Death By Drowning (18 page)

“I will make sure everyone understands this.”

I heard someone call the minister’s name.

“Look, I gotta go. If you see Brother Taggert, tell him that I will be there in a couple of hours to be with him. After all, he is still a member of our flock and I am his shepherd.”

“Sure thing,” I replied, but I had no intention of seeing Taggert. After I hung up, I approached the nurses’ desk.

“I am Mr. Taggert’s relative. Is there any news on him yet?”

The nurse looked at her computer screen. “I think an evaluation is just about finished. He is being relocated to a semi-private room now. Let me call his doctor for you.”

She made the call. Within a few minutes, she ushered me into a private consultation room. A young emergency room doctor strode into the room and shook my hand. He looked nine.

“Because of our guidelines, I can’t go into specifics with you, but your nephew is resting comfortably and should be released tomorrow morning. We are just keeping him for observation, just in case.”

I blinked. “You are letting him go tomorrow? You let people who have had heart attacks leave the hospital less that twenty-four hours after admittance?”

The doctor sighed. “I really shouldn’t be discussing this with you.”

“He doesn’t have a wife, just kinfolk. We need to know how to help. Please don’t keep us in the dark,” I pleaded, my eyes threatening to cry. I rummaged through my purse looking for a handkerchief.

“I can assure you that Mr. Taggert has not had a heart attack.”

“Really? It looked like a heart attack.”

“It was simply a bad stress attack which can sometimes mimic a heart attack. But these stress attacks can be serious. He will need to take it easy for the next couple of days.”

“I can assure you, Doctor, that I will do everything possible to stay out of his way for the next couple of days. I think his minister will be here the next hour.”

The doctor smiled. “That will be good. Having a comforting presence is always good for the patient.”

I stood and shook hands with the doctor. I could have kissed him. I could have danced a little jig if my leg had not been hurting so. A little stress attack was not a major lawsuit, especially if the church kept finding icky stuff. I was almost in the clear legally.

Walking out of the emergency room, I realized I was a major cynic. The truth was I didn’t care what happened to Taggert as long as it didn’t involve me. He was just taking up space as far as I was concerned. He was one of those careless people that F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote about. It’s wasn’t that I didn’t think adults shouldn’t provide some sort of guidance for teenagers; it that I found his methods too raw and primitive for sensitive, impressionable young boys. He either didn’t understand the consequences of his actions or didn’t care. Either way, he was dangerous to young minds.

Or was it just Jamie that got special treatment? Was it that Taggert was jealous? As a plain man, he could have been envious of Jamie’s good looks and youth. Did he want to destroy the boy’s happiness by putting ridiculous thoughts into his head such as burning down a winery and having sex with the hired help? Each episode would have blighted Jamie’s Huckleberry Finn existence and tarnished his relationship with his loving but stern mother.

The truth about Jamie would never be known. He left no written record nor trusted any friend with his thoughts. Did he have sex with Bloomie because of Taggert’s unnatural influence? Or did he actually care for her? Even Bloomie didn’t really know. Now he was dead and she was in a bad way.

And I was in a bad way.

I was an hour late returning home, and I hadn’t checked in plus had turned my cell phone off. Cody must be frantic, especially if he tried to locate me through the GPS on my hearing aid and discovered that I was in a hospital. I needed to get home.

Checking my phone, I found four messages. I called Cody’s cell phone from the parking lot.

Jake answered. “Why the hell are you in a hospital?”

Startled, I almost dropped the phone. “I’m coming home right now. I can explain.”

“You stay right there. I am coming for you.”

“No, I’m coming home.” I hung up. Boy oh boy, was I going to be in big trouble. I felt nauseous and my body was racked from pain. I needed my medication. I kept a secret pill in my wallet in case of emergencies. Pulling it out, I rolled it in my palm, sitting in the car looking out at the parking lot. Silently and with great regret, I put it back in my wallet.

Something was calling me to the river. I was already in trouble. I might as well go for the brass ring. I felt a pressing need to get on the water. I massaged my right leg. It was limber enough to allow me to drive, so I took the old Tates Creek road home slowly and arrived at the Butterfly without incident. Once home, I went inside to get my files on Jamie and then drove down to the dock.

Thank goodness neither Jake nor Cody were home. They were probably on I-75 hoping to intercept me. It wouldn’t take them long to realize their mistake and head home. I had to get on that pontoon boat before they could catch me. Something was tumbling around in my mind about what someone had said. I knew if I could catch it and study it in my mind’s eye, I could solve the mystery. But what was it?

