by Cindy Bell
Suzie closed her eyes. She didn’t want to do anything to put Ben in danger, but she did know that with a little digging he would be able to find out about Ben’s financial troubles.
“He had nothing to do with this, Kirk.”
“Then let me prove that. Let me clear his name. I can’t do that unless I have accurate information.”
“You’re going to have to talk to Mary.”
“Does Mary know everything that you do?”
“Do I?” Mary stepped into the kitchen and looked between the two. “What are we talking about here?”
“Ben.” Suzie frowned. “I’m sorry, Mary.”
“Don’t be. It’s okay. He hasn’t done anything wrong.”
“Then why are you two dodging my questions about him?” He rested his hands on his hips.
“It’s not what you think.” Mary sighed. “My son has gotten himself into some trouble, and he asked me not to bring the police into it. It has nothing to do with any of this.”
“I need to be the judge of that. So please, share it with me.”
“She doesn’t have to…”
“No, Suzie it’s fine. Kirk’s right, we should be cooperating in every way we can. We all have the same goal. Ben took a loan from a loan shark, and the guy has been harassing him. That’s all.”
“He got tangled up with a loan shark? That’s not a good idea.”
“No, it isn’t, but it’s a mess he got himself into, and we are going to handle it.”
“How are you going to do that?” Kirk shifted from one foot to the other. “These people are not the type that you want to play around with. They can be very vengeful, and violent.”
“I’m aware, Kirk.”
“So? Let me look into this guy for you.”
“My son would rather we didn’t go to the police about this. I thought maybe Jason…”
“Look, I know Jason is like family to you as well. I get that. But I am here to help you also. As far as this investigation goes, I need to know that you are going to be forthcoming from now on. I take a murder on my beach very seriously, and I’m not going to wait until Jason gets back to solve it. All right?”
“All right.” Suzie nodded as she stared at him. Kirk had more backbone than she expected, and she admired him for it. “Anything we come across, we’ll do our best to keep you informed.”
“Good.” He shifted his gaze between them, then nodded. “When you’re ready to talk about what we can do to help your son, you let me know.”
“I will.” Mary cleared her throat. “Thank you, Kirk. I really appreciate the offer.”
“And I appreciate your honesty.” As he turned to leave, Suzie was tempted to remind him that Ben had nothing to do with the murder, however Mary beat her to it.
“No matter what happens, Kirk, keep in mind, Ben is not a suspect here.”
Kirk paused at the door and looked back over his shoulder at her. “He’s not a suspect in your eyes. But in my eyes, until I’ve found the killer, every single person who had contact with Curtis in the hours before his death, is a suspect.” He stepped out without another word and closed the door behind him. Mary reached for Suzie’s hand and sighed.
“Don’t worry, Mary. Ben will be fine.”
“I hope so. But my instincts are telling me something different. We need to figure out why Curtis was killed, and fast. That might give us some idea about who did it.”
“Then I need to go to the one place he looked into when he was here.”
“What do you mean?”
“The coordinates that Jim and Curtis both have, maybe they went diving there, maybe that was where the shipwreck was. It is a couple of hours away, but I can hire some divers to check things out. If I leave after breakfast today I can be back in time for lunch.”
“All right, but I’m going with you.”
“But Mary you aren’t exactly fond of boats.”
“I’ll be fine, I’m not letting you go without me. What do you think we’re going to find?”
“I’m not sure, but it’s an opportunity to retrace Curtis’ steps. I’ll meet you down at the docks after breakfast.”
“Are you going to have Paul take us out?”
“No, he needs his rest, he has to go on a few more short trips this week, he’s showing a new fisherman to the area the ropes. The divers should have a boat.”
“Okay, I’ll meet you there.”
Chapter 13
About an hour later Suzie and Mary were on the deck of an unfamiliar boat, headed far out into the wide-open ocean.
“Suzie, maybe we should have waited until Paul was free and brought him along.” Mary clung to the railing and tried not to think about how far away from land they were.
“I didn’t want to bother him and we might not find anything at all, then we would have wasted Paul’s time.”
“I think you’re just afraid to admit that you wanted to go on a treasure hunt.”
“What’s so wrong with that?” Suzie’s eyes widened. “If we were to find any real treasure, it would be pretty amazing, wouldn’t it?”
“Yes, it would, but it’s unlikely. I’m betting that all Curtis left out here was some empty boxes. Even if he had hidden treasure somewhere, whoever killed him most likely has it. If he was killed for it, then they wouldn’t have let things get too far without finding out where the treasure was.”
“Maybe that’s true. But I’m willing to look anyway. It’s the only lead that we have right now.”
“You mean, other than Hal?” Mary tapped her fingernails against the railing of the ship. “I think that we can both agree Hal is still the main suspect here.”
“I do agree. But until we find out more about what Curtis was trying to find, we’re not going to have any solid evidence either way. If we retrace his steps we might just be able to get this case solved in time for you to get some quality time with your kids.”
“I still don’t know what I’m going to do about Ben.” She shook her head. “I can’t believe he got himself into this mess. I swear, I taught him better than this.”
