Deep in Death: A Shelby Nichols Adventure (16 page)

“Damn…so what did you tell her?”

“I basically told her they were both alive.” I sniffed and wiped my nose with a tissue.

Chris frowned and twisted his lips, thinking that was a dumb thing to do.

“I know, but you would have done the same thing, so don’t judge me too harshly.”

“I didn’t…” He sighed, knowing he couldn’t lie to me. He also knew that now wasn’t the time to get upset with me for listening to his thoughts. “Okay…maybe you’re right.” He brushed my forehead with a kiss. “But this whole thing…it’s crazy. I wonder what really happened.”

“Yeah. It was kind of a shock. It also made me realize you could have been there. You could have gotten blown up!” I hugged him tighter. He winced, and I immediately loosened my hold.

“I didn’t though…” he said. “I’m fine.” He was thinking I could have been there just as easily…I could have been the one getting blown up.

“But that’s the thing,” I said. “Maybe if I’d been there I could have saved them. I would have known what the plan was and stopped all those people from getting killed.” Hot remorse washed over me. I should have gone with Uncle Joey.

“No, don’t think like that,” Chris said. “If the Passinis planned to blow up the boat, you couldn’t have stopped them. And don’t think for one minute you’re responsible for anyone’s death. It had nothing to do with you. Nothing at all.”

“Maybe,” I said, not convinced. “Do you think they’re really dead?”

“I don’t know,” he answered, careful to keep his thoughts neutral…even if this was good news. “I’m confused. You said Kate called first. What happened to her? Wasn’t she on the boat too?”

He’d been thinking it was good news for us if Uncle Joey was dead, and it kind of made me feel bad. “I don’t know…I think so.”

“Since Kate got off, do you think she was in on it?” he asked.

“Not really, but I have no idea. Who knows what Kate is capable of? But don’t forget that Alec Passini is in love with her. If he was in on the plans, he probably made sure she got off okay. I don’t think Alec would have left her to die, no matter how much his mom and brother might have wanted it.”

“Then maybe the explosion really was an accident.”

“Maybe…but I doubt it. Jon Passini hated Uncle Joey and planned to take him out. I just didn’t know how he was going to do it. Uncle Joey must have signed the merger and that was all they needed to kill him off.”

“Are you sure the Passinis got out alive? That would tell you whether it was an accident or not.”

“Hmm…I think Kate would have said, but I don’t know for sure. I guess I’ll find out tomorrow.”

“Yeah. It should be on the news in the morning.” 

“Well…actually…” I hesitated, hoping Chris would understand, but not holding my breath. “Jackie asked me to fly to Seattle with her in the morning and I said yes.” He stilled, a little shocked, and opened his mouth to object. I cut him off. “I have to go. I told her I would, and I’m already booked on the eight-twenty flight with her.”

“Why did you do that? Especially since Manetto didn’t want you to go in the first place.”

“Jackie needs me…and Kate asked if I’d come.”

Chris let out a deep sigh. “So you’re going to get involved in this mess? What if it puts you in danger? Have you considered that?”

“Yes, but I don’t think it will be dangerous, and I want to help if I can. I want to know what happened, and I want to know if they’re really dead. Because some part of me would feel really bad…and I know you think it’s great…but I don’t, and this is…this is really hard for me.” The tears I’d been holding back ran down my cheeks. “Please try and understand.” I sniffed, and Chris reached for a fresh tissue.

“Here.” He handed it to me and closed his eyes in resignation. “When will you be back?”

“I don’t know. But I’m sure it won’t be long.”

He was thinking that I’d said the same thing when I’d stayed in Orlando, and that little escapade had ended up lasting more than a week, never mind that I’d nearly died. Now I was doing it again. How was he supposed to feel good about that?

“I’m sorry, honey, but it’s something I have to do. Don’t worry. This is different. I’m sure I’ll be fine.”

“You say that now,” he answered. “But the truth is…you don’t know. You don’t know what Kate has planned. You don’t know if the Passinis are done with their schemes, and you don’t know what’s happened to Manetto and Ramos. There are too many things that could go wrong, and it drives me nuts with worry.”

