Look the Other Way

by Kristina Stanley

  “In who?” She knew he meant Jake, but didn’t want to give him the satisfaction. They had returned to their teenage relationship, and she admitted to herself she was as equally responsible for their childish behavior as he was.

  “You know who. Just because he used to be a cop doesn’t mean you can trust him.”

  A light breeze, bringing warmth and a salty dampness from the ocean, blew Shannon’s hair across her cheek.

  “There’s nothing wrong with Jake.”

  “What if he killed Nicole?”

  “Nobody killed Nicole. She drowned by accident.”

  “Maybe. Maybe not.”

  The bartender approached, and Charlie asked for his usual. She popped the cap off a cold bottle of Kalik and sat it on the counter in front of Charlie.

  Shannon waited until the woman moved away before she spoke. “Why would he hurt Nicole? He has no reason.”

  “He keeps trying to blame Darren just because he heard them fighting and he poisoned Peanut.”

  The restaurant’s tables were littered with people accessing the Internet. Tablets, phones, and laptops were the ubiquitous accessory for a cruiser sitting at Dolphin’s Hideaway. No one around them seemed interested in what they were talking about.

  “You have to admit, if she didn’t die naturally, then Darren could have killed her.”

  “You’re just being defensive because you found Jake’s glove in the sand.”

  Shannon’s cheeks turned red. She tried not to react to Charlie’s comment. How could he know she found the glove? Even if he saw her put the glove in her pocket, how would he know it belonged to Jake? She didn’t understand herself why she’d hidden it, why she hadn’t told the police about it, or why she hadn’t mentioned it to Jake, so how could she explain her actions to Charlie?

  “You’re imagining things.”

  Charlie swiveled on the stool beside Shannon and sipped his beer. “I don’t think so. Did Jake know Nicole before he came sailing?”

  “He met her in Nassau.”

  “Is that what he told you, or do you know that for a fact?”

  Shannon set her wine glass on the bar and twirled the stem between her thumb and forefinger. “He met her in Nassau.”

  “He said Darren and Nicole fought. Did anyone else see them fight?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “So again, you only have his word for it. Where was Jake when Nicole drowned?”

  “Out walking.”

  “And let me guess, he told you that. Seems like he’s telling you a lot of stuff without any proof.”

  “What does he need proof for? He hasn’t done anything wrong. He’s taken care of us. He jumped in after Peanut when she fell overboard. He rushed her to the vet when she got sick.”

  “Why would he rush unless he already knew Peanut had eaten poison? Maybe he wanted to scare you but not kill the dog.”

  “That makes no sense. He has no motive.”

  “That you know of. Maybe he’s a psycho. Wasn’t he with his fiancée when she drowned? Bit of a pattern, I think.”

  Shannon got up to go.

  “By the way, Debi said she’s still playing bridge, and she’ll meet you back at the boat later.”

  * * *

  Alone on A Dog’s Cat for the first time in a while, Shannon opened her e-reader and tried to relax into a novel. Jake had taken Debi and Peanut for a check up at the vet. Peanut recovered more and more each day, but Debi was worried and wanted to make sure her pet was okay. Charlie was probably still sitting at the bar drinking.

  The words on her e-reader kept fading as her thoughts turned inward. Debi had been on edge since she’d returned from seeing Uncle Bobby’s boat, and Shannon wondered if she was hiding something. Her aunt’s shortness with Charlie was unusual.

  Crap, there was no way she could read. Nicole floated into her mind. She would never forget her body drifting back and forth in the light surf or how Nicole’s hands waved on the surface. Shannon’s gut told her someone murdered Nicole, and no matter what Charlie said, Jake was not that person.

