Deadly Gift (31 page)

Zach stepped forward with a pocketknife.

Under the brown wrapper, the box was covered in cartoon Christmas paper. Happy little dogs leaped about wearing Santa hats. Once again, there was a note.
Sean, lost your eyesight? Do not open ’til Christmas.

“Oh, Eddie,” Clara said softly.

Sean tore into the wrapping with determination. Underneath there was a leather box that advertised Boston Beginnings. Sean lifted the lid.

He gasped, then drew out the ornament from within.

It was a coin, set into a frame of delicately worked gold. Sean held it up, staring.

“English issue silver piece,” he said. “My God, look at the date. Seventeen-seventy-nine.”

“He…he…found that treasure you two were always talking about,” Amanda said in awe.

“He did. He really found it,” Sean breathed.

“I believe he found it,” Zach said. “And then I think he moved it.”

They all turned to stare at him. Zach wasn’t sure why he had spoken, except that Eddie’s gift had convinced him that something had to break, and throwing out information that would be bound to reach the killer’s ears could be just the way to do it.

“He moved it? Where?” Sean demanded. “And where did he find it?”

“He found it on Cow Cay,” Zach said. “I thought it was still there, but it’s not. When he took out his passenger that day, I think he let it slip that he had found the treasure there, which was what his killer wanted to know…. And I think the killer thought, as I did, that it was still on Cow Cay, so he killed Eddie and any chance of finding out where it really is. And because I didn’t know it had been moved, either, I had Gary Swipes guarding Cow Cay, and he ended up getting murdered for nothing.”

The room was silent. They were all staring at him open-mouthed.

Except Caer.

And his brothers.

“I’ll call the company, this Boston Beginnings,” Aidan said. He took the box from Sean and headed out of the room.

“Where would he have taken it?” Sean asked. “If Eddie found it, what did he do with it?”

“I think he hid it somewhere, and then he died with the secret,” Zach said.

“Poor Eddie,” Marni said. “To find his treasure…and then…”

Clara gasped, stood up and left the room. Tom hurriedly followed his wife.

Aidan came back into the room a minute later. “I’m going to drive to Boston tomorrow. I spoke with the man who made the ornament. I’m not sure he can help, but I’ll go talk to him anyway. Maybe Eddie told him something.”

“Right,” Zach said, and thanked him.

“I need another drink,” Amanda said.

“I’ll get you one,” Sean offered.

“That’s all right. I’ll get it myself. And I’m not bothering with the tea this time, either. I’ll take my whiskey straight, thanks.”

She wandered off to the kitchen.

Cal cleared his throat. “Um, Sean. The flotilla. Are we…are we still going to go out?”

“You bet. We’ll take out the
Sea Maiden.
In Bridey’s honor. And Eddie’s,” Sean said thickly.

The room fell silent again, until finally Rowenna Flynn rose. “Well, shall we finish the tree?” she asked, breaking the tension.

“Sure,” Jeremy said, and rose to join her.

Sean stood and looked about to speak, but then, as if he couldn’t say a word, he just waved and headed out.

“I think we’ll be going home,” Marni said. “Cal, I just feel…worn out all of a sudden.”

“Sure. Whatever you say.” Cal went over and put a supportive arm around her shoulders.

“Good night, then,” Marni said.

They left, and then it was down to just the Flynns, Caer and Kat.

“Turn some music on,” Aidan suggested.

“Good idea,” Zach said.

Kat shrugged unenthusiastically, but she went over and put on some Christmas music.

“O Little Town of Bethlehem” was the first cut, and Zach thought it seemed somehow strange and out of place.

“All right,” Aidan said, sitting down and starting to untangle a string of lights, “where could Eddie have hidden the treasure?” He turned to Zach. “Assuming you really think he took it off the island and weren’t just saying that to see who you could stir up.”

“I really think so,” Zach said. “Eddie was leaving clues to where he found it, but he must have become nervous. Maybe someone was asking him too many questions, who knows? But I’m sure he moved it, and equally sure whoever killed him didn’t know that. Someone besides me had been digging out on Cow Cay.”

“Of course. Eddie,” Kat said.