“Well…if it makes you feel better, I think I’ll be safer there than here.” Looking at it that way, now was probably the best time to tell him about my visit to Marketing Solutions.

Now Chris was really confused. “Huh?”

“Remember my appointment with Sean Hanley at Marketing Solutions this morning?” He nodded, so I continued. “Well, after talking with him I found out that he’s the guy. I think he killed Darcy Shaw and a few other women as well.”

“What? That’s huge. It means you’ve solved the case. I guess the hard thing will be proving it.”

“Yeah. But that’s not the worst part…” I fidgeted with the blanket, not wanting to look Chris in the eyes. He picked up on my reticence and was wondering what I had done this time.

“It wasn’t my fault,” I began. “But since I fit the bill and his other target moved, well…he’s probably coming after me now.”

“What the hell!” Chris said, jerking upright and turning to catch my gaze. “You’re his next victim?”

“Looks that way. It kind of freaked me out to be honest, but at least by going to Seattle for a few days, I won’t have to worry about him killing me, right?”

Chris couldn’t speak. Besides a few swear words, all kinds of thoughts were going through his head, mostly about how I couldn’t even stay out of trouble when Manetto wasn’t involved. How in the world did I do it, and how was I going to get out of it this time, and what the hell!

“Chris! That’s not helping.”

His shoulders sagged and he sighed. “Oh Shelby…what am I going to do with you?”

***

I woke at five-thirty the next morning and could hardly open my eyes. After grabbing a quick shower and pulling on my clothes, I packed my carry-on case with everything I thought I might need for a couple of days. By six-twenty, I was ready to go, but I couldn’t leave without telling Savannah and Josh goodbye. They weren’t happy when I woke them up, but let it go when they found out I was leaving for Seattle. I told them it was sudden, but I hoped to be back sometime in the next few days.

I gave Chris a long kiss. “I’ll call when I get there. And thanks again for checking out Sean Hanley while I’m gone.”

“Sure. As long as you call Harris as soon as you get back and let him know.”

“I will.”

After another kiss, I headed out to the waiting limo. Ricky drove, and Jackie sat in the back. The other passenger surprised me. “Nick? What are you doing here?”

“My father didn’t want you two going alone, so I’m your back-up.”

“Oh.” For some reason, that helped relieve some of the nervous tension in my stomach. “Good. I’m glad you’re coming.”

“I agree,” Jackie said. She didn’t look like she’d slept at all, but there was deep anger lodged inside her heart that seemed to sustain her. She was determined to get to the bottom of this and take care of it just like her Joe would, and if the Passinis thought they could get away with murder, they were in for a rude awakening.

“Did you hear anything more?” I asked.

“No,” she answered. It was sounding more and more like Joe was gone, but until she had proof, she wouldn’t stop searching. Besides, if Joe thought it would be in his best interests to disappear for a while, he would. In the meantime, she wasn’t going to let the Passinis get away with it.

I didn’t know exactly how she was going to do that, but I was grateful she wasn’t despondent or crying. She had a backbone of steel, and wasn’t afraid to fight for what she wanted. She’d even hired a hit-man to threaten me once, and stood up to Uncle Joey to boot. I almost looked forward to seeing her take the Passinis down.

The plane landed in Seattle to overcast skies and a big chance of rain, totally fitting my somber mood. We took a taxi to the hotel where Uncle Joey and Ramos had been staying, and a small hope that they were hiding out in their rooms gave me hope. Jackie marched up to the clerk and told her she was Mrs. Joe Manetto and wanted the key to her husband’s room. The clerk stammered that she’d need to see some ID first, and Jackie pulled out her driver’s license and a credit card.

As the clerk examined them, I glanced at Nick, my brows raised in surprise. They were married and I didn’t know? When did that happen? Nick shrugged, but his eyes were wide with surprise. This was news to him. Maybe Uncle Joey and Jackie had kept it under wraps to protect her. Whatever the reason, it put a new spin on their relationship, but also made it uncomfortable to be there. I mean, how could I tell her congratulations, or I’m so happy for you, if he was gone.

