Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to the TV series, Hawaii Five-0.
You Owe Me
Part 4
By
N. J. Borba
"We've got a problem," Chin announced as soon as they arrived back at HQ.
Steve made his way over to the surface console in the middle of the room. He'd been thinking they had a problem all the way back to the palace. After his uncomfortable second meeting with Billy, doubts had begun to creep in again. There was something off about Harrington that he couldn't quite figure out. He was sure his old friend knew something about Chase that he wasn't telling them. Steve just didn't know if it had to do with the case, or with Catherine. The latter was what really had him bothered.
Chin displayed a list of phone numbers on the main screen. "Martin Chase is missing," he carried on from his first announcement. "I found a plane ticket to San Francisco booked in his name, purchased three months ago. He'd been due to depart Sunday morning, as his receptionist said, and Billy confirmed. He hired a taxi to the airport, but when I checked the taxi service, they say he wasn't home. They waited nearly twenty minutes, couldn't get ahold of him and left. And according to flight passenger logs, he never got on that flight."
"Maybe he took a different flight?" Danny tossed the idea out.
"That's what I figured, too," Chin nodded. "However, there are no records of him on any other flight Sunday, Monday or even today. I searched Honolulu and all surroundings island airports. Nothing. Also, I just spoke with the woman in charge of the AIA conference in San Francisco that Chase was meant to be attending this week. He signed up three months ago for a spot in the conference and they booked him a hotel room. Then I called Chase's father in San Francisco. He claims Martin was going to meet him for dinner last night but never showed, and he hasn't heard from his son since Sunday. So all indications are that Chase was planning to attend the conference and see his father."
"Or he wanted to make it look that way," Steve shrugged. "What are the numbers?" he pointed at the screen.
"Chase's cell phone log from the past five days, I was hoping to find something that might tell us where he is," Chin zoomed in to a small section. "Saturday he made a call to Dugan's office phone at about noon. Sunday there were calls to Harrington and to Chase's family in San Francisco. Monday there were no calls at all and nothing so far today. And I can't get a lock on his GPS to track the phone."
"So he has it off, wherever he is," Danny concluded.
"Or he murdered Dugan and then ditched the phone in the ocean with her. Then took off to hide somewhere," Steve mulled over the possibilities.
Danny pondered that theory for a moment. "Okay, where does he hide?"
"Not a clue," Steve pushed away from the table. "But I'd say we start by checking out his place. Chin, maybe you can pay another visit to Chase's office."
Six minutes later the black Camaro was cruising east toward Martin Chase's home.
With Steve at the wheel they were making good time, but Danny couldn't help cringe as he watched his fuel gage dip. It always seemed his partner's excessive use of the gas pedal coincided with his bad moods. Danny shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "So why are you so sure that Billy is lying to us?" he probed.
"My gut tells me so," Steve replied.
"Oh, your gut. Of course, I should've known," Danny nodded. "You know, I once had a gut feeling about a case. Turned out to be some bad clams I'd eaten at Theo's Clam Shack on the Jersey shore, and our B&E suspect was actually telling the truth. True story," Danny attested. He could see his partner was not in the mood to be challenged. "No, hey… gut feelings can be spot on sometimes. Your gut feeling, I'd take that over hard facts any day. I'm on your side here, you know that right?"
Steve sighed. "You think this is still about me being jealous?"
"Well, you're the one who just said the word," Danny pointed out. "So…"
With his eyes fixed on the road, Steve finally divulged his reasoning. "Billy stood there and told us that he and Chase are old friends from childhood, and that Chase tells him everything. Then, almost in the very next breath he takes, Billy suddenly has no idea what secret Dugan has got on Chase. Seems unlikely to me, therefore… gut reaction, he's lying."
Danny shrugged. "Okay, possible. But here's something to think about. I consider you one of my best friends, but I do not tell you every aspect about my life."
"You don't?" Steve poured on some fake indignation. "I'm hurt."
