Page 11

M issy headed upstairs and stepped into her shower, letting the heat soak into her tired and sore body. She felt compelled to stay with her father at the hospital, and she desperately wanted to go back to him. Yet Trey was right about her not sleeping well. The hospital cot wasn’t the most comfortable bed, but she felt guilty for even thinking about comfort when her father was still unconscious.

She quickly finished her shower, got dressed, and put another change of clothing in her carry bag. She walked downstairs to find Trey sitting at the counter, staring out at the backyard, Schooner stretched out on the floor next to him. He jumped up at the sight of her and gave her a greeting that made her love the furry mutt even more. Glancing at Trey, she realized he held a cup of coffee. “Is that coffee?” she asked in astonishment.

He turned to her and nodded. “Yes, I took the liberty of making you coffee.”

“Making me coffee?” she asked, with a knowing look.

“Making us coffee, if you prefer.… I stand corrected.”

“Oh, I definitely prefer, no matter what your motivation.” She laughed. “There is something to be said for having somebody around who can look after himself.”

“Pretty sure I fit that category just fine,” he stated, with a smile. “I’ve never been accused of being too dependent on people.”

“I suspect you’re the opposite,” she noted, studying him. “You probably don’t let anybody help, unless you absolutely have to.”

“I try not to be that stubborn,” he shared, grinning at her as he held out a cup of coffee for her.

She accepted it gratefully, thanking him and sincerely happy to have it. They sat here for a few minutes, comfortably staring out at the backyard. Then she muttered, “I have such great memories of being here.”

“I do too,” he added. “It’s one of the reasons I’m considering staying.”

“And here I thought it was all about me,” she teased, with mock laughter.

“You are definitely one of the reasons,” he agreed, “and Silas. He was always really good to me. We had a hell of a friendship, and I do feel in a way that,… when I left for the navy, I let him down. I knew he would understand, but it’s not the same thing.… I sure would give a lot to go fishing with him again.”

She stared at him for a long moment and smiled, feeling the tears hit against her lashes. “I’m sure he would absolutely love that. He missed his special fishing partners.”

“Who were the ones he was the most competitive with?”

She frowned at him for a moment. “I can’t believe you’re even thinking along those lines.”

“I’m not sure what I’m thinking,” he admitted. “We just have to map out clear possibilities.” She gave him three names, only one of which he recognized.

“But I’m pretty sure it was a happy rivalry,” she noted. “If anybody were to not make the derby the next year, it would disappoint all of them.”

“Right, those are always the fun competitions.”

“Exactly. I can’t imagine any of these men having anything to do with hurting Dad.”

“I hope not,” he said, with a smile. “Come on. Let’s get you back to the hospital. I’ll tell Jackson that we are on our way.”

Quickly rinsing the mugs and putting them in the sink, he drove her to the hospital where they left Schooner in the vehicle again. As they walked into the elevator to go up, she smiled at the other man inside. “Hey, Charles.”

He smiled, then grimaced. “I hear your dad is doing poorly. I’m sorry about that.”

“He may have been doing poorly, but he’s doing a lot better now,” she replied, with a bright smile.

“Good,” he murmured. “I don’t know what happened exactly, but I heard you got lost out there.”

She shrugged. “I’m not exactly sure what happened myself.”

“You were there though, weren’t you?”

“I was there,” she confirmed, “but the conditions were terrible, and the memories are not a great thing either.” And, with that noncommittal comment, she stepped out of the elevator, waiting for Trey.

“What was that all about?” Trey asked.

“I try not to speak to Charles that much—or about him for that matter.” Missy shrugged. “You were asking about old boyfriends. Well, he would be one of them. He and my dad never got along well, but, no, Charles wouldn’t have done anything to hurt us. At least the Charles I know wouldn’t. It was so many years ago, he wouldn’t have cared to do anything now.”

“Oh, I don’t know,” Trey argued, turning to look back at the elevator. “Lots of people prefer their revenge served cold.”

She laughed. “You make it all sound so melodramatic.”

“Maybe it is,” he stated. “So, who is this Charles guy?”

“Somebody I went to high school with. Then I went to veterinary school, and he went to med school, so just… different paths all the way around.”

Sensing more to it or something else going on, he waited until they got into the hospital room before he spoke up. “This really isn’t the time to hold back details.”

She turned to him, then shrugged. “Charles is an arrogant jerk, so I try to avoid him as much as I can. He’s always thought I went into veterinary school because I couldn’t get into med school. That grated on me for a while, but I never attempted to get into med school. That wasn’t my plan. He just always had that attitude of superiority to everybody else. I hated that.”

“How did your father take to him?”

“How do you think? No, forget I asked. First off, Dad didn’t like him because he was dating me. Second, Dad’s a veterinarian, so any conversation with Charles includes the idea that Dad’s somehow less than because he’s a vet and not a human doctor. So, of course, that doesn’t go down well.”

