Peggy Dulle - Liza Wilcox 03 - Secrets at Sea (26 page)

We walked out to the beach and Tom helped me spread out our towels. I stripped down to my bathing suit and slid off my ring, putting it back into the little box. “This will keep it safe until we can get it sized. I don’t want to loose it.”

Tom smiled and I handed him the suntan lotion.

After applying sunscreen to each other, we lay down on our towels.

I scooted down, closed my eyes, and scrunched the sand under my feet. The sound of the waves was wonderful. But my enjoyment was constantly interrupted by people coming up to us and trying to sell something.

Finally we sat up, tired of sitting up and down every time someone came over and started talking to us.

“This isn’t very relaxing,” Tom said.

“They’re just trying to get some lovely U. S. dollars.”

“But it’s the same stuff, over and over. I don’t want to see any more silver jewelry for a whole year.”

A man walked over, holding a board full of silver jewelry. Tom scowled at him and he left.

I laughed. “Okay, let’s talk about your cop secrets.”

He grimaced. “Some of them I can’t really share with you, Liza.”

“Let me start for you. Brian doesn’t work in witness protection or homicide; he works for an FBI division that hunts environmental terrorists. Although I’d think there’d be a rule about letting someone hunt people they hate, since his parents were killed in a bombing perpetrated by one of the groups. He thinks my parents’ cruising group were terrorists and that’s why he’s here. They certainly had fun planning the attacks, but I’m sure they never actually carried them out. And if Brian thinks they did, he’s an idiot!”

Tom studied for a minute. “Can I ask some questions?”

“I guess,” I said.

“How’d you find out about Brian?”

“The computer tech told Justin.”

“I didn’t know the thing about his parents. It doesn’t seem likely the Feds would place an agent in that position. I think I’ll get a hold of a friend at the FBI and ask about Brian.”

“That’s a good idea. Maybe he’s a loose cannon bent on revenge,” I suggested.

Tom frowned. “I don’t think so, but I’ll check it out. The thing about your parents being part of a terrorist group, how does that sit with you?”

“They were certainly zealots about the environment, but I don’t think they’d deliberately destroy anything, although the group definitely had the skills.”

“What do you mean?” Tom asked.

I repeated what Carmelita had told me about each group members’ skills and how together they would have been able to pull off the jobs.

“But one of them might have taken the plans to heart and executed them,” Tom suggested.

“I suppose it is possible.”

“Brian has a printout of corporations, refineries, and other companies who have had incidents. Your parents’ group was in many of the cities where there was trouble. He has an entire file on the group. It’s a lot of evidence, Liza.”

“They’re all environmentalists. I’m not surprised they were there, but that doesn’t make them criminals. They were picketing.”

“They all had motive, opportunity, and now you’ve told me they also had the means. It may be circumstantial evidence, but that doesn’t make it untrue. If Brian knew about the planning, he’d have enough to take it to a judge and get search warrants for their homes and businesses. The Feds take terrorists very seriously, especially since 9/11.”

“Well, most of the group is dead, so there isn’t much to learn with warrants.”

“Brian doesn’t think so.”

“He thinks my parents are still alive, doesn’t he?”

Tom nodded. “Yes, especially your dad. He thinks he went underground when the attempt was made on his life. Now he runs the cell with a different group and is continuing the work the original group planned.”

“That’s ridiculous. My dad would not let me go on thinking he was dead if he wasn’t.”

He put his hand on my arm. “You told me your parents’ coffins were empty, right?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“When the plane exploded, there just wasn’t anything left.”

Tom shook his head. “That doesn’t make sense. There surely would have been something. Bodies just don’t disintegrate, even when a plane explodes. There is always something left.”

“Are you saying both my parents might still be alive?”

“I don’t know, Liza, but it is possible.”

“My parents wouldn’t do that to me, Tom.” I shook my head. “You didn’t know them, so you can’t understand this, but my parents always told Jordan and me that we came first in their lives, before their jobs and before the rallies. If either one of us ever needed anything they’d drop everything and come and help us.”

“But you were out of college and Jordan had moved to New York with her boyfriend at the time, what was his name?”

