Dangerous Reunion (Love Inspired Suspense) (5 page)

Brock laughed. “She told me about it this afternoon.”

Kate looked over Brock and Dillon. “You’ll each have to get a costume. Everybody will be dressed as pirates.”

Dillon nodded. “I bought one this afternoon. Everywhere you go in the village folks are getting ready for the festival. From the brochure I picked up in Mrs. Wilkes’s entry, it looks like it’s going to be a great weekend.”

Before Kate could respond footsteps sounded in the hallway, and Brock glanced over his shoulder before he stepped aside for a woman dressed in tight-fitting capri pants and a low-cut silk blouse to enter the dining room. She cast a provocative smile in Brock’s direction and flipped her long, blond hair back. “Well, there you are. I missed you this afternoon.”

Brock’s face flushed, and he cast a quick glance in Kate’s direction before he answered, “I was around.”

The woman arched her eyebrows and cast a glance over her shoulder at the man behind her. “Well, I spent the whole afternoon by myself. I thought I was even going to have to come to dinner alone. Sam stayed out on the water all day in that fishing boat he rented.”

Kate tensed at the memory of a lone fishing skiff and a man with a pair of binoculars. She narrowed her eyes and studied the man who appeared behind his wife.

The white polo shirt he wore accented the sunburn on his face and arms. He directed an icy stare at his wife before he turned to Brock and stuck out his hand. “Women,” he growled. “Tracey knows we came to Ocracoke so I could fish and she could lie on the beach. Then she complains when I spend the day doing what I want.”

The woman flashed a glare at her husband, and her mouth drew into a straight line. “But we’ve been here three days, and so far I’ve only seen you at meals.”

The man started to speak, but Brock cleared his throat and glanced at Kate. “Kate, I’d like you to meet Sam and Tracey Burnett. They’re from Baltimore. I met them when I checked in last night.” He pointed to Kate. “And this is Deputy Michaels.”

Sam Burnett’s face broke into a big smile, and he extended his hand. His abrupt change of demeanor reminded Kate of the car salesman on the mainland who’d tried to convince her to buy a used car that looked as if it had seen better days.

“Nice to meet you, Deputy Michaels.”

Kate nodded to the two. “We’re glad to have you on Ocracoke. I hope you enjoy your vacation here.” A pan clattered in the kitchen, and she glanced over her shoulder. “If you’ll take your seats, I’ll go call my sisters to dinner and help Treasury get the rest of the food on the table.”

As the group assembled around the table, Kate stepped into the hallway but turned to observe Sam and Tracey Burnett. Tracey appeared to be much younger than her husband. She sat down next to Dillon, who’d already taken a seat, and her husband took the chair beside her.

Kate’s gaze raked Sam, but she could see nothing familiar about the man. That wasn’t unusual, though. Whoever had been on the boat earlier had been far away, and his features had been hidden by a hooded sweatshirt. She heard nothing in his voice that reminded her of the mysterious caller at the Health Center, but that also wasn’t surprising. She was sure the man had disguised his voice.

At that moment Emma bounded down the stairway with Betsy close behind. Their laughter echoed off the walls of the old house.

“I’m going to beat you to the table,” Emma called out.

“Oh, no, you’re not,” Betsy said.

They both stopped at the foot of the steps when they spied Kate. She shook her head but couldn’t suppress a grin. “Okay, you two. Try not to embarrass Treasury in front of her guests.”

Emma giggled. “Okay, Kate.” She glanced around at Betsy. “But I’m sitting by Brock.”

Kate turned a questioning glance to Betsy as Emma ran into the dining room. “Brock said they’d met. How did that happen?”

Betsy nodded. “She talked to him for a long time this afternoon. She was playing in the backyard with Rascal when he came up. When he told her he remembered her when she was a little girl and that he knew her mother, Emma wouldn’t let him out of her sight for the rest of the afternoon.” Betsy reached out and grasped Kate’s hand. A worried look flashed in her eyes. “Are you okay with him being here?”

Kate didn’t know how to answer that. Was she okay? She didn’t know yet.

