Dead Reckoning (Lantern Beach Mayday Book 2) Page 7

Jimmy James ducked back behind a fuel station and watched as the man walked down the gangplank, crossed the slip, and continued past. This guy wore a dark hat that he kept pulled down low over his face, making it hard to see any of his features.

  The man wasn’t Thatcher. So, who was he? A member of the crew? A member of the security team? The man Kenzie saw last night?

  Jimmy James had no idea.

  He waited until the guy disappeared before glancing around quickly to make sure nobody was watching. Then he hurried up the gangplank and stepped onto the boat.

  If he got caught doing this . . . he would go back to jail.

  His stomach clenched so hard at the thought that a moment of nausea rose in him.

  This time, he might not get off easy. Police might look at his past record and decide he needed to stay in prison longer. Even though he considered Chief Chambers a friend, she probably wouldn’t be able to call in any favors for him.

  He knew the risks. But if Kenzie was on this boat . . .

  Jimmy James slipped into the salon and glanced around.

  No one was in here.

  He checked the rest of the rooms on the main deck.

  They were empty.

  He hadn’t seen Kenzie on the top deck, so that only left one more place.

  The lower deck.

  He drew in a deep breath before rushing down the small stairway. At the end, he paused.

  A quick scan showed the area was empty.

  Maybe Kenzie wasn’t on this boat after all.

  But as Jimmy James glanced at the closet in the distance, he saw a small wooden chair had been wedged between the door handle and the opposite wall.

  Strange.

  The only reason anyone would do that was . . .

  To keep someone inside the closet.

  He rushed across the room, grabbed the chair, and shoved it out of the way.

  Then he threw the door open.

  Instead of seeing Kenzie, spray hit his face.

  A burning sensation filled his eyes as he let out a yell.

  What was going on?

  “Jimmy James?” Kenzie gasped, horror washing through her.

  She dropped the spray bottle and rushed toward him. She’d sprayed him in the eyes with glass cleaner.

  No, no, no!

  Panic raced inside her as she realized what she’d done.

  Quickly, she grabbed a roll of paper towels from the shelf and jerked several sheets from the roll. She patted his eyes, which were still squeezed shut.

  The good news was, she’d only sprayed once before she’d realized who it was. And Jimmy James’ eyes closed just as quickly and . . .

  “Are you okay?” Kenzie reached for him, resting her hand on his bicep as she studied his face, desperate to know she hadn’t done too much damage.

  He took the paper towel from her and wiped his eyes again. His entire face was scrunched as if he were in pain.

  “What are you doing?” His words came out rapid, worried, irritated—all wrapped in one unmistakable tone. “It’s just me.”

  “I’m sorry, Jimmy James. I thought the guy who locked me in there came back to . . . do who knows what.” Her voice caught.

  He blinked a few more times and then shook his head. His shoulders softened as he drew in a breath. “We don’t have time to talk. Let’s get you out of here.”

  Kenzie nodded quickly, almost frantically.

  She was free . . . but at what cost?

  Jimmy James blinked again before grabbing her hand. Then, moving more quickly than she thought was possible, he pulled her up the stairs. He paused at the top, glanced around, and then continued moving.

  He didn’t stop until they were off the boat and a good two hundred feet away from Seas the Day. As they paused on the dock, Kenzie searched the area for anyone who might have seen them.

  Everyone appeared to be minding their own business.

  She prayed that was the case.

  “What were you thinking?” Jimmy James turned toward her, his eyes stormy. “Did you go on that boat of your own free will?”

  How was she going to explain this to him? “I just needed to see if there was any evidence—”

  “That was not a smart move.” His eyes narrowed.

  She crossed her arms, some of her guilt from spraying him in the face disappearing at his harsh tone. “I realize it wasn’t a smart move.”

  “You could have gotten yourself killed, you know.”

  “I am very aware of that.” Her voice continued to harden.

  He stared at her another moment before shaking his head. Then his tone softened as he said, “I’m glad you’re okay.”

  Kenzie sucked in a deep breath, trying to get her emotions under control. “Thank you for coming to get me.”

  “Did you see anything? Find any evidence?”

  “I found some lingerie hidden in the closet. There’s only one reason I can think of why Thatcher would hide that.”

  “Maybe because it doesn’t belong to his wife?”

  She nodded, a surge of satisfaction rushing through her at the realization she and Jimmy James were on the same page.

  “Exactly,” she whispered. “Should we call the police?”

  “No. If Thatcher finds out that you were trespassing on his boat, he will press charges.”

  “But—”

  “And if it comes out that I was trespassing on his boat also, then the police are going to throw the book at me. I already have a rap sheet. I have to stay clean, Kenzie.”

  She sucked in a breath. She hadn’t thought about that. Her actions could have had dire consequences for Jimmy James. If she were arrested, her father would most likely bail her out.

  Who did Jimmy James have to do that for him?

  She licked her lips before finally saying, “I’m sorry. I never meant for any of this to happen. I definitely didn’t want to pull you into it. I never expected you’d come onboard looking for me.”