“Sam.”

“Right, she was settled with Sam and finishing school. You were starting your first teaching job. You didn’t need your parents anymore, neither of you.”

“Everyone needs their parents, Tom, no matter how old they are.”

“I know that. Believe me, I wish every day my parents hadn’t been killed, but see it from their eyes. Someone was trying to kill your dad. Both of their children were old enough to take care of themselves. And Brian was hot on their trail.”

“What?”

“Yes, he started working Enviro-Terrorist fifteen years ago. He knew about your parents’ little cruising group. Remember the picture, the one with the fifteen people.”

“Yes.” I nodded.

“It was Brian, even back then. He was trying to infiltrate the group and bring them down.”

“And then his parents were killed.”

“Yes, maybe as an accident or maybe a deliberate attempt to stop him.”

“And he is obsessed on my parents’ group?”

“Maybe.”

I asked the only obvious question left, “Do you think Brian’s the one killing them?”

Tom shrugged and stood. “I don’t think so, but…”

I stood. “We left him with Carmelita.”

We gathered up our stuff and took the first taxi back to the ship.

Chapter 30

In the taxi, Tom called his friend at the FBI and asked him to check on Brian.

When he hung up I asked, “Don’t you think you should ask your friend to send another agent to the ship? Brian might not come easily.”

“I can handle Brian, and besides, I’m not totally convinced he’s a murderer. I certainly don’t want to tell the people he works with that he’s a serial killer and then he turns out not to be. It’s a definite career stopper.”

When we finally reached the dock it took forever to get back onto the ship. It looked like everyone decided to come back at the same time. I shifted my weight from one foot to the next, as the acid in my stomach churned with anxiety. By the time we got on board, I ran up the stairs toward Carmelita and Brian’s room.

I knocked on the door, but no one answered.

“Now what?” I asked Tom.

He opened his cell phone and spoke into it. “Brian, this is Tom. I’ve got some more information on Liza’s parents’ group — enough to get those warrants you want. Call me as soon as you get this message.” Tom closed his phone. “He’ll call soon. He wants those warrants badly.”

I nodded. “Let’s go to our room and I can leave a message for Carmelita. She’ll pick it up as soon as she gets in.”

In the room I went directly to the phone and called. “Carmelita, it’s Liza. I need some help with hair and makeup again tonight. Call me on Tom’s cell phone when you get this message.”

Tom smiled.

“We women have our priorities, too.”

“Tonight’s not another formal night, is it?” Tom frowned.

“No, but tomorrow is.”

Tom lifted his eyebrows and asked, “What are you wearing to the next formal night?”

“One of my own dresses,” I told him, ignoring his attempt at light-heartedness. “What do we do now?”

“We wait. I have no idea who to contact in Mazatlan about Brian and Carmelita. They’re supposed to be helping Leslie Mitchell get her husband’s body off the ship and home to the states. I wouldn’t know where to begin to look for them.”

“Let’s shower and go and do something. I’ll go crazy in here waiting for them.”

“You first,” he said.

I grabbed his hand. “No, both of us. It will keep my mind off Carmelita.”

Tom laughed.

But it didn’t work. It was the quickest shower we’d ever taken together, and although we ended up in bed, I couldn’t focus. Tom was willing but I couldn’t concentrate and everything bothered me.

When I finally had a giggling fit, Tom stopped. “Let’s find something else to do. This is too frustrating.”

“Sorry,” I said.

“It’s not your fault. Your mind is usually multi-tasking but today it’s on another planet that I can’t reach.”

I glanced over at the clock. “It’s almost five. Let’s get sushi and then go exercise.”

Tom laughed. “Now, those are words I never thought I’d ever hear you say.”

“As long as it looks like a California roll, I’m happy, and it will kill more time.”

I dressed in thin sweats and a t-shirt, Tom put on his exercise clothes and we went down and ate sushi. Tom had two of everything and I ate the look-a-like California rolls.

When Tom’s phone rang, we both grabbed for it. He was a bit quicker so he got it first and then handed it to me, “It’s Justin.”

