by Maci Grant
“I bet she did.” Blu shook her head. “What did you want to tell me?”
“I checked into the ring, and it turns out one wasn’t found. I thought you might want to take a walk with me and see if we can find it.”
Blu smiled. “I think I like that idea. It’ll be like a treasure hunt.”
“Exactly. I even brought something that will help.” He held his hand out to her. “I’m parked right around the corner. I didn’t want to take up space in the driveway.”
Blu took his hand without realizing what she was doing at first. When she felt the jolt of his skin touching hers, she did her best not to pull back. Maddie’s words replayed through her mind.
Together they walked around the corner to the jeep.
“See?” He pointed to the back of his jeep, where he’d stowed a metal detector.
“Perfect! Let’s go.” Blu walked toward the jeep. It seemed to her that AJ was watching her every step. She shivered a little as she slid into the passenger seat.
“Cold?” AJ asked as he got into the driver’s seat.
“No, I’m fine.”
He looked over at her, parted his lips, then seemed to change his mind. He started the engine and they drove toward the area of the beach where the clambake was to be held.
Blu fiddled with the radio the entire time in an attempt to keep conversation at a minimum.
It was a short drive.
When he parked, Blu hopped right out of the jeep with AJ following after her.
“I’m not sure how we’re going to be able to see anything. It’s getting dark already.”
“I have flashlights.” AJ glanced over at her. “But you’ll have to stay close to me, so that I can use the metal detector. Do you think you’ll be able to tolerate being around me that long?”
“AJ.” Blu frowned. “That’s a silly question.”
“Is it?” He rested the metal detector against the side of his jeep and turned to face her. “Are you going to tell me that you haven’t been avoiding being alone with me? Are we back to pretending that you don’t feel this—this connection between us?”
She could see him trying to meet her eyes, but Blu looked out over the water. The heat of his fingertips brushed along the curve of her shoulder.
“See?”
“I thought we were here to look for the ring?”
AJ was silent, but he picked up the metal detector. He reached into the trunk of the jeep and pulled out a flashlight as well.
“Here you go.” He held it out to her.
Blu had to turn back to look at him in order to take the flashlight. She was certain that her cheeks were glowing with a blush in the evening light. When her fingers wrapped around the flashlight, AJ held on to it instead of releasing it.
“Blu?”
She automatically met his eyes in response to his speaking her name. The moment she did, her breath caught in her throat at the intensity of the warmth that filled her senses.
“We’re going to have to talk about it sometime.” His voice was softened by the intimacy of their visual connection. “I don’t want to let this go—without at least knowing what it is that’s there between us, I mean.”
Her chest ached with a mixture of sympathy and dread. He wanted an answer from her, and he wasn’t wrong to ask for it. She still wasn’t sure she could offer it.
“We should get started while there’s still a little light.”
“Fine.” AJ released the flashlight and began to walk off across the sand with the metal detector in one hand.
Blu watched him walk away. Every step he took seemed to be in time with the sinking sensation that she was feeling within her.
Chapter 12
Blu forced herself to focus on the matter at hand. She wanted the ring. It didn’t matter if it wasn’t needed to convict Xavier. She still wanted it. After a few moments she fell into step beside AJ. The tension that had carried between them during their conversation faded into a comfortable closeness that Blu had yet to be able to explain.
“When he drew it in the painting, it looked like it was about here.” Blu pointed to the sand beside the rowboat.
“You know the tide probably washed it away.” AJ waved the metal detector over the wet sand. “But we can still look.”
Blu shined the flashlight on the sand and hoped that something would glimmer in the light. Instead, she noticed a shadow. Her stomach twisted as she recognized it as a figure. She looked up toward the cafe and saw a silhouette of a man. The man appeared to be staring down at them.
“AJ!” She nudged his arm with her elbow. “Someone is watching us.”
“Hm?” AJ looked in the direction that Blu pointed. He squinted his eyes. “Who is that? Give me the flashlight.”
Blu’s hand trembled as she handed it over. Was it Xavier?
AJ waved the beam of light in the direction of the man. When the light skimmed over the figure it was clear who it was.
“Oh boy, we’re in trouble.” AJ gritted his teeth.
“Maybe he didn’t see us?” Blu cringed.
“He saw us.” AJ lowered the flashlight as the man walked toward them.
Chief Pitman adjusted his hat as he looked from AJ to the metal detector, then to Blu. “Why does it not surprise me that you’re involved in all this, Blu?”
“We’re not doing anything wrong. Are we?”
Chief Pitman narrowed his eyes. He placed his hands on his hips.
Blu was quite familiar with his stance. It communicated his displeasure in a way that no words ever could.
“I don’t know—is keeping law enforcement out of the loop doing something wrong?”
“Uncle Paul, we’re just looking for the ring I told you about.”
“Right. Would you like to know why I’m here?”
“Yes.” AJ cleared his throat.
“Well, I’ve been told that there’s a potential witness to this crime, but not the name of that witness. Since I can’t trust my nephew or his good friend Nanny Blu to tell me the truth, I came out here to see who might have had a view of the rowboat. Surprise, surprise, I figured out that someone in the cafe would be able to see this area of the beach perfectly. I also know that there was only one employee working that early in the morning.”
