Death of a Hot Chick (7 page)

“
Gotta call the police,
kiddo.”

“
And you’ll tell them what you saw?” I
asked as I pulled out my cell phone.

What would anyone want in my boat? There was
nothing of value, nothing, not even enough food for two meals.

The title to the boat!

Where had I left it? My mind went blank.
After it dried I put it away. Where? I’d had it in with my twelve
dollars under the.... The silverware tray was upside down on the
floor with nothing left in the drawer. The bills were gone. But,
I’d shown the title to Officer Yarnell. No, last night I’d shown
Nicole. It was in a book. But had I put it back? When did I show it
to Gregory?

I grabbed the bed cushions, yanked them off,
tugged the wall board that hid the bedding, the pillow, and the
book, without its title bookmark.

“
It’s gone!”

I sank down on the bed cushion. No, that’s
not where I left it. I....

Reached in my pocket. The title, still
there. I’d taken it to lunch, hoping to go on to the courthouse
and—forgotten to remove it.

“
It’s here.”

“
What’s here?” Liz asked.

“
Something that I’m going to put in a
safe-deposit box at the bank as soon as possible.”

“
But you’ll call the
police?”

“
You bet,” I said, although I was sure
if anything had been taken, it was nothing of value. Not to me. Not
valuable like the title to
Snapdragon
.

Early evening

“
Cheer up, kiddo. All is not
lost.”

I raised my chin from my cupped hands. “Hi
Teddy,” I said.

“
Such enthusiasm, such an
overabundance of energy.” Teddy climbed aboard
Snapdragon
and sat beside me on the deck box.
“You know I cover the police station too.”

“
So you heard about my
break-in?”

“
What? No. What happened?
When?”

“
Earlier today. So, what were you
going to tell me?”

“
First why did you call the police?
It’s news,” she said, flashing her recorder from somewhere. “Tell
me.”

“
Not news. Nothing taken. Combination
changed since. Sorry to interrupt whatever brought you here.
Besides my underabundance of energy.”

“
You’re sure?”

I nodded.

She continued. “I was talking to Emily. You
know Emily. Well, maybe you don’t. She’s the police office
receptionist. Just back from vacation, so we gabbed a bit. Only
thing she has on Nicole’s murder was a person of interest, which
she figured was a hoot and a half—her actual words—because it was
so ridiculous. I mean, just because a person discovers a body and
reports it—”

“
Me?
I’m the
person of interest?” I stepped backward.

“
She figures the powers-that-be are
inventing stuff. But they do know Nicole was seriously seeing some
man. They just don’t know who. One would suppose that could be the
way to go, right?”

“
Right. Anyone but me.”

“
Then Emily invited me back to the
kitchen for cookies. Did you know they’ve updated the place a bit
more? They took out the old range and put in a microwave which left
room for a small fridge and one of those coffee makers that heats
water for soup, hot chocolate—”

“
Hey, I’m not that familiar with the
local police station. You’d think I was some kind of crook who
spent my time there. Hasn’t writing news done anything about the
way you ramble all around a subject?”

Teddy shoved me, which nearly pushed me off
the deck box. I shoved back, but not so hard that it did any more
than nudge her.

“
So what else did you find out at the
police station?” Or was this her cheer-Cyd stop of the
day?

“
The police are looking for witnesses,
which one would suspect. The cookies that the first responder
donated were yummy. That’s the ambulance driver, or maybe it was a
funeral home driver. Anyway the driver borrowed a body bag from the
police and thanked them with cookies. Obviously Kaye’s cookies from
the school bake sale.”

Like nobody else made desserts but Kaye,
which I didn’t mention. “Uh, huh. Cookies. Then....”

“
Doug came in and snatched a couple.
You, of course, know Officer Yarnell, our—”

“
Yes.”

“
This is the best part. He ignored me
completely, but he warned Emily about talking to me. The quote
was....” Teddy reached for her recorder.

“
Just tell me.”

“
He said, ‘You better look out for
her.’ He meant
me
,
but get this. I’m standing right there listening, and he acts
like I’m invisible and tells Emily he didn’t want me to hear
anything about Nicole Joline’s boat, or to visit my ‘friend Cyd
Denlinger.’ ”

“
Which is why you came straight
here.”

“
Naturally. So, what do you think?
What does Nicole’s boat have to do with anything?”

“
Could be about the title. Could be
about the gangster who used to own
Snapdragon
. Could be our friend Doug is
remembering what a good detective you were back in third
grade.”

Teddy grinned. “You think?”

“
Could be that all these years he has
been secretly pining away for the touch of your lips on
his.”

She bopped me on the shoulder, and asked,
“Can you believe it? Doug called me, ‘our favorite muck-raker.’
”

“
Encouraging. Next he’ll call
you
his
favorite
muck-raker.”

Teddy jumped up, doing a much better job of
nearly pushing me off the deck box. “Try to do a friend a favor,
and what does she do? Makes fun.” She stepped off the boat onto the
dock.

“
See you,” I called after her. A
good-cheer visit, definitely. She didn’t even ask any more about my
break-in.

Nicole had a boyfriend? I wondered who.

~
~

Late evening

If there was ever a moment when I didn’t
want to see Kaye, it was after a long, tiring, worrisome day.
Without even saying, “Permission to come aboard,” she stepped
through my door and let out a well-modulated shriek.

“
Yeah, it’s a mess, but I didn’t do
it,” I told her. “Blame it on an uninvited intruder. Lizzie saw him
leave my boat. Sounded like a bum, but it was somebody who knew the
combination.”

“
I hope you’ve changed it. Don’t tell
me you used the same one Nicole had.”

“
Yes, and yes. So, anyone who got the
combination from Nicole....”