  They’d gotten sidetracked from finding out what happened to Uncle Bobby. Shannon remembered how sad Debi looked when she’d gotten back on board A Dog’s Cat after she’d returned from the Turks and Caicos. Debi had stored Uncle Bobby’s suitcase underneath her bunk seconds after she arrived as if she couldn’t bear to look at it. Or…

  Shannon bolted down to the starboard hull, ripped the comforter and sheets off the bed, and hauled the mattress to the floor. She lifted the top board and peeked into the storage area below. She hauled Uncle Bobby’s suitcase onto the wooden surface. Lance’s duffle bag lay on the bottom of the storage compartment. She ignored her ex’s stuff, buried her thoughts about him, and kneeled in front of Uncle Bobby’s case.

  What am I doing? Don’t I trust Debi?

  With a pit forming in her stomach, she slid open the zipper. She ran her hands over a worn t-shirt folded neatly on top of the other clothing and wondered why Debi had saved it. Maybe it smelled like Uncle Bobby.

  Shannon laid each article beside her. She found the Waterfall logbook and flipped through the entries. Uncle Bobby had recorded his trip from Florida to George Town. He’d listed the date Nicole Dace joined him as crew, any problems the boat had, and each island he’d stopped at.

  Shannon popped up to the navigation station and retrieved the map BASRA had given her and Jake. She returned to the cabin and compared each entry on the map to the logbook. The cruisers had been thorough. The only place Uncle Bobby stopped that wasn’t on the map was Hawksbill Cay. He’d noted the time of anchoring and a beach walk. Nothing useful.

  Shannon held the logbook tight. Why hadn’t Uncle Bobby recorded anything after arriving at George Town? She examined the book from various angles, thinking. She opened the logbook as wide as she could without breaking it and scrutinized the spine. Along the edge, she discovered a thin mark, as if pages had been removed using a box cutter. Interesting. She put the book aside.

  She opened the lid of Uncle Bobby’s laptop and hit the power button. The computer powered up and asked for a password. Bummer. Maybe Debi knew the password, but how to ask her for it without telling her she’d been snooping would be tricky. Then it occurred to her if Uncle Bobby had met up with pirates, they would have stolen the laptop. She closed the lid.

  Footsteps resounded off the steps on the stern. Someone was back.

  She put the laptop and logbook back in the suitcase and was folding the t-shirt when Charlie stepped into her cabin.

  What are you doing?” he asked.

  “Getting provisions. We store stuff we don’t use often underneath here.”

  “In a suitcase?”

  Shannon’s mind didn’t react quickly enough to provide her with a believable answer. “Please don’t tell Debi. I got curious and snooped.”

  Charlie stared at the t-shirt in her hand. “I won’t tell. What is all that stuff anyway?”

  “Aunt Debi brought it back from Waterfall.”

  He paled. “Anything interesting?”

  “Oh, Charlie.” Shannon set the t-shirt in the suitcase and reached for his hand. “I know you miss him, too. I’m sorry I reminded you of him.” She turned back to the suitcase, zipped it shut, and lowered it below the bed.

  * * *

  Shannon waited for Jake to return to A Dog’s Cat. Her conversation with Charlie left her feeling uneasy, and she wanted to talk with Jake, alone.

  She heard the dinghy and was relieved to see only one person driving it. Jake must have dropped Peanut and Debi on the beach. She sipped on her soda water while she waited for him to secure the dinghy and join her.

  “I need to talk to you,” she said.

  “Sure. What’s up?”

  “I want to ask you something, but I don’t want you to get mad.”

  “Okay, so now I’m curious.”

  Shannon pressed her back into the seat rest as if it would give her support during the conversation. She didn’t
need physical support, but emotional would be nice.

  “I just talked to Charlie.”

  “Did he say something about me?”

  “It’s not that. I found something.”

  “You’re not making sense. Charlie said something and you found something.”

  Shannon twisted her glass, giving herself time to organize her thoughts. Jake watched her with what looked like amusement in his brown eyes.

  “On the day Nicole drowned, I found a glove in the water.”

  “What kind of glove?”

  “Your snorkeling glove. The black one with the yellow lightning stripe.”

  “Are you sure it was mine? Mine aren’t missing.” Jake got up and went to the locker at the bow of the boat. He returned with both gloves and placed them on the cockpit table.

  “I know. That’s because I put yours back.”