She smiled and squeezed Betsy’s hand. “Don’t worry about me. I can take care of myself.”

Betsy studied her for a moment before she cocked an eyebrow. “Can you? You carry a gun and you act tough, but underneath you’re a vulnerable woman. There are some things in life that wound us so much we can’t deal with them. Let me know if I can help you get through Brock’s visit.”

“I will.” Kate glanced toward the kitchen. “Now I’d better go help Treasury with the food. You go on in the dining room.”

As Kate headed to the kitchen, her cell phone rang. She pulled it from her pocket and frowned when she saw Calvin’s number. She pushed the Connect button and placed the phone to her ear.

“Kate speaking.”

“Hi, Kate. You’d asked me to check with Bob down at the marina about people renting boats today. When I talked with him earlier, he discovered that one of their boats was missing. I just found it tied up down by the North Ferry Terminal for Hatteras.”

“Are you sure it’s one of Bob’s boats?”

“Yeah. All his rentals have his business name and emergency number on board. It’s his, all right. I’ve called him to come identify it. I thought you might want to come, too.”

“I’ll be right there.”

Kate shoved the phone back in her pocket and strode to the kitchen. Treasury picked up a tray of dinner rolls as Kate walked in. Her eyes widened. “What’s the matter?”

“Something’s come up. I have to go. I’ll eat when I get back.”

Treasury nodded. “Okay. I know better than to argue with you when duty calls. I’ll keep your dinner warm.”

Kate leaned over and kissed Treasury on the cheek. “What would I do without you? I’ll be back later.”

“Where are you going?” Brock’s voice from the doorway startled Kate, and she turned toward him.

“Calvin called. I have to go.”

He stepped closer. “Does this have anything to do with that bottle bomb earlier today?”

She shrugged. “Maybe. I’m not sure.”

“Where are you going?”

“I have to meet Calvin out at the North Ferry Terminal.”

Brock frowned. “That’s fourteen miles from here. What’s out there?”

Kate shook her head. “I really can’t talk to you about this. It’s—”

“Police business,” Brock finished for her. “I know, but I’m a policeman, Kate. And you can tell me what you know. I only want to help.”

Kate hesitated for a moment. She’d never had a day before as busy as this one had been, and she knew Calvin and Doug were just as tired as she was. Maybe she did need someone to bounce theories off—and who better to do that with than a man who dealt with police investigations every day?

She took a deep breath. “All right. You can go with me. On the way I’ll fill you in on the man aboard the fishing skiff at the beach this morning.” She hurried to the dining-room door. “Treasury, would you keep Brock’s supper warm, too? He’s going with me.”

Tracey Burnett had just taken a drink of water, and she set her glass back down and directed a disappointed glance at Brock before she smiled and turned her attention to Dillon McAllister sitting next to her. Betsy frowned at Kate and shook her head.

Kate didn’t have time to deal with her sister’s concern right now. Calvin and Doug both looked to her for guidance on a day-to-day basis. Although she loved her job, sometimes it became a rather lonely position. The sheriff was too far away to give her much help. It would be good to have someone she could talk to on a professional basis.

The fact that it was Brock wasn’t going to bother her. She could accept his help and not let it dredge up memories from the past. Right now all she wanted was to find Jake’s killer and identify the shooter on the beach. She only hoped that would also lead her to the bottle bomber and the man who promised that he’d be seeing her.

If not, she might need more help than even Brock Gentry could offer.

A
s the squad car rolled along the two-lane road toward the North Ferry Terminal, Brock listened to Kate relate the experience she’d had at the crime scene on the beach earlier in the day. When she’d finished, he bit down on his lip and thought about what she’d said.

He swiveled in his seat to face her. “Do you think the man in the boat might have had something to do with the murder on the beach?”

“I don’t think so. He sounded like he didn’t know who I was talking about when I asked him if he killed Jake.”

Brock thought he must have misunderstood her. He leaned closer. “You lost me with that last statement. You asked him if he killed Jake? When?”

