by Cindy Bell
“A little too much noise is a reason to kill someone?” Suzie shook her head. “That seems like a stretch.”
“You met Mike, right?” Jason raised an eyebrow. “Seems to me that guy has a short fuse.”
“Maybe. Or maybe he’s just extra stressed about something.” Suzie narrowed her eyes. “He’s married?”
Jason glanced down at his phone. “Yes.”
“But he’s staying on his boat.” She tapped her chin. “Sounds like they’re having problems. Maybe that’s why he’s so cranky.”
“Maybe,” Jason said.
“I’ll make a note to talk to his wife.” Suzie took her cell phone out of her pocket.
“You’ll do no such thing,” Jason said. “You don’t want to make a bad situation worse.”
“I’m sure a friendly conversation won’t do any harm.”
“Suzie, I know my protests fall on deaf ears when it comes to stuff like this, but you need to listen to me. You cannot interfere in this investigation.”
“Okay.” Suzie put her phone away. She knew that there was no reason to argue with Jason about it as she would be fighting a losing battle.
“Haven’t you been able to find anything else out?” Paul’s brows knitted together.
“I’m doing my best.” He locked eyes with Paul. “I did find out his recent routes. His boat has a GPS tracker.”
“And? Anything from them?”
“I was hoping you could tell me. It seems that some of the destinations are a bit odd for fishing. Would you look them over for me?”
“Sure.” Paul took the piece of paper from Jason and began to look it over.
“I still think we need to find out who the man in the bright yellow jacket was,” Suzie said. “If he wasn’t the killer, then maybe he’s a witness. We need to pinpoint who it was.”
“I agree, but it’s hard to find someone based on just that.” Jason rubbed his chin. “Without a little more information I’m afraid we’re not going to get very far.”
“The witness mentioned that he was bald,” Suzie said.
“Still not a lot to go on.” Jason shrugged.
“This can’t be right.” Paul glanced up at him. “Did you get the right route information?”
“It came right off the boat’s GPS tracker. We matched the coordinates to these locations.” Jason squinted at the paper. “Do you see something unusual?”
“Just about all of it is unusual. There’s no reason that he should have gone to some of these places. Are you certain that you got the right information?” He studied Jason.
“Yes Paul, I’m certain.” Jason’s tone grew short. “I know how to download route information from a GPS tracker. Why are these locations unusual?”
“It’s not that the locations are unusual it’s just that there’s no reason for Robbie to go to some of them. Some of them are residential and one is in the middle of nowhere. There just isn’t a reason for him to waste fuel traveling to some of these places. The places to fish for shellfish are much closer.”
“Well, that’s what was on the GPS.”
“Maybe he had other business?” Suzie glanced between the two men. “Could he have been there for different reasons?”
Paul opened his mouth as if he might have something to say, but closed it again.
“Paul? Do you know anything about the locations?” Jason folded his arms across his chest.
“No. Not really. Nothing more than you would.”
“Well, then I guess we are at a standstill. The most I can do is hope that surveillance cameras caught an image of the bright yellow jacket man as he left the docks. If we can get a face we might be able to get a name.”
“Let me know if you find anything, please?” Suzie said.
“I’ll tell you what I can,” Jason said sternly.
“Thank you.” Suzie smiled.
“Do you want to keep that? It’s a copy.” Jason pointed to the paper in Paul’s hands. “That way if you think of anything you can let me know.”
“Okay. Thanks Jason.” He cleared his throat. “You doing okay?”
Jason glanced over at him. “Huh?”
“Well I mean, if you have any uh, anything you need help with for the wedding.”
“Mary’s taking care of it,” Jason said.
Suzie hid a smile as Paul rubbed the back of his neck. “I know that, Jason, but if you need any, you know advice.”
“What?” Jason’s eyes widened. “Oh, no thanks, Paul, I think I can handle that.”
“That’s not what I meant!” Paul groaned.
“I think Paul is just offering you an ear if you need it. You’re surrounded by women, Jason, sometimes it’s nice to get a male perspective.”
Jason chuckled. “All right, that was a good laugh. I needed it. Thanks Paul.” He clapped him on the shoulder. In that moment all of the tension between them relaxed. Suzie gave Jason a quick hug.
“Just let us know if you need help with anything.”
“I will.” He started to turn away, then hesitated and turned back. “Actually, I do have a problem I could use your help with, Paul.”
“What’s that?” Paul smiled.
“One of my buddies from school isn’t going to be able to make the wedding. So, I have a spot for a groomsman I need to fill. I was just going to let it go, but I know it’ll throw off the balance. I mean, I know it means putting on a suit, but if…”
“I’ll do it.” Paul nodded. “I’ll get fitted as soon as I can.”
“Great. Thanks.” Jason smiled. “All right, I’m going to see if I can find out any more information about the murder weapon. Let me know if you two come up with anything.”
“We will.” Suzie walked him to the door. Once he was gone she turned and walked back to Paul. “You are going to look so handsome in a suit.”
“Ha, don’t get used to it.” He grinned.
“A suit,” Mary said as she entered the kitchen.
“Jason asked Paul to be a groomsman.”
