by Norma Huss
“You’re that sure?”
I nodded.
Kaye continued, “Let's say, if she comes tomorrow, you are right.”
I watched as my sister drove away. She was wrong. She had to be. I headed for my dock and realized Wes must have replaced a light bulb. As I got closer to Snapdragon, I realized someone was on board, sitting in my only folding chair.
“Hi, Lizzie,” I said, before I got close enough to startle her completely. I added a completely unnecessary question. “Waiting for me?”
Lizzie didn’t answer at first.
“Lizzie?”
“Wait till I stir my stumps a bit,” she said, then rocked her shoulders and rubbed her eyes. I sat on the deck box and waited.
Lizzie leaned forward and whispered. “That guy was here again. The same one. I scared him off.”
“We’re going inside.” As I punched in my combination, I added, “Hot chocolate, okay?”
“Got marshmallows?”
“No. Sorry.” Nothing looked disturbed. “I do have graham crackers.”
“Nobody got inside this time,” Lizzie said. “It was the same guy I saw before. Wes thinks I’m seeing that turkey that made like he was dead. You know, Chester somebody.”
“Maybe you’re not safe protecting my boat. Not that I don’t appreciate it like crazy, but he could be the killer.”
Lizzie plunked herself down on the settee. Shook her head. “Hard figuring out what this world is coming to. Killers.”
“We have to catch him, whoever he is, or we won’t be safe.” I saw a golden opportunity to get Lizzie’s cooperation. “There’s a lot of people who want to catch him. Me, my sister, Nicole’s cousin, and the police. If I promise you’ll be safe, will you help?”
“Nobody can promise that.”
“Yes, I can. You wouldn’t be here at all. You’d be spending the night at my sister’s house in town. Away from the marina. All you have to do is let Teddy use your name in her article and we’ll do the rest. We’ll get the police. We’ll stay in your boat to protect it.”
She didn’t say, “No,” so I told her more as I heated water, poured it into cups with cocoa mix, and served it up. I ended with, “We’ll get together tomorrow at one-thirty, here, to make final plans.”
“Stay at your sister’s house?”
“You bet.”
“What’s she got to eat?”
“She’s a fantastic cook.”
“Might as well.” She took a graham cracker. Nibbled it, blew on a spoonful of cocoa and sipped it. “Tomorrow, you say? You don’t make any plans without me.”
After Lizzie left, after Teddy returned my call and agreed to include our names in Sunday’s article, I pulled out the note Nicole had hidden in the anchor locker. I rubbed it, I caressed it, I laid it against my cheek.
“Nicole, are you here?”
There was no appearance, no answer.
“It wasn’t Finley, was it?”
~ ~
Saturday, July 29
A half-day’s work at Bayside gave me a bit of change before another session with my co-conspirators. I stopped at the corner deli and picked up three gourmet sandwiches to cut up into quarters and a bag of red grapes. Nice and colorful. Water would be the beverage. After all, it would officially be after lunch time. I was hungry, but I didn’t eat any of those goodies. Once home, I had one of the overly ripe bananas sitting in its plastic dish on top of the counter.
Kaye arrived with her sugared pecans. “They’re still warm,” she said. “I thought you might like a taste.”
Okay, so big sis was still in supervisory mode. “Nice addition. Thank you,” I said. One does not alienate the bearer of tasty tidbits.
Finley came with mints. “Just happened to have them around,” she said.
“Thanks,” I repeated. What was up with all the food additions, I wondered.
As if she’d read my mind, Finley said, “I forgot to get them out last night.”
Did that explain it? “My plan is a go. Teddy will include our names in her article. She’ll be here in about twenty minutes.”
“Then your plan is a done deal,” Kaye said. “You do have more details in mind, I assume. My spare bedroom is ready for Lizzie. How do we find out who bites?”
“Anybody want a Pepsi or a beer while we wait?” Finley leaned back and opened the refrigerator door.
“Or water?” I added.
“After a glance at the nearly empty space, Finley closed the door, turned and said, “So how do we handle Brandon when we catch him?”
“It’ll be Chester. He definitely didn’t die in that wreck. He was here yesterday, hanging around my boat until Lizzie scared him off.”
