Mermaid Moon Page 6

  “You don’t have any idea what the guy could have wanted?” His brain searched for reasons. “Any loan sharks after you?”

  Pink flooded to her face. “I hate debt. The only thing I owe on is the house. My mortgage payment was a week late, but I paid it this morning. I’ve wracked my brain trying to make sense of it and can’t. Come meet my daughter and Carol.”

  He’d always loved her brutal honesty. He followed her through the house to the kitchen where the tantalizing aroma of bacon hung in the air. A young girl in pink pajamas sat at the table. She turned alert brown eyes his way. If someone had compared her picture with Mallory’s at that age, they wouldn’t have been able to tell the difference. She was petite with small bones like her mother, and her dark hair was tied back in a careless ponytail.

  Her gaze brightened as it swept over his uniform. “You’re a policeman? Maybe you can convince my mom it’s safe to let me use her cell phone. She said you could decide.”

  “Game warden.” He looked at Mallory. “Did you tell her about the break-in here and the rock?”

  Mallory’s eyes narrowed in warning, and she shook her head as if asking him not to say anything else, but he ignored her plea as he glanced back at Haylie. “She shouldn’t be sheltered from the truth. She’s fourteen, old enough to know.”

  Another woman, probably in her fifties with green eyes and dark-brown hair, turned from the stove. “There was a break-in here too?” Her brows rose.

  “This is Carol Decker,” Mallory said, her voice resigned.

  “Someone riffled through Mallory’s old bedroom, and someone threw a rock through one of the bedroom windows. With a threatening note attached to it.”

  Carol waved the spatula in her hand. “So the intruder already followed her here?”

  “I’m not sure. They could be unrelated. It’s possible the break-in and the rock had something to do with Edmund’s death. Until we know for sure they were directed at Mallory, it’s best if no one knows where you are. So no text messages from here to anyone.”

  Haylie burst into tears. “It’s boring here, and you’re telling her to keep me a prisoner!” She got up from the table and rushed from the room.

  Mallory heaved a sigh. “Sorry. Teenage angst is painful. You really think it’s unsafe to let her text her friends?”

  “At least for now. I don’t like all these incidents, especially the one at your house.”

  Carol carried a plate of bacon and a bowl of scrambled eggs to the table. “You hungry?”

  “Thanks, but I already ate. What can you tell me about the guy you saw?”

  Carol hunched her shoulders. “Not much. I only saw his eyes through the ski mask. He was a big guy though, and those eyes were downright scary.” She set the food on the table and spooned eggs onto her plate.

  “Did you get the name of any of the responding officers? I can call to get an update.” He faced Mallory. “I also heard back on the rock we recovered from your dad’s bedroom. No prints or DNA.”

  “Just like you thought,” Mallory said.

  Carol transferred some bacon to her plate. “I’m sure the police officers told me their names, but it was all a blur.” The chair scraped on the linoleum as she pulled it out and sat.

  “I’ll just call the Bangor police department then.” He removed his phone from his jacket pocket and went into the living room. His call was routed to the detective in charge of the case.

  “DuBois,” a gruff voice barked.

  “Game Warden O’Connor from over by Summer Harbor. I’m calling about the break-in at Mallory Davis’s home. Her father’s home here in Folly Shoals was also broken into, and I thought we should be sharing information in case they’re related. Especially since her father died yesterday.”

  “Murder?” The detective’s tone sharpened.

  “The sheriff thinks it was accidental, but I’m not so sure. Did you find any evidence at the scene?”

  “The back-door lock was broken. We secured the scene but found no evidence. I sent a man back over there this morning, and the place had been ransacked overnight. We’ll need Mrs. Davis to take a look and see if anything is missing. It was clear they were looking for something though. The cushions on the sofa and chairs were ripped open and so were the mattresses. Every book in the house was on the floor, and all the drawer contents were dumped out. Not sure what to make of it.”

  Kevin imagined the scene and winced. “Did the neighbors see anything?”

