Deep In Death: A Shelby Nichols Adventure

by Colleen Helme

  “Probably not,” Nick agreed.

  I slipped my key card into the slot and opened the door. To my surprise Nick followed me inside. “I’ve been thinking about a plan,” he said. “I want to go to the dock and see how the investigation’s going. Maybe you’ll get some kind of premonition while we’re there that will help us know where they are.”

  “Uh…maybe,” I said.

  Nick shook his head. “I just can’t believe that Manetto and Ramos were taken by surprise. Unless they were locked up in a room or something, I think they would have gotten out.” He still couldn’t believe they were dead, but it was looking more and more like that was what had happened.

  “What about Kate? Are we meeting up with her?”

  “Yes. Jackie’s supposed to call her when we get to the dock. In fact, she might already be there.”

  “We should get going then,” I said.

  “Okay. I’ll meet you in the hall outside Jackie’s door.”

  He left, and I sat heavily on the bed, tired from not sleeping much and full of anxiety about what we were going to find. I slipped my phone out of my pocket and quickly called Chris to let him know I had arrived safely. He was especially happy to hear that Nick had come with us as a bodyguard of sorts. I told him I’d call him later tonight and disconnected. I quickly unpacked and, after using the bathroom, opened the door to find Jackie and Nick already waiting in the hallway for me.

  We took a taxi straight to the dock where the rescue operation was still in progress. As we exited the taxi, the wind picked up, sending bursts of cold right through my clothes. I pulled the hood of my jacket up over my head and shivered as drops of water pelted into me with the breeze. Were Uncle Joey and Ramos out there somewhere submerged in a watery grave?

  Two search and rescue boats circled a bigger boat in the distance. I scanned the dock and spotted Kate at the end of the pier. She stood beside a man who held a radio and looked like he was in charge. She was talking to him animatedly, and from her thoughts, I knew she wasn’t happy with the way he was handling things.

  As we walked toward her, she caught sight of us and immediately ran over. Embracing Jackie, she broke down in tears. She was thinking it looked like both Ramos and Uncle Joey had died in the explosion. Facing this alone was too much, and having us there unleashed the torrent of tears she’d been holding back.

  “I’m so glad you’re here,” she said, pulling away, and wiping her eyes. Including all three of us, she continued, “They searched the bay for survivors all night and sent them back out at first light this morning, but no one’s turned up yet. I don’t know what to do.”

  “How far out was the yacht?” Nick asked.

  “See that big boat?” She pointed toward the water. “That’s where they say the yacht went down.”

  From here, it didn’t look so far away that a person couldn’t swim to shore, and my hopes surged. “Has anyone else turned up since it happened?”

  “Yes. A couple of people, but that was early this morning. They’re saying that they haven’t spotted anyone alive since then, so there couldn’t be any survivors left. The next step is to send divers down to the wreckage.” Thank goodness Kate didn’t add to look for bodies, like she was thinking.

  Jackie stood motionless under her umbrella, gazing out over the water. Her thoughts swirled from despair that they were dead, to hope that maybe they had gotten away. She swallowed and turned to Kate, resolved to get to the bottom of it. If they really hadn’t made it out, she needed to find who was responsible and make them pay. “I want to know exactly what happened last night.”

  “Okay,” Kate said. “There’s a coffee shop down that way. We could get out of this rain and talk there.”

  Jackie nodded solemnly, and all of us followed Kate back toward the parking lot. A sidewalk ran around the lot, and we trailed it to the street, where it emerged near a small, weathered coffee and sandwich shop.

  The inside surprised me with a wall of windows fronting the bay, offering an amazing view. We found a table and sat, all of our gazes drawn to the boat anchored near the spot of the sunken yacht. A waitress arrived to take our orders and, as soon as she left, Kate began to talk.

  “It was a beautiful day yesterday, with the sun out and no wind at all, perfect for a party out on the yacht. The party was to celebrate the merger, which Uncle Joey signed on Saturday. I think the Passinis invited everyone they knew to come, which seemed kind of crazy to me, but the yacht was huge. It had three decks, and before we left the dock, it was crowded with people wandering all over the place.

