Liquid Lies (31 page)

“It’s show time,” I said to myself.

I stood on the lower deck. My hands were cold and sweaty. My heart pounded so loud in my ears, I could barely hear. What the hell was I thinking? This could go great or go horribly wrong. After all, the mayor was a killer. He could shoot me. Game over.

But at least it would be on tape. I’d be dead, but he’d be caught. Jacob could bring the tape to the police and it would be finished. Okay. I had to think positive. It had to work.

“Good evening, CiCi,” the mayor said as he came on board. The lamplight on the pavilion cast a shadow on half of his face. In the smattering of light I could see that he wore shorts, a polo shirt and boat shoes. His hair was wet.

I had no idea what to say. I had to seem confident. Poised. In control. “Hi Mr. Pike.” At least it was a start. Why hadn’t I called the police? Damn.

“So what are you doing out here tonight? Juanita told me you have some sort of proof of Francesca’s killer?” He stood about five feet from me. His left hand was bandaged.

I moved back a few inches, to make sure the camera’s line of vision would capture his face. “First, thank you for meeting me here. You’re always so busy, and I don’t want to waste your time.”

Jacob was right. At my core I’m nice. I’m thanking a killer.

“You’re welcome.” He cleared his throat. “But I’m not sure why you asked me to meet you here.”

I wondered if the microphone picked up his voice. I spoke a little louder, “Yes of course you’d like to know why I had you come out here.”

“Okay then, are you going to tell me?”

“Yes. Of course.” I ran my hand over the cool railing, trying to think of how to phrase my next line. My insides were tumbling. “Did you get the message I left the other day?”

He tipped a chair back and forth. “Let me think. Was that when you said you knew who the murderer was?”

“Yes sir.” My legs shook under my jeans. I wondered if he noticed. “You see, my fiancé, I mean my ex-fiancé Ken and I took his boat out Friday night, just after ten o’clock.”

The mayor paused before speaking.

Was he thinking about the time, and where he was then?

“He has a nice new boat.” The mayor looked at the water. “Bright red. It’s hard to miss.”

“Good name huh
, I Sea You
?” I said. My voice quivered. “Intensive care unit, a reference to his job.”

The mayor let out a sigh. “Listen, not that I don’t like chatting with you. You’re like a daughter to me, and I always try to make time for you. But, I have to be at a cook-out in a half hour. I’m the guest of honor. They’re raising money for my campaign.”

“You just mentioned that I’m like your daughter right?” I felt like I would pass out. Please let this work. I made sure I talked in the direction of the microphone. “Does that mean you’re going to kill me too?”

The mayor stood still. He stopped tipping the chair. His body stiffened. His breathing became shallow. “Kill? Whatever are you talking about?”

“You murdered Francesca.” I tried to sound believable. I held onto a rail close to me, to steady my shaking. I felt a chill run down my body. Was it fear or the cool night air? Probably both. Behind me, I knew Jacob was keeping an eye on what was happening. It was good to have him on my side.

He raised his arm, his hand clenched into a fist. Then, he slowly lowered it. He rolled his shoulders back. “What are you talking about? That’s preposterous.”

“Is it?” I asked.

“Come on now. You know me better than that. Here I thought you had proof of the killer’s identity. Instead, you’ve concocted some crazy story. CiCi you’ve been under such colossal stress. You’ve lost both your best friends. That can play with your mind.”

“Oh no. I’m thinking perfectly clearly.” I took the memory card from my pocket and held it up. “Ken and I saw you on the dock the night you killed Francesca. It’s all here on this.” Okay. Here is where I improvised on the spot. “It shows you with the axe. It also has you rolling her body into plastic and dragging it away. It’s all here.”

He lunged at me. I screamed and ran toward the control room.

Jacob jumped up and ran toward the mayor. “Stay away from her.”

