Chapter 27
As they drove, Tina gathered what little information she could from the Rutland State Psychiatric Hospital. Mark Peterson’s former psychiatrist had died a few years ago. After that, he’d briefly been under the care of a Dr. Fatima Choudhoury, a neuropharmacologist.
“Where is she located?” Tina asked.
“Her research lab is here in the hospital. But I believe she’s at a conference in Boston right now.”
Was she the one sending the postcards? The orderly had said “an old doctor” was sending them. Why would Dr. Choudhoury be sending postcards to someone located in the same hospital? And what exactly was a neuropharmacologist?
“Should I transfer you to the lab?” asked the receptionist.
“No thanks,” Tina said, and hung up. She didn’t have time to talk to some lab assistant right now; Marigold had just texted.
Found Celine’s yacht. It’s refueling at the Bailey Island marina. Won’t be there long, so better hurry.
She showed Jack the text.
“We should stop at the the Bailey Island marina while we’re still on the mainland.”
“Sure. But it’s a long drive to the end of that peninsula. We’ll be better off taking a water taxi from Harbortown.”
She groaned, dreading the thought of that much water travel. But Jack was right. The time savings would be worth it.
“I’ll call Captain Sparrow.”
He laughed, then stopped when he saw she was serious. “For real?”
“So he says. Who am I to doubt?”
Captain Sparrow met them at the Harbortown public landing in the Salty Gal. “Back for round two, huh?” he said as he stashed their bags under the canopy on the bow.
“Maybe I’m back for revenge,” she deadpanned.
“Ah crap.”
Tina laughed. “It’s none of the above. We need a good pilot and I didn’t die last time, so here we are. How do you feel about a good old-fashioned boat chase?”
“Depends. Are you paying by the minute or by the distance?” He cast off the line and cruised away from the landing. As soon as they passed the breakwater that marked the boundary of the harbor, he picked up speed.
Her stomach roiled. “That’s negotiable.”
“Do we need to break any laws?”
“I’ll take full responsibility if we do. You know I’m a Harbortown police officer. You’ll be following my orders in pursuit of a witness, if it comes to that.”
“And…uh…” He eyed her suspiciously. “You planning to lose your lunch all over my boat?”
“I skipped lunch, because what’s the point when I knew I was getting on a boat. But point taken. I will aim over the side. Deal?”
“You got it. Who am I chasing? Where are we headed?”
“Bailey’s Marina. We’re looking for the Swan Song, a hundred-foot, three-story ultra-luxury superyacht with a helipad on the deck. Can’t miss it.”
He nodded and cranked the throttle. The Salty Gal’s bow lifted into the air and hydroplaned across the surface of the choppy waves. Tina retreated back to the open deck, where the rushing wind kept her nausea at bay, and where she could vomit her guts into the ocean if need be.
And need there was. She spent the next ten minutes bent over the side, with Jack’s arm clamped to her hip to keep her onboard. He also kept her hair from flying into her face and getting messy.
It was humiliating, letting him witness this, but there wasn’t much she could do about it.
So she let him take care of her and decided it wasn’t so bad to have a man tending to her.
She could get used to that, but she wouldn’t.
She and Jack were like two ships passing in the night—if one of them kept getting seasick.
Her nausea didn’t subside until the Salty Gal slowed down during their approach to the marina, with its throngs of bristling masts and gleaming hulls.
“There.” She pointed to the biggest craft, all sharp lines and white fiberglass reflecting the sun.
It had several levels to it, not just two, and it took up the entire length of the fueling dock.
“That’s got to be it. We got lucky, they haven’t left yet. ”
“Not luck,” said Captain Sparrow as he emerged from the cabin. “That’s pure skill, right there. What now? Want me to pull up alongside?”
Tina scanned the marina, looking for any sign of Celine. She might be onboard, but then again, she might have stepped off to get lunch at the Pelican, the country-club-style restaurant a short walk up the pier.
“I’m going to do some reconnaissance,” she murmured to Jack. “You stay here and keep an eye on that boat. Ping me the second it moves, or if Celine shows up. I’ll come running.”
“You got it, but are you sure you’re okay?” The concern in his gray eyes both touched and irritated her.
