Page 52 of Beneath Still Waters

She snorted. “Finest is a longshot. I was, and am, a rookie.”

“You did great today. Didn’t look like a rookie.”

After working with Duke, she didn’t feel like a rookie either but that didn’t change facts. “Thanks. I’ll let them know.”

“And your sarcasm is still on point.” He grinned. “We’ll catch him, you know. Kevin was already putting in a call to the FBI field office in Denver. He’ll be caught. If he tries to fly, that’s it.”

“But what would they charge him with? Assault with a deadly weapon?” She focused on staying emotionally disengaged. “He’s so much worse than that.”

“Carl was already spilling the beans as they put him in the police car. He waived his rights and they’re recording everything. Now, a confession still needs proof, but what I heard lines up exactly with all we found.”

“What about the missing two days?”

“I’m no ME but it was really rainy and cold. He laid in a wet boat, wrapped in his fishing gear, in what was essentially cool enough weather to be just above a refrigerator. Time of death determination was probably as exact as they could be, but they could also be wrong. Carl waited for Bailey to come back from his fishing outing after returning the stolen boat to the dock where he’d found it. He’d already filled the hull with the drugs, so he knew it would affect the speed and depth of the craft. He was worried Bailey would notice.”

“And did he?” Ferd could almost imagine the interaction.

“Yeah. In fact, as soon as he docked, Bailey checked the hull that night for leaks and found the hidden compartment Carl had installed to toss the wrapped bricks inside. It was harder for him to get them out to load into the storage spot in the middle of the lake, but that was how he’d been doing it all along and the plan worked.”

“Bailey was angry someone put a hole in his boat?” she guessed.

“I don’t know. Carl didn’t say. He said he chased Bailey around for a bit and they scuffled. He drew a knife, but that was lost in the lake. When Bailey ran inside, Carl thought Bailey was getting a gun. They both fought so hard it broke all the windowsout. Carl finally ended it with a smaller boat anchor coiled in the corner of the wheelhouse.”

“What about the navigation equipment?” How could all this fit together?

“That, he did on his own. The nav system was to help him when he moved the boat out to the ocean. It was for safety.”

“So, the drugs came in, probably by truck?” How was that missed?

He shoved his hands into his pockets. “That’s where the other side of the lake comes into play. That small brewery where Carl got all his beer . . . turns out, that was a kickback.”

“So the brewery is involved?” she asked.

Duke shrugged one shoulder. “I don’t know yet. Someone had the bricks of dust delivered and dropped into the parking lot at Ahab’s, in beer cases. Carl would move them to his boat and because he often did deliveries, no one questioned it. That’s why he had all those empty cases sitting around and why Kevin and Heath were looking through them. They weren’t all full of beer when they arrived.”

“I’m assuming there’s a car headed over there now?”

“I was about to go join them. Want to come?”

She pushed free of the gurney. “Yeah, what’s one more adventure. We need to see this through to the end, right?”

FORTY

They pulled to a stop in front of High Grain Brewery, where two officers spoke with a guy wearing a High Grain Brewery polo shirt. Duke headed inside and Ferd followed. The brewery was also a restaurant, and empty booths ran wall to wall, with hanging lights that looked like stained glass and walls made to look like logs.

“What are we looking for?” Ferd clutched tight to her purse as she followed Duke to the back porch seating area.

“Not sure. I’m just doing a walk through. Hard to believe this might be a front. Seems pretty lucrative. I’d hate to put this much work into a business, just to lose it for doing something so stupid.”

“I wonder if there’s a connection between George and the owner here?” She ran her hand over the wooden back of a chair.

“And why he insisted on Bailey’s body. If he hadn’t, we’d have never even known he was in town. There was nothing in the autopsy that would’ve hinted at George’s identity. We likely would’ve found Carl and been happy to have a conviction. Even if he’d mentioned some shadowy drug lord, I don’t think I would’ve believed it.”

“It’s because you have no imagination whatsoever,” George said as he cocked a pistol from a dark corner. “I’d bet you’restillunarmed. Just like a few days ago. Poor decision.” He waved the barrel toward the door. “I wouldn’t want any of them to hear you scream. You should've stayed out of this.”

“You were the shooter in the pasture.” Duke reached for his weapon, then raised his hands when it wasn’t there.

“Of course.” He waited until Duke led the way, then shoved her slightly as they headed for the door. “I can’t leave this little detail open. I thought I’d already gotten rid of you, but I guess Carl couldn’t be trusted. Worthless fool.”