Brodie was at the end of the block when he saw Kody fly out the door from the museum—and smack right into a man.
He hurried forward, realizing as he did that the man was Bill Worth.
He quickened his footsteps.
Bill was smiling, Kody was apologizing.
“Hey, what happened?” Brodie asked, reaching the two.
“I guess I didn’t expect anyone, and I was hurrying,” Kody said. “Long day... I’m so sorry, Bill.”
“Not at all, Kody,” Bill said. “I saw that the lights were still on in your reception area there. I thought I’d stop by and see you...see how you’re doing.”
“I’m—fine,” Kody said.
She wasn’t fine. There was something bothering her.
“I’m...just supertired,” Kody said.
“Okay, kid, I won’t bug you. I’ll come by and see you tomorrow or the next day. I have some great pictures of Cliff—thought you might want them. I know you. I know that you’re going to give him a big spot in the museum. You need some help. You know I’m your man!”
“Of course, Bill, thank you.”
Bill eyed Brodie. “I guess you were coming to meet Kody.”
“I was,” Brodie said.
“I see,” Bill murmured, and smiled. “Well, see you guys later.”
He started down the street. Brodie looked at Kody. “What?”
She waited, watching until Bill was far down the street.
“Someone was in the museum.”
“You mean...”
“Right, sorry, lots of people come to the museum. But I closed...well, Colleen closed, and I was still in there. I was reading over the letters. On the computer. And I started hearing a noise, I went to the back... Brodie, something...someone...appeared. Like a black shadow. It—spoke. It said, ‘Get out!’ And I know I’m getting a little paranoid, but I don’t know if it was a warning—or a threat.”
“But you heard something?”
“I know. It sounds crazy.”
“No,” he told her firmly. “Let’s go see.”
He opened the door and went in, and then paused, looking back at her. She was certainly safe; there were still plenty of people on the street, walking to and from restaurants and bars.
But he wanted her with him.
“Stay behind me,” he said, catching her hand.
“Oh, you bet,” she promised.
They headed in, past the counter and entry, into the hallway. He was pretty damned sure that if someone had been in there, in the back, they were gone now. But he was curious. A black shape. And it spoke. Maybe the spirit of Arnold Ferrer had remained behind.
If so, he’d given Kody a warning and not a threat.
They went room by room; he turned on lights. No one was in any of the rooms. He hadn’t expected that they would be.
They reached the storeroom, and he made a thorough check, going behind every box, even looking beneath the work tables.
No one.
“Brodie...I swear...”
“I’m not doubting you.”
They checked the bathrooms. The windows were closed.
Neither window was locked.
“Did you check these today?”
She let out a breath. “No, not today. I did yesterday. Colleen locked up, but she always forgets the bathroom windows. I should put bars on them.”
“They lead to the back alley?”
She nodded. “Brodie, Bill could have been in there. He could have come out to the alley, and quickly veered around to the street.”
“He could have,” Brodie agreed. “And it could have been someone else, someone who headed on out to the opposite street.”
“How could anyone be doing all these things? Oh, Brodie...I don’t even know if anyone is doing anything. No one could be interested in what I have because I don’t have anything yet! Artifacts are still with Sea Life, and I don’t have any documents—the police still have them. This is insane!”
“It is insane,” he agreed. “But...” He hesitated, looking at her. “Kody, I think that whatever you saw—the shape, the mist, whatever—could have been Arnold Ferrer. He doesn’t seem to have the ability to show himself. But I do believe he’s helping.”
“So...it wasn’t anything evil?”
“No.”
She let out a sigh. “Let’s go,” she said. “Let’s please go home.”
“Right now.”
He carefully locked the windows, then they went back through the hallway, checking each room once again, turning off lights and heading out. Kody used her keys at the front, and secured the museum.
They started walking.
“I can’t believe this,” she said. “I can’t believe that Bill...”
“Kody, you don’t know that he did anything.”
“You told me about his ancestor. And I read about the man.”
“It still doesn’t mean he did anything.”
“You’re the one who brought him up as a suspect.”
“His association with the ship does make him a person of interest right now, but there are others who are of interest, as well,” he assured her.
“You’re saying that to make me feel better.”
“I’m saying that because it’s true.”
They reached her house. The captain didn’t seem to be there. Only Godzilla came up to them as they entered, rubbing against Kody’s leg.
“All right, my boy. Dinner,” Kody promised.
Brodie followed her into the kitchen. She fed the cat. Then she reached up into a cabinet and pulled out a bottle of whiskey.
“Want a drink?”
“No, I’m good.”
She poured herself an inch of the liquor and swallowed it down in a gulp. He walked over to her, set the glass down and took her into his arms. She seemed to melt into him, shivering.
