Dead Reckoning (Lantern Beach Mayday Book 2) Read online

  Dead Reckoning

  Lantern Beach Mayday, Book 2

  Christy Barritt

  Contents

  Complete Book List

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  Coming Next: Tipping Point

  Also by Christy Barritt:

  Other Books in the Lantern Beach Series:

  About the Author

  Complete Book List

  Squeaky Clean Mysteries:

  #1 Hazardous Duty

  #2 Suspicious Minds

  #2.5 It Came Upon a Midnight Crime (novella)

  #3 Organized Grime

  #4 Dirty Deeds

  #5 The Scum of All Fears

  #6 To Love, Honor and Perish

  #7 Mucky Streak

  #8 Foul Play

  #9 Broom & Gloom

  #10 Dust and Obey

  #11 Thrill Squeaker

  #11.5 Swept Away (novella)

  #12 Cunning Attractions

  #13 Cold Case: Clean Getaway

  #14 Cold Case: Clean Sweep

  #15 Cold Case: Clean Break

  #16 Cleans to an End

  While You Were Sweeping, A Riley Thomas Spinoff

  The Sierra Files:

  #1 Pounced

  #2 Hunted

  #3 Pranced

  #4 Rattled

  The Gabby St. Claire Diaries (a Tween Mystery series):

  The Curtain Call Caper

  The Disappearing Dog Dilemma

  The Bungled Bike Burglaries

  The Worst Detective Ever

  #1 Ready to Fumble

  #2 Reign of Error

  #3 Safety in Blunders

  #4 Join the Flub

  #5 Blooper Freak

  #6 Flaw Abiding Citizen

  #7 Gaffe Out Loud

  #8 Joke and Dagger

  #9 Wreck the Halls

  #10 Glitch and Famous

  Raven Remington

  Relentless 1

  Relentless 2 (coming soon)

  Holly Anna Paladin Mysteries:

  #1 Random Acts of Murder

  #2 Random Acts of Deceit

  #2.5 Random Acts of Scrooge

  #3 Random Acts of Malice

  #4 Random Acts of Greed

  #5 Random Acts of Fraud

  #6 Random Acts of Outrage

  #7 Random Acts of Iniquity

  Lantern Beach Mysteries

  #1 Hidden Currents

  #2 Flood Watch

  #3 Storm Surge

  #4 Dangerous Waters

  #5 Perilous Riptide

  #6 Deadly Undertow

  Lantern Beach Romantic Suspense

  Tides of Deception

  Shadow of Intrigue

  Storm of Doubt

  Winds of Danger

  Rains of Remorse

  Torrents of Fear

  Lantern Beach P.D.

  On the Lookout

  Attempt to Locate

  First Degree Murder

  Dead on Arrival

  Plan of Action

  Lantern Beach Escape

  Afterglow (a novelette)

  Lantern Beach Blackout

  Dark Water

  Safe Harbor

  Ripple Effect

  Rising Tide

  Lantern Beach Guardians

  Hide and Seek

  Shock and Awe

  Safe and Sound

  Lantern Beach Blackout: The New Recruits

  Rocco

  Axel

  Beckett

  Gabe

  Lantern Beach Mayday

  Run Aground

  Dead Reckoning

  Tipping Point

  Crime á la Mode

  Deadman’s Float

  Milkshake Up

  Bomb Pop Threat

  Banana Split Personalities

  The Sidekick’s Survival Guide

  The Art of Eavesdropping

  The Perks of Meddling

  The Exercise of Interfering

  The Practice of Prying

  The Skill of Snooping

  The Craft of Being Covert

  Saltwater Cowboys

  Saltwater Cowboy

  Breakwater Protector

  Cape Corral Keeper

  Seagrass Secrets

  Driftwood Danger

  Beach House Mysteries

  The Cottage on Ghost Lane

  Carolina Moon Series

  Home Before Dark

  Gone By Dark

  Wait Until Dark

  Light the Dark

  Taken By Dark

  Suburban Sleuth Mysteries:

  Death of the Couch Potato’s Wife

  Fog Lake Suspense:

  Edge of Peril

  Margin of Error

  Brink of Danger

  Line of Duty

  Cape Thomas Series:

  Dubiosity

  Disillusioned

  Distorted

  Standalone Romantic Mystery:

  The Good Girl

  Suspense:

  Imperfect

  The Wrecking

  Sweet Christmas Novella:

  Home to Chestnut Grove

  Standalone Romantic-Suspense:

  Keeping Guard

  The Last Target

  Race Against Time

  Ricochet

  Key Witness

  Lifeline

  High-Stakes Holiday Reunion

  Desperate Measures

  Hidden Agenda

  Mountain Hideaway

  Dark Harbor

  Shadow of Suspicion

  The Baby Assignment

  The Cradle Conspiracy

  Trained to Defend

  Mountain Survival

  Nonfiction:

  Characters in the Kitchen

  Changed: True Stories of Finding God through Christian Music (out of print)

  The Novel in Me: The Beginner’s Guide to Writing and Publishing a Novel (out of print)

  Chapter One

  “Are you sure you’ll be okay out here by yourself for a few minutes?”