  “I spent most of the evening with Alec, but I saw Uncle Joey and Ramos many times. Looking back, it seems like either Julia or Jon was with them the entire time, but I can’t be certain. Anyway, just before midnight, we heard an explosion, only it was kind of weird and muffled. But it rocked the boat and it started to list sideways. Soon, everyone was screaming, and the captain yelled over the speakers that the yacht was taking on water and telling everyone to head for the life rafts.

  “That’s when I realized I’d lost track of Uncle Joey. It seems like I’d just barely seen him, but when I tried to find him again, I couldn’t see him anywhere. I was on the middle deck, so I yelled his name over and over while I rushed to the lower decks. As the water rose, Alec pulled me toward the life rafts, but I refused to leave without finding Uncle Joey first. That’s when Alec realized he couldn’t see Julia or Jon anywhere either.

  “At that point, Alec pulled me toward the last remaining raft. He threw a life jacket over my head and literally dragged me across the boat. The captain had already boarded and was waiting till the very last second for any stragglers. We barely managed to push away before the yacht tilted into the air and sank.”

  Kate’s eyes held that faraway haunted look as she remembered the events of last night. I’d never seen her so pale, with big dark circles under her eyes. As I studied her, I realized she seemed ready to collapse. She kept blaming herself over and over for this catastrophe, thinking she never should have pushed for the merger.

  “So when did you find the Passinis?” I asked.

  “Oh…when we finally got to shore, we found Julia with some of the other survivors who had left before us. I searched the crowd for Uncle Joey and Ramos, but when I couldn’t find them, I called you.” Her remorseful gaze met Jackie’s. “I didn’t know what else to do.”

  “Did they pull many survivors out of the water?” Nick asked.

  “Yes,” Kate said. “Apparently, there were several who jumped off the yacht and started to swim for shore. Jon Passini was one of them. I still can’t believe how fast it went down after the explosion. It seemed like only a few minutes passed… and there was nothing I could do. I felt so helpless.” She had given up, and thought since they hadn’t turned up yet they were both dead.

  Jackie’s sharp, indrawn breath and tear-filled eyes caught at my heart. She’d seen the same thing in Kate’s expression, and grief threatened to overwhelm her. “If they killed my husband…”

  “You can’t give up yet,” I said. “We still need to talk to the Passinis.” I caught Kate’s gaze. “We need to question them…in person. If they were involved…I’ll know.”

  That seemed to jolt Kate out of the shock Jackie’s revelation had caused. “That’s right. I think they’re all at the yard office trying to straighten things out. They should still be there. We can take my car.” She was thinking that with my mind-reading skills, we’d know if the Passinis had made this happen. If this was their fault, she’d show them they couldn’t double-cross her and get away with it. She hoped in her heart that Alec wasn’t involved, but she had no doubts about Jon, and she couldn’t wait to confront him and maybe pump a bullet or two into him.

  Jackie was thinking the same thing about shooting Julia, the only difference being she didn’t have a loaded gun in her purse like Kate, who seemed more than ready to use it. Nick was a little more level-headed, thinking he knew ways to make people disappear, and he ho
ped Kate and Jackie wouldn’t lose their composure and start a fight, but he’d be ready just in case. He’d covered up things before…he could do it again.

  Yikes! This could get dicey. I’d have to make sure I didn’t blurt out anything that could escalate this meeting into a gun battle.

  The Passini Shipping Company yard offices weren’t far and, with Kate driving like a maniac, we arrived in minutes. She was already suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, and thoughts of the Passinis killing Uncle Joey were sending her over the edge.

  Relieved to arrive in one piece, I hopped out of the car and took deep breaths through my mouth to calm my racing heart. It was difficult considering I was surrounded by people whose thoughts centered on hacking off a few fingers or arms, followed by breaking a few ribs and noses, then finishing up with shooting a few bullets right between their eyes.

