses, so it was impossible to tell what he was thinking. “Not a lot of wind, but enough,” he told Marni as she approached. “Besides, we always have the motor, and it’s not like we’re actually going anywhere.” He looked at her and frowned. “Where’s Cal?”

  “That guy from the flotilla committee called. He said he’d be right along.” She appeared to be struggling with the seal on the bottle of whiskey.

  “I can do that for you,” Kat said, coming up on deck, followed by Amanda, who had a tray of glasses.

  “It’s okay, I’ve got it,” Marni said. “Caer, would you pass the glasses?”

  Clara came over from where she’d been standing by the rail, offering to help, but Caer smiled and shook her head. “I’ve got it, Clara, thank you. Here, take a glass.”

  “Oh, I need to watch out for the whiskey,” Clara said.

  “This is for Eddie,” Marni said. “One drink won’t hurt you.”

  Birds screeched, and Caer looked around, almost dropping the glass she was holding. It seemed as if the flock of black-winged demons had left the O’Riley lawn and followed them to the boat. A chill went through her as the whiskey was passed out.

  Marni lifted her glass. “Down the hatch in one big gulp, everyone. Just like Eddie took it, ‘neat and hard as an Irish whore,’ as he liked to say.”

  “For Eddie. A friend like no other,” Sean said, and downed his whiskey.

  “For Eddie,” Kat said, then swallowed and winced.

  “Eddie,” Clara whispered.

  “Eddie,” Tom echoed.

  Caer downed her own glass of whiskey. It seared down her throat like fire, and seemed to light a fire in her blood.

  The birds took flight. Unease, like black lava, burned through her with an even greater fire than the whiskey.

  “Stop. Something’s wrong,” she said suddenly. “Something’s wrong. We can’t go out today.”

  She pulled her cell phone from her pocket, her movements awkward, as the others stared at her in shock and confusion. “Kat, Sean, we have to get off this boat. Now. I know it. I…”

  She couldn’t dial. Her fingers were going numb.

  The phone fell to the deck, and she looked around, her vision hazy.

  The birds seemed to join together to form one monstrous black shadow-beast and descend over the boat.

  Zach talked to the forensic tech who had examined Eddie’s clothes, but, as he’d expected, there were no clues for him there. He thanked the man, left and called Aidan from the car.

  “Is it Eddie?” Aidan asked, before Zach could speak.

  “Yes. He was stabbed in the chest. The M.E. thinks he was stabbed and went overboard pretty much simultaneously. The body is a hell of a mess.”

  “To be expected, after that long in the water,” Aidan told him. “I have some interesting information for you.”

  “Shoot, please, and quickly.”

  “Where are you?”

  “On my way back from Providence.”

  “Good. I’ve checked out Morrissey. He’s spotless. More than spotless, actually, and there’s no way he’d kill anyone for money.”

  “Why?”

  “He’s the grandson of Cornelius Sharp.”

  “Who’s Cornelius Sharp?”

  “Well, he’s dead, but he was one of the richest men in the state. Morrissey has a ton of money in trust. He doesn’t even have to work, but he’s one of those men who don’t want to live off family money. He made it through the academy with flying colors, and he’s never had so much as a parking ticket.”

  “And that’s so interesting because…?”

  “That’s not interesting, but I’ll tell you what is. Mrs. O’Riley.”

  “What about her?” Zach asked sharply, acutely aware that Sean and Kat—and Caer—were out with the woman even now.

  “She was born Amanda Marie Jenkins.”

  “So?”

  “She was married and divorced ten years ago.”

  “Lots of people have been married and divorced.”

  “The divorce was instigated by the husband, and there was a child, a little girl. The husband has her. Amanda didn’t even ask for custody or visitation.”

  “You’re kidding? That is surprising. I can guarantee you that Sean doesn’t know. He’s such a family guy, and that would really bug him.”

  “I’m heading down to New York City now, about to get on a plane.”

  “What? Why?”

  “I found someone who won’t talk to me on the phone but says that he can tell me something unusual about the case. He was working for her attorney at the time. And I’ve heard from Jeremy. Eddie insisted on picking up the ornament so he could mail it himself. He wanted the timing to be exact, and he didn’t want anyone to know about it. He said that ‘they’ were watching him all the time, and that he was going to protect everything he knew until Christmas. That was all the guy knew. Anyway, I feel like we’re getting close. You need to stick with the family. Sean trusts you. Jeremy is heading back, so he and Rowenna will be there soon if you need them.”

