Blowout

by Colleen Cross

  The cove was starkly beautiful, the silence broken only by the cries of eagles circling overhead searching for a meal. Perhaps they mistook Raphael’s yacht for a fishing vessel and were hanging around for some of the spoils. A fishing vessel of another kind, Kat thought. No net to snare its victims, just a smooth-talking con.

  “Watch this.” Raphael threw the painted rock into the ocean. It skipped once before it sank in dark waters. He laughed. “Should’ve got more.”

  The archeological treasure was lost to the ocean floor, where it would remain, undiscovered and unknown forever. No one would know of its existence. Another piece of history hidden and forgotten.

  It was all Kat could do to remain silent. There were even higher stakes involved if she antagonized Raphael. She had to keep her silence and composure if she wanted to live to see Raphael brought to justice.

  They neared the yacht. She nudged Jace and pointed to The Financier’s lettering on the hull. In the bright sun it was impossible to see any letters underneath the white paint, but the telltale crooked e was clear as day.

  Jace wore a blank expression as he studied the yacht’s name. It contrasted sharply with the yacht’s exterior finish and the painstakingly handcrafted interior. One crooked letter didn’t make a con, but it waved a major red flag. It was always the smallest of details that ultimately exposed crime, and this one stared them right in the face.

  Gia followed Jace’s gaze and frowned. She pulled slightly away from Raphael, who didn’t seem to notice.

  Kat’s eyes met Gia’s. Her friend wore a panicked expression. It wouldn’t be long before her emotions erupted. She had to get Gia alone before it was too late. “Let’s get dressed up tonight. Your simple shipboard wedding doesn’t mean we can’t have an extravagant after-party.” She stood and motioned for her friend to follow.

  “That sounds like fun.” Gia’s voice was oddly flat as she boarded the yacht.

  Even Raphael noticed. “We’ll celebrate however you like, bellissima.” His sinister stare from a half-hour ago had been replaced by laughter, but his cold eyes still focused laser-like on Kat. He didn’t even try to hide his contempt.

  Ten minutes later they sat at the outside bar with cold drinks and snacks as they waited for dinner. Kat and Gia planned the rest of the evening, but it was almost impossible to stay focused while she watched Raphael for any sign of action.

  Raphael stood and headed inside without a word.

  Kat watched him leave, wondering what he was up to. His abrupt mood change worried her. He no longer bragged about his business or showed any interest in the Brother XII mystery. He was a man preparing his exit. She glanced at Jace, who wore a worried expression.

  Uncle Harry grabbed the TV remote and switched to the all-news channel. A camera panned across a familiar seascape. Kat recognized Active Pass from her many ferry trips from Vancouver to Victoria. The TV reporter stood on a rocky beach and pointed to the water behind him.

  “Melinda Bukowski’s body was discovered by beachcombers early this morning. Police aren’t commenting other than to say that a full autopsy will be performed.”

  A shiver ran down Kat’s spine. The autopsy results from the little girl hadn’t been released yet either. She had no doubt that both autopsies would reach the same conclusion: homicide. Regardless of the results, Raphael had some explaining to do about the wallet and the boat. Had he just found the wallet and kept it, like the rock from the cave? Highly unlikely.

  What were the odds he had the wallet in his possession, yet was uninvolved in Melinda and Emily’s demise? The probability was exceedingly small. In fact, together with his uncanny resemblance to Frank Bukowski, the likelihood was almost nonexistent.

  She caught movement out of the corner of her eye. As if he had heard her thoughts, Raphael had returned to the bar. He stood transfixed by the television.

  She quickly averted her gaze, not wanting to arouse his suspicion. Her face flushed with the thought that she now held a dead woman’s wallet. She wished she had left it where she found it. But if she had, she would have remained unaware of Raphael’s dark secret.

  Only Jace knew about the wallet, but Raphael had probably noticed it missing by now. If he had been careless about hiding it before, he almost certainly would be looking for it now. Still, it would be a stretch for him to assume she had found it. Then again, maybe not, if he had seen her in his stateroom. Whatever the case, a family had gone missing nearby under suspicious circumstances, and Raphael had a wallet belonging to one of them. A coincidence that defied explanation.