  “Unfortunately, the woman who lives across the street from Ms. Davis is on vacation, and the guy on the other side of Mrs. Davis’s home is elderly and can’t hear. He was in bed by eight and didn’t know anything had happened until an officer showed up to ask questions. A guy in a passing vehicle heard Ms. Decker scream and ran inside, but the intruder was gone by then.”

  Kevin told the detective all he’d found here, then rattled off his number. “I’d appreciate it if you kept me apprised of anything that happens there. I’ll do the same with you.”

  He ended the call and pocketed his phone. With the items missing from Mallory’s bedroom, he suspected what was happening here was related to whatever was going on in Bangor. He just prayed he could keep Mallory and her daughter safe.

  The sea spray hit Mallory in the face as Kevin’s boat skimmed the waves. Gulls squawked and swooped low overhead. She raised her face to the glorious spring sunshine and felt her sadness lift a bit. She couldn’t do anything to bring back her father, but she could try to find out what happened to him.

  Kevin throttled back on the motor and pointed toward Summer Harbor where boats dotted the inlet. “Your dad’s boat is in slip fifty-five. The sheriff agreed to meet us there. He wants to make sure we don’t mess up any evidence.”

  She stared at the boat. The name Mermaid stood out in red lettering. “That looks like a different boat.”

  “Edmund got a new one about six months ago.”

  As Kevin stopped his boat a few feet away, she studied her father’s new boat. The craft was a fifty-five-footer with a second deck, and its red, white, and blue paint looked pristine. Where had he gotten the money for something this new and large? The contract job of delivering the mail to the islands wasn’t very lucrative.

  Kevin reached over and tied the two boats together, then boarded her father’s boat. He reached across and held out his hand to her. She accepted his assistance and stepped onto the rolling deck of the mail boat, then quickly let go of his hand. His touch still caused her insides to quiver like a jellyfish. She stole a glance at him, but he didn’t seem as rattled by her touch as she was by his. In fact, if anything, he was a little standoffish and remote, but she couldn’t blame him.

  She shoved her hands in the pockets of her jacket and looked around the Mermaid. It didn’t feel like her father’s boat either. She was used to his old thirty-foot one with its patched spots and old upholstery. This one still smelled new. There were no stains on the carpet or the seats.

  Kevin caught at her arm when she took a step toward the cabin. “We’d better wait here for the sheriff.”

  “Is there blood?” She wanted to be prepared for what she might see.

  “Some. He had a head wound. You sure you’re ready for this?”

  “As ready as I’ll ever be.” She nodded toward a familiar bulky figure in the back of a skiff. “Here’s Danny.”

  At six-seven, Sheriff Colton’s stature was hard to miss. And his fiery-red handlebar mustache and weathered skin caused him to stand out anywhere he went. Once upon a time he’d played for the Celtics, and he was a hero to most everyone in the area.

  He tied up the skiff, then climbed the ladder to the deck. His big hand came down on Mallory’s shoulder. “Sorry about your dad, Mrs. Davis. He was a good man.”

  Her eyes welled at the sympathy in his voice, but she managed not to let the tears fall. “Thank you. I appreciate you letting me take a look at the scene.”

  A frown creased his forehead. “Kevin here said you were insistent
. I hope you’re prepared. I’m not going to pull haul with you. You can see it all if you’re set on it.” He jerked his head toward the cabin. “This way.”

  She swallowed hard and followed him. A gull landed on the railing and surveyed her with beady black eyes as if to see if she could go through with this.

  Kevin caught her arm when she stumbled a little. “Careful.”

  She ducked under the doorway and into the cabin. The coppery scent of blood hit her in the face, and she flinched. It took all her fortitude not to turn and run back into the salty air. Kevin gripped her arm again, and she wanted to thank him, but any words in her mouth dried up when she saw the stained carpet.

  There was a lot more blood than she’d expected. The bloodstain was two feet in diameter, and in her mind’s eye, she saw her dad lying there. A shudder worked its way up her spine, and Kevin pulled her against his chest.

  “Steady,” he whispered in her ear.

