The Body in Bodega Bay by Betsy Draine Page B

house.”
    â€œI guess I heard that from Annie when I stopped in for a beer,” said Toby.
    â€œAccording to friends, they had a couple of loud fights in public about Charlie’s infidelities before Charlie packed up and left. Tom admitted that much, though of course he denies having anything to do with Charlie’s murder. Plus, he claims to have an alibi for that night, which we’re still checking out.”
    â€œCharlie owed him some money, too,” Toby added. “Did Tom mention that?”
    â€œHe didn’t volunteer it, but it came out during the questioning.”
    None of this felt right to me. “Tom Keogh didn’t kill Charlie. He seems really broken up by Charlie’s death.”
    â€œThat doesn’t mean he didn’t do it. I’ve seen other cases of jealousy leading to violence, and it’s not uncommon afterward for the attacker to feel remorse. In fact, that’s fairly typical in a crime of passion.”
    Toby looked annoyed. “Aren’t you jumping to conclusions?”
    â€œNo, I’m just speculating. Now I’ve asked you this before. Can either of you tell me what Charlie was doing on a lonely stretch of road leading out to Bodega Head at one or two o’clock in the morning?”
    We couldn’t.
    â€œBecause that’s where he was murdered, on land, not on that boat. We’ve marked out a crime scene on Westshore Road between the marina and the turnoff to the housing for the marine lab.”
    Dan’s reference was to a desolate stretch of road that runs along the harbor from the marina leading out to Bodega Head. There’s a research center out there for the study of marine life, run by the University of California–Davis. But aside from a driveway to a few small dormitories that provide housing for the lab workers, there’s nothing along the shore but scrub brush and a few stands of cypress.
    â€œWe found an area of matted grass with scattered blood traces near the water,” Dan continued. “There was a struggle there. And there’s a clamdigger’s rowboat tied to a tree, which is what I think the killer used to transport the body. I’m guessing that he didn’t intend to kill Charlie on that spot, but when it happened, he improvised disposing of the body by using the rowboat to haul him out to the grounded sailboat. Could be he figured that nobody would find the body for a while if it was stashed in the cabin. It was a moonless night and high tide around the time Charlie was killed, which made it easy enough for the killer to move the body without anyone seeing or hearing anything.”
    â€œWhat about the people from the marine lab dorms?” I asked.
    â€œWe’ve talked to all of them who were there that night. No one heard or saw a thing—didn’t expect anyone would, unless one of them happened to be out for a stroll. But we’ve got bloodstains on the rowboat, and I’m betting they’ll match the stains found in the grass. And there’s something else you should know. Someone broke into Charlie’s apartment on the night he was murdered. Threw stuff around. In anger, maybe? That would fit a crime of passion. So I’m thinking, what if Charlie was on his way out to Bodega Head to hook up with some guy for a nocturnal tryst, and what if Tom caught him at it, followed him, say, and flew into a jealous rage? Let’s say he didn’t mean to, but he killed him, panicked, hid the body on the boat, and then trashed Charlie’s apartment. It’s a plausible scenario.”
    I shook my head. “I don’t know, Dan. If Tom killed Charlie and trashed his apartment in anger, are you saying he’s the same one who ransacked Toby’s gallery? That won’t wash. Whoever went through the gallery did a careful search. Things weren’t tossed around in anger. The person who did it was looking for something, not just vandalizing property.