by Maci Grant
“You do realize that you still owe me a dinner?” He paused just beside her.
Blu had no way to claim that she didn’t hear what he said.
“I’m aware.”
“And?” His elbow brushed lightly against hers.
“And how about tomorrow?”
“You mean the clambake?”
“Yes. We could both attend.”
“Together?” AJ quirked a brow. “Like a date?”
“Like a clambake.” Blu laughed and chased Marley across the mud.
When she looked back, AJ stood in the same spot with his hands shoved into the pockets of his jeans. He squinted at her through the morning sun in a way that made his features come alive with character. She sighed as she studied him.
A part of her regretted spending the entire summer talking herself out of anything with AJ. It could have been fun if she’d just let it happen. Instead, she was faced with missing out on a chemistry that she couldn’t deny no matter how hard she tried.
Blu helped Marley dig up a couple of clams. AJ held the bucket out for them. Every brush and accidental touch distracted Blu. Each one sent a spiral of warmth through her, followed by the cold reality that it would all end soon.
She glanced around the beach, suddenly aware that she couldn’t see Joey anywhere.
“Where’s Joey?” Blu searched more intently.
It had been several minutes since she’d last laid eyes on him. Normally she kept the children in sight at all times, but Joey had been known to wander off. Just as she started to feel a flutter of panic rise up through her chest, she saw him.
He ran toward them with a strange tool in his hand. It looked a bit like a bent rake.
“What’s that, Joey?” Blu asked.
“Hey, buddy, be careful with that.” AJ walked up to him. “Where did you get this?” He took the wooden handle of the tool.
“It was just lying on the beach. Isn’t it cool?” Joey grinned.
“It is cool. It’s a clam hoe. Clammers use them to dig out the clams. It’s a little strange that a clammer would leave it lying on the beach, though. Are you sure there was no one around?”
“No.” Joey frowned. “I wouldn’t have taken it if I thought it belonged to someone, honest.”
“Well, whoever left it there was pretty foolish.” AJ’s jaw clenched. He looked up at Blu. “These tines can be sharp. This beach is full of kids. Whoever did this should know better.”
“Maybe we should take it up to the tent?” Blu looked over at the tent set up near the parking lot.
“No, first I want to make sure it doesn’t belong to someone. Joey, can you show me where you found it?”
“Sure.” Joey nodded.
Blu grabbed Marley’s muddy hand.
AJ walked beside Joey with the clam hoe in hand, Blu and Marley following after them.
“Slurp, slurp, slurp.” Marley giggled as her shoes sank into the mud.
“It was right there.” Joey pointed to a spot in the mud beside an overturned rowboat.
“What’s that boat doing there? That’s weird, isn’t it?” Blu narrowed her eyes. “Won’t it be swept away when the tide comes in?”
“Yes, it will be. It is odd.” AJ walked toward the boat. “It looks like someone left their hip waders behind too.” He gestured to the high boots that stuck out from beneath the edge of the boat. “We can take it all up to the tent.”
Blu nodded.
AJ reached down and grabbed the foot of one of the boots. When he did, Blu recognized something instantly change with his body language. She tried to catch his eye to see what was wrong. His expression was strained as he straightened back up.
“Let’s just take the clam hoe. Joey, Marley, let’s go together, okay?”
He guided the kids back up along the sand.
Blu could tell that something was very wrong.
Chapter 3
Blu was too curious not to see what the problem was for herself. She walked over to the rowboat and grabbed one of the boots. Right away she could tell that there was actually a foot inside the boot. She dropped it and ducked down to look under the boat.
Underneath was a man—face down in the mud. She gave his leg a hard shake to see if maybe he was somehow asleep. When she did she could tell that he was stiff.
She stumbled back as the reality of what they’d just discovered hit her.
“Blu!” AJ frowned as he looked over at her. “Let’s go. We need to get the kids away from here.” He already had his phone in his hand. “I’m calling my uncle.”