“We must remember it could be any one of our suspects,” Kaye said. “Mr. Joline, Brandon Bates, Chester Foltz, or someone else entirely. How about Mrs. Joline, or Lizzie, or even....” Kaye glanced at Finley, but she quickly looked away. “Even Mr. Joline’s shadow, Rolf.”
Finley stood, her six feet towering over the table. “You were going to accuse me? You think I’d kill my cousin?”
Kaye took a deep breath. “I admit I thought to say, ‘anyone of us,’ then realized that was impossible.”
“You’ve got that right. I’ve known Nicole since she was born. We were closer than you two. There wasn’t any of this, ‘I’m the smart one,’ like I hear from you, Kaye. We respected each other. We confided in each other. We were everything to each other. Dammit, maybe we’d better forget this.”
Kaye pushed her chair back and stood. “I guess so,” she said.
“Oh, sit down, both of you. Finley, Kaye’s been looking after me for so long, it’s just her second nature. I know that. And when Al ran off, she had to do it again. And she’s a college professor to boot. She watched after Nicole, just like you did. And, she did not mean you killed Nicole.”
Kaye sat, crossed her arms on the table, and stared at her wrists.
Finley stood, glowering, for a full two minutes. My heart pounded. I hoped nobody heard it. Suddenly Finley turned, grabbed one of the paper cups beside the sink and filled it with water. She took a gulp and stood for another minute before she turned back.
“Okay, apologies made and accepted.” Speaking to the ceiling, she added, “I know Kaye helped Nicole when all I could do was watch her self-destruct.” She sat.
“We’re good to talk now?” I asked.
“Why not?”
Kaye finally looked up. “I really do apologize for any suspected slight. It was unintentional.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Finley said, so quietly I barely heard her. Now it was her turn to study her folded arms. “She was just a kid. I wanted to protect her, but I wasn’t much older. She was afraid of adults. Even teenagers when she was tiny. Like the paper boy. The Girl Scout who sold cookies. My parents, who weren’t scary at all.”
Kaye looked like she was about to speak and I shook my head. I’d seen Finley like this before—in some kind of zone where she was utterly alone.
“She changed. Grew up. Hardly knew who she was any more. So different.” After a few moments, Finley spoke again, as if to herself. “Couple of months ago. She came to my place. She’d given up her apartment. ‘I’m staying with Brandon,’ she said. ‘Don’t tell my family. Or anyone else. They mustn’t know.’ ”
Kaye nodded, but she didn’t speak. Neither did I.
Finley kept talking disjointedly—all about Nicole’s scheme to buy out her father’s stock, hinting at the stories she told the relatives and friends who held the stock, mentioning voting rights left with former stockholders so her father wouldn’t find out.
“All legal,” Finley said, glancing up like she’d just awakened from a dream. “She was broke. She couldn’t afford an apartment, she kept her car, but it was draining her. She had her business, and the payroll was another drain. Brandon’s stock put her at forty-nine percent ownership.”
“But the boat. Snapdragon. Why did she take that on?” I asked.
Finley propped her
forehead on her tented fingers and shook her head. Looked at me. “Nicole was smart, no lie. But she didn’t know much about boats. Figured she’d sell it like a used car, cheap but quick. Maybe fifty thousand, even thirty would do it. She should have asked me first.”
“She must have planned to sell it and buy more stock before the first of September,” Kaye guessed.
“Hey, why’d I tell you all this? Let’s get that sucker who killed her.” Finley focused on Kaye and pounded the table with her fist. “So that’s how I know Brandon killed Nicole.”
“You don’t think her father knew she was close to taking over?”
“Hey, he could have. You’re talking friends keep a secret?”
Hesitantly, Kaye said, “I must believe that your story would tend to indicate the possibility that Mr. Joline could be guilty.”
“Does she always talk in weasel words?” Finley asked me.
“Only when she’s scared of people who want to quit.”
“That’s over, Kaye. Ask Cyd.”
Before Kaye said anything, I answered. “Quick temper. Hot. But short term.”
Kaye, obviously not completely convinced, said, “Perhaps there’s something more you didn’t tell us. People break up all the time. They don’t necessarily kill each other.”
