Fatal Tide

by Iris Johansen

  He was tempted to start the engines and head out for Melis’s island. He was tired of twiddling his thumbs and waiting. He’d never been a patient man, and now that he was coming so close to Marinth he was filled with restlessness.

  He was acting like a kid. Wilson would find Carolyn Mulan. And he could blow everything if he didn’t play Melis Nemid right. No, he would do the smart thing and wait.

  At two thirty-five in the morning, Melis was woken from a deep sleep by the ringing of the telephone.

  “Melis?”

  The voice was so hoarse, Melis didn’t recognize it for a moment.

  “Melis, I—need you to come here.”

  Carolyn.

  She sat upright in bed. “Carolyn, is that you? What’s wrong? You sound—”

  “I’m okay. I need you to—” Her voice broke. “I’m sorry. God, I’m sorry. Cox. I never meant— Don’t come. Lies. For God’s sake, don’t come.”

  The connection was broken.

  Melis reached for her telephone book, and a moment later she was dialing Carolyn’s cell number.

  No answer.

  She called her office and home. She got the recording at both places. She sat there, frozen, trying to clear her mind.

  What the hell was happening? She’d known Carolyn since she was a teenager, and she’d been Melis’s friend as well as her doctor. Melis had always counted on her as a rock of strength, but she hadn’t been a rock tonight. She’d sounded . . . shattered.

  Panic surged through her.

  “Christ.” She swung her feet to the floor and ran down the hall to the guest room. “Cal. Wake up. I’ve got to call the police and then leave for Nassau.”

  Hurry. She had to hurry.

  Melis jumped out of the cab at the small terminal and hurriedly paid the driver. She whirled and headed for the front entrance.

  “Melis.”

  Kelby was waiting inside the terminal door.

  She stopped. “Jesus, that’s all I need.” She went past him and started for the ticket counter. “Don’t bother me, Kelby. I have a plane to catch.”

  “I know. But you’ll have to change planes in San Juan to get to Nassau by commercial jet. I’ve rented a private jet and a man to pilot it.” He took her elbow. “We’ll be there two hours earlier.”

  She shook him off. “How did you know I was flying out tonight?”

  “Cal. He was concerned about you and you wouldn’t let him go with you.”

  “So he called you?”

  “The night he called to accept my job offer, I asked him to keep an eye out for any problems you might be having.”

  “Christ, I can’t believe he phoned you.”

  “He wasn’t betraying you. He was trying to help.”

  Her lips twisted. “And doing a favor for the new boss.”

  He shook his head. “He’s loyal to you, Melis. He’s just worried. He didn’t like that phone call from Carolyn Mulan. Neither did I.”

  Neither did Melis. She had been frightened when she received it and her fear had been steadily growing. “It’s none of your business. I’m none of your business.”

  “But Marinth is my business because I’ve chosen it to be. And you’re part of the big picture.” He stared her in the eye. “And so is Carolyn Mulan. Wilson has been trying to contact her for the last two days. Someone might have become aware that we were trying to reach her and gone after her themselves. Or maybe they got to her first and that’s why we couldn’t make contact.”

  “And who is this ‘someone’?”

  “I don’t know. If I did, I’d tell you. There was a cruiser roaming the area when we were searching for Lontana. It could have been perfectly innocent, but I’m trying to trace it. Or I may be completely off base. Maybe Carolyn Mulan’s disappearance has nothing to do with Lontana’s death.” He added grimly, “But I don’t like the fact that she was obviously being forced to lure you to Nassau. It doesn’t look good.”

  “Good? It’s damn well terrible. You don’t know what it would take to make Carolyn—”

  “But you’re going to Nassau, and that’s what she told you not to do.”

  “I can’t do anything else. I called the Nassau police before I left the island and they’re searching for her now.”

  He nodded. “I called them too. I thought it might help. Anyway, I’ll be on my way to Nassau to find her tonight whether or not you’re coming. I’m just offering you a lift.”

