Always be prepared for the client not to like something. They might tell you one thing but really want another. Some people are hard to please.
—HAMMER GIRL BLOG
Ellie sat on a camp chair and stared blankly around the living room. The House at Saltwater Point was taking shape. The open floor plan now let light in from front to back, and the grand spaces allowed the full beauty of the tall ceilings to shine.
In the bathroom she marked one more wall for removal. She’d come up with a floor plan that used a small linen closet in the hallway to enlarge the master enough to squeeze in a double sink vanity, which would help make the room more functional.
Footsteps echoed in the hall outside the master bedroom, and she turned, expecting to see one of the crew, but the sheriff stood outside the door.
“I tried knocking, then came on in when no one answered. I saw your car here so I figured you were working and didn’t hear me at the door.” His eyebrows gathered in a pained expression.
She backed away at the pity in his eyes. “You found Mac?”
“Well, we don’t know for sure yet, Ellie. A woman’s body was recovered from the bay this morning. Th-The fish have done a number on it, so we haven’t been able to identify it yet. Identification will have to wait for DNA results.”
“Clothing maybe?”
“As I said, the fish.” His mouth twisted. “There was no clothing recovered.”
She grasped for any way of identification. “Hair?”
“Brown. Long enough that it appears to be a woman, though the coroner hasn’t taken a look yet. We just don’t know, but I wanted you to have a heads-up.”
Ellie fisted her hands. “You think it’s her, don’t you?”
“Well, we don’t have anyone else missing at the moment, though with the ocean currents, the victim could be from anywhere, even Canada. But yes, I do think it’s possible.”
Ellie clutched at her stomach and swallowed. “Could I see the body?”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea. If it’s Mackenzie, you don’t want your last memory of her to be that painful. We’ll have DNA back in a few days.”
“I might . . . recognize something.”
“Believe me, if there was anything recognizable, I would ask you to take a look. Some of the limbs are missing, Ellie. Much of the flesh. I hate to be so graphic, but putting yourself through that wouldn’t be of any use.”
She gulped and nodded. “Okay. Any other news?”
“We got an ID on the vic from your basement. It’s a man by the name of Gun Moon.”
Ellie took a step back and put her hand to her throat where her pulse throbbed. “Gun Moon? He was the man Mac contacted to arrange for the tall ship flotilla.”
“Well, someone didn’t like him much. He was garroted.”
Was he one of the terrorists, or just someone who got in their way? Gray needed to know about this. “What about last night? Anyone see the attackers come ashore?”
The sheriff shook his head. “At least Grayson and Jason were prepared to protect you. I’m tempted to take you into protective custody. Your luck is going to run out any day.”
“You can’t do that! We have to figure this out before Sunday.”
“And that’s the only reason I haven’t done it.” He fingered a long black sideburn. “Just be careful.”
She nodded. “You haven’t heard from my dad, have you? I’ve tried calling him, but he’s on safari.”
“He hasn’t been in contact with you?”
She shook her head. “He’s not what you’d call an involved parent. He has his own life.”
“You might try him again.” Everett’s mouth twisted, and he frowned. “Well, I’d better get out of here. A deputy is stationed outside as usual. Let me know if you need anything.”
She sat on the floor staring out the big rear windows at Rainshadow Bay. Maybe the sheriff was right. Though she’d left a message for her dad, he might be waiting for her to call with more information.
He answered on the third ring. “Have they found your sister?”
He sounded entirely too calm, and she clenched her left hand into a fist in her lap. “Not yet. How are you holding up?”
“I’m still in Africa. We hit a hotel with phone service and internet today, and I just got your message.”
Likely story. He probably got her message days ago. She hadn’t even known he was going until a couple of days before he left. His abandonment of her and Mac had happened long ago, but the reminder of how it continued closed her throat and brought tears to her eyes.
“You should be here, Dad. Mac is in trouble and maybe dead. How can that compare with a trip?”
“You’re being your usual melodramatic self, Ellie. I don’t think this conversation is going anywhere. Let me know if you hear anything about Mackenzie.”
The phone went dead, and Ellie stared at it disbelievingly. He’d just hung up, which told her what she’d already known. He didn’t love her or Mac. Not one bit.
The day boasted only a few clouds in the deep azure of the sky. “I was told this neighborhood in Port Angeles might yield some clues to the missing cocaine, but I’ve got my doubts.”
