Chapter 38

“So, you’re telling us that neither the police nor their trained divers found any evidence of the boat because the bits and pieces washed away?” Russ injected steel into the question. JD was lying. Russ had suspected something was off the second the old man opened the door. That was why he’d offered to get JD a beer. He’d wanted a chance to check out his place, to see what he was hiding. And that’s when he found the camera. And the cocaine.

The story of the capsized catamaran was unbelievable. The old man was lying through his rotten teeth. He glanced at Athena, and his heart lurched at the translucent paleness of her skin. Dark circles rimmed her eyes, and her sea-blue irises were hollow with wounded hurt. Anger punched a hole in his gut, and he pinned hard eyes on JD and slid the bottle of whiskey closer. “Have a drink. Maybe that’ll loosen your tongue.”

JD grabbed the bottle, twisted off the cap, and slugged back a swallow. He coughed and sputtered, his eyes watering. Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, he set the bottle on the floor beside him. “I tried to save your parents, Maggie. Really, I did. You have to believe me.”

Her mouth tightened, but she remained silent.

Otis galloped across the clearing, his tongue lolling, tail wagging.

A butterfly fluttered in the air, highlighted by a shaft of soft light from the setting sun, and the dog skidded to an abrupt halt, swerved, and gave chase, oblivious to the thick tension on the porch.

“Now tell us what really happened to the O’Flynns’ boat.” Russ rubbed the burn in his gut. JD’s story stunk like rotten fish. “The truth this time.”

JD swilled another slurp of whiskey. “No one knew about the Silver Shadow. The boat wasn’t registered. I won it in a poker game, under the table, so to speak.” He wiped his mouth. “Everyone figured Anna and William left the island on their ketch. The Coast Guard found pieces of a smashed boat, but when the broken parts weren’t a match to the O’Flynns’ boat, they didn’t connect them to your parents’ disappearance.” He closed his eyes, looking like he was about to pass out. “And that’s all I can tell you.”

Russ had had enough. He gripped JD’s scrawny arm and squeezed until the old man was forced to open his eyes and meet his gaze. “Oh, I think you can tell us the rest.”

JD sputtered and opened his mouth to protest, but no words escaped.

“Not good enough.” Russ tightened his grip. “Try again, old man.”

“Come on, JD. You owe me the truth.” Athena’s face was pale and pinched. “Tell us what you know.”

The seconds ticked by, one sonorous beat after another.

JD exhaled, his shoulders sagged, and his body deflated. “Okay, okay. I’ll tell you the rest, but then I want you both outta here.”

Russ released his hold on JD’s arm. “Start talking.”

JD reached for the bottle, but Russ got there first and held it out of reach. “You get another drink when you tell the truth.”

JD stared at the bottle and licked his lips. He dropped his hands to his lap and blew out a shaky breath. “Like I said, William was hurt bad. I tried to stop the bleedin’, but I was too late.” He turned pleading, bloodshot eyes on Athena. “Your father knew he was dyin’, and he knew Anna was gone. He pleaded with me to keep you safe.” He swiped beads of sweat from his forehead. “He loved you. That’s why I told the cops what I did, Maggie girl. To protect you from the awful truth.”

“So, you thought it was better I believed my parents had deserted me all these years?” Athena’s face was so pale she looked as if she were about to pass out.

Russ ached to take her in his arms and soothe her grief, but he couldn’t. Not now. Not when they were so close to getting answers. He caught her eye and sent her a silent message. Be strong, my love, be strong. His heart leaped into his throat. My love? Where the hell had that come from?

Focus, damn it!

If he was going to get this drunk old man to tell the truth, he had to concentrate. “Why didn’t you call the authorities? If William and Anna O’Flynn’s deaths were an accident like you say, why didn’t you call the Coast Guard?”

JD chewed on a ragged cuticle. “I…I wanted to. Really I did.”

“So, what was the problem?” Russ tried not to snarl, but he was losing the battle. He ached to plow his fist into the deceitful man’s face. He stuffed his hands into his pants pockets. As much as he wanted to find out the truth, hurting JD wouldn’t help.

Tears glistened in JD’s puffy eyes. “I’m sorry, Maggie. I hated lying to you.” JD chewed on his lip and searched the lengthening shadows. “But like I said, I didn’t have a choice. If word got out, Angus—”

“Don’t bring Angus into this.” Russ rubbed the knot in the back of his neck. Had he stumbled into an alternate universe? Nothing JD said made sense. Angus couldn’t have been involved in this nightmare. No way.

JD stared at the bottle of whiskey and licked his lips. “Any chance of me havin’ another drink?”

“Not until you tell us what you know. Once we’re done, you can drink your face off as far as I’m concerned.”

Athena lurched forward, a gamut of emotions flitting across her ashen face—fear, dread, sorrow… Her blue eyes shone with unshed tears. “Please, JD, tell us the truth. How was Angus involved?”

JD wiped his streaming nose with his sleeve. “You sure I can’t have just one little sip?”

“Keep talking.” Russ spat the words between his clenched teeth. The story was taking forever, yet not nearly long enough. He dreaded learning the extent of Angus’s culpability in the senseless tragedy; yet, he had to know.

“Like I told you, my supply boat business wasn’t doin’ so good. My bitch of an ex was hounding me for child support, and I owed a lot of money to some pretty bad dudes.” JD gnawed on a torn cuticle, drawing blood. “Angus offered me a shitload of cash to burn those photos of him and Anna.” He waved a shaky hand at the rustic mobile home. “Enough to pay off my debts and buy this place. I needed the money. I didn’t have a choice.”

Russ tightened his hands into fists, relaxed his aching fingers, and clenched them again as he asked the question the whole convoluted nightmare circled around. “What the hell did you do, JD?”

“I—” JD opened his mouth, but snapped his lips closed when a rusted, red, four-by-four pickup truck careened into the yard, spraying clumps of mud and grass.

The vehicle skidded to a stop, and the driver’s door swung open. A tall, thin man with a bushy red beard and wearing a red cap pulled low over his eyes jumped out and planted his hands on his hips. “What the hell’s going on here?”