“Let’s go to bed,” he suggested. “I like to think I’m a lot better than a shot of whiskey.”
She pulled back and smiled at last. “I just can’t feed your ego, you know. I will say that I’ll bet you’re incredible...and the shot of whiskey wasn’t bad. Feel free to follow me.”
She walked ahead of him. She was either very, very nervous, or the one shot of whiskey had made her playful. She stripped off her shirt and let it fall to the floor.
And then, as they passed through the parlor, her bra. But before he even had a chance to follow her, she suddenly came rushing back, picking up the bra.
He collected her shirt as she reached down for it. Their eyes met, and she said, “Sorry!”
“Ah, the captain. Well, we’d best hurry up in case he returns.”
“Living with a ghost isn’t easy.”
“Tell me about it!” he murmured.
She smiled, turned and headed out of the parlor to the hallway, and then raced up the stairs.
He followed her, working at his shirt as he did, letting it fall when he reached her room—then closing the door before going any farther. Just in case.
And grateful, of course, the captain was a gentleman of a ghost, the kind who would always knock at a closed door.
He gave no more thought to the dead; his mind was then upon the beautiful creature before him, stripped down, flushing slightly, and ready to fly into his arms again.
“I’ve never been like this before in my life,” she whispered, just before finding his lips.
“Then I’m awfully damned glad that you’re like this now,” he told her. They entwined, kissed and fell on the bed. She was electric; she was always filled with such sweet passion. He had a feeling that she was telling the complete truth; she seldom gave of herself.
So when she did, it was completely.
As always, the taste of her was exquisite. Fantastically arousing. And yet, even as she shimmied her body down his, doing amazing things to him, he thought that it was more than her ability to tease, arouse and seduce. He was falling in love with her mind, cliché though that might be. He loved her view on the world, the way she talked, her ability with people...
Then, he ceased to think about such things. Because she really did have one damned natural talent. And all he could think about was his lips upon her everywhere, the caress of her tongue upon his flesh, moving into her, and moving together.
Later, she lay easily against him. She didn’t speak. And he realized that she had fallen asleep, curled against him. He was exceedingly glad of just the way she lay against him, sleeping so readily...trusting him so completely.
He didn’t sleep so effortlessly; tomorrow, he and Liam would search Ewan’s boat, the Great Escape, and they’d board the Memory again, and search the dinghies and speak with the men.
But first, he’d find a way to have a talk with Bill Worth.
* * *
Brodie’s phone rang at seven. Kody was still half asleep and luxuriating in the feel of his body, which was spooned around her own.
He moved to answer the phone.
His voice was deep and groggy. “Liam?”
He listened for a minute, and then answered.
“Sure. But I want to see Kody into work first.”
He ended the call.
Kody said softly, “I don’t go to work at seven,” she said. “And you don’t need to see me into work.”
“I don’t like what happened last night.”
“I don’t, either. But it’s daytime—the streets will be filled with people, and Colleen will be working with me. Well, it’s not really daytime yet, but it will be. And some people—obviously Liam—seem to think that this is daytime.”
He laughed, kissing her quickly, but rising. “Trust me. It’s daytime,” he told her. He started to walk away. She felt a rush of something warm settle over her; she loved just watching him walk away. It certainly wasn’t everything, but even from behind, he had an impressive appearance.
He came back and leaned over her.
“We have to start early—we have a lot to do.”
“With Bill?”
“With Bill, for one. With Ewan’s boat, with the dinghies off the Memory.”
“You think one of the divers, or one of the techs, or...Ewan?”
“Told you—we have to explore all the possibilities.”
“Okay.”
“Do you want to get up and open early? No, that wouldn’t work. I don’t want you there alone. Come to think of it, I don’t want you here alone.”
“This is my home. I worked hard for it. I can’t let myself become afraid of it,” she said, and she wasn’t sure if she was telling him—or herself.
He looked at her a moment. “I’m going to shower and dress. And then go through every room here, like we did last night. And then, when I leave, you lock the door. And you don’t open it until you’re ready to go straight to the museum.”
“Actually, I’m going to go ahead and get up—and stop by Rosy’s first. She’s always up by seven—she likes to paint with the first light of day.”
“All right.”
Twenty minutes later, he was showered and dressed. Kody slipped into a robe and came out with him to go through her house.
He was more thorough than she would have ever imagined possible; no closet was left untouched—anything that might even fit a five-year-old was checked out.
She saw him to the door to lock it after he left. He paused. She thought that he was going to comment on the fact that they hadn’t seen either of their ghosts—Cliff or the captain.