  Jimmy James glanced around before stepping closer. “I know things are rocky with the two of us right now. But let’s keep what happened between us.”

  “And the person who did this,” Kenzie added quietly. “Because there’s a third person at play here—the person who locked me in that closet.”

  Jimmy James glanced behind her, his jaw tightening as if a bad memory had hit. “I saw a man, I’m guessing he was a security guard, leave the boat earlier—right before I boarded. He must be the one who locked you in that closet. I didn’t see anyone else onboard.”

  “If you hadn’t found me . . .” Her voice cracked.

  What if she’d been stuck on that boat all night? If she hadn’t been able to reach her phone or if it hadn’t worked after being dropped?

  What had that man planned on doing with her when he returned? She could have been taken out to sea. Beaten. Left for dead.

  And no one would ever know.

  She shivered again as she realized how dumb it had been for her to go on that boat.

  Jimmy James started to reach for her but dropped his arm instead. “The important thing is that I did find you. But now, we need to keep moving forward as if this didn’t happen. At least until we have a plan.”

  Kenzie nodded quickly and tried to shift her thoughts away from the fear that wanted to consume her. If only it were that easy. If she could just push a button and make that happen.

  She sighed. “I understand. That makes sense.”

  He nodded toward Almost Paradise. “Great. Because the rest of the crew is wondering where you are right now. We don’t want them asking too many questions.”

  “I’ll just tell them I got held up with something. That my father unexpectedly came into town and threw me off schedule.”

  “Sounds good.”

  Kenzie frowned. Somehow, she was in over her head . . . again.

  This was becoming a new normal for her, it seemed.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Everything inside Jimmy James screamed that he should report what
happened to Kenzie. But he knew if he did that Thatcher would press charges. He had no doubt about that. If he was in jail, he’d be no good to Kenzie.

  As he and Kenzie headed down the docks toward Almost Paradise, he remembered the man he’d seen leaving the boat earlier. Jimmy James needed to find out who he was. He had to be the guy who’d locked Kenzie in that closet.

  That made him an enemy of Jimmy James.

  He fisted his hands at his side.

  He wished he had the privilege of pouring all his time and energy into figuring out what was going on here. But that wasn’t a possibility. Especially now that he was the captain of Almost Paradise.

  He and the crew still had a lot of work to do to get ready before their guests arrived. It wouldn’t be fair to anybody if he didn’t put his full attention into this charter. Not doing so could result in putting people in a different kind of danger.

  As Kenzie walked beside him toward the boat, he resisted the urge to reach out and touch her. Holding her hand had felt so natural, and old habits were hard to break—even if those old habits had come on quickly.

  He couldn’t give in. He was not only her boss, but there was a vast divide between them.

  His chest tightened at the thought of it. He should have known better than to get his hopes up that a relationship between them would work. He should have known better than to let himself believe that the two of them could have a chance.

  It was better if they ended this now. There would be less heartache in the long run.

  But that didn’t mean he didn’t feel regret.

  “I feel like I should tell Cassidy,” Kenzie muttered, still staring straight ahead as if afraid someone might be watching. “I don’t want to tell her what I did. I just want to tell her what I saw.”

  “I know you do. But you can’t. Besides, Cassidy couldn’t use what you found as evidence. She would need a search warrant for anything to be admissible.”

  “You’re right. But something dirty is going on aboard Seas the Day.”

  “Remember, you promised you’d leave this to the police.”

  Kenzie frowned as she nibbled on her lip. “I know. I’ve never thought of myself as being a particularly nosy person. But there’s something about what happened that just won’t allow me to let it go.”

  Jimmy James didn’t like the sound of that.

  He appreciated the fact that Kenzie desired justice for whoever may have been injured or killed last night. But he didn’t like the idea of her putting herself in danger.

  And that’s exactly what she was doing.

  As they stepped onto Almost Paradise, Jimmy James turned to her. There was something he needed to say before anybody else was around. “Do your best to put on a smile. The less people who know about what happened, the better.”

  “You mean, about being locked in the closet?”

  “No, I mean about everything. I don’t want you to be a target, and the more people who know that you saw a murder, the more desperate someone might become to silence you. Especially if you think this guy saw your face.”

  Kenzie’s skin went pale, and she nodded.

  But before they had time to talk, the rest of the crew surrounded Kenzie and greetings went around.

  Maybe it was better that way. Because Jimmy James needed to get his mind straight right now.

  “You want to come play a game of Spoons?” Eddie called across the salon. “Besides, how many times can you wipe down that table. It’s clean. I think even Sunni will agree!”

  Kenzie glanced at the rest of the crew as they settled down to play a card game after a long afternoon of getting the boat ready. Being a crewmember on the boat was quite possibly one of the most demanding jobs she’d ever done.

  Kenzie knew staying busy had been good for her—which was probably why she didn’t want to stop now. The tasks gave her something to occupy her thoughts, something other than what had happened aboard Seas the Day.

  Yet all she wanted to think about was the dead woman. The lingerie in the closet. The person who’d locked her on that boat.

