Tangled Lies

by Connie Mann

  She got semipresentable for the day, then padded downstairs, Bella thumping along behind her. Once the coffee finished brewing, she took her cup and went over to open the bait shop.

  It amazed her how quickly she fell into the familiar banter, how much she remembered about the shop’s routines, about each captain and their preferences and the members of their family.

  Two of her favorite captains, Demetri and Roy, came in together, bickering like an old married couple, Roy’s two nephews behind them, egging them on.

  “Good morning, gentlemen. What can I do for you this fine morning?”

  “Turn on the air conditioning outside, will you, sugar?” Roy teased. “I hear tell it’s going to top ninety-six today.”

  “Then you boys best get going so you can be back before it gets too hot out there.”

  Demetri elbowed Roy. “She’s trying to get rid of you, you big lout.”

  “Didn’t see her inviting you to stay, either,” Roy tossed back.

  Sasha handed Demetri his coffee and Roy a cold soda and nodded to his nephews, Al and Scooter. “How do you stand them all day?”

  “As long as they’re each on a separate boat, they’re tolerable,” Al, said, and everyone laughed.

  Pop stepped in and slipped behind the counter to join her. She kissed his cheek as she reached past him for more coffee.

  “Morning, Pop. You and Mama get some sleep?”

  He nodded yes, but the dark circles under his eyes said no. “Morning, Roy, Demetri, boys. Need anything before you head out this morning?”

  Roy leaned over toward Demetri and stage-whispered, “See, they’re both trying to get rid of us.”

  “Only because having you in here is bad for business. You scare the customers away,” Sasha said with a grin.

  Demetri and Roy exchanged shocked expressions, then Roy turned to Sasha. “There is one more thing. We just got a request for a night-fishing charter tonight, and we have tickets to take the wives to some play or something in Tampa.” He nodded over his shoulder and rolled his eyes. “The boys all have hot dates. Think you can take the charter out for us, Sasha?”

  A little thrill of excitement passed over her skin, but she ignored it and plopped her elbows on the counter, ready to deal. “Depends. What are you offering?”

  Beside her, Sal grinned. “That’s my girl.”

  “What? No favors between old friends?”

  “I’m only seeing this favor flow one way.” She made a give-me motion with her hands. “You’re going to have to do better than that, boys.”

  “Tough cookie, that one,” Demetri said, shaking his head.

  Roy leaned closer on the counter, and Sasha settled in for some serious negotiation. “How about half the fare and we pay the gas for your boat?”

  She shook her head. “I get seventy-five percent of the fare, and I use your boat. Take it or leave it.”

  Demetri and Roy exchanged glances. “The wives would kill us if we missed the play, and neither of us is willing to take them alone, so I guess we have a deal.” Roy reached over and they shook hands. He pulled a scrap of paper from a white bakery bag out of his pocket and handed it to her. “Here’s everything you need to know. Family of four, tourists from Germany, never been fishing. Should be interesting.”

  Sasha nodded her thanks as she tucked the piece of paper in her pocket. Night charters were always fun, and the extra money wouldn’t hurt, either.

  Suddenly she realized the temperature in the shop had dropped and all talking had stopped. She looked up to see Jesse had walked through the door.

  “Morning,” he said, nodding to those he passed by.

  He headed straight to the counter, and the grin that spread over his face made her want to drool, so she sent him a controlled little smile instead. “Morning, Money-boy. You’re up early.”

  His grin faded. “Got a lot of work to do today.”

  Sasha poured him a cup of coffee and turned back to see several more captains standing behind him. Captain Doug, short, balding and skinny, eyed him from beneath his fisherman’s cap. “We don’t need no racing team here, Claybourne. Best you take that fancy boat of yours elsewhere.”

  Jesse turned and looked down at the other man, his face carefully blank. “I’m not starting a team, not yet anyway. Just racing one boat in one race.”

  Wiry Captain Tobias, who could be any age between sixty and eighty, spit into the spittoon by the door. “Seems to me that’s one boat too many. We don’t need your kind here.”