"Very cute, smartass," Danny returned, though he was thankful for his partner's somewhat renewed sense of humor. "I'm sure you don't tell me everything either. Do you?"
"Most stuff," McGarrett replied. "Okay, no, not everything."
"Exactly, proved my point," Danny declared. "Even most married couples don't tell each other everything," he insisted. "I'm sure you and Catherine have a ton of stuff you've never touched on. I know me and Rachael had plenty we didn't talk about. My point is, everyone has secrets, some big and some small. Chase might not have told Harrington and you could be all bent out of shape for no good reason."
"Yes, okay, maybe Billy doesn't know," Steve yielded a little. He took a quick breath. "But I still think he does."
The Camaro pulled to a stop in Chase's driveway and they got out.
"You've always gotta be right, don't you?" Danny shook his head as they walked around the three-car garage toward the front entry.
"No, I don't always have to be right. But not winning an argument and having the last word are two different matters," Steve reasoned.
An annoyed sigh escaped Danny's lips. "Do you ever give up when you fight with Catherine?"
Steve grinned. "Catherine is right a lot more often than you, Danny."
As they approached the front door their jovial mood dissolved. The heavy wood and glass door was hanging open about a foot and they pulled weapons before stepping inside Chase's place. "Whoa," Danny stood still for a moment then exchanged a glance with Steve who had also stopped just inside the door. "This is… interesting," Danny took another small step forward. "Some sort of new deconstruction decorating trend I've never heard of before?"
With an uncertain shrug, Steve followed Danny inside.
They entered a two-story great room with windows that reached to the top of a gable-peaked roof, which gave way to sweeping views of the beach and waterfront. But the home's interior had been extremely picked apart. Every wall had holes torn in to it. Glass cabinets had been shattered. In the kitchen, bamboo cabinets where hanging off their hinges. It looked like someone had gone through with a sledgehammer with the intention of demolishing the place, but had only gotten half way finished.
"Clearly someone was looking for something," Steve stated.
"Yeah, sure, I'll give you that…" Danny paused. "But this is a bit of overkill, don't you think? Some of these are three foot diameter holes in the walls," he pointed out. "What were they searching for in here? King Kong's long lost love child?"
Steve spun around to stare at his partner. "Some days I don't want to know what goes on in that head of yours, Danny," Steve peered inside one of the larger holes. "There's nothing here other than a 2x4 framed wall. I think whoever hired the guys to search this place got some overly excited teenagers. Amateurs for sure."
"My money is on them looking for a wall safe," Danny commented.
"Not a bad theory," Steve agreed as he made a gesture for them to split up and search the house.
They reconvened ten minutes later. "Found three bedrooms upstairs," Danny reported. "Only one with furniture and clothes, and a partially packed suitcase. This was inside it," Danny held up a small rectangular wood box with his left hand. He opened it to show Steve the six snuggly packed cigars inside. "That tracks with what Billy told us," he noted. "But I found more holes in the walls upstairs. However, the laundry room was surprisingly cat free," he joked.
"Doesn't really seem like the pet type. This place is like a museum, barely lived in," Steve remarked after having ventured through several thousand square feet of polished marble floors and pristinely white furniture. "His car is parked in the locked garage, keys on a hook by the front door. Whoever was here didn't want the car or other valuables. This guy has about a twenty thousand dollar theater system in his media room that is untouched."
"Do architects really make this much money?" Danny wondered. "I could've done that. Draw a few pictures, how hard can that be?"
"I've seen your stick figures, Danny. Trust me; you made the right career choice," Steve shook his head. "I did find this in his study," he held up a ten inch tablet computer. "I say we get it back to Chin and have him look it over." Steve was about to head for the door when his cell rang. He unconsciously smiled when he saw Catherine's name on the screen. But the case and his worry for her caused him to answer with caution, "What's wrong?"
"Why do you assume something is wrong?"
His smile returned, glad to hear her voice. "Sorry, how are you?"