Zach shook his head. “Someone else. The ground was freshly disturbed. The thing is, for the moment, the killer still thinks the treasure’s on the island. That’s why the guard was killed. Okay, the killer did away with Eddie, tried to get to Sean and tampered with the blueberries. The blueberry jars—only three of them—were tampered with here, either taken from the store and returned, or else the killer managed to tamper with them and then reseal them right in the store. I don’t think anyone was meant to die because of the blueberries, though.”

“You’re losing me completely,” Kat said.

Zach grinned at her. “It’s all right. I keep losing myself. But in a nutshell, I think the blueberries were a red herring.”

“A red herring?” Rowenna repeated questioningly.

“You don’t read enough mystery novels,” Jeremy teased her.

“I know what it is, I don’t know what you mean,” Rowenna said.

“Whoever did away with Eddie and Gary Swipes is smart, and he knew he would be caught on the grocery store’s camera. He wanted the blueberries to be found so someone would check the tapes and he would be seen—seen wearing the disguise he wore when he went out to kill Eddie. That way, everyone starts looking for someone who doesn’t look anything like the killer really looks.”

“In other words,” Aidan said, “the killer is someone close, someone Eddie and Sean would have recognized.” He paused, then asked, “Zach, who knew about the island being dug up when Gary Swipes was killed? Let’s go over it again.”

“The family, basically. And the cops.”

“The cops?” Kat said. “My God, you’re not suggesting that…”

“We need to find out everything we can about Morrissey and the rest of the men working the case,” Aidan said.

“I’ve got an idea,” Jeremy said to Aidan. “You can investigate the cops, and I’ll drive to Boston with Rowenna. You have the most friends in high places,” he reminded his brother.

“Sounds good,” Zach said, and Aidan nodded his agreement.

“I’ll stay here and keep an eye on my dad,” Kat said, then shivered. “She’s trying to seduce him, you know. Amanda, I mean. What if she’s trying to kill him…that way, since nothing else worked?”

“I know you hate her, Kat,” Zach said, “but we don’t know that she’s the killer, so try to keep an open mind, okay?” He smiled, trying to cheer her up. “I’ll go over the
Sea Maiden
with a fine-tooth comb tomorrow,” he went on. “See if maybe Eddie left a clue to where he hid the treasure.”

“I’ll keep reading his poems,” Caer said thoughtfully. When everyone but Zach turned to stare at her in confusion, she explained, “I found a bunch of silly poems that Eddie wrote. They’re pretty terrible, but I don’t think quality was the point. I think if I can put them together into one long poem, we’ll find a clue to where the treasure is.”

“Well,” Kat said, and stood. “We have a plan.”

That night, when the house fell silent, Zach headed to Caer’s room. When she opened the door, he glanced around quickly to make sure the door connecting her room to Sean’s was closed, then entered.

“What?” she whispered.

He didn’t speak. He just took her into his arms, and when she didn’t protest, he kissed her long and hard, all too aware that he had almost lost her. He kept his hold gentle, afraid to hurt her injured back.

But she was so passionate in return that he forgot that she had just been in the hospital. They made love, struggling to remain silent, and then struggling not to laugh, almost as if they were high-school kids trying to keep it down out in the family car. They made love again, and when they finished, they were both breathless.

“I almost lost you,” he told her.

The happiness faded from her eyes. “You wouldn’t have lost me.”

“Caer…you have to stay. You can’t go home.”

She rolled away from him.

“I have to go home.”

He stroked the satin skin of her arm. “You can’t. We have to take the time to explore this—to explore
us
.”

She rolled back into his embrace and stared at him. “Zach, don’t you understand? You know the truth. You’ve
seen
the truth.”

“What are you talking about?”

She stared at him, then shook her head. “How can you even talk like this when there’s still a killer out there? We can’t talk about anything until he’s caught, Zach. We…just can’t.”

“You’re still hiding something, aren’t you?”

“I’m an open book.”

“Caer, I’m falling in love with you. You’ve hypnotized me; charmed me. No, it’s more than that. You’re beneath my skin, in my soul, you’re…I don’t know what, but I know we can’t let what we have slip away. Don’t you feel it?”

“You don’t know how I feel?” she whispered.

“Then it’s easy,” he told her gently. “Just tell me whatever it is you’re hiding.”