“I’m fine now. And thanks for all that.” She waved her hand, indicating everything that had happened over the past ten minutes. “You.” She pointed at the captain. “Jack’s in charge while I’m gone.”
“Technically, I’m the captain and I’m in charge—” he began, but she waved that off as she climbed off the boat and hopped onto the float ramp. He knew perfectly well that she was in charge, no need to rub it in.
It felt so good to be back on dry land that she jogged up the path to the Pelican.
It was constructed like a ship, with its prow—a glassed-in view deck—jutting from the top of a small rise.
Boat people were funny, she thought. Why get off your boat just to eat at something pretending to be a boat?
Wouldn’t they want a break from being at sea?
She did a speedy walk-through of the place, seeing no one resembling the kitten-faced woman with the lemon-streaked blond hair she remembered.
Neither the busboy nor the ma?tre d’ recognized the photo she showed them.
Celine must have stayed onboard, or gone somewhere else while her yacht was getting refueled.
Or she’d changed her appearance.
No doubt she’d done so a number of times over her life. She’d worked as a model before meeting John Carmichael, as Tina recalled from the brief research she’d done after the arrest. Manipulating people’s perceptions of her would be a snap.
But changing how she walked and moved was a different story. When, out the deck windows, she spotted a slim figure walking down the ramp, accompanied by two large men who might be bodyguards, she had no doubt she was looking at Linette Mansfield, aka Celine Carmichael.
She texted Jack. She’s coming toward you.
I see her
Stall her until I get back
She watched Jack emerge from the water taxi and head toward Celine’s group, then hurried toward the restaurant’s exit.
In the waiting area, she got trapped in a large family group milling around as they waited for their table.
Every time she tried to sidestep them, another kid seemed to pop up out of nowhere.
“Sorry,” she kept saying. “Excuse me, sorry, do you mind?” Then, finally, she raised her voice. “Police coming through, watch out.”
By the time she got outside, Jack was face to face with Celine. As far as Tina could tell, his charm wasn’t working on her. He was walking backwards down the ramp as she and her bodyguards advanced toward her yacht.
Tina winced and hoped that Jack wouldn’t end up in the water. She broke into a run and raced toward the ramp. One of the bodyguards looked around, spotted her, then tugged Celine away from Jack. The other one shoved his elbow into Jack’s rib cage and sent him reeling.
Shit, he really was going to end up in the ocean. Tina picked up the pace, catching a boot heel on a clump of grass and nearly ending up flat on her face. Jack was now bumping chests with the bodyguard, and Tina was close enough to hear him say, “Do you know who I am?”
She was going to give him shit about that later, but whatever worked.
“Hey!” she shouted. “Harbortown Police! We just want to talk.”
Celine spun around to face her. Tina saw that she had in fact changed her appearance slightly. Her hair was cut shorter and even blonder, and she wore sunglasses that hid most of her face.
Breathless, Tina reached the ramp and slowed her pace. “Remember me? Officer Chen?”
Since Tina hadn’t changed her appearance at all, it would be surprising if she didn’t.
“Leave me alone. That case was dismissed.” Celine gestured for her bodyguards to block Tina’s path. That meant that no one was paying attention to Jack. He fell back, keeping a close eye on their confrontational little group, and she could tell he had a plan. Too bad she couldn’t tell what it was.
“This is about something else. We’re looking for your brother.”
Celine froze, then immediately tried to hide it. “My brother? Now that’s a blast from the past. I don’t know where he is. I haven’t seen him in some time.”
“Where does he live? Is he still in Vermont?”
Her face paled. Good. Tina had surprised her. “Why are you looking for him?”
“Can we talk in private? It’ll just take a few minutes. I’m not sure you want this getting around.” She gestured at the bodyguards.
Celine didn’t budge. “Everyone around me has signed an NDA. They might as well be deaf and dumb.”
Okay then. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched Jack sidle toward the ladder that hung over the side of the yacht.
He was trying to get onboard, she realized.
Shit. Was that a good idea? He’d be at the mercy of these fist-wielding mercenaries if they caught him.
Getting tossed overboard would be the least of his worries.
But she knew what he wanted to do. He was going to search the yacht for Jessie. She couldn’t blame him. But without a search warrant, the most she could do was give him a chance to sneak onboard.