“
What did the intruder
steal?”

I shrugged. “Maybe he did get something, but
I don’t know what. He didn’t get the title, which is the only thing
I care about. And do you realize it’s too late for a visit?”

Kaye passed me and peeked into the forward
cabin. “What an unholy—”

“
Didn’t I just say it was a mess? You
should have seen the neat piles I had before some unknown goon
tossed the place.”

“
Everything in its place, I suppose?”
Kaye said with her usual disdain for my organizational
abilities.

“
It was almost this bad when I took
over.”

“
You think the intruder wanted the
title, but what if he didn’t? What if there are untold riches
buried among this litter?”

“
Yeah, sure.”

“
No, think of it. Look at that room
back there.”

“
You’re turned around. That room back
there is actually in the front of the boat. You entered from the
back.”

“
Semantics,” Kaye said. “Do you think
Nicole might have hidden something valuable back, ah, that is, in
the front, in that bedroom?”

“
She only had the boat for a few days.
Did you say Nicole sort of won
Snapdragon
?”

“
No, she obtained it as collateral for
an unpaid loan. If she’s lending money to others, you can hardly
claim she was unable to refund your expenses.”

“
Hey, if I loaned somebody big bucks,
I’d be broke too.”

Kaye did the big-sister snort. “Let’s get
busy. I’ll help you clean up.”

I couldn’t turn down that offer. I pulled
out two large trash bags and headed for the forward cabin. “I’ve
got to do something about my title. Hide it somewhere.”

Kaye took one of the bags. “Tomorrow, I’ll
pick you up early. Since it’s Saturday, the bank will only be open
until two. You need insurance and a safe-deposit box for the title.
And then you can help me.”

I plowed through a pile of crushed Pepsi
cans. “Nope. Wes will be here.”

“
Wes?”

“
You know. The marina manager. He told
us about Pop. He’s so eager to get rid of me, he put me on the top
of his list for repairs.”

Kaye picked up one can with two fingers,
stared at it from all sides. “Excuse me? The boat needs
repairs?”

I snatched the can, dumped it into my bag.
“A check-up, really. Like an auto tune-up. Wes is coming tomorrow,
six sharp. I’m the designated gofer.”

Kaye picked up another empty can. “I don’t
suppose you had a neat pile of crushed cans. Did the intruder bring
them?”

“
They were in a trash bag inside the
deck box, waiting for a few more discards before I hauled them up
to the recycling bin behind the office.”

“
Just a guess. Your intruder didn’t
find what he wanted, so he showed his displeasure by dumping the
cans inside,” Kaye said.

“
Gee thanks. Does that mean he’ll be
back?”

“
No. He’ll look elsewhere. Actually, I
need your help tomorrow. We’ll still have time. We’ll do the bank
and your insurance first. Will you be through by ten?”

Why was my sister so eager to help clear the
aftermath of the robbery? Simple. She had some secret agenda. But
she had offered a ride to the bank. And I really needed that
insurance. “Not sure. I’ll call you when Wes leaves. Might take all
morning. But the bank will still be open.”

“
Yes. And I want to discuss a
volunteer opportunity with you.”

“
Kaye, I need paying jobs, not a
freebie.”

“
No problem. I just need your opinion
on boats. Only a couple of hours all together. Surely you can do
that. Let’s say, an hour tomorrow.”

“
We’ll see.” I should have known who
she’d choose for a committee member.

At least Kaye pitched in to help. “You said
you had organized piles. What kind do you want?”

“
Trash, recyclable, and
usable.”

Kaye didn’t answer, just poked an armful of
cans into a bag.

After an hour, I called a halt. “I’m beat.
Call it a night?”

Kaye rolled her shoulders, then rubbed her
arms. “Definitely.”

“
And, you’re right, I’ve got to get
insurance. I hope the same company will take me on. They had to pay
out on
Honey
.” I pulled the
title out of my pocket and smoothed the folded paper. “I have to
store this somewhere. I mean, I can’t be carrying it around. And I
need copies.”

“
Definitely,” Kaye
repeated.

“
The former owner was named Chester
Foltz.”

“
Yes, we determined that already,”
Kaye said, then poked the paper. “But he got the boat from somebody
else.”

“
The gangster.”

“
Okay, what’s this gangster
story?”

“
You were here. You heard Wes. That’s
why he wants
Snapdragon
out of
here by the end of July.”

“
I just naturally figured Wes for a
crabby old man telling ridiculous stories.”

“
Nope.”

Kaye turned the title over, then over again,
like she’d find some secret that wasn’t there. “Arthur Estep is a
gangster?”

“
Guess so. He’s called Pop, according
to Wes.”

“
Oooh, let me think,” Kaye bit her lip
and closed her eyes. After a long moment, her eyes popped open. “I
remember the trial. He’s a bad one. And he’s getting
out?”

“
It’s
my
boat.”

“
I’d better take your title home for
safekeeping. Call me when you’re through with the repair work. I’ll
find a lawyer. I’ll research it tonight on the web.”

Kaye snatched the title, waved, and was
gone.

“
Hey,” I yelled, but Kaye kept going.
All of a sudden my little boat had become poison. Why?
Because
Snapdragon
once
belonged to a scary guy? Because my boat had been ransacked? Maybe
not for the title. The intruder couldn’t take it because it wasn’t
there. But, did he take away some other prize?

Or not? I hadn’t thought of the can dumping
as retaliation. Maybe Kaye was right.

Was something hidden? Where hadn’t anyone
looked? What wasn’t messed up?

I had pulled the seat out and opened the bed
earlier. Now I took it apart, yanked everything off: the sheets,
pillows, cushions underneath, and those behind. I rubbed my hands
over every inch I couldn’t see. Felt underneath the top.