  Her hands clenched into fists at her sides. Carolyn caught in the middle. Carolyn clawing at a cage, helpless. Nightmare. Nightmare. Damn him. Damn them all. “Is your plane ready to go?”

  “Yes.”

  She turned away jerkily. “Then let’s get out of here.”

  She didn’t speak again until they were almost to Nassau. “Why? Why were you trying to reach Carolyn?”

  “You wouldn’t talk to me. I was hoping she would.”

  “About Marinth? She doesn’t know anything. I never told her anything about Marinth.”

  “I didn’t know that.”

  “And she wouldn’t have told you anyway. She’d never reveal anything I told her in our sessions. She believes in doctor-patient confidentiality. Besides, she’s my friend.”

  “I was working in the dark. I thought a bribe might tip the scales.”

  “Never,” she said fiercely. “She’s one of the most honorable people I’ve ever met. She’s smart and kind and never gives up. God knows she never gave up on me. If I had a sister, I’d want her to be like Carolyn.”

  “That’s saying a lot. Did Lontana like her?”

  “He didn’t know her very well. He found her for me, but he didn’t have much to do with her. He was always a little embarrassed around Carolyn. Psychiatrists were out of his realm. But he’d promised, so he made sure I kept going.”

  “Promised you?”

  “No, Kem—” She was talking too much. None of this was his business. It was evidence of her panicky desperation that she was babbling like this to him. “The police were very concerned. She’s a very respected citizen. Maybe they’ll have found her by the time we arrive.”

  “Possibly.”

  “She sounded— She wasn’t herself.” Her voice was shaking and she stopped to steady it. “I can’t tell you how strong she is. When I first came to her, it was like being— I’d never permitted myself to lean on anyone before. She could have let me become dependent, but she didn’t. She wouldn’t let me lean. She just gave me her hand and told me she’d always be my friend. She never broke her word.”

  “I understand the psychiatrist-patient relation can become very close.”

  “It wasn’t like that. After those first years, she was my best friend.” She leaned back in the seat and closed her eyes. “When she called . . . her voice . . . I think she was hurting.”

  “We don’t know. We’ll find out.” His hand closed on hers on the arm of the seat. “Don’t borrow trouble.”

  He wasn’t denying or confirming any possibility. She wouldn’t have believed him if he had. But his touch was warm and comforting and she didn’t try to withdraw her hand from his grasp. She needed comfort right now, and she’d take it where she could get it.

  God, she hoped the police had found Carolyn.

  Chapter Four

  “Ms. Nemid? Mr. Kelby?” A heavyset black man in a tan suit was waiting at the hangar when they got off the jet. “I’m Detective Michael Halley. I talked to you on the phone?”

  She nodded. “Have you found Carolyn?”

  He shook his head. “Not yet. But we’re looking very hard for her.”

  Her hopes plummeted. “It’s a small island. Practically everyone knows Carolyn. Someone must have seen her or heard from her. What about Maria Perez?”

  He hesitated. “Unfortunately, we have found Ms. Perez.”

  Melis stiffened. “Unfortunately?”

  “She was discovered on the beach by a group of teenagers. Her throat had been slit.”

  Melis felt as if she’d
been punched in the stomach. She was vaguely aware of Kelby’s hand closing on her arm in silent support. “How . . .”

  “We don’t believe the homicide took place on the beach. There were traces of blood in the outer office, Dr. Mulan’s office, and also in the alley in back of the office building. The other tenants vacate the building at six, so the body was probably removed after dark and dumped on the beach.”

  Dumped. He made her sound like a piece of garbage, not the funny, bawdy Maria that Melis had known for years. “You’re sure it was Maria? There’s no mistake?”

  Halley shook his head. “We’ve had her roommate down to the morgue and it was a positive ID. We’d like you to come down to the station and give us a statement.”

  She nodded numbly. “I’ll do anything I can to help find Carolyn. But I don’t know why anyone would want to kill Maria.”

  “Blackmail?” Halley shrugged. “It’s a possibility. One of the file cabinets was half empty and records were stolen.”

  “What records?” Kelby asked.

