“She’s super worried about the treasure hunters.”
“Exactly. Maybe we should be focusing on finding out if this supposed treasure map really does exist. If we found that, or the evidence of it, we could help her and maybe even help your dad do his job.”
“That’s a super awesome idea. If we find the map, we’ll find the murderer.”
“Slow down, Sweetie. We won’t be confronting any killers. That’s one of my ground rules. You understand my terms, right?”
Oh, so that’s what they were talking about—keeping me out of the investigation. Just when I thought this was all gonna come together, too. For now, I guess it’s okay ‘cause I do want to help Flynn and I’m totally sure the map and the killing are related. As long as I stick to Marquetta’s rules, I can also figure out what happened with the murder kinda by accident. If we find evidence that the map exists, it might also be enough to get me on The Treasure King.
“It’s a deal. Can I do some surveillance on The Treasure King from Marina Park? That’s only a couple blocks away and it’s not even close to the boat.”
Marquetta looks at me real close. She kinda frowns, then seems to make up her mind. “We have binoculars. I don’t have a lot of time to be sitting in the park, though.”
“I could get Sasha and Robbie to go with me. We’ll be good and keep our distance.”
“You promise you won’t go any closer than the park?”
“For sure.”
“I’ll tell you what. You can go to the park, but I’m going to be dropping by to check on you. That means if you’re not there, I’ll come looking for you and will consider you in violation of the ground rules. Are we clear?”
“Totally.”
“I’m not sure what watching a boat from the park is going to tell you about the treasure map, but if that’s what you want to do, you have my permission.”
“I also wanna ask Mr. Gray questions about the map. When The Treasure King came in, he was talking about the last time Captain Carroll was here. He’s gotta know more than that.”
“We can talk to him together. It would be good to have those questions written out in advance. That way we’re not trying to figure out what to ask on the fly. Why don’t you start a list and email it to me? If I have suggestions, I’ll send them to you. Also, why don’t you see what you can find online about Captain Carroll? If he really did come across a map, there’s a chance someone’s written something about it.”
Whoa! It’s almost like Marquetta can read my mind. Sometimes, how much she understands me is kinda scary. “When I was waiting for Daddy to talk to you I did some checking on social media. I can do more later, but so far I haven’t found anything about Captain Carroll having a map. Can I go watch the boat now and look into this other stuff later?”
Marquetta stands and goes to the window. She’s looking outside, and I’m beginning to think this whole cooperating thing might not work out. How am I gonna follow my instincts if I have to check in with Marquetta all the time?
“We have a bit of a problem, don’t we?” Marquetta says. “You can’t go after dark, not without an adult…”
“I wasn’t thinking about at night.”
“So you were only thinking about watching The Treasure King during the day?”
“Just this afternoon.”
“That could work,” Marquetta says as she looks at me and leans against the counter. “How long were you planning on watching?”
“I dunno. A couple hours, I guess.”
“Tell you what, Alex. Go text your friends and make the arrangements to do your surveillance. Also see if Robbie and Sasha can join us for dinner. I don’t know if your dad will make it home in time, but you kids might as well have a nice, hot meal. You can compare notes over dinner.”
“Could we just order a pizza? That way you won’t have as much work to do.”
“Pizza again? Okay, but remember, I’ll be checking up on you, so don’t leave the park.”
Me and Marquetta decide to order two pizzas, one cheese and the other pepperoni. After that, I rush upstairs and text Sasha.
—Got the green light to watch Treasure King. Marquetta’s gonna order pizza for dinner. Can you come?
—Awesome. Told my mom and she’s cool. That was too easy. You gonna check with Robbie?
—For sure.
—Hey, did you hear about Deputy Baker? My mom says she totally lost it when she heard she was gonna be working with your dad. DB thinks that since your dad’s not a cop he shouldn’t be allowed to help.
—Where’d you hear that?
—Mom’s got a friend who knows the mayor. Guess she got dumped on by DB after Chief Cunningham talked to her.