  Sasha glanced behind her, looking for Pop, and saw him fiddling with the coffee machine, head down as if he didn’t hear what was going on. If he wouldn’t say anything, she would.

  She planted her hands on her hips and ran her gaze over all of them. “I’m surprised at you, all of you. Thanks to the gossips in our little town, we all know every single one of you has a thing or two in your past you’re not proud of. Why shouldn’t Jesse get a second chance, too?”

  Captain Tobias crossed his arms over his skinny chest. “We don’t need no jailbirds here.”

  “Who gave you the right to decide who’s worthy to live here? If I heard right, you mortgaged your house and boat to pay your gambling debts. Does that mean you shouldn’t live here, either?” Her voice rose with every word.

  Across the counter, Jesse said quietly, “Let it go, Sasha.”

  She was on a roll, so she ignored him as she eyed the group. “You all ought to be ashamed of yourselves, treating folks this way. I’m disgusted with the lot of you. Now get on out of here.” She made a shooing motion. “Go. And if you need something before you go, you’d best keep a civil tongue in your head while you ask for it.”

  A few captains slammed out the door, and a couple of others shuffled to the counter and made their purchases, heads down.

  Jesse winked but didn’t say a word as he set down three bottles of water and a bag of peanuts.

  “Have a nice day,” she said, same as she had to every single other customer. She waited until the last one left before she let out a huge sigh. “Stupid, pig-headed, small-minded—”

  “You should have left well enough alone, Sasha,” Pop said, coming up behind her.

  She whipped around to confront him. “Seriously? Since when do we let people talk to our customers that way?”

  Then she remembered that he’d asked Jesse to leave to avoid exactly this kind of situation.

  “Jesse is a good man, Sasha, don’t misunderstand. But our business depends on the local captains and their support.” He heaved a sigh. “And those drugs Mama is getting don’t come cheap, even with the little bit of insurance we have.”

  There it was, Sasha thought with disgust. Principles shoved aside to deal with the practical. She could understand his reasoning, but she couldn’t accept it. There had to be another way.

  She spent several hours stomping around the shop, but eventually, the bigger question reared its ugly head.

  Someone, probably one of the captains there this morning, had trashed Jesse’s shed and put sugar in his gas tank. How much further would they go to get him to leave? She had to find out. But first, she had an overdue apology to deliver.

  “Hey, Pop, you good here for a while? I need to go check in with Mama.” She ducked her head when he sent her a reproving look. “I know I missed supper, and I’m so very sorry. I didn’t know she was cooking, and—”

  Pop held up a hand. “I’m not the one who needs the apology, Sasha. Go on up to the house. She should be up by now.”

  Sasha trudged up the path, Bella at her side. Why couldn’t she get her act together and stop hurting the people she cared about? She never meant to. She just got . . . sidetracked. Distracted. Didn’t pay attention. They got hurt, and she didn’t know how to fix it.

  Mama sat in her padded rocker on the porch, and she smiled when Sasha approached. Sasha crouched down at her knees, taking Mama’s hands gently in her own. “Mama, I’m so, so sorry about last night. I didn’t know you were cooking or
I would have been here, would have eaten every bite.”

  “Not every,” Mama teased. “I made enough for the entire week.”

  “Then I’ll look forward to having some later. Thank you so much for going to the trouble on my behalf.”

  Mama waved that away. “What trouble? It is cheese and noodles.” She leaned forward and cradled Sasha’s cheeks in her hands. Sasha’s heart contracted anew at how frail she’d become, how thin her skin was. “Besides, how can I not do a little something special for the daughter working so hard on my behalf?” She leaned back. “Come. Sit down and tell me what you’ve discovered. Is there any news about my baby?”

  Sasha tried to smile. She told her about her conversation with Mary Lee and about talking with the divers at the Blue Dolphin. Mama listened attentively, but then her face fell. “There isn’t anything new, is there?”

  “Not that I can see, no. Mary Lee’s story is the same as yours. She called you that morning at Helen’s urging, and, well”—Sasha spread her hands—“you know the rest.”