  Most of these violent thoughts were focused toward Jon, although Jackie included Julia in the shooting-between-the-eyes part since she didn’t like her much. I tried to remember that when most people were upset, they thought worse things than they would ever do, but with these strong murderous thoughts coming from both Kate and Jackie, I wasn’t so sure I could count on that.

  Chapter 8

  With my stomach in knots, I dutifully followed behind Kate and the others into the building. Kate rushed past the secretary who stuttered a greeting and wisely got out of her way. At the end of the hall, Kate threw open the door and barged inside the office, startling everyone there.

  A man explaining some paperwork at the large desk stopped mid-sentence, and Julia straightened from her position of studying it. Both Jon and Alec jumped up from their chairs beside the desk. Alec’s eyes held true concern for us, while Jon’s narrowed in open contempt, and Julia’s widened in surprise.

  “We need to talk,” Kate blurted. “Did any of you have anything to do with the explosion? Did you orchestrate the whole thing? Did you want Uncle Joey to die?”

  “Kate,” Alec said, taking hold of her arms. “What’s going on? Why are you all here? Did you find his body?”

  “No,” she said. “But it doesn’t look good.”

  “I want to know what happened last night.” Jackie stepped in front of us, her tone hard and cold. “Every single detail. I’ll know if you don’t tell me the truth, and you’ll be sorry you ever crossed a Manetto.”

  Julia’s face turned pale, but she pursed her lips before glancing at the man seated behind the desk. “Please leave us.” Sensing a dangerous current in the room, and eager to escape whatever the hell was going on, he fled out the door, shutting it behind him with a bang.

  Julia turned to face us, her back ramrod straight. “Of course,” she said. She was thinking this looked bad, but she had nothing to do with it. “Jon, Alec, please find chairs for our guests. We have much to discuss, and I for one am too tired to do this standing.” With her guard relaxed, I noticed that exhaustion made the wrinkles stand out around her mouth and eyes. She took the seat behind the desk vacated by the man who’d left and waited for all of us to sit before she began.

  “First, let me assure you I had nothing to do with the explosion. Besides the loss of life and injuries, that yacht was worth millions. Do you think I would be stupid enough to blow it up? I had just successfully signed a merger that would breathe new life into our struggling company. Why would I ever do anything to jeopardize that? We had far more to lose than we ever had to gain if we intended to kill Joseph. This is a horrible tragedy, and I intend to get to the bottom of it. From what I have been able to find out, it looks like it was nothing more than a terrible accident. But believe me, if it wasn’t, I will find out what really happened. I’ll make it a personal vendetta to find those responsible and make them pay.”

  Julia was telling the truth. She believed it had to be an accident.

  “I’ve never been more scared in my life,” she continued. “It was worse, knowing that if anyone got hurt, it was my fault. I tried to wait until everyone was off the yacht before I left, but with it sinking, and people screaming, I didn’t know what to do.” Julia’s eyes filled with tears as she recounted the traumatic experience.

  Now that I knew Julia wasn’t to blame, I turned my focus to Jon, but found his thoughts closed behind a cloud of confusion. If he orchestrated the whole thing, it was likely that he hadn’t told his mother any of the details, and I knew he was hiding something.

  “Jon…where were you when the explosion happened?” I asked.

  He glanced at me, sensing a threat in my tone. Why was I there with Kate and Jackie anyway? He hadn’t given my presence much thought, but now he grew suspicious. “With a few of my friends on the upper deck. We were playing pool. The explosion rocked the boat, and everyone scrambled down the stairs to see what was going on. I found the captain, and together we sounded the alarm to evacuate. While he radioed for help, I got the lifeboats released and people loaded inside. In no time at all, the boat was sinking. I did what I could to get people off, but it sank so fast there were some who had to jump overboard. I was one of them.”

  He was telling the truth, but there had to be more to it. I just needed to get more specific with my questions. “What do you think caused the explosion?”

  He shrugged. “I have no idea. One of the engines must have caught fire or something.”

  “But if you were anchored on the bay, the engines wouldn’t have been running would they?”

