“You caught Tommy, didn’t you?”
Her eyes brightened. “In a manner of speaking.”
“And now you’ve reeled me in.”
“Have I?”
He kissed her thoroughly. “Do you still doubt it?” he asked eventually.
“That was fairly convincing,” she conceded.
“Remind me when we get home tonight, and I’ll see if I can do any better.”
“An interesting prospect,” she said. “I’ll look forward to it.”
But Walker noticed as she said it that there were still shadows in her eyes. He also realized that they’d been there all along. He just hadn’t recognized the barely concealed sorrow for what it was, because she worked so hard to maintain her cheerful, optimistic facade.
Now that he knew the truth, he had to wonder if there was anything he could ever say or do that would chase those shadows away entirely. Or was this the kind of heartache that never completely disappeared?
25
The fishing trip was about as productive as every other attempt Walker had made to snag the drug suspects. He had a long list of boat registrations, absolutely none of which matched up to anybody who seemed anything less than squeaky clean.
“Maybe we’re going about this all wrong,” he suggested to Tucker a week later. “Maybe we need to be keeping an eye on the school, see if somebody’s hanging around there who shouldn’t be.”
“It’s worth a shot,” Tucker agreed. “Take an unmarked car and park near the playground. If anybody’s dealing drugs to the kids, it’ll be after school. They’ll want the area to be busy with adults coming and going. I doubt they’d try it during recess or phys ed, when the teachers are the only grown-ups around.”
Walker nodded. “I’ll get over there this afternoon. I think I’ll take my own car, since any car you have might be familiar, even if it is unmarked.”
“Works for me. Did Andy ever turn up anything on that guy with the supersonic boat?”
“Nothing. Craig Remington seems to have made his money legitimately in the tech industry, some dot-com start-up. Took his bundle, retired early and started collecting expensive toys.”
“I don’t care how legit he looks, it still makes me suspicious, a guy his age spending all his time down here. Don’t get me wrong. I love Trinity Harbor, but it’s not exactly a hot spot with young adults.”
Walker grinned. “It will be if Bobby has his way. Wait till he gets that boardwalk development he’s been talking about.”
Tucker shuddered. “And you think we have problems now? I dread the day the crowds start rolling in.”
“At least you won’t be bored.”
“I’m not bored now.” He studied Walker intently. “Are you?”
Walker wondered if he could ever be bored with a woman like Daisy around. He certainly wouldn’t mind having a few uninterrupted weeks to find out. Maybe, if he could get this case wrapped up before the end of her summer vacation, the three of them could take a trip or something. Maybe he’d even see about his sons joining them. Of course, maybe his first priority ought to be a honeymoon just for the two of them.
The fact that he was even considering such a thing startled him. Not once in all the years he’d been with Laurie had he been anxious to take off on a vacation. He’d even cut short their honeymoon, because he’d been too consumed with work. Was that because he was a workaholic, or because the luster on his marriage had worn off practically before the end of the ceremony? He had a funny feeling it was the latter. Getting married had been Laurie’s idea, and he’d gone along with it because it had seemed like a natural progression of their relationship, but there had been plenty of warning flags, both in terms of her unreasonable expectations and his own lack of interest in changing to meet them.
He was still pondering that a few days later as he pulled up beneath the shade of a spreading oak tree just across from the elementary school for his fourth stakeout. He’d switched cars with Daisy today, just for a change, but so far everything looked routine. Not a single suspicious person had been lurking in the vicinity. And no one seemed to be paying any attention at all to his presence.
A handful of school buses were lined up in the driveway. The drivers had congregated in the first one to smoke and chat. Other than that the block was quiet.
A few minutes later, mothers started pulling up to wait for their children. A crossing guard took up his position at the corner down the block.