  “What will you do next?” Mama asked. She leaned her head back against the chair, and Sasha knew her strength was fading.

  “This afternoon I’m going to talk to those who were here at the marina that day. See what they remember. And then, before I take a night-fishing charter out, I’m going to gorge on your macaroni and cheese.”

  Sasha smiled as Mama’s eyes slid closed. Sasha stood and kissed her cheek, then she and Bella slipped away. Too bad she’d ticked off all the captains this morning. Meant her chances of them talking to her were not good.

  She walked down the dock and leaned against a piling next to The Painted Lady, watching Jesse work. As though he’d sensed her presence, Jesse’s head snapped up, and Sasha snorted at her own foolishness. More like he’d heard her and Bella clumping down the dock.

  “Hey, hummingbird, what’s up?” He straightened, and as he chugged down water, Sasha fought the urge to sigh. Was there anything better looking than a shirtless, incredibly hot guy on a sweltering day? Oh my. He caught her staring and lifted a brow. “See anything you like?”

  Sasha felt the flush spread up from her neck and scowled. “Just admiring the general scenery,” she said, scanning the area.

  He laughed and hopped onto the dock beside her. “What brings you down here?”

  “I was killing time until the captains come in so I can talk to the ones who were here the day Tony disappeared.”

  He had the gall to laugh. “Good luck with that. Probably should have done that before you chewed them all out this morning. Not that they didn’t deserve it.”

  She cocked her head at him, surprised to see a healing scar on his side. Without thinking, she reached out to touch, but he stepped out of reach. She drew her hand back and met his gaze.

  “What happened?” Though she had a pretty good guess.

  “Difference of opinion with some of the folks at the county jail.”

  Understanding slammed into her. “This is why you wanted me to keep quiet this morning. You don’t want to draw unwanted attention to yourself.”

  His expression darkened, and he gripped her arm and pulled her close, his voice rough. “You think I’m afraid of a couple of local boys? Somebody tampered with the engine on my boat, fed your dog drugs. I don’t want you or your family in the line of fire because of me.”

  She tried to lighten the mood. “Too late, I think.” She smiled, but if anything, his expression turned even darker.

  “Be careful, Sasha. Somebody is pretty serious about all this.” He let her go. “Have you had lunch yet? I’ll buy you a sandwich.”

  She shrugged. The commercial captains wouldn’t be back for at least an hour, with the charter captains after that. “Sure, why not? I don’t have anything else to do.”

  He put his tools away, then grabbed his shirt and swatted her with it. “You sure know how to stroke a guy’s ego.”

  “Guys with an ego as big as yours don’t need stroking.”

  He grinned, one side of his mouth kicking up. “Don’t we?” He grabbed her hand and swung her around so she crashed against his chest. His mouth came down on hers all playful and inviting, and before she knew it, Sasha had opened her mouth and invited him in. Their tongues touched and teased, while his hands roamed over her back, easing her ever closer to his rock-solid frame. The kiss went on and on until Sasha leaned her head back to give him better access to her neck and locked eyes with a disapproving Pop behind them.

  “Pop,” she whispered, and Jesse stiffened and eased away.

  They pulled apart, and Sasha felt like she had ten years ago when Jesse had given her her very first kiss. Then, as now, Pop had seen. And scowled.

  “Don’t start fires neither of you are prepared to put out,” he said, then turned and headed up the dock to the house.

  “He said the same thing the last time he caught us,” Jesse commented.

  “I know. But I’m still not sure what he means by it.”

  Jesse laughed. “Can’t you guess?”

  She socked him in the arm. “You know what I mean.”

  He nodded. “I do. Let’s eat. I’m starving.”

  They climbed into Jesse’s truck and headed for town, unaware of the eyes watching them.

  When they stepped into the Blue Dolphin, all conversation stopped. Most of the captains from this morning hadn’t returned to shore, yet the grapevine had apparently hummed along at top speed. They were getting the silent treatment.

  “Funny how cold it can feel inside on a hot summer day,” she commented, glancing around as they slid into a booth.