I was now in full-blown agony. Reaching up under my shirt, I pulled off the pain patch and threw it on the floor. It had been used up. Each bump in the road caused me to groan as a wave of pain slapped over me. Finally, I made it to the dock. Throwing open the car door, I grabbed my purse, my cane and the files, and snatched the boat key from its hidden place. Limping severely now, almost dragging my left foot, I undid the pontoon lines and crawled on board.

Something was really wrong. Even with the pain patch used up, I should have had some residual pain medication in my body. Was Jake giving me fake pain patches so he could wean me off the pain medication? What a time to discover that! Still, I wouldn’t give up. I took my pain pill out and broke it in half, knowing my mind would still be sharp enough with half a pill. I forced it down, swallowing it dry.

Starting the boat, I eased it from the dock and down the quiet river. Sitting in the captain’s chair with my legs extended gave me some relief as I putt-putted down the green ribbon of river, which had once been a mighty commercial thoroughfare and now largely forgotten. I made it without incident to the Silver Creek dock. Turning the boat off, I sat down and studied my notes. Hearing a noise, I looked up to see a young man who worked for Sarah, investigating my presence. As the pontoon boat was starting to drift, I threw him the lines. “Can you ask Miss Sarah to come to me, please?” I asked. “I need to speak with her.”

He scratched his ginger hair. “Well, she’s real busy right now.”

“I SAID GO GIT HER, BOY! NOW!”

Startled, he replied, “Okay, but you don’t need to be so rude.”

My teeth were grinding. “Go on. Fetch her for me.”

Several minutes later, Sarah hurried down the hill. Climbing into the boat, she seemed anxious and bewildered. “Is anything wrong?”

“Other than feeling like road kill, no. Have a seat for a minute. I need to ask you a question that has been on my mind for some time.”

Sarah sat obediently looking at me wild-eyed.

“You tell me that you are financially solvent. Business has been slow, but you are not in any major debt that would have caused Jamie to worry.”

She nodded.

“Then why do I hear rumors that you are in debt?”

“Who told you that?”

“It doesn’t matter. Are you in trouble financially?”

Sarah leaned forward. “The only thing I have is a standard $30,000 business loan which I take out every year because of a cash flow problem in the early spring, but the loan is always paid back by December. It’s just a standard business loan because I don’t want to dip in my savings.”

“Did Jamie understand that?”

“He didn’t know anything about it. Why would he?”

“Could he have stumbled upon some loan papers or heard you on the phone with a loan officer? You know thirty thousand dollars sounds like an awful lot to a kid. He could have misunderstood.”

Sarah’s hand flew to her mouth. “Oh dear. Thinking back now, there was something. They got my payment book wrong again for the third time in a row this year, so I called the bank manager and gave him what for. Maybe Jamie overhead me.”

“Were you angry, maybe talking loud to the bank manager?”

“Yes, I just gave him heck on the phone. I was frustrated that I had to keep correcting the payment book.”

“Sarah, I think Jamie overheard you on the phone.” I stopped myself from saying anything else. It didn’t take an Einstein to realize the likely sequence of events.

Sarah sat back in her chair staring at me for several minutes until realization illuminated her sorrowful eyes. “Oh no. You must be wrong. He wouldn’t jump to that conclusion, would he? It was just a stupid loan. It was only for thirty thousand. It was nothing. Oh my poor baby.” She looked at me with alarm. “It was just a simple loan. I was just angry about the paperwork not being correct. Jamie. Jamie. Why?” Sarah threw her head into her worn hands.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Bloomie running down the hill. “He thought by burning down the vines of your competitor, he was helping you. It was just being teenage dumb. He did it out of love, Sarah. He did it out of love.”

Bloomie climbed onto the boat.

“Help her into the house, Bloomie, and stay with her. She’ll tell you what’s wrong in her own good time. Perhaps, you might have something to share with her as well. Just a thought,” I said.

Bloomie helped Sarah up the hill and turning, she looked at me with doubtful eyes.

A blue heron flew over. Somewhere a horse neighed. And the river rhythmically lapped upon the shores, the music created by the waves sounded almost happy. But then, the river was happy. Jamie loved the river. The river had returned Jamie’s love, and like a selfish lover, she had laid claim to him. I knew the river held the secrets to my questions. Could I get the river goddess to give them up?

