Count Catula (Whales and Tails Cozy Mystery Book 9) (11 page)

“And then what happened?”

“I called Ruby to ask her if she was interested in going to the party with Bronwyn. She said she was bored and a party sounded good, so we picked her up at the edge of the park, which was where she asked us to meet her.”

Toby hesitated.

“Go on.”

“I dropped them off. Then I noticed Bronwyn had left Christopher Blackwell’s letter jacket in my car, so I swung by his place, left the jacket in his car, and then went home.”

“When you heard what had happened the next day why didn’t you say anything?”

“Because there was a note tucked into my windshield that said if I opened my mouth not only would I die but my parents and two little sisters would die too.”

Okay, I could see why that might be enough to keep your mouth shut.

“Whose house did you drop the girls at?” I asked.

Toby didn’t answer.

“It’s been fifteen years,” I reminded him.

“Amanda Lowman asked me those questions last weekend and now she’s dead.”

“Did you tell her what you just told me?”

“Part of it.”

“Did you tell her who the friend you dropped the girls off with was?”

“No. And I don’t think I should tell you either. There are some secrets that should die with you and I’m afraid this is one of them.”

Poor Toby. I could see he was terrified. I looked him straight in the eye. “Was the friend Conrad Quarterman?”

Toby hadn’t answered me, but I could tell I was right. I called Finn, but he didn’t answer. I left him a phone message I hoped he’d get before Conrad’s ferry came in. It really did look like Conrad had killed those girls. The thing was, I’d received a text from Siobhan while I was talking to Toby and she’d said she’d finally been able to confirm that Conrad had been in Pennsylvania since Monday afternoon, so there was no way he could have killed Amanda Lowman.

I decided to head home and have another chat with Renfield, who really had been helpful up to this point. As I drove to my cabin I tried to figure out who could have killed Amanda if not Conrad. Toby seemed sincere and I had no reason to believe he would have had any reason to kill her. He’d also explained the mystery of the letter jacket, which was the only reason Christopher was still on the suspect list. I’d momentarily considered that maybe Rayleen had gotten fed up with her employer and come to the island to kill her, but I was able to confirm that she’d never left New York. So who did that leave? Dracon Moon was dead; at least I was pretty sure he was. Maybe I’d look through the notebook one last time.

I pulled into my drive and was about to get out of the car when I received a text from Tara, letting me know that Ret Samson had been by the bookstore looking for me. He’d left his name and a number asking me to call him. I frowned as I looked at the text. Ret Samson?

I called Tara back. Our part-time employee, Roni Waverly, answered the phone. “Hey, it’s Cait. Is Tara there?”

“She’s in the ladies’ room.”

“She left a message that Rhett Samson was in to see me and left his number. Is the note handy?”

“Yeah, it’s right here. Do you need the number again?”

“No, but I wonder if you could spell the man’s name for me.”

“R-E-T S-A-M-S-O-N.”

I suddenly knew who’d killed Amanda. I called Toby’s number, but he didn’t pick up. I looked up the number for the Harthaven Marina. Christopher answered after the second ring.

“This is Cait Hart. I was by to talk to Toby earlier. Is he still there?”

“No, he left.”

“Does the boat he was working on belong to Ret Samson?”

“Yeah, it’s Mr. Samson’s boat. Why?”

“Has Mr. Samson arrived at the marina yet?”

“No, not yet. Why do you want to know?”

“No reason. I’ll just try him at home.”

I called and left another message on Finn’s phone, letting him know what I suspected. Ret Samson was an anagram for Masterson. I wasn’t dumb enough to try to confront the guy alone, but I figured I could watch his boat to make sure he didn’t sail away before Finn got there to arrest or at least question him.

I parked in the lot and then found a place where I could watch the boat from a distance. I decided I should call Cody to fill him in just in case Finn didn’t get my message in time. Unfortunately, his phone went to voice mail as well.