  Kenzie Anderson smiled up at Jimmy James Gamble as he hovered in front of her, a worried look in his eyes. “I’ll be fine. I like it out here on the marina at night. It’s . . . it’s peaceful.”

  Jimmy James glanced at the harbor behind him and shrugged as if skeptical. “I guess.”

  His gaze wandered back to hers then at the harbor again. He surveyed everything another moment.

  Kenzie knew why.

  He was looking for any signs of trouble.

  She loved the protective side of him. He made her fe
el so safe, so important. There were very few people in her life that she could honestly say would put themselves in harm’s way for her.

  Jimmy James was one of them.

  “Just give me a minute,” he finally muttered as he turned back to her. “I need to check the fishing charter schedule for tomorrow and then I’ll be right out.”

  Kenzie nodded, finding his serious tone adorable. “Take as much time as you need. I’m just going to enjoy the fresh air out here.”

  Fresh air that included the scent of fish and salty seawater. It might sound weird to some, but she loved it. Her uncle had once told her she had saltwater for blood.

  She leaned back against the outside wall of the marina office. A dim light hummed overhead, insects buzzing in its glow.

  Two days had passed since Kenzie and the rest of the crew of Almost Paradise had returned from their first luxury charter. If everything remained on schedule, they’d leave again in two days for another trip.

  After the boat had been unwittingly snared in a web of crime, the superyacht had finally been cleared. The boat’s owner, a man named Bill Robertson, was firming up all the details for their next charter—including finding a new captain to replace Jimmy James, who’d filled in after the former captain was killed.

  In the meantime, Kenzie planned on enjoying the little North Carolina island of Lantern Beach for a while longer.

  She let out a sigh and stared at the boats in the distance. They were all so lovely as they bobbed in the water.

  Some were fishing boats with towers perched high at the center so fishermen wanting the big catch could see below into the water. Others were sailboats with towering masts that created a striking skyline.

  Then there was Almost Paradise with its imposing presence in the small harbor. A one hundred twenty-foot yacht tended to do that. Kenzie still thought it was weird that this was the boat’s home port, but the more she heard about Mr. Robertson, the more she realized how quirky the man was. According to Jimmy James, the entrepreneur was also a fierce businessman.

  Movement in the distance caught Kenzie’s eye, and she stared at a smaller yacht docked at the end of the harbor. With only the moonlight to illuminate the night, it was hard to see.

  She thought she saw two shadows onboard. As she squinted, trying to get a better look, an argument drifted with the breeze.

  “I don’t care what you say,” a distinctly female voice said. “I’m done.”

  “You’re not done until I say you’re done!”

  Kenzie bristled at the anger in the man’s voice. The water caused their words to echo across the harbor, almost acting as an amplifier.

  The woman said something indiscernible back to him.

  As Kenzie’s gaze focused, the two figures came into clearer view. They stood on the top deck of the yacht, their figures mere silhouettes in the moonlight.

  Her heart thumped into her chest as she watched them. What was going on? A lover’s quarrel? A business disagreement? A family argument?

  She glanced toward the marina office’s front door, wondering how much longer it would be until Jimmy James emerged. She suddenly felt like she was intruding on a private moment.

  The next instant, a cry of pain drifted through the air.

  Kenzie squinted. The man gripped the woman’s neck.

  He was choking her!

  The next instant, the woman’s body went limp.

  The man pushed her away, and the woman fell backward.

  Over the railing.

  Airborne and limp.

  Until she plunged into the water.

  “No!” A scream left Kenzie’s lips before she realized what was happening.

  At the sound, the man glanced toward her.

  Kenzie’s breath caught.

  He’d seen her, hadn’t he? Had the dim light above her made her recognizable? Even at such a distance?

  She didn’t know.

  But she needed to get Jimmy James.

  Now.

  She threw open the squeaky screen door and darted inside the office.

  The door slammed shut behind her, adding more noise—and drawing more attention—to her.