“Oh good, finally.” Mary walked over to a stack of papers. “Here’s the number for the tailor.” She handed him a slip of paper.
“I’ll check on it as soon as I can. Suzie, I’m going to head back to the boat. I have a few things I need to take care of, okay?”
“Sure, let me know if I can help with anything. I’m sure Mary could use a hand with some of this wedding stuff.”
“I have to admit, I’m worn out.” Mary shook her head. “I forgot just how much work planning a wedding is.”
“Great. I’ll see you in the morning then, Suzie. We’ll head out first thing, all right?”
“Yes.” Suzie walked him to the door and kissed him goodbye. Once she and Mary were alone she turned back to her with a heavy sigh.
“What chaos!”
“I agree.” Mary laughed. “You should see the list of things I need to change for the wedding. It turns out that even though Summer said she didn’t mind about some things she has a definite opinion about what she wants.”
“How do we get ourselves into these messes?” Suzie plopped down on the couch. Mary sat down beside her.
“Because, we like to help people.”
“Right, right, but why?” Suzie yawned.
“That I haven’t found an explanation for. Let me get you something to eat.”
“I can get it. You take a break, Mary. Then we’ll go over what we can do about these wedding issues.”
Suzie’s mind swirled from thoughts of suits to thoughts of murder. As she tried to put every piece together and into its proper place she stood up and walked into the kitchen. Maybe there was a lot to deal with, but it was a far cry from the quiet life she’d fallen into before she ended up at Dune House. There was some beauty to the chaos that being close to loved ones could create.
Chapter Eight
After straightening out some wedding details with Mary, Suzie called it a night and crawled into bed. She thought for sure that she would fall right to sleep. Inst
ead she tossed and turned. Her mind filled with what they might find the next day, and also what Summer and Jason’s wedding would be like. With so much to keep her awake, she could barely keep her eyes closed. After a few hours of trying to convince herself to rest, her eyes popped open yet again.
The sliver of moonlight that made its way through the curtains to slice across her bedroom floor was to blame. At least that’s what she told herself as she climbed out of bed and walked towards the window. She pulled the curtains tight and walked back to her bed. When she closed her eyes again she was sure she would fall asleep. However, a few minutes later her eyes sprang open once more. Her heart fluttered with the weight of her frustration. How could she waste time laying in bed?
Driven to her feet she grabbed some clothes to change into. As she dressed she experienced a sensation of determination. She wanted to go to the docks and have a look around. She wanted to see if there was anything they had missed. Suzie slipped out of her room and grabbed her keys on her way through the kitchen. As quietly as she could she let herself out through the front door. Without hesitation she drove to the docks and parked.
Right away she noticed that Paul’s boat was in darkness. He was probably sound asleep. Still, it made her feel a little more secure just to know that he was there. She walked along the edge of the dock in the hopes that she wouldn’t disturb anyone. Truly, she had no idea what she was searching for. Maybe a scrap of paper? A drop of blood? Neither would be hard to find on a very populated dock.
It occurred to her that perhaps the killer disposed of the murder weapon in one of the trashcans. She stopped at the first one and lifted the lid. The smell hit her like a wave and knocked her back with just as much force. A combination of rotten fish, old gym socks, and whatever scraps of food the fishermen didn’t eat, made her nostrils burn with disgust. Still, she took a deep breath, and poked her head back over the top of the trashcan. It was only half full and too slimy to dig through. She put the lid back on it, and walked towards the next trashcan. When she lifted the lid she saw that this trashcan was full to the brim. The papers that covered the top were fairly clean so she dug through them to see what was underneath. The trash shifted with her movement, but she found nothing. She sighed. She had hoped to find something, but even if there had been something to find surely the bins had been searched by the police since the murder.
Suzie walked further along the dock. She looked down at the wooden boards in despair. She walked past Robbie’s boat which still had the crime scene tape around it. As she walked past Mike’s boat she looked to see if there was any sign that he was on it, but there wasn’t. As she continued to walk along she looked down again. She was stopped in her tracks as she caught sight of a flash of bright yellow between the boards. The moment that she saw it, she knew what she had found.
Suzie thought about leaving it there and calling the police. But what if she was wrong and she called the police for nothing. It was on the ground underneath the deck and she couldn’t reach it from where she was standing, but the killer must have been able to hide it there so there must have been a way to retrieve it. She walked to the side edge of the dock and bent down. She tried to reach her arm under the wood to get the item, but she couldn’t reach far enough. Suzie knew why the police had missed it, it was pretty well hidden. She lay on her stomach and extended her whole arm under. She touched something slimy and let out a silent scream, but she didn’t stop trying to get the item. She needed to reach it.
With the edge of her fingertips she managed to catch a corner of the material. When she slowly pulled it up she was holding the edge of the sleeve of a bright yellow jacket. Her heart pounded as she noticed traces of blood on the hem and sleeve of the jacket. Was this it? Was this the same jacket that the killer had worn?