—DB better watch out. Me and my dad have solved a bunch of murders. Could be game on.
—Totally. We gotta show her how it’s done!
After Sasha, I text Robbie. He talks to his dad and tells me his dad is cool with him having dinner here, too. The three of us are meeting in just a few minutes at the park. It’s only a couple blocks from here, so we’ll have a bathroom and snacks if we need them. This is gonna be an awesome stakeout!
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Rick
RICK STOOD ON the corner opposite the Seaside Cove Police Department letting the crisp afternoon air fill his lungs. Overhead, a cloud drifted past the sun. He tilted his face toward the sky and let the warmth soak in. Once he passed under the department’s green-and-white striped awning and opened the door with the town seal, there would be no turning back. Once he entered through that door, he would no longer be distanced from death.
He stepped off the curb just as a woman he didn’t recognize rounded the opposite corner. Dressed in an orange ski jacket and black leggings, she resembled a walking pumpkin. He watched her pass in front of the town offices with the abandon of a tourist captivated by a quaint California setting and wondered if she was even aware of the business conducted inside the nondescript building.
By the time Rick stood in front of the glass door with the town seal, the probable tourist was long gone. Somewhat reluctantly, he entered. A woman wearing a Seaside Cove Police uniform looked up at him. Her dark hair was tied up in a tight bun, giving her a severe appearance. From her intense brown eyes to her clenched cheeks, determination shown on her face.
“You must be Mr. Atwood,” she said. “The chief told me you were coming. He’s on the phone right now.”
Rick stepped forward, extended his hand, and smiled. “Call me Rick. You must be Deputy Baker. It’s nice to meet you.”
The woman looked down at Rick’s hand and grimaced before she took it. Her handshake was both quick and firm. She tilted her head toward Adam’s desk. “Follow me.”
So much for congenial, Rick thought. This was either going to be a very tense working relationship, or all business. Either way, it was going to be very different from his dealings with Adam. Rick just hoped it would not get in the way of doing their jobs. Adam gave Rick a friendly wave as they approached and returned to his phone conversation.
The deputy pointed at one of the chairs in front of Adam’s desk. “Have a seat.”
“I understand finding your cat is important, Mrs. Cantwell,” Adam said. “However, I’m sure Tommy Cat will be home for dinner.” He paused, and a few seconds later, added, “Yes, Mrs. Cantwell, we’ll certainly do a thorough check of the neighborhood. I’ll let you know as soon as we find him.”
Adam hung his head and sighed when he disconnected the call. “Someone needs to put a tracker on that cat.”
“I don’t do cat duty,” Baker said. “I’m allergic.”
“Don’t worry,” Adam said with a wave of his hand. “You don’t have to kiss it, just drive through the neighborhood slowly once or twice. I’ll do the same. Mrs. Cantwell watches the streets like a hawk. She doesn’t miss a thing. I swear that woman has a periscope in her bathroom. Tommy Cat will come home when he gets hungry. He does this at least once a week.”
“Chief, I�
�”
“Just drive by slowly, Baker. That’s all you have to do.” Adam wrote an address on a piece of paper and slid it across the desk. “I know it’s not the kind of police work you want to do, but she is one of our constituents. She’s also good friends with the mayor, so it would behoove you to make a show of looking for Tommy Cat.”
“The political realities of small towns,” Rick said with a smile.
Deputy Baker glared at Rick and huffed. “Whatever.”
“The bad news is the warrant to search The Treasure King for the murder weapon has not come through yet. I’d like you both to go see if they’ll voluntarily let you do the search.”
“We’ll finesse it.” Baker looked at Rick and cocked her head toward the entrance. “I’ll pick you up out front.”
If that wasn’t a hint, thought Rick—Baker wanted to talk to Adam alone. Why had she even brought him over here? From what he’d seen so far, it was either to demonstrate her authority over him or to complain about working with a civilian. No matter. Adam wouldn’t budge on leaving him out of the investigation. Whether Baker liked it or not, both Adam and the mayor wanted Rick on the case, so he was here for the duration.
