Peggy Dulle - Liza Wilcox 03 - Secrets at Sea (18 page)

“Ten minutes,” Brian pointed out. “We turned everyone over to the marshals.”

“Did Liza’s father and Garrett testify in court?” Tom inquired.

“No, they never did, but Detelli got life in prison without parole.”

“In Texas? I though they give the death penalty to everyone.” Tom said.

“Detelli was a very powerful man with deep pockets. He owned his own judges, congressmen, a
n
d police officers. He took a plea bargain, avoided the trial, and put a million dollar contract out on Garrett and your dad.”

“Wow,” Tom whistled, then looked over at me. “Are you okay, Liza?”

“Yes, finish the story, Brian. What happened to Garrett’s wife?”

Brian looked at Tom. “She doesn’t miss much, does she?”

“Nope,” Tom agreed.

“Okay,” Brian continued, “they had all of you in protective custody. You should have been safe. But someone leaked the location and Detelli’s henchmen came. We lost two marshals and Sarah, Garrett’s wife, in the firefight. Afterwards they moved you all to a new location. Two days later they found a bomb in the car that would be used to transport your dad and Garrett to the courthouse to testify.”

“How’d they get it in the car?” Tom asked.

“The marshals had no idea. It was a secure location with a ten-foot fence! Somebody on the inside planted the bomb, but they never figured out who it was. Detelli took the plea bargain and the Department of Justice offered to set up everyone with new identities. Garrett became Adam and went to Arizona.”

“And my parents?”

“Your dad refused. He didn’t think they could keep you all safe, and after what happened at the two safe houses, he was probably right.”

“We moved to California and started over,” I said, more to myself than Brian and Tom.

“Yes, and everything was fine. Detelli continued to run his entire organization from the penitentiary. Adam was set up with a new life and you and your parents went on with their lives.”

“But there still was a contract out on them,” Tom added.

“Detelli never rescinds a contract when he sets one in motion,” Brian said.

“So what happened? How did Detelli find Liza’s parents and Adam?” Tom asked.

“Adam was not a careful man.” Brian shook his head.

“He kept in touch with his kid, didn’t he?” I grunted. What an idiot! Even I know when you go into witness protection you have to leave everything and everyone behind.

“How’d you figure that out?” Brian asked.

“My source told me that Garrett had quite a few mistresses and that one paternity suit was filed against him. It was settled out of court which means the kid was his. He might forget all his mistresses in Texas but he isn’t going to ignore his kid.”

“You’re right. We didn’t know it, but he kept in contact with the kid. And then five years ago, your parents and Adam ended up on the same cruise.”

“The one that went to Canada.”

Brian looked at Tom. “How does she know all this?”

Tom shrugged. “She asks questions and usually they’re the right ones.”

“Okay, you’re correct. There was a hurricane in Mexico so the cruise changed its itinerary and went to Canada.”

“My dad was sick on that cruise. Did someone try to poison him?”

“No, his illness didn’t have anything to do with Detelli. He ate some bad fish from a taco truck in front of the Nordic Inn.”

“My dad loved taco trucks,” I told them.

“Yeah, well, the fish gave him salmonella. And he probably wouldn’t have seen Adam, but your dad ended up going to the infirmary aboard the ship. Adam was there getting some seasickness medicine.”

“Why’d he need that?” Tom looked confused. He got seasick easily, but hadn’t had any problems on this cruise.

“The water was really rough sailing up to Canada and the boat heaved and rolled the entire way,” Brian explained.

“So they saw each other in the infirmary?” I asked, getting back to the story.

“Yes, and we assume Adam told his son about seeing your dad, the cruise to Canada, and something about trying the cruise again next year. I don’t know how, but Detelli found out and had people wait at the Nordic Inn the following summer.”

“In between the two cruises, Adam met Betsy and they got married,” I filled in.

He nodded.

“And Inga was Adam’s mistress?” I asked.

“Yes, she took the bullet that was intended for him. He got on the boat with his new wife and there were your parents. I don’t believe Adam thought he’d ever see them again. They really didn’t spend time catching up when they’d seen each other in the infirmary. He didn’t know your parents took this same cruise every year.”

“Then Adam was poisoned,” I said.

“Well, that’s where it gets a little tricky.

“How?” Tom asked.

“Adam got sick after the first stop in Puerto Vallarta. He ate something and got very ill. He took something to help his stomach. Betsy told us he went to the infirmary, but there isn’t any log saying he went there or that they gave him any medication.”

“Someone else gave him the medication that killed him?” I asked.

“According to the autopsy, he had two different poisons in his system. One we think he got at the restaurant and the other on the ship.”

“That’s a little overkill, isn’t it?” Tom suggested.