“I’m sure you did, but you can remember what it was like to be his age. It’s so easy to think that you have everything figured out, it takes years before you realize that you don’t actually have a clue.”
“I know, I know, but this is a big mistake. It could affect him for the rest of his life.”
“We’re not going to let it get that far.” Suzie patted her shoulder. “We’re going to make sure that this guy gets stopped in his tracks.”
When the boat slowed, Suzie’s heart sped up. This was it. This was the moment when they would find out if the shipwreck was actually there, and potentially the treasure right along with it. The captain stayed onboard as the two divers they hired launched off into the water.
“Do you think they’ll find anything?” Mary clutched Suzie’s hand.
“I don’t know, I hope so.” Suzie frowned. “We need some kind of direction in this case.”
After some time, the divers surfaced and climbed back onto the boat.
“There is definitely a shipwreck down there, a huge one.” The first diver began to remove his equipment.
“We took a swim through but there was no sign of any valuables.” The second diver sat down beside him. “We can’t look any further. The structure of the ship isn’t sound, and the currents are too strong, I’m sorry.”
“That’s all right.” Suzie smiled. “At least we know we’re getting somewhere now.”
“The question is where? Just because Jim and Curtis found a shipwreck, that doesn’t mean that Curtis was murdered over it. If there was nothing there to find, then why would Curtis be killed?”
“Maybe there was something there. Maybe Jim killed Curtis for it. Or maybe Curtis took it, or maybe someone thinks that Curtis did.”
“Like Jim?”
“Jim was there with him, so it would seem strange if he thought Curtis found something. But maybe someone in their circle, li
ke Rick.”
“How would Rick be in their circle?”
“He’s a diver. Maybe they crossed paths at some point.”
“Maybe.” Mary frowned.
When they made it back to Dune House, Kirk was there to greet them.
“You ladies have been hard to track down today.”
“Did you need us for something?” Mary sat down in one of the rocking chairs on the front porch.
“I did. We finished the search of the dive shack. I was wondering if either of you recognize these shoes.” He held up a plastic evidence bag with a bright pair of green and gold sneakers inside.
“No.” Suzie shook her head. “All I ever saw Curtis in was flipflops.”
“Yes, or very rarely sandals. I don’t think he owned a pair of socks.” Mary shook her head.
“Then these shoes may belong to the killer, they aren’t Curtis’ shoe size. Whoever it is, is probably missing them. Please let me know if anyone mentions anything about them.” As he turned and walked away Mary’s heart flipped. She recalled Ben looking for his shoes. She hadn’t noticed what his shoes looked like when he arrived. She couldn’t be sure that the shoes Kirk had were Ben’s. But it was strange that Ben was missing shoes, when shoes had been found in the dive shack. She bit into her bottom lip as she wondered if Suzie would remember that Ben’s shoes were missing. If she did, she didn’t mention it.
“I’m going to visit Paul for a little bit. Maybe he can give me some direction on where to go next.”
“All right, I’ll take care of lunch and check in with the guests.” As soon as Suzie left, Mary grabbed her cell phone and sent a text to Ben.
Did you find your shoes yet?
Her hand trembled as she waited for the response. After a few minutes, she received one.
Not yet. Rick said he didn’t take them. I don’t know who did, but they are gone. It’s really strange.
She stared at the text on her phone. The last thing she wanted to do was accuse her son of anything criminal, but how did his sneakers end up in the dive shack? He would have worn flipflops to go to the lesson. Maybe they weren’t his shoes at all. Maybe she was jumping to conclusions.
Mary set about preparing lunch. When Ben walked in, she pulled him to the side.
“Ben, what did your shoes look like?”
“Green, with gold stripes. Real bright.”
“I think someone found them.” Her shoulders slumped as his description matched the shoes that Kirk had found.
“Oh, great.”
Mary glanced over her shoulder to make sure that no one was nearby to hear her, then she lowered her voice.
“I think that Kirk found them in the dive shack. Why would they be there?”
“What?” Ben’s eyes widened. “They wouldn’t be. I haven’t even worn them since I got here. I swear, Mom.”
“I believe you, Ben, but you’re going to have to tell Kirk that the shoes he found are most likely yours.”
“Mom, if I do that he’s going to suspect me.”
“Yes, he might, but he’ll suspect you more if he finds out on his own. You have to tell the truth. If you don’t, I will.”
“Mom, seriously. You can’t do this. You know I had nothing to do with this.” He stared into her eyes.
“I know that you didn’t, Ben, but that doesn’t matter. We can’t hide this from Kirk. I didn’t tell him they were yours, because I wasn’t sure. But now that I know, we have to tell him.”
“Mom, please. This is only going to make things worse. At least give me until tomorrow. Maybe I can find out why they were there.”
“I’ll give you until the next time I speak to Kirk, but that’s as much as I can give you. Even that isn’t right. I love you, Ben, more than I can ever say, but part of being your mother is showing you there is a right way to do things, and a wrong way. Withholding information in an investigation is not the right way.”
“I know, Mom.” He shook his head. “But there has to be some kind of explanation. I just need a little time to find it.”
