by Nicole Ellis
“No, no. I’m sure you haven’t,” I said in a lame attempt to console her. She continued to sob, and I handed her another Kleenex.
She honked her nose in a most un-ladylike fashion and then stared with dull eyes at Declan’s boat.
“He loved this boat. It was the first thing he bought when the practice started to turn a profit. He used to take it out fishing on the Sound with Bill, Jared, and Orson. It was one of his favorite things to do.” She reached out to touch the smooth sides of the boat. “I could never be out there for long. I get seasick as soon as I step on a boat.” Her face had taken on a green cast, and she covered her mouth. “I don’t think this floating dock is much better.”
She got to her feet in record time and leaned over the deck to throw up. Out of my bag came another rescue Kleenex.
“Thanks,” she said, wiping around her mouth. She turned to walk up the ramp, holding tightly to the aluminum railing as she climbed the metal treads. I followed behind her, closing the gate behind us. She threw the used tissues in the trash container on the deck then leaned over the railing, breathing deeply. “I love it out here. I wish I could go out on the water. Maybe my marriage wouldn’t have fallen apart if I could have shared in Declan’s passion for boating.”
I stood near her and patted her back. “I’m sure he knew you would have if you could.”
Her eyes took a far-off look. “We had so many good times together, but he could make me so angry.” Her face reddened. “And then when he asked for the divorce, I knew it was over.”
“When was the last time you saw him?”
“That night at Lake Elinor. We talked down by the dock there. That one didn’t float like this one.” She looked pointedly down at our floating docks. “He was talking about taking out the boat on the lake, but he was too drunk. I told him not to, but eventually I gave up and went back in the house.”
Lindsay’s rendition fit with Orson’s, that she’d come in to the house, leaving Declan alone on the docks. I still didn’t know what had happened after that. Had he taken his boat out on the lake and drowned somehow? How had his boat ended up here, tied up at the Boathouse docks the next morning, with his body floating next to it? None of this made sense, but I felt like I was getting closer to the truth.
My watch read nine o’clock. “Lindsay, you should get back in there. They’ll be cutting the cake soon. If you feel up to it, I’m sure Becca would be happy to have you there.”
She nodded. “I think I’m ok now. No more champagne tonight though.”
She still looked a little green around the gills but seemed to be able to walk in a straight line. I walked into the Boathouse with her, making sure she got in there ok. I didn’t want someone else dying on my watch.
Lindsay had said that Declan’s boat was there that night, at Lake Elinor. He could have hit his head, fallen in the water, and drowned. Could the coroner have been wrong? Was Lindsay telling the truth, or had someone taken Declan’s body and dumped it in Puget Sound to divert attention from themselves? At the front of the room, Becca and Bill were cutting the cake and smashing it into each other’s faces while chortling. Their guests clapped and smiled broadly. With all the happiness emanating throughout the room, it was hard to believe that someone there had killed a friend the week before, leaving his body just outside the room they now occupied.
19
I sidled up to Desi while Becca threw the bouquet. “Did she say if she told Bill?” I whispered.
Desi smiled. “She told him. I guess he was upset, but then he calmed down and was glad she told him. He’d been worried about whatever was bothering her.”
“Good. It seemed to be eating at her to keep that from him.” I glanced at Becca. “She looks so happy.”
“You did a great job on their wedding.” She patted me on the back. “They told me they were thrilled with how it turned out.”
“Thanks.” I thought it had gone well, but it was nice to hear it from someone else. “You know, I talked to Lindsay out on the docks.”
Her eyebrows shot up. “Out on the docks? Why was she out there?”
“I think she was mourning the loss of Declan. She was really upset, and surprisingly nice to me. I think this has all affected her more than you’d think.”
“I agree. With the impending divorce and then the loss of her soon-to-be ex, there has to be a lot running through her head. She didn’t use to be so, um...” Desi paused, searching for the right word.
