What She Found (Tracy Crosswhite #9)(35)
“The name Moss Gunderson mean anything to you?”
“Nope.”
“What about Del Castigliano?”
“Nothing.”
“Do you know if David Slocum told the police about the raid on the Egregious?”
“He told me he did, but it was a bit dicey, mind you.”
“Because David was taking cash under the table.”
“That and the bunch of marijuana plants on his houseboat,”
Hopper said, voice rising with a chuckle. “If the marina manager found out, David would be fired. I remember he said he just asked, kind of casual like . . . ‘What happened to the raid on the Egregious?’”
“Did David tell you what the police said when he asked them about the raid?”
“I don’t recall specifically. I think he said they said something about that being the Narcotics Unit’s business, and they didn’t know anything about it. After that, David figured it best to just shut up and let it go.”
“You said David said the police came twice.”
Hopper snapped his fingers. “Oh yeah. This is where it gets weird. David said a detective came a second time and seemed surprised when the subject of the raid on the Egregious came up.”
“Surprised how?”
“I guess like he didn’t know anything about it. I don’t really know anything more since I wasn’t there.”
“You ever see the Egregious again, after that night it got raided?”
“Never did. Figured they impounded it and Captain Jack did time.”
“You’re sure that was two nights before they found the two bodies?”
“David said so. I mean technically it was a morning since it was after midnight, but I believe he got it right.”
“Why’s that?”
“Because we don’t get a lot of excitement around here, Detective Tracy. You tend to remember the nights when more than the crickets are chirping. When you get two incidents like that in a row . . . Hell, that’s like national news around here.”
“How might I find the Egregious? You think it’s still around?”
“It wasn’t that old in 1995, maybe five years, and those boats tend to stick around forever.”
“How would I find it?”
“If it was me, and I was you, I’d check with your impound, call the US customs service and see if the boat was forfeited and sold.
Likely it was. Then just follow the bills of sale.”
“You said the boat came from Vancouver, BC, though.”
“Yeah, that’s right. You could look it up, find out the authority that registers the boats in Canada, and probably find the hailing port.”
“What’s a hailing port?”
“Where the boat was moored up there. The marina it was kept at.”
“When’s the last time you spoke to David Slocum?”
“The last time? About a week before he died.”
“He’s dead?” Tracy asked, feeling the air quickly leave her sails.
“Figured that was why you were asking me all these questions.
Yeah. David shot himself.”
More red flags. “Where?”
“In his car.”
“Here at the marina?”
“No. Someplace in Seattle.”
“Do you know why?”
“No idea.”
“Did he give you any indication he was depressed or suicidal?”
“Nothing I could put a finger on, but like I said, I was in and out back then.”
“How long after the raid and the two bodies being found did this happen?”
“Not long. I’d say three to four months, but don’t quote me on that, Detective Tracy. I’m an old man who smokes a lot of pot, so my brain isn’t what it was.”
“Did David strike you as the type of person who might kill himself?”
“What ‘type’ of person is that?” Hopper asked. “I don’t think we really know ’cause I don’t think there’s a type.”
“Your memory has been very good, Dennis. I’m grateful for the information.”
Hopper spread his arms. “Anytime. And let me reiterate, if you’re ever looking for something a little more adventurous, you’re always welcome here.”
Tracy smiled. “My two dogs each weigh 140 pounds, Dennis.
They’re liable to sink your boat.”
C H A P T E R 1 5
Tracy kept her word and drove home to spend the rest of the weekend with Dan and Daniella. Physically present anyway.
She had a thousand questions swirling through her head, foremost being, What had happened to the Egregious? And to David Slocum?
And what did Del know about it? She’d try to find out Monday morning, but that didn’t mean she could turn off the spigot and keep the questions at bay. Dan commented that Tracy seemed distracted and asked if she wanted to talk about it. She told him it was work related and no, she didn’t want to take away from precious family time. There was no point. Lisa Childress had been missing twenty-four years. Waiting thirty-six hours before delving back into the case wasn’t going to jeopardize anything.
Monday morning, which dawned gray and bleak with the promise of showers, Tracy hit the ground running. She reached her desk at Police Headquarters and pulled from storage the file on the two men who had drowned on November 20, 1995. She read the contents thoroughly, but the file made no mention of a raid on the Diamond Marina either November 18 or 19. Seemed Moss and Del would have logically asked about the raid to determine if it could have been related to the two drowned men.