Jenn Vakey - Rilynne Evans 07 - Revenge with Murder Page 2

  “How far are we from the head of the trail?” he asked when he stepped out of the bedroom. He walked over and pulled her to her feet.

  “Not far,” she said. She paused before pulling the door open as she looked him over. He didn’t often wear a hat, but he looked good when he did. His shaggy hair was pushed out of his face just enough for her to see the gold flecks in his eyes. She reached up and ran her hand gently down his cheek.

  “What?” he asked when he looked down at her loving expression. She just grinned and shook her head before walking out the door.

  * * *

  “No,” Ben said firmly as he looked up at the steep hill.

  “Why not?” she chuckled. “It looks like it would be a fun climb. Besides, it’ll take about an hour off of our trip. That will leave us with more time to spend at the waterfall before we have to head back. It would be nice to relax and enjoy the view for a little bit.”

  “Then we’re taking the long way around,” he stated. He took her by the arm and pulled her toward the path to the left. “With how clumsy you are, we will end up spending the rest of the day getting you patched up. I also don’t think you’re supposed to go scuba diving with a concussion.”

  She shot his a spiteful look before turning back toward the first path. “I’m not that bad,” she said defensively. “Besides, aside from that one stretch there in the middle, it looks like it would be a much easier hike. I know we would miss out on a couple of the sites that are listed on the map, but it would be much quicker. I think it would be worth the risk.”

  “Well, that’s just because you don’t want to go scuba diving,” he smirked. He slid his hand gently down her arm and took her firmly by the hand. “And when have you ever wanted to take the quick and easy path?”

  With a resigned sigh, she followed him onto the tree lined path. “You know, I used to think you were the clumsy one,” she said. Ben looked over at her with a look of pure bemusement. When he didn’t speak, she continued. “You didn’t seem to be able to go a day without dropping something when I was around. I actually remember thinking to myself that it was strange how you could be so good at your job when you were so clumsy.”

  For the first time in months, she caught sight of his ears flaring red. It was something she found herself striving to accomplish, though it was proving to be an increasingly difficult task.

  “What can I say?” he said as he tried to shrug it off. “You were a bit distracting.”

  “Were?” she chuckled. “Have I lost my charm?”

  Ben pulled her in closer and gave her hand a gentle squeeze that sent shivers up her arm and through her chest.

  “Trust me,” he replied softly. He looked down and met her eye. “You’re distracting in a whole different way now.”

  Now it was her own cheeks she felt growing warm. She opened her mouth to respond, but the words wouldn’t come. Not wanting to let him see the effect his words had, she turned to admire the scene around them.

  Rilynne couldn’t have imagined a more beautiful place. The jungle to the sides of the path was dense, hiding the sources of the sounds coming from within it. Scattered in with the bright green of the trees were vibrant flowers in nearly every color of the rainbow, along with the occasional selection of fruit. Calling it paradise was an understatement.

  “Do we have to go back next week?” Rilynne asked. She slid her fingers down his arm and took hold of his hand. “Couldn’t we just stay forever?”

  Ben laughed as he helped her over a tree that had fallen over the path. “If I thought for a second that you would actually be happy in a place like this, I would pack us up and move in a heartbeat,” he replied. “You know as well as I do that you wouldn’t make it a month before you were itching for something to investigate. You wouldn’t be able to help yourself.”

  She smirked and pushed him gently with her elbow. “I’m not that bad,” she insisted.

  “You couldn’t even resist bringing your gun on our honeymoon,” he laughed.

  “Oh, hush,” she stated, but she knew he had a point. “I could be happy here with you. Or a place just like this. I’m sure you would be able to keep me entertained. Definitely for more than just a month.”

  “I’ll tell you what,” he said, a note of excitement in his voice that wasn’t there moments before. “When you are ready to retire, if that day ever actually comes, we can get a small private island and spend the rest of our days there.”

  Rilynne smiled as she tightened her hold on him. “Promise?”

