“Yes,” Conor said.
“Did they hold her for questioning?”
“They’re questioning everyone. She was first on the murder scene, and she hired Suzanne to do the calligraphy. Big connections there. So, yes, Joe spent time talking to her. But she’s not a suspect.”
“That you know of,” Tom said. “It’s possible Joe and Garrett are keeping that confidential, even from you.”
“Certainly possible,” Conor said. “But I seem to be back in Garrett’s good graces.”
“That’s good to hear. When did Maeve go missing?” Tom asked.
“Yesterday. 6:13 p.m.”
“That’s specific. Where did you get that?”
“We checked the security footage and saw the time stamp.” Conor told Tom what had been on the video and the conclusions they had made based on Maeve dropping her necklace and the fact that the note was missing.
“So, someone doesn’t want you to find the note,” Tom said. “Fingerprints, DNA, handwriting? And the fact it was found at that psychiatric hospital. Doesn’t a place like Maynard-King treat the human psyche? Did someone there name the boat?”
“Maybe,” Conor said. “But there’s also the myth of Cupid and Psyche. Kate says that ties in withBeauty and the Beast. This guy is obsessed with it.”
“The boat is the key. The handcuffs and all that blood,” Tom said. He handed Conor the paperwork he had gotten from the marina owner, stating that Suzanne had paid for dockage throughout the summer, until late September.
“Why would she pay for it? The boat owner would,” Conor said.
“Maybe she was the owner,” Tom said.
“That doesn’t make sense—it was obviously used as a place to hold women before the guy took them to the mansion,” Conor said,remembering Grace’s disjointed story about the boat transporting girls from the mainland.
“Suzanne was involved somehow,” Tom said. “The dock records prove it. Come on, we’ll find out who ownsPsyche.”
The Reid brothers walked down the hill, into town. Conor knew that Tom’s office at his main post in New London was more equipped to research maritime matters, but the USCG maintained a space next to the harbor, on Bay Street—tucked between a clothing boutique and an antique store—that held a secure computer system.
Several years ago, Tom and Conor had uncovered an art-smuggling operation centered in southeastern New England. It had started with one painting stolen from Kate’s gallery and had escalated into a major investigation of art theft and how it was a cover for larger crimes.
Tom had requested that command restore an outpost of the decommissioned USCG Lifesaving Station to active but secret use, and they had acquiesced. Watch Hill was a prime location to monitor northbound-ship traffic through three critical bodies of water: Long Island Sound, Block Island Sound, and the Atlantic Ocean.
Tom punched a code into the keypad beside the door, then leaned close to a small lens so an eyeball scanner could verify his identity. He and Conor were buzzed inside. The officer in charge greeted them, and they walked to a desk at the far end of the long room. The space had once been an antiquarian bookshop that specialized in volumes of local history; several remained on shelves that lined a windowless wall.
Conor pulled up a chair beside the desk. Tom had his laptop, but he set it aside and logged in to a desktop computer. Conor knew that his brother could access databases connected to many aspects of inshore, nearshore, and offshore marine interests. This office computer would have a higher level of security and access than Tom’s personal one.
“Wouldn’t it be easier to just ask the harbormaster who owns the boat? Or wasn’t there a registration on board?” Conor asked.
“The harbormaster runs a pretty loose show out there, and from what I could see, there was no paperwork on the boat. The state policewill do a thorough search—I didn’t want to be in their way—but I suspect the boat is documented.”
“What are you talking about?” Conor asked, watching Tom type parameters into the computer.
“There are two ways to register a boat. One is with the state where the boat owner lives and where it will be docked. The other is to document it with the federal government—that means me.”
“You?”
“The Coast Guard,” Tom said. “Documentation, as opposed to standard registration, makes it easier to travel to foreign waters. It helps with clearing customs, and it gives the owner US protections.”
“International travel,” Conor said, jumping on that. “You think Suzanne—or whoever—plans to sailPsycheabroad? Like Europe?”
“It’s one possibility, but we don’t know yet,” Tom said. “You see it with yachts that race outside the States—ones who do the Bermuda Race, St. Maarten Heineken Regatta, St Barths Bucket, Antigua Race Week, things like that ... Canada, the Caribbean—the destination doesn’t have to be Europe.”
“SoPsycheis a racing yacht?” Conor asked.