Trey laughed. “I can’t imagine Silas thinking much of that at all.”

“Charles is also a lousy fisherman, and I know my father took a great deal of delight in that. However,” she added, giving Trey an eye roll, “Charles never would have done or even attempted to do anything to hurt my father. No matter how much of jerk he is, Charles is a doctor, remember? Do no harm .”

“Yeah, but doctors are also human,” he pointed out.

She sighed. “See? That’s the trouble with guys like you. You can see drama everywhere.”

“Really?” he asked in a dry tone. “Personally I thought it was the circumstances that made us that way.”

She nodded. “Maybe it is,” she conceded, “and I probably shouldn’t be knocking you for it. So I’m sorry.”

He laughed. “Don’t even think about it. You have nothing to worry about there.”

“Ah, you say that,” she began, with a smile, “but I just never quite know. I don’t know what I’m even supposed to think right now.”

“That’s why you’re not to worry about it,” he reminded her. “Just leave that part to me.”

“Sure,” she muttered. “Will you solve all this on your own?”

“Maybe,” he said, giving her a bright smile. “And, if I do, then what?”

“I have no clue,” she admitted, “but it would definitely make me very happy if we could put all this behind us.”

“That’s the intent,” he confirmed, “because it’s really important that you do put it behind you, one way or another. And that means we have to solve it.” And, with that, he leaned over, brushed his lips against hers, and said, “I’ll see you later.” He turned and walked out.

She had no chance to do anything but stare at him in wide-eyed surprise.

He quickly headed to the parking lot, and then on down to Rob’s. Schooner seemed more than happy to hang out with him on his errands.

As he walked into the back of the workshop, Rob glared at him. “I still don’t have any answers. Do you?”

“No, but who is this Dr. Charles guy?”

Rob frowned at him. “Mrs. Roberts’s son? Charles Roberts?”

“Yeah, that’s the name. He was apparently Missy’s boyfriend for a while, but he also likes to mock both Silas and Missy’s profession.”

“He can mock it all he likes, but that doesn’t make him a killer.”

“No, but he also sucks at fishing.”

At that, Rob burst out laughing. “If we put every person who sucked at fishing on the suspect list,” he replied, “you would have half the town or more. Even so, I still think you probably have something there with that fishing derby angle, but it’s also a good idea to check out anybody who had Missy on their wish list.”

“God, that sounds disgusting when you put it that way.”

Rob nodded. “I know, and yet it’s true and worth checking out. You know it too, or you wouldn’t have brought it up.”

“No, you’re right. I do know it,” he agreed. “I just don’t like thinking about anybody treating her as a thing to acquire, an object.”

“Ha,” Rob muttered. “Too often, that’s all men do consider.”

“We also know that, in cases of murder, the motives of both love and hate go hand in hand.”

“As does jealousy,” Rob pointed out.

“What about Miranda?” At Rob’s frown, Trey continued. “Missy says that Miranda has a key to the house and that her dad might be sweet on her.”

Rob shook his head. “Miranda has a key to Silas’s house because she cleans it. She cleans the clinic too, if my info is current. I don’t see her dating Silas as I think she’s been dating Bill, Bill Bedford, the other vet at the clinic.”

“Wow,” Trey muttered. “The next time I need intel, I’ll just ask you.”

“True, but I still can’t see it over a fishing derby. Yet I’ve seen it over ten bucks, so I’m not quite so ready to write off the derby just yet.”

“I won’t argue with you there,” Trey replied.

Rob nodded, glaring out at nothing. “It’s a stupid world we live in, and that’s something we have to consider too.”

“Agreed,” Trey muttered as he sat down on a couple crates nearby. “Did the sheriff come around?”

“Yeah, he sure did.” Rob groaned and sent Trey an eye roll. “He doesn’t have anything to offer, and, as long as we don’t have anything to offer him, he can’t go forward. I’ve suggested that he bring in forensics from another department, but he doesn’t seem to think that’s a good idea. He also doesn’t seem to think that our theory is really feasible and feels it’s more than likely just a case of Silas’s fevered mutterings.”

“I suppose it’s possible,” Trey grumbled, “but I can’t really see that, or maybe I just don’t want to. But, without forensics or a good viable suspect, it’ll be hard to determine either way.” When another man called out, Trey turned, watching as somebody he didn’t know came in, but with the casual manner of someone who had been here many times.

“Hey, Rob. What’s this I hear about you salvaging Silas’s boat?”

“First off, your source is faulty,” Rob stated, spitting chewing tobacco on the ground beside him. “I didn’t salvage his boat. I just helped bring her back, so we could work on her.”

“ Huh , that makes more sense.”

“Who said I salvaged it?”

