Chapter 34
THIRTY-FOUR
“So, what were your impressions?” Duke turned the key, starting the engine.
Ferd laid her head against the seat. “Her tears seemed real. Her shock that the key wasn’t where she left it wasn’t fake. But did you see the beer can on the counter?”
“The one that matched the can we sent to the lab?” Duke glanced at her with a grin.
“I noticed. That brand is only available across the lake. The brewery is there. It’s a microbrewery.
If you want any locally, you have to drive to get it.
Driving around the lake takes forty-five minutes.
Not unheard of, but it’s a lot faster by boat. ”
“So, is Monica a drinker, or is the beer from her houseguest that she didn’t want to talk about?” Ferd asked. “I assume you caught that. Carl was a subject we were supposed to leave alone.”
He gripped the wheel but didn’t go yet. “She didn’t want to talk about him, but I got the feeling it was because of how she sees him. A father figure. A protector. No one wants the person they look up to, to be less than perfect.”
Or to go without one. “But is he physically capable of doing the damage that was done to Bailey’s head? Carl has to be about seventy-five, and he’s not in the best of shape. He looks like he was here when the mountains were formed.”
Duke snorted. “He’s stronger than you think.
Operating that winch in the water isn’t easy.
He’s strong. I just never added him to my list because he wasn’t really connected to the situation.
He wasn’t a friend of Bailey’s. He wasn’t even in Bailey’s life peripherally, as far as I could tell.
The connection with Monica makes me want to question him though.
If he’s protective of her and Bailey was about to leave town with his new fiancée, that could be motive. ”
Ferd let his ideas roll through her head. “He was odd from the moment I met him, but I just assumed he didn’t like me because I haven’t lived here all my life. You’d be shocked at how often I hit a roadblock with locals because I wasn’t born here.”
“That’s not surprising. Oh, that reminds me. You headed to the bathroom right after she got a little weird about the temperature in her house. What did you find?”
Ferd laughed. “I was that obvious, huh?”
He smirked. “It wasn’t bad, but if she’d been hiding anything, I think she would’ve sent you in the direction of another bathroom, not the one that went right past the thermostat.”
That made her feel even more innocent. “You have a point. What I don’t understand is why it felt like an iceberg in there. It was set to 69, which is super cool but not frigid.”
“Not sure we’ll ever know that. Keeping a house at a temp that isn’t normal for the rest of society isn’t a crime, so I can’t exactly get a warrant to look around. Now, if we were missing a body and I came across a house like that . . .”
“Probable cause.”
Duke finally set the car in motion and drove across town.
He squinted into the distance as they pulled into the small marina at the end of Piper’s Ridge.
Kevin and Heath stood near the door of Carl’s houseboat, tossing empty beer cases from inside.
Carl stood just outside on the dock, screaming, “Get out of my house, you buzzards! You don’t have a warrant! ”
Duke pulled to a stop and ejected from the car. “Hey! What’s going on?”
Kevin and Heath stopped and looked at each other. Kevin mouthed to Heath, “Time to jet.” They raced toward a new truck parked nearby.
Ferd drew her weapon and got out of the car, leveling it on the truck as it raced away. There were too many other cars and people around to take the shot.
“What was that about?” she asked, directing her question at Carl as they approached.
Carl slumped forward and grabbed hold of a nearby car. “They showed up out of nowhere, barged right onto my boat asking all sorts of questions about Bailey. I told them I didn’t know anything.” He held his head. “I need to sit down. Dizzy.”
“Did they assault you?” Duke asked.
Carl touched his quickly swelling lip. “When I told them to get out.”
Duke helped him inside his houseboat, and Ferd followed them.
The whole place smelled of stale beer, diesel fuel, and something skunky she couldn't identify.
Empty cases of the craft beer from across the lake lay beneath his kitchen table, which was bolted to the wall.
He led them to a small area with built-in seating.
Carl sat and cradled his head in his hands. “Took me off-guard. I’ve never seen those guys around here before. They usually stick to town. Those idiots have been bothering me for days. I don't know what they think I know.”
“So, you don’t know them personally?” Ferd asked.
“Not really. I’ve seen them. I don’t think I even know their names.”
Duke glanced all around the small area. “What kind of questions were they asking?”
“About Bailey and how well I knew him. Of course I knew him well. He was married to Monica. He was practically my son-in-law.” His voice cracked.
“Need a drink?” Ferd stood and headed toward the alcove where a single burner stove was the closest thing to a kitchen gadget she could find.
“In the cooler.” He pointed to a green metal box on the floor.
She flipped the lock and opened the lid. Inside sat a plethora of the same craft beer, some popular cheap brand and two bottles of water. She picked up one bottle of water.
“Not that. Anything but that. I keep those here for Monica when she wants to go out on the lake.”
She lifted out a can. “Are you sure? If you have a head injury, it’s probably not the best thing.” Or ever the best thing.
He stood up, wobbling on his feet, took it out of her hand and sat back down. “Yes. I’m sure.”
Ferd sat back down. “You said they jumped you. All they wanted to know about was Bailey? What did they say?”
He winced as he cracked open the can. “Mainly if I ever worked with him. They seemed to think he was a professional fisherman. He wasn’t. Nobody ever really knew Bailey.”
Duke took a seat near Carl. “What makes you say that? Seems like he presented a different side of himself to everyone who knew him.”
“Exactly. No one knew exactly who he was. Not even Monica, and she was married to the man. Be who you are. Don’t make up a personality for one person and another for another.
It’s fake. I’ll be the first to admit I didn’t like the guy, but I couldn't tell them what I didn't know. Seemed like those guys were trying to beat a confession out of me. One I won’t give.”
“I’m glad we stopped by when we did.” Duke’s gaze zeroed in on a bank of drawers in the kitchen area. “Have you ever been given a key to Bailey’s apartment?”
Carl stopped for a moment and his mouth hung open. Then he found his words, “No. I have no reason to go into his apartment. I know where he lives, but I’ve never been there.”
“Would you be willing to give us your fingerprints, to completely eliminate you as a suspect?” Ferd asked as she reached for her bag with the equipment to do it inside.
“No. I don’t do things like that. The government doesn’t need my prints or anything like that. What if they start tracking me for no reason? Nope. I decline.” He took a long drink and threw the can across the room, bouncing it off the rim of the garbage where it landed a foot away.
“I’ll get that before we leave. Don’t worry about standing up to get it.” She held up a hand. And if she just happened to grab that can on their way out, he didn’t need to know she’d sampled his trash.
“Thanks.” He swayed and his eyes blinked oddly. “I need to lie down a while.” He curled up on his side on the bench. “Hope that’s all you needed.”
“Yes, thank you.” Duke stood and headed for the door.
Ferd picked up the can, then lowered it into the receptacle to make it look like she’d quietly thrown it away, then hid it swiftly in her coat as she headed out the door.