  * * *

  “I really don’t know about this,” Rilynne said as Ben helped her strap the weight belt onto her waist. Though she tried to suppress it, she could hear the fear sounding through her voice. As the boat gently rocked with the waves, she could feel herself growing sick. She couldn’t remember ever feeling so nervous, or at least when someone’s life wasn’t hanging in the balance.

  Ben placed his hand gently on her cheek and looked deep into her eyes. “You’re going to be fine,” he said with an air of confidence that hit her deep. “Just remember what you learned in your class. Relax and control your breathing.”

  “That class took place in a lake,” she stated. “And you know I was nervous enough about even doing that. If Matthews and half the guys in the department hadn’t been there, I probably wouldn’t have done it at all.”

  “Why do you think I suggested everyone get certified together?” he joked. “I knew you wouldn’t give them any reason to give you a hard time. It’s one of the few things that will outweigh any fear that you have.”

  She glared up at him. He was right. Although she knew that every member of the homicide team trusted her and had nothing but respect for her, they never passed on an opportunity to give her a hard time. While some instances were inevitable, she wouldn’t willingly give them ammo if it could be avoided.

  “Keep an eye on your dive computer and you won’t have any problems,” Ben said. “As soon as you get down there your nerves will calm, I promise. I’m going to be right by your side the whole time, though, so if anything does go wrong I will take care of you. I’m not going to let anything happen. Are you ready?”

  Rilynne wanted to say no, and to tell him that she just couldn’t do it, but she pushed her fear down as deep as she could and gave him a quick nod. It didn’t do anything to settle the knot building in her chest. As it grew tighter with every breath she took, it felt like she was on the verge of a full panic attack.

  “Good,” he said softly before kissing her on the cheek. “Turn around and I will help you with your BC.”

  The gear was heavier than she remembered. As petite as she was, she felt like she was going to topple over with every move she made. She probably would have when strapping her fins on had Ben not been holding on to her.

  As soon as everything was in place, Ben checked her twice before pulling his mask on and nodding. “You’re first, and I’ll be right behind you.”

  She nodded and pulled her mask down over her face. Her heart was racing so violently in her chest as she placed her regulator in her mouth and positioned her hand over it and her mask, that she could hear it drumming in her ears. After one last deep breath, she closed her eyes and leaned back. As soon as she felt her body hit the water, much of the tension she had been feeling melted away. Moments after she raised her arms to motion that she was okay, Ben dropped in and was at her side.

  By the time they had swam down to depth, the last of her fear had disappeared. In fact, Rilynne felt more relaxed than she ever could have imagined. She now understood why Ben loved diving so much. He had been so excited after becoming a dive master last fall that she knew there wasn’t any way to get out of diving with him. And he had been right about one thing: this truly was like being on another planet.

  After swimming around for a few minutes, Ben grabbed her dive computer to check it before he reached down and took her hand. Leading her around the edge of the reef, they swam up to the wreckage of a large ship. She had heard
Ben and the boat captain talking about it, but it was more spectacular than she had imagined. The large wooden vessel lay surrounded by coral and more fish than she could count. Ben pulled her by the hand as they swam into the large hole in its side.

  There wasn’t much inside aside from a few pieces of broken furniture, having been looted long ago by treasure seekers, but the sight was mystifying. Rilynne slid her hand out of Ben’s as she ventured into the next room. As she did, she let her fingers graze the wooden walls.

  There was yelling, but she couldn’t make it out. They weren’t speaking English. There were a dozen men in the lantern lit room. Each was holding on to something sturdy. It didn’t take long to see why. As an echoing crash surrounded them, the room tilted sharp to one side, then quickly back to the other. One of the men lost his grip on a large beam and rolled into the overturned table. The two closest to him reached out to grab him, but it was too late. The room tipped again, this time sending all three into an adjacent wall.

