“It wasn’t too crazy today,” Jeff said.
“But it wasn’t a sunny summer day either,” said Kelsey. “So, we managed fine today, but we will need another employee.”
“I’m working on that,” Lydia assured them. “And the last person I interviewed wasn’t right for us, but I didn’t scare her off with my questions.”
“I guess that’s progress,” Jeff said with a shrug.
“If we get really desperate, I could see if my sister wants to work here,” Kelsey said, wrinkling her nose. “But I did like the idea of having my own thing.”
“I’m sure we can find suitable hires that aren’t related to anyone here. I’ll set up some more interviews soon. But first, I want to hear about you both.”
Lydia walked around the shop, checking that everything was tidy as she caught up with her employees. However, they had already done an admirable job, and the shop looked perfect.
“Well, I might audition for a play next week,” Kelsey said, following her around. “That is if you think I won’t be needed here every single night.”
“Go ahead and audition. I promise I will get over my hang-ups and find a great person to join the staff.”
“Thank you!”
Lydia headed over to the counter where Jeff was leaning next to the register in case a customer came inside.
“And how are things with you?” she asked.
“I still haven’t gone surfing yet,” Jeff admitted. “But I did have something interesting happen today. Remember that lady who came in asking for Ruth?”
Lydia nodded.
“She came in again today and handed me this. I don’t know why. She didn’t really explain it.”
Jeff held up a crocheted creation. It was in the shape of a starfish and was red with yellow spots.
“It’s cute,” Lydia said. “I wonder why she gave it to us.”
“She also said that she had seahorses and clownfish,” Jeff said. “But when I asked what they were for she got embarrassed and left. I hope I didn’t offend her. I’m not often handed things made out of yarn.”
Lydia admired the craftsmanship and then handed it back to Jeff. “I guess if she gave it to you, it’s yours.”
“I wonder if she made it herself,” Jeff said. “But I’ve been wondering about something else even more. Have you learned anything new about Chase’s death?”
“I feel like I’ve learned a lot, but I’m still not clear on several things.”
“Are you certain that this was a murder now?” asked Kelsey.
Lydia made sure there were no customers hiding behind the display and then addressed her employees.
“We’re pretty sure it was. It just doesn’t make sense to us that someone afraid of the dark would choose to go swimming at night alone, and if there was nothing in his way, he should have been a strong enough swimmer to save himself. I know Leo says the alcohol in the victim’s system explains everything odd about the case, but I think it makes more sense that someone he trusted took him out on the lighted boat, gave him a drink, and later pushed him overboard. Then, the killer blocked his path to the shore.”
“That’s evil,” said Kelsey.
“Do you know who might have done it?” asked Jeff.
“We have several suspects,” Lydia said. “We thought that Chase might have been killed for his spot in a competition or because of a love triangle he’s a part of. The person who would doubly gain from his death would be his best friend, Logan. However, he might have an alibi. Daniel is going to check that out.”
“Who else is involved in the love triangle?” asked Kelsey. “Do they all have boats?”
Lydia nodded. “Logan bought a boat with Chase’s girlfriend, Jenna. The other woman, Nicole, also has a boat. Nicole said that Chase had not been on her boat in a while and Jenna said she didn’t go near her boat that night. They all seem to have motives. Nicole told us that Chase called her the day he died and told her that he knew Jenna and Logan were having an affair.”
“Were they?” Kelsey asked.
“I’m not sure. They both denied it. Logan admitted to having feelings for her, but he said that he didn’t act on it. He told Chase about those feelings that day, and Chase stormed off. Chase visited Jenna that night too. She claims that she told him to leave.”
“But she also might have killed him and is lying about that now?” asked Kelsey.
“That trio contains my prime suspects,” Lydia said. “But it also could have been another surfer who wanted to take his spot in the competition. They might just be pretending that they don’t want it.”
“It wasn’t me,” Jeff said. “I only surf for fun. Not acclaim. Or I did only surf for fun. I guess I’m not doing it at all right now.”
“You’ll do it for fun again, I’m sure,” Lydia told him. “When you’re ready. And I don’t consider you a suspect.”
“If Chase really was murdered, maybe I should start being afraid of boats instead of my board.” Jeff mused. He began playing with the crocheted starfish as he thought about it.
“So, what are you going to do now?” Kelsey asked.
“I guess I need to figure out who is lying about that night,” said Lydia.
Then, Jeff’s movements with the starfish caught her attention. She watched as he made the starfish dance on the counter and pulled back an arm.