“Hi, Justin.”

“Hey, Teach. I’ve got more information for you.”

“Okay.”

“Brian’s parents were killed in Richmond, Virginia, nine years ago. They were both engineers and worked for the Orion Refinery. They were doing a valve-system inspection when a couple of the release valves blew.”

“Were my parents there at the time?”

“Yes, according to your dad’s flight plan. It was a stop they documented at the local airport. There was a big rally that weekend because the refinery was suspected of dumping hazardous waste into a local valley. The cans weren’t marked with the company logo, but they were the only company within a hundred miles who produced that waste product.”

“Had the valves been tampered with?”

“Yes, the pipes had been filed down so the valves didn’t fit very well. Just a little amount of pressure made them blow.”

“Was it a scheduled inspection?” I asked.

“I looked for that, but couldn’t find it.”

“It was a surprise inspection?”

“Yes, it was even a surprise to the company.”

“Brian’s parents did it on their own and without telling anyone?”

“I think so.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know, Teach.”

“Do you think they suspected the company might actually have been dumping the waste and wanted to check it out for themselves?”

“Maybe.”

“Was anyone else hurt?”

“No, just Brian’s parents.”

“So, let’s say they suspected the company was dumping waste and wanted to get the proof. They go in to do a surprise inspection so they can snoop around.”

“The company wouldn’t have liked that.”

“No, they wouldn’t.”

“So you’re thinking the company had Brian’s parents killed and their deaths weren’t related to the sabotage of the refinery by an environmental group.”

“Maybe, I’ll run it by Tom and see what he thinks.”

“He thinks different than you and me, Teach,” Justin said.

“Don’t I know it.” I shook my head and smiled at Tom.

Tom was frowning at me.

“Anything else, Justin?

“No, I’ll call if I find anything else.”

“Thanks.”

“Sidekick away!”

When I hung up, Tom shook his head. “No company’s going to risk killing two of their own engineers. It would bring too many cops into their refinery. The last thing you want around your business is cops if you’re doing something illegal.”

“Not if you have a viable suspect to hand the cops. Just point your finger at the people picketing your facility.”

“No, they’d still have cops running around their refinery.”

“What if they weren’t shipping the waste into the valley at that point? What if they were getting rid of it legally and didn’t have to worry about the cops finding out anything.”

“Maybe.”

“And my parents landed at the local airport. There’s a log showing their arrival, and their departure a few days later. If they really were involved in the incident at the refinery, wouldn’t they have come in under the radar like they’d done before?”

He tilted his head and looked expectantly at me. I closed my eyes. Oh, I hadn’t shared that little bit about my parents landing in private airports before and Tom was going to call it very suspicious. If I made a list of the things I chose not to share with Tom, I wouldn’t make so many mistakes.

“Liza?”

I opened my eyes. “Yes.”

“Tell me about your parents’ trips, and if they didn’t land in the city airports, where did they land?”

“Private airports.”

“No logs.”

I shook my head.

“Brian’s not going to like that.”

“Who cares? Remember, he’s a killer.”

“I don’t think Brian is a killer, but let me amend that. The Feds are not going to like it.”

“Why do we have to share it with them?”

His frown deepened. “It’s what we cops do. We share information when we think it will help someone with their investigation.”

“About my parents?”

“About anyone.”

“Well, that stinks.” I stood. “I’m going to exercise.”

Tom raised his eyebrows, but I ignored him. I didn’t really think my parents were still alive, but if they were I’d just helped the Feds get closer to finding them. I walked out the door.

On the way to the gym we passed lots of people who had overdone the sun today. They looked like fried lobsters. The gym was fairly empty. I guess everyone was just too tired from their excursions to exercise.

I’d forgotten to bring a book to the gym, so I worked out on the treadmill nearest a television set and read the closed captioning for a movie. It was a stupid love story and I just wasn’t in the mood for it. What I needed was a good action movie that might take my mind off my parents, Brian, and everything else.

Forty minutes later, Tom came up to the treadmill. “I just got a call from Brian. He’s staying in Mazatlan with Leslie. It’s taking longer than he thought to get everything arranged. He said he’d catch up with us in Cabo San Lucas.”