"I'm Fine… hey, I know we agreed to meet tonight about that thing, but I have some time off this afternoon and was wondering if there's any chance you're free for lunch right now? If not its cool, we can take care of it later. I just figured the soon we do it, the sooner I can pack and…"
"I agree," Steve cut her off, nodding to his self. "I think I should be able to make that happen."
"Good, I'll text you the location. Bye."
He smiled again to hear the note of excitement in her voice. Steve eyed his partner as they made their way outside to the Camaro. "When we get back to HQ, would you mind if I take off for a while to meet up with Catherine? Lunch date."
"Course not. We've got no lead on Chase yet. Is everything okay with Catherine?" Danny asked.
"Yep, great," Steve sank in to the drives seat of Danny's car. But despite how much he cared about Catherine and wanted her to live with him, he grimaced a little when he got her text and noticed the location where she wanted to meet him. "She may have mentioned one tiny condition to her moving in with me."
Danny's brows arched with curiosity. He waited a moment for Steve to continue, but when he didn't Danny prodded him. "Judging by your up and down mood, I'm guessing it's not something you're too keen on? What? She demanding a new walk-in closet? Maybe a kitchen remodel? If that's the case, I'm afraid I have to agree with her. That kitchen of yours could certainly use a new fan/exhaust system for the stove."
Steve rolled his eyes. "No, it's neither of those things. It's not that big of a big deal, really. You know I just don't like change very much."
With a barely contained snicker, Danny nodded in response to Steve's comment. "Really? You don't like change? Funny, I never would've guessed that about you," he finally laughed outright. "Well, my friend, I hate to be the one to tell you this, but you're about to live with a woman full time. Get ready for some serious changes in your life."
"Right," Steve swallowed that news as he put the car in gear.
000
"I'm leaning toward this one," Catherine pointed to the one on the left.
"Are you sure about this?" Steve glanced at the two different models they'd narrowed their choice to. It had only taken them a half hour to go from fifty models down to two. But he was still very much on the fence in regard to either choice.
Catherine did her best not to be upset with him. She had sprung the idea on him less than a day ago and knew he was slow to adjust to new things, though his offer for her to move in had seemed rather spare of the moment to her. It was obvious to her that part of his rash decision was due to his worry for her safety. But she also couldn't help feel there was more than just worry behind the idea of moving in together. Catherine knew it was going to be a huge step for both of them to adjust to.
"This is the one thing I'd like to have at your place," she insisted. "It was your parent's house, your childhood home. And I think that's great, I really do. I love tradition and I love that it's right on the water which is great for surfing and for our early morning runs. But everything in that house is a part of your past, Steve," she tried to delicately get the point across without seeming needy. "I'd just really like for us to have one thing that will be ours, something for our future."
Hearing her reasoning, Steve felt awful for his reluctance and wrapped a comforting arm about her shoulder. He kissed her temple. "You're right. We should do this," Steve agreed, though he looked slightly askance at the items again. "How do we do this? Rock, paper, scissors?" he suggested.
She chuckled but shook her head. "How about a trial run?"
"You mean here? Right here in the middle of the store?" his smile was half delighted, half disbelieving.
"Easy there, big guy. Not that kind of trial," Catherine lightly swatted his shoulder. "I meant with our clothes on," she clarified, grasping his hand and walking him closer to the wood framed model. "This is my favorite," she reaffirmed her previous statement and looked to him to see if he approved or not. Catherine could read the indecisiveness still etched in the lines of his forehead. She let go of his hand, deftly pried off her uniform boots and flopped down on the bed.
Catherine curled up on her right side, resting her head against the display pillow.
Steve stood there a moment, grinning at her.
He couldn't help admire the bed, though. The headboard consisted of equally spread out wooden slates, open space between them. It was a simple, clean design with a light stain that brought out the natural grain of the wood. The bed was nice, not overly modern but cozy looking. He could see it blending in just fine in the bedroom they were about to share. But the bed didn't seem half as important as the woman currently laying in it. Steve could only think about how cute she looked laying there in the middle of the store in her uniform.