  “Oh…I guess not, but I don’t know. Seriously, I have no idea how it happened.” He started to sweat as the realization hit him that he looked guilty as hell.

  “Did you see Uncle Joey and Ramos after the explosion?”

  He thought back, but came up blank. “No, I didn’t. The last time I saw them, they were talking to someone I didn’t know, probably one of Kate’s friends. I might have seen them after the explosion, but honestly, everything happened so fast it’s hard to remember. It’s all a blur.”

  “Did you cause the explosion to kill them?” I asked.

  “No! I swear it wasn’t me. It must have been an accident.” He was thinking he may have wanted Manetto dead, but not like this. He was smarter than that. Manetto’s people would have killed him…and they still might…given as how it looked like he’d set the whole thing up.

  Julia came to the same conclusion and stepped in front of Jon. “We had nothing to do with this. If someone planted a bomb, then we were set up. That is the only explanation.”

  She and Jon were both telling the truth, and I could hardly believe it. “But who would do that, and more important, why?”

  “What are you saying?” Kate grabbed my arm and jerked me toward her. “Don’t tell me you believe them. They set this up. It’s the only thing that makes sense.”

  I locked my gaze with Kate’s. “I know that, but they didn’t do it Kate. They’re telling the truth. It was either an accident, or someone else caused it. But it wasn’t them.”

  Her brows drew together and she stared at me with incredulity. How could I be right? Everything pointed to them. They had motive and means. If I wasn’t there to read their minds, she’d be convinced they were guilty no matter what they said. But now…wait…was I in on it? Was that…

  “No!” I interrupted. “Don’t even go there.”

  She flinched and dropped her gaze, then shook her head. “This is…sorry. I just…I’m so confused. I don’t know what to think.”

  Jackie stepped to my side. “So they didn’t do this?”

  I glanced at Jon and Julia, who were looking at me like I was an alien or something. They were grateful I was taking their side, but it spooked them since they had to agree they looked guilty. Alec had a hard time believing Jon hadn’t done it either, but all he wanted to do was hold Kate in his arms and comfort her.

  “I know it looks like they did it,” I began. “But someone set them up. Now it’s up to us to figure out who that is.”

  Jackie sighed with defeat and glanced between me and the Passinis. She wa
s thinking that if Joe hadn’t trusted me so much, she wouldn’t believe a word I said, no matter how convincing I made it sound.

  “All right. I’ll take your word on it, but just in case…” Jackie turned to Julia and Jon. “I want you to know that anything Joe signed is still legally binding. Only now instead of him, you will answer to me. Just so we’re perfectly clear on this…if he is dead, I am his successor. Now I suggest you help us figure out who did this before I decide to end your sorry lives for killing my husband. I’ll be in touch.”

  We left the building and I knew both Jackie and Nick were having a hard time believing the Passinis were innocent. Jackie wanted to kill them anyway, but she could wait for the right opportunity. Kate trailed along behind, and I picked up that part of her wanted to stay so she could be with Alec, and the other part was in shock that Jackie was Uncle Joey’s wife and successor. How could Uncle Joey marry Jackie and put her in charge? For some reason, Kate had always hoped that when the time came, he would still pick her.

  We got in Kate’s car and she pulled out of the parking lot. “Do you want to go back to the hotel?”

  “No,” Jackie answered. “Let’s go back to the marina. I want to know if they’ve found anything new since we left.” Kate nodded, and a few minutes later we were back at the docks.

  By now, the rain had stopped and the wind had died down. As we stood on the dock, the dark clouds parted and a few rays of sunshine hit the water out in the bay, giving the water a golden hue. The man Kate had been talking to earlier noticed us and made his way over. He was thinking that he hated being the bearer of bad news, but it was part of the job.

  Kate introduced us and he nodded before speaking. “I have some new information. Our divers reached the lower levels of the yacht and found a couple of bodies. We’re in the process of bringing them up. It will take the rest of the day to retrieve them, but if they have any identification on them, we can let you know. I just need the names of your missing relatives and a phone number where you can be reached.”