by Lyndsey Cole
She marched across the dock and jumped onto Blake’s boat. She was in the perfect mood to confront him about Ebony Dunn and the clarification process papers.
“Someone’s having a bad day. Come on in and tell me about it,” Blake said after he saw Hannah’s face.
“No, you tell me what’s going on with Ebony Dunn. Did she ever show you any of Dwayne’s work? You must have seen something or you wouldn’t make a huge offer on just a promise.”
“Have a seat and we can talk about this. You know, you certainly do pop up at odd times with the most interesting questions. Care for a glass of wine?”
“No. It’s much too early in the day for me to have a drink, but go ahead if that’s what you fancy. I’m not here for socializing; I want information.”
Blake poured two glasses. “I’m expecting someone any minute, but you don’t have to leave. I think you’ll want to hear what this other person has to say.”
Hannah sat and wondered if she’d just made a big mistake. Who else was coming?
She didn’t have to wonder for long.
“Wonderful, we have company Blake. How did you arrange this? I thought we would have to find Ms. Holiday in her dumpy office.”
Blake smiled at Ebony. “Don’t underestimate who you’re working with. I always get what I want. Didn’t I recently tell you that?” He flashed a big grin in Hannah’s direction.
“What’s in the box, Ms. Holiday?” Ebony asked as she took it away from Hannah. “I’ve seen this box before. If I’m not mistaken, it belonged to Dwayne. I can’t imagine how you ever got a hold of it.”
Ebony took a set of keys from her purse and found a small silver key that looked exactly like the key Hannah found with the letter from Dwayne. She inserted it in the lock and the top popped up.
She opened the paper. “Well, well, well. Look at this. Dwayne’s Last Will & Testament. He threatened to cut me out but I never thought he’d do it, that miserable piece of scum.”
Ebony picked up a matchbook lying next to Blake’s cigarettes and lit a match. She held it to a corner of the paper, letting flames engulf the entire document.
As the flame grew and then got smaller, Ebony dropped the last bit in the sink before it burned her fingers. She turned on the water and washed the ashes down the drain.
Ebony turned to Hannah and wiped her hands against each other. “That little problem is all taken care of. Now, hand over the rest of his papers and I’ll get on with my business with Mr. McVee.”
“The police have them,” Hannah said. She hoped the mention of the police involvement would worry Ebony.
She was wrong.
“Good. I’ll go pick them up. You wait here with Blake. Have a glass of wine, or three. I think you’ll need it by the time I get back.”
Blake held up a glass of wine toward Hannah. “Did you change your mind?”
She held her hand out. “Sure, why not? I may as well get comfortable while I’m waiting for the show to start.”
A shadow passed across Blake’s eyes. “What show? Did you just send Ebony on a wild goose chase?”
“No. But I don’t think the police will release the papers until Dwayne’s murderer is found. It’s evidence.”
Blake sat down across from Hannah. “Isn’t that Marty? That’s what Ebony said. He wants control of all of Dwayne’s work.”
“And kill off the golden goose? Marty had a good thing going as long as Dwayne kept coming up with new ideas. No, I don’t think it was Marty.”
“Who then?” Blake sipped his wine and stared at Hannah.
“I don’t know. Maybe it was a random killing.” She didn’t think that at all, but she certainly wasn’t going to tell Blake that she thought it was Ebony. Those two could be working together. She had to figure out an escape plan before Ebony returned.
She looked around his boat and saw the tall pole with a spear on the end that he used to fish Dwayne’s hat from the water. That could be used as a weapon if she could get her hands on it.
As her eyes roamed further, she saw a tattered old backpack. That certainly didn’t fit in with Blake’s pristine belongings.
Or, she could just stand and walk out.
Would he stop her?
Her heart raced as she stepped closer to the door. She wasn’t sure why she felt claustrophobic but she knew she had to leave. Something wasn’t right but she couldn’t put her finger on the cause.
“Leaving already?” Blake asked. He put his body between Hannah and the exit.
“Yes. Are you stopping me?”
He extended his hand to let her pass. “But I do have a question for you before you go.”
Hannah stopped and looked at Blake. A big mistake.
He reached over and picked up the long pole with a spear. “You figured it out, didn’t you? I’m afraid I can’t let you leave.”
She fought to keep her voice calm as every nerve ending told her to run for her life. “Figured what out, Blake?” She inched closer to the door.
“Who killed Dwayne. Your mistake was that you didn’t accuse Ebony. You saw this spear and,” he nodded toward the old backpack, “Dwayne’s backpack.”
She blinked. Her mind raced in circles but she couldn’t focus on anything that would get her out of this trap that she so willingly walked into.
“You always ask the tough questions but you let the evidence slide today. That’s not normal for you. Ebony didn’t even figure it out. She was too focused on finding Dwayne’s papers so she could gouge me out of a lot of money. She preferred to believe it was Marty or a random killer. Poor Dwayne, in the wrong place at the wrong time. But it made her desperate to sell his work before Marty got his hands on it.”
“But why? You could have bought Dwayne’s clarification process anyway. Why kill him?” The meaning of Blake’s words finally hit her like a ton of bricks.
“Oh, Hannah. Think about it. You can figure it out.”
Hannah’s eyes popped open wider. “He wouldn’t sell to you.” Her voice came out in barely a whisper. “You gave him the backpack full of money, and when he took it, he probably just laughed in your face.”
Blake’s jaw clenched. “I don’t like to be laughed at. And I always get my way.”
She’d hit a nerve.