Once the clerk gave Jackie her key, she waited while Nick and I got checked in as well. Our rooms were on the same floor and across the hall from hers. We took our key cards and hurried to the elevator. On the way over, I caught a glimpse of the back of an older man with silver hair and my heart raced. Was that Uncle Joey? He turned his head and my elation fell. Nope. Not him.

Jackie and Nick waited in the elevator for me, so I hurried to catch up. The doors opened on the fourth floor, and we eagerly stepped out, following Jackie to Uncle Joey’s room. I picked up that she was secretly hoping he would be there too, and this was all a ruse to trick the Passinis.

With shaking fingers, she slid the card into the lock and pushed the door open.

“Wait,” Nick said. He slipped into the room like a bodyguard checking for bombs. Not about to wait, Jackie breezed in right after him. She couldn’t let another minute to go by without knowing if Uncle Joey was there. I followed behind, hoping she was right, and noticed the room was neat and tidy.

Nick came back from checking the bathroom, and Jackie opened the closet to find Uncle Joey’s suitcase and a few shirts hanging up. She opened the dresser drawers and found more articles of clothing, then slipped into the bathroom where his toothbrush and shaving supplies sat on the counter. With each discovery her mouth tightened and tears threatened to fall.

“I’m going to put my things away in my room,” I said. “But I’ll be back in a minute.”

Jackie nodded, grateful to have some time alone, and Nick and I left. My room was directly across the hall, with Nick’s next door. “Which room is Ramos’? I asked him.

“That one next to Manetto’s.”

“Too bad we can’t get in there, but I guess it wouldn’t be any different from Uncle Joey’s room.”

“Probably not,” Nick agreed.

I slipped my key card into the slot and opened the door. To my surprise Nick followed me inside. “I’ve been thinking about a plan,” he said. “I want to go to the dock and see how the investigation’s going. Maybe you’ll get some kind of premonition while we’re there that will help us know where they are.”

“Uh…maybe,” I said.

Nick shook his head. “I just can’t believe that Manetto and Ramos were taken by surprise. Unless they were locked up in a room or something, I think they would have gotten out.” He still couldn’t believe they were dead, but it was looking more and more like that was what had happened.

“What about Kate? Are we meeting up with her?”

“Yes. Jackie’s supposed to call her when we get to the dock. In fact, she might already be there.”

“We should get going then,” I said. 

“Okay. I’ll meet you in the hall outside Jackie’s door.”

He left, and I sat heavily on the bed, tired from not sleeping much and full of anxiety about what we were going to find. I slipped my phone out of my pocket and quickly called Chris to let him know I had arrived safely. He was especially happy to hear that Nick had come with us as a bodyguard of sorts. I told him I’d call him later tonight and disconnected. I quickly unpacked and, after using the bathroom, opened the door to find Jackie and Nick already waiting in the hallway for me.

We took a taxi straight to the dock where the rescue operation was still in progress. As we exited the taxi, the wind picked up, sending bursts of cold right through my clothes. I pulled the hood of my jacket up over my head and shivered as drops of water pelted into me with the breeze. Were Uncle Joey and Ramos out there somewhere submerged in a watery grave?

Two search and rescue boats circled a bigger boat in the distance. I scanned the dock and spotted Kate at the end of the pier. She stood beside a man who held a radio and looked like he was in charge. She was talking to him animatedly, and from her thoughts, I knew she wasn’t happy with the way he was handling things.

As we walked toward her, she caught sight of us and immediately ran over. Embracing Jackie, she broke down in tears. She was thinking it looked like both Ramos and Uncle Joey had died in the explosion. Facing this alone was too much, and having us there unleashed the torrent of tears she’d been holding back.

“I’m so glad you’re here,” she said, pulling away, and wiping her eyes. Including all three of us, she continued, “They searched the bay for survivors all night and sent them back out at first light this morning, but no one’s turned up yet. I don’t know what to do.”