“Ornery?” I finished, laughing.
“Right.”
The crowd parted and the barn-style doors at the back of the main room were opened to allow access to the docks. Becca and Bill walked hand-in-hand down the aisle and out through the doors. Jared handed Bill the boat key, and the crowd cheered when he held it up in the air. The bride and groom walked down the ramp to Declan’s boat, which they were using as a getaway vehicle. Lindsay and Isabel brought their bags to them, and they tossed them into the back of the uncovered boat and climbed in. Everyone, including Desi and I, waved goodbye as they sped away into the night, the running lights tracing their path as they skimmed across the waves.
Lindsay made a beeline for the stairs. She stopped at the top, crossing over onto firmer territory.
“Better?” I asked, coming up beside her alongside the railing.
She nodded. “Yeah. I thought I could handle the dock again, but it was too much. Ironically, I’ve probably inherited Declan’s boat now that he’s gone. I wish I could go out on it, but the only time I did, I started throwing up as soon as we left the dock. They had to immediately turn around and drop me off.” She stared at the blank spot next to the dock that the boat had vacated. “Maybe Bill or Jared would want to buy it from me. Anyway, the wedding was wonderful. Sorry I was such a pill this week. I think what I need after this is some time to decompress and get away from all the memories of happier times with Declan.”
“That sounds like a great idea.” I smiled. “And don’t worry about it. This has been a stressful time for everyone.”
“Thanks.” She surprised me by giving me a quick hug, then waved and walked away.
I stared blankly at the empty boat slip. I had a feeling this whole thing hinged on the boat. How and when had it arrived at the Boathouse’s docks? Both Lindsay and Orson had mentioned the boat still being there when they went to bed. So Declan must have driven the truck and boat trailer out to the Ericksville boat launch after that point, then come back to the lake and somehow been hit in the head and launched into the lake. Or, alternatively, someone else had brought the boat and the body to our docks. After seeing Lindsay’s extreme seasickness in person, I knew there was no way she could have taken the boat out by herself and piloted it over to the Boathouse’s docks. However, I was becoming convinced that my second hypothesis was correct. I remembered seeing Daniel hiding the Lego man in his sailboat.
When I’d seen the boat at the lake house, it had been uncovered. But, when it was docked at the Boathouse, it had sported a red cover. Declan had loved his boat and hadn’t wanted the pristine interior to be sullied by a seagull dive-bombing it. Much like Daniel with the Lego man, someone could have placed Declan’s body in the boat and then used the covering to hide it while in transport.
But who? And why? His truck and boat trailer had been found in the boat launch parking area the morning I’d found his body. So if my theory was correct and the killer was one of Declan’s friends staying at Lake Elinor, how had they returned to the lake house? I supposed they could have used a ride service, but then there would have been a record.
“Hey,” Desi said, coming up behind me. “I’m leaving now. I have to get home to feed Lina. Do you want me to come back when I’m done to help with anything?”
I shook my head. “No, I’ve got plenty of staff tonight. Go home.”
She walked away, but before she reached the door, I called out to her, “Wait!”
She turned back to me. “Changed your mind?”
“No. But I
did have a favor for you. Can you ask Tomàs if they checked the ride services in the area to see if anyone picked up a fare at the marina the night Declan died?”
“Sure. But why?”
“Well, if Declan was killed at Lake Elinor, someone must have transported his body to this area. I think whoever killed him hid his body in the boat, under the cover, so no one would see it on the way here.”
She nodded slowly. “That makes sense. And if the police found Declan’s truck and trailer at the Ericksville boat launch, how did the killer get back to Lake Elinor?”
“That’s what I’m hoping to find out.” I stared out at the docks again.
“I’ll ask him.” She gave me a quick hug and left.
Niely had written another article about the murder investigation for last week’s paper, and we’d received several more cancellations over the last few days. Time was running out and I needed to solve this puzzle fast. Becca and Bill’s friends would be leaving the lake house the next day, and without the wedding as an excuse, I’d have a hard time getting them to talk to me without raising their suspicions.
