Dead in the Water

by Lesley A. Diehl

  “You mugged Jerry and took that half million in cash. Wasn’t that enough for you?”

  “It was less than we figured out we could have when Nappi arranged to give us his money. Then you called today and told us you would deliver the money. I liked dealing with you rather than with your mob connection.”

  “You shot my uncle from across the canal. Your sister is a crack shot.”

  “Yes, she is.” Boris turned to the individual beside him. “She knew just when to shoot, because Darlene removed her scarf as a signal that the money was in place.”

  Boris took a step forward and held out his hand. “I see from the expression on your face that you didn’t know Darlene was in on this.”

  I was shocked. I’d believed that woman, but I could hand out surprises too. “And did you know Darlene took the other duffel with the money Winston was to deliver to the mob?”

  “We must pay her a visit then. And talk to her. And get that money also. Tie up loose ends.”

  I smiled.

  “Oh, we know where she is. We followed her when she fled. Very suspicious. She’s at your boyfriend’s house. We had no intention of sharing the money with her. We were going to kill her anyway, so it’s just a small detour for us. Now, I think it’s time for the money. That was the deal, wasn’t it? You know how and why your uncle was killed, and now we get our money.” He gestured with his hand toward the duffel that lay at my feet. “Kick it toward me.”

  “It’s heavy.” I bent over and shoved the satchel toward him. The momentum of my push sent it rolling down the incline and toward the water. Boris kept his gun on me and would have shot me then, but the bag slid farther, not stopping at the swamp’s edge.

  “Go ahead and shoot her,” Boris said to his sister.

  Sophia raised her rifle as Boris stooped to grab the bag to prevent it from rolling into the water. At that moment something came hurtling down from the palm. It was not coconuts. It was more snakes than I’d ever seen in one place, several three- to five-foot-long Burmese pythons and an abundance of smaller ones, all toppling out of the bag which he’d hauled up there earlier. The snakes were in a bad mood. They’d been bunched up in such a tiny space for so long and now freedom meant being tossed down on the heads of two humans.

  Grandfather was right. Most people do not like snakes. They like them even less when the creatures fall from a stormy sky onto their heads. Boris yelled, torn between getting out of the way of the largest snake and making certain the bag with the money didn’t slide into the dark waters. It did, and Boris slid with it. I couldn’t see well, but there was a lot of thrashing around, yelling in Russian, and then silence.

  Sophia dropped her rifle and screamed, a really girlie kind of scream. I was surprised that the ice lady could be so creeped out by a few snakes. I would be—and I was, actually—but I’m not a sniper with nerves of steel and a personality to match. I saw my opportunity and tackled her before she could pull herself together. Once I got her down, I jumped on her chest and pounded my fists into her face. I forgot about the snakes surrounding us. Well, maybe my pummeling her was as much out of fear one would snuggle up to me as my anger at what she did to my uncle. She was strong, but not strong enough to roll me off her. I was taller and heavier, and I’d knocked the breath out of her with my tackle. I took no chances. I continued to whale on her. It felt good.

  Two arms pulled me off her. I whirled around, thinking it was Boris. Instead I looked into Grandfather Egret’s eyes. “I think you’ve knocked her around enough. She’s in no shape to do anything.” Just to be certain, Grandfather held her rifle pointed at her.

  I jerked her to her feet and tore off the mask, wanting to see the expression on Sophia’s face. Pain, fear, anger, or her usual cold expression? To my shock, it wasn’t Sophia hiding behind the mask.

  I gasped. “Who are you?”

  What she intended as a look of bravado was replaced by a grimace of pain. “You broke my nose.”

  “Who the hell are you?”

  “My name is Mary Ford. We talked on the phone. You must be the JCPenny catalog lady.” She tried to spit in my face, but she telegraphed her intention by puckering her lips. I stepped back.

  “Settle down. Grandfather, where’s Boris?”

  “Gone into the swamps with the money.”

  “Okay, then where are all the snakes?”