  “Sad about the little girl,” Jace said. “And now the mother too.”

  “Tragic.” Raphael was expressionless. “Let’s go inside. It’s getting cool out here.” Without waiting for a reply he switched off the TV and walked inside.

  Kat glanced at Gia, willing her to stay.

  A shiver ran down Kat’s spine. Raphael couldn’t do much as long as they all stuck together. He was outnumbered. But he was also desperate, and since they were aboard a stolen boat with a thief and a murderer, they had better take precautions. The worst-case scenario wouldn’t apply as long as Raphael remained unaware that they knew his secret identity.

  Best-case scenario was that Raphael would simply run away. He already had all their money. Depending on what the autopsy results were, he had every reason to run regardless of what she and the others knew. He already knew what the results would show.

  He also had every reason to fight to the death.

  No one followed Raphael inside.

  Uncle Harry pressed the remote and switched the TV back on and turned up the volume.

  Kat froze as she watched the screen. A TV reporter stood on the beach with the ocean behind him. The camera panned along the beach to show a dozen or more police, coast guard and other personnel who scurried back and forth across the sand between the seaside road and the dock where the Coast Guard boat was anchored. Two uniformed men emerged from the ship carrying a stretcher. The reporter’s voice-over described how the body had washed ashore. The body was badly damaged by the sea, but given the location and state of decomposition, it was assumed to be Melinda Bukowski.

  Raphael had to be brought to justice.

  At any cost.

  She turned to Jace. “We need a plan.”

  He nodded. “That guy’s definitely a flight risk.”

  “What are you guys talking about?” Gia’s brows knitted together as she glanced at the television. “Tell me what’s going on.”

  Kat didn’t want to tell her. Gia’s reaction could give everything away, and then Raphael—and their money—would be gone forever. On the other hand, the idea of her friend sleeping with a murderer was unthinkable. Raphael had every reason to silence those who might expose him.

  Gia’s face reddened. “Either you tell me right now, or I go straight to Raphael. I have a right to know, Kat. Whatever it is.”

  Kat pulled her chair closer. Gia was right. Jace and Uncle Harry already knew, so it was unfair to leave Gia in the dark. It was a huge risk, but one Kat had to take. “Remember what I told you about the yacht being stolen? Well, there’s more.” She told Gia everything.

  It was going to be a very long night.

  32

  Gia stood and stamped her foot. “He lied to me! I’ll kill him.”

  “No, wait.” Kat grabbed her friend’s arm. “You can’t say anything, Gia. We’re already in danger.” She motioned to Gia to sit down.

  “You can’t be serious. That’s not the Raphael I know.”

  “That’s the point, Gia. The Raphael you’re in love with doesn’t exist. Everything about him is one big giant lie.” She repeated the evidence against him, from the stolen yacht to the wallet. Her friend needed to hear it twice to absorb it. “We’ve got to do something. The wallet I found onboard belongs to the woman in the TV news story.”

  Gia shook her head. “There’s got to be an explanation. Can’t we ask Raphael directly? Even if he is a thief, he’s not a
murderer.”

  “No. We don’t know the extent of his involvement and how that wallet came to be onboard. Anything we say will hurt us. At the very least, you’ll never see him or your money again. At worst, you won’t see anything again. We’ll all be dead.”

  Gia rocked back and forth in her chair, clearly traumatized. “You think my husband is a murderer?”

  “We don’t know that for sure, but he’s somehow involved. Why else does he have the wallet?”

  Gia shrugged. “He probably found it on a beach or something.”

  “Maybe, maybe not.” Jace added. “The Bukowski’s had a fire onboard their boat. Yet the wallet has neither fire nor water damage. How likely is that?”

  “Let’s assume the worst and hope for the best,” Uncle Harry said. “At least about the wallet. As for the rest, we are on board a stolen yacht, so we better assume that Raphael knows something about it.”