As if she’d read my mind, Desi called me the next morning, bright and early. I rolled over in bed to check the time—seven o’clock. Adam was still sawing logs next to me. Ella had woken up at two, but I’d given her a bottle and she was out after that.
“Hey,” I whispered.
“Are you still in bed?” Her voice blared over the phone, clearing the brain fog.
I closed my eyes for a moment. “Not anymore. Hold on.” I swung my legs over the side of the bed, grabbed my bathrobe, and headed downstairs. When I was safely out of danger of waking up the rest of my family, I held the phone up to my ear again.
“Ok, sorry. I can talk now. Everyone was still asleep.”
“Lucky.” She yawned. “Lina woke up at five and hasn’t napped since. Anthony heard her crying, and he demanded breakfast. Luckily, Tomàs wasn’t working today, so he took care of the heart-shaped pancakes.”
Pancakes sounded really good. I hadn’t had much to eat last night during the reception because I’d been working, and now my stomach wasn’t happy. I turned on the coffee pot and popped some bread into the toaster.
“Are you just calling me to complain, or did you need something?”
“Haha. Very funny. You haven’t had your morning coffee yet, have you?”
“I just told you that you woke me up. So no, no coffee yet,” I grumbled.
“You are grouchy without your morning caffeine.” She laughed. “I was calling to see if you’d be interested in going out to Lake Elinor with me this morning.”
“I guess I could. Why are you going out there? Becca won’t be there.”
“Yeah, I know,” she said. “I wanted to say goodbye to Orson. We had some good talks when I visited with everyone at the lake house, and he’s going back to California today. I didn’t get a chance to talk with him last night because he didn’t come back after Lindsay gave her toast and he chased after her.”
“Why do you want me to come with?” Not that I was complaining. It was a prime means of interviewing everyone who remained at the house without raising too much suspicion.
She sighed dramatically. “Tomàs won’t let me go by myself. He said with Declan’s murderer still in the wind, he doesn’t want me alone out there. So I thought you could come with me.”
I could picture her pouting.
“Please?”
“Yeah, I can come with. What time?”
“I’m thinking I would pick you up at nine? Then we can be out there by ten. Everyone should still be there before they head home.”
“Ok, but you’re bringing me coffee.”
“Deal.” Desi hung up and I buttered my toast, carrying it and the cup of coffee with me over to the kitchen table. The solitude was nice. I’d been surrounded by people for the last week and having the house quiet was amazing.
It didn’t last long. Ella started crying, then a cranky little boy came downstairs complaining about how annoying his baby sister was. Adam’s voice came over the baby monitor in the living room as he soothed her.
In a few minutes, everyone was in the kitchen and the blissful silence was over. But I had my family together on a sunny Sunday morning. The world was looking up.
My mother had left early in the morning to return home to Idaho, so Adam made breakfast for himself and Mikey while I set Ella up in her highchair with a bottle and a tray full of Cheerios. When my husband was seated, I said, “Desi asked me to go out to Lake Elinor with her this morning. I should be back by noon though. Do you want to take the kids down to the beach? Maybe get some lunch at Elmer’s Sea of Fish?”
“Sure.” He opened the copy of the Ericksville Times that he’d retrieved from our front porch. The headline blared out, “Eleven days and the Boathouse Killer is still on the loose.”
I groaned. Niely MacDonald and her sensationalist journalism. I pointed at the article. “The Boathouse Killer? Really? They need to get their facts straight. He wasn’t even killed at the Boathouse.” My shoulders tensed as I grew angrier. “They should call him the Lake Elinor Killer if anything.”
“What’s a killer?” Mikey asked innocently.
“Uh...nothing honey.” I regretted my outburst, but Niely made me so mad.
“But what is it?” He peered up at me.