  “M through Z.” He paused. “She kept your file in the office, Ms. Nemid?”

  “Of course. It was safe. The cabinet was always locked.”

  “Evidently not that safe.” He frowned. “And I don’t like the fact that other files were stolen. From the worried phone calls we’ve been receiving, it appears Dr. Mulan has had patients in all levels of the government. It could be extremely awkward if their records are made public.”

  “Awkward?” Her numbness disappeared in a surge of anger. “It’s too bad that your politicians may be embarrassed. I don’t care if the files were stolen. Carolyn is gone, damn you. Find her.”

  “Easy, Melis.” Kelby took a step forward and nodded at a Mercedes parked by the hangar. “I have a car waiting, Detective. We’ll follow you down to the station.”

  Halley nodded. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be insensitive. It’s just that this crime is posing a problem for us on a number of levels.” He turned and headed for a brown sedan. “I’ll be waiting for you.”

  “Come on.” Kelby nudged Melis toward the Mercedes. “Let’s get this over with.” He retrieved the key from a magnet box under the rear bumper and unlocked the car. “Or I can get Halley to wait until you’re less upset.”

  “I’m not going to be less upset. Not until we find Carolyn.” She got into the passenger seat. “I was hoping— It’s much worse than I thought. Maria . . . they killed Maria.”

  “You knew her well?”

  She nodded. “She’s worked for Carolyn as long as I’ve been her patient. She went along on a few of our trips. Carolyn thought she was good for me.”

  “Why?”

  “She was . . . different. My exact opposite. But . . . I liked her. She was always . . .” She stared blindly out the window as he started the car. “They slit her throat. My God, they slit her throat. Why?”

  “The knife is quiet and quick.”

  Yes, he’d know about that, she thought. She remembered reading somewhere that he’d been in the SEALs and they were accustomed to inflicting quick, quiet death. “She never hurt anyone. She just wanted to have a good time and squeeze joy out of every minute.”

  “Then she must have gotten in the way.” He started the car. “It’s usually how the innocent are made victims.”

  “In the way of someone who wanted to get to Carolyn?”

  “Or the files. Halley seems to think you may not be the only target.”

  “What do you think?”

  “Unless your friend made more than one phone call last night to people on her client list, then I think you’re the target and the other records were taken as red herrings.”

  “And Halley would have told us if someone had come forward and said anything about hearing from Carolyn.”

  He nodded. “But if those records were compromising, they might not have come forward. I’m only telling you what my gut feeling is.”

  And that was what she was feeling too. “Carolyn wanted to come to the island to see me right away. I knew she was busy and told her to wait until the weekend. Jesus, I wish I’d let her come.”

  “So do I. But how could you know this was going to happen?” He reached and touched her hand that lay on her knee. “Hindsight is easy. You can’t blame yourself for not being psychic. You were focusing on me as the only threat in the entire scenario. And I don’t believe you’d consider me a murder suspect.”

  “I was followed from my hotel to the docks in Athens. I just didn’t want to think about anything concerning Phil until I could come to terms with it. I thought I was the only one who might be at risk.”

  “Do you have any idea—” He shook his head. “Sorry. You don’t need any more questions thrown at you right now. Halley is going to be doing enough of that when we get to the station.”

  “I never saw him before.” She hadn’t moved her hand from beneath his, she realized dully. Strange. She didn’t like to be touched, yet she had accepted physical contact from Kelby without question. “And I couldn’t be sure that he had anything to do with Phil. I was a woman alone, and there are a lot of sexual predators out there.”

  “And I can see you’d be a prime target.”

  She stiffened and tried to move her hand.

  His grasp tightened. “Not for me, dammit. Not now. It would be like kicking a puppy.”

  “A puppy is helpless. I’ll never be helpless.”

  “Perish the thought. But since we’re in this together and I’m no threat at present, there’s nothing wrong with letting me stand by you in a bad situation.” His lips tightened. “And I’d say this is one hell of a bad situation.”