  The man closest to the door, still with a tight hold on the beam he wrapped himself around, yelled something and pointed out. When the others nodded, he thrust himself toward the open door. As soon as he reached it, another sound filled the room. Unlike the crashes from the waves hitting, this one held another sound. This one carried the sound of wood breaking.

  Her first instinct when her surroundings came back into focus was to tell Ben what she had seen. She had actually forgotten they were underwater for a moment until she felt the regulator in her mouth. The shock of having forgotten, along with the realization that things could have gone bad during her flash had her regulator slipped from her mouth, caused her to panic for a moment, but the feel of Ben’s hand as he reached out for her hand calmed her quickly back down.

  Ben motioned back out and Rilynne nodded and followed him back through the opening. After checking her gauges again, they started venturing out into the reef.

  She had seen footage taken underwater before, but it was nothing compared to actually seeing it with her own eyes. She was watching some small fish weaving in and out of the coral when Ben tapped her shoulder. She turned around to see a large sea turtle swimming past them, close enough that she reached out and ran her fingers down his shell as he passed. She watched him swim away, her eyes not leaving him until they landed on something in the distance. Her first thoughts were that it bore a striking resemblance to a dead body. As she quickly shrugged that notion off, laughing at herself for it being the first place her mind jumped, she pushed through a school of fish swimming by and started moving toward it.

  She hadn’t made it five feet before Ben reached out and took her arm. He couldn’t talk, but his eyes said enough. He wasn’t sure she should be wandering off. She pointed toward the mysterious object, but it didn’t appear to ease his hesitation. Rilynne didn’t know how to convey her desire to investigate the curious scene without words. After a few moments of trying, she just took him by the hand and started slowly swimming closer.

  Though there was a high level of visibility, she still couldn’t make out exactly what she was looking at. Hidden amidst the swaying seaweed, there was a large white object. Against it was something else. Rilynne strained her eyes as they inched closer. Ben’s curiosity finally seemed to take over as he pulled out of her grip and swam ahead. He was a few feet in front of her, blocking her view, when he suddenly stopped. She kicked to catch up to him, but the moment she did, he wrapped his fingers firmly around her arm and started to pull her back.

  She fought as he did, though, trying to get a better look. A list of things ran through her mind at once. First was that it was a shark or something else that was going to harm them. Her heart was pounding violently in her chest at the thought. Part of her wanted to just back away with Ben, but her eagerness got the better of her.

  The moment she freed herself from his grip, she saw what had spooked him.

  “Oh no,” she said, though only bubbles escaped her.

  Chapter Two

  Rilynne fought the urge to move even closer. She was already close enough to see everything she needed, though, and she knew Ben would stop her if she tried. The white object was a refrigerator, but that wasn’t the startling part. Her initial thoughts had been correct. Chained to the front of it was the body of a woman.

  Ben tugged at her arm again to grab her attention. When she turned to face him, he motioned up to the surface. She nodded but not before taking the camera from his other hand. Luckily, he didn’t need her to explain what she was planning to do.

  Rilynne swam a few feet closer as she began taking pictures of the horrific scene. The woman, who appeared to be in her fifties or sixties, had several visible wounds. Her white blouse was discolored in several spots, which she assumed was what was left of any blood stains. The thing that surprised her was how fresh she looked. She wasn’t an expert on the decomposition rates of a body submerged in the ocean, but she couldn’t imagine she had been there more than a day.

  After taking pictures of everything she could, Rilynne let Ben lead her back up.

  Neither she nor Ben seemed to be able to say anything after they surfaced. Rilynne just pulled her regulator out of her mouth as soon as her BC was inflated and looked quietly around for the boat. Though it only seemed like they had moved about twenty feet, the boat was closer to three hundred away. Ben raised his arm to attract the boat as she took a few deep breaths to collect herself.

  It took mere moments for Ben to capture the attention of the captain and for the small boat to jump into motion. Although it sped toward them, it felt to Rilynne that it was moving at no more than a crawl.

  “Call the police,” Rilynne said when the boat pulled up minutes later and the captain reached down to help her back on the boat. When he shot her a confused look, she continued. “There’s a body down there.”