“Oh, I haven’t told you that part. The man who claimed to have left the bomb called the Health Center while I was there checking on the injured boy.”

Brock’s concerns grew with each word as Kate related her conversation with the man on the phone. “He may not be connected to Jake’s murder, but this guy sounds like he has something else planned. I never would have thought police work on this quiet island would be so involved. Is it always like this?”

Kate laughed. “No, thank goodness. We’ve never had a day like this.”

The North Terminal came into view. Cars lined the boarding lane waiting for the next ferry that would take them to the neighboring island of Hatteras. Brock scanned the back area of the terminal for a police car. “Do you see your officer anywhere?”

Kate pointed to a car sitting at the back of the parking lot and drove toward it. “There he is.” She pulled to a stop beside Calvin’s squad car and groaned. “Oh, no. I’d forgotten Mike Thornton is working at the marina this summer.”

“Is that bad?” Brock asked.

“Only if his father shows up. Ean Thornton thinks his son does no wrong. I’ve had plenty of experience dealing with that.”

“Spoiled kid, huh?”

Kate nodded. “When Mike was about three years old, he was playing near where his father was cleaning some fish he’d caught that day. When Ean turned his back, Mike picked up a boning knife and fell with it in his hand. It sliced his cheek open from near his earlobe toward his nose. Ean’s always felt guilty for leaving the knife where Mike could get it. I don’t think he’s ever corrected Mike for anything he’s done since then.”

Taking a deep breath, she climbed from the car and Brock followed, his gaze taking in the scene before him. Three men in shorts and white T-shirts stood near Calvin. Their sun visors sported the monogrammed logo of Bob’s Marine Rentals. Brock assumed that the older of the three was Bob. The other two looked like college students.

A young man with a bored expression on his face leaned against the fender of Calvin’s squad car with his arms crossed. His lip curled into a half smile as they approached, and the faint scar on his cheek wrinkled. He touched two fingers to the bill of his sun visor in a casual salute. “Evening, Deputy Michaels.”

“Hello, Mike. Good to see you.”

The boy chuckled and directed a smirk in their direction. “Yeah, I’ll bet.”

Another young man, his hands in the pockets of his cutoff jeans, stood to the side and rocked back and forth from one foot to the other. Freckles dotted the gangly boy’s face, and his curly red hair stuck out underneath his sun visor.

Brock smiled at him, but the boy didn’t seem to notice. His attention appeared to be riveted on the man in deep conversation with Calvin. “Now, Bob,” Brock heard Calvin say, “you need to calm down. You’ve got your boat back.”

“Do you have any idea how much a rig like that costs?” He accented his words by pointing toward a fishing boat that sat tied to a small dock behind the terminal. They turned as Kate stopped beside them. Brock eased up behind her.

“I imagine quite a bit, but…” Calvin halted in midsentence and stared past Kate at Brock. A surprised look flashed across his face. “Mr. Gentry, you seem to be showing up at all our crime scenes lately.”

Brock shook his head. “A policeman can’t stand to be out of the loop when there’s trouble around, but I just rode along with Kate tonight.”

Kate didn’t elaborate on Brock’s presence. Instead she directed her attention back to Calvin. “How did you find the boat?”

Calvin inclined his head toward the ferry station. “One of the workers spotted it out here and called the station.”

“Did anybody over there see the person who left it?”

“No. I questioned all of them before you got here. They said they were so busy all day they didn’t see anything.”

Kate pursed her lips and stared at the road back to Ocracoke Village and then toward the inlet to Hatteras. “The thief could have gotten on the ferry as a passenger or hitchhiked back to the village. Either way it’ll be surprising if we find him.” After a moment she turned back to the man who’d been talking with Calvin. “Hi, Bob. I’m glad your missing boat turned up. When did you first realize it was gone?”

Bob glanced over at the two young men who hadn’t moved. He jabbed a finger in the redheaded boy’s direction. “Hey, Kyle, come over here and tell Kate what happened this morning.” The boy glanced at Mike, who hadn’t moved, and trudged over to stand by Bob. “This is Kyle Johnson, Russell Johnson’s grandson. He’s visiting the island this summer, and his grandfather asked me to give him a job. He was at the marina this morning.”