  And Jimmy James breaking up with her after the conversation with her father.

  She sighed, trying to push away the heaviness she felt.

  “Kenzie?”

  She paused and glanced at Eddie. “Sorry. I’m a little distracted. I think I’ll pass for tonight, but thanks for the invite. I still have a few more loads of laundry to wash anyway.”

  “Can’t you do them later?” Sunni asked. “We have all night.”

  Kenzie shrugged. “Sorry. I can’t relax until my work is done.”

  Tonight, the crew would sleep onboard so they could be here bright and early when their guests arrived.

  She glanced around, wondering where Jimmy James had disappeared to. She hadn’t seen him in the last hour.

  Maybe that was good.

  Because part of her felt like it died just a little every time she saw him. She wanted to be mad at him. Part of her was upset.

  Then she remembered how he’d rescued her from the closet.

  How could she be mad after that?

  She knew Jimmy James cared about her. That was obvious. He cared about her so much that he was willing to give her up, thinking it was for the best.

  But that wasn’t what she wanted.

  She wanted to see where their relationship could go. But he’d put the brakes on things before they’d barely started.

  She grabbed a bottle of water and paced away from the rest of the crew. They were so deep into their game that they hardly noticed. She walked to the top deck, thankful the night had cooled the sizzling summer temperatures some.

  She leaned on the railing and drank in a deep breath.

  The place she’d chosen to stand just happened to face Seas the Day.

  Except it wasn’t happenstance.

  Whenever she’d had a chance today, she’d stolen glances at the boat, looking for some type of clue as to what was going on.

  Right now, the lights were on. She assumed that meant that Thatcher was back onboard.

  This island didn’t seem like the type of fancy, elite harbor he’d be drawn to. Besides, why had he traveled here on such a big boat if he was just visiting friends?

  Kenzie had the impression a small crew worked for him, so coming here hadn’t been a task done out of the love of trying to navigate these waters by himself.

  She didn’t know, but the whole situation bothered her.

  When she spotted two figures on the dock in the distance, she paused.

  She sank behind the railing where no one would see her unless they were directly looking.

  Was that . . . her breath caught.

  It was. It was Jimmy James.

  He’d left their boat and was talking to someone. They were too far away for Kenzie to make out what they said.

  Who was that man he was talking to? She didn’t think she had ever seen him before.

  He was tall and thin with dark hair and a bit of a bad boy vibe. He stood beside a motorcycle.

  Was he someone from Jimmy James’ past? One of the bad influences he’d talked about before?

  The unsettled feeling in her gut churned harder.

  The two of them shook hands before Jimmy James stepped back. He glanced around as if to make sure nobody was watching.

  Kenzie’s lungs froze.

  What was he doing? Whatever it was, his actions looked sketchy.

  She frowned. Of all the people on this boat, Jimmy James was the one she thought she could trust.

  But what if she was wrong? What if Jimmy James had more demons from his past than he’d let on?

  Kenzie didn’t want to believe that was true.

  But, based on his shady actions, she’d be a fool not to ask herself those questions.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Jimmy James was thankful their first night on the boat was uneventful. Given everything that had already happened, one never knew quite what to expect.

  He’d awoken e
arly and grabbed a quick breakfast—bacon and eggs prepared by Chef Durango. After welcoming the guests onboard and getting them settled, he disappeared onto the bridge to clear his head.

  Kurt and his group didn’t appear to be wild partiers like some others were. He’d brought his wife, four children, his brother, and his brother’s wife. Most of their conversations revolved around tech and computers.

  The itinerary for their three-day trip would take them down the North Carolina coast to Wilmington then to South Carolina to Myrtle Beach before heading back to Lantern Beach. The trip would be short but hopefully easy.

  Before Jimmy James did anything else, he grabbed his phone and called Chief Chambers. He had a couple of questions for her before they got underway, starting with asking about any updates on the woman Kenzie had seen pushed off the boat.

  “There haven’t been any reports of any missing women on Lantern Beach,” Chief Chambers said.

  He frowned. “That’s too bad—or it’s a good thing, depending on how you look at it.”

  “I know. We’re still keeping our eye on things, but so far there’s been nothing.”

  He stared across the ocean, thankful for the nearly placid water they had today. At least, it was one thing to be thankful for. “Thanks for the update.”

  “No problem. There’s one other thing I thought I would mention. I don’t usually share details of my investigations, but since you and Kenzie seem to have a personal stake in this . . . I thought I’d let you know that Thatcher Davenport’s alibi checks out.”

  Jimmy James sucked in a breath. “It does?”

  “It does. I talked with the people he had dinner with, and they all verified he was there the entire time.”

  He frowned. Thatcher Davenport was his number one suspect. However, the man seemed to have enough money to pay someone else to do his dirty work.

  Cassidy seemed to read his mind. “I also looked into his two bodyguards. They were at a local restaurant throwing back some drinks at the time when the potential murder happened.”

  His frown deepened. “Good to know.”

  “Speaking of Kenzie, how is she doing? She was pretty shaken up last time I saw her.”