  “I don’t need you.” Bad didn’t describe the horror swirling around her. She felt as if she were enveloped in an icy, smothering fog. But Kelby was strong and full of life, and he had promised her he was no threat.

  She didn’t move her hand.

  “Coffee?”

  She looked up to see Kelby standing in front of her with a styrofoam cup in his hand. “Thanks.” She accepted the cup and took a sip of the hot liquid. “You’re done already?”

  “It seemed pretty long to me. Halley is thorough. I had nothing to do with your friend apart from asking Wilson to try to see her. There wasn’t much I could tell him.”

  “Or maybe he didn’t want to offend you. You have big investments over in the Atlantis complex, don’t you?”

  “Yes, but that wouldn’t stop Halley from treating me with the same thoroughness as he did you. Dr. Mulan is evidently very important.” He sat down beside her. “You’ve been here at the station almost six hours and this waiting room isn’t very comfortable. How about letting me take you to a hotel? I’ll stay here and get word to you if there’s any—” She was shaking her head. “I didn’t think so.” He sipped his coffee. “Well, at least the coffee in the machine is decent. I’ve been in a few jails where it’s tasted like mud.”

  “You have?”

  “You act surprised. That’s right, Wilson kept my checkered past out of the media. It’s one of the only things he was able to keep from them.”

  “Why were you in jail?”

  “Nothing too terrible. I was sowing a few wild oats after I got out of the SEALs. I was at loose ends and I wasn’t sure what direction I needed to follow. I batted around from country to country trying to decide.”

  “And you chose oceanography.”

  “It kind of chose me. I loved sailing from the time I was a boy, and it was a natural progression.” He took another swallow of his coffee. “Have you always known what you wanted to do?”

  “Yes, since I was twelve years old. I saw the ocean, I saw the dolphins, and I knew I never wanted to leave them. They brought me peace.”

  “And that was important to a twelve-year-old?”

  “To this twelve-year-old.” She glanced at Halley through the glass partition that separated his office from the waiting room. He was picking up the phone and speaking into it. “Why is it taking so long? Do
you think he knows what he’s doing?”

  “He seems pretty savvy. And he wants to find her, Melis.”

  Then why wasn’t it happening? They hadn’t heard anything in the hours they’d spent here. “It seems impossible that there weren’t any witnesses who saw Maria and Carolyn being taken from their office.”

  “I’m sure they haven’t interviewed everyone yet. It’s still possible that— Shit.” His gaze was on Halley, who had just hung up the phone. “I don’t like his body language.”

  Melis stiffened. Halley was standing, moving toward the door leading to the waiting room. His shoulders were squared and his expression . . .

  “Ms. Nemid. I’m sorry.” His voice was very gentle. “A body has washed ashore near the Castle Hotel. A woman in her fifties, tall, gray hair. We think it may be Carolyn Mulan.”

  “Think? Why don’t you know?”

  “There was some . . . damage. They’re bringing the body to the morgue for identification.”

  “I want to see her. I can tell you if it’s Carolyn.”

  “You may not be able to do that. Her face is pretty . . . lacerated.”

  Melis’s nails dug into her palms as her hands clenched. “I’ve known her for years. She was closer than a sister to me. I can tell you if it’s her.”

  “You don’t want to see this body, Ms. Nemid.”

  “The hell I don’t.” Her voice was shaking. “It may not be her. I don’t want you to stop looking while you get DNA or dental records on this woman. I want to see for myself.”

  Halley looked at Kelby. “If she believes she can give us a positive ID, I can’t refuse. In a murder case, time is always important. But I sure as hell don’t like it. Can you talk her out of it?”

  Kelby shook his head. “I wish I could. No way.”

  “It’s probably not her.” Melis moistened her lips. “You don’t know her. She’s so strong, the strongest woman I’ve ever met. She wouldn’t let anything happen to her. I’m sure it’s someone else.”

  “Then why go through this?” Kelby asked roughly. “A few hours, a day, can’t make—”

  “Shut up, Kelby. I’ve got—” She turned to Halley. “Will you take me to this . . . morgue?”