“I’ll explain it to you later. Finish your Cheerios and then you can go play, ok?”
“Ok.” Mikey dutifully put a spoonful of cereal in his mouth.
Adam looked up from the comics.
“The Lake Elinor Killer? As in where you’re going with Desi today? That’s where Desi’s friend died?”
My eyes darted to Mikey’s face, but he was engrossed in catching the Cheerios that floated in his bowl.
“Yes. I told you that.”
“No, you told me that the man died in a lake. You didn’t mention it happened to be where you’ve been spending so much time.” He folded the newspaper closed and eyed me with concern.
“It’s not a big deal. Desi is going with me. We’ll be careful. It’s the middle of the day. Who in their right mind would try anything in broad daylight?” I smiled at him, trying to convince him as much as myself. “Besides, Tomàs is ok with Desi going.”
“Fine, but give me a call when you get there.”
“I will.” I gave him a peck on the cheek and cleared my breakfast dishes, stacking them in the sink because the dishwasher was full of clean dishes. “I’m going upstairs to shower and get ready to go.”
Ella cried out because she’d run out of Cheerios, and Adam was too busy getting her more to respond to me.
20
I jumped into Desi’s car as soon as she pulled up to the curb, before Adam could change his mind about me leaving.
Desi turned to me. “I told Tomàs about your theory that someone moved Declan’s body in the boat. He seemed skeptical, but he called the station last night to ask them to check the local ride services.”
“Ok. Did you hear anything back yet?” If they found something, this could break the case wide-open. I felt a little thrill that we could be so close to the end of this.
“They called Tomàs right before I left. Nothing. None of the ride services had picked up a customer anywhere near the Boathouse in the middle of the night, much less driven them all the way to Lake Elinor. Someone would have remembered that fare for sure.”
My elation deflated. “Oh. Ok. Thanks for asking him.” I’d been so sure I was right. If I wasn’t right, how had Declan ended up in the Sound? I spent the rest of the ride to the lake trying to make sense of it.
When we arrived at Lake Elinor, I noticed that Declan’s boat was back already. It sat securely on the long boat trailer, which was hooked up to Declan’s truck. The boat had been tucked away near the rear of the house and covered with its red cloth, ready to be driven down the road. I started to walk toward it.
“I’m going into the house to say goodbye to Orson, ok?
” Desi shut her car door and walked purposefully toward the house.
I nodded. “I want to check something out on the boat. I’ll be inside in a couple minutes.”
“Ok,” she called over her shoulder as she disappeared into the house.
I approached the boat. With it on the boat trailer, I couldn’t really see much from the ground. I climbed onto the trailer and lifted the canvas cover. It was dark inside, and I couldn’t see much. I looked around and didn’t see anyone, so I dove into the boat.
It was pitch-black inside and, even after turning on the little penlight on my keychain, still really creepy. If this was how Declan’s body had been transported from the lake to Puget Sound, there might be evidence in here. I shone the flashlight at all the little crevices inside the boat. The boat was clean, with nary a spot on the navy blue vinyl seat cushions. I pulled on the edge of one to help propel me further into the boat, toward the steering wheel.
The Velcro under it came loose under the force of my weight, shifting the cushion and revealing a reddish-brown smudge. I moved the light closer to it. It was definitely blood. In most boats, there would be the possibility that it was fish blood and not human. However, not in Declan’s boat. I remembered how he’d been out there the first day I met him, diligently cleaning every nook and cranny of his boat. It was his prized possession, and he’d been fastidious about it. Whoever had cleaned this boat in the dark after dumping Declan’s body had missed a spot. I snapped a photo of it with my phone to show the police later and texted it to Desi with the caption “Evidence!”
I scooted toward where I’d entered the boat and stuck my head out, then turtled back in when I heard footsteps.
“Yeah, I’ve got the boat. I’ll meet you at the northbound rest stop off I-5, just north of Everton.”