“All right, Ben, do what you can. But be careful. Whoever did this, may have been trying to frame you by putting your shoes in the shack. Don’t you think it could have been Rick?”
“Rick?” Ben drew a sharp breath. “I didn’t even consider that.”
“You two are sharing a room. You thought he took your shoes in the first place.”
“Yes, I did. But I mean, it’s Rick.”
“I’m giving you a new room tonight. I don’t want you sleeping in his room.”
“We should leave things as they are. Maybe he’ll reveal something if we don’t throw up any red flags,” Ben suggested.
“Ben, this is your safety we’re talking about.”
“Rick has no reason to do anything to me, as long as he doesn’t think I suspect him. If I change rooms now, he’ll suspect that we suspect. Besides, if I’m in his room, I can keep an eye on him. I’ll make sure he doesn’t go off alone with Cathy.”
“All right. Fine for now, but be careful. Understand me?”
“I do.” He nodded. “I’ll let you know if anything comes up.”
“Thanks. Now let’s eat lunch.”
“Good, I’m starving.”
Mary watched her son head for the table. As Rick walked in with Cathy at his side, her heart fluttered. Just how much danger were her children in?
Chapter 14
Suzie knocked on Paul’s door. He opened it and smiled as she stepped inside.
“How are you doing?”
“Confused, honestly.”
“About the murder?”
“Yes.”
“We found it.” She pushed the door closed behind her.
“You found what?”
“The shipwreck.”
“Are you serious?” He stared into her eyes.
“Yes, I mean, I didn’t see it with my own eyes, but the divers I hired confirmed it. They couldn’t stay down long, but the shipwreck is definitely there.”
“Are you going to tell Kirk about it?”
“I think so.” She frowned.
“I thought you said you were going to cooperate with the investigation?”
“Of course I am. This isn’t about hiding anything from him. The moment I tell him where the shipwreck is, the murderer might find out and then it might make them panic and hide any evidence or even make them go into hiding.”
“You might have to risk that. If you don’t you might be the one at risk?” He shook his head. “You’re getting too deep into this. You now know where the shipwreck is, that makes you vulnerable.”
“It’s not as if we found the treasure.”
“No, maybe not, but Curtis’ killer doesn’t know that. If he or she gets wind of you being at the shipwreck, then you might be at risk. You’ve put yourself in a very vulnerable position here, so what are you going to do to get out of it?”
“I’m not sure yet. I guess I hoped finding the shipwreck would give us some idea of who might have done this. But to be honest we don’t even know if the shipwreck has anything to do with the murder. The murderer could be Hal, it could be Trish, it could be Jim, it could even be Rick. I’m no closer to figuring out who it is.”
“Could it be someone else entirely? Someone from town, or someone that Curtis interacted with that we didn’t know about?”
“It could be, but I don’t think so. I really don’t. He didn’t know many people, and he wasn’t here for that long. My instincts tell me that the people that surrounded him in his last days are the people to look at. I definitely think that’s the best place to look, at least at the moment.”
“Doesn’t that include Cathy and Ben?”
“For Kirk it does. But I know they had nothing to do with any of it. Mary and I have to make sure that Kirk knows that, too.”
“Whatever I can do to help, just tell me.”
“You already are, just by listening.”
“Return the favor, and listen to what I’m saying
. When it comes to riches, great men become evil. Please be careful, Suzie.”
“I will be.” She smiled and kissed his cheek. He turned his head and coaxed her into a passionate kiss. When the kiss broke, Suzie looked into his eyes. “What if Jim lied about there being no treasure?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, what if he lied, and conned his friend out of the goods? What if there was treasure and Jim killed Curtis so he could keep it for himself?”
“I guess that’s possible. And if he did, then Jim would be a very good suspect.”
“Or maybe Curtis lied to Jim about there being no treasure and Jim found out.”
“Maybe. But you said they were friendly. Why would Jim be friendly to him if he believed that Curtis stole the treasure out from under his nose?”
“Maybe because Jim didn’t want Curtis to know that he knew or that he was about to run off with the treasure. Maybe that’s why Curtis was so surprised when Jim showed up. All I know is that if Curtis did take the treasure, then he had to put it somewhere. If that’s the case that might be why he was looking for that cave,” Suzie said.
“Oh yes, that makes sense. He was looking for a place to hide it. But the cave doesn’t exist.”
“Yes, you’re right. It’s just another dead end.”
“Why don’t you and I get some lunch and just enjoy our time together?” Paul asked. “Taking your mind off things might loosen up some new ideas.”
“That sounds good to me.”
Suzie returned to Dune House after lunch, to find it empty, but for Mary, who was finishing up the lunch dishes.
“Mary, how did lunch go?”
“Hal and Trish weren’t here for it, neither was Jim. Just the kids and Rick.” Her voice shuddered as she spoke his name.
“What’s going on? Did you find out something?”
Mary filled her in about Ben’s missing shoes, and blushed as she looked into Suzie’s eyes. “Do you think I’m wrong for keeping it from Kirk?”