Without further prodding, Steve settled himself down beside her. He lay on his back, starring up at the horrid florescent lighting. "It feels like a bed," he declared.
"Have you always been this difficult?" Catherine asked as she inched toward him and snuggled her head against his chest. "What do you think? Honestly?"
"I think people are starting to stare at us," Steve replied, watching as a woman led her child past them with a withering glare.
"Close your eyes," Catherine said.
He turned toward her. "Have you lost your mind?"
She remained curled up beside him and reached up to gently close his eyelids with her fingers. Catherine left her hand resting gently over his eyes. "Now, imagine the sound of the ocean from the backyard," Catherine whispered in his ear. "And there's sunlight drifting in from the window behind us. We just woke up, it's a new day, birds are singing," she continued to try and paint the picture for him. "Did you sleep well in this new bed of ours?"
"Hmm, that depends…" Steve hesitated. He took her hand in his, moving it away from his eyes. His eyes remained closed, though, as he softly kissed her palm. "Did a slightly crazy, but very sexy brunette sleep next to me all night?" he asked.
"Better be me you're talking about, mister," Catherine warned in a playful tone.
"Of course, Nancy," he chirped.
"Ha…ha," she laughed dryly at his joke. "Come on, I'm trying to be serious here. What do you think about the bed?"
His eyes opened and he stared at Catherine for a long time, the rest of the store fading out of view. "I like the bed. The bed is good. Best thing about the bed is that you're in it," Steve concluded. He dipped his head a little and captured her lips with his own.
Catherine got a bit lost in the moment, savoring the sweet softness of his mouth against hers.
"A-hem," a short, stocky man with a gray suit and a bad comb-over cleared his throat. He stood at the foot of the display bed glaring at them. "Can I help you two? Are you interested in buying a bed or should I contact security?"
Steve pushed the right corner of his black t-shirt up a little to reveal his badge. "I'm Five-0."
"And I'm meant to care about that?" the man challenged. "This is a family store," he insisted.
"We'll take this one, frame and mattress set," Catherine interrupted the macho head-to-head she saw brewing. "You deliver, right?" She reluctantly pulled away from Steve, removed herself from the bed and pulled her boots back on. "Can you help us with the sale?" Catherine smiled for the man, hoping his grouchy mood would blow over.
"Heather is our lead salesperson in the furniture department, she can help you," the man waved a hand toward a young blonde standing behind the department counter. Then he scowled at them one last time before walking away.
"What's with the attitude?" Steve wondered as he took Catherine's hand and walked toward the counter.
She shrugged. "How's your case going?" Catherine immediately noticed the way his hand gripped hers a little tighter upon hearing the question. She sighed. "You know you don't have to protect me. I can handle whatever is going on. Have you found out anything more about the pictures?"
"No, but…" Steve gritted his teeth. He did want to protect her from it all, but he also knew she deserved the truth. "Billy might be lying to us about something. I'm certain his friend Martin Chase is involved in Dugan's death and I think Harrington knows something about it."
"Oh," Catherine took a deep breath. "I could talk to Billy for you," she offered. "I might be less threatening."
He attempted to muffle the groan that escaped his lips, but failed. "You don't need to be involved," the words were barely out when he noticed the way she dropped his hand. "Okay, I realize that was a dumb thing to say. You're already involved," Steve acknowledged. "I just want to make sure…"
"That I stay safe," she guessed. "We can go around like this a dozen more times if you want, Steve. But I'd rather just help you."
"Are you upset that I think Billy is involved?" he questioned.
"Not upset, just… I want to know the truth," Catherine diplomatically put it.
He nodded. "That's all I want, too."
The woman at the counter smiled upon their approach. "My supervisor says you're interested in our Hana Hou bed," she held up a thin pamphlet with the bed on the cover. "It's an excellent choice, very popular. I can process that sale for you, arrange delivery and all of that. I just need to know if you will be paying with a store credit card today or…" the woman didn't get a chance to finish when they each pulled out a credit card. "Oh, um…"
"I'm paying," Catherine told the woman.