“No,” Brian replied. “Just a thorough killer.”

“If at first you don’t succeed, try, try, again?” I added.

“And then your parents’ plane crash happened two weeks later,” Brian ended his story.

I nodded, Tom squeezed my leg again, but I was cried out over my parents’ death. I patted his hand. “I’m okay, Tom.” I looked back at Brian. “So if Detelli put out a contract on Garrett and my dad, why was Betsy killed?”

“We don’t know. Detelli doesn’t usually go after family members. It’s his code of ethics, twisted as that is. He would have killed you if he’d found you at the lake, but once you left, he wouldn’t have gone after you. It isn’t his style.”

Tom huffed. “A criminal with principles, how nice.”

Brian shrugged. “It’s kept Liza and Jordan safe for the last thirty years.”

“But not Betsy.” I stood, pacing to think. “Why would Detelli kill her?”

“We have no idea, it’s not…,” Brian began.

“I know.” I put my hand up to interrupt him. “It’s not his style. But what could she know that would put her in jeopardy?”

“Maybe it had nothing to do with Adam and his past,” Tom suggested.

“That’s what we’re thinking, but just to be sure, they put me on this boat to keep an eye on Liza.”

“And Jordan?”

“Yeah, she’s got a shadow, too. We also put one on Garrett’s kid.”

“Do you know who killed Adam and my parents?” I leaned back against the vanity.

“No.” He shook his head. “But they were definitely professional hits.”

“Do you think the same person did them both?” Tom moved over to me.

“Actually, we do. We think one person picked up the original contract: Garrett and your dad. Inga was an accident. And your mother, well…”

“She was with my dad. And Betsy was what - collateral damage?” I finished.

“It’s possible her death was
unintended or incidental to the intended outcome.
But, if that’s true, we don’t know what the intended outcome was.”

Then I remembered how Brian had startled me on the balcony the day we pulled away from the pier in Long Beach. “Do you have a master key or a key to our room?”

Brian looked down.

Tom took a step toward Brian. “Well, you don’t need it any longer and you can stop following Liza. I’ll make sure she’s safe.”

“Sure, you will.” Brian grunted, with more than a hint of sarcasm. “Were you there when someone almost dropped a stack of lounge chairs on her, or when she almost took a header off a flight of stairs a few minutes ago?”

“What?” Tom wheeled around and stared at me.

I smiled at Tom and pushed Brian toward the door. “Keep me in the loop and I’ll let you know if my ‘source’ at home finds anything else.”

“You do the same, Liza. If you get some answers, let me know,” Brian said. “And you’re not going to tell anyone I’m a cop, right?”

“No.” I walked him to the door.

When I closed the door and turned around, Tom stood with his hands on his hips, his jaw set, and anger in his eyes.

Chapter 21

“Did you forget to tell me a few things about your day?” he scowled.

“They were nothing, just accidents.”

“Things happen to you all the time.” He held up his fingers and ticked them off. “Drugged by clowns, car accident, almost fell into a huge hole, actually fell into an abandoned mine, arrested.”

I stepped toward him and interrupted him. “Saved your ass, found the missing child.”

He took a step toward me. “Rescued you from the local cops.”

I smiled and took another step. “Found the killers, saved the town.”

The irritation on his face morphed into exasperation and he asked, “You weren’t really going to get a chocolate melting cake and take it to Dorian’s room, were you?”

“Ah,” I said, and after a moment’s pause added, “The real reason you’re upset with me.”

“That wasn’t funny, Liza,” he said curtly.

He was right. It was a low blow, but I was desperate. I held my hand up. “Okay, I won’t use Dorian as a lever to get something I want.”

“Promise?” He lifted his eyebrows, this time both of them.

I stood on my toes and kissed him on the nose. “I give you my word.”

He wrapped his arms around me and brought his lips to mine. Yummy! Better than chocolate melting cake.

An hour later, I took another shower. When I came out Tom was talking on his phone.

He looked up at me and nodded. “Here she is, Justin.”

I took the phone. “Hello, Justin.”

“You didn’t call me back, Teach,”

I glanced at Tom, smiled, then concentrated on the phone, “I was preoccupied.”

“Tell me what’s going on?” he asked.

I told him everything Brian had shared with us.

“Wow, Teach. Mom and Dad were running from the mob?”

I laughed. “I guess so, oh, and Brian said you could have a job with the FBI if you want one.”

“Really?”

“You’re smarter than their computer people.”

“That could be cool,” Justin said.

“Get your degree, first,”

“I will, Teach. But maybe I’ll double major in computer and criminal justice.”

“You can do whatever you put your mind to, Justin,” I told him. “Did you find out anything else?”

