“You didn’t plead. You demanded her back. That’s different. You owe me the truth.”
Bobby reaches across Charlie and adjusts the autopilot one degree north. “We need to stay close to the route line.”
“Why did you chase them that night?”
The line zings, and Bobby puts on his fishing belt. “It’s big whatever it is,” he says with excitement in his voice.
How can Bobby care about a fish when they are talking about the most important moment in his life? “If you hadn’t left the scene, they might have survived.”
Bobby tightens the belt and grabs the rod. He spreads his feet in a wide stance.
“The car crash killed them instantly.”
And now Charlie is certain. His body turns cold as if he’s freezing from the inside out.
“The police report said they were declared dead at the hospital. The only way you could know the crash killed them instantly is if you were there.”
Their eyes connect, and Charlie knows he’s right.
“I followed him. I just wanted to talk about Shannon, but they wouldn’t listen. Kevin knew I was chasing them, and he sped up. I didn’t mean for it to happen.”
“But why didn’t you help them?”
“I stopped and ran to their car. Both Kevin and Veronica were dead. There was nothing I could do.”
“You could have stayed with them. You didn’t have to leave them alone.”
“I know that now.”
“Instead we had to guess what happened. Shannon and I never knew if they suffered. You could have saved us that.”
“I’m ashamed. I didn’t want to go to jail for causing the accident.”
The fish yanks on the line and starts to run. Bobby turns from Charlie and strains against the rod.
“So you admit you killed them.” The internal freezing reaches Charlie’s mind. He remembers his brain feeling warm the first time the video started. Odd that it’s cold now.
His video turns off. The silence in his brain hurts. He stands and steps behind Bobby, puts his fingers underneath the back of Bobby’s fish belt and heaves. He’s surprised at how easily Bobby goes over the rail.
Bobby yells for help, but Charlie’s mind has stopped. He sees Bobby’s mouth moving, but doesn’t hear the words. In Bobby’s last moments, Charlie looks the other way. He doesn’t want that video to stay in his head.
The videos start again. They force every happy memory he has of Bobby to the surface, and he fights to keep the argument between Bobby and his dad the loudest.
He watches Long Island for a while and knows what he has to do. He gathers his things, leaves the motor running and the autopilot set, launches the dinghy, and heads for the island.
He is at peace.
“Charlie,” Shannon screams, yanking his arm and pulling him back to the present. She’s come into the salon and is staring at Jake. Debi is right behind her.
“I found him like this,” Charlie says. “Come help me get him up.” Charlie has no plan and intends to draw this out until he figures out what to do. He hopes Jake doesn’t regain consciousness.
CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO
Shannon
A Dog’s Cat, Sand Dollar Anchorage
Jake’s crumpled body lay motionless, and Shannon’s gut wrenched. She couldn’t seem to move her feet. The expression on Charlie’s face chilled her as if her bones were freezing.
“What happened?” Debi asked Charlie.
The words broke Shannon from her daze, and she jumped down the companionway to reach Jake. Peanut licked his face, wiggling her little body. Shannon picked her up and set her on the bed.
“He slipped,” Charlie said.
Shannon placed her hand underneath Jake’s head, checking for blood. Afraid to move him in case he’d injured his neck, she inched her cheek close to his mouth. His breath caressed her cheek. He was breathing, shallow but steady. “How could he have slipped?”
“He’s a klutz.”
Shannon brushed Jake’s forehead with her fingertips. “I thought you said you found him this way.” Jake moaned, and Shannon turned her attention back to him. “Wake up.”
“What’s wrong with you?” Debi asked Charlie.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Debi stood at the top of the steps between Shannon and Charlie. “You look odd. I don’t understand what happened here.”
“Nothing happened, but like usual you’re going to think I did something wrong.”
“That’s not fair,” Debi said.
“I remember every single time you blamed me for something I didn’t do. I remember.”