And suddenly, out of the blue, a teenaged boy wandered down the street from the direction of the high school, his gait nonchalant, maybe a little cocky. He was wearing the teen uniform—baggy jeans slung low on hips so narrow it seemed impossible that they held the pants up at all, a bulky jacket and expensive sneakers. He looked old enough to be from the high school, rather than a seventh grader attending this school.
Could be a big brother sent to walk his little brother or sister home, but Walker didn’t think so. There was just something about the way his gaze furtively studied the area, the way he stayed far away from the buses and the mothers.
He heard the distant sound of the bell echoing through the school, and the afternoon quiet was shattered as children rushed from every door. Some headed for the buses, a few sought out their moms, and others—mostly the older ones, sixth-and seventh-graders—gathered in clusters.
And then two of the older boys drifted away from the others and approached the teen Walker had been watching. There was a lot of bravado and posturing and high fives, all innocent enough. And then, just when he was about to dismiss it as one more false alarm, he saw one of the younger boys slip something to the teen in an obvious exchange.
He took a closer look and realized with dismay that the younger kid, the one handing over what could very well be drugs, was Gary Finch, Tommy’s thirteen-year-old friend.
“Damn,” he muttered, opening his door just as a sheriff’s car, fully marked, came screeching around the corner and slammed to a stop beside him.
The deputy was out and at Walker’s side before he could react.
“Out,” he ordered. “Keep your hands where I can see them.”
Walker stared at him incredulously, then darted a look back at the corner to see that all three boys had disappeared, scared off by the deputy’s arrival. He slammed his palm against the steering wheel in frustration.
“You idiot,” he barked.
The deputy stared at him in shock, then took a step back. “Walker, isn’t it?”
“It is,” he said wryly. “And you have just blown a stakeout that was about to pay off big-time. What the hell were you thinking?”
“Dispatch got a call from a mom that some guy had been hanging around here every day this week. She didn’t recognize him and thought it was suspicious, that he might be some sort of a pervert.” The kid winced as he said it. “Sorry. We had to check it out.”
“Yes, of course, you did,” Walker conceded with a heavy sigh.
The blond, fresh-faced deputy looked around. “Was something really going down?”
“It looked that way. At least I recognized one of the kids involved. It’s the best lead we’ve had so far.”
“I can explain to Tucker,” he offered.
“Not necessary. You were just doing your job.”
“If I’d known you were in here—”
“You still would have had to check it out,” Walker told him. “Forget about it. Things happen.”
That night he stopped off in Tommy’s room while he was doing homework. “We need to talk,” he said, sitting down on the bed.
His nephew stared at him worriedly. “Did I do something wrong?”
“No, absolutely not, but I need to ask you something and I want you to tell me the truth, even though it might get somebody into trouble, okay? It’s important.”
Tommy’s eyes widened, but he nodded.
“When you told me about overhearing some kids talking about pot a while back, was Gary one of them?”
Tommy squ
irmed, his expression miserable.
“Tell me the truth,” Walker repeated.
“I don’t want him to get in trouble. They were just talking. They weren’t doing anything wrong.”
Walker sighed. That was confirmation enough. “Until further notice, you are to stay away from Gary, understood? No visits to his house or to his dad’s boat, okay? And not a word to him about this conversation.”
“But he’s my best friend. He’s gonna want to know why,” Tommy protested.
“Tell him you’re grounded, which you will be if you don’t do exactly as I ask.”
“This stinks,” Tommy declared.
“Yeah, it stinks,” Walker said, but he doubted they were talking about the same thing.
The next day Walker laid out his suspicions for Tucker.
“Not enough for a search warrant,” Tucker concluded.
“No,” Walker agreed. “We could bring the boy in for questioning, though.”
Tucker shook his head. “Not unless you catch him making another deal and actually see the drugs. For all you know, what he was passing out yesterday were cigarettes. I don’t want to think about what a lawyer would say if we dragged a thirteen-year-old in here on such flimsy evidence.”