Suzie slowly got to her feet and with a trembling hand she reached into her pocket for her phone. She dialed Jason’s number and waited for him to answer. As the phone rang several times, she noticed a shadow further along the dock. Her heart jumped. What if it was the killer and he saw her standing there with his jacket in her hand? She panicked and climbed aboard Paul’s boat. Jason didn’t answer. She tried calling the police station to see who was on duty, however the voice that answered was unfamiliar so she said that she had called the wrong number and hung up. She didn’t often need the police in the middle of the night and hadn’t gotten to know the night staff.
“Suzie, what are you doing?” She jumped at the sound of Paul’s voice. When she turned to face him, his eyes were wide. “I heard someone out here, I was ready to come out and toss you off the boat. What are you doing here?”
“I couldn’t sleep.” She cringed. “But look what I found.” She held up the jacket.
“What is that?”
“It’s the yellow jacket. I think it even has blood on it.”
“And you brought it on my boat?” He narrowed his eyes. “Why?”
“Sh! There’s someone out there.”
“Who?” He looked past her to the dock.
“I don’t know. I just saw a figure. That’s why I jumped on your boat.”
“Okay, but it isn’t a good idea to have the jacket here. I could easily be the next suspect on the list. Let’s get it to Jason.”
“I tried, but he’s not answering his phone.” She frowned. “I think I’m just going to take it over to him.”
“Here, put it in this. It’ll hopefully protect what evidence might still be on it.” He held open a plastic bag for her to drop the jacket in. “Do you want me to come with you to Jason?”
“No, I’ll be okay.”
“Are you sure we shouldn’t just call the police to come pick it up?”
“I don’t want whoever was on the dock to know we found the jacket. Besides, if I call the police to come get it, there’s no guarantee that they won’t suspect both of us. I’d rather make sure it gets into the right hands.”
“Okay, I trust your judgment on that. I’ll walk you to your car.”
“Paul, I said I would be fine.” She sighed.
“And I said I’d walk you.” He stepped off the boat and reached back for her hand. She followed after. On the way to the car he looked over at her.
“Do you know how dangerous it was for you to be out here in the middle of the night?”
“Paul, this overprotective stuff has to stop. I’m a grown woman, more than capable of taking care of myself.”
“But it was my boat you jumped onto wasn’t it?” He opened the door for her.
“Yes, it was.” She kissed his cheek. “Good night, Paul.”
“Good night, Suzie. If you have any trouble let me know.”
“I will.”
***
The drive to Jason’s house wasn’t very long. However, in the span of time between the docks and his house Suzie managed to fixate on the man on the dock. Was it Mike? Someone else? It was hard to tell even the man’s height or build from the distance and the brief amount of time she saw him. What if he was the killer? Did he know she had the jacket? The thought made her shiver. If the killer did know, then he might just be desperate enough to hurt someone else, or disappear entirely, leaving the case unsolved.
Suzie parked outside Jason’s house and immediately noticed that the porch light shone bright. When she walked towards the house, she was surprised to hear voices from inside. Her heart beat faster as she wondered if he might be in danger. When she reached the door she recognized the second voice. It was Summer. She and Jason sounded more than a little engaged in an argument.
“Why would you even say that to me? That’s the point I’m trying to make.” Jason’s voice strained to remain at a calm level.
“It was just a question, Jason, and I think a warranted one. I don’t see why it upset you so much.”
Suzie clutched the plastic bag in her hand. She didn’t want to eavesdrop on their fight, but she also didn’t want to interrupt it. If they knew she was outside and had overheard them they might be embarrassed.
>
“It’s not warranted. Asking me if I want to postpone the wedding? All I want to do is marry you, Summer, and the idea that you don’t know that, that bothers me. Yes, I’ve been distracted by the case, so have you, but that doesn’t change the way that I feel about you.”
Suzie’s eyes closed. She knew then that she couldn’t give him the jacket. She couldn’t interrupt the couple. However, she also couldn’t keep the jacket. She made her way down off the porch and hurried back to her car. She would have to take it to the police station. It was her only option.
As Suzie drove in that direction she thought about the fight that the two were having. Without the pressure of the case maybe they would have blissfully wandered down the aisle. But then again maybe their relationship would only be strengthened by the tension they had to work through. When she walked up to the police station she noticed that the lobby was empty. There wasn’t much activity in the middle of the night in the quiet town. She opened the door and stepped inside to find an unfamiliar face at the front desk.
“Can I help you?” He settled his gaze on her inquisitively.
“I need to turn in some evidence.”
“Evidence?” He stood up and eyed the bag. “Where did you get that?”
“From under the walkway at the docks. I think that it is evidence in the murder that took place there.”
“Oh?” He took the bag from her and looked inside. “So, why didn’t you call for an officer to pick it up?”
“I thought I’d take it to Jason myself, he’s my cousin. But I was unable to get hold of him.”
“It would have been better if you called an officer.”
“I understand.” She bit into the side of her cheek to keep her frustration from spiraling out of control. “I don’t mean to cause any problems, but I need to make sure this gets into evidence as soon as possible. I think there is some blood on it.”
“Great.” He started typing on his keyboard.
“My name is…”
“I know your name, Suzie. Jason talks about you all the time.” He smiled at her. “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of this for you.”