But instead he asked her softly, “What are we going to do?”
She looked at him, curious at first, and then realized what he was saying.
What were they going to do? He was from Virginia; she was a Conch. And this time that they were together would not be endless.
“I...”
Tell him the truth? That she’d barely been living as a full human being, and she hadn’t even known it. The museum, the past, work...she’d been driven, and maybe that was not even a bad thing, because she’d been waiting...for someone just like him.
“Something,” she whispered honestly. “We’re going to have to do something. I mean...”
“Something,” he replied. “Because I don’t think I can go back.”
She thought that he would kiss her goodbye; she was surprised by the emotion that seemed to be holding him away.
“Something. We’ll figure it out,” he said, and he turned to head down the street.
Kody locked her door and turned around. She jumped. She’d been missing her resident ghost; he was back.
He seemed very grave. “I’ve been watching,” he said softly.
“Me?” Kody exclaimed with shock.
“Lord, no!” the captain said, horrified. “No!”
“Watching...?”
“I’ve been about, first, trying to see what the chatter might be around the island, and that was what I discovered, nothing but chatter. I have spent time observing Adelaide Firestone, and she seems to be nothing but a lovely young lady. I have been around your friends, Rosy, Bill and Emory...and I am worried.”
Kody stared at him. “And you think that Bill is somehow involved.”
“It’s curious, I will say. Rosy tries to be strong. She tells Sonny that she is all right, that she is doing fine, and that she will be all right alone—she must learn to live again. Emory comes to the house, and he stays and leaves. Bill comes, and stays and leaves.”
“Why does this disturb you?” Kody asked. “They’re all friends. Sonny is being an especially good friend; she doesn’t even live down here.”
He didn’t reply to that. “I went down by the water, first, by Mallory Square and the hotel, and over by the docks. I listened to the men, the way they talked about the boats out by the wreck of the slave ship. They talked about the men working for Sea Life, they wondered if there isn’t something more on that ship, something that someone might be looking for. Gold? I don’t imagine that such a thing could be—the time was way before my era, way before the war. There would be no reason to be smuggling anything of great value.” He seemed to take a long ghostly breath. “I thought... I thought that I could help you. And what I have discovered is nothing that you don’t already know. There is a connection, but what it is, I cannot figure.”
“I wish I could hug you,” Kody told him softly. “You’re trying, and we’re trying, and that’s the best that anyone can do.”
“You think that someone has been in this house. I’ve failed you. I haven’t seen anyone. I don’t know who could have been in here, or why.”
“It’s all right,” Kody said softly. “I’m just going to shower. I’m going to stop by Rosy’s myself, and then head into the museum.”
“I will be in the parlor, watching the news. With the cat. He is a very good cat. He has come to accept me quite nicely.”
She smiled and walked over, trying to hug him. She embraced nothing, and yet she was certain he felt her love.
* * *
Brodie was ready to head out with Liam to Ewan Keegan’s boat, the Great Escape.
While he was headed out to meet Liam, his phone rang. It was Angela.
“Anything else?” he asked her anxiously.
“Nothing new on the ship, but I have looked into the woman who drowned,” Angela said.
“And?”
“Well, the only connection I can find between the victims has to do with music—and Michael McCoy. Mathilda Sumner played with Michael McCoy down in Key West.”
“Yeah, I figured as much. We’re still following up on Ewan Keegan’s boat and the Sea Life crew, as well.”
“You’ve got some help coming,” Angela said.
“Help?” he asked, curious. “You know, I’m homing in on this myself.”
“It’s all cool. Adam Harrison called the powers that be down there. Jackson is either on his way, or he’s there already. He has some of our forensic people down from Miami. Not Krewe people,” she warned, “but a great forensic team.”
“Oh. I just wonder if the Key West police—”
“Detective Beckett has welcomed federal help. It’s a national issue, really, because of the history of the ship.”
“That’s great—thanks.”
“Well, your brothers—”
“Oh, Lord.”
“They wanted to come down. But they’re in the academy. Jackson swore that he’d handle things—and try to twist your arm. Hey, Brodie, trust me, it’s good to work with others who see the dead,” she said flatly.
“I know.” Liam Beckett had proven to be a hell of a man, allowing him to be a temporary partner.
“Thank you,” he told Angela.
“It’s the way we do things,” she said. She hesitated. “The Bureau lost a man down there a few years ago, and we’ve had agents who were involved with Key West before. And as far as the Krewe goes, well, some people think there are certain meccas for areas where spiritual activity is heavier than others, often involving crimes of the day, and Key West is one of those places. Anyway, no one will step on anyone’s toes.”