The mayor grabbed a chair and hit Jacob in the head with it. Jacob fell, and then scrambled back to his feet. The mayor punched him in the mouth. Jacob took a swing and got him in the gut. The mayor doubled over, but then took a gun from his jacket and hit Jacob over the head. Jacob went down hard and lay motionless.

Screaming, I pulled out my cell phone.

“Stop right now or I’ll shoot.” The mayor pointed the gun at my chest. “Toss it over,
now
.”

I pitched my cell phone over the rail. It splashed then sunk into the pitch black water. The wind picked up, causing the boat to rock back and forth.

The mayor pointed the gun at my head. “Looks like we’re going on a little boat ride. Get this boat out into the middle of the lake. Right now!”

“See, that’s not a great idea. It’s company property. Plus there are two Jet Skis in the way, and---” The gun felt like a metal pipe against my skin.

“Stop stalling. Move out
now
.” He nudged the gun at my temple. “And tie one Jet Ski to the boat. It’ll come in handy later.”

He followed me off the boat. With the mayor pointing a gun at me, I tried to untie the Jet Skis.

“Hurry up!” the mayor yelled.

“I can’t figure out which rope goes to which Jet Ski. You’re making me a nervous wreck,” I said.

“Then just tie both of them to the boat. Let’s go!” He leaned over me.

“You know, the company rules say that I can’t take the boat out at night.” I said. My hands trembling as I tried to unknot the thick wet rope.

“Don’t be a smart ass.” He scanned the boat. “Do you carry extra fuel on board?”

“Yes,” I answered. Finally, the Jet Ski ropes were loose from the dock, but still tangled together.

“Secure them on this rail,” the mayor ordered. He pointed to the handrail on the mail boat.

Tugging them along with the ropes, I pulled them alongside the boat, and fastened them to the handrail.

“How much gas do you have?” He asked.

“Maybe a few gallons or so. We have two cans,” I said. “Actually, I think we filled them both yesterday.”

The light from the dock cast a glow on his face. He was grinning.

Something didn’t feel right. I had to ask, “Why do you want to know about the gas? Do you think we’re going to run out? Are we going far?”

He didn’t answer. Instead he nudged me forward with the barrel of his gun.

“You know, you can put that thing away. I’m cooperating.” The temperature had dropped and I began to I shiver. The silence of the night was interspersed with the sound of waves slapping against the boat. A dog barked in the background. If fear had an odor, I would reek. I staggered as I moved along in the dark. I stumbled into a chair. I hoped Jacob was okay. In the shadows, it was difficult to see where he was.

“Where is it?” the mayor asked.

“What?” I asked. My thoughts preoccupied with Jacob.

“It’s not the time to play stupid,” he scolded. “The extra gas.”

“Oh right, that. You never told me why you needed it.”

He pressed the gun against my arm. “Where is it?”

“Over there,” I pointed to a closet in the back of the boat, across from the control room.

“Get it, now.”

“You have forgotten all of your etiquette, you could ask nicely,” I said. He brought the gun up and slammed it into the right side of my face. It felt like I’d been hit with a metal bar. The side of my face was instantly hot and began to throb. I put my hand to it. “Jeez, did you have to do that?”

“Get it!” he screamed.

With one hand on the side of my face, I ran my other hand along the side rail to guide me to the back of the boat, as the mayor followed on my heels. Every few seconds, he poked me in the back with the gun. If only his constituents could see him now.

“Why do you want the Jet Skis? I mean we already have this boat. By the way, I’m going to get in big trouble for taking this out on a non-business related trip.”

“Quit talking.”

“What are you going to do? I have a right to an answer,” I said. We reached the storage room. “After all, I was part of your family.” Hoping everything we said was being captured on the videotape.

“Get the gas.”

“You have no patience whatsoever. You’re worse than me.” Yanking open the door, I reached in and heaved out one gas can. It was heavy, so that meant it was still full.

“Now, start pouring it around the edges.”

