A Justified Murder (Medlar Mystery #2)(63)

But Carl cared very, very much about the consequences. And when it came to true justice, he needed it even more than the cop did. In fact, he was willing to give up his life to get it.

One of Jack’s friends drove them home, and another one drove the truck. The two men left together as Kate and Jack entered the house through the garage.

“You sure do have a lot of friends,” she said.

“What can I say? I’m a likable guy.”

Kate smiled. But then at the moment she was feeling no pain, so everything made her happy. “I guess you’re staying with me.”

“Yeah.” Jack seemed to be thinking of something else. “You go in and go to bed. I’m going to take this to Dakon.” He held up the napkin.

“Okay, but tell me what he says.” Kate walked through the courtyard to her bedroom, grabbed her nightclothes, and went to the bathroom. The dancing had made her sweaty so she got into the shower and washed her hair. It felt good to be clean, even better to have had an evening away from the image of a woman in a chair with a knife in her chest—not to mention what was on the wall behind her.

When she got out, she dried off and put on one of her old nightgowns, the Sister Wives kind she’d worn while living with her mother. Uncle approved.

She thought Jack would probably be outside the door, his eyes teasing, making sexual innuendos, faking horror at her high-necked, long-sleeved gown. But he wasn’t there.

She got a robe—plain and pale pink—out of her closet and went into her living room. The couch had been pulled out to make a bed and covered with white linens. No doubt done by Aunt Sara.

Jack was fully dressed and sitting on the edge of the bed, his eyes downcast.

She sat down beside him. “What’s wrong?”

“Noth—”

“No! Don’t patronize me. What’s upset you?”

“Dakon wasn’t in my room.”

“Maybe he’s watching TV. Did you check?”

Jack looked at her.

“Yeah, of course you did. Think he went somewhere?”

“I think he’s spending the night with Sara. In her bedroom.”

They looked at each other.

“How about tomorrow we give them some privacy? I have a boat,” he said.

“Do you? I guess you haven’t been out on it since I’ve been here.”

“Nah. Too busy solving murders. I vote that we leave early in the morning and spend the day on the water. It would help clear our minds.”

“You can tell me about that apartment building you’re going to build for me and all your relatives.”

“Forget the boat. Let’s get married tomorrow and I’ll buy us a house.”

His joke made her laugh. She stood up, covered a yawn, then bent and kissed him on the forehead. “We’ll do the boat. I like that.”

Jack was looking at her hard. “My offer was real.”

“Yes, I know it was. But just to be clear, if you repeat it tomorrow I’ll jump over the side and ride an alligator to shore.”

Jack gave a half smile. “Old man Dakon scores but I don’t.”

Kate was walking toward her bedroom. “If he had asked me I might have said yes.” When a throw pillow hit her in the back, she laughed and kept walking.



Fourteen


EARLY THE NEXT MORNING, they left a note for Sara. Her bedroom door was still closed, but then neither Jack nor Kate wanted to see them just yet. They moved about Kate’s rooms quietly.

“What clothes should I take?” she whispered.

“None” came his answer, making her smile. She put on her 1940s-style outfit of Bermuda shorts and a halter top. An inch of midriff showed.

Jack ran his finger along the bare skin. “Hope you have sunblock for that.”

She patted her big canvas tote bag. “Three tubes. And a swimsuit, towels, a couple of books and—”

“Won’t need the books.” He held the door open for her and they went out the door toward the garage. Sara’s MINI was there and Jack’s truck.

“We should take the car. Think Dakon can handle a three-quarter-ton pickup?”

“I think he could drive a tank right over it.”

Jack tossed fishing gear in the back. They had breakfast at First Watch by Sawgrass Mall, went to the nearby Fresh Market, then Jack drove them to A1A. He kept his boat docked on the ocean side of southern Florida. He told her that last night he’d called ahead so the boat would be ready: cleaned and gassed.

His boat was long and sleek, mostly white but with a dark blue stripe along the side. There was a tall mast with a navy sail wrapped around it. A raised area had stairs that led down into a cooking/sleeping cabin.

It was a beauty!

“Impressed?”

“Very,” she said.

“It was my first big purchase. I wanted to prove to myself that I could own something and pay it off. I wanted to be in debt.”

She smiled at him in understanding. It was her guess that after his stepfather died, buying the boat was something he needed to do all on his own.

A tall blond young man came out to greet them. “I had to call in a team this morning to clean it up,” he said. “Sorry but you’re going to get a big bill, but it’s clean now and fueled.”