The other guy shrugged. “Not sure anybody did, as much as… rumors always make it sound worse than it is.”

Rob snorted at that. “Ya think? But, for the record, no, I’m not trying to take the boat from Silas. He’ll wake up and come grab it himself.”

“He’ll what?” The new arrival had an expression of shock on his face. “I thought he was more or less dead?”

“ More or less isn’t exactly the same thing as dead though, is it?” Trey asked the stranger, finding it hard to keep his mouth shut.

The man looked at him and frowned. “Who are you?”

“Friend of the family,” he said bluntly.

“This is Trey,” Rob added. “He’s Jackson’s brother.”

The face of the other man cleared. “So, you’re the guy who found them.”

Trey nodded. “I am.”

“That was a hell of a deal. You go out there and find them on the first pass? That’s sick. We were out there for days,” he muttered. “That was a pain in the ass, and we didn’t find a damn thing.”

Rob shrugged. “Now that they’re both at the hospital and doing much better, hopefully they’ll get a chance to get back out again, but I’ve gotta work on the boat first,” he explained, motioning toward it.

The stranger nodded. “I’m glad to hear you’re so positive, since the rumors are pretty negative. Even talked to a couple doctors about it, and they just shook their heads and wouldn’t commit.”

“Of course not,” Rob replied. “Besides, what do doctors know?”

The other man laughed. He reached out a hand and introduced himself to Trey. “I’m Derik, by the way. I know your brother pretty well.”

Trey smiled and nodded. “That’s the thing about a small town, isn’t it?”

“Sure is, we all know and trust each other,” he declared, with a nod, “and that makes a massive difference. I’m glad you were there to help out Missy. She must have been terrified.”

“She was doing pretty well though,” Trey shared. “She’s pretty smart.”

“That she is. I think we all had a hand in her education and training when it came to sailing the ocean.”

He smiled at that. “I knew Silas many years ago myself.”

“Really?” he asked, studying Trey closer.

“Yeah, it’s one of the reasons I had an idea for where to look.”

At that, Derik leaned forward and asked, “Hey, do you know anything about that fishing hole, where Silas always wins the derby?”

Trey immediately shook his head. “Nope, and I wouldn’t tell you even if I did.”

Derik eyed him in disgust. “We’re all supposed to be friends here, remember?”

“Yeah, I remember, but, if Silas gets the chance,… I want to see him back out on that water, whipping everybody’s butt in the next derby.”

Rob laughed at that, and even Derik gave a chuckle. “I guess I would be okay with that myself,” Derik admitted. “The damn place isn’t the same without him. Plus, I’ve got to get my dog in for her shots, man. Now where do I take her?”

“Take your dog to Missy,” Trey suggested. “She was set to do her practicum here at the clinic anyway.”

“Really? You know, Silas did say something about that, but I wasn’t sure what would happen now.”

Trey added, “If nothing else, she should make arrangements with whomever her father practiced with.… I don’t remember his name, but the one who’s there now, handling things.”

“Ah, Bill’s been trying to buy that place off of Silas. Be interesting to see how that goes.”

“Really?” Trey asked. “That’s odd.”

“Why?”

“Because Silas has always had it set up for Missy to join his practice and to eventually take it over. It doesn’t make sense that Silas would ever sell it or would even be in a situation where anybody could think they would buy it. Missy’s been in veterinarian school for a long time, and that was the plan for many years before that. It’s not as if everyone didn’t know she was coming back.”

“That’s true,” Derik confirmed. “And hopefully we won’t even have to worry about it because Silas will back on his feet in no time.” And, with that, Derik waved at the two men and took off.

Trey turned and frowned at Rob. “So, I need the low down on some of these local characters.” He waved at Derik, who just walked out the door. “Trustworthy or not?”

“Trustworthy.… It’s just the damn fishing derby fever coming out,” Rob pointed out. “I don’t think you realize just how insane these guys get about it.”

“Yeah, remember me?” Trey asked. “I’m the one who wondered if they were competitive enough to look at killing each other over it. So, what’s the deal with Bill, the vet who’s got the business supposedly well in hand right now? Sounds as if he might want it as his own business. That wouldn’t be something we would let happen, is it?” he asked Rob, not giving him a chance to answer. “That should be handed down to Missy, as she and Silas planned. The fact that she still needs her practicum doesn’t mean it isn’t still her business.”

“Oh, don’t worry about that. I agree with you 100 percent, but we may need to ensure that Bill fully understands that. Maybe it’s about time you paid him a visit,” Rob suggested, with a chuckle. “Go make yourself even more popular around town than you already are.”

Trey stood up. “What do you mean by that? That sounded awfully sarcastic.” He stopped on his way out the door to turn and look at him. “What are you suggesting?”

“Missy is a pretty-hot number in town, and I’m sure you’ve already gotten that angle sewn up for good.”