Blu nodded, too dazed to speak. Her attention lingered on the mud beside the boat, which was rutted as if the body had been pulled across it.
“Blu.” AJ’s voice was quiet.
Her eyes shifted to the three who were already up on the sand. She snapped back to reality when she saw the concern on Joey’s face. Her shoes stuck in the mud as she trudged toward them.
“Did I do something wrong, Blu? Why is AJ calling Chief Pitman? I didn’t steal it, honest.”
“I know you didn’t, Joey. You didn’t do anything wrong.” She put her arm around his shoulders. “It’s just fine, okay? We have some clams to dig up, don’t we?”
“Yes.” He smiled.
Blu led the kids away from AJ so that he could speak freely on the phone to his uncle. They rejoined the rest of the group in the main area of the clam dig.
Maddie stood in the sand with her arms folded as she watched Chrissa and Brennan, who were just standing off to the side a bit. “They wanted to come but they haven’t dug up a single clam.” Maddie shook her head. “I don’t think I’m ever going to figure out teenagers.”
“Trust me, it’s not worth trying.” Blu frowned. “There’s a problem.”
“What is it?”
Blu leaned close and whispered to Maddie what they’d found. As if to punctuate her words, a patrol car with lights flashing pulled into the parking lot.
“Ugh.” Maddie looked from the parking lot to the crowd of people spread out across the mud. “Do you think they’ll clear us out?”
“I doubt it. It’s a way down the beach, so they should be able to investigate without us having to leave. I don’t think Joey has any idea what he found.”
“Well. that’s one good thing.” Maddie pulled out her phone and tapped the screen. “Nothing about it on the web yet. So you’re likely the only ones that know. I don’t know about you but I’m looking forward to getting back to Manhattan.”
“I am, but—” Blu cleared her throat.
“—But AJ?” Maddie glanced over at Blu just as AJ walked toward them.
“There’s that.” Blu forced a smile.
“Hon, it’s only like an hour away. I say, if you want it, go for it.”
Blu nodded, but she knew that it was about more than just the physical distance. It was an entirely different life. Maybe AJ would want to drive there a few times, maybe she’d meet him at the beach now and then, but in the long run, the chance of anything really working out between them seemed impossible to her.
“Hey.” AJ glanced between the two. “Are the kids okay?”
“I don’t think they have any idea what happened.” Blu peered at him as she shaded her eyes with one hand. “Did you find anything out?”
“Yes. The man under the boat is George Hunt. He’s a local clammer and fisherman. He lives on his boat.”
“What a shame.” Blu frowned.
Maddie shook her head. “I don’t know how many people will agree with you. George is known as a bit of a troublemaker around here. He’s often drunk and combative with residents.”
“No shortage of enemies then, hm?”
AJ lifted his shoulders in a mild shrug. “It’s hard to say. It’s clear that he was killed, though we can’t say how just yet.”
“What a way to end the summer,” Maddie said. “It probably won’t bode well for the clambake.”
“Oh, trust me, the show will go on.” AJ shook his head as he
continued. “This event is sponsored every year by a local councilman, James Carry. He’s very anti-drug, and every event he puts on is centered around drug abuse prevention. He won’t let this stop him from hosting the clambake. In fact, I doubt he’d let a hurricane stop him. He’s a very determined man.”
“Well, that’s good, I guess. I’d hate for the kids to miss out on the clambake. If this man was as shady as you say he was, then he probably got mixed up with the wrong person and ended up under that boat,” said Blu.
“It’s very likely.” AJ nodded. “It looks like they’re about done with the dig. How about if I take you and the kids home to change and then we have lunch?”
“Oh, I don’t know.” Blu bit into her bottom lip.
Maddie shoved her with her elbow. “She’d love to. Right, Blu?”
“Yes. Yes, I would.” Blu managed a smile.
AJ grinned at Maddie. Then he waved the kids in from the mud.