"I should pay," Steve countered.
They turned to one another again and locked eyes. "Why should you pay?" Catherine asked in a challenging tone.
"Because the bed is going to be in my," he stopped himself, "It'll be at our place, so we should pay together?"
"Actually, I can only accept one method of payment," Heather put in.
Catherine tried not to smile. "It doesn't matter who pays for it," she said.
"But it's meant to be ours," Steve did his best to tread lightly. "So if you buy it that would make it your bed."
"Payment isn't the important factor of this purchase," she surreptitiously slipped her credit card to the sales woman as she spoke to Steve. "The process of us picking it out together is the point," Catherine explained. "This isn't going to be some sort of thing where I'm stepping on your male pride, is it? Because I happen to like your maleness."
"No, no," he raised his hands in a show of surrender, smile creeping over his face. "I can have my male pride and lie in it," Steve replied. His brow wrinkled in thought. "Or make my bed and… fall on my sword?" he shrugged. "You know what, go ahead, pay for the bed," Steve insisted. He kissed her cheek and then stepped backward. "I'm just going to be over here for a few minutes while you finish up," he pointed to some vague area of the store behind him. "Let's meet at the south entrance, okay?"
Catherine laughed, shaking her head at him. "Sounds good," she agreed.
"Your husband seems very sweet," the female clerk said as she ran Catherine's credit card.
"Oh, no… uh…" Catherine faced the woman. "He's not my… we're not married."
"Sorry, my mistake," Heather smiled. "It's just that you two remind me a lot of my sister and her husband, that cute banter thing you had going on there. Sometimes you can really see how much two people love each other," she declared. "Okay," she returned her attention to the transaction. "I just need you to fill out all of the information on this delivery page and then sign the bottom for me."
Catherine thought she might be signing her life away with all the paperwork buying a bed and mattress set entailed. She signed three things, credit receipt, delivery confirmation request and warrantee agreement. "Thank you," Catherine finally said as she finished with the sales woman. She met up with Steve at the main entrance as planned. He was standing by the automatic glass sliding doors, arms crossed and looking rather snug.
She noticed he was holding a red bag with satin handles and department store logo on it. "You've only been on your own twenty minutes, what did you buy?"
He opened the bag, looked inside and smiled. "Just a little something for our new bed," Steve said before handing it over to her.
Catherine took the bag, reached in and pulled the item half way out. She promptly stuffed it back in the bag, her eyes widened. "This is for our bed, or for you?" she had to wonder.
"That's the beauty of it," he flashed his mischievous half-smile at her. "It's for all of us to enjoy."
000
"Mission accomplished?" Danny inquired when Steve walked in to the office later that afternoon.
"Affirmative," Steve replied. He wore a goofy grin as he thought about laying on the bed with Catherine in the store. And the gift he'd bought for her. Finally shaking off those memories, he gave a curt nod and swiftly turned his attention to Chin. "What did we get off Chase's tablet? Anything?"
Chin nodded and displayed the information. "This is a contract Chase and his partner, Keith Myer, recently had drawn up. It's a bill-of-sale for a thirty-five foot Ketch called the Laule'a."
"As in, the missing boat that probably hauled Dugan out to the middle of the ocean Saturday night?" Steve guessed.
"Seems likely," Chin replied. "Myer wasn't at the office when I went to see if any of them had heard from Chase the last few days. But I contacted him at home and he said the sale was going to be finalized sometime this week. Apparently he was selling it to partially fund the buying of a larger boat. But here's the interesting thing, Myer got a call from the Ala Wai Marina on Friday night saying the Laule'a was missing."
"If Chase was buying the boat, why would he steal it?" Danny wondered.
"Doesn't matter. We need to find that boat," Steve realized. "Does Myer have GPS on it?"
"He does," Chin confirmed. "Problem is, Myer already had police search for it Saturday. They weren't able to locate it using GPS, said there was no signal broadcasting."
