Chapter 9
When she woke up, Denver Black was asking her questions in that sexy growl of his. His voice reached down into her solar plexus and plucked a chord of deep response. She looped her arms around his neck.
Ouch.
That hurt. She looked at her left arm. A bloody streak ran across it. How embarrassing in front of Denver Black. She closed her eyes because her head hurt too. Shards of pain made her wonder if steel spikes were being hammered into her skull.
“Head,” she murmured.
“Yeah, you hit it pretty hard. Don’t move. Paramedics will be here in a minute.”
“But you…” Denver Black had a degree in trauma medicine. He’d put it to use in Afghanistan working on the frontlines.
“I know the basics from my days in the Army, and from the set. But you need the real professionals.”
The set? What was Denver talking about…oh. Oh!
Through the pain, she opened her eyes and found herself gazing into the amused gray ones of Denver—No, Jack Finnegan.
She yanked her arms away from his neck as her awareness locked back into place. Pain streaked across her arm again. “I hit my head. Not responsible for anything—”
“Don’t worry, no one will hold it against you. Just stay still, will you? I need to check you out, make sure you don’t have a concussion. Can you follow my finger?”
She tracked his index finger as it moved back and forth before her. Although her ears were still ringing, the only sounds she heard were voices and footsteps and furniture being moved around. “The gunfire stopped.”
“Yes, finally. They shot about twenty rounds into this place. Don’t look, but it’s a mess.
” She kept her eyes on him, which wasn’t hard to do.
Being this close to him made her feel safe and comforted, which was probably a residual effect of watching him solve hundreds of cases over ten seasons on the air.
“Injuries?”
“Minor. We got lucky, and you probably saved a few lives yourself, making everyone get down. Quick thinking.”
She shrugged. “It’s my job. How do my pupils look? Same size? Operating properly?”
“Looking good.”
“Then let me up. I have work to do.” She struggled to sit up, embarrassed that she needed a little boost from him. “How long was I out?”
“Just a few minutes. I saw you start to fall and crawled across the floor to you, but didn’t get there in time before your head hit that chair.”
She saw now that his shirt was folded into a pillow, and that’s what her head had been resting on.
Jack had stripped down to his undershirt for her. His muscles were right there, in her face, impossible to ignore.
“You could have used a tablecloth,” she said irritably.
“But where would be the fun in that?” Jack winked at someone, who turned out to be Sally McPhee, crouching next to them with a glass of crushed ice and a napkin. Sally blushed and waved air against her face.
“Here, hon, I brought you some ice for that bonk on the head.” She wrapped some ice in the napkin, but Tina waved her off.
“I’m fine. There must be someone else you guys can fuss over. Is Luke here yet?”
“Luke and Marigold are both here, and the fire department is on its way,” said Jack. “Luke is down at the dock talking to witnesses.”
She needed to get to him, show him the photos she’d taken of the boat. They could contact the Coast Guard immediately. “Help me up,” she demanded.
“Are you sure about this?” Jack frowned at her. “I can’t stop you, but I highly recommend you wait for the paramedics.”
If he wasn’t going to help her, she’d do it herself. Swatting him away, she struggled to her feet, only to sway there for a dramatic moment as the world spun around her.
“Jeez, just help her, will ya? Some people are just too stubborn to live.” Sally threw up her hands and hurried away to help a customer who was moaning at the counter.
Jack wrapped his arm around her and held on to her firmly. At some point, he’d put his shirt back on, for which she was both deeply grateful and secretly regretful. “All right, let’s go. Who do you want to talk to first?”
There were worse jobs in the world than acting as Officer Tina Chen’s human crutches. She smelled good, for one thing. A pleasant honey fragrance rose from her inky black hair. The bump on the back of her head was so big he could actually see it.
As for the wound on her arm, she was apparently just going to ignore that. The blood had dried into a long red stripe visible through the rip in the sleeve of her black shirt. Did she always wear black? he wondered. Even though she was off-duty, her clothes had the feel of a uniform.