“Chief Pitman, we were only honoring her wishes.” Blu frowned. “It’s not AJ’s fault.”
“Oh, indeed it is, because in a murder investigation, no one’s wishes matter. Understand?” He studied her for a moment. “Well, no, I guess you wouldn’t understand, but let me fill in some blanks for you. If someone dies on my beach, I’m going to find out who did it, why they did it, and who saw it, no matter who stands in my way.”
Blu looked away from him. She could feel the frustration in his heavy glare. She didn’t want to be faced with the truth about the situation, which was that it might have been better to be honest with the chief from the beginning.
“Uncle Paul, Blu is just trying to help. You know that. Besides, you already know who did it.”
“Do I?” He lifted his shoulders in a shrug. “Then you need to tell my suspect that. Because my guys picked up Xavier Tillman this evening at the airport. He was trying to get out of the country.”
“That sounds pretty incriminating to me.”
“Me too. However, Xavier tells me that he had nothing to do with George’s death. He claims that he came here to meet George, but that George was already dead. He took off, because he knew that he’d be blamed for it. He claims that he even left the drugs behind.”
“Well, that’s not true.” AJ set the metal detector down in the sand. “If he left the drugs, the crime scene technicians would have found them.”
“Sure, if they were out in the open, or even buried in the sand. But maybe not if they were hidden somewhere else.”
“Were they?” Blu looked back at Chief Pitman.
“Yes, actually they were. According to Xavier, they’re still right here on the beach. Now, if what he tells me pans out, w
e have a big problem.”
“What’s that?” AJ raised an eyebrow.
“I know a lot of things about drug runners. Like, for example, I know that George was the lowest man on a totem pole. Xavier was one step up, but he’s got some seriously powerful and dangerous men to answer to. So, even if he killed George, he wouldn’t dare to leave the drugs behind. If his boss got wind of it, Xavier would pay the same price that George did.”
“I don’t understand.” Blu shook her head. “If that’s the case, then even if Xavier did find George dead, why wouldn’t he have taken the drugs?”
“He claims that he couldn’t because it was too hard to get to them—that he was afraid he’d draw attention to himself, and he didn’t want to face a murder charge. So he fled instead. Not only was he trying to get away from the police, he was also trying to get away from those in charge of him. So let’s just say our friend Xavier Tillman is a nervous wreck.”
“Then we need to see if the drugs are still here. Where did he say they were?”
“Inside the boat. That’s how George would smuggle them. He kept the rowboat attached to his fishing boat. He would hide the drugs inside a false panel in the rowboat. That way if police raided the boat, he could just cut the tie and claim that nothing on the boat was his.”
“The drugs are still in this rowboat?” Blu kicked the side of it. “Wouldn’t the technicians have found them?”
“Maybe they should have, but they weren’t looking for them. I thought I’d check things out for myself, then surprise—I run into the two of you.”
“Well, let’s take a look, Uncle Paul. I can flip the boat over.”
“Go ahead.” Chief Pitman took a step back and Blu trained the beam of the flashlight on the boat.
Chapter 13
AJ strained for a moment but easily flipped the boat over. It looked like any other rowboat. He knocked on the wooden seats, then Blu noticed his attention shift to the bilge of the boat. “Look at this. Blu, shine the light here.” He pointed out a piece of wood that appeared to be shinier than the rest. “It’s not even wood.” AJ pulled at the corner. “It’s like a sticker.” He peeled back the sticky paper to reveal a small compartment in the bottom of the boat. Inside was a large package wrapped in dark brown paper, which nearly blended in with the wood.
“Looks like George was smarter than we thought. The surveillance team couldn’t figure out how he was bringing the drugs in. Now we know. Don’t touch it, AJ!” Chief Pitman snapped.
AJ drew his hand back.
“Fingerprints.” His uncle pulled out his phone. “I’ll call for someone to collect it.”
Blu moved closer to AJ. “What do you think this means about Xavier? Do you think he was telling the truth about George already being dead?”
“I think it’s possible.” AJ kicked the toe of his shoe into the sand. When he did, something sparkled in the flashlight beam.
“AJ, don’t move!” Blu crouched down and pointed at a gold ring that stuck up out of the wet sand. She pulled a tissue out of her pocket and picked the ring up. When she turned the ring toward the flashlight she could see the letters A and L engraved on the flat square surface of the top of the ring.
“It looks almost like a class ring.” AJ narrowed his eyes. “But not one that I’ve seen before. Uncle Paul.” He turned to his uncle just as he hung up the phone. “We found the ring.”
“Alright.” Chief Pitman nodded. “Now we’re getting somewhere.” He took the ring from Blu and slipped into a small plastic bag. “I’ll have this checked out—right after I speak to Cathy Bingham.”
Blu met his eyes. “Don’t.”
“Excuse me?” He folded his arms across his chest.
AJ moved closer to both of them.
“She was terrified.” Blu held his gaze and set her jaw. “She’s afraid that she’s going to get hurt for speaking up. If you go to talk to her, then there could be a problem.”
