Marty Ambrose - Mango Bay 03 - Murder in the Mangroves (11 page)

“I might be”

“Did you find out anything about her death?”

“Maybe” He took another casual drink of water. “I heard
you were asking a lot of questions again-at Mama Maria’s,
at Island Decor-“

“Only for background information on my article about
Gina’s death” That was sort of true.

“Be careful.” His voice turned a bit more serious. “Her death
is going to affect a lot of people on Coral Island, and no one is
going to take too kindly to an … outsider digging up dirt on
the Mango Queen”

Outsider! It was on the tip of my tongue to start arguing with
him, but I was in the dojang. I had to behave with courtesy.
Besides, I’d learned that butting heads with Nick Billieeven if he were more relaxed than usual-did nothing except
give me a headache. “So, Gina was well liked?” I tilted my head
upward with a polite expression of inquiry.

“By most.”

“She was certainly attractive. I’ll bet she made a striking
Mango Queen. I’m just sorry I didn’t do a story on her getting
the crown a couple of nights ago”

His eyes turned somber. “At least Gina had that. I don’t
think I’ve ever seen a person look happier.”

“Wasn’t she a shoo-in to win? I gathered from what Brandi said this morning that Gina had been campaigning all year to
become Mango Queen.”

“All island women wanted the title, but Gina and Brandi
coveted it the most. From what I heard, they were neck and
neck right up till the final judging.”

“So it was down to the two of them?”

Nick finished his water and threw the empty bottle into his
gym bag. “One judge’s decision threw the vote Gina’s way. It
was four/three split.”

“That must’ve been quite a blow to Brandi.” I replaced the
cap on my Gatorade. “Of course, now that Gina is gone, she’ll
be the Mango Queen”

“What are you getting at?”

I shrugged. “Nothing. Just making an observation. You
don’t happen to know the name of the judge who cast the deciding ballot, do-“

“All right, Mallie, you can cut the nicey-nice routine. I like
you better when you’re spitting at me like a wildcat. At least I
know where you’re coming from”

“And I prefer you when you’re rigid and unyielding. Then I
know where you’re coming from.” I gave him a wink. “All I
did was ask an innocent question.”

He burst out with a throaty laugh. “There’s no such thing as
an `innocent’ question from you-especially when it involves
a suspicious death.”

“So you do think there could’ve been foul play.”

“I didn’t say that”

“But you hinted-“

“Look, I told you I’d let you know when I had the autopsy
results. Until then, it’s idle speculation to think that Gina’s
death was caused by anything other than natural causes”

I raised my eyebrows. “What about the syringe that was next
to her body? I’d hardly call that `natural’-“

“Shh” He placed an index finger over his mouth. “I don’t
want the whole dojang to hear-especially those two blabbermouth twins. If they get wind of anything, it’ll be all around
the island by lunchtime tomorrow.”

I glanced across the room and noticed that the usually boisterous duo had become very quiet and had started to drift in
our direction.

“Just because that syringe was there doesn’t mean Gina
used it,” he pointed out in a low voice. “It could’ve been left in
the grass by someone else days ago”

I turned back to him. “But what if her prints are on it?”

He paused. “Then we’ll be a step closer to knowing what
happened”

I touched his arm. “It’s not only for the newspaper. I want
to know what happened to Gina. She had everything going for
her, and to have her life end so suddenly … It’s just tragic.”

His hand covered mine. “I feel the same way.”

Sparks shot up my arm from his fingers.

“Okay, break time is over.” Sam slapped Nick on the back.
“We’ve got a few more self-defense techniques to work on”

Nick dropped his hand and moved away.

“You two looked mighty cozy,” Sam commented.

“Let’s just say we finally agreed on something.” I tightened
my belt.

“Such as?”

“I’ll fill you in after class.”

He led me to the center of the dojang, where we worked on
a few self-defense moves, none of which I could do very well.
Then we did some push-ups and, finally, ended class. Needless to say, I was drenched in sweat once again, whereas Nick
barely had a few beads of perspiration on his forehead.

The twins left, whispering and pointing in my direction on
their way out. I glared in response, which elicited giggles.

“It feels good to be back in class,” Nick said to Sam as he
loosened his black belt and removed his dobok jacket.

My mouth almost dropped open as his bare chest was revealed: a magnificent, finely muscled upper torso. In fact, it
was one of the sexiest I’d ever seen, not that I’d seen all that
many recentlyjust those of the elderly retirees who walked
the beach at the Twin Palms. And those sagging pecs weren’t
a pleasant sight, let me tell you.

Breathless, I dabbed at my face with a towel, hoping they’d
think it was because of the push-ups and not because the sight
of Nick Billie’s bare chest had gotten me all hot and bothered.

Nick reached into his gym bag and pulled out a white T-shirt.
As he slipped it over his head, I took one last look at the black
curly hair that covered his chest. Yummy.

“Wait here, Mallie. I want to get some aloe stalks for your
sunburn” After Sam exited, we stood there in awkward silence.
Was it possible Nick could tell that a wave of attraction had
just rolled over me with the power of a tropical storm?

I cleared my throat. “So, you’re going to call me with that
autopsy report in a day or two?”

“Don’t you think about anything else?”

“Not when my job is on the line.”

“I thought you liked moving around”

For a moment, the lure of the open road appeared in my
mind, and I could see myself in my truck, driving my Airstream
and teacup poodle to our next adventure. I cut off the fantasies. That was the old Mallie. “This is where I belong-for
now. And now that I’ve got Bernice the Butthead forcing me
to do her version of `reality journalism,’ I’ve got to watch my
back and keep my focus. I need that information as soon as
you get it.”

He chuckled and tweaked my chin. “Sure” He heaved his
gym bag over his shoulder. “I’ll call you” On his way out, he murmured a couple of words to Sam, who was coming back in,
stalks of aloe in hand. I couldn’t make out what he said, but Sam
looked at me with an odd expression. What in the world had
gotten into Nick Billie? Had the island cop gone soft?

“What were you two talking about?” I asked, watching as
Sam slit open the aloe stalk’s thick green skin.

“Just man talk.”

“Thanks a lot. Now you evoke the macho brotherhood
on me.”

“Hardly that” He scooped out a glob of clear, sticky liquid.
“Nick and I go way back. I’ve known him since he first came
to the island.”

“What was he like then?”

“Pretty much the same” He rubbed the gooey stuff all over
my face.

“Yuck” I inhaled with a grimace. “It smells like an old tire.”

“Aloe has healing properties-trust me. By tomorrow, the
redness will be way down”

“What about the freckles?”

He smiled down at me. “I think those are terminal.”

We both laughed.

“Seriously, what makes Nick Billie tick?” I slipped off my
dobok jacket. “I know all about that case on the Miccosukee
Reservation when he was with the tribal police and a young
boy died. That’s why he came here to Coral Island. I’d like to
know more about him … personally.”

Sam said nothing for a few minutes as he brushed the excess aloe gel off my face. “He’s a complicated man. Getting
close to him might be more than you’re ready for. You could
get tangled in the thorns.”

“What do you mean? He’s been sort of … nice recently.”

“Roses have thorns. They are sensual, attractive, but you
never know when you might get hurt.”

“Oh, come on.” I waved a dismissive hand. “He can’t be
that dangerous”

Sam leveled a long, low glance in my direction. “I think we
both know he is.”

Something stirred uneasily inside of me. “Maybe you’re
right. I’m not sure I’m ready for that kind of involvement. My
old boyfriend, Cole, is coming to visit, and he’s .. ” My voice
trailed off.

“Safer?” Sam split another aloe stalk and handed it to me.

“More predictable. More like the guys I’ve always dated. I
don’t think love has to be this heavy, gut-wrenching experience. It should be light and happy and carefree”

“That’s not love, Mallie-that’s just hanging out together.
Real love turns your soul inside out”

I held up a hand. “If that’s love, I don’t want it.”

“Then you’d better stay away from Nick. Because he’s just
the kind of man to shake you to the core”

“This discussion is all academic.” I tossed my jacket into
my gym bag, holding my nose while I unzipped. I’d bought
the bag in my favorite used-clothing store on the island, Secondhand Rose, and in spite of many, many washings, it still smelled
like a pile-driver’s lunchbox on a sweltering day. “Nick’s not
really boyfriend material anyway.”

“Don’t be too sure. I’ve never seen him get so hot and bothered over a woman” He grinned.

The implication sent waves of excitement through me. But
they were quickly followed by tides of caution. Sparring verbally or physically with Nick was one thing, but anything deeper
scared the hell out of me.

I heaved the gym bag over my shoulder. “Maybe it’s best
Nick and I keep things on a professional level. I’m a reporter,
after all. Getting to know Nick on a personal level could be
a … a conflict of interest.”

“Coward.”

“That’s my middle name. Mallie C. Monroe”

“I wouldn’t say that.” His eyes seemed to twinkle. “You
might want more than a man like Cole can offer you. You’ve
changed since you came to Coral Island.”

My mind raced back to scenes of seeing my first dead body
last summer, rescuing a young boy, comforting a woman who’d
lost her husband, facing down not one, but two murderersand finding another dead body this morning.

“Yeah, my first year working at the Observer has been
eventful, to say the least.”

“Nick Billie might be your next trial by fire.”

“I think I’d rather walk over live coals,” I murmured as I
strolled past him.

He followed, then closed the door and locked it behind him.
“You won’t have to do the `fire walk’ until you test for your
black belt.”

“What?” I stopped in my tracks.

“Just kidding.”

“Whew.” I brushed my fingers across my forehead.

“No-worse. You’ll have to break a concrete block.”

“That’s a piece of cake compared to getting caught in Nick
Billie’s ‘thorns.’” I climbed into Rusty and rolled the window
down. About three-quarters of the way, it stuck, and the handle
jammed. Typical. Rusty got temperamental after dark. Pulling
on the neck of my Frozen Flamingo tee, I fanned myself.

Sam remained stationed outside my window. “Be careful
asking around about Gina Fernandez. Her fiance’s family has
a lot of money and power,” he warned. “Everyone knew they
didn’t like the idea of her becoming their daughter-in-law. Brett
was being groomed for a political career, and having a wife
who was the granddaughter of a migrant worker wouldn’t have
helped.”

“That’s sort of what Aunt Lily said.”

“Lily’s spent a lifetime on this island and knows everybody’s
secrets-and then some. I’d trust her instincts about everything. Life, death, and … love.”

I peered at him closely. Did Sam’s attachment to Aunt Lily
go beyond friendship? Her husband, Uncle Rich, had died in
World War II, and she’d been a grieving widow ever since. At
least that was the story passed around my family. Was there
more to it than that?

“Sam, are you suggesting that Aunt Lily is-“

“I’m not saying anything other than she’s a very wise, compassionate woman” Sam’s face shuttered into silence.

But there was more. I could feel the unspoken words between us.

He tapped my door twice and stepped back. “If the Palmers
had something to do with Gina’s death, they’ll be protected by
their wealth. And they won’t hesitate to get rid of anyone who
might bring them down. Be careful.” He gave a little wave and
disappeared into the night.

I understood. If I found incriminating evidence linking the
Palmers to Gina’s death, they’d come after me.

I fanned myself a second time, but not because of the heat.

y the time I left Tae Kwon Do class, the day’s events began to catch up with me. My whole body sagged with fatigue
behind the wheel, and my face burned from the sun-lashing it
had received that morning.