  “Here and there. Let’s tie this one up and look for them.” He handed me her rifle and grabbed the rope.

  “Are you out of your mind? Let them go.”

  “Didn’t you hear me say there’s a bounty for these guys? I stumbled onto a nest of little ones the other day. Where did you think I got them from?”

  The wind changed in volume from a rumble to a deafening roar, thrashing the trees and reeds as if it was punishing them.

  Grandfather finished tying Mary’s wrists and looked up. “Maybe we can look later. I think we need to head home.” He grabbed her arm and pulled her toward the hidden airboat.

  “I can’t breathe well.” Mary’s voice sounded muffled from the blood still pouring from her nose.

  I grabbed her shirt and pulled it up over her face, wiped her nose, then jerked it back down. “That’s the best I can do.”

  “I need medical attention.”

  “You’ll get it. When we get back home.” If we get back home. Then I added, “And after we visit the police station.” It was time to get Frida involved.

  Grandfather climbed into the pilot’s seat of the boat. “It’s past time for Frida to be involved.”

  Yeah, yeah, yeah. That’s just what she would say. And more.

  The wind threatened to capsize the boat once we were out on the large open canal, but Grandfather guided the craft through the waves and around pieces of debris now floating on the water. When we glided up to the chickee, I could see a figure waiting for us.

  “Where have you been? Who is this?” Sammy tied up the boat and helped me onto the dock. I grabbed the prisoner and pulled her after me.

  “This is the woman responsible for killing my uncle.”

  Chapter 22

  We all piled into my Mustang, Sammy in the backseat with Mary, guarding her. I drove with Grandfather riding shotgun, really riding shotgun because he carried the rifle. I wanted this woman off my hands into those of the law as soon as possible. Now that I’d captured her, I found the thought of official custody comforting. We called ahead and found Frida at the station, and although she wanted to come pick up the prisoner, I was determined to deliver her myself.

  The drive into town was as dicey as the ride in the airboat. The highway looked like a river. Waves of water flowed from one side of the road to the other, then changed direction and washed towards us. I gritted my teeth, gripped the wheel and listened to Grandfather take up a chant, low and atonal.

  “Calling on the storm gods?”

  He ignored my question and kept right on with his song. It must have helped, because we made it into town. None of the stoplights were working, and the wind blew them sideways when it hit. It didn’t matter because no one else was stupid enough to be on the road. I roared through one intersection and heard a loud ping, followed by the sound of something metal hitting the pavement behind me. I looked in the rearview mirror and saw the traffic signal bounce once onto the roadway, then roll off into the grass.

  Mary was quiet for the entire ride and, when she got to the station, she asked for a lawyer.

  “I haven’t arrested you yet. Or read you your rights. Have a seat.” Frida pushed her into a chair in one of the interrogation rooms, shut the door behind her and came out to talk with us.

  “Here’s the rifle she had in her hand tonight. I’ll bet it is the same one that killed my uncle.” I handed it to Frida.

  “We’ll have ballistics check it out.” She gestured to several chairs in front of her desk. “Have a seat. You guys look as if you could use something hot.”

  “I wanted to stay home with a nice hot toddy, but Sammy insisted
I come to give my story.” Grandfather slid into one of the chairs.

  “He was right. Now let’s hear the story again. From the beginning. Don’t leave anything out.” She fixed me with a glare.

  “Grandfather and I—”

  “No, Eve. The beginning, not the beginning of tonight.”

  I slumped into the chair. “So can I have some of that awful police station coffee? I’m wet and cold.”

  “Oops.” Grandfather pulled something out of his pocket. It was one of his snakes. This one must have been injured during the fall. It didn’t wriggle much.

  “Will it die?” Not that I cared. I was just curious. As much as the little bugger had helped us tonight, my sensitivities did not extend to reptiles.

  Grandfather laughed. “It’s only a rubber snake. I threw it in with the others. Why not? The more, the better.”

  Frida looked at him in disbelief. “Put it back in your pocket.”

  It was the beginning of a long night.