There was no mistaking the tone in Blake’s voice. His normally friendly, loud manner flipped to a deadly boldness that made Hannah shudder. Something clicked, some internal sense of survival, and she found her courage, or maybe it was shear desperation that helped her find her voice.
“Dwayne had a meeting planned with Marty that night you killed him and you couldn’t let that happen or you wouldn’t get the exclusive rights you so coveted. You’ll never get away with any of this. Someone else will put the pieces together.”
The movement was unexpected and Hannah had no time to adjust. Blake grabbed her arm and forced her out on the deck of the boat. Right to the edge. He jabbed the spear at her, sending fear into her gut.
“I’ll have to take that chance but I’m not worried. This storm is my perfect opportunity. Everyone will say how sad that poor Hannah Holiday slipped overboard.” He jabbed the spear again. “I’d rather not dirty my fishing spear with your blood, too.” He stepped closer. “Don’t bother screaming. The wind will blow it away before anyone notices.”
Hannah gripped the rail with one hand and faced her foe. Did he expect her to jump?
Waves surged up the side of the boat and a cold Atlantic spray drenched through her thin t-shirt. The boat bounced at its mooring, threatening to throw Hannah off balance. Clouds whizzed overhead and the gray sky cloaked everything in gloom.
Hannah shivered. A motion behind Blake caught her attention.
Samantha, barefoot and slinking low on the boat’s deck, curled into a ball and knocked her full one hundred and two pounds into Blake, right behind his knees. He buckled and reached for Hannah’s arm as the spear flew over the railing. Samantha grabbed Hannah’s arm and she pulled her away from Blake with a
ll her strength. Blake’s fingers grazed Hannah before he staggered and fell overboard.
Blake McVee’s body disappeared into the blackness of the rough ocean.
Hannah fell into Samantha’s embrace. “Thank you,” she sobbed.
Samantha patted her back. “It’s over. The police are on their way.”
25
With the shock of what could have happened to her, Hannah felt weakness surge through her body. Before she turned into complete dead weight on Samantha, she felt another pair of arms wrap around her. She was sandwiched between Samantha’s petite body and Cal’s strong arms. Warmth flooded through her shivering limbs and she felt her body float from Blake’s boat into Cal’s toasty cabin. He draped a blanket around her shoulders.
A cold grilled cheese sandwich sat uneaten on his table. She was suddenly ravenous and she couldn’t resist taking a bite.
“Want me to heat that up for you?” Cal asked.
Hannah shook her head as she took a couple more quick bites. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.
“How did you know?” she finally asked Samantha after she swallowed.
Jack rushed into the cabin, followed by Meg, Ruby, and Olivia, before Samantha had a chance to respond to Hannah’s question.
“You called just in time, Cal. I got a hold of Pam and she kept Ebony at the police station. She’s probably still sitting in some tiny room wondering what the heck happened to her plan.” Jack laughed. “My guess is that she’ll be waiting there for quite a while; at least until Blake gets fished out and brought in for whatever awaits him.”
“He’s not dead?”
“Ha,” Meg snorted. “No such luck. He might wish he was by the time Pam gets done with him. Such a shame he won’t be enjoying any of that tasty Merlot he’s so proud of.”
Pam squeezed through the cabin door. “How’re you doing, Hannah?”
Hannah nodded with her mouth full. Pam’s friendliness caught her off guard. After the last bite of the grilled cheese was gone, she asked, “What’s going to happen with all of Dwayne’s work? And Patches?”
“Patches is all your problem now. Along with some cash that goes with the dog. All of the other papers will be tied up in court until the validity of the will is determined.” Pam smiled. “I’ll get your statement whenever you’re ready.” Pam left as quickly as she’d arrived.
“Good thing Ebony didn’t get away with the clarification process or she’d still be able to try to sell it to the highest bidder.”
Jack had a grin from ear to ear as he handed Hannah an envelope. “I had that problem covered.”
“What’s this?” Hannah asked.
No one said a word.
She opened the envelope and found several pages from Dwayne’s work that should have been safely at the police station. Her lips crunched together in confusion.
“I took a few key pages out before I brought that envelope over to you this morning. Just in case it fell into the wrong hands. Even if Ebony had managed to sweet talk Pam into giving her Dwayne’s clarification process, it wouldn’t have done her any good with these pages missing.” The grin on Jack’s face looked like he couldn’t have been more proud of his plan.
Hannah looked around at everyone. She couldn’t be luckier, even when they thought they knew best.
This time, they all did and it saved her life.
This is the end of Crook, Line and Sinker. I hope you enjoyed the story. Click here and start reading my next book today!
A Note from Lyndsey
Thank you for reading my cozy mystery, Crook, Line and Sinker.
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About the Author
Lyndsey Cole lives in New England in a small rural town with her husband who puts up with all the characters in her head, her dog who hogs the couch, her cat who is the boss, and 3 chickens that would like to move into the house. She surrounds herself with gardens full of beautiful perennials. Sitting among the flowers with the scent of lilac, peonies, lily of the valley, or whatever is in bloom, stimulates her imagination about who will die next!
Also by Lyndsey Cole
The Hooked & Cooked Series
Gunpowder Chowder
Mobsters and Lobsters
A Fishy Dish
Lily Bloom Series
Begonia Means Beware
Queen of Poison
Roses are Dead
Drowning in Dahlias
Hidden by the Hydrangeas
Christmas Tree Catastrophe
The Black Cat Café Series
BlueBuried Muffins
StrawBuried in Chocolate
BlackBuried Pie
Very Buried Cheesecake
RaspBuried Torte
PoisonBuried Punch
CranBuried Coffee Cake
WineBuried Wedding