Blood of Cain (Sean O'Brien (Mystery/Thrillers)) by Tom Lowe Read Free Book Online Page B

fishing charters. I’m not very good at it, that’s why I teach part-time. Job changed, but the phone number’s the same.”
    “Thank you.” She slid the card in the back pocket of her jeans.
    The police officers were coming closer. I recognized the detective. Dan Grant, skin the color of coffee with a shot of cream, mid-forties, wide shoulders, dressed in a tan sports coat, pressed jeans, and no tie. He walked with a straightforward pace, hands slipping into his jean pockets and shaking his head when he stepped up to
Jupiter's
stern.
    “Well, well,” he said. “Why am I not surprised to see Sean O'Brien standing here with a person wanted for questioning in a murder?”
    “Hello, Dan. It's been a while.”
    “I'm sure you both have great explanations as to why we're all gathered here today. But let's start with the basics.” He cut his eyes to Courtney and stepped closer. Max wagged her tail. “Are you Courtney Burke?” Grant asked.
    She nodded her head. “Yes.”
    “Miss Burke, we'd like to talk to you about your relationship with Lonnie Ebert.”
    “Okay.”
    “But before we do, I'd want to hear how you got to this marina and this boat.” He sighed and took out a small notepad. “Sean, let's start with you. How'd she get on your boat?”
    I told him how I found her and added, “That's when we were visited by two gents with a lot of fur and gang rape on their dull minds. That would have happened to her after they split my skull.”
    Grant slid the pencil behind his ear. He looked over to a charter boat that was coming into the marina, the whiff of diesel exhaust in the wind. “So, that was you who did some damage. Those bad boys are gonna be out of work for a long time.” He turned toward Courtney. “And that's how you got here. Sort of took your time hitchhiking through the Ocala National Forest after leaving a murder scene. Why'd you leave in such a hurry?”
    “I was scared. I didn’t kill Lonnie. You gotta believe me.”
    Grant studied her a few seconds in silence, probably trying to read eyes that were unreadable. Two sea gulls flew above the masts of moored sailboats, their staccato cries like mocking laughter across the harbor. Grant said, “Miss Burke, I'm going to take you downtown to talk about this murder. At any time you can have an attorney present.”
    “Am I under arrest?”
    “No, but we need to talk. I want to hear your story.” He nodded to the two deputies who boarded
Jupiter
. “These officers will escort you to their patrol car. We'll all reconvene in a little while. Sean, if you can think of anything else you may have seen or heard, you know where to find me. Let's go.”
    Max barked once and followed Courtney to the steps leading over the transom to the dock. A deputy sheriff walked on either side of her. As they took her away, she turned toward me, her eyes wide, frightened, and now pleading, terrified eyes that would forever be padlocked deep in my mind.
    ***
    Four hours later, Dave Collins ambled across the dock and boarded
Jupiter
. He stuck his head in the open salon and said, “Well, the arrest of that young woman is the talk of the marina, especially down at the Tiki Bar, and you're nowhere to be seen.”
    I looked up from the bilge housing where I was storing some new belts and filters I'd bought. “She wasn't arrested, Dave. They took her in for questioning.” I stood, closed the hatch, and used paper towels to wipe some oil from my hands. “How'd they track Courtney here? You're probably the only one who picked out my voice on that 911 call.”
    “I walked down to the Tiki Bar for ice. Kim said she recognized Courtney when the girl stopped in and asked for directions to your boat.”
    “Did Kim call the police?”
    “No. She said Captain Bill, you know the guy, retired charter captain with too much time on his hands, overheard the conversation and dialed 911.” Dave stepped to the small bar that divided the salon from the galley. He sat and blew out a deep