  “You can’t just assume—“

  “Gia, his whole story of sailing over from Italy is a lie,” Kat said. “The boat was stolen a month ago in Washington State. I’ve already proven Raphael lied about that. What else is he lying about?”

  A tear trickled down Gia’s cheek. “I can’t believe I just married a liar and a thief. How could I be so stupid?” She buried her face in her hands and sobbed.

  “I’m sorry.” Maybe telling Gia had been a mistake. Raphael would take one look at her and know he had been exposed.

  Gia lifted her head and glared at Kat. “More importantly, why the hell didn’t you stop me?”

  Kat couldn’t have stopped her no matter what, but Gia couldn’t see that so she just shrugged. “I’m really sorry, Gia. I should have done more.”

  “What do we do now, Kat?” Uncle Harry scratched his head. “We’re in cahoots with a criminal. We’re on a stolen boat. What if we get arrested too?”

  “We won’t,” Kat said. “We’re also Raphael’s victims.”

  Uncle Harry looked crestfallen. “Oh, right. He’s got my money. Maybe we should just jump ship.”

  “We can’t let him get away,” Kat said. “Not only does he have your money, but he’s got a dead woman’s wallet and no logical reason for having it.”

  “Can’t argue with that,” Jace said.

  Kat leaned in and lowered her voice. “We’ve got to get the yacht out of here and notify the authorities. We need an excuse to return home early.”

  “Like a mechanical problem or something?” Uncle Harry asked.

  “Something like that, although I don’t see how we can fake that.” She still couldn’t figure out if Pete was part of Raphael’s scheme or not. “Maybe one of us could pretend to be sick or something. It has to be bad enough for us to return to port early.”

  “I could do that,” Gia said. “For real, since I’m just sick about my money. Will I ever see any of it again?”

  “If we get back in time, maybe.” Kat wasn’t entirely confident. “Scammers usually move the money out of reach pretty quickly. But there’s always hope.”

  “At least we’ve got hope,” Uncle Harry echoed.

  A slim hope, but slim was better than none. Kat feared it might already be too late. “Here’s what we’re going to do.”

  33

  “We’re not going back early.” Raphael had no intention of ever returning to Vancouver. It was too risky. His picture was plastered all over the local news and he was certain to be identified. He patted his jacket pocket. Everything he needed was inside. His passport, money, and banking passwords. Time for a fresh start.

  Gia pulled her clothes from the closet and threw them into a duffel bag on the bed. “We have to go back. You sprung this Costa Rica trip on me way too suddenly. I only brought enough meds for a weekend. I can’t go without more medication.”

  “You can get everything there, bellissima.” He hadn’t seen her take any medication and had no idea what it was for. He didn’t really care, either.

  “No, Raphael. I’ve only got one more day’s supply. I need enough to last the entire sailing, plus a few more days for insurance. We’ve got to go back.” Gia wrapped her arms around him. “It won’t take long.”

  Any delay was too long. “I’ll get your meds couriered to our next port of call. Problem solved.”

  “No, Raphael. Besides, I need to wrap up some business with the salon. It’ll just take a couple of days. We’ve got to sail back to drop off Kat, Jace, and Harry anyways.” She pressed her cheek against his chest. “Hey, what’s in your pocket?”

  “Nothing. Leave it alone.”

  “What kind of talk is that?” Gia stepped back and looked up into his eyes. “You’re hiding something.”

  “I’m not hiding anything.”

  But Gia’s hand was already in his pocket. She extracted the envelope before he could stop her.

  His heart raced as she opened the envelope. It contained three passports, plane tickets, and enough cash to keep him under the radar for a few months.

  She pulled out the plane tickets and studied them. “What’s all this? Hey, who’s Frank Buk—“

  “Give me that.” He snatched the envelope from her grasp and stuffed it back in his pocket.

  “Let me see it.” Gia pulled the envelope from his pocket again. She ran over to the bed and dumped the contents on the damask bedspread.

  His heart sank as she grabbed a passport off the bed and flipped it open.

  “Why do you have these?”