Jake’s deep breathing was the only sound for several minutes. Shannon tried to figure out what was going on but didn’t understand Charlie. His anger filled the cabin. She leaned her lips close to Jake’s ear. “Please wake up. I need you.” She kept her hand resting on Jake’s chest and turned her face toward Charlie. “Did you push him?”
“You bitch.” Charlie stepped toward Shannon, but Debi blocked his way.
“Charlie, calm down,” Debi said.
Jake’s eyes fluttered, then opened.
“Are you okay?” Shannon asked.
“Yeah.”
She gently moved his feet off the stairs and lifted him by the shoulders until he was sitting with his back leaning against the wall.
Jake pulled her close and whispered, “Be careful, Champagne. I think he killed Nicole and Bobby.”
His eyes fluttered, and he passed out again.
In her gut, Shannon knew it was true. All that bullshit about visiting Bobby, then flying home. He must have gone sailing with him. Bobby would never have suspected Charlie capable of violence. Her body shook. Her skin stung as the heat of anger rose to her face. She bolted up the three stairs and grabbed Charlie’s t-shirt. “You killed Nicole and Bobby. Why?”
“You have no proof of that.”
“What did Nicole know about you?”
Charlie shoved Shannon, and she banged into the stove. The metal scraped her lower back. He put his fingers around her throat and squeezed.
“You bitch. You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Debi pulled Charlie’s arm. “Stop! You’re hurting her.”
Charlie let go of Shannon and twisted to face Debi. “Once. Just once, you could take my side over hers.”
Jake moaned, but Shannon couldn’t get to him.
“I never took sides. I love you both.”
“Maybe. But Bobby only loved her. He only wanted her to come live with you, not me.”
“That’s not true,” Shannon said. “If you’ve done something, let us help you.”
Charlie twisted back to her. “You’re just like Nicole. Turn yourself in. It’ll ease your guilt. She was going to tell you I left George Town with Bobby last year.”
“You didn’t have to kill her.”
“Debi was jealous Bobby had an affair with Nicole. Maybe she killed her,” Charlie said.
“That’s insane. Debi would never…you put Debi’s earring on Night Wind, so I’d suspect her.”
“You’re the one who’s insane. Your precious Debi would do anything for you and Bobby.”
“I don’t believe for one second Debi hurt Nicole. That’s on you.”
“If Nicole told you I’d gone with Bobby, you and the bastard,” he jerked his chin toward Jake, “wouldn’t have let it go. You would have hounded me until I told you what happened on Waterfall.”
Shannon’s heart drummed into her ears. “So you’re admitting it?”
“This isn’t making any sense. So what if Nicole knew you went sailing with Bobby? Why would you hurt him?” Debi asked.
“He killed my parents. Was I supposed to let him get away with that?”
“He didn’t kill them.” Tears streamed from the sides of Debi’s eyes. She slapped Charlie’s face, and a red stain blossomed on his cheek.
He grabbed Debi’s wrist and twisted. “Maybe not on purpose, but he caused
their car accident. It’s the same thing.”
“No, it’s not.”
“So you knew.” Charlie wrenched harder. “You knew and didn’t care.”
“I loved Veronica and Kevin. Of course, I cared. She was my sister.” Debi’s chest heaved.
“Then why did you stay with Bobby after he killed them?”
“He didn’t kill them. It was an accident. Bobby suffered every day since it happened.”
“Right. He suffered so much he had to go sailing in the Bahamas. That’s a lot of suffering.”
Debi dug her nails into Charlie’s wrist. “Let go of me. I’m still your aunt.”
“You’re nothing to me.” Charlie spat in the sink.
Shannon kicked Charlie’s shin, and he let go of Debi.
“Charlie, don’t be cruel,” Debi said. “Tell me what you did to Bobby. I need to know what happened to him.”
“The same thing he did to my parents. I turned away from him when he needed me. Nothing more.”
Debi opened the drawer and grabbed a carving knife.
Charlie bolted across the cockpit and fled.