“She got what she wanted, his stock. He was just so much excess baggage. She dropped him hard. I heard it. And it bugged me. Worried me. Finally, that last night when she stopped in, I told her. ‘You’re playing with fire.’
“‘So what?’ she said. ‘Brandon’s loaded. His daddy gave him that stock. He’s got other income.’
“It wasn’t just the money. ‘He thought he was getting a beautiful, rich wife,’ I told her.”
Finley stood, placed her hands on her hips, and stared at Kaye. “I loved Nicole better than any sister. But she’d gotten a mean streak over the whole deal. Ruining her dad was everything. Know what she said?”
Since Finley had hesitated and Kaye seemed shocked mute, I said, “What?”
“‘Shit happens.’ She walked out of my house clutching the three ten dollar bills. The next time I saw her she was dead.”
I knew why she had those bills—to pay me. And she was killed.
“So that’s the story,” Finley said. “Shit happened to Nicole.”
“That’s quite a story,” Kaye said. “I can see why you’re sure Brandon did it.”
“But?”
“Since you ask, Nicole confided in me as well, about her father. She told me way too much, things I don’t want to repeat. And there’s the note Cyd found. She as much as accused her own father of killing her, before she was dead.”
With a menacing glare, Finley said, “I’d like to see that.”
I spread the note on the table with its message of hate, evil, and death. Finley reached for it. I reached for the paper as well. I said, “Just put your finger on it. Kaye, you too.”
“What’s this?”
“Just do it,” Kaye said.
Finley pinched the paper between her finger and thumb, tried to slip it away, but we held fast. I said, “Nicole, are you here?”
“Hey, she’s dead. Remember?”
Kaye held a finger to her lips. “Shhh.”
“Nicole, you said I’m the only one who hears you. Kaye and Finley are listening too. If you’re here let us know.”
Finley removed her hand and stood. “If you’re gonna have a damn seance, count me out.”
Kaye stood as well. “Cyd’s sort of psychic. She’s talked to Nicole’s ghost.”
“You two are nuts. I’ll be glad to get out of here. Yeah, I know they think voodoo is a religion, but here? In the U S of A?”
I let their argument swirl around me as I looked at Nicole’s note in my hands. “I wish you could remember, Nicole. I guess you’re not here.” I folded the note and put it back in my pocket. I had to stop Kaye from telling our childhood history, with events I barely remembered of my supposed psychic powers.
“You’re both dead wrong,” I said. “Chester killed Nicole. It’s not because of a hateful father or an unhappy lover. It’s all about the boat. Chester lost his boat and his uncle is getting out of jail and wants it back.”
Finley let me know what she thought of that. “Pure garbage!”
Belatedly, Kaye said, “We are supposed to be refining this trap plan. Cyd, did you get hold of Teddy. Will she contact the police?”
“She’ll be here in twenty, no fifteen minutes. Ask her then.”
~ ~
Shortly after Lizzie came, Teddy arrived with her tape recorder and notebook. “It’s a go?” she asked. We all nodded. “Lizzie, you’re okay with this? Where will you go?”
Kaye answered for her. “She’ll stay at my house. But I’ll be in on the capture.”
“Did you talk to Doug?” I asked.
“Yes, but right now, I only want to be sure you all agree to this.” She turned on her recorder. “Today is Saturday, July twenty-nine. The following people have united in a plan of action concerning the death of Nicole Joline. Lizzie?”
“If it’s like Cyd told me. I’m gone, you catch the killer and I’m out of it.”
Teddy repeated, “That was Lizzie. Finley?” She asked each of us in turn. We all agreed, after sharing a few rolling eyeballs, shrugs, and grins.
“Okay, you’re next,” Kaye said. “You, Teddy, are in on this too. Am I correct?”
“Of course,” Teddy said and added, “Good thinking, Kaye,” then turned her recorder off.
“What did Doug say? Will he be here tomorrow night as well? And in an official police capacity?” I asked.
“That’s what we have to talk about.”
Lizzie turned to Finley. “You’ve been here before, ain’t you?”
Finley nodded. I said, “She visited me a couple of times.”
“Before that.”
“You’ve got the eagle eye,” Finley said. “I came with Nicole once. She was my cousin.”
“That’s why she is as eager to solve this murder as we are,” Kaye said. “They were close.”