They turned in their clams and shovels and then headed for the parking lot.
“Maddie, do you and the kids want to join us?” Blu looked at her friend, hoping that she’d accept the invitation.
“Not this time. I have to get the kids to a party for their boating class. We should be back by three if you want to stop by.”
“Thanks.” Blu smiled at Chrissa and Brennan. “Have fun at your party.”
“Thanks.” The kids said their goodbyes. Blu wiped Marley down as well as she could, then helped her into her seat.
Joey gazed toward the water. “Blu, what are all the police cars doing at the beach?”
Blu looked in the same direction and saw a semicircle of patrol cars gathered near the rowboat.
“They’re just looking into something Joey—nothing to worry about.”
Joey nodded, but Blu noticed that his frown didn’t fade until they drove away from the beach.
Blu wondered if Joey had picked up more than she’d realized about the situation.
Chapter 4
When they arrived at the house, Blu paused at the door with AJ. “You know, maybe we should skip lunch. Joey seems a little upset.”
“All the more reason to go out, don’t you think?” AJ met her eyes. “If we keep him distracted, I’m sure he’ll forget all about what he saw this morning. Besides, I don’t think he saw much.”
“I guess.” Blu frowned. “I just hate to see him look so worried.”
“I can have my uncle talk to him if he’s still upset tonight.”
“Good idea.” Blu nodded. “We’ll just be a minute—help yourself to anything in the kitchen.”
She escorted Marley to the bathroom to wash up while Joey changed in his room. As Blu scrubbed the mud out from under Marley’s fingernails, the little girl looked up at her with wide eyes.
“Are you sad, Blu?”
“Hm?” Blu looked into her eyes. “Why do you think that?”
“You look sad.”
“How’s this?” Blu smiled.
“No. It’s your eyes.” Marley sighed and shook her head. “Smiles don’t fix that.”
Blu quirked an eyebrow at the child’s wise words. “Well, today something sad happened, so maybe I’m a little sad. But it’s nothing to worry about, okay?”
“I thought you were sad because of AJ.”
“Why would AJ make me sad?”
“I don’t know. Want me to kick him?”
Blu did her best not to laugh. “Marley, it’s not nice to kick people.”
“Even if they make you sad?”
“Even if they make you sad. But AJ doesn’t make me sad. He’s a very nice man, and he makes me very happy.”
“Oh.” Marley shrugged. “Grown-ups are weird.”
“That’s because we’re not allowed to kick people.” Blu sighed.
Marley giggled.
“Ready to go eat?”
“Yes! I’m starving!” Marley raced into the hallway and nearly knocked into AJ, who had just stepped out of Joey’s room.
He met Blu’s eyes with a light smile. “Joey was showing me his collection of superheroes.”
“Oh, it’s great, isn’t it?” Blu felt her cheeks warm. Had he heard what she’d said to Marley?
“Yes, it is. Ready to go?”
“Absolutely.” Blu guided the kids back to the jeep.
AJ drove them to the beach.
“The cafe has a special right now because of the clambake. I thought the kids would like it. They’ll get a bucket filled with stickers, coloring pages, and crayons.”
“Do you think everything’s cleared up?” asked Blu.
“I’m sure it is.” AJ nodded. “My uncle texted me that things were tidied up. It doesn’t surprise me. James Carry probably lit a fire under someone to make sure the situation wouldn’t interfere with the clambake.”
AJ parked the jeep in front of the beachside cafe. Blu had eaten there many times throughout the summer. It was one of the kids’ favorite spots because in the outside seating area, the seagulls would try to steal hot dog buns and other treats right off their plates.
“Maybe we should eat inside, just in case?”
“Sure.” AJ opened the door for all three of them.
They sat down at a table that faced the road instead of the beach. Once they’d placed their order, AJ looked across the table at Blu. “So about what we were discussing earlier.”
“What was that?” Blu picked up her glass of water and took a sip.