Steve groaned. "Chase deactivated it, just like his cell phone," his head shook in dismay. "We spoke to Myer yesterday and he never thought to mention any of this? What part of Dugan drowning and him having a missing boat didn't this guy seem to put together? We have security cameras at the Ala Wai Marina?"
"I checked them," Chin replied. "We got a grainy image of someone there that night in the vicinity of the Laule'a. Charlie is still trying to clear it up for us."
"We should check with the Coast Guard," Danny suggested.
"Already contacted them, they haven't had any sightings of the Laule'a either," Chin let them know. "Twelve hours is a long time for Dugan to have been in the water, so I created this simulation…" he tapped a few keys and soon the main view screen was filled with an image of the island. Chin zoomed in to the North Shore. "I wanted to see if I could map out the route Dugan's body took to shore, mainly to determine where it originated."
Danny never failed to be impressed by the tech savvier members of their group. "Land or water?"
"Using the time table for when Dugan's body was first spotted on shore and rewinding approximately twelve hours," Chin played the animation for them. The shore slowly disappeared, swallowed by blue ocean that spanned toward the horizon. "And factoring in the currents and wind direction that night…" the animation stalled. "Dugan's body had to have been left in this general area," Chin concluded.
"How far from shore?" Steve questioned.
"There were swift winds that night," Chin replied. "I'm showing she had to be about fifty to sixty miles off shore."
"You think Chase left the boat out there?" Danny asked.
Steve stared at the animation as it replayed. He didn't doubt Chin's ability to guess the location within a mile or so. "Chase could've had someone pick him up out there after dropping Dugan's body," he kind of hated that his first suspect for that job was Billy. "Could've had a dingy," they'd seen that scenario play out before. "Or he might've gone over the side of the boat with Dugan if she put up any sort of fight."
"Which Max didn't find evidence of," Danny pointed out.
"And if both bodies went over, wouldn't we have found his body on shore, too?" Chin questioned.
"Not if he never got a chance to reach shore," Steve replied. "That area is known for shark activity," he concluded. Steve was pretty certain one of his partners wasn't going to like what he was about to propose.
Sure enough, Danny's head shook. "Oh, no. Not going to happen, my friend."
"Chin, do you think your uncle would be willing to lend us his boat again?" Steve asked.
000
Catherine found Billy at the new office space. "I'm impressed. They've done a lot in two days," she noticed, glancing around.
None of the original design seemed to be adversely affected by the new wall placement, it all flowed naturally. Each wall was spaced evenly with the existing column spacing, partitioning off two offices and the larger tech room Billy had mentioned to her the first time she'd visited the space. "I told Steve the truth, Catherine," Billy remarked before she could say anything more. He was seated at a desk in the middle of the space, laptop open. He looked to her with expectancy.
"Am I that transparent?" she flashed a small smile but it faded quickly. "Steve didn't send me," Catherine tried to ease in to the conversation. "In fact he'd probably be a little pissed if he knew I was here talking to you about his case. But the three of us are going to have to figure this all out if I'm going to work with you."
Billy sighed and reclined in his chair, "Maybe you shouldn't."
She leaned against one of the columns a few feet away from his desk. "That would be the easy way out," Catherine agreed.
He sensed that it was not the option she was inclined to take. "I honestly don't know what Cathy was blackmailing Chase with. It doesn't seem likely to me that she would be," Billy shrugged, clearly at a loss to figure it out. "You know her, knew her," he sighed. "Cathleen was an exemplary officer."
A nod came from her. "She was," Catherine easily agreed. "But even good people can stumble. And losing her mom the way she did..."
"I know," he was quick to agree. "I know what it's like to lose a parent, which means I should've been a better friend to her, and to Marty," Harrington lamented. "Marty has been distant lately, for a few months. He used to call me at least once a week when I was on active duty. We were like brothers, shared everything. But lately he hasn't told me much about his life. I took him out to dinner Saturday night because he was leaving the next day and… I guess I thought maybe if he needed to get something off his chest he'd open up to me."