Walker knew he was right, but he was frustrated. While they were proceeding carefully and by the book, Gary could be getting some other kid hooked on pot. And where was he getting it, if not from his father? Perhaps the mother was even part of this, as well.
“Since my cover’s blown at the school, put somebody else in there,” he suggested finally. “I’ll go back out on the river and keep an eye out for Finch’s boat from the marina, and I’ll see if he happens to have anything else docked at home. If he’s into this big time, it won’t be long before he tries to smuggle more drugs into the area.”
“Have you told Daisy about your suspicions?” Tucker asked.
“No, just that I didn’t want Tommy anywhere near Gary for a while.”
Tucker grinned. “Which means she’s figured it out on her own by now.”
“Probably,” Walker agreed.
“Just in case, I’ll stop by and fill her in while you’re on duty tonight.”
“Put in a good word for me while you’re at it,” Walker suggested. “I think she might be wavering on the marriage thing.”
“Asking a woman’s brother to do your courting for you,” Tucker said with a shake of his head. “How pitiful is that?”
“I’d do it myself if you weren’t working me to death. Explain that to her, too.”
“And have her on my case? No way,” Tucker said fervently. “But I will tout your virtues as an honorable, hardworking deputy. In fact, I’ll make you sound so noble, she’ll probably start a petition to have you awarded a medal.”
“I don’t want a medal. I just want the woman to marry me.”
“Then you’ll have to get this case wrapped up so you’ll have time to ask her, won’t you?”
“You have a unique way of providing incentives for your officers, don’t you?”
“So far you’re the only one I’ve tried it on. Now get out of here and nail this bastard.”
Walker hoped it was going to be as simple as Tucker made it sound. Since the man had had even him fooled for weeks now, it didn’t seem likely.
Daisy might have taught history, not math, but she could still add two and two. Based as much on what Walker hadn’t said as what he had, she gathered that he suspected Gary and Paul Finch both of being involved in some sort of drug operation. Paul, maybe, she conceded, but the boy? Never.
There was one person, though, who might be as quick to defend Gary as she was: Maribeth Finch.
With Tommy safely at the marina in Bobby’s care and no evidence of the Finch boat in its slip, she went to pay a call on the woman. She knew she had to go about this very, very carefully or risk Walker’s wrath. He was not likely to be overjoyed that she’d inserted herself smack into the middle of his investigation.
The Finches lived on a cove a few miles outside of town. The lot was heavily wooded, the weeds out of control and the house in need of repairs, but there was a shiny new sport-utility vehicle in the driveway. Daisy rang the doorbell and waited. It took several tries before she heard the sound of footsteps inside, then a hesitation before the door opened a crack. She plastered a smile on her face.
“Maribeth, I hope I’m not disturbing you. Please forgive me for dropping by unannounced, but I had a little time before I pick up Tommy and I thought maybe we could get better acquainted.”
“I…I don’t know,” Maribeth said, her gaze darting around nervously. “Paul’s not here.”
“All the better. You’re the one I wanted to chat with.”
The woman looked startled, as if no one had taken an interest in her in years. “Why?”
“Because you’re Gary’s mother, of course. And you’re new in town.” Defying every ingrained social grace she possessed, she pushed her way past Maribeth and stepped into the foyer, then gaped. It looked as if the boxes from their move had never even been unpacked…or as if they might be leaving again.
“I see you’re still settling in,” she said brightly. “Can I help?”
“Oh, no,” Maribeth said. “Actually…” Her voice trailed off.
“You aren’t moving again already, are you?”
Suddenly tears welled up in the other woman’s eyes. She nodded. “Tomorrow, in fact.”
“I had no idea. Why? You just got here and Paul is retired, isn’t he? Aren’t you happy here?”
Maribeth rushed from the foyer, disappearing into what turned out to be the living room. Like the entry, it, too, was filled with packed boxes. Maribeth stood at the sliding glass doors that looked out onto the cove, her shoulders shaking. Daisy joined her, tempted to offer solace, but fearful that it wouldn’t be welcomed.