  “Hand it over, Gia.” His fake passport was in the envelope along with his real one. He’d had no choice but to keep his real identity since the Costa Rican bank accounts were under his real name. He hadn’t yet moved the money to the account under his new identity.

  She ignored him.

  He should have left the country sooner, but he hadn’t expected to score so big with Gia and her friends. He now had enough money to live a comfortable life in Costa Rica. He never had to work another day in his life. Once safely there, he would be out of reach and untouchable.

  “Who the hell is Frank Bukowski?”

  If she didn’t know already, she would soon. His name was plastered all over the news, with the discovery of Melinda’s body. He had to get out while he still could.

  “Raphael? Answer me.”

  He had two other passports. One under Raphael and another under a Spanish name. He should have ditched his real passport, but worried he might need it, even though he planned to use the fake ones. He would enter Costa Rica through a small seaport. There his passport would be only visually inspected, not electronically scanned. His fake identification should easily pass scrutiny, unless someone recognized him. As long as he didn’t act suspicious, he was home free.

  “I’m keeping it.” Gia held her arm up high. “At least until you tell me who Frank Bukowski is, and what you’re doing with his plane ticket and passport.”

  Raphael exhaled. “Long story for another day.” He scrambled to invent a story. At least Gia hadn’t opened the passport to see his picture, so she hadn’t made the connection. Apparently she hadn’t seen the television coverage either. His one saving grace, but one that wouldn’t last. As long as he stayed calm, no one would get suspicious.

  “No, Raphael. We’re business partners and now we’re married too. You can’t hide things from me.”

  “It’s not what you think, bellissima.” He outstretched his arm to hers but she swatted it away.

  “Don’t lie to me.” Tears streamed down her cheeks as she studied the tickets. “Two plane tickets to Brazil? What’s this all about?”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I haven’t lied to you about anything. Why would I lie to my wife?”

  “You didn’t answer my question.” Gia held up a ticket up and studied it. “Like Maria and who knows who else. You’re cheating on me.”

  Raphael laughed, relieved that Gia hadn’t guessed the truth. “You know I would never cheat or lie to you, bellissima.”

  “I don’t know anything of the sort.
You’re lying to me right now.” Gia pulled off her ring and threw it onto the bed. “You won’t even tell me the truth.”

  “Only because that would ruin my surprise for you.” His mind raced to invent an excuse. He had let greed get the better of him. Still, the trip had been much more profitable than he had anticipated, since he had investments from more than one person on board. His luck had almost run out, though. He’d better run while he still could.

  Gia stopped whatever she was about to say and wiped a tear from her eye. “What surprise?”

  “The tickets are for my cousin Frank and his wife. I bought them so they could fly to meet you. Now I’ve ruined your surprise.”

  “But I don’t understand. They live in Italy, not Canada.” Gia’s forehead creased. “Why do you have their plane tickets?”

  “The tickets are just copies because I paid for them. My cousin already has their tickets.” It was a stretch but Gia believed pretty much anything he said.

  “But these tickets say Vancouver to Rio de Janeiro. We’re going to Costa Rica. How can I believe anything you say when you keep telling me different things?”

  “I booked the tickets before the Costa Rica meeting came up.” Gia must have rifled through his pockets, which meant she suspected something. He tapped his forehead. “I forgot all about them. I’ll have to change them.”

  Gia stared blankly.

  “I want you to meet them, but since we won’t be in Italy for a few months I thought this was the answer.” He flashed what he hoped was a meek smile. “They’re just dying to meet you.”

  “They are?” Gia dabbed at her tear-stained cheeks.

  “I can’t stop talking about you, so naturally they’re curious.” Raphael held his arms open. “Now come here.”

  Gia rushed to his arms. “Oh, Raphael, I’m so sorry. How could I have not trusted you?” She buried her face in his chest. “I feel terrible.”

  “No, I’m the one who should be sorry. I realize now how it looked.” He was so good at this improv bullshit that he even impressed himself. “I’ll think things through more next time. But that’s only part of the surprise.”