“About your weekends off.” He leaned across the table, and Blu didn’t miss the fact that he was attempting to lock his eyes with hers. She was pretty sure that AJ wanted more than just their typical lighthearted conversation.
Blu suddenly found everything around her very interesting. Her eyes wandered in every direction but AJ’s.
“Blu?”
“You’re AJ, aren’t you?”
The strange voice startled both of them out of their visual dance. A waitress stood beside the table. She fluttered her hands at her sides and glanced around before looking back at AJ.
“Chief Pitman’s nephew?”
“Yes.” AJ studied her. “Do we know each other?”
“Just from around. I mean, I know you’re related to the chief.”
“Yes, that’s true. Is there something I can help you with?”
“It’s more like something I can help him with.” She looked around again, then lowered her voice. “I open the restaurant every morning. Once a week, every week, George Hunt is down by the mud, just like he was this morning.”
“Oh? Did you see what happened?” AJ shifted in his chair to look directly at the waitress.
“I don’t want my name in any of this, understand? I wouldn’t be saying anything at all, but I just don’t think it’s right. George didn’t deserve to die like that.”
Blu looked at her nametag. “Cathy, you don’t have to worry. You can tell us anything. What did you see?”
“It’s what I didn’t see. Usually this other guy meets up with George. You know—for a deal.” She quirked an eyebrow.
“Oh?” AJ cleared his throat. “So, what happened this morning?”
“Well, I saw George down there. As I was getting the cafe ready to open, I looked out the window and I saw the guy he always meets. But George wasn’t there. And when I saw the other guy, he took off real fast.”
“Do you know who this other guy is?” AJ held her gaze.
“I can’t say.” She fiddled with her order pad.
“Because you never met him?” Blu prompted.
“I just can’t say.”
“If you know his name, I need to know.” AJ tapped his phone. “I can let my uncle know right now.”
“No, I can’t. I told you I don’t want to be involved in any of this. If any cops come here and ask me questions, I won’t tell them anything. The only reason I’m telling you is because I know that you’ll tell your uncle. I feel bad for George and that this happened here, but I can’t tell you the name of the guy. I think
he’s dangerous and involved with even more dangerous people.”
“You have to tell me.” AJ reached for her hand, but Blu caught it before he could make contact.
“Wait, Cathy. I understand why you’re scared. No one is going to make you do anything you don’t want to do.” She held on to AJ’s hand, which tensed in her grasp. “But maybe you could help us by giving us an idea of what he looked like—maybe what kind of car he drove? No one will know that it was you who gave us that information, okay?”
Chapter 5
Cathy looked at AJ with her lips drawn into a tight line, then nodded. “Okay. He’s in his early twenties. He has black hair—kinda shaggy, but not past his neck. He’s tall with some muscles.”
“That’s all good.” AJ nodded. “And the car?”
“It’s a motorcycle—the kind with a big compartment in the back. It’s where he puts the—well, you know.”
“What?” AJ raised an eyebrow.
Cathy looked at the kids, who were busy coloring their pictures. She whispered. “Drugs.”
“George was involved in that?”
“Yes. I mean, I don’t know for sure. Like I said, I’ll deny it if anyone asks. But I just want all of this to be over, and I don’t want that guy to come back.”
“You’ve helped us a lot, Cathy.”
“Remember what I said.” She locked eyes with AJ. “I don’t want my name in any of this.”
“It won’t be.” Blu smiled at her. “It’s going to be fine. Try not to worry.”
As the waitress walked away from the table, AJ looked at Blu with his brows knitted. “Why did you tell her that?”
“Tell her what?”
“That we would keep her name out of this?”
“Because we will. She asked us to, so we will.” Blu tilted her head to the side. “You’re not going to tell your uncle her name, are you?”
“Of course I am. It’s important information.” AJ narrowed his eyes. “He can protect her.”
“AJ, if someone gives you information, it’s like a sacred pact. You can’t just reveal a source.”