“As you wish,” she told Celine. The bodyguards crossed their arms over their chests and glared at her. “I have reason to believe that your brother might have kidnapped a woman.”
“What?” Celine’s mouth fell open in shock that read as genuine. “That can’t be possible. Women fall all over themselves around my brother. He’s like a puppy. Women can’t resist him.”
“I notice you haven’t used his name.”
“Excuse me?”
“He changes his name with some frequency, doesn’t he? Can you explain why, and tell me which one I should be using?”
She watched Celine’s wheels turn as she tried to come up with a harmless answer to that.
“It’s not a hard question, and I’m sure you don’t want to look like you’re impeding a kidnapping investigation.”
“Lloyd always hated his name,” she finally said slowly. “Who can blame him, right? Lloyd is such an old man name, like an insurance company in human form.”
“Lloyd. That would be Lloyd Mansfield?”
Celine’s face tightened again, and she gave a microscopic nod.
“Good. Thank you. When’s the last time you saw Lloyd? Before you answer, you should know that he is confirmed to have been on Sea Smoke Island in recent months.”
In other words—don’t fucking lie to me.
“I saw him on Sea Smoke, of course.”
“Good. I thought so.”
Twenty yards down the ramp, Jack was quietly making his way up the ladder.
No doubt other staff members were onboard, but she couldn’t see any of them, and hopefully none of them would notice Jack.
Her heart did a slow somersault in her chest. Please be safe, Jack.
Maybe his celebrity status would help him.
No one would want to hurt a TV star who suddenly appeared on their boat.
“Is he still on the island now?”
“No, I told you. I don’t know where he is. He left after I, um, after everything happened. I haven’t seen him since.”
That sounded like the truth. Damn it. “Do you know anything about a woman he was seeing?”
“You mean Marigold Olson?” She laughed disdainfully. “As if he would marry someone like her. My brother has very high standards.”
“Then what was he up to? I saw the ring he gave her. I saw the honeymoon suite. It sure looked like it was happening.”
Celine twisted her mouth from side to side. “He was doing me a favor,” she finally said. “Brother to sister. I needed someone to keep tabs on the constable for me.”
At least Tina had gotten that part right. “And what about the other girl he was seeing?”
“Other girl?”
“Does the name Jessie Finnegan mean anything to you?”
“No.” She laughed lightly. “Do you mean to tell me he was seeing someone else while romancing Marigold? That’s Lloyd for you. I told you women fall all over him. It seems he two-timed Marigold and me. Another girl was not part of his assignment.”
Interesting. If Celine was being truthful, maybe she wasn’t involved in whatever scheme Adam was currently up to. Maybe he’d actually fallen for Jessie.
Jack slipped over the side of the yacht and crouched low, out of sight. She caught a flash of his blue shirt as he ducked behind a door that was held open with a bungee cord.
Keep her talking until he gets inside.
“What was your last contact with Lloyd?”
After a defiant stare, Celine shrugged. “Sea Smoke Island, right before you arrested me. He was pissed that my brilliant plans fell apart. I haven’t heard from him much since then.”
“So he was mad because despite his help, your schemes went nowhere. Was there some other enterprise he got involved with to fill the gap? Did he mention a reason for him to stay on the island after you left?”
As she posed those questions, she saw Jack emerge from behind the door and disappear down the hatch. He was out of sight and on his own now.
“I really have no idea,” Celine said, and for the first time, Tina thought she was probably lying. There was a hint of fear in her voice that hadn’t been there before. “My brother’s got his own life and I’m not responsible for him or his actions.”
“Really? Because you’ve always been the dominant one, haven’t you?”
Celine gaped at her, stunned speechless.
“What did all that childhood trauma do to Lloyd? You’re responsible for bringing him to Sea Smoke Island and now a woman is missing. She’s thirty-two, about five-foot-six, brown hair, gray eyes, slender. If any harm comes to her—”
Celine cut her off, slashing a hand through the air. “That’s it, we’re done. Better leave me be before I take the leash off these attack dogs.”
With her bodyguards at her side, she swept down the ramp toward her yacht.
Tina wondered if they minded being referred to as dogs. Then she hoped that if they caught Jack onboard, they wouldn’t rip his throat out.