Blood of Cain

55

Kim and I took Max inside Jupiter. Dave and Nick stayed back, walking covertly in the direction of the Johnson Boatworks building. Max jumped up on my couch in the boat’s salon and curled into a ball.

Kim said, “This is a lot roomier inside than what it appears outside.”

“I’ll show you around in a minute. First, who is this woman and how can I reach her?”

Kim sat on the couch next to Max and petted her. I found a piece of paper and a pen, and handed them to Kim. “What’s this for?”

“Write down her name.”

Kim’s eyes opened wider. “Okay.” She wrote out the name and handed the paper to me. Lois Timbers. Kim said, “She’s a school teacher in DeLand, and called from the school during her break. She said after dropping Courtney off at a clinic, she never saw her again until all of this news coverage began. She told me that Courtney asked to borrow her cell phone, and she made a call to someone. She didn’t hear any part of the conversation because Courtney stepped out of the car to make the call.”

“Did this woman give you the number Courtney called?”

“No, there was a real hesitancy in her voice when she was talking to me. She definitely wanted to speak with you … or Andrea Logan.”

“Andrea Logan?”

“Yes. She said if Andrea is the girl’s mother, then she ought to know her daughter needs help.”

“I hope she hasn’t called the Logan campaign office. Write down her number?”

Kim reached in her purse and took out a small piece of lavender paper. “I already did that. It’s on here.”

I looked at the number and then reached for one of the disposable phones I’d bought. “Kim, make yourself at home. I’m going to step out on the cockpit to call.”

She nodded and said, “I understand.”

Lois Timbers answered her phone on the third ring. I identified myself and said, “I really appreciate you reaching out to me. Was there anything in the conversation that stood out to you, something I should know?”

“Yes, the girl said her mother is dead. Said she was raised by her grandmother. And I believe it was her grandmother who she called.”

“Lois, you’ve been very helpful. I don’t know if Courtney is my daughter. It’s urgent that I find out. For Courtney’s safety, it’s very important that everything we talked about stays between us.”

“I understand.”

“Please don’t call Senator Logan’s campaign office and leave a message for his wife, Andrea. There’s no sense in stirring the pot any more than it’s been stirred already. I’d rather give Andrea the news, one way or the other, when we know something definitive.”

“I understand.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Mr. O’Brien, I have the number on my phone that Courtney called that morning. Can I give it to you?”

“Yes, but not over the phone. I’m near Daytona right now. I can drive to DeLand to meet you. There’s a coffee shop on New York Avenue. It’s called the Boston Coffeehouse. Do you know of the place?”

“Yes.”

“Can you meet me there in one hour?”

“I can be there. I’ll certainly recognize you, Mr. O’Brien. I’ll be wearing jeans and a yellow T-shirt with words across the front of it that read: World’s Greatest Grandma. Goodbye.”

She disconnected and I stepped back inside Jupiter to tell Kim that I was leaving. She was no longer sitting on the couch. “In here,” she said, her voice coming from the galley.

I walked down three steps to the galley where Kim had a spray bottle of Windex and a roll of paper towels, cleaning the counter. I said, “Sorry about any dirt. My housecleaning duties have been more than lax these last few days.”

She looked up and smiled, the sun coming through a porthole window and breaking across her face and hair. “No problem. Nick and Dave can help you with some of the more physical stuff. Me, well, I can roll my sleeves up to give you a hand on your boat. I’m not a neat freak, just a gal who’s organized and can shine this sweet old boat ‘til she’s gleaming. It’s the least I can do, Sean, while you sort all this stuff out.”

“Thank you.”

“Besides, maybe one day you’ll take me out on Jupiter. I’ve never been seasick and I love boats. Funny thing is that although I work in a marina restaurant, hundreds of boats right out the door, I’m land-bound.”

“Not anymore. We’ll go for a boat ride when this is over.”

“I’d like that.”

“I have to drive to DeLand now. I’m meeting our school teacher friend and getting a number from her.”

A text arrived on my regular phone. It was from Dave: We’re heading back. Suspect fled before we could get there.

Within a few minutes. Dave and Nick walked down L-dock. Kim, Max, and I stood next to Dave’s trawler, Gibraltar, waiting for them. They approached and Dave said, “He either spotted us, or he left the rooftop when you and Kim weren’t visible. No one saw this guy. And Boatworks doesn’t have security cameras yet. They’re on order.”

Nick said, “He probably saw us walking down the dock and flew the coop before we could get to the parking lot.”

I glanced back at the rooftop, now vacant. “These guys keep following me on the perimeter, always in my space from a distance. I’m being tracked. It’s time I become the tracker. I’m assuming my main mobile number is bugged. Don’t text or call me on my regular phone with any information you don’t want others to know. I’m using throw-away phones until I can pick up a new, clean one. I’ll remove the sim card and battery when I drive to DeLand.” I told them about my short conversation with Lois Timbers and added, “I don’t want Logan’s people finding this school teacher and hunting down the person on the other end of the line, the recipient of Courtney’s call.”

Dave squinted his eyes in the sun reflecting off the water. He said, “Since our second-term president has endorsed Senator Logan, I suspect Logan has at least some of the vast resources of the NSA at his disposal. And that means that anything you do electronically, Sean, is indeed traceable. They want desperately to find Courtney Burke.”

“Not more than I do.” I squatted down and petted Max. “I have to make a short trip. You hang with Dave and Nick. I’ll be back soon.” I stood and caught Kim looking up at me in a way I’d never seen her look before, her eyes restless, her face filled with quiet thoughts, almost as if I was a sailor on shore leave and departing her port town for a long journey. She gripped her arms, the breeze across the water moving her hair.

Dave said, “Maybe this number you get from Miss Timbers will lead you straight to Courtney Burke.”

“I’ll know soon.”

As I turned to walk away, Kim said, “Be careful, Sean. I have a bad feeling in my heart.”