Dead in the Water (Kate Ryan Mysteries Book 10) (11 page)

“True. Can you print this out?” I asked, taking out my cellphone. “Maybe if I can get it over to Mike right away…”

Phil turned around to me. “I can email to him. I can even send this to your phone and you can send it to him.”

“Okay, now you’re just talking crazy,” I said, getting a sad shake of the head from Hannah.

She had already taken out her cellphone. “I have Mike’s number.”

“How did you get it?”

“I took his card off his desk,” she said absently. “Phil, send it to my phone, dear. I’ll forward it to Mike. Here’s the number.”

“You don’t have to sound so superior,” I said.

“I know, dear. But it’s so much more fun that way,” Hannah said, batting her eyelashes in my direction.

“Now I know where Maggie gets it.”

“Sent,” Phil said to Hannah.

“Got it,” Hannah replied.

That was quick. I watched as Hannah played with her iPhone or iPad or iDon’t know what.

“Done. Mike has it,” Hannah said proudly. “I’m sure he’ll get back to me soon.”

“You’re amazing,” I said, shaking my head. “Thank you.” I looked around the small warehouse. “Phil, did you and Chad usually work on things alone?”

“No. We always worked together. I’ll admit I did most of the paperwork and the theory work. Chad’s mind was always on, you know? He had ideas all the time. I’d come in here in the morning, and there would be paper and drawings all over his desk.”

“If ya didn’t work alone, how is it that you didn’t know about this?” Costello asked.

That was an excellent question.

“I honestly don’t know. Since this has happened, it has me rethinking many things. I mean, if he did this without my knowing it, what else did he do?”

Another excellent question.

I absently walked beyond his workstation and examined the contents of the merchandise on the shelves. I didn’t know what I was looking for; I didn’t know what the majority of the stuff was. “He was into something that got him killed,” I whispered. “Something he couldn’t or wouldn’t tell you about, Phil.”

“But why? We had a good working relationship.” Phil chuckled then. “Or so I thought. I just can’t believe he wouldn’t tell me.”

“If it were illegal, perhaps,” Costello said with a shrug.

I saw the angry look from Phil and intervened. “You said he was always looking for an angle.”

“I know, but he just wouldn’t do anything illegal.”

Hannah’s phone pinged. She smiled happily as she looked at the screen. “Mike has the image and has already got his eager beaver working on it. Said we should call him in a day or two. He should know something, if anything, by then.” Hannah looked up. “That’s good, right?”

“Very good. But in two days, I’ll be on Lake Superior.”

“We’ll take care of it, Ryan. There’s nothing that can happen over the weekend. If the police have this guy in their system, then it’ll be out of our hands. As it should be,” Costello said.

“True,” I said. Knowing Mike had the photo made me feel better. “It would be nice not to have to worry about this while Maggie and I are…” I looked at Phil. “No offense, Phil.”

“No, I totally understand.”

“I think you’re better off with the police investigating this again, if they can. I hope that tattoo shows up in their database.”

“So,” Phil said, “we wait?”

“It’s all we can do.”

Phil stood and held out his hand. “I’m grateful to you, Kate. And to all of you. Maybe now the police can find this guy, and we can figure out what actually happened.”

I shook his hand. “I hope so. We were glad to help. Costello will keep you informed if the police come up with anything over the weekend.”

“What do I owe you?” he asked.

I waved him off. “Nothing. Don’t worry about it. The police will do most of the work now.”

“Are you sure? I’d be glad to pay whatever you charge,” he said, looking at all of us.

Hannah smiled. “When Kate gets that look, there’s no arguing. As she said, we’re glad we could help.”

“Well, thanks.” Phil scratched his head. “I appreciate it.”

“We’ll keep in touch,” Costello said.

As we walked out of the shop, Hannah offered a smug grin. “You have a big heart, Kate.”

Costello grunted. “And a soft brain.”

“Whatever,” I said, walking behind them to the car. “With this practically out of the way, I can concentrate on the weekend.”

“Yes!” Hannah stopped by her car. “Let’s celebrate over lunch!”

“It’s only eleven,” I said. “Don’t you have
Vogue
waiting for you at the office?”

“I do not,” she said, sounding offended. “I have my copy of
Brides Magazine
. We’ll look at it at lunch. Margaret will be so surprised. Come along. It’ll be fun!”

“Come along.” Costello pulled me along. “It’ll be fun.”

As we headed out, Costello’s cell went off; she received a text from Annabel. And by the grin that spread across her freckled face, I knew Hannah and I would be gazing at
Brides Magazine
alone. I had such a headache.

And my head throbbed when Hannah decided to go back to Matt’s. He was thrilled as we all huddled around the table while Hannah flipped through the pages.