  Jake smiled at her. “Did you think you were protecting me?”

  “I don’t know why I hid it. I reacted. I think I was in shock at finding Nicole dead. Charlie saw me find the glove. He didn’t tell me until today.”

  “I’m not getting your point.”

  A dinghy drove along the port side of A Dog’s Cat and Shannon waited until the boat stopped rocking in reaction to the wake. “Charlie hinted that Nicole’s death wasn’t an accident.”

  “Charlie thinks I killed her, or are you thinking I killed her?”

  “No.”

  “Then?”

  “I’ve been thinking about it a lot. If you’d said you lost your glove, then it could just be a coincidence I found it in the water where she drowned, but if you didn’t lose it, then something else is going on.”

  “Shannon, say what you’re thinking. I won’t get mad.”

  She fingered the gloves but left them lying on the table. “I feel silly, that’s all. If you didn’t lose your glove, then how did it get there?”

  “I have no idea, but I think you do.”

  “What if someone was trying to set you up?”

  “You think Nicole was murdered.”

  “Maybe. It’s possible someone killed her and put your glove there to set you up. If someone else found her instead of me, the glove would have been given to the cops. We’ve been asking questions about Uncle Bobby, Nicole’s been flirting with you, and we know she crewed with him. You’re a good person to tag for this.”

  Jake slammed his fist onto the table. “It all comes back to Darren being on board A Dog’s Cat. He could have taken the glove then.”

  “I’m scared. If it’s true, someone out there who is very dangerous doesn’t like us. I can’t sit by and wait for something to happen. I think we should check out Night Wind and see if we can find out more about Nicole.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

  Jake

  Stocking Island, Bahamas

  As Jake drove the dinghy to the stern of A Dog’s Cat, he spotted Darren walking on the north beach. Jake helped Debi get on board but didn’t turn off the engine.

  “There’s something I need to do. Do you mind if I drop you?”

  “Not a problem.” Debi hugged Piddles to her chest and nuzzled her nose into the dog’s neck. “I saw who’s on the beach. Be careful.”

  One at a time, Jake passed Debi a grocery bag. They’d gone to George Town, but Debi had refused to leave Piddles alone on A Dog’s Cat. Jake had waited outside of Exuma Markets while Debi shopped. He’d tucked Piddles against his chest, happy she was okay. Somehow, he’d fallen for the creature even though she wasn’t a cat.

  Once the groceries were in the cockpit, Debi tossed the line back into the dinghy, and Jake headed for shore.

  He landed the dinghy forward of Darren and waited at the point on the beach where sand met water, cooling his feet.

  Darren’s skin wrapped tautly on his sinewy frame, giving him the appearance of having been stretched on a rack. His deep tan, the kind only attainable with year-round sun exposure, added years to his age.

  “What d’you want?” Darren asked.

  “You heard about Nicole?”

  Darren sighed as if expressing impatience. “Everybody has.”

  “You don’t seem too upset considering you were friends with her.”

  “Piss off. You want me to walk around and cry like a baby?”

  Jake stepped in stride with Darren and matched him step for step.

  “How long had you known her?”

  “I don’t believe I said I wanted company.”

  “It’s a public beach. The police can’t find any family. I’m only wondering if you know of anyone.”

  “I don’t know anything about her family. Ask Charlie.”

  “You think Charlie knew her better than you did?”

  Darren shrugged. “They seemed tight. In case you hadn’t noticed, he was spending nights on Night Wind with her.”

  Jake needed to speak with Charlie. If he’d been sleeping with Nicole, she might have told him something about Darren or Bobby. The problem was Charlie didn’t want to warm up to him. He probably thought Jake was hitting on Shannon.

  “What’s the owner of Night Wind think of that?”

  “I’m sure he doesn’t know. He’s gone back to the States. I wonder if anyone’s told him his boat’s anchored and no one’s taking care of her.”

  A couple holding hands and walking a wheaten terrier approached. Jake and Darren stopped talking. The dog bounded toward them and ran around their feet. He looked like a teddy bear on speed. The couple walked by, but the dog lingered.