  “We’re stirring things up around here, and that can make some folks very, very nervous.”

  Sasha stood suddenly. “I’m about to make things worse. I’ll be right back.” She crossed the restaurant and sat down beside an older couple in a back booth.

  “Hi, Mr. Hess. Mrs. Hess. How are you folks?”

  For a moment, the tiny birdlike woman just blinked at her. Across the table, her husband, balder than when he taught her high school biology, pushed his horn-rimmed glasses farther up his nose.

  “Miss Petrov. I heard that you’d returned to our fair little town. How lovely to see you. Rumor has it you’re a boat captain these days.”

  Sasha smiled. “Yes, sir, I am, and I love it.”

  “Will you be staying in Safe Harbor permanently?”

  Sasha shook her head. “I’m just here for a little while to help out around the marina.”

  “I heard your poor mother is dying,” Mrs. Hess whispered.

  Sasha shook her head. “Oh no, Mrs. Hess. She’s fighting cancer, but she’s a long way from death’s door.”

  “Well, that’s not the way I heard it,” she sniffed, chin in the air.

  Sasha didn’t think shouting would help, but she wanted to be very clear. “You were misinformed, ma’am. My family would be grateful if you set the record straight if you hear such things again.” She stared at the old woman until she gave a reluctant nod.

  “So what can I do for you, Miss Petrov?” Mr. Hess asked, leaning forward on his elbows. “I’ve never known you to chitchat without a good reason.”

  Sasha would have protested, except he was right. “I’ve been going over the events of the day my brother, Tony, disappeared—”

  “He wasn’t technically your brother, was he, since the Martinellis never legally adopted you girls, did they?” Mrs. Hess interrupted.

  Sasha didn’t remember Doc Hadley’s old nurse being quite this obnoxious in the past. “That’s true, Mrs. Hess, but my point is that I’m talking to folks who were at the marina the day Tony disappeared, trying to see what they remember, piece together the events of that day, if I can.”

  Behind his glasses, Mr. Hess’s eyes widened. “You mean there’ve been new developments after all this time? That seems highly unusual.”

  “No, nothing new, just trying to retrace that day.”

  Mrs. Hess thumped her bony fist on the tabl
e. “She’s dying, I’m sure of it.”

  “She’s not dying!” Sasha’s voice carried farther than she expected in the restaurant’s silence. She leaned closer and lowered her voice. “She’s not dying, OK?” She turned back to Mr. Hess. “Could you tell me what you remember about that day?”

  “Of course. It was hot, I remember that. I’d been helping Captain Barry with fishing charters, acting as first mate. We weren’t there at the time Tony, ah, disappeared. We were out with a family on a half-day charter. They were from England, I believe. They came back looking like boiled lobsters, but they had a wonderful time.”

  “What time did you get back?” Sasha knew how long the half-day charters went, but she wanted to see how much detail he recalled.

  “We arrived just before noon, about eleven fifty, to be precise. One of the children had started feeling queasy, so we headed back a few minutes early.”

  “What was it like at the marina when you got there?”

  “Chaos, utter chaos. The town’s two police cars, the fire truck, and the EMT vehicle blocked all access, and people were running all over, peering into the water, under the docks, calling Tony’s name.” He swallowed and met her eyes, pain visible in his. “And above it all, your mother, running back and forth shouting Tony’s name with a kind of desperation that still gives me chills.”

  Sasha looked away for a moment, tried to close out the scene, but it didn’t work. “What were the police doing?”

  “They were doing the same thing as everyone else when we got there. Searching. Everyone figured he’d somehow wandered out of the yard and fallen in the water. Otis Monroe, who hadn’t been elected police chief yet, arrived about the time we did, and got the other officers started interviewing those who were there at the time. By this time, word had gotten out, and folks from town were showing up on the run, trying to help.” He looked off into the distance for a moment. “Even given the gravity of the situation, seeing how the community came together—it was moving.” He shrugged. “It was one of the reasons we stayed in Safe Harbor. This community cares about each other.” He paused again. “Although, now that I think back . . .”