“I know who killed Bronwyn, Ruby, and probably Amanda,” I began. “At least I think I do. I had another chat with Toby, who admitted in a roundabout way that he dropped Bronwyn and Ruby off at Conrad’s house on the night of the murder. We know Conrad was out of town at the time of Amanda’s murder, but we also know he came to Madrona Island to live with an uncle who was moving here. Rayleen told me that the man they suspected of killing the girls in Kansas was called Masterson. I bet if you check Conrad’s uncle it’s Ret Samson. If you unscramble…”

I wasn’t able to finish the sentence as everything went black.

When I came to, my hands and feet were bound and I was tied to a rock in a sitting position. I looked around but couldn’t immediately tell where I was. I could hear the sound of the surf and the sand beneath me was wet. Suddenly I knew. I was in the cave where I’d found Dracon Moon’s body. The tide was out, so I wasn’t in any real danger for the moment, but as soon as the tide came in…

I didn’t want to think about that. I tried to remember how I’d gotten here. One minute I was leaving a message for Cody and the next I was tied up with no obvious means of escape. I could call out, but I knew it wouldn’t do any good. Dracon’s property was pretty isolated and the cave at the bottom of the cliff was more isolated still. My only hope, I realized, was that Cody had called out the troops when our conversation was cut off and that someone would remember this place and think to look here.

I decided that as hopeless as it seemed I wasn’t going to simply wait for the tide to turn and death to come, so I began to work at the ropes tied around my wrists in the hope of getting them loose enough to slide my hands through.

In hindsight, maybe I should have been a bit more cautious once I realized Ret Samson was an anagram for Masterson. I wasn’t certain whether Conrad simply had found the girls for his uncle to sacrifice or if he was in on the killing. Either way, both men, once Finn caught up with them, were in for a very long time behind bars. The ropes had been tied by someone skilled at tying knots, so I wasn’t sure how much luck I would have, but the alternative to trying was unacceptable.

I could see the tide in the distance, inching just a tiny bit closer with each wave. It was hard to know for certain, but if I didn’t get out of there the water would probably reach me within the next half hour. Eventually the entire area where I sat would be underwater.

I thought of Cody, who I loved so much. I couldn’t die. We hadn’t had our time together. We hadn’t married or had a daughter named Rosalyn, as had been predicted by a little girl named Rosalyn and one of my magical cats. I knew life was fleeting and we all came with an expiration date, but I really hoped mine would be many years from now, after I’d had a chance to experience all it had to offer.

“Help,” I yelled as loud as I could. I knew it was fruitless to even try, but I had to do something. If I could just get my hands free I could work on my feet, and even if the tide had started in I could swim myself out of there.

A large wave hit the shore, which caused the first of the water to run into the cave. It totally soaked me, but when the tide went out it took the water with it. Once the tide reached a certain height it wouldn’t draw all the water from the cave. The next wave brought a bit more water, and I knew each new wave that crashed onto the beach would bring just a little more.

“Help,” I yelled again. “Please, God, help me!”

The waves were breaking against the rocks just outside the cave. Even if someone was on the cliff overhead, they wouldn’t be able to hear me, but I continued to call out.

I felt my heart pounding in fear as each wave brought just a bit more water into the cave. It happened slowly over time, but eventually the water would rise to the point where it totally covered my head with the incoming wave, only to withdraw enough with the outgoing wave to allow me to breathe again.

I eventually gave up struggling and eventually settled into a contemplative state. I thought of my life, the highs and the lows, the things I had accomplished and the things I would never live to accomplish. I’m not sure how much time passed but as each wave brought in an increased volume of water I knew it wouldn’t be long until I could no longer breathe. Somewhere along the line I found my second wind and once again began to struggle against the ropes. With each minute that passed I worked harder at the ropes, but they were tied too tight. Soon the water would cover my head; I knew it couldn’t be long now.

“Cait,” I heard Cody call.

“Here. I’m in here.”

This time the water covered my head and all I could do was wait. I wasn’t sure Cody would be able to hear me over the pounding of the surf. As the water receded, I called out again. I suspected this might be the last time my mouth would be above the waterline. The water covered my head and I could feel something brush my leg. When the water retreated I could see Max was in the cave with me.

The water was over my mouth so I couldn’t speak; I just hoped he’d get help in time to cut me loose before too many more waves came in my direction.