“I found all the info on the boat accident and sent it to your email address. You can tell Brian, I also found the link to the Detelli trial. They didn’t bury the connection very well.”

“Anything unusual in there?”

“No, he was just a powerful man with many friends. No one else would have been sentenced to life in prison; in Texas, they kill everyone. I sent you the newspaper articles on that, too. I’m still trying to get the ship manifest to check if anyone was there four years ago who is aboard now.”

“Go back and look at five years ago, too. Adam and Dad were on that ship, too.”

“Okay, anything else you want me to investigate?”

“I don’t know, Justin.”

Tom tapped me on the shoulder.

“What?” I asked.

“Ask him to check airline flight plans and see if he can figure out where your parents were going when they got killed. And if it’s out of state, have him check the airline manifests to see if he can find someone who was in Long Beach when Adam was killed and also in the place where your parent’s plane must have been tampered with.”

I raised my eyebrows. “None of that sounds legal.”

Tom frowned. “Just tell him to do it.”

“Okay.” I got back on the phone and told Justin.

“The Sheriff must feel the threat is real or he wouldn’t be asking me to do this, Teach.”

“I guess so.”

“Take care of yourself, Teach.”

“I’ll be fine. I’ve got Tom looking after me and now, Brian, too.”

“But you’re dealing with a professional killer here, not some psycho clowns or corrupt mayor and his minions.”

“I’ll be careful, Justin.”

“You better be. My mom says if Shelby doesn’t go home at the end of the week, she’s going to have a heart attack.”

“Why? What happened?”

“She has group of woman who come over and plays bridge at our house. They always leave their purses in my mom’s room.”

“Oh, no.” I knew my dog and pictured the chaos in my mind, then said, “Shelby got into their purses.”

“Yes, she emptied them all onto my mom’s new white bedspread. I think she ate some makeup or at least drew pictures with the lipsticks. One of the ladies had some sleeping pills in her purse and container was opened, the pills scattered over the floor. My mom was afraid Shelby ate them too.”

“She’s okay, isn’t she?”

“Shelby’s fine but my mom may not recover. She came into the bedroom, saw the mess, started yelling, and then she saw Shelby. She was lying on the bed with her head hanging off the side. Shelby wouldn’t move and my mom thought she wasn’t breathing. Mom picked her up and carried her through the house, screaming the entire way. She got Shelby into the car and rushed her down to the emergency vet hospital.”

“The one on Maple Street?” I asked. Shelby has been there several times. She likes to eat things that make her sick but absolutely hates going to the vet. It’s probably a memory from the first time she was there after she’d wandered into my garage, skinny with her ribs showing and one step away from a grave.

“Yes, that’s the one. My mom carried her into the hospital and told the doctor she’d killed your dog. The vet took one look at Shelby and said, ‘Go home, Shelby.’ The dog sat right up, licked my mom’s face, and wagged her tail.”

“Shelby doesn’t like to get in trouble, so if she thinks she is, she plays possum. And the vet always says that to her when we’re there. When he said that, he was trying to see if she was actually hurt or just playing. When she got up, he knew she was fine and she knows she’s okay and it’s time to go home.”

Justin chuckled. “My mom didn’t find it funny.”

“I’m so sorry, Justin. Sometimes I think she’s part beagle.” I shook my head. “Tell your mother I’ll pay for any things were ruined, the vet bill, and all the damages she inflicts on the house this week.”

“We haven’t had this much excitement in my house since the last time she stayed for a week, Teach. I find it very entertaining.”

“All right, but apologize to your mother for me anyway and call me if you find the stuff from the airlines.”

“You got it.” Justin hung up.

“Is Shelby causing mayhem at Justin’s house?” Tom asked.

“Yes.” I told him about the incident.

Tom laughed. “She does like to get into things, doesn’t she?”

“Yes.” I smiled.

“Hey, we’ve got an hour before we need to get ready for dinner. I’d like to go exercise.”

“Go ahead.” I sat down on the bed. “I’ll just stay here and maybe read.”

Tom sat down next to me. “Nope, I’m not letting you out of my sight.”

“Oh please, I’m perfectly safe in the room.”

“Oh yeah, that’s the secure room
no one
can get into it?”

“I see your point. I’ll read at the gym.”

“Thanks. Why don’t you figure out what we need to bring on our excursion tomorrow?”

“That’s a good idea.” I picked up the flyer they gave us at the Excursion Desk, along with the Cruiser Notes. “I’ll see what’s going on tonight, too.”

Tom nodded and changed into his exercise clothes. I didn’t plan on working up a sweat, so I wore the shorts I’d put on after my last shower. How low can you set the speed on a treadmill, I wondered?