I started the boat and headed down the water. Traveling several miles, I turned off the boat and let it drift slowly on the river. Something was still nagging at me. I reread the files, paying close attention to the newspaper accounts. Closing my eyes, I replayed every conversation I had had concerning Jamie. A half hour later, my eyelids fluttered open. I knew. Yes, I knew what had happened to Jamie Dunne.

21

Still, I had to be sure. There might be some physical evidence I could discover. But I could not go beyond that. I would have to tell Irene my theory and let her take it from there . . . if she wanted to. And there was a chance I could be wrong. I was about to turn the boat around when I spied Rodney Tavis’ boat tied up to a tree. It was empty. I cast around looking for Tavis, but he seemed nowhere near. Pulling on the limbs of trees near the bank, I swung the pontoon boat near his.

This was stupid, I told myself. I had no backup. But it might be my only chance to know for sure, the devil on my left shoulder whispered to me. Getting closer, I inspected the fishing boat. Reaching out, I pulled on the boat’s rope bringing it next to the pontoon boat. Carefully I climbed into the rocking fishing boat. I searched the insides but found nothing. Then I ran my hand on the outside of the boat feeling for scratches or dents. Success! I found a large dent on the right side. Leaning over, I saw some kind of paint. Thrusting my hand about in a rusty toolbox, I found a knife, which I used to scrape the dented area, and placed the residue in a handkerchief from my pocket.

“Whadda ya think you’re doing?”

My head jerked up.

Rod Tavis was standing on the bank with his shotgun folded in his arms. He looked big and mean. I heard the devil laughing.

“I was loo . . . looking for you,” I stuttered, stuffing the handkerchief in my pocket.

“Why?”

“I wanted to ask you more questions about Jamie Dunne.”

“Like I said. Never saw him that night.”

I swallowed. “Okay. I best be going then.” I started to climb back into my boat.

Rod Tavis made a quick move with his foot and pushed the pontoon boat out of my reach. “Whatcha got in your pocket?”

“Nothing.”

“I saw you scrape my boat. Whadja do that for?”

I couldn’t think of anything to reply so I kept quiet.

“Cat got your tongue, lady?”

“Please, my leg is hurting awful bad. Let me go to my boat.”

He shook his head “You act like you got something on me. So until you tell me what, you gonna stay with me. He pulled his boat line toward him. I almost fell from the rocking boat into the river – with all those river snakes. Yuk!

“You met Jamie Dunne on the river!” I blurted. “It was an accident, but you killed him nevertheless. You said you never saw him that night. The paper makes no reference what part of the day Jamie drowned but that his body was found in the morning. Only the person who would know that he was out at night was the person who killed him.”

Tavis eyes narrowed, as he swung around his shotgun. “You don’t know nothing.”

“I know and Sarah Dunne knows too. I told her about an hour ago, so you holding me here won’t help you. She’ll call the police if I don’t return in a half an hour.”

“Lots can happen in thirty minutes.”

“Like what?”

“You can have an accident.”

“Like Jamie? I think you didn’t mean to harm him. You were watching your fishnets trying to catch the person who was stealing from you. You see Jamie. Maybe his kayak got tangled up in them. Anyway, you confront him. He denies it, but he’s in a hurry to get away. This just increases your belief that he is guilty. He is really trying to get away from a fire he had started, but you didn’t know that though. You try to stop him and his kayak turns over accidentally. Jamie comes back up furiously, and in the melee, hits his head on your boat and drowns because he wasn’t wearing his life jacket.

“Those dents, on your boat, have paint on them. I think the test results will show that it is paint from Jamie’s kayak.”

“That is not going to happen as no test is going to be taken. You step up here now.”

“I can’t. I won’t.”

He turned the gun around with the butt ready to knock me up side the head. Before the wood made contact, I jumped into the chilly water and began swimming towards the Jessamine County side of the river. My strokes were swift and sure. Thank God, Jake had me swim for months. I didn’t even think about the cold water rippling across my face. Then I heard the boat’s motor start up. Fast as I was, I would never make it to the shore in time, as the current was too fast and pulling me downstream. Looking over my shoulder, I could see Tavis was gaining on me.

Suddenly Brannon was before me, floating on top of the water. “Now?”

I thought,
Get the hell out of my way, Brannon. For the last time, I’m not coming
.