“Can I borrow that?” Lydia asked excitedly as a thought occurred to her.
“Sure,” Jeff said, handing it over.
Lydia pulled the arm back on the starfish and looked at it. Suddenly some of the pieces of the puzzle began to fit together.
“What does this look like?” she asked.
“A starfish?” Jeff suggested. “Is it supposed to be another type of fish?”
“What shape does it look like?” Lydia said, rephrasing the question.
“The letter X,” said Kelsey. “Is that important?”
“I think I just solved the case,” Lydia said, smiling at the crocheted creation in her hands.
“Does X mark the spot?” asked Jeff.
Lydia took out her cell phone. She knew that she needed to call Leo right away. She finally had something definitive that could prove a murder took place. He would just need to confirm her theory.
“Leo,” she said as soon as he answered. “I figured out the Chase Harris case.”
“There is no case,” Leo said. “And I don’t want you doing anymore sleuthing. I understand why you got involved last time, but this is not the same. Stop.”
“But I know—“
“I don’t want to hear it,” Leo said firmly, ending the call.
“Fine,” Lydia said, as she put her phone aside. “If he doesn’t want to hear it, then he’ll just have to see it.”
15
Providing Proof
“I think we should call this off,” Daniel said over the phone.
“I don’t think we need to,” Lydia replied.
“But I lost my tail on her,” said Daniel. “I’m not sure exactly where she is.”
“Just head to the salon,” said Lydia. “That’s where she’s headed, and Trina will keep her occupied. I just need a few minutes to capture the evidence.”
“Be careful.”
“I promise.”
Lydia hung up her cell phone. She would have felt a little more confident if she knew that there were two sets of eyes on the killer, but she thought she would be fine. She had recruited Trina to help lure the killer away, and she would soon be getting a “complimentary” haircut that should occupy her time for at least a half hour. Lydia thought she only needed a few minutes to accomplish her task.
She entered the marina and hurried down the pier. No one seemed to be out in the cloudy weather, and she felt it seemed eerie.
However, she knew what she needed to do. She reached Nicole’s boat and checked that the coast was clear. She carefully climbed on board and found what she was looking for: the metal starfish along the ledge.
Looki
ng at them now she was certain of what had happened. Nicole had pushed Chase overboard. He had been facing her, and his heels hit the starfish as he fell. Leo had said that Chase had marks on both of his heels that looked almost X-like. It was close to the starfish shape, even if they did have five arms.
All Leo would have to do was compare the wounds on the heels to the décor on her boat. It would have been easier if Leo were more supportive and had listened to her upfront. Now she would have to force him to get involved. Once he saw the picture she took of the metal starfish, he would be able to make a comparison. When confronted with the evidence, he would have to act.
She exhaled nervously as she changed her phone to camera mode to snap some pictures. She had come face to face with a killer before and was not eager to repeat the experience. Last time, she had nearly died confronting the killer head-on.
This time she had made sure that the killer would not be nearby. Trina would distract her, and Daniel would catch up and keep an eye on her.
Lydia was just finishing up taking the pictures when she received a text message on her phone. Her feeling of safety began to dissipate as she read the note from Trina: Nicole late for her appt. What to do?
Lydia decided the best thing to do was to get far away from the boat. She was just about to leave when she heard Nicole running towards her.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m sorry to bother you,” Lydia said, thinking quickly. “I dropped something yesterday when I was here. But I found it, and I’ll get out of your hair.”
“You were taking pictures,” Nicole accused.
“I’m a big fan of selfies.”
“Of my boat.”
Lydia gulped. “I should really get going.”
“No,” Nicole said, blocking her path. “We’re going for a little ride together now.”
Lydia lunged forward to try and get around Nicole. She thought that she was going to escape as Nicole kept moving past her, but she didn’t like the sounds she heard as Nicole unlocked a compartment.
“Freeze,” said Nicole.
Lydia had almost made it onto the pier, but she stopped and looked at Nicole. A flare gun was now pointed directly at her.
“I hear getting shot with a flare gun is incredibly painful,” Nicole warned. “Drowning will be a much cleaner way to go.”
Lydia really didn’t have any intention of dying either way, but she took a seat when Nicole gestured. Her mind raced, trying to figure out the best thing to do, as Nicole started the boat and began moving away from the dock.
“You’re going to drown me the same way you did Chase?” Lydia asked.
“It seems like I need to. You know too much,” Nicole said.
“You pushed him overboard,” Lydia said. “He cut his heels on your starfish.”