"But he didn't?" she guessed, glad that Billy was opening up a little.
"You know my mom died when I was ten," Billy watched her nod. "I was devastated by it, a lot like Dugan must have felt."
"Except you were a kid, Billy, which makes death a lot harder to cope with," Catherine sympathized.
"My dad took a new job in San Francisco to get away from the memories at home. And I was pretty lost there for a while," he recalled. "For ten years I'd only ever known a life in Seattle. I had no friends in that new place, a new school…"
"That was my life about every two years," she mentioned, still trying to be supportive.
Billy clasped his hands and leaned forward in his chair. "Marty changed everything for me. He made San Francisco feel like home. He lost his mom at a young age, too. We bonded over that," he remembered. Harrington sighed, knowing he was rambling a bit. "His family has money, Catherine. I mean a lot of it. Marty has a huge trust fund. He never would've had to work a day in his life if he didn't want to. But he loved to draw, loved to design things. Marty once told me that providing shelter for people, or giving children a school to feel safe in - a place where they could learn and grow - he said that was a thing of beauty that money couldn't buy. He had the money to give Dugan without needing repayment. And he gave her cash because that way she wouldn't have to pay taxes on it. He's a good person, Catherine. I know something is bothering him, but I also know he wouldn't hurt anyone."
"Did you tell Steve all of this?" Catherine wondered, knowing Steve would not forsake the sincere words she'd just heard from Billy.
"You know he intimidates me," Billy shook his head and lowered his gaze to the floor.
She smiled. "He does have that effect on people."
"I was a SEAL, Catherine," he looked up again, caught her eye. "I worked hard at it. I work hard at everything I do. I know Steve does as well, but there were just some aspects of that life that came easy to him. He was more than good at it. It's intimidating.
Catherine couldn't argue those facts. "If it helps, I know he puts on his pants one leg at a time just like everyone else," she tried to lighten the mood a little. But it was pretty easy to see Billy was more distressed than one small joke could release. "If you look me in the eye and tell me you didn't have anything to do with Dugan's death, if you don't know what secret Chase was hiding, and if you have no idea why those pictures of us were delivered to Steve… I'll believe you."
Harrington took a deep breath and stared into her eyes without hesitation. "There's only one secret that Marty ever kept locked down tight," he revealed.
That was not the response she'd been expecting. Catherine didn't want to believe he would protect anyone in regard to murder, even a dear friend. "You know you don't have to tell me, Billy," Catherine could see in his eyes that it had to be something important. "Only if you want to," she offered.
He nodded and made his choice in a second.
She listened intently as the details of his friend's secret poured out in an abbreviated manner. She flashed an encouraging smile for Billy. "I understand why you didn't tell Steve, but it seems like it could be something significant he'd need to know. And it shouldn't come from me," Catherine remained diplomatic on the matter.
"I'm not sure," he honestly told her. "I've been protecting Marty for a long time. I can't imagine betraying his trust. But I swear that is the only thing I've been holding back. The other stuff you mentioned about Dugan and the pictures," his head shook. "I had no part in any of that."
"I believe you," Catherine was convinced.
"You're a really good friend, Catherine. I hope you know that," Billy finally cracked a smile.
"Just remember that when you start signing my paychecks," she quipped.
000
The boat cut a meandering path through white-capped water.
A cast of golden light settled across the ocean, the sun lowering toward the west and glinting off the water's surface. By the time they'd picked up the vessel and gotten to the coordinates where Chin believed Dugan's body had been left, they were well in to the evening and losing daylight fast. "Maybe we should've contacted the Coast Guard," Danny said from his spot close to where Steve was driving the boat. "They have jurisdiction out here, not us."
"Unless we have something solid for them it doesn't make sense to call them out here," Steve replied.
"If my calculations are right," Chin glanced at the tablet he'd brought along with his animation and the coordinates. "This should be about where Dugan was dropped."