Before they left the café, Tina insisted on checking on the customers who were now mostly recovered and exchanging war stories about what they’d experienced. The place was a mess of broken glass and toppled chairs.
“You okay?” she asked everyone. “Any injuries? What did you see and hear? Any idea who would want to shoot the Bloodshot Eyeball?”
She got quite a few gushing thanks from customers who’d been frozen in place, sitting ducks for more bullets, before she’d yelled at them to get down.
“Glad you’re all right,” she kept saying in response.
“Just doing my job. You might experience trauma symptoms over the next few days, and even beyond, so be on the watch for those. Trouble sleeping, anxiety, difficulty in focusing. A qualified counselor can help you work through your emotions.”
As he helped her toward the door, he murmured, “Don’t think you’ll get too many takers on the counseling. I don’t believe there’s a single one on this island, and folks are too busy to take a trip to town for something like that. They’re tough out here, these Mainers.”
“Toughness has nothing to do with it,” she snapped.
“Know who else is tough? My parents and all the other immigrants trying to make it in a new country. Anyone in the military. Police officers. Mothers have to be tough. A lot of people do. That doesn’t mean they don’t experience stress and everything that comes with it. ”
He gazed down at her, eyebrows lifting. “Did that bump on your head knock you chatty?”
She groaned out loud. “Maybe it did. Sorry, it’s a sore point that people think ‘toughness’ is the same as ‘ignoring all the shit that’s going to make you ill later in your life.’ I have this argument with half my department too.”
Before they stepped outside, she turned and surveyed the scene one more time. “Someone’s missing.”
“What do you mean?”
“There was a man at the counter. Big muscular guy with sideburns.”
Jack had seen him too. “Sounds like Benny Clyde. He’s a lobsterman. I knew him as a kid.”
“He sure took off fast.”
“He’s probably not a big fan of the police. The Clydes have always taken care of their own business.”
Tina waved at Sally, who hurried over to them. “Did you see Benny Clyde leave?”
“Oh yeah, that boy booked it out of here. Never did like crowds.”
“Did he seem scared at all?”
“Benny?” She gave a hoot. “Nah. He said something like, ‘welp, I’m awake now, gotta get to work.’”
Jack wondered if Tina thought he’d been the target, but she said nothing else before stepping outside.
On the front deck, she gripped the railing and inhaled deep breaths of crisp salt air coming off the ocean. “I got this. You can go home and take a breather.”
“Hell no.” He met her glare with his own stubborn gaze. “ I’m not letting you walk around on your own. You can waste time arguing or we can go find Luke. Up to you.”
Still grumbling, she took a step then paused, wavering. He bit his tongue to keep from saying “told you so.” Lifting her chin, she gave him an imperious wave. “Well, come on then.”
He obeyed, as if it had been her idea all along to allow him to help her.
They found Luke Carmichael on the dock. He was a tall, easygoing guy with the trademark deep blue eyes of the Carmichael clan. He told them he’d just finished interviewing three kids with fishing rods and a birdwatcher who’d been monitoring a rare plover.
“The birdwatcher heard the shots but thought they were fireworks. He kept his focus on the plover, which was so startled that it flew right over the dock. He got some great shots.”
“Of a bird, not of the boat?” Tina asked. “This is Jack, by the way. Jack, Luke, island constable.”
Luke gave him a brief nod, showing no signs of recognition.
Jack appreciated that, as well as Tina’s barebones way of introducing him.
“Correct. The kids did see the boat, but it’s hard to get an accurate description from them.
One said it was blue and had two engines.
Another said he saw five people onboard.
The third said someone was waterskiing behind it.
” Luke flipped shut his notebook. “Not much help there. None of them recognized the gunman, but they did all agree that he wore a mask. A Covid-type mask, nothing special.”
Tina handed Luke her phone, which she’d cued up to a photo. “I took these from the Bloodshot Eyeball. We should be able to ID the boat.”
“Nice work.” Luke whistled as he flipped through the photos. “I know this boat, as a matter of fact. It’s the Devil May Care, and it belongs to the inn. They rent it to guests.”