With the next wave I felt Cody beside me. He was coaching me to hold my breath. I wasn’t sure what the alternative was, but I understood his need to say what he so desperately hoped I could do. I could feel him cutting at the ropes, but my lungs were beginning to burn, the need to inhale almost impossible to fight.

“Almost there,” he encouraged.

I closed my eyes and tried to relax. I let my mind wander to a place of peace and serenity. I couldn’t hold my breath forever, and just as I was about to give in and take what would lead to my final breath, I felt Cody lift me and my head was once again above the water.

I took several deep breaths in a row. Cody was holding me up and Max was swimming next to us with his head just barely above the water.

“We have to get out of here. It won’t be long until the entire cave is flooded. The next time the water recedes we go with it. Hold my hand and hold your breath.”

I nodded. I didn’t have the energy to speak.

When the tide withdrew I clung to Cody’s hand and kicked as hard as I could. It seemed to take forever before we were free of the pull created by the cave, but eventually I kicked my way to the surface. I looked around and Cody surfaced beside me.

“Max?”

Cody looked around. “Stay here.”

Cody dove down and after what seemed like an eternity came up with Max.

Somehow we all made it to shore. Finn and Danny must have just arrived; they were heading down the trail from the cliff just as we swam up onto what was left of the beach. Cody and I were both exhausted, so Danny carried Max while Finn carried me and Cody made his own way up the trail behind us.

“This is nice,” I said to Cody as we walked along Main Street, watching the island’s children trick-or-treat at the shops that were giving out candy. Tara had encouraged me to take some time off and had arranged to have Roni help her hand out candy at Coffee Cat Books. “Although I do feel a little guilty that Tara is working and I’m not.”

“I think your almost-death experience really freaked her out. It freaked us all out.”

“I guess when something like that happens it reminds you how fragile life can be. I’m glad Max is okay. I think I was more freaked out when I thought he’d drowned than I was when I thought I was going to drown myself.”

“Yeah, my heart skipped a few beats when he didn’t come up with us.” Cody, who was holding my hand, gave it a squeeze. “It seemed like he was having fun with Mr. Parsons, Harland, Rambler, and Tuck.”

“He looked like he’d gone to doggie heaven when he realized he had not one but two dogs to play with. Does it seem like Mr. Parsons and Harland are getting along okay?”

“They’re like two old coots in a tree. I’d be surprised if it doesn’t turn out to be a permanent arrangement. They both seem to enjoy the company and I can tell Harland already feels at home. They even suggested with winks in their eyes that I might want to spend the whole night with my lady friend. They assured me they’ll be fine.”

I smiled. “I’d like that very much. It’ll be just the two of us now that Renfield is settled in with Ginny.”

We’d had an ad in the paper announcing Renfield as a lost cat the entire time he’d been at my place and no one had claimed him, so we thought it safe to let him go home with Ginny, who was over-the-moon happy. Renfield seemed to adore Ginny as well.

“I’m just so happy to have the whole murder thing behind us,” I added as I rested my head on Cody’s shoulder.

He chuckled. “Finn seemed pretty relieved about it too. He’s being credited with solving all three murder cases and he said that he may even get a bump in his pay grade.”

“
Who
solved all three cases?”

“He did mention he owed his future sister-in-law a pretty special thank-you.”

“I would think so.” I pulled Cody’s arm closer to mine as we strolled through the street packed with costumed children. I couldn’t wait for us to be out trick-or-treating with our own. “I’m glad they managed to catch up with Ret Samson or whatever his real name is before he took off. Who knows if we’d ever have been able to find him once he sailed away.”

“I’m not thrilled that you almost died, but the delay you caused by his having to tie you up and bring you back to the cave made all the difference in Finn getting to him in time.”

“I wonder why he did that,” I murmured. “Why not just kill me at the marina and dump me in the sea?”

“I don’t know. Finn didn’t seem to know either. Unless the man talks I’m not sure we’ll ever know.”

“Do you know if they caught up with Conrad?”

He hadn’t returned to the island as he’d planned. He must have gotten wind of the fact that things were going down and it wasn’t safe to come back.

“They picked him up in Arizona. I doubt he’ll see the outside of a cell in his lifetime. Once they figured out Conrad and this Masterson guy were behind the cold case murders in Kansas and on Madrona Island, the FBI did some checking. They found four additional murder cases they’re certain they’re responsible for as well.”