“I
have
told you. I really am an open book. You just have to read the pages and believe,” she said, and then, because she couldn’t bear to talk anymore—to dream anymore—she curled against him again, the softness of her hair brushing his flesh, the whisper of her kiss light against his lips.

When dawn came, he rose, dressed and slipped back to his own room.

He paused in the hallway, looking out the window.

Birds.

There had never been more of them. They were covering the trees as thickly as leaves in summer. So many of them.

As he stared out the window, they let out a horrible cry and, in one violent mass, rose from their perches and soared, a blanket of black to hide the rising sun.

Eight o’clock came quickly, and with it, a call from Morrissey.

“They’ve found a body. It’s with the M.E. in Providence, and we need a family member to identify it. They think they’ve found Eddie.”

Zach flinched inwardly. “If it’s Eddie, he’s been in the water more than a week. What makes them think they’ve got the right man?”

“The remains of a tattoo are visible on the upper left arm. It says
Sea Maiden.
”

S
ean was grim, his face set, as they discussed the possibility that Eddie’s body had been found. Sean wanted to go, felt he should be the one to make the identification, but at the same time he dreaded going and didn’t want to do it.

He had accepted Eddie’s death slowly over the days since his disappearance, and he would be glad to know the truth, if the corpse was indeed Eddie’s, but he also knew that then all hope would be lost.

It was a painful emotional tangle.

“I should go,” Sean said. “He was my friend, my partner.”

“You shouldn’t go for that exact reason. I’ve already told Morrissey that I’ll go.”

“Do they know the cause of death?” Sean’s voice was hollow.

“Apparently, nicks on an exposed rib indicate that he was stabbed.”

“A knife. Someone threw a knife at Jorey and hit Caer,” Sean said, then looked up at Zach, his eyes betraying an uncharacteristic vulnerability.

“I should send Kat away,” he said.

“Sean, a bulldozer couldn’t get Kat out of here any more than I could get you to leave. If we could just find some clue…We need to find the killer. It’s the only way any of you will ever be safe.”

“Amanda?” Sean said as if unwillingly.

“I don’t know. I do believe it’s someone in your household. Not Kat and not Caer—Kat would die for you, and Caer wasn’t here when everything began. She didn’t even know any of us until you were taken ill.”

Sean stared at him angrily. “Bridey is dead. I guess that exonerates her.”

Zach knew the other man’s anger wasn’t directed at him. Sean just didn’t want to believe that anyone close to him could be guilty of murder.

“No, not Bridey,” Zach agreed dryly.

Sean stared at him, his eyes suddenly burning. “What about Morrissey?”

“He’s a cop.”

“So?” Sean leaned forward. “He knew everything everyone was up to. And who better to hide evidence than a cop?”

“Yes, a cop knows how to hide evidence better than anyone else. But I’m not convinced. Morrissey knew what was going on with you and Eddie and your hunt for Nigel Bridgewater’s treasure. Besides, anyone knows enough to wear gloves to avoid leaving prints, and that the sea, especially in winter, with the currents, is a great place to toss a body. It wouldn’t take a rocket scientist to figure that out. As to the attack on Jorey…I don’t think that was planned. Stealing a knife from the kitchen when the pub was crowded and no one was watching…that was an act of improvisation, and luckily no one was badly hurt.” He shuddered, remembering how afraid he’d been that he was about to lose Caer. “Listen, I’m going to go identify Eddie, and I want you to stick with Caer and Kat—and Amanda, unless she has other plans. I was going to check out the
Sea Maiden
again myself today, so you three have to do that now. See if anything is amiss or if you can find anything that looks like a clue to where Eddie might have taken the treasure. No one knows her like you do, Sean.”

“No one but Eddie.” Sean sighed. “She was his love. He knew her backwards and forwards. But yeah, so do I. So do I.”

“Good. Jeremy and Rowenna are heading to Boston to talk to the man Eddie ordered the ornament from, and Aidan is checking into a few things himself. I want the rest of you to stick together. I don’t think you’ll be in any danger in a group. Oh, and eat out.”

“Now you think Clara is the murderer?” Sean asked dryly.

“I think Clara was manipulated—made to look as if she were guilty—and that means someone could try it again. Besides, I haven’t ruled anyone out yet.”

