Marty Ambrose - Mango Bay 02 - Island Intrigue by Marty Ambrose Page B

out she wanted to see him. It’s so sad. I
wish… things could’ve worked out different for them, especially since Tom planned to move back in…
    “I hate to pry, but did Nick Billie say when he’d
know the cause of death?”
    “In a day or two” She sniffed.
    I handed her a Kleenex from the box on the counter. “Wanda Sue, if for some reason the cause of death
isn’t an accident, that opens up the possibility that
someone … well … could’ve hurt Tom” I picked over
my words as if I were tiptoeing over jagged shells on
the beach.

    Her glance sharpened. “What are you saying?”
    “Isn’t it sort of unlikely that Tom just fell overboard?”
    “Kevin was the only other person on the boat.” Her
voice dropped to a whisper.
    “True….” An idea that had been simmering in the
back of my mind rippled to the surface. “Unless someone else came aboard the boat-someone who wanted
to kill Tom”
    Her eyes grew large and liquid. “You think?”
    “It’s possible.” I raised my hands, palms open, then
dropped them. “But this is all supposition. Detective
Billie might be right-he thought Tom fell out of the
boat after a couple of beers”
    The milk bubbled as it came to a boil. Wanda Sue then
removed the pan from the stove and poured the steaming
liquid into the mugs. “I don’t think so,” she said in a
quiet voice.
    “Why not?”
    “I didn’t tell Nick last night, but Tom and Sally Jo
have been going to AA. Neither of them have touched
alcohol for the last four months.”
    Wanda Sue’s words hung in the air like a sudden,
dark fog. We looked at each other, but neither of us
wanted to say the words. If an accidental death were looking more and more unlikely, Kevin would be the
primary suspect.

    She turned away and stirred the instant cocoa with
vigorous strokes. Then she held out two mugs. “Help
me find out what happened on that boat. Kevin’s future
could be at stake. We need you, Mallie.”
    “I’ll try.” I took the mugs from her and carried them
into the living room.
    By the time I arrived at my Tae Kwon Do class that
night, I was regretting my hasty agreement to help Wanda
Sue. As Kevin’s doting grandmother, she couldn’t conceive that the boy might be capable of harming his own
father. But if he’d been troubled by his parents’ separation, he might’ve attacked Tom in a fit of rage. Younger
kids than he had done similar crimes, so it wasn’t out of
the realm of possibility.
    I parked Rusty outside the fitness center and climbed
out. The wind had died down as evening set in, but now
a biting chill was blanketing the island. I hurried inside,
clutching my tattered gym bag.
    “Mallie, good to see you.” Sam held out his right
hand and bowed. I did the same, and we shook hands. It
still felt weird to greet someone this way, but I tried my
best to conform to Tae Kwon Do etiquette.
    Several members of the class waved. The Jordan
twins ignored me.
    “I wasn’t sure if you’d be here tonight after your recent adventure,” he said.

    I tossed my gym bag to the floor. “Which one? Helping to rescue Kevin or making a fool of myself by pitching the bow line overboard?”
    He smiled gently. “You’re too hard on yourself. Everyone admires how much courage it took for you to go out
on those rough seas yesterday when you’d never been on
a boat before”
    “Thanks” I took a deep breath and unzipped my gym
bag. I’d bought this item at my usual consignment shop,
and, even though it wasn’t too old, it had a perennial
smell of sweaty socks.
    I grabbed my white belt and closed the bag again before I had to exhale.
    “Do they know how Tom died?” Sam asked.
    “Not yet” I wound the belt around my waist twice
and attempted the correct knot formation. After two tries,
Sam stepped toward me and, in one deft motion, executed a perfect knot.
    “We’ll talk after class. For now, try to empty your
mind of everything that happened during the