  “She’ll get her lawyer.” Frida looked exhausted as did we all. Grandfather had put his head into his arms on Frida’s desk and appeared to be sleeping. Sammy and I sat on a bench outside Frida’s office and leaned into each other.

  “Can we leave now?” I unfolded myself from my seat.

  “Sure. Listen, I’m about to send two uniforms over to Alex’s to pick up Darlene, but here’s the bad part. Mary won’t talk, we don’t have Boris, and I haven’t located Sophia. I’d like to be able to put some pressure on Darlene to see what she might be willing to say to save her skin. I know you’re exhausted, but you do owe me. How could you not tell me about the kidnapping?”

  “There was no kidnapping, remember? It was a hoax to get my uncle’s money and then mine.” Since she hadn’t mentioned Madeleine’s kidnapping, I didn’t see the need to complicate things further.

  “Of course I remember, but you thought it was real and didn’t inform the authorities.”

  “They didn’t want the authorities involved. I wanted to do what my uncle would have wanted me to do.” I flapped my hand at her. “We’ve gone around and around on this one tonight. You’re right. I owe you.”

  “I hate to put you in this position, Eve, even though I know how you like to do my job for me, but I could use your help.” All the spunk seemed to have gone out of Frida, too, because she could hardly work up one of her crooked, snide smiles.

  If there was a chance these creeps could get away with my uncle’s murder, I was willing to do anything to prevent that, even tolerate Frida’s sarcasm and not reply in kind.

  “Can I take Grandfather with me? Make it seem like we just got out of the swamp?” I shared with her what I had in mind, and this time, it was a decent strategy with police backup and everything. Frida approved.

  “Darlene, are you here?” I used my spare key to Alex’s house to let Grandfather and me in.

  She wandered out of the living room looking wider awake than I expected.

  “What’s going on? I couldn’t sleep because of this storm. I’ve been listening to Alex’s transistor radio. I guess it missed us, went south of here. I hope Boris and Sophia are okay.”

  She seemed too chatty for someone who was terrified by the hurricane.

  “We had a rendezvous with them in the swamp earlier. They had some very interesting things to say about you.”

  “What did they say? It’s not true.”

  “They said you were responsible for Winston’s death. They told us all about the phony kidnapping and the murder and said you planned the whole thing.”

  Darlene’s face turned an unpleasant color of green. “I didn’t. It was Sophia. She masterminded the plan.”

  “Now you know that’s not true, but I thought you might want to know that Boris escaped, although we grabbed the sister, Sophia’s younger sister, the one you said she hated so much. Anyway, Boris is probably just waiting for the storm to abate, and then he’s coming for you.”

  Grandfather stepped forward. “I heard him say they were going to kill you anyway. That you were a troublesome woman.”

  Her color faded into ghostly white. She grabbed her throat and her eyes darted around the room. “I’ve got to get out of here.”

  “Don’t be silly, Darlene. He can find you anywhere. He might not be a crack shot, but he’s smart. He’ll simply have Sophia take you out.”

  “She wouldn’t do that.”

  “Why not?”

  “She never knew a thing about the phony kidnapping. She thought it was for real. It was planned by Boris and the younger sister. Sophia is a real letter-of-the-law kind of person. She’d never have gone for the plan, so Boris thought up the phony kidnapping, and Sophia’s concern made it seem real.”

  I thought about that. Sophia’s concern? Well, I guess she was worried, genuinely so, but sometimes it sure was difficult picking that out from all the ice encasing her personality.

  “Your only hope is to come with us and turn yourself in before Boris does what he threatened. I can speak to my friend, the one who’s the detective here. I’m sure you can cut a deal if I tell her how cooperative you’ve been.” I hated saying these things when what I wanted most was to put my hands around her throat and squeeze.

  I heard a noise behind me. Both Grandfather and I turned at the same moment. Had Boris worked his way out of the swamps?

  I turned. Behind me stood two men. The Hardy brothers, Digby and the bigger one, whose name I’d never heard, stood in the shadows. They stepped forward. Each carried a gun.