“No way. That’s wasteful and it’ll ruin the deck,” I said. I held the can with both hands. “And it’s dangerous. If I did what you wanted, and then someone lit a match or something, this whole boat would go up in flames.”

The mayor chuckled. “See, I knew you weren’t stupid. Douse the boat. Now!” He shoved me.

Then, it all made sense to me. Once the mayor got the boat in the middle of the lake, he was going to kill us then set the boat on fire. He wanted the Jet Ski so he would have a way to get back to shore. Jacob and I were being led to inferno death on the mail boat. It would all look like an accident.

Terrific.

Now I was thinking like a killer.

Opening the top of the gas can, I began to slowly drip the gas along the edge of the boat. Pretending to be in slow motion, I moved at a snail’s pace.

“Damn it,
pour
! You’re just sprinkling--
soak the boat
!”

“Here are a few problems I’m having with your plan. The mail boat is company property and you’re damaging it. Not to mention the fact that it’s a fire hazard,” I stammered. Stalling while I thought of how to save Jacob and get us both off the boat.

I came up blank.

Grabbing the can from me, he pushed me to the ground and I landed on my butt.

I stood up. “Hey, that was unnecessary.” I felt a sharp pain in my tailbone.

He ignored me as he dumped the gas. The smell overwhelmed me and I coughed.

I grabbed a chair as a weapon. As I lifted it, the mayor ran over and yanked it away from me and threw it down.

“Move this boat into the middle of the lake!” the mayor commanded.

As the mayor grabbed my arm, I untied the boat and pulled the plank in. The Jet Skis knocked rhythmically against the hull of the boat. I walked past Jacob’s limp body as I went to the control room. With a little ambient light, I saw his chest move up and down. Thank goodness he was still alive. Relief washed over me.

The mail boat slowly chugged away from the dock. The motor hummed along. How I wished it would make a loud bang or something to alert someone to come to our aid. My heart sank. This was going to be my last day alive. But I didn’t want it to be Jacob’s. I had to save him.

The mayor stared off into the distance. What was he looking for? He probably wanted to make sure that no one else was around to catch him. Catch him killing us.

I said, “So you want to kill us in the middle of the lake, huh? No one will hear the shots, or find our bodies. Then, you’re going to burn the boat, destroying all evidence and get away on a Jet Ski.”

He jabbed the gun at my skull.

“I take that as a yes,” I said. “And could you please stop it with the gun. I can’t go anywhere now that we’re out here.” We passed the first mansion, and headed to the middle of the lake.

Suddenly, I heard a scuffle, then the sound of something being hit.

“Shit,” the mayor yelled as he fell to the ground holding his head.

Spinning around, I saw Jacob holding a cooler. “And all this time I thought that was for cold drinks.”

“I sure cooled him off,” Jacob said. He came to my side and tightly embraced me.

I kissed him. “Let’s get out of here.”

“The Jet Skis!” He grabbed my hand as we ran to where the Jet Skis were tied. I began to unknot the rope. I heard a shuffling noise behind us.

The mayor must be back on his feet. Turning around, I saw the mayor lunge at Jacob.

Jacob shoved him away. The mayor grabbed Jacob, pushed him against the railing and flipped him overboard.

“Jacob!” I ran to the rail. Although it was dark, by the moonlight I could see some movement. I heard splashing. “Are you okay?”

The mayor pulled me up against his body, gun in hand.

“Are you crazy?” I said. I struggled away from his grip. The mayor looked over the railing, and pointed his gun toward the water. Thinking fast, I pounced on him before he could shoot at Jacob. He flung me off like I was a fly.

I ran back to the control room and jammed the boat into high gear, hoping to jar the mayor so he’d lose his balance.

Although the mayor stumbled, he kept his footing. He dashed into the control room and put the gun to my head. “Stop the boat.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Jacob swimming. He was on the side with the Jet Ski’s. I wished that he would get on a Jet Ski, and save himself. I could deal with the mayor.