Had I known that Finley visited Nicole on the boat? Not really, but it made sense.
“Cyd, you’ve got a neat spread here,” Lizzie said. She sat on the only empty space and grabbed a tiny sandwich. She demolished it, then took a mint. “So when do we do what?” she asked.
Kaye said, “I’ll pick you up tomorrow afternoon and get you settled at my house.”
Lizzie nodded and took a handful of nuts.
Teddy took over. “Officer Yarnell wants to be in on this. As I understand it, we’ll be waiting for the killer on Lizzie’s boat. He’ll be hidden, and one of us will be Lizzie’s stand-in. Cyd, do you know what she does every night? When she goes to bed, things like that?”
“Your wanna know, I’ll tell you,” Lizzie said. “Bed by ten. Maybe earlier if there’s nothing on TV, or whenever. Except my TV ain’t that hot.”
“Let’s say, lights out at ten, then,” Teddy said. “We’ll have to be in place before that. I suggested that only Officer Yarnell and the stand-in be aboard. Of course, I’ll be there as the reporter. The rest of us....”
Kaye broke in. “I’ll have my car here, aimed so when I turn the lights on, it will illuminate the scene. We can be inside the car.”
“All three of us?”
Finley said, “You think I’m gonna sit quietly in a car with you, forget it. This Yarnell doesn’t know beans. There’s plenty of room for both Cyd and me to be aboard with him. And, he’ll be happy to have my muscle to help him. Who knows whether Brandon will come alone? He might hook up with some other low-life.”
“You know who the killer is?” Teddy asked.
“We all have our suspects. I believe it will be Mr. Joline,” Kaye said.
I shrugged and waved a finger. “I prefer Chester Foltz. Maybe we’re all wrong.”
“Anybody want another sandwich?” Lizzie asked. When nobody answered, she said, “Don’t mind if I do,”
and grabbed another tiny portion.
I lifted the plate and as I offered it to everyone, I saw a movement.
“Yes,” I breathed. In the corner, a dark shadow grew. I watched as Nicole took form, her slim arm reaching up as she brushed the hair from her face. That’s when Lizzie let loose with an eerie shriek.
Chapter 19
Lizzie’s screams started a boomerang of gasps and yelps, but I kept my eyes fixed on Lizzie. Finally she stopped screaming and whispered, “Go away.” She didn’t look at the corner where I saw Nicole, smiling like an innocent bystander. Lizzie leaned her head into her cupped hands, covering her eyes. “You aren’t here,” she whispered.
I placed a protective arm around Lizzie, which didn’t stop her trembling. “You do see Nicole,” I said. “I see her, too. She won’t hurt you. She can’t.”
Lizzie didn’t look up, wouldn’t answer. She shook her head.
I glanced at the corner where Nicole’s face remained. She smiled and nodded. Her lips moved silently. Part of my brain knew what else was going on. Finley stood, leaning forward with her arms held at an awkward angle,. Kaye shook her head. Teddy pranced around yelling. “Okay, what’s going on here?” and a lot of other things.
But Lizzie’s reaction was the important one. The others were far away—not with me, Lizzie, and Nicole. “What do you see?” I asked her.
“No,” Lizzie muttered.
“Yes, you see her,” I whispered.
“I don’t,” Lizzie said. “She’s dead. She’s gone.” Lizzie pulled away from me. “Don’t you believe her. I didn’t see anything, ever. Just her dead body. Like you saw. After you saw her, when the police came.”
Finally Lizzie uncovered her eyes and turned her head. I glanced at Nicole in the corner. She threw her arms up, then melted away.
Lizzie screamed again. So did Kaye, Finley, and Teddy.
“What, what...what’s happening?” I asked.
Teddy reached over and pulled at my sleeve. She mumbled, “Dry.” She touched her own hair.
Finley stood, her hands out, empty, keening. “Nicole,” over and over.
I looked from one to another, then another. Teddy, thinking I was wet, Finley’s face was wet—with tears. Lizzie moaning, shaking her head. Even Kaye sat with her mouth open, then repeatedly shutting and opening it, like a gasping fish. “I don’t think all of us had the same experience, here,” I said. “Teddy, did you see a ghost? Nicole’s ghost?”