  Grandfather tapped my shoulder. “His name is Darwin.”

  “Not now,” I whispered.

  “I told them the money was at your place.” Darlene tried on a weak smile, which turned into a grimace of fear.

  “We need our money,” Darwin said.

  I knew Frida was right behind us, but I wanted to do something to these two that they’d remember for a while.

  I leaned over to Grandfather and whispered again in his ear. “Let them have it.”

  He looked at me, puzzlement on his face.

  “Give it to them.”

  This time Digby heard me.

  “You got something else for us?”

  I nodded.

  Digby stepped forward and held out one hand. “Don’t try nothing funny.”

  Grandfather reached into his pocket and placed the snake gently into Digby’s hand.

  Digby yelped, dropped his gun and stumbled into his brother. Darwin regained his balance and leveled his gun at Grandfather. I think he would have fired it, but another deeper, more commanding voice came from behind him.

  “Drop it.” It was Mr. Napolitani.

  Darwin did as Nappi commanded, and both brothers twisted their heads in all directions searching for the snake. Darlene had jumped onto a chair and stood there holding the hem of her nightgown. She was also scanning the floor. To my surprise it wriggled under Alex’s sofa.

  My mouth dropped open. “I thought that snake was rubber.”

  “No, this one is.” Grandfather pulled the fake one out of his pocket. “That one was the real thing.”

  I thought I heard sirens in the distance. “Frida’s right behind you.”

  Nappi nodded, but kept his eyes on the Hardy brothers. “I know. I saw her at an intersection where some debris had been blown into the road. I’d come through before the road was blocked. They had to clear it for her to get here.”

  “Well, then. It appears we have a nice surprise for her.” I smiled at Nappi, hoping he would return the look. He did not.

  “Eve, my dear. We need to talk. Meantime, I will keep these two for myself. They have some explaining to do to their bosses. I think it’s better we allow them that opportunity.”

  Digby began to whimper. “No, take us to jail. I don’t want to explain nothing. It was just bad luck.”

  “Take it like a man.” Darwin slapped his brother, but I thought his face also seemed a bit drawn in worry.

  Several of Nappi’s men joined him, and
they walked the Hardy brothers out of the house and pushed them into the vehicles waiting out front.

  “Frida won’t like that I let you take these fellows.”

  Nappi gave me a Mafia smile—one with no humor behind it. “How will you stop me? Threaten me with a rubber snake?”

  “What about me?” Darlene was shaking, her red curls bouncing as if they were alive. “And where’s that damn snake?”

  The sirens grew louder. I looked through the window and watched the car with the Hardy brothers in it pull away from the curb as Frida’s police cruiser pulled up.

  “You’ll go with her,” I said and nodded at the police cruiser.

  Darlene seemed relieved. I guess she worried I’d send her off with Nappi. I should have.

  I found a piece of paper and pencil and scribbled Alex a note. It read, “I meant to get you a houseplant as a thank you present for doing all that work for me, but instead I found something more lively. Maybe you’d better call the exterminators. The upside is that there’s a bounty on these things. You can collect on it.”

  I gave Grandfather a hug and thanked him over and over again for his help; then I drove him and Sammy back to their house. No one said much on the way there. The storm was over and the moon had come out, big and white as if it had been washed clean by all the rain.

  “So now we know everything.” Sammy unfolded himself from my car and helped Grandfather get out of the back seat.

  “I guess so. It all makes sense now—horrible, greedy, murderous sense. At least I know what happened and who was responsible for my uncle’s death. I don’t know why he left me all that money or who removed it from his accounts. I still think he was at heart a good man. He tried to rescue a child he probably never met because he felt he owed it to her mother and her siblings.”

  I said goodnight then because I just couldn’t think about this anymore.

  On the way home, I finally felt able to grieve for my uncle. Tears filled my eyes. I reached in my pocket for a tissue and pulled out … the rubber snake. Grandfather Egret had stuffed it in my jacket as a souvenir. I chuckled to myself. I loved that man.