Brannon gave me a disappointed look before he sank below the river current.

Feeling something brush against my leg, I turned my head to see a watersnake wiggle away from me. I gasped and started to go down.

“REACH OUT!” I heard. Instinctively my hand shot out and felt a rough rope bobbing on the water.

Grabbing it, I was immediately pulled towards shore. My eyes closed as I sped through the water until my feet began making contact with the rocks and debris in the riverbed. Then two strong hands pulled at my hair and shirt dragging me up on the riverbank. Coughing, I attempted to wipe the water from my burning eyes until I puked and began choking on my own vomit. Someone turned me over and wiped out my mouth with their fingers looking for river debris. Then someone hit me on the back, causing me to spit out a lump of half-decayed leaves. Exhausted, I laid my head down on a bed of vomit, wet leaves and river stones.

Another boat was coming down the river – fast. I flopped over on my side and saw Tavis look towards the other boat and then veer his boat to the west, disappearing around a bend. The motor became louder until it cut off abruptly. Jake was on the prow of my rusty johnboat holding an assault rifle while Cody manned its ancient motor. As the boat made contact with the bank, Jake threw the gun to Cody and jumped onto the shore. In three long strides he was beside me and pulled me into a sitting position, pushing my wet hair back. “Are you all right?”

“I think so. Just scared.” My chest was heaving.

“Here, take this,” he said, trying to push the abuterol spray into my mouth.

I pushed it away. “I’m okay. Really. Just give me a minute.” Slowly my heavy breathing began to subside.

“Can you talk?”

I nodded, letting him take my pulse.

“I jumped in the water, but couldn’t make it to the shore fast enough. Someone threw me a rope – literally a lifeline pulling me to shore. Saved me from Tavis.”

“Who was it?”

“I couldn’t see, but I think it was Moshe Goren.”

Cody was now hanging over me. He held the rope. “Look at it. It’s homemade from natural fibers.”

“It seems like your Boo Radley has appointed himself as your guardian angel,” smiled Jake.

I returned his smile. “I have many angels on my side,” I replied pressing his hand.

For once Cody did not look bored. “Let’s get you back,” he said.

Since I still wasn’t my college weight, I pooh-poohed the idea of one of them carrying me to the pontoon boat. I made it on my own steam with occasional help. Cody tied the john boat to the back of the pontoon boat. Jake stood at the bow scanning the banks holding his rifle. His black hair fluttered in the wind. For the first time I noticed he had let it grow out from its military crew cut. It looked unruly . . . and sexy. It gave me pleasure to imagine Jake dressed in feathers and war paint, or tight jeans with a soft, white cotton shirt rolled up to the elbows and opened at the throat . . . or nothing at all.

For the first time in many years, I really cared about how I looked. I glanced down. Covered in mud, I smelled like a wet dog. I had lost my shoes and my wet summer dress clung to me exposing the last of my fat rolls.
Oh dear,
I thought.
That damn river wants me like it wanted Jamie.
I almost died again, but I’m can’t stop thinking that it’s time to dust off my high heels and give life one last spin before the river claims me.

I looked down at the dark, green river being sliced in two by the boat making its way back home. I looked again at Jake’s stern profile and felt safe. He turned to check on me. His expression softened when I gave him a thumbs-up. The river wouldn’t get me today. I smiled at the fading sun. Life surely takes strange turns.

*

I was safely tucked in bed watching
Jaws
when the phone rang. It was 10 pm.

“Where are you?”

“In the States. I’m coming home.”

“Good. We need to talk.”

“I hear you had a successful day. Don’t tell me the details but you’re happy?”

“Not happy, but satisfied. Irene came over and I gave my story to her. I filed an assault report against Rod Tavis for myself, but what she does with her information is up to her.”

“I also hear that you caused a man to have a stress attack so severe he thought he had a heart attack?”

“Yeah. I’m rather pleased with myself. Like I said, it’s been a successful day.”

“Hmmmm. Like going AWOL.”

“If we talk about that, then we will have to delve into Afghanistan.”

“I was in Amsterdam.”

“Sure you were.”

“Changing the subject. My team traced someone who looked like O’nan to a small town in Brazil but he disappeared after the twentieth of this month. No sightings anywhere.”

“Could he be in Lexington?”

“Doubt it, but you might want to think twice about ditching your bodyguard team again.”

There was a click on the line. “Gotta go. See you in a couple of days.”

Dead air.