“Luckily, the police still seem to think it was an accident. With you out of the way, they’ll continue to think that. I guess I’ll have to get rid of your boyfriend too.”
“He’s not my boyfriend,” Lydia said automatically.
“Is he messing with your heart too?” Nicole asked. “That’s why I had to kill Chase, you know?”
“He didn’t want to be with you?”
“He wanted me at one point. I thought we were soul mates. I thought he was just waiting for the right moment to end it with Jenna. But then she found out about us, and he went running back to her. He wanted to make it up to her. He called me that night, and I invited him for a boat ride. I thought he had finally realized that I was the one. But he just wanted to complain about Logan and Jenna getting together.” She scoffed. “And then the plan came to me so easily.”
“You pushed him overboard, and then you watched him drown.”
“There was more to it than that,” Nicole said. “I got his keys away from him first. I was going to put his surfboard in the water later too. Really sell that he was on the water alone. I had him take off his shoes. And then I made my move. Even facing me, he never saw it coming. He was an idiot.”
“What happened to the keys?”
“I dropped them in the water near the pier by accident, but it was all right. Still, no one suspected anything until you started poking around. Then I wanted you to think that if it was a murder that Logan was the one behind it. I thought he seemed like the most likely suspect.”
“He had an alibi,” said Lydia. “And it’s funny. I thought Chase’s keys were either lost in the water, or the killer took them. It was both.”
“Killing Chase was cathartic,” Nicole said. “I wonder if killing you will be too.”
Lydia knew that she had to do something soon. She couldn’t let Nicole take her out into the deep water. She wouldn’t stand a chance out there.
Nicole seemed distracted by something on the water and Lydia made her move. It seemed like the only option to her. She needed to get off the boat before they went out too far.
When Nicole was looking ahead, Lydia jumped overboard.
16
Surfboard Save
Lydia hit the cool water and began swimming immediately. She had always thought of herself as a fair swimmer, but she knew she didn’t have great stamina. She would have to work hard to get to shore. She hoped she had at least a few minutes head start before Nicole realized what she had done.
Adrenaline was kicking in, but she knew that she might have trouble keeping her head above water for an extended period.
“Lydia?”
She looked toward the sound of the confused voice and saw Jeff sitting on a surfboard. He waved at her.
“Did you just jump off a boat? What’s going on?”
“Can you help me to shore?” Lydia called.
He nodded and brought his board over to her. Lydia told him the bad news that a killer was after them as he helped her get a grip on the board to give her more buoyancy.
It wasn’t until Lydia felt sand under her feet that she began to feel safe. She and Jeff looked out toward the water and saw Nicole’s boat headed in the opposite direction.
“I think she’s running away,” said Jeff.
“She might hope she can reach international waters and escape,” Lydia said. “Especially if she thinks that there was another witness to her kidnapping.”
“There were actually several witnesses. There are a few surfers out there,” Jeff said.
“That must have been what distracted her.”
“They were all competing to see who would take Chase’s spot. They decided that was the fairest way to see who should go.”
“Were you competing too?” asked Lydia.
“Nah. My prize was just getting back on the water.” He grinned. “Thanks for your words of wisdom.”
“Well, thank you for making sure I didn’t drown.”
He held out a hand, and she shook it. They heard a slight commotion on the beach and saw Leo, Detective Grey, and Daniel running towards them.
“What happened?” Leo demanded.
“The woman on that boat out there killed Chase Harris,” said Lydia. “I realized that some decorations on her boat must have caused the cuts on the victim’s heels. I was going to take a picture of it to show you, but she surprised me. Luckily, I escaped, and Jeff helped me to shore.”
Leo turned to his partner. “We need to make sure that she doesn’t get away.”
Detective Grey nodded and started running back where they came from.
“Make sure she’s okay,” Leo told the others before following after his partner.
Daniel moved closer to Lydia and then suddenly hugged her.
“I’m so sorry,” he said. “She must have realized I was tailing her. That’s what made her come back here.”
“You got the detectives to come. That was good work.”
“I just reminded Leo what happened last time when we let you face a killer. Then, he listened a little more attentively.”
She let out a little laugh. She was happy to be alive, to know that Chase’s killer should face justice, and to b
e hugged by Daniel. However, just as she was thinking how much she liked being in his arms, he began letting go.
“I’m glad you’re okay,” he said.
“This was an exciting start to the day,” Jeff said. “So, I’ll see you at work later?”
Lydia nodded. “You will. Though this might inspire me to make that new hire even faster. I could use a day off after all this.”
Double Chocolate and Death Page 7