“Listen, I’ve been doing this little thing called police work for a very long time now. I don’t think that you need to tell me how to do it. It’s bad enough that the two of you thought it was important to keep her name from me. Did it ever occur to you that without having her name, I have no way of protecting her from someone that might want to harm her—that I might have information that could keep her safe?”
“Not really.” Blu shook her head. “She offered us information on the condition that we would keep her identity a secret. I respected her wishes, as did AJ.”
“Or he respected yours.” Chief Pitman sighed and unfolded his arms. “I understand where you’re coming from. But now, more than ever, it’s important that I speak to her. She may be our only eyewitness, and that’s not something that I can pretend I don’t know about.”
“Maybe I should go with you?” Blu frowned.
“Not this time, Blu. I promise, I’ll be gentle.” The chief turned and walked back toward the parking lot.
Blu considered trying to stop him, but she assumed that he’d do what he wanted to do, no matter what.
“I’m sorry, but he does have to do his job.” AJ took Blu’s hand in his and led her toward the jeep. “I hope you’re not too upset.”
“I just hope that Cathy will be okay. She’s in for a big surprise tonight.” She sighed. “I hope she doesn’t think that we’re the ones who directed him to her.”
“There’s nothing we can do about it now.”
“You’re right.”
Blu took one last look out over the water. Sometimes the ocean appeared so desolate and lonely to her at night. Without even the moon to trace a path along its darkened surface, it was easy to believe that it was nothing more than a big black hole.
AJ opened the door for her.
She climbed into his jeep and settled back against the seat. That was what the end of summer felt like. It was an unusual feeling for her. Normally she was excited for the change in routine, for getting back to the city and all of the activities that she and the kids enjoyed. Summer was an endless parade of sunscreen, sandy bathing suits, and sticky ice cream faces. It was a bit more work than the school year. But nothing could relieve the sensation of dread that seemed to building within her—nothing but the touch of AJ’s hand on the back of hers as he reached out to her.
“You okay? You look like you’re a million miles away.”
Blu smiled a little. “No, more like just a hundred.”
“Okay.” He gave her hand a light squeeze. “Try not to let all this get to you, Blu. It’s a horrible thing, but it doesn’t have to ruin our last day together.”
“I don’t think anything could.” She smiled as she looked at him. “As long as I’m with you.”
“What?” His eyes widened. He gasped. “Was that an actual admission that you enjoy spending time with me, Blu? Wait a minute.” He pulled out his cell phone. “Let me figure out how to make this thing record, because I need audio proof—”
“Stop it!” Blu laughed and without a single thought about it, she leaned over and kissed his cheek. She heard his sharp breath in reaction to the sudden kiss. Then she felt his cheek move beneath her lips. He caught just the corner of her lips with his own before she pulled away.
Chapter 14
A thick tension filled the jeep as Blu stared straight forward through the windshield.
AJ pulled his hand away and started the engine. He glanced over at her. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.” He shifted the car into gear and began the drive back to the beach house.
A million things rushed through Blu’s mind. She knew he was waiting for her to say something, but she had no idea what to say. As confused as she was afraid she was making him with her mixed signals, she was even more confused.
AJ stopped the jeep at the base of the driveway. He left the engine on. When he looked over at her, she noticed the strain in his expression.
“Blu, we really need to talk about things.”
“I agree. I think it’s interesting th
at the drugs were left behind. Do you think that whoever killed George didn’t even know they were there?”
AJ stared at her for a long moment.
A part of her expected that he’d demand an explanation from her. Instead, he coughed and rubbed the curve of his chin.
“It’s possible. We’ve all been assuming that this was a drug-related murder, but what if it wasn’t? What if it’s more personal? Maybe Wayne had more to do with it than he’s claiming. They were right here at the time of the murder, so we can’t overlook them both as suspects.”
“That’s true, but Cathy was with them. At least, once they knocked on the door of the cafe,” said Blu.
“And before?”
“Betty claimed they were having some fun in the parking lot.” Blu wiggled her eyebrows.
“Oh?” AJ grinned. “Well, that’s one way to kill time, I guess. But it also leaves a window of time when they weren’t seen by anyone. It’s possible they went down to the water and took care of their problem.”
“Wait a minute—they went down on to the mud flats, wouldn’t they have mud on their shoes?”
“Maybe they tossed them.”
Blu recalled the boots she’d seen on the porch of the house. “I may have an idea of how to find out.”
“As long as that idea doesn’t interfere with the clambake tomorrow.” AJ reached out and gave her hand a squeeze. “I’m really looking forward to it.”
“Me too.” Blu smiled. “Also, it will just be us. Rachel and Marshall are going to take the kids to the clambake, so she gave me the day off.”
“Wow.” He grinned and leaned a little closer to her. “So, we’re going to be alone? Together?”
“Along with everyone else at the big bash.” Blu winked at him.
“Oh, trust me—to me, no one else in the world will exist.” He spoke each word in a serious tone.
“You’re such a sweet-talker.” Blu rolled her eyes.
She opened the car door. Before she could step out, AJ grabbed her by the hand. She turned back with surprise and for an instant she was certain that he was about to pull her in for a kiss.