  Jimmy James must have heard her scream because he met her by the door. He grasped her arms as he stared down at her.

  “What’s wrong?” Urgency filled his actions and his words.

  “I . . .” She licked her lips, unsure if she could find her voice.

  “You what? Are you okay?”

  She nodded, still feeling dazed. Finally, she forced the words out. “I just saw . . . I just saw . . . a murder.”

  Alarm raced through Jimmy James.

  “A murder?” he repeated, just to make sure he’d heard correctly.

  Based on Kenzie’s pale face, she was dead serious. There was no misunderstanding.

  “This man . . .” She gulped in a deep breath between her words and ran a hand over her face. “He . . . he strangled this woman . . . and pushed her overboard.”

  “Where?”

  She pointed to a boat in the distance. “Over there.”

  His spine straightened as he glanced in the direction she indicated.

  He locked his gaze with Kenzie, knowing he had no time to waste. “Stay here. Lock the door behind me and call Chief Chambers.”

  He waited until Kenzie nodded before darting out the door. If a woman had fallen into the water, she would need help. Every second counted.

  He darted in the direction Kenzie had pointed, expecting to hear splashing. Yelling. Commotion.

  Something.

  But silence stretched around him like the calm before a storm.

  Maybe the woman was dead. Kenzie said the woman had been strangled.

  Still, this felt too surreal. He needed to examine every angle.

  He reached the wooden walkway bordering the water and paused.

  It almost seemed like no one was out here. But that couldn’t be true. Not based on what Kenzie had seen.

  If a woman had gone into the water . . . that meant her killer had to be close by.

  His muscles bristled as he glanced around again.

  Was someone watching him?

  He wasn’t sure. But he couldn’t just stand here.

  Instead, he paced the dock, looking for signs that something had happened.

  But this harbor felt like a ghost town.

  Not like the scene of a crime.

  However, if what Kenzie said was accurate and someone had been strangled and pushed into the water, Jimmy James needed to find her and help her.

  Unless it was too late.

  He rushed back to the marina office.

  If he was going to find the woman in time, he was going to need Kenzie’s help. Otherwise, this felt like a wild goose chase.

  Chapter Two

  “Tell me again exactly what you saw.” Police Chief Cassidy Chambers stood in front of Kenzie and Jimmy James at the harbor, not far from the boat Kenzie had seen the woman pushed from.

  The darkness continued to deepen around them, only offset by the glow of the headlights from the chief’s SUV and the beam of two flashlights carried by her officers as they searched the area.

  Kenzie shivered and repeated her story . . . again.

  As she finished, she rubbed her temples, feeling the start of a headache coming on.

  What a nightmare.

  She thought things would get back to normal after the chaos of her first charter. But that clearly wasn’t true. There was still more turmoil in her future.

  Chief Chambers turned her gaze on Jimmy James. “By the time you got out here, you didn’t see anything? There were no signs of this woman?”

  Jimmy James shook his head, a grim expression on his face. “Unfortunately, no. It was probably less than five minutes from the time I heard Kenzie scream until I reached the water by the yacht. But there were no signs of movement anywhere.”

  “The man who did this obviously ran and hid.” It was the only thing that made sense to Kenzie. />
  Actually, none of this made sense.

  The woman’s body should be floating in the water. The man should have run to evade capture. There should be some kind of evidence somewhere.

  But there was none.

  Chief Chambers lowered her notepad and focused her gaze on Kenzie. Her tone was soft as she said, “I’m not saying I don’t believe you, Kenzie. I’m just trying to collect all the facts. My officers are searching the docks for any evidence.”

  “Can’t you search that man’s boat? Maybe there’s evidence there.” Kenzie nodded at the yacht where the incident had occurred. The boat’s name was Seas the Day, and, if she had to guess, it was probably fifty-five feet, with a sleek design.

  “We’re waiting for our search warrant first,” the chief explained. “Sometimes, these things take time. But we’re working on it.”

  Kenzie nodded, although she didn’t feel certain about anything. She knew what she’d seen. That man had strangled the woman and then pushed her from the top deck of the boat.

  Every time Kenzie closed her eyes, the images replayed there.

  Jimmy James put his arm around her shoulders, pulled her close, and murmured, “It’s going to be okay.”

  She nodded, unable to shake the shock still coursing through her. Shock mixed with anger at what the man had done, what he might get away with. The combination of emotions felt toxic.

  Chief Chambers turned to Jimmy James. “Do you have a list in the office of who’s renting this boat slip?” She nodded toward Seas the Day.