  Inhaling, she allowed herself to rest against his bulk for a moment. Being around him had always made her feel safe and protected. She took a tighter hold on her emotions. “I’m all right.” She pulled away from his embrace and approached the reddish-brown pool. It still looked damp. She looked away from the blood and assessed the rest of the cabin. Her father’s chart map was on the floor.

  She stepped to the radio. “You said the radio was off when you found him? So he never tried to send a distress call.”

  “It was off, and I’ve never known him to turn it off.” Kevin turned to the sheriff. “I smelled perfume too. That’s gone now, of course, but did you notice a scent when you were first here?”

  Danny’s bald head swung back and forth. “Not that I noticed.”

  Mallory caught a glint of something shiny under the captain’s chair and knelt. “There’s a bracelet here.”

  “Don’t touch it,” Danny said.

  “I didn’t.” She peered closer. “It looks like a woman’s tennis bracelet. Those look like diamonds.”

  Danny extracted a bag and gloves from his pocket. He pulled on the latex gloves, then transferred the bracelet to the bag. “I’ll have it checked out. Seems expensive.”

  Mallory rose. “Does this alter your belief that he accidentally fell and hit his head? I think someone was here.”

  “Even if he had a lady friend on the boat, that doesn’t mean she killed him. Your dad was a strong fellow. I think a woman would have a hard time inflicting a killing blow on him.”

  “If she wasn’t to blame, why wouldn’t she call it in if he fell and was injured? He called me and seemed to be alone. Wouldn’t she have telephoned for help?”

  Danny pulled off his gloves. “Let’s not speculate, Mallory. She may have been on the boat on a different day. We’ll see what the lab comes up with.”

  So he wasn’t changing his call on her father’s death. She exchanged a long look with Kevin. His brown eyes narrowed, and she knew he wasn’t satisfied with what they’d found either.

  There was only one thing she could do. Fulfill her father’s contract to deliver mail and dig some of this out for herself. From as far back as she could trace, her ancestors had lived here. She was a true Mainer, and people would talk to her. It would be easy enough to take over the route. In this area it was notoriously hard to find contractors willing to deliver the mail.

  And the job might lead her to what happened aboard this boat.

  NINE

  The island of Folly Shoals rose from the ocean offshore the Schoodic Peninsula. Three miles in diameter and ten miles long, it boasted a variety of landscapes from low-lying cranberry bogs to soaring sea cliffs and evergreen forests. The cool wind tried and failed to get through Kevin’s Red Sox Windbreaker.

  The bow of the boat rode the sea spray and waves toward shore. He glanced at Mallory who sat straining forward with her gaze narrowed. Lost in thought, she stared toward the island as if seeing something beyond the sea cliffs.

  “I’m sorry about your house.” He’d taken her to check out her house in Bangor before bringing her home. The police had met her there, and she’d confirmed nothing appeared to be missing.

  “Thanks. What on earth could the guy have been looking for?”

  Every item in every drawer and closet had been tossed to the floor. “I wish I could say it was kids just vandalizing the place, but that wouldn’t explain the man who grabbed Carol and asked where you were. I’m beginning to wonder if your dad had possession of something the guy wants, and he thinks you have it.”

  “It makes no sense at all.”

  The wind blew her long hair in a swirl around her face, and her cheeks were pink from the chill. Being around her was already setting his teeth on edge. She’d run off, deserting him after he’d stood up to his parents for her. Though a callus had replaced the pain, he wasn’t sure he’d ever really forgiven her for what she’d done. Or even could.

  She lifted her chin and sniffed the air. “I’ve missed the scent of the sea. There’s nothing like it.”

  He was so used to it that he hardly noticed anymore. “So who’s Carol?”

  A smile tipped her full lips. “Carol is my best friend and next-door neighbor. She jumps in to help whenever I need her. Which seems too often lately.”

  “What does she do?” He squinted at the horizon and gauged how best to head into the waves and round the point.

  “She runs social-media campaigns for companies. Since she works from home, she’s usually able to help me out at a moment’s notice, but I try not to abuse that.”

  “She’s not married?”

  “No. She was engaged for a while last summer, but she found her fiancé at a strip joint with a woman in his lap.”

  He winced. “Creep.”

  “That’s what I told her. She dumped him and said he was just the latest in a long list of losers and that she was done looking. She hasn’t dated since then, as far as I know.” Mallory stood and shaded her eyes from the glare off the water.

  They were passing near Winter Harbor, a small town where they’d spent a lot of time back in their dating years. The white clapboard buildings looked quaint and charming by the sea, and up close the town lived up to its image.

  His cell phone trilled, and he grabbed it from his jacket pocket. Someone from the hotel was calling. “Warden O’Connor.” “There’s a rabid fox in the garden, Warden.” The man sounded rattled. He wasn’t a Mainer, but a flatlander with a slight Southern accent.

  He tried to place the voice and failed. “At Hotel Tourmaline?”

  “Yes, sorry. This is the manager, Boyce Masters. Can you come right away before it bites someone?”

  “I’m just docking at Folly Shoals. I can be there in about fifteen minutes.”

  “What am I supposed to do with it in the meantime?”

  “What makes you think it’s rabid?”

  “It’s snapping its jaws and foam is dripping from its mouth.” The manager’s voice held distaste.

  Kevin winced at the description. “Sounds rabid. If you have someone knowledgeable about wildlife, have him wear thick leather gloves and try to throw a net over it. If not, just keep your guests indoors. I’ll be there as fast as I can.”

  “Just hurry.”

  Mallory rose and went to lean against the bow’s railing. “Trouble?”

  “We’ve had a rash of rabid foxes lately. Raccoons too. Pay attention whenever you’re outside and keep a close eye on your daughter.”

  She shivered. “I hope you’ve warned your little girl too.”

  “I did.” He watched her in the morning sunlight. The tug at his heart took him by surprise. She shouldn’t have the power to move him this way, not after all this time. He wasn’t sure he could get used to running into her. The sooner she left, the better.

  She turned away to stare toward the harbor. “I made a decision this morning. I’m going to take over Dad’s mail delivery and see what I can find out.”

  His gut clenched. “That could be dangerous, Mallory. Let me see what I
can find out. You need to stay out of it.”

  She whipped around with her chin in the air, a stance he quickly recognized.

  He held up his hands. “I’m not trying to boss you around, but this is my job, not yours. You’ve got your daughter to worry about. You can get back to your normal life, and I’ll call you when I get to the bottom of what happened.”

  “What normal life? Until we get to the bottom of this, I’m not sure we’re safe anywhere.” Her brown eyes flashed. “It sounds like you’re trying to get rid of me, Kevin. Do I make you that uncomfortable?”

  “Of course not, but what happens if you put Haylie in danger by poking around? You aren’t thinking this through.”

  Her eyes grew luminous, and a fat tear rolled down one cheek. His throat tightened. Tears made him feel helpless. He gripped the wheel and steered toward the dock. She stared at him, then turned to face the shore.

  Her tense back told him he hadn’t dissuaded her. “The funeral is the day after tomorrow. I’d thought you’d go back to your life then.”

  “Sorry to disappoint you. The entire town may feel the same way, but I’m staying.”

  Great, just great. He should probably switch the topic. He’d never persuade her. “How’s your aunt holding up with the news about your dad?”

  She crossed her arms over her chest. “Stoic as always. She says she’s not coming to the funeral. Typical. She’s hidden in the house for years. I’m done hiding out in shame. That’s part of the reason I’m staying.”

  “Not coming to her own brother’s funeral?” His mind churned. If he got Blanche to the funeral, she’d be quick to tell Mallory what a crazy scheme she had planned. If Mallory wouldn’t listen to him, maybe she’d listen to her aunt.

  The gray stone walls and mullioned windows of Hotel Tourmaline peered down on its Downeast Maine location of wind-tossed waves and rocky crags like a great castle or manor in Ireland. As Kevin approached with Mallory, a valet, dressed in black slacks and a white shirt, stepped forward to open the door of the grand entrance, which was decked out in gleaming brass and glass. Kevin thanked him and asked where he might find the manager. The valet directed him across the pink marble floors to the hotel office.