“Oh, I like that one,” Matt said, pointing to a page.

“Hmm,” Hannah said thoughtfully. “I don’t think I like that veil. But it really all depends on what time of year they’ll be married.”

“True,” Matt agreed. “A summer wedding?”

“Yes,” Hannah said wistfully. “But Margaret would look lovely in winter velvet.”

“Ohh, like Rosemary Clooney in
White Christmas
.”

While they continued—without me—I absently looked at the pages. All the dresses were beautiful, and I knew Maggie would be gorgeous, but somehow, I didn’t see Maggie in any of them.

“Don’t you think Maggie should be looking at this?” I asked. “It’ll be her dress after all. And no…” I held up my hand to Matt. “You can’t have the dress afterward.”

Matt pouted while Hannah laughed. “Once you’ve popped the question, of course, Margaret will decide which dress. But it’s fun to look.”

“Well, I need to get back in the kitchen,” Matt said, sounding completely disappointed. He kissed Hannah’s cheek. “I’ll be back in a bit. I’ll send Stephen over. Let him know if you want anything.”

I watched as Hannah lazily leafed through the magazine.

“So what’s in that Irish head?” she asked, not looking up.

“Nothing.”

“Don’t give me that. There’s always something on your mind. And it’s not this case.” She closed the magazine and took off her glasses. “Are we going to need cocktails for this?”

I laughed quietly. “Probably. Isn’t it time for sherry or something?”

“It’s too early for a martini, but it’s always time for a daiquiri.”

We hailed Stephen and ordered, sitting in silence until he returned. After taking a sip, Hannah leaned over.

“Okay. You’ve had plenty of time.”

I sighed and leaned my elbows on the table. “You know I love your niece.”

“And she you,” she said with her patent kind smile, which I adored.

“And I’d never in a million years hurt her.”

“I know.”

“I just want to make sure I’m doing the right thing,” I said in a small voice. I could feel Hannah watching me, so I took a drink and stared at the glass like an idiot.

“I wish you could have known Margaret when she was a young girl.”

Well, that statement came out of left field.

“She was independent and at the same time insecure. I believe the insecurity started after her mother died.” Hannah smiled sadly. “We all loved Miranda so. It was such a loss. Especially to Margaret.”

“I know. I’m glad I was there to help figure that mess out.”

She reached across, placing her warm hand on my wrist. “We were, too. I haven’t told you much about that time and what Margaret told me.”

“What do you mean?”

“You have no idea just how much my niece adores you,” she whispered.

When tears formed in her blue eyes, I swallowed so hard, my throat ached. I hated when this woman got me all emotional. What is it with these Winfield women?

“I know she loves me.”

“It’s more than that, Kate. You have a good mind for solving mysteries and murder. You get into odd situations, I must admit, but you trust your instincts. They’ve never let you down.” Hannah chuckled and patted my hand. “But you need to work on trusting your feelings and the feelings of those who love you.”

I frowned deeply. “I know I’m not very good with them. But I have been getting better. Haven’t I?”

“Yes, dear. It’s amazing how far you’ve come on your journey with Margaret.”

“She’s so patient with me. Sometimes, I feel like I don’t deserve her.”

“And there it is. She feels the same way.”

My head shot up. “Are you kidding me? That’s ridiculous.”

Hannah cocked her head. “Why?”

“Because Maggie is a great woman. Inside and out. She’s kind and generous. And she puts up with so much from me. I mean, she doesn’t even know how good she is.”

“It’s funny,” Hannah said. “She says the same thing about you.”

“She does?”

“Yes.” Hannah took another drink of her daiquiri before continuing. “She told me after we all first met, and you saved our family, that she never met anyone quite like you. She knew she had feelings for you, and it scared her.”

“Why?” I was amazed. I never knew any of this; Hannah and I had never talked about Maggie’s feelings before. My stomach was flipping, and my mouth had gone bone-dry. My God, I was so in love.

“Because you were very ambiguous when you left. She wasn’t sure. You’re older than Margaret. And she felt intimidated by that. You were confident and intelligent.” Hannah grinned evilly. “Well, enough to solve a twenty-year-old murder.”

I had to laugh at that. God bless Hannah; she always kept things on an even keel.

“She thought you were out of her league. Just as you think about her.”

“I had no idea, really.”

“Do you know when you both realized you were in love with each other?”

I stared down at my glass and whispered, “Yes. When we danced on the pier at my cabin.” I looked up and smiled. “It was your fault. You just had to play Nat King Cole and start this whole mess.”

Hannah laughed then, sipping her drink. “I’ll let you in on a little secret. And you must promise never to tell Margaret.”

“I’m not sure that’s a good thing. I don’t want to keep—”

Hannah waved her hand in the air. “Oh, don’t be so bourgeois.”