“What about Carmelita?”

“He sent her back to the ship. He asked if we’d keep an eye on her tonight. He doesn’t sound like a killer, does he?”

“No, but maybe he’s staying with Leslie to kill her first. Then he’ll come back on the ship and murder Carmelita.”

Tom frowned.

“Okay.” I exhaled a big sigh. “That sounds pretty farfetched to me, too. I guess we’re back to someone else knocking off the cruising group.”

“A concession by the great Liza Wilcox, sleuth at large?”

“Okay, so maybe all my past experiences with cops have tarnished my opinion of them.”

“You know me.”

“Yeah, but I love you, that’s different.”

His face broke out in a huge smile and he leaned over and kissed me gently on the lips.

When he pulled away, asked, “What’s that for?”

“For saying you love me. I never get tired of hearing it. And for your often bizarre logic and ability to discard things when they stop making sense. I told Brian what you said about his parents.”

“What did he say?”

“At first he was mad that Justin had investigated him, but after he calmed down, he thought you just might be on to something about the Orion Company and their part in his parents’ deaths.”

“My logic isn’t bizarre.”

“Yes it is, Liza, but that’s what makes you a good investigator. You think of things no one else ever would have dreamed could be a possibility. Sometimes when we investigate, we get so attached to one of our suspects we can’t see anyone else. You quickly discarded Brian as a killer when it stopped making sense and moved on to the next suspect.”

“I haven’t totally discarded Brian. He could still be a killer.”

Tom grimaced.

“Let’s make sure Carmelita is back in her room before I change my opinion of Brian.”

On the way back to the cabins, we encountered the Kids Club scouring the ship looking for items on a scavenger hunt list.

“Do you have any paperclips?” A little girl, maybe seven, with pigtails and a yellow sundress asked us.

Tom and I shook our heads and off she went, giggling and obviously enjoying her time on the ship.

When we knocked on Carmelita’s door, a very large man answered. He was at least a foot taller than Tom and outweighed him by a hundred pounds; it was all muscle. His Hawaiian shirt with hula girls was pulled tight across his barrel of a chest and barely contained his huge biceps. It reminded me of the shirts my dad used to love, although he hadn’t filled them out the way this man did.

“Yes?” he said.

“We’re here to see Carmelita,” I said and tried to step around him.

The man put his hands out, blocking my way. “No, she’s sleeping and doesn’t want to be disturbed.”

Tom stepped between the man and me. His jaw tightened. “Who are you?”

“My name is Rod.”

“Who is it, Rod?” I heard a familiar voice.

“It’s us, Dorian,” I shouted. “Tell Mr. No-neck to let us by.”

I heard Dorian laugh. “It’s okay, Rod. Let them in.”

Rod stepped aside and Tom and I went into the room. Dorian was sitting on the couch watching television.

“Where’s Carmelita?” I asked.

“The poor thing fell asleep on the balcony. She went with Leslie and it was a nightmare.”

“Why? What happened?” I sat down next to him.

“Who’s the goon at the door?” Tom asked.

Dorian glanced at Tom for just a moment and then brought his attention back to me. “Rod is my bodyguard. I hired him after Brian told me about the deaths. I’m not really scared for my life, but I’m glad I did it now. He can keep an eye on Carmelita until Brian gets back.”

“And who’s going to protect you?” Tom said sarcastically.

Dorian smiled at me, his eyes glistening with delight. “I guess I’ll have to stay and entertain Carmelita.”

“Oh, lucky girl,” I smiled and said.

Dorian picked up my hand and kissed it. “You can stay too. Rod can watch us all and I’m perfectly capable of entertaining you both.”

“No.” Tom took my hand out of Dorian’s. “I can keep Liza safe.”

Dorian never even looked at Tom, his eyes were locked with mine. “Whatever you want, Liza.”

“What happened in Mazatlan?” I asked.

“The Mexican authorities are giving Leslie such a bad time. They want to do the autopsy and determine the cause of death before he leaves their port. Leslie doesn’t want them to touch him.”