  “All right.”

  Zach realized that he was going to have to call Sean with the truth, and it was not a call he was looking forward to making.

  “What about Cal?” Zach asked. “Anything on him?”

  “No, no record. He married Marni five years ago. They met in New York and married there.”

  “Lots going on in New York City, huh? Well, stay in touch. I’ll get back to Newport as fast as I can.”

  Caer crashed down to the deck, her eyes still open. And then, as she watched, she saw them fall, one by one.

  Clara, Tom.

  Kat.

  Sean.

  Oh, God, it had been her job to protect Sean.

  Amanda. No, Amanda was still standing.

  Kat had been right all along, Caer realized. Amanda was the killer.

  Flesh was weak, Caer thought, but though hers had reacted to whatever drug she’d been given, she would recover—and quickly. Meanwhile, she had to think, had to figure out what Amanda had given them—or had it been Amanda? She was still standing.

  But so was Marni.

  Caer prayed fervently that they had only been drugged, not poisoned, that their names had been the ones that had wavered on Michael’s list, indicating that they were in danger but not necessarily slated to die.

  It was up to her. She had to keep their names from solidifying, had to keep herself from becoming only air and the stuff of the dreams—the death ghost, there to take them home.

  So she lay there and narrowed her eyes until they were almost closed, then watched and listened.

  “Let’s get them below,” Marni said.

  “Why didn’t we just do this down there?” Amanda demanded crossly.

  “Stop complaining and hurry up,” Marni said. “I’ve already rigged the engine to explode, but we’ve got to get out on the water first, and I don’t want them dead until we’ve found what we need. I know one of them knows where Eddie moved the treasure. Let’s get them down to the cabin, get away from here, then start going through their things. I’d rather find what we need that way than have to wait for them to wake up and question them about where Eddie took that damn treasure.”

  “Marni, I’m not sure this was such a great idea,” Amanda said nervously. “Zach and his brothers are still out there somewhere, plus they found Eddie’s body. You said that he’d never turn up.”

  “Hey, at least I killed Eddie. You’re the one who screwed up with Sean.”

  “Oh, right, like I did that on purpose!” Amanda protested. “How did I know the old fart would survive? You got the mushrooms. You told me he’d die, and it couldn’t be traced. Well, he didn’t die, though at least they didn’t figure out what made him so sick. And what’s the story with Cal? I thought he was supposed to be out here, too? Or did you chicken out?”

  “I’ve taken care of Cal,” Marni said curtly. “When I set out
to kill someone, that someone ends up dead. I took care of him back at the house, then pretended he got hung up here, in the office.”

  “You killed him back at the house?” Amanda said incredulously. “What are you? An idiot?”

  “I have it all figured out. It was the faithful servants, who were jealous all the time of the O’Riley money. They killed Cal when he caught on, then killed the rest of these fools and got caught up in their own explosion. Luckily for us, you and I were thrown clear.”

  “And instead we’re going to freeze to death out in that water,” Amanda accused her.

  Marni grunted. “Give me a hand with Tom. He’s heavy. We’re not going to freeze to death, but you may get a little cold. The boat won’t explode until we’re close to the island. We’ll have on life jackets by then.”

  “You’re crazy. That water’s frigid.”

  “Hey, I killed Eddie and swam in. No biggie.”

  “You were in a wet suit.”

  “Amanda, if we pull this off, not only will we have that treasure, you’ll be the only heir to the entire O’Riley fortune. Don’t you think that’s worth being cold for a few minutes? Dammit, Amanda give me a hand. Then you can go through their things while I get us out of here. We have to hurry. Some other asshole is going to think it’s a good day to sail and see what’s going on. Come on!”

  As the two women hauled Tom down the steps to the cabin, Caer tried to struggle up; she was conscious, yes, but still too weak and dizzy to manage it. What the hell drug had the two used this time? Poison mushrooms, ground glass, knives and cunning. Marni was cold. Icy. Why hadn’t she seen it? And why had no one suspected that the two women might be in collusion? Because they’d carefully made themselves look like rivals, that was why.

  She fought to regain her strength without betraying that she was awake, listening to every word. Marni had said that she’d murdered her husband, but wouldn’t he have been on her list as someone to cross over? It didn’t feel as if Cal was dead.

  Her mind raced. She had to talk to the two women, get them off guard, find some kind of weapon to use against them.

  And she had to get the others off the boat while they were still moored, before the rigged engine blew the Sea Maiden into a million pieces.