“What happened, Kyle?” Kate asked.

Kyle stared down at the ground, but he darted a glance to Mike before he spoke. “Mike and I were supposed to open up this morning. When I got there, Mike called on my cell phone and said he was running a little late and would be there as soon as he could.”

“Were you there by yourself?”

“Yes, and before I knew it I had people waiting everywhere, and all of them wanting to leave right away. I saw this guy standing over to the side like he was waiting for a boat. But by the time I’d taken care of everybody, he was gone. I figured he gave up and left. But I guess he must have gotten the keys off the Peg-Board when I wasn’t looking. There were so many people getting in boats, I didn’t notice him leave.”

“This man you saw waiting, can you tell me what he looked like?”

Kyle’s Adam’s apple bobbed, and sympathy for the boy’s situation filled Brock. The kid looked scared to death. Kyle took a deep breath. “He had his back turned. All I saw was the hooded sweatshirt he was wearing.”

Kate’s eyes widened. “So you never saw his face. Can you give me an idea about his size? Was he short, tall, thin, heavy?”

“He was an average-size person.” The boy’s face crumpled, and he turned toward Bob. “I’m sorry that I messed up, Bob, and I promise I’ll be more careful in the future if you’ll give me another chance. I really need this summer job.” Brock thought Kyle would burst into tears any second.

Bob’s gruff manner melted, and he took a deep breath. “It’s okay, Kyle. We’ve got the boat back.” He turned to glare at Mike. “No thanks to Mike. If he’d been at work on time, we wouldn’t have had this problem.”

Kate glanced over her shoulder at Mike. “How about joining us, Mike? I’d like to ask you a few questions.”

The boy sighed, pushed away from leaning on the car, and swaggered toward them. “I called my dad to come out here,” he mumbled.

Brock tensed for Kate’s response, but if she heard, she gave no indication. She glanced at Bob. “We’re glad your boat is recovered.” She turned to Mike. “Can you add anything that might help us find out who took the boat?”

Mike shrugged. “How should I know? I wasn’t even there.”

Bob’s face turned red, and he gritted his teeth. “You should have been. I ought to fire you.”

Anger flashed across Mike’s face, and he clenched his fists. He took a step toward Bob but stopped as a car skidded to a stop in the parking lot. A man jumped from inside and strode across the parking lot. His hair was a shade lighter than the red that colored his cheeks, and his muscular body reminded Brock of a bulldozer plowing ahead determined to mow down everything in its path. He doubled his fist and shook it in Kate’s direction as he approached.

“Okay, Kate, what are you accusing my son of this time?”

Kate waited until the man reached her before she spoke. “Hello, Ean. I wondered if you’d show up. Nobody’s accusing Mike of anything. We’re trying to get some information about a boat that was taken from the marina this morning.”

Ean shook his finger at Bob. “I don’t know why you don’t lose one every day. I’ve told you that you’re no kind of a businessman. You should give up and go to the mainland and get a job.”

Bob took a step toward Ean, but Calvin put a restraining hand on his arm. Bob relaxed and took a deep breath. “Look, Ean, I gave your son a job for the summer as a favor to you, but it’s not working out. I spend half my time covering up his mistakes. This time he came to work late and left us shorthanded.”

Ean’s face grew redder. “He wasn’t feeling well this morning. He needed some extra rest.”

Kate held up her hand. “We don’t have time for you two to argue.” She glanced at Mike. “Why don’t you go on home with your dad? I’ll call you if I need anything else.”

Ean glared at her. “You call
me
if you need to talk to my son, Kate. You got that straight?”

Ean clamped his hand down on Mike’s shoulder and turned him toward the car. They strode across the parking lot without a backward glance.

Kate waited until they’d left before she turned to Bob. “Ean will be okay after he’s cooled off.”

Bob nodded. “I know. We’ve been friends since we started school. He goes kind of wild when he thinks someone is accusing his son of something. I’ll talk to him tomorrow.”