Ellie didn’t reply. Ever since Gray had picked her up at the house before lunch, she’d been quiet. She’d told him about her call with her dad, but there was nothing he could do to fix it, though he wished he could. She’d begged to come with him today, but the outing didn’t seem to have lifted her spirits.
“Wait here.” He parked along the street and got out to the stench of garbage burning and the smell of cabbage. Looking around he spotted an old school. He approached a group of teenagers laughing and smoking cigarettes near a basketball court and waited for one of them to notice him. They all looked to be juniors and seniors in high school. Or maybe dropouts, for all he knew. Two of them had pants so big they barely hugged their hips, and he caught the skunky scent of marijuana on them.
One of the tallest boys nudged the guy next to him. “Cop,” he muttered.
Grayson held up his hand. “I’m not a cop. I’m trying to find a missing woman.” He pulled up a picture of Mackenzie on his phone. “You see her around at all?”
The boys looked at one another, then to the ground. Several shook their heads without looking at Grayson.
The tall black-haired boy hesitated, then shook his head too. “Nope. What’d she do?”
He didn’t buy their denials, and he couldn’t tell them she was dead or they’d really clam up. “Someone attacked her and hauled her off, leaving a lot of blood behind. We’re afraid she’ll die without medical treatment.” He passed the picture to the other five. “Take a good look.”
“We’re no snitches.” The redhead hauled his pants up a few inches as he sneered.
“Look, I’m not going to turn you in for the pot you’re smoking or anything else. No one will know you gave me any information. I’ve got a feeling you know something about this woman. Do you want to be responsible for her death?”
The black-haired boy who appeared to be the leader frowned and stared at the picture. “She might have been hanging around this dude in a black car.”
“A Taurus?”
He shrugged. “A Ford, yeah. I didn’t pay attention to the model.”
“When was this and what did you see?”
“About three weeks ago, wasn’t it?” he asked the redhead.
Redhead scowled but nodded. “Watch what you say, Dex.” Dex shot him a deadly look, and Redhead put his hands up. “What? Dex is a nickname, not your real name. That’s not telling him anything.”
“Shut up,” Dex growled.
Grayson held out the picture again. “Like I said, I don’t care who you are or what you’re doing. I just need to find this woman before it’s too late. What did the man look like?”
“Dude was driving, and she was in the passenger seat. She jumped out while the car was still moving. It was something else, man! She rolled on the pavement like she was a stuntman or something, then got up and dusted herself off.”
“Did she get away?”
“She argued with him for a minute, then took off running and got into the grocery store.” Dex pointed out a run-down store on the corner. “A little while later some dude came to get her. She was crying, and he was patting her back and stuff. They walked out and went around the corner. That’s all I know.”
Had to be Trafford. Or did it? “What did the guy look like?”
Dex looked down and kicked a stone with his ratty shoe. “It was Nasser.”
“Tarek Nasser?”
“Yeah.” Dex glanced around and lowered his voice. “A terrorist you don’t ever want to meet. He’s heavy into cocaine trafficking.”
Finally, a decent lead. “Where can I find him?”
Redhead shook his head. “You’d better listen up, man! You don’t want to mess with him. If he has her, she’s dead anyway.”
“You ever been with him yourself?”
Dex shuddered. “No, and I don’t want to. He hangs around the liquor store down the street once in a while, but it would be a fluke for you to find him. It’s usually one of his lackeys who hits the store for supplies.”
“A terrorist, like, for real? One who bombs buses and things like that?” Grayson asked.
“His group deals in drugs to raise money for terror camps. He’s downright scary.”
Dex grabbed Grayson’s arm. “You won’t say you even heard me say his name, right? I don’t want to be worrying about him taking me down one dark night.”
“I won’t mention I even talked to you boys.”
They were still muttering among themselves when he walked away. While Grayson was here, he might as well check out the liquor store. He might just get lucky, or he might be able to follow one of Nasser’s men to their lair.
He slid back under the steering wheel. “Those kids saw Mac with Nasser and told me where he often hangs out.”
She brightened. “That’s great news!”
“It’s in this same neighborhood. I’m going to check it out.”
“Let me go in. A woman is less threatening.”
She had a point. “If the store’s empty, we might give it a try.”
And if it brought her smile back, all the better.