  “Farley, come,” the woman said.

  The dog ran around Jake’s leg one more time, then bounced after his owners.

  When they were out of hearing range, Jake said, “I can let the police know. They might know how to contact him. You don’t happen to have his info do you?”

  “Nope. Didn’t like the guy.”

  “Any idea who might have wanted to hurt Nicole?”

  “Huh? You think someone killed her? Not likely. She was one tough chick.”

  “What if it was someone she knew?”

  “You better not be saying it was me.”

  “I didn’t say that. Feeling guilty, are you?”

  Darren picked up a stick and tossed it into the ocean. “I’ve got nothing to feel guilty about.”

  “Was the last time you saw her when you fought?”

  “None of your business.”

  “Did the cops question you?”

  “You think they’re going to waste their time interviewing people about an accidental drowning?”

  * * *

  Jake returned to A Dog’s Cat and found Shannon and Charlie waiting for him. Both wore a wetsuit and carried a spearfishing pole. Shannon’s suit hugged her curves and with the red stripe following the sides of the black neoprene suit, she was on fire. Jake didn’t think she knew how hot the outfit made her look. Her lack of self-awareness made her more desirable.

  Shannon held up an extra pole. “We’ve been waiting for you. The sun’s high, and the seas are flat. It’s a perfect time to hit the reefs. You game?”

  He wasn’t, but he’d promised Shannon when the conditions were right, he’d take them. Besides, who could resist a Goddess in a wetsuit? “Sure. Give me a sec to change.”

  Debi sat in the cockpit with Piddles. Even before the dog got sick, Debi had spent a lot of time with her. Now they were inseparable.

  “Are you coming, too?” Jake asked Debi.

  “No. I don’t want to leave Peanut alone. I know the vet said she’s fine,” she laughed, as if finding her own behavior comical, “but I need to be with her.”

  Jake, Shannon, and Charlie set out toward the cut between the two islands. Low tide meant they’d have to be careful going through the cut, but they’d have a better chance of spearing a lobster or fish since the depth was shallower than at high tide.

  They reached an outer reef, and Jake threw the anchor overboard.

  “Have either of you done this before?”

  Both
Shannon and Charlie shook their heads.

  “The main thing you want to do is get the point of the spear as close as you can to whatever you’re spearing before you take a shot. Distances are deceiving underwater. And whatever you do, aim away from each other.”

  “What about sharks?” Shannon asked.

  Jake tucked his swim fin around the back of his heel, pulling the strap tight. “If anyone actually spears a fish, we all need to get out of the water and move to another reef. We don’t if you spear a lobster.”

  “Charlie, are you sure about this?” Shannon asked.

  Charlie tightened the strap on his swimming mask. “Yes, I’m sure. Don’t make a fuss.”

  “What’s up?” Jake hitched his weight belt around his waist.

  “Charlie isn’t a strong swimmer.”

  “Good time to tell me. You can follow us in the dinghy if you don’t want to get in the water.”

  “I said I was fine. I can swim. I’m just not going to win any races.”

  Jake didn’t want to undermine Shannon’s attempt to make nice with Charlie and decided not to humiliate the guy. “The water’s shallow. How about you don’t wear a weight belt?”

  Charlie nodded, accepting the compromise.

  Shannon spit into her mask and rubbed the wet gob across the lens.

  “That’s gross,” Charlie said.

  “It keeps the lens from fogging.”

  “I’m not doing that.” Charlie stretched his mask strap behind his head and pulled the goggles over his eyes.

  Jake slipped over the side of the dinghy and waited for Shannon and Charlie to get in the ocean. In the clear water, he could see the reef in detail eight feet below.

  The three swam on the surface. Fan and Elkhorn coral populated the reef. The pillar coral reminded Jake of soft, fuzzy antlers on a young moose and the brain coral of a prop in a horror movie. The fans swayed in the underwater current. Jake studied a fan, using the movement to determine if the current was strong enough to influence a shot.