Rick had waited on the sidewalk for no more than a couple of minutes when a Seaside Cove police cruiser pulled to a stop in front of him. He took a deep breath before he opened the door and told himself to work on building a good relationship with his new partner. He sat and looked over at the deputy. “Do you want to do that drive-by? You’d score some serious points with Mrs. Cantwell if you found Tommy Cat so quickly.”
The deputy cut her eyes in Rick’s direction. “Buckle up.”
They drove down Main Street to the docks in silence. So much for scoring points, thought Rick. By the time they exited the vehicle, he was ready to give up on a friendly relationship and ask Baker if there was anything about her job she liked.
He decided that kind of question would only make things worse and kept it to himself. “How do you want to play this?”
“I’d prefer to have a warrant.”
“Right.”
They walked to The Treasure King without another word. The truth was, Rick didn’t mind the silence as they passed the section of the dock that had been marked off with crime scene tape. At least he had time to take everything in.
The Treasure King was, at least for the Seaside Cove harbor, a monster. It had to be at least a hundred feet long. With it’s clean, white exterior, and sleek design, it looked less like a dive boat than it did a luxury cruiser. Rick counted six antennas, a radar array, and a dish antenna. If nothing else, there would be no lack of communications on this boat.
The man from the market was on the top deck. He’d exchanged his Whaler’s Cove shirt for a different tee, this one a dark blue. He was cleaning the glass surrounding the open-air command center on the top deck, but watched them approach.
“That’s Mancini,” Baker said to Rick as she motioned for the man to come down to the dock.
Mancini raised his chin in acknowledgement and disappeared from view. About thirty seconds later, he emerged from a stairwell and met them at the gangway. He took up a classic confrontational stance—arms crossed and feet spread shoulder-width apart.
“Seaside Cove Police,” Baker said. “Permission to come aboard and search?”
“For what?”
“A speargun,” Baker said flatly.
“Got a warrant?”
“This is a voluntary search.”
“Permission denied.”
This was going nowhere, thought Rick. Adam would not be pleased if they got stonewalled simply because Baker tried to force her way onto the boat. Rick held out his hand. “Rick Atwood. I’m a consultant working with the town. Your name is?”
Mancini ignored the question and eyed Rick suspiciously. “What’s this town need a consultant for?”
“It doesn’t,” Deputy Baker said.
“Sounds familiar.” Mancini ignored the deputy and smirked at Rick. “So what do you consult on?”
“I work murder investigations. And, to be honest with you, since your captain was just shot in the chest with a speargun, I’m surprised you don’t want to let us aboard—unless you know the murder weapon came from this boat and you want to impede the investigation.”
The woman Rick had seen with Captain Carroll in the Crooked Mast emerged from the stairwell and stopped. She seemed to evaluate the situation before she approached. “What’s going on?”
“These people want to tear apart the boat. It’s not happening.”
“Rick Atwood.” He held out his hand, which the woman took.
“Heather Sanna. This is Gavin. He’s antisocial and has no impulse control.”
“Fine. You want to let them come on? Go ahead. You can clean up the mess they leave.”
Mancini glared at Heather. Rick remembered her large brown eyes and dimples from the Crooked Mast. Even in the heat of the tension, she’d held onto her girl-next-door look. Rick asked, “Weren’t you at the Crooked Mast with Captain Carroll?”
“We were there for dinner.” She said, then directed her attention to the deputy. “I remember you. You were there to get Morris under control.”
“Deputy Baker. Thank you for your cooperation that night, Ms. Sanna. May we have permission to come aboard and search?”
Heather regarded the deputy, then seemed to accept the inevitable. “I don’t see why not.”
“No way,” Mancini said.
“Would you rather have the Coast Guard, Gavin? Those guys don’t ask, they just come aboard with loaded weapons and do whatever they want. At least these two are asking.”