* * *
Shannon ran past Debi, grabbed a headlamp off the navigation station, and stepped into the rain. Charlie’s small dinghy wouldn’t make it to shore in the foul weather. With the wind blowing at twenty-five knots and the current flowing against the wind, the waves exploded in four-foot high crests. Her dinghy could handle it, his couldn’t. She got in, started the engine, and reversed away from A Dog’s Cat.
Charlie was headed for George Town. His dinghy light rounded the bend away from the Sand Dollar anchorage. She would have to catch him before he made it to the channel. If Charlie got to the other side, he could land at the lone dinghy dock and head into town. She’d never find him then.
Shannon turned the throttle to full power, moved forward in the dinghy, and sat in a crouch. She used her weight to balance. Waves crashed over the bow, soaking her repeatedly, but she was gaining on Charlie.
The wind was warm and yet a chill traveled through her. Her eyes stung, and she wiped the salt water off her face. What was she doing out here in the middle of the night? On a normal day, she wouldn’t cross the channel in this weather. At this time of night, she shouldn’t be out here, but she couldn’t let him get away. She had to know if what he’d said was true.
A wave slammed into the dinghy, knocked Shannon off her knees and onto the floor, and the safety cord ripped from the motor. The motor stopped at the same time as the sea broadsided her boat and pushed her backward. Her head snapped against the pontoon.
She scrambled to the back of the dinghy, pulled the rip-cord, and nothing happened. Using the beam from her headlamp, she searched for the problem. The gas tank had been tipped on its side and kinked the fuel line, stopping the flow of gas to the engine. She righted the tank, pulled the cord again, and heard the satisfying sound of the engine coming to life.
Disoriented and unsure of which way to go, she searched the horizon. After a couple of seconds, she spotted a tiny dot of light. She either had to give up and turn back or push hard across the channel. She was driven. She was going to confront Charlie. She turned the dinghy in his direction, hunched out of the wind, and slammed through the waves.
Shannon was within five meters of Charlie, still mid channel, and blew her air horn. He turned toward her. She pulled as close as she could without bumping into him.
“Don’t leave like this! I want to talk to you,” Shannon yelled.
Charlie put his hand to his ear, indicating he couldn’t hear her.
Shannon pulled closer, the sides of their dinghies touching briefly, and yelled again.
Charlie gunned his engine and turned away from her. A wave pounded his dinghy, and it capsized. He was thrown from the boat, the contents strewn in all directions, including his life jacket. He struggled to keep his head above water.
Shannon drove her dinghy to the lee side of him.
Thunder boomed. The wind blew spray off the capping waves, and he gagged.
“What the hell are you doing?” Charlie dog paddled, flapping his hands on the surface. “You’ll pay for that.”
“I’ll pay for what?” Shannon held her dinghy in place. An incredible urge to smash his head with an oar almost overwhelmed her. The waves shoved her dinghy a few feet away from him.
“Get back here. I can’t swim against the current.”
Shannon watched with detachment as a wave pushed them farther apart.
Charlie switched from the dog paddle to an overhead crawl. Every time he swam closer to Shannon, a wave shoved him farther away. Water crested over his head. He broke through the surface and sputtered, twisting in circles, trying to locate Shannon.
When he finally faced her, she couldn’t see his eyes but could imagine they were full of fear. He could suffer just a little bit longer, then she’d get him. She held the bow into the wind and kept the dinghy balanced. With each stroke Charlie made toward her, she backed away by the same distance.
“He deserved to die! He killed my parents!”
Shannon knew in her heart Charlie murdered Bobby, and the fury of the wind whipped through her. Her eyes glazed, her heart beat slower, and she calmly moved the dinghy further away from him.
Charlie struggled, his head under water more often than above the surface. His arms flailed. She told herself to just ignore him, and it would all be over.
Lightning flashed and illuminated A Dog’s Cat.
Jake and Debi. She couldn’t face them if she left Charlie here. She revved the engine and headed toward him. Even though she was certain he killed Bobby and Nicole, she wouldn’t become him. She would rescue him.