“I’m not worried about that. If someone has answers, I’m all for it.”
“I knew you’d feel that way. So does Beckett—I imagine that was why he was willing to let you in from the get-go.”
“And I found the body.”
“That, too.”
“Tell my big brothers...”
“Yeah?”
“Just tell them thanks.”
“I think your mother was getting antsy,” Angela told him. “And your father even bugged them about what was going on with you.”
He groaned. Sometimes it was a tough thing to be haunted by one’s dead parents.
Then again, he knew that they were incredibly lucky; Maeve and Hamish had been incredibly loving parents. Busybodies at times, but that was worth the care.
Even in death.
“Just tell them all thank you—and that we will find the truth.”
She agreed.
He met up with Liam at the coffee shop just down from Kody’s and told him about the call he’d just had, and that FBI agents might soon be joining them.
“Here’s the thing,” Liam said. “The US Marshal’s Office has just a couple of men here—the local bases for them and the FBI are up in Miami. The police department is usually clogged with lesser crimes. We all depend on each other down here, FBI, Coast Guard, you name it. So, your friend bringing down some guys to really be thorough, hell—damned good thing.”
“And that leaves us free to see if we can’t catch Bill Worth at home.”
“My thoughts exactly, my friend.”
Bill didn’t open the door immediately. But they had waited long enough. They banged and rang the bell until he came to the door, answering it like a man only half awake and completely confused.
“Hey. What are you all doing here?” he asked.
“We need to talk,” Brodie said.
“We need to talk? I hardly know you. Liam—”
“We need to talk,” Liam said.
Bill shrugged. “Come on in. And be grateful that I have a coffeemaker that’s set on automatic. I may have a cup and be able to talk.” He was still standing in the doorway in briefs and a plaid terry robe. He stepped aside and let them in.
Once they were in the house, he headed to his dining room. He disappeared into the kitchen and returned with a coffeepot. “You want cream or sugar? You’re cops, you’re not supposed to. Oh, McFadden, wait. You’re not a cop.”
“Black coffee is fine,” Brodie said.
“What’s all this about? Why the hell are you two looking at me like that?” Bill asked them. “Good Lord, you don’t think I somehow gave old Cliff nuts as a joke or something, thinking that he’d just choke up?”
“The past,” Liam said.
“What about the past?” Bill demanded. “Hey, I’ve been clean for years. I didn’t do anything to anyone else in the old days—just beat the hell out of myself.”
“Gonzales,” Brodie said, waiting for the man’s reaction.
The name fell heavy on the air, and Brodie was certain that Bill Worth knew he was a descendant of the man.
Hell, he wrote about history, and he certainly knew how to research.
“Gonzales,” Bill repeated. Then he leaned back, apparently having thought it out quickly—and determined that the truth might serve him best.
“You’re talking about my wretched ancestor, right? Yeah, I do know all about him. He was a bastard. Ran a massive cotton plantation in Georgia—there are letters out there that condemn the man as one of the most vicious slave holders who ever lived. He thought human beings were expendable and easily replaced. What about him?”
“He was planning to buy slaves off the Victoria Elizabeth,” Brodie told him.
“What?” Bill seemed honestly surprised.
“Arnold Ferrer was in possession of an exchange of letters between the two men,” Liam added.
“Well. That’s not entirely a shock,” Bill said. “Naturally, I knew about the man. But I didn’t know how he procured all his people. I only know about him because I studied my family tree and dug in and found out. Oh, by the way, I also had a relative responsible for helping to break Nazi code during World War II. That’s the past for all of us—some good guys back there, and some bad guys back there.”
He looked at the two of them and then groaned. “That makes me a suspect in Ferrer’s murder? I don’t run around being proud of the guy, but if someone asks me, I admit it. What good would it do to try to hide that past by killing someone in the present? That’s ludicrous.”
He seemed to be telling the truth.
But murderers could be damned good liars, too.
“Are you interested in Rosy Bullard?” Liam asked him flatly.
Bill frowned. “Rosy. She’s a sweet and beautiful woman. Am I interested in her? Yes, she is a very good friend. And I’m interested in Sonny, and in Kody, and in all my friends. And Sally McCoy Frampton, and her new husband—they are friends. And if I’m really interested in anyone...”
He broke off.
“Go on,” Brodie prodded.
“It’s none of your damned business,” Bill said flatly. “Hey, are you done here? Because if you’re not arresting me for having an asshole for a great-great-great-whatever grandfather, I want you out of my house.”
“Right,” Brodie said. “But, Bill, bear in mind—you were close to Cliff Bullard. You were here when he dropped dead.”
“So were you. And you, Liam.”