“Including Morrissey?”

“Including Morrissey. Aidan is on that one. You just make sure not to leave the others’ sides. You four stick close together.”

“Zach, I swear. I’ll keep the other three in my sight all day, every hour.”

When Zach left Sean, he found Jeremy and Rowenna ready to leave for Boston. Aidan had already headed out to find a patch of private territory far from the house and all possible suspects where he could call his contacts.

Zach decided to eat something before he left. He found Caer and Kat already in the breakfast room. Caer’s eyes met his, a wealth of sadness and resignation in them.

“Well, this sucks,” Kat said, settling into a chair with her cup of coffee. “Dad said
she’s
coming.”

“I take it she means Amanda?” Zach asked Caer, taking a bite of a Danish.

“She does,” Caer agreed.

“Well, just ignore her. She’ll probably go sit in the cabin in a huff anyway. I want you two to go over the
Sea Maiden
with Sean. Sorry,” he said, smiling at Caer, “but you’ll have to check out Eddie’s poetry another time.” His tone grew firmer. “And be careful. Make sure you have your cell phones. If anything weird happens, anything at all, call me or call Aidan.”

“What about Morrissey?” Kat asked.

“Call Aidan first,” Zach said. Did he mistrust Morrissey now? Or was he just being paranoid?

Morrissey had been decent from the beginning, a good cop.

He
was
being paranoid, he decided. He didn’t like the idea of going to Providence; he felt as if he should stay with them. But someone had to go. And it needed to be him.

He paused, watching the two women: Kat, the feisty little sprite who was like his sister, and Caer, beautiful, regal, strangely sad and serene.

He gave Kat a kiss on the cheek, then pulled Caer up into his arms and kissed her lips tenderly.

Kat whistled.

Caer pulled away, blushing….

“Go,” she said. “We’ll be fine. Maybe we can even convince Sean to take us out sailing. We can check out the boat and have some fun at the same time. We’ll be fine.”

He nodded, turned and left.

Everyone was dressed and ready.

Amanda even seemed excited.

“I actually think this will be fun,” she said, packing a canvas tote bag in the kitchen. “Coffee, we have to take coffee. And some whiskey.”

Caer, gathering things from the kitchen as Amanda suggested them, was startled when her cell phone rang.

She answered, thinking that it might be Zach.

But it wasn’t. It was Michael.

She smiled weakly at Amanda and stepped out of the kitchen, knowing the other woman was watching her suspiciously.

“Michael, what do you want? I can’t talk to you now.”

“Have you been outside?” he asked.

She frowned. “Why? Are you out there? I thought you had a lot of business to attend to here. Why are you hounding me? I’m doing my best.”

“Go outside.”

Caer made her way along the hallway, through the foyer and out the front door.

There were birds everywhere. They were on the eaves of the house. In the trees. Flying above in great swooping crowds.

Black birds.

Dozens of them were even sitting on the lawn.

“Michael, what’s going on?”

“The list…
your list,
to be specific—is changing. Names are appearing and disappearing. Right now, Caer, your purpose is what matters. You’ve got to forget your…entanglements and pay attention. This isn’t supposed to be happening. You’ll upset the entire scheme of things if you don’t prevent what’s coming.”

“Michael,” she said, desperate, “help me. What should I do? What should I
not
do? What’s coming?”

“You know I can’t tell you that. It’s not even that I
won’t
tell you, but I honestly can’t foresee what’s next. Too many things are in flux. Keep on as you are, but be on the lookout. Be careful, and stay sharp.”

The phone went dead.

She hung up and looked around. As she did, the black birds blanketing the front lawn suddenly let out a shrieking, dreadful cry, en masse, and with a thunderous flurry of wings, they rose into the sky like one giant omen of doom.

After he arrived at the morgue, the receptionist took Zach to meet Dr. Jon Wong.

He was cordial and serene, which Zach supposed was one way to cope with death on a daily basis.

He asked that the body be brought into autopsy room A, and the two of them chatted idly as they waited for the remains.

Zach had seen just about everything during his days in the forensic department in Miami-Dade. Body parts in barrels, bones that had been dug out of the Everglades, fresh bodies, looking as if they might leap up from the gurney, slashed flesh, burned flesh, shot flesh, mangled flesh.

