Page 40 of Beneath Still Waters

“The inside might be even worse.” He sucked in his breath through his teeth.

A man approached their table in a suit that looked like it cost more than her car.That guy will never have to worry about laugh lines . . .

“Excuse me, are you Duke Campose?”

“Um, yes?” He squinted. “And can I assume you’re George Edward Ripley the third?”

The man frowned and looked away. “George Ripley will suffice.”

“What can I do for you?”

“I’m in town for a few days trying to get my uncle’s body released for transport. I’ve decided to take him home to California.”

“And did you bring proof that you’re the next of kin?” Duke leaned back in his chair. “I can’t just release a body, no matter that it’s part of a murder investigation, to anyone who asks for it.”

George stiffened and his face hardened. “Then I’ll have to call my lawyer.”

Duke stared straight at him and smiled. “Do that. I’m sure we’ll be talking soon.” Duke turned slightly, effectively dismissing George.

As soon as he sat in his own booth Ferd leaned forward and dropped her voice. “He’s in town . . .? I didn’t expect that.”

“I didn’t either, honestly. I thought he was kind of a nonstarter. Pot-stirrer. I wasn’t sure how he knew about Bailey’s death so quickly when the town seemed really slow to learn, but who knows who he’s connected to.”

“Or why he’s so interested in Bailey’s body. Did anything weird show up in the autopsy? I hate to immediately think of anything . . . odd, but there were a lot of drugs in Bailey’s boat. Was he a mule? Either knowingly or not?”

“Oh, he was a trafficker but not a mule. His autopsy was clean. Blunt force trauma to the face. Defensive wounds. Bloodwork, at least the quicker tests, was all clean. Whatever George wants, I don't think it's to hide Bailey's cause of death.”

“I guess we add him to the immediate suspect list because if he’s not been staying at the Piper’s Ridge Rest and he’s here now, he could’ve been here for quite some time.”

Duke glanced in the direction George had gone to sit. “You’re right. Just because his call registered a California area code doesn’t mean he didn’t use his cell phone from somewhere local.I’m not ready to interview him just yet, but that is coming. We’ll let him think he’s flying above the radar for now.”

“Where next?” She took a sip of her coffee and closed her eyes to block out anything that could disturb the flavor.

“I want to talk to the ex-wife one more time. I also need to talk to Kelly. There were no fingerprints on that can belonging to Bailey, but there were two other identifiable prints. I’d like to see if she’ll willingly give hers and ask if she knows how anyone might have gotten a key to a property she cleans.”

“She’s already scared. Scared equals helpful.”

“Or guilty.” He stood and closed his laptop, then shoved it into his messenger bag. “Let’s go.”

THIRTY-THREE

Duke parked down the street from Monica’s house and focused off in the distance. “Grab your phone and zoom in behind her house. Is she outside talking to someone?”

Ferd dug her phone from her purse and did what Duke said. “Yeah, she’s talking to Carl, the guy on the winch when we were pulling the container from the water.”

“Convenient that the box swung on the end of his hook, hit his boat and tore the means of flotation, and all the evidence was washed away in the process. I know this is a small town and everyone knows everyone, but what is he doing with her hiding in a back alley?”

Carl leaned forward and hugged Monica, patting her back. The embrace lasted longer than Ferd expected, then a little longer still. “That’s . . . interesting.”

“Unexpected.” Duke wrinkled his forehead. “Just when I think I’ve finally learned to expect the unexpected, something like this happens.”

“You don’t think they’re . . .” There had to be nearly forty years between the two of them.

“In this day and age, who knows?” Duke unbuckled. “I don’t judge. Let’s go find out.”

As soon as Ferd stepped out of the car and closed her door, Carl looked over at them. He raised his hand, waved, and walked away.

“We let him go?” Ferd asked.