“But we didn’t buy him any drinks,” Liam said.
“Get out! And what—I left the festival that Saturday night, got my dive gear, lured a guy out, killed him, made my way out to the depths where the Sea Life crew is working, dove a hundred feet with a body, and made it back for Sunday morning?”
“Something like that, yeah. That’s what we’re looking at,” Liam said.
Bill threw his hands up. “You can ask! I was at that damned festival!”
“We know you were there,” Liam said.
“We just don’t know if you left.”
“Get out, get the hell out!” Bill said.
They started to the door and then turned back. “You weren’t in Kody’s museum yesterday, by any chance.”
“You saw me, McFadden. She ran out. I never got a chance to go in.”
Again, the man seemed to be telling the truth. But he could just be one damned good liar.
“Thanks, Bill. We’ll be in touch,” Liam said.
“Yeah, well, hell, we’re always in touch, huh? Happens when you live down here.”
They saw themselves out.
Liam looked at Brodie, one eyebrow quirked in question.
“Hell if I know,” he said.
“Ditto.”
“Well, let’s get on out to the Great Escape and the Memory.”
* * *
Kody felt guilty that she hadn’t checked in on Rosy in a while, so she stopped by before heading to the museum. Sonny opened the door.
“Kody, girl, come on in.”
“How’s she doing?” Kody asked.
“Oh, she’s okay. I think she’s actually longing to be alone. She’s in the back, with her artwork. Emory is with her,” Sonny said. “I guess it is time for me to go on home.”
She seemed to be hesitating.
“What?”
“Well, nothing. Nothing at all.”
“What? You were thinking something.”
“Just that...well, I think that...someone is a little bit in love with her. Not my place to say, anyway...and there’s nothing going on that’s not appropriate—I’ve been here. I can tell you that. I know that Rosy needs her own time, too. She’s gone out walking, for coffee, down to the water...alone. Maybe we’re kind of smothering her.”
“Oh, I can’t believe that. I’m sure that, when Rosy did want to be alone, she went out for one of her walks. Maybe that made her feel a little closer to Cliff.”
“Maybe. Anyway, I’ve stayed while I’ve thought that I should. Now, it’s time for me to let her live on her own.”
“You know that you’re always welcome at my house, if you want to be close by but feel that you’re crowding Rosy now.”
“Ah, sweetie, I do know that I’m always welcome, and I love you for that.”
“Anytime.”
“I really do need to get home. I think I’ll pack up while you and Emory are talking to Rosy.”
Sonny disappeared into a bedroom. Kody headed on to the back.
Emory was seated in a chair.
Rosy was sketching him.
Emory had been saying something, and Rosy was shushing him—he was messing up her work.
Kody greeted them both with kisses on the cheek—apologizing for the interruption. “I just felt that I need to get by to see you.”
“You’re a love,” Rosy told her. “And it’s fine. We’ll get back to it. How are you doing, Kody? You okay?” Rosy asked anxiously.
“I’m fine. And I’m grateful you’ve had so much company,” she said. She smiled at Emory. “Have you been taking time off work?”
“Helps to be the boss. I can push people around from afar,” Emory said. “And, hey, I just manage money and people. My absence isn’t going to impede the saving of a sea mammal or revolutionizing fish farming.”
Kody smiled at that, mouthing that she was glad he was with Rosy.
“We’ve all been around as much as possible,” Emory assured her.
“I know.”
Rosy looked over from her stool and smiled. “Get out of here, go to work. And I’m getting Sonny out of here, too. I’m so grateful—but I’m a big girl. And I must now manage on my own.”
Kody hugged her. “You’re not on your own. We are all here. Anytime you need us.”
“I’ll go to the museum again soon. I want to see what you have on Cliff—and what I can add.”
“Perfect,” Kody told her.
She waved to Emory and headed to the door; Sonny met her in the hallway. “I’ve got some Miami friends down here, vacationing. I’m meeting them for a late lunch today. But remember, I can pop down anytime you need me.”
“Thank you, Sonny. I’ll keep you up-to-date with everything happening.”
“And if you need help with the wall for the artists...with the Civil War Era room—I’m your man. Woman, I mean. Just call me.”
“Will do, Sonny.”
Kody realized, as she walked to the museum, that she was going to let Colleen manage the front entirely that day.
She thought that someone had been in her house—and someone had been in the museum.
But they hadn’t been in the Artist’s Corner, and they hadn’t been up front—getting into her computer where the information on the Victoria Elizabeth could be found.
They had been in the back.
The storage room...
The place where she had papers, pictures and things that she hadn’t even been able to go through yet.
Today, she was going to find just what it was that someone seemed to be looking for.