But Eddie was bad.

That was what happened after so many days in the water. So many days as the target of hungry fish. His finger had been chewed to the bone.

Where once his eyes had been, only empty sockets remained. The corpse was hardly recognizable as Eddie.

But it
was
Eddie.

Dental records would clinch the ID, but the tattoo remained, along with the medallion he wore, a piece of Spanish gold drilled through and hung on a chain.

“It is Edward Ray?” Wong asked.

Zach nodded. “Cause of death?”

“The soft tissue around the wound was eaten way,” Wong said, showing Eddie’s exposed ribcage. “But there are marks on the bones made by something very sharp.”

“Did you find anything that could help us find his killer?” Zach asked.

Wong shook his head sadly. “No, but that kind of wound…I think the killer took him by surprise. My guess is that he was killed and thrown off the boat almost simultaneously, maybe caught off balance as he died. What was left of his clothing is with the forensic department at the police station. Feel free to stop by there and see what they can tell you. Meanwhile, I expect we’ll be releasing the body in another few days.”

Zach thanked him, and headed to the police lab.

Amanda looked at the bags and hampers she’d readied for the day. “What a shame. We had all those strapping Flynn brothers here before, but now that we could use their help with all this, they’re gone. Oh, well. Tom, I’m sorry, but would you mind grabbing that bag?”

Kat looked at Caer, incredulous that Amanda was being so nice. As she walked past Caer, picking up one of the hampers, she said, “Almost scary, huh?”

“You know what, Tom?” Amanda said suddenly. “I think you and Clara should come along today.”

Kat and Caer stared at her.

Tom gaped.

“You want the two of us to come sailing with you?”

Clara, standing at the sink, said, “Oh, no. We couldn’t.”

“Of course you can,” Amanda insisted. “I’ve invited Cal and Marni, too, but Tom would be a big help. Sean still shouldn’t be doing anything strenuous, you know.”

Tom looked at his wife. Her eyes widened, and she shrugged. “All right, then.” She still looked stunned by the offer.

Cal and Marni arrived just as the car was being packed up. Entering through the open garage door, they gave the others a start.

“Sorry. We thought we’d see if you needed some help getting ready,” Marni said, apologizing for startling them all.

“I think we’re good. Let’s get going,” Amanda said.

“We’ve got a bottle of Irish whiskey,” Marni said. “We can drink to Eddie. It was his favorite. Hey, where’s Zach?”

Everyone went still for a moment.

“I guess Dad didn’t want to tell you until they were sure,” Kat said. “A body washed up near Providence. Zach went to see if it’s Eddie.”

“Oh, God, no,” Cal said, his shoulders drooping.

“Let me go get my father so we can get out of here. Let’s let Dad have a good day,” Kat said.

“Good idea,” Amanda agreed. “Sean? Are you ready? It’s time to go,” she called, her voice rising.

Sean appeared, zipping up his waterproof Windbreaker. “This is it? Let’s roll.”

He took it in stride that Tom and Clara were joining them as Tom opened the rear door of the black sedan, and Sean and Amanda slipped in.

Kat wedged in next to them. She wasn’t leaving her father. “Caer, sit up front with Tom and Clara,” Kat told her.

Amanda giggled and squeezed closer to Sean. Kat was tight-lipped. Caer saw Tom exchange glances with his wife. They both smiled, but they looked wary.

They reached the wharf and started loading the boat. With that many people, it was quick work. Caer was in the galley with Kat and Amanda when Marni came down the steps into the cabin. “She’s ready to go as soon as Cal gets here. But you know how he is. He ducked into the office the minute we got here and got hung up on a call. He’ll be a few minutes, so I say, let’s break out that whiskey. We’ll toast Eddie, and by then Cal should be back and we can get under way.”

“Where’s the whiskey?” Kat asked.

“Topside,” Marni told them. “So come on up.”

“I’ll get the glasses,” Amanda said.

On the deck, Sean was seated at the helm. He had on sunglasses, so it was impossible to tell what he was thinking. “Not a lot of wind, but enough,” he told Marni as she approached. “Besides, we always have the motor, and it’s not like we’re actually going anywhere.” He looked at her and frowned. “Where’s Cal?”