“Really. So someone at the inn rented this boat and came all the way out here to shoot up the Bloodshot Eyeball. What the hell?”
Jack could hear the undercurrent of irritation in her voice, and figured her head must be hurting. “Let’s head to the inn and see what we can learn. Maybe get you an aspirin while we’re there.”
When she didn’t argue, he knew the pain must be pretty bad.
“Chad Gridley should have all the details,” said Luke. “He’s the marina manager. I’ll finish up interviewing everyone here. Let me know if you learn anything from Chad.”
“Call the Coast Guard too. We need to find that boat.”
“On it.”
“One more thing.” Tina fished in her pocket and pulled out a bullet with a napkin wrapped around it.
Jack gaped at it. When had she had time to collect a bullet?
She was sincerely impressive. “Send this to the Harbortown PD and they’ll have ballistics test it.
I would, but I’m on vacation and I’ll just get yelled at. ”
“Some vacation, huh?” Luke shook his head, then looked from Tina to Jack. “Sorry your Sea Smoke getaway included a shootout. That’s not normal around here.”
Jack didn’t bother to correct Luke’s assumption that he and Tina were a couple. He didn’t have to, because Tina jumped on it like a lion on a gazelle.
“Oh no, we’re not here together,” she said quickly. “We met here. I mean, we’re not together here either. Of course, we are standing here together on this dock, but that’s where it ends. Not that there’s anything to end, because it never began.”
Luke shot Jack a confused glance, to which Jack waved vaguely at the bump on Tina’s head. “Potential head injury.” Some devilish impulse made him add, “We should get back to the Honeymoon Suite.”
“Which is where he’s staying, not me.” Tina gestured at Jack, then winced as she realized she’d used her injured arm.
“Drive nice and slow,” Luke warned them as Jack steered Tina off the dock. She didn’t resist; it was all catching up to her now. Beads of sweat dotted her face.
“Seems like a good guy,” he murmured to Tina. “I don’t remember there being a constable back in my day.”
“Did you know Luke then?”
“No. I didn’t hang out with the Carmichaels, we were just lowly West enders. He’s right about the drive. You’re lucky that I probably have the best shocks of any vehicle on this island. But getting across the sandbar won’t be fun.”
She endured the journey with gritted teeth, but she was several shades more pale by the time they reached the inn. Word had already spread about the shooting, and as they pulled up as close to the front entrance as he could get, a tall woman in a blazer and a blunt red bob hurried toward them.
“How are you feeling, Officer Chen?” She looked at Jack. “I’m Judy Griffin, the manager here. What do you need? What does she need? We hear she was quite the hero today.”
“I can speak for myself,” Tina grumbled, even though she waited for Jack to help her out of the cab of his truck. “A hot bath would help, and about a bottle of Tylenol. I need some antibiotic ointment for this arm, a large bandage, and I’d like to talk to…”
“Chad Gridley.” Jack filled in the name when Tina drew a blank. “The marina manager.”
“Chad? I’m sorry, but Chad’s out today. It’s his day off.”
“Who fills in when he’s gone?” Tina asked, as they all moved toward the entrance.
“One of the groundskeepers, usually, but we didn’t have any bookings today so no one filled in.”
Tina waved her hands in the air, then winced and held her left hand against her body. “You’re saying no one was monitoring the marina today?”
“It happens on occasion, especially since we’re past the peak season.” They all stepped inside the elegant foyer, which always felt to Jack like a throwback to Colonial days with its creaky polished floors, as if Paul Revere might come thundering through on a horse.
Tina looked like she wanted to argue, but Jack decided it was time for some executive decisions.
“We’re going up to the Honeymoon Suite. Please have everything Officer Chen requested sent there.
If you would be so kind as to call Chad on his day off, route him through to us, and we’ll talk to him on the phone. ”
“Yes, sir.”
Judy hurried off to tend to those orders. Tina opened her mouth to object.
“Bigger bathtub,” he explained, causing her to drop her protest.