My heart bled for those poor girls. I couldn’t even begin to imagine what they’d gone through. Finn had confirmed that Conrad admitted that Toby had delivered Bronwyn and Ruby to Conrad’s house. He’d taken the girls to the dump, where Masterson was waiting, performed some sort of satanic ritual, and then killed the girls by draining their blood. I still wasn’t certain how the box of evidence ended up on Dracon Moon’s property, but I suspected that, as we’d theorized, Dracon had stolen and hidden it and ended up dead for his trouble.

Finn also learned that the fingerprints on the fork we’d found on Dracon’s property matched those of the man known as Masterson.

There were still some unanswered questions. We hadn’t figured out who Amanda Lowman had called when she was on the island, and Masterson wouldn’t admit to killing her, but Finn had found some trace evidence on Amanda’s clothing and was able to prove that Masterson had been with her on the day she died. Either way he was sure to be sentenced to several lifetimes in prison.

The past week had been hard on me. I felt drained of all my energy and much of my enthusiasm. I just hoped that now that the killings were behind us life would return to some sort of normal. Cody had been doing a good job keeping me distracted, but I couldn’t help but mourn for the teenagers who had been robbed of their lives.

“I think I’d like to talk about something a bit more festive and a bit less depressing,” I said after a while.

Cody stopped walking. He turned and faced me so that his arms were around me and he was looking into my eyes. “As fun as this is, I’m thinking it might be just as much fun to head back to the cabin, plug in your orange lights, build a fire, open a bottle of wine, and put on a Halloween movie.”

He leaned forward and kissed me softly on the lips.

“Okay,” I said against his mouth. I took a small step back and smiled. “I’m with you on that, but Charlie Brown, not Dracula. I think I’ve had enough horror for a while.”

“I love Charlie Brown.” Cody once again took my hand.

We continued to talk as we headed to Cody’s car. “Do you ever think about things like us taking our own kids trick-or-treating?” I asked as two boys dressed like monsters almost plowed into us.

“All the time,” Cody answered as he maneuvered us out of the way just in time.

I smiled.

Cody looked around for other obstacles, then took a few slow steps and continued. “I think about us carving pumpkins on the kitchen floor in spite of the mess; holding our children in our arms as fireworks burst overhead on the Fourth of July; waiting up late to play Santa on Christmas Eve even when we know we’ll have to get up early; getting dye on my favorite shirt and not caring in the least when the kids make a mess coloring Easter eggs. I think of us tucking them into bed at night, eating meals together, going to church, and living our lives.”

Cody stopped walking. He turned so that he could look once again into my eyes. I felt like we were the only two people in the world, even though one of the kids in our choir almost ran me over with his bike as his friends ran along behind him carrying water balloons. “How about you?” Cody asked as the world faded away. “Do you ever think of these things?”

“I do. I think about waking up with you every morning and spending a few minutes with just the two of us before we have to get up and get the kids off to school. I think about braiding my daughter’s hair, attending my son’s baseball games, and growing old with the man I know I could never live without.”

Cody tucked a lock of my hair behind my ear, then ran a finger down the side of my cheek. I could feel the power of his gaze as he pulled me in. The world faded away as Cody leaned in and touched his lips to mine. It was moments like this when the world seemed to pause to allow time for just the two of us that I knew in my heart that there was nothing in the world I wanted more than to spend all my moments with this man. I was about to say as much when I felt something brush my cheek.

“Ew, get a room,” a pint-sized Frankenstein taunted as he covered us in silly string.

I pulled back slightly and started to laugh as I realized where we were. “You are so dead,” I challenged as I scraped the colorful string from my face.

“Catch me if you can.” Robby Davey laughed as he ran away.

“I’ve got this.” Cody pulled his own can of silly string out of his pocket and took off after Robby.

I joined the pursuit, and as quickly as it had begun the romantic spell had been broken and our moment had passed. Yet, as we playfully pursued our attacker, I knew in my heart that it was only a matter of time before it would be our own tiny monsters who would be pranking us on Halloween night.