Shannon closed in on him, and his head went under. The bow slammed into a wave. She fell forward onto her knees. She scrambled to the pontoon, leaning over the edge, the rubber pushing into her stomach. She reached below the surface.
Nothing.
She frantically searched with her headlamp. Darkness reflected back at her.
She’d waited too long.
He was gone.
* * *
Shannon drove back to A Dog’s Cat. The dinghy slammed and bucked in the waves. Each slam reverberated through her bones. What had she done? Her brother. Her cousin. She’d let him die.
She drove the dinghy hard into the back of A Dog’s Cat. The rubber pontoon bounced off the stern.
Jake ran down the aft steps and stretched his arm toward her.
“Whoa.”
She reached for his hand, but a wave hit the dinghy and twisted it sideways. Her head slammed into the transom. She deserved the pain. She deserved worse.
Jake jumped into the dinghy and grabbed the line. He held onto the cleat on the side of the steps. “Get on board. I’ll secure the dinghy.”
Debi waited at the top of the steps. “Are you okay? Where’s Charlie?”
“Call out a mayday,” Shannon said.
“What happened?” Jake tied the dinghy to the back of the boat and followed Shannon up the steps.
“His dinghy flipped. I couldn’t find him.”
Debi groaned.
Jake grabbed the VHF and put out a call. He also used his cell phone to call the local police and tell them there was a man overboard in the channel.
Shannon wrapped her arms around her chest and shivered. She was soaked. She was scared. She was a horrible person. “His dinghy is upside down. That should give them somewhere to look.”
Jake disappeared and returned with a blanket. He wrapped it around her shoulders. “You okay?”
“Yeah. Are you?”
He nodded. “I’m going to look for him. You and Debi stay here.”
She grabbed his arm and held tight. “Don’t go. What if you have a concussion? It’s too dangerous.”
“The faster I go, the more chance we have of finding him.” Jake pried her fingers from his bicep. “Shannon, I’ve got to try. You’ll be fine here.”
“You won’t find him.”
“You don’t know that.”
“I do.”
All three stood in silence for a moment.
Jake rested his hand on the small of her back. “What happened?”
Shannon sobbed. She put her hands over her face to hide from Debi and Jake. How could she tell them what she’d done? She was no better than Charlie.
“I saw him go under.”
Jake put pressure on her back. If only his strength could make this better. She bent at her waist and wrapped her arms around her stomach. The pain was almost unbearable, but she could never face Jake again if she didn’t tell him the truth.
“I tried to reach him, but I couldn’t get to him in time.”
Jake waited as if he knew she had more to say.
Wind howled through the rigging, and the bimini shook.
“I wanted him to be frightened. To pay for what he’d done to Bobby. I didn’t mean for him to die.”
“What are you saying?” Jake asked.
Now. She had to tell him now, or she never would.
“When his dinghy flipped, I didn’t pick him up right away. I thought I had time. That I could get to him. I just wanted him to be afraid for a minute. I didn’t mean for him to die.”
“Shannon, look at me.”
She did.
Jake cupped her chin in his hand. “You are never going to repeat that. To anyone. Do you understand me?”
She shook her head. How could she live with a lie that big? Her whole life had been a lie. Would the rest of her life be a lie, too?
“You will say his dinghy tipped and you couldn’t find him. That’s all. Nothing more happened.”
“But—”
“But nothing,” Debi said. “Jake is right.”
Shannon couldn’t bring down Jake and Debi with her. They shouldn’t have to live with what she’d done. “You were an RCMP officer. How can you do this?”
“I can do it for you.” Jake made eye contact and kept it. “If you’d pulled Charlie back into the dinghy, he might have killed you. He’d already tried to kill me. You did nothing wrong.”
Debi kneeled beside Shannon. “I love you more than life. Whatever it takes, I will protect you. Do you understand?”
Look the Other Way Page 26