  He looked for a moment like he wanted to laugh, as if she were telling an ill humored joke. As he helped her out of the water, he turned to Ben. If he was hoping to get assurances that she was just messing with him, he didn’t get it. After releasing his hold on Rilynne, he turned without a word and walked into the cabin. She pulled her mask off just in time to see him reaching for his radio.

  Rilynne pulled her gear off and helped Ben up. As soon as he was on, she sat down and reached for the camera. As she did, she felt the boat start moving.

  “Where are we going?” she called out as she moved toward the cabin. “We should wait here for the police to arrive.”

  “I was told to head back in,” he said as he slowly shook his head. Though he didn’t meet her gaze, she could see the shock on his face. It was clear that he had never encountered anything like this before.

  She wanted to argue, but she knew it wasn’t her call to make. They were far outside of the range of pull she had. After a few seconds, she turned and walked back over to where Ben had sat down.

  The trip back seemed to take twice as long as it should have. Although she was flipping through the pictures she had taken, it still seemed so unreal. While this wasn’t the first body she had found, usually she was out looking for one. She never even imagined they would find one while on vacation.

  “What’s going on, Ray?” a voice called out when they pulled back up to the dock. Rilynne looked over and saw a man storming toward them. He was only a few inches taller than herself, though the look of intense frustration on his face made him appear larger. His head, though she had a feeling it was optional, was cleanly shaven. His worn navy blue button up fit a little too snugly around his midsection, but the badge could clearly be seen over his heart. “It’s supposed to be my day off.”

  “Sorry, sergeant. They’re insisting that they found a body down there,” Ray stated. Rilynne had a feeling he was forcing the skepticism in his voice, because that wasn’t what was showing on his face. She wasn’t entirely surprised, though. With a population as small as the one in Spicer Island, it could cause someone a lot of trouble to get on the wrong side of law enforcement. Without
having seen the body himself, he wasn’t likely to want to be pulled into the middle of it.

  The sergeant, looking both annoyed and condescending, turned to Ben and Rilynne. “We’ve lost several vessels when they’ve been caught in storms over the years,” he stated. “Not all of the bodies have been found. While we are always looking to provide the remains to the families, I hardly think the discovery of one warranted me cancelling my plans and making a trip out here. I’ll have the divers go out to the location first thing in the morning to collect any bones and personal effects they can. Now if you don’t mind…”

  He turned to make a move toward his car, but Rilynne interrupted him. “Well unless any of your lost sailors were tied to a refrigerator and dropped in within the last day or two, I don’t think that’s what we found.”

  He stopped in his tracks and turned back to face them. While his expression had shifted to confusion, he didn’t seem to be able to form words. Rilynne didn’t wait for him to get his composure.

  “You have an older woman who is showing obvious signs of an assault chained to a refrigerator sitting on the ocean floor,” she said harshly. “Surely that qualifies as a good excuse to be called in on your day off.”

  Ben grabbed her arm as if to rein her in, but he didn’t say a word. She knew even as the words left her lips that it was probably the wrong approach to take, but she couldn’t stop herself. There was just something about the man that she didn’t like.

  After a few tense moments the sergeant finally seemed ready to talk, but it wasn’t them he spoke to. “Do you have your gear on you?” he asked the captain. Apparently at a loss for words himself, Ray just nodded. “Good. Get your boys and go down to collect the body. Take Taylor’s boat so you can pull everything up all at once. Try not to remove the body from the refrigerator unless you have to. I’ll have a truck waiting out here to take it to the doctor.”

  Rilynne was outraged by his willingness to have someone else collect the remains without his supervision. She took a step forward but Ben pulled her back. When she looked up at him, he just shook his head. As frustrating as it was, she knew he was right. Nothing good could come from angering him further. At least she had the pictures she’d taken so there was evidence of exactly how the scene had looked before being disturbed by the divers he sent down.