Mancini grumbled something under his breath before he stepped aside. “Whatever. Just be careful. We finally got everything cleaned up. These passengers are a bunch of pigs. Follow me.” He turned and opened a door leading to the ship’s interior.
Deputy Baker ignored Rick and followed Mancini through the doorway.
As Rick passed by Heather, she muttered, “She’s a piece of work.”
Rick suppressed a chuckle and asked, “Were you close to Captain Carroll?”
“We’d only been together a couple months. He was a hard man to get along with. I’m not sure it would have lasted. So, I guess we weren’t that close.”
“Losing someone suddenly is always a shock. I’m sorry for your loss.”
Heather’s cheeks tightened into a grimace. “Thank you. We’d better catch up before those two get into another snit.”
“Is Gavin always like that?”
“Gavin’s okay. He just doesn’t like it when people infringe on his space.” Heather led the way through a door and down a passageway that was lined with dark wood paneling.
“He regards The Treasure King as his space?” Rick asked.
“He was first mate. Now, we’re unemployed, I guess.” Heather craned her neck and listened. “They probably went below.” She led the way down the stairwell. Over her shoulder, she said, “Actually, I don’t know what we are, other than stuck with a bunch of obnoxious reprobates.” She laughed. “Don’t worry, they’re all on shore. Most of them get cabin fever here in port.”
She opened the equipment room door. “This is where we keep the dive gear.”
“I’m telling you, I have no idea where it is,” Mancini’s voice boomed.
“What’s going on?” Heather asked.
“A speargun is missing.” Mancini pointed at a white, plastic rack inside a cabinet. There were two other guns in the rack, but the third slot was empty. “She says it’s the murder weapon.”
“I said it could be. We would need forensic testing to confirm that.”
“Same difference,” Mancini grumbled.
“Assuming we can even find it,” Rick said.
“I’ll find it if I have to tear apart every inch of this vessel,” Baker said matter-of-factly.
Mancini resumed the confrontational posture he’d used earlier and stood in front of Baker. “You’re
not tearing anything apart without a warrant.”
Heather went to the cabinet, closed the door, then opened it. She inspected the hasp and gave it a gentle tug. One end pulled loose in her hand and the entire hasp hung at a cockeyed angle from the remaining screw. “We had trouble with this cabinet before we left Santa Monica. Morris wanted to go out for a dive and couldn’t find the key. He took a hammer to it. What I don’t understand is why it’s broken again. I fixed it myself.”
Deputy Baker knelt in front of the cabinet and studied it. “There’s a screw missing. When did you repair it?” she asked absently.
“Last Friday,” Mancini said.
Rick peeked over Baker’s shoulder. She’d pulled out her phone and was taking photos of the cabinet and the hasp. Apparently, she wasn’t about to reveal her line of thinking to anyone, including him. “Between last Friday and today, have there been any reasons for someone to need access to this cabinet?” he asked.
Mancini and Heather looked at each other and shook their heads.
“I can’t think of a single one,” Heather said. “We didn’t stop from the time we left Santa Monica until we arrived here.”
Deputy Baker had begun sketching the hasp. It looked like she was also annotating her sketch with notes. Her artwork was nowhere near the caliber of Adam’s, but she had to think she was onto something. At least, that’s what Rick hoped. He made eye contact with Heather, then Mancini. “What about this room? Who has access and what else might they be in here for?”
“It’s the dive supply room. Nobody needed access. Morris insisted on keeping the room locked. Only the crew has access.”
Baker frowned and looked at the doorway, then Mancini. “I don’t recall you using a key to get in here.”
“I didn’t need one.” He looked at Heather. “She must have left it unlocked.”
“No way.” Heather pushed past Rick and went to the door. She opened it and tested the lock. Her jaw tightened. She stood and let out a disgusted breath. “The lock’s jimmied. Anybody on board could have gotten into this room.”
Secrets of the Treasure King Page 9