At the gym, Tom went directly to a rowing machine. It looked like too much work to me. I was on vacation after all. The treadmills were all busy, so I ended up back on the bike. I started pedaling and set the level to 0.

When I had the rhythm, I read about our excursion. In Puerto Vallarta, we would travel on an air-conditioned bus to La Desembocada. We would be matched up with a horse that suits our ability. I couldn’t wait to see that – I’ve spent hours on horses, but Tom hasn’t done much riding. Then we would follow the Mascota River and enjoy the local scenery and vegetation. What kind of fruit grows in Mexico, I wondered? This could be fun and educational, too.

The brochure said to wear our swimsuits under our clothes. I hadn’t seen anything about swimming on this ride, but a few lines down I got my explanation. If we wanted to, we could swim bareback on a horse through a river. Oh, hell no! In a river in Mexico with all their lovely parasites? I decided I would watch that part of our excursion. Afterwards we could listen to a talk on tequila, Tom would like that, or feed the ostriches. That could be fun. I’ve never really seen an ostrich up close. Were they mean? Did they spit like camels?

Homework done, I picked up the Cruiser Notes. Tonight after dinner, there was karaoke in the Celestial Nights Bar. That’s probably what Tom would want to do. There was also a comedy and music show at 10:30. That could be fun. A party with games started at the same time on the Pool Deck and then a Late Night Mexican Buffet. More food? I loved cruising!

I looked up when Tom came over a few minutes later. “Done already?”

“It’s been forty minutes, Liza. We need to get ready for dinner.”

I grinned up at him. “Did you know they have a Midnight Buffet tonight?”

He chuckled. “Food at midnight? Only you would appreciate that.”

“I bet I won’t be the only one there.” I got off the bike.

“I’m sure you won’t be.”

“Speaking of food, I wonder what’s for dinner,” I asked as we walked out of the gym.

“Jack told me there’s a menu in front of the dining room. Do you want to stop by and check it?”

“No, I’d rather be surprised.”

Back in the room, Tom showered and I changed into a skirt and stood out on the balcony. The evening was cooler than yesterday, but still very pleasant. I leaned on the railing and thought about my mom and dad and everything I’d learned about them today. They must have spent their entire life looking over their shoulders and I never knew it. Was I so absorbed in my own life that I didn’t notice? Jordan needed to hear this news, too, but how do you tell your sister your parents were killed by a professional hit man?

A few minutes later, Tom joined me. “Are you ready?”

“Yes.” I sighed.

He put his arms around me and pulled me close. “Thinking about your parents?”

I wrapped my arms around him and laid my head on his chest.

“Your dad did everything to keep you all safe. He did it all right.”

“But he and mom were still killed.”

“I know.” He kissed the top of my head and pulled me closer. “Sometimes no matter what we do, the people we love get hurt.”

I knew what he was thinking. Since he’s known me I’ve had a few close calls but always seemed to get out of them. But a professional killer? Was that more than I was capable of?

I leaned back and looked at him. “Then you better stay close to me and keep me safe, because if something happens to me, I’m coming back to haunt you.”

He smiled. “Let’s go eat.”

“I thought you’d never ask.”

Jack and Emily sat at the table when we arrived. The waiter had already given them their menus and they were eating their bread. Jack’s layered with butter, Emily’s dry.

“I thought you weren’t coming,” Emily said as we sat down, then whispered, “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, Emily, and Tom knows I almost fell today,” I told her as our waiter handed me my menu.

“Did that blabbermouth Brian tell him?” she asked.

“Yes.” I nodded and changed the subject. I wasn’t supposed to talk about Brian. “What looks good for dinner?”

Everything always sounded good, but I had to choose, so eventually I did, settling on tomato basil soup, Caesar salad, a nice rare filet with béarnaise sauce, and chocolate melting cake, of course.

After dinner, the lights went on and off, and Mexican polka sounding music erupted in the dinning room. The waiters sang along with the music, swinging their napkins in the air and twirling their bodies. It was to help us get into the spirit for our first day in Mexico tomorrow. It worked. Emily and I jumped up and danced with our waiter. Jack and Tom smiled but refused to get up and join us. When the dance was over, we gave the waiters a big round of applause.

As we were leaving, Emily asked, “Are you going to see the comedian tonight?”

I looked at Tom. I’d felt his karaoke CD in his pocket when he hugged me on the balcony, so I said. “Yes, but I think we’ll go back and change. Are you guys going?”

“Yes.”

“Okay, save us a seat and we’ll meet you there.”

“Okay.” She nodded toward Jack. “We’re going to the casino to see if I can win back all the money Jack lost at blackjack today.”

They went to try their luck while Tom and I headed for the elevator.

When they were out of sight, I turned to him. “Don’t you want to sing a few songs before we go to the show?”