“Is there anything I can do?” she asked quietly.
Maribeth shook her head. “Everything’s such a mess.”
“Do you want to talk about it?”
“I can’t.”
Daisy sensed if she put the cards on the table, Maribeth would open up now, so she took the plunge. “Paul’s smuggling marijuana, isn’t he? Is Gary dealing it?”
Maribeth turned a horrified gaze on her. “No, absolutely not. Gary would never touch the stuff. He’s seen how it’s ruined our lives. His father…”
“Tell me,” Daisy encouraged.
“I can’t,” she repeated. “I can’t talk to you, of all people. Your brother’s the sheriff. If Paul ever found out, he’d kill me.”
Daisy’s blood ran cold. She feared Maribeth meant that quite literally.
“Maybe you should talk to Tucker,” she said. “He could protect you and Gary.”
Her expression despondent, Maribeth shook her head. “It’s too late for that.”
Not knowing what else to do, Daisy gave her a hug. “If you ever need anything, anything at all, you can call me.”
Maribeth nodded, but her gaze drifted back to the peaceful scene outside.
Her heart heavy, Daisy drove away. At the marina, she asked Bobby if she could use the phone in his office. “I need to call Walker and Tucker.”
But to her frustration, both men were out of contact. “Find them, dammit. I have some information they need to know,” she told the dispatcher.
“Where are you?”
“At the marina, but I’m heading home.”
“The minute either one of them checks in, I’ll have them call,” the dispatcher promised.
Daisy could only pray it wouldn’t be too late.
Walker had expected the night to go the same way every other night had gone, which was why he was so thoroughly stunned when he spotted a boat slipping away from the dock behind Finch’s house shortly after midnight.
“Well, I’ll be damned,” Walker murmured as he followed him upstream to an isolated inlet.
Tailing him by boat wasn’t nearly as easy as following a suspect in D.
C. traffic. For one thing it was pitch black out, with not even a sliver of the moon to light the sky. For another the air was eerily still, the night quiet except for the lazy sound of crickets and the calls of birds. Finch’s boat was the only significant sound, and matching the timing of his motor to the other man’s was tricky. If Finch cut the engine unexpectedly, the sound of Walker’s boat would be unmistakable.
Totally attuned to the two boats, Walker suddenly realized he was also hearing the quieter chug-chug-chug of another motor. He cut his engine a fraction of a second before the two boats set their own engines on idle. Voices called softly back and forth, and Walker’s adrenaline kicked into gear.
Using his radio, he called for backup on land and by water.
“I think you can seal off this inlet in case they get away from me,” he told the dispatcher. “But whatever you do, don’t send anyone in here, and no sirens on land.”
“Give us fifteen minutes, twenty tops,” the dispatcher said. “We’ll be in place.”
Listening carefully, praying that the transfer of drugs going on would take some time, he waited, using oars to paddle closer. He repeatedly checked his watch, illuminating the dial for no more than a second. Five minutes passed, then ten, and finally fifteen.
“That’s it,” he heard someone say.
“I’m not doing this again,” a familiar voice—Paul Finch—replied. “My kid almost got picked up by the cops the other day. They were staking out the school. I knew this new cop was trouble. I tried to keep Gary away from his nephew, but I couldn’t. Everything’s gotten out of hand.”
“You’ll do it until we say you can stop.”
Walker eased alongside, aimed his gun straight at the man who’d spoken and said, “How about we stop it right now?”
He caught movement out of the corner of his eye and spotted Finch trying to ease toward the bow of his boat. “Stay where you are, Paul. I don’t want to have to shoot you. A boy needs his dad, even if he is a lousy one.”
“You don’t understand,” Paul said, his voice distraught.
“Explain it to me.”
“I don’t think now’s the time,” he said wryly.
About That Man Page 32