“And what about Mike?”

Bob watched Ean’s car roar from the parking lot before he spoke. “Oh, I’ll keep him on for the rest of the summer. I thought a few months of hard work might help keep him out of trouble, but I don’t know if it will or not.” He glanced at Kate. “You’ve had your own run-ins with him. Ean still blames you for Mike losing his driver’s license.”

Kate sighed. “I know. But Mike’s to blame for getting those DUIs.”

“Tell that to Ean.”

“I’ve tried.” She glanced toward the boat. “I’m going to leave Calvin here to see if he can lift any fingerprints off the boat. As soon as he’s finished, you can take it back to the marina.”

“Okay.”

Kyle had remained quiet during the confrontation with Mike and his father. Now he stepped next to Bob and took a deep breath. “What about me? Are you going to fire me?”

“No, but in the future call me if Mike doesn’t show up, and I’ll come right down. Mornings this time of year are too busy for one person to handle.” He pointed toward his car in the parking lot. “You can drive my car back to the village and leave it at the marina. I’ll bring the boat.”

“Okay. I’ll see you in the morning.”

As Kyle pulled from the lot, Kate walked over to where Brock waited. “I’ll help Calvin search the boat, then I’ll be ready to go back,” she said.

“Take your time. I’ll wait on the dock for you. I don’t want to get in your way.”

He followed her to the shore and onto the dock that reached out into the water. He leaned against one of the pilings and watched as she stepped onboard the boat. A breeze blew in from the ocean, and he breathed in the salt air. The memory returned of Kate’s mother telling him how special her island was. At the time he couldn’t wait to get away. Now he’d come back, and what he’d found disturbed him.

He’d worked enough cases to know that you never discounted any threat. From what Kate had told him about the call she’d taken at the Health Center, somebody sounded determined to cause problems. The fact that he’d ended the conversation with a promise to see Kate again concerned Brock most of all.

He had asked her earlier if she had any enemies on the island, and she’d said no. Now he wasn’t so sure. Ean Thornton seemed to harbor anger against Kate for what he thought was an ongoing persecution of his son. Could Ean be the one wanting to harm Kate?

If someone was targeting her, he intended to help find out who it was. He would do everything in his power to see that she wasn’t hurt. After all, he owed her that much. And he owed it to her mother to see that her daughter remained safe.

Kate stepped aboard the boat and looked around. Nothing appeared out of place. She’d seen tourists bring their rentals back to Bob’s place, and usually there was trash left over from a day at sea. Not on this boat. Not even a candy wrapper lay on the floor. Whoever had taken it had either cleaned up well after himself or he wasn’t in the boat for a very long period of time.

The skiff she’d seen this morning had been too far away to make a positive identification, but she was sure this was the same one. The shape and the size appeared identical to what she’d observed through the lens of her binoculars.

“What do you make of this?” Bob’s voice caught her attention.

She took a step toward him. “What is it?”

Calvin gave a soft whistle. “You might want to take a look at this, Kate.”

The two men stood side by side looking down at the ship’s steering console. They parted to make room for her. Her mouth opened in surprise as she spied an envelope with her name on it taped to the wheel.

Kate leaned closer and studied the block letter writing. It looked as if it could have been written by any third-grade child. She glanced up at Calvin. “Hand me a pair of gloves out of the equipment bag.”

He opened the bag and held out the box that contained latex gloves. Kate pulled them on and lifted the envelope. The flap of the envelope was stuffed inside, and she carefully pulled it out. She then extracted the single sheet of paper from inside and dropped the envelope in the plastic bag Calvin held.

Bob and Calvin leaned forward as she unfolded the sheet of paper. She gasped when she read the short message written, then held it out for Calvin to get a better view.

Calvin’s face blanched. “Oh, my.”

“What is it? What have you found?”

Kate looked around at Brock, who had climbed onboard. “I thought you were going to wait on the dock,” she said.

He shook his head. “Sorry. I couldn’t stay back. What did you find?”