Dark Waters (17 page)

Malcolm looked up, the brown eyes wide. ‘No, sir!' he said, his voice a little less timid. ‘I surely do not.'

‘You hunt, Malcolm?'

‘No, sir.'

‘You know anybody who hunts?'

Malcolm looked up again and the look on his face seemed to indicate he thought the question stupid, which upon reflection, Emmett had to agree with.

‘Anybody using anything taking a thirty-thirty Win cartridge?' Emmett added, to make himself seem a little less asinine.

Malcolm shook his head and looked down again.

‘What did you think about Darby Hunt?' Emmett asked.

Malcolm shrugged. ‘I didn't. Think about him, I mean.'

‘So when you heard that the guy who eviscerated your aunt was getting out of jail and coming back to Prophesy County, the man who had threatened your entire family, you didn't think about that at all?'

He shrugged. ‘Well, yeah, I guess.'

‘So what did you think?'

He looked up again at Emmett. ‘That it was bad?' he offered.

Emmett nodded. This kid probably didn't kill Darby Hunt. And so far he hadn't found anybody who probably did.

Before Johnny Mac could say anything, there came a knock on the door. I sighed and went to answer it. Mike Tulia – again. This time his daughter Janna was with him and she was red-eyed, snotty-nosed and hiccupping sobs.

‘Sorry, Milt,' Mike said, ‘but Janna insists on seeing your son and she won't stop crying until she does.'

‘I don't see that as my problem, Mike,' I said, ready to close the door.

Janna burst into renewed tears as my wife stepped out of the bathroom. ‘Let them in, Milt,' she said, and I had to wonder if she was going to bitch slap the defenseless little girl. You know, after what she'd said the night before.

I opened the door wider and Janna ran into the room and right up to Johnny Mac who stood up, turned a deep purple, and patted Janna on the back. ‘It's OK,' he said.

‘No, it's not!' Janna cried. ‘Someone killed Josh! They're coming after us next!'

‘What the f—' Mike started.

And I said, ‘Huh?' just about the same time.

Early stood up, a panicked look in his eyes. ‘Why?' he demanded. All of us talking at the same time.

‘OK!' Jean said from her sitting position on her bed. ‘Everybody shut up and sit down!'

Jean has this way about her – we all sat down and shut up.

‘John, you and Early were going to tell us something earlier. Is what Janna is saying connected to what you were going to tell us?'

‘Yes, ma'am,' Johnny Mac said.

‘Then the three of you can tell us what it is, but be polite and don't talk over each other. Decide who speaks when and tell us.'

Both Janna and Early looked at Johnny Mac, so he started. ‘Josh was bad,' he said, and the other two nodded their heads. ‘He kept playing these games where he wanted us to basically steal stuff. Like at the pool –' He looked at Janna, who took up the saga.

‘Yeah, he said it was a game, but he had us grab stuff that people had left behind at the pool, and the one with the most stuff won. When Johnny Mac told him that was stealing, he said he'd put it all back, but I don't think he did.'

‘And then,' Early said, ‘when we got to Georgetown, he wanted us to steal from a store—'

‘All at a different store—' Janna interjected.

‘Yeah,' Early concurred. ‘But I didn't. And neither did Johnny Mac.'

‘No, Early was really cool about it,' Johnny Mac said, grinning at his former, now again, obviously, best friend. ‘Dad, he used the money you gave him and bought something, threw away the bag and told Josh he stole it!'

‘But I have the receipt,' Early said.

Janna's eyes got big. ‘Really?' she said, looking at Early with those big blue eyes. ‘I wish I'd thought of that.' She hung her head. ‘I sorta stole something,' she said, her voice not much more than a whisper.

Mike went up to his little girl and pulled her into his arms. ‘I'm so sorry, baby – I made you hang out with that asshole! Why didn't you tell me what he was doing?'

He put her back down and she said, ‘Because he would have done something bad, either to me, or you or Mama. He was really mean, Daddy.'

‘What about you, John?' his mother asked.

Johnny Mac blushed and shrugged his shoulders. ‘I ended up at a jewelry store and the money Dad gave me wouldn't buy anything in there. So I stole a pen off the counter top and ran.'

‘Where's the pen?' I asked.

Johnny Mac's blush grew a deeper shade of red, and I saw Janna reach for his hand. ‘Josh threw it on the ground and stomped on it.'

‘Who all was involved in this?' Jean asked.

All three kids looked at each other then back at Jean. Johnny Mac stood up. ‘We're not stool pigeons, Mom. We won't rat out anyone else.'

‘Was Lyssa involved?' Jean asked.

‘Lyssa and her mom weren't with us that day,' Janna reminded her.

‘How about Josh's little brother, Ryan?' Mike asked.

There was no response.

‘What about the two Connelly boys?' Jean asked.

No response.

‘Do you think one of them may have killed Josh?' I asked.

All three jumped up. ‘No!' they all shouted at once.

‘Well, somebody did. Was it one of y'all?'

‘Now, hold on, Milt—' Mike started, but I stayed him with an outstretched arm.

‘Was it one of y'all?' I repeated.

‘No, Dad,' Johnny Mac said. ‘None of us did it.'

‘Then who do you think did?' I asked.

The three looked at each other, turned their backs on us grown-ups and did a whispered side bar. Finally Johnny Mac, as spokesman, said, ‘We think it was probably that man who accused us – that Mr Dunne. He found out who really did it, which would be Josh, and killed him. Which is just mean, we think!'

‘Yeah, that's pretty mean,' I agreed. ‘OK, you guys go in there,' I said, indicating the boys' part of the suite, ‘while us grown-ups talk out here.'

They did, rather eagerly, I'd say, leaving me and Jean and Mike sitting on Jean's bed.

‘Well, if Josh was doing this and getting the kids involved, I'd say his brother Ryan was definitely in on it,' Mike said.

‘And Lyssa,' Jean said. ‘I've rarely seen your daughter without Lyssa.'

‘That's true,' Mike said.

‘That leaves the Connelly boys,' I said. ‘Unless there are other kids we don't know about.'

‘Too bad they won't talk,' Mike said, indicating our kids in the next room with a nod of his head.

‘I learned to throw guilt from a Southern mama,' I said. ‘Hide and watch.'

I went into the boys' part of the suite. All three were sitting on the bottom bunk, their feet hanging over the edge.

‘Hey, y'all,' I said. ‘Look. There's only one thing we can do. We have to go to the ship's security chief about what you told us, and the problem is that without knowing what other kids were involved, I'm afraid he's going to have to gather up all the kids on this boat, which means we might have to stay aboard longer than we planned. Not to mention that all the poor kids who had nothing to do with this will suffer.'

Johnny Mac held up one finger then they all turned away from me for another whispered conference. They turned around and Johnny Mac sighed loudly. ‘OK,' he said. ‘Yeah, Ryan, Josh's brother, was there every time, and the Connelly boys were there at the pool, but not in Georgetown.'

‘What about Lyssa?' I asked.

The boys looked at Janna. ‘She was at the pool with us, but not with us in Georgetown, and definitely had nothing to do with Mr Dunne because she was with us. We didn't do that, Sheriff Kovak. Honest to God!'

‘Thank y'all for telling me. It's best that we get this all out in the open.' I patted Janna on the head as I left to go into the larger part of the suite. But I had to admit, my son had good taste in little women.

I went down to A level to the security office and went in to see Chief Heinrich. He was on the phone and indicated that I sit and wait – I did as indicated.

‘We'll dock in Galveston the day after tomorrow,' he said into the phone. ‘Should we hold everyone aboard ship until—' He listened then said, ‘I see. Yes.' He listened again, then said, ‘Of course, we will continue our investigation aboard ship—' Again he listened, and finished with, ‘Very good. I'll see you then.' And hung up.

To me he said, ‘Mr Kovak, how may I help you?'

‘Got some info you might be interested in,' I said. And proceeded to tell him what the kids had told us about Josh Weaver and what he'd been up to.

‘The little shit!' Heinrich said, halfway under his breath.

‘Not the first time I've heard him called that,' I said.

‘Do you know where he kept his – what should I call it? Booty?'

‘I think an interview with Josh's brother Ryan might be in store,' I said. Then asked, ‘So who was that on the phone?'

‘The Galveston police,' he said. ‘The coast guard will be boarding when we dock, as will the police.'

‘And we all have to stay aboard while this is going on?' I asked.

‘I'm afraid so. No one can leave until everyone has been interviewed. It may take quite a while. Five hundred souls, you know.'

‘Well, four hundred and ninety-nine,' I said, by way of being accurate.

‘You have a macabre sense of humor, Mr Kovak,' he said.

I shrugged. He wasn't wrong. So then I brought up what I'd come here for in the first place. ‘I'd like your permission, Chief Heinrich,' I said, ‘to gather up the parents of these kids to tell them what was going on. I'm pretty sure Vern Weaver didn't know what his son was up to, or both sons for that matter. I know the others didn't.'

‘And why would you think I'd allow you to do this, rather than do it myself?'

‘Well,' I said, ‘coming from me it wouldn't be so scary. Like you mentioned, on this cruise I'm just another passenger, whereas you're the authority. And maybe I can have a room that isn't, you know, like in your security area? One of the small venues on the promenade level?'

Chief Heinrich smiled, sorta. It was more like a grimace, but I think he meant it as a smile because he said, ‘You are very funny, Mr Kovak. To think I could give you access to
anything
on the promenade level! Most people on the ship have no idea about the boy who was killed, and we want to keep it that way until we dock in Galveston. That is what the captain wants, and that is what I will do. So,' he said, standing up behind his desk, ‘there is a small conference room on this level you can use, but I will be in attendance.'

I stood up also. I moved forward and held out my hand. Heinrich took it and shook it and told me the room number of the conference room. I left the room feeling a trifle smug. Always ask for more than you want, 'cause then you might just get what you need. To paraphrase those most genteel Englishmen.

We compromised and went to the buffet/food court for lunch. The food was good but not the fancy-pants stuff I was used to. I had some gigantic crab claws with a tub of drawn butter, peel-and-eat shrimp with a really good red sauce, some corn on the cob, coleslaw, potato salad, baked beans, a couple or four deviled eggs and a pitcher of beer. For dessert I got some chocolate-chip cookies, a piece of apple pie and a slice of red velvet cake. And some vanilla ice cream to be shared between the apple pie and the red velvet cake. My wife looked at my plate and just shook her head, mumbling something under her breath about a heart attack on a plate, but I wasn't really paying attention.

The boys' plates were heaped high with corn dogs, pizza slices, corn on the cob, French fries and mac and cheese. Jean had a nice green salad. The woman has no idea of good food.

Most of the tables were like picnic tables with bench seating. It took some doing, but we found a table with chairs for Jean.

Once we were all settled, Jean asked me, ‘So what did Chief Heinrich say to your idea?'

‘He wants to be there, but I get the impression he's OK with me running it. He gave us a conference room in the security office. And, honey, I'm gonna need you to be there. You know, in case anyone goes nutso about this, or maybe you can check people out and see who looks guilty.'

Using her head as a pointer, she indicated the two boys. ‘And them? We aren't going to actually leave them alone?'

‘Good God, no!' I said. ‘They'll come with us. I want all the kids there.'

‘Why?' she asked, liberally dosing her salad with at least a half an ounce of red wine and vinegar dressing.

‘They might know more than what the boys and Janna told us. I'd think some of them, probably at least Ryan, had something to do with Clifford Dunne getting mugged.'

She nodded her head. ‘Good point,' she said.

Heinrich had given the appropriate stewards semi-formal invites to pass out to the parents of the appropriate kids to meet in the conference room at two p.m. Me, Jean and the boys got there about one-thirty. I'd had the boys bring some toys with them and then put them in a corner while Jean and I set up. We sat at the conference table and made a list of the points I wanted to cover: when she might step in here or there, what we wanted Heinrich to say, etc. Heinrich joined us at about one forty-five, and we handed him a short little intro for him to read. He looked at it and handed it back.

‘If you don't mind,' he said, looking from me to my wife and back again, ‘I've been talking for myself for some forty-odd years now. I see no reason to change at this late date.'

Oh, crap, I thought. He's planning on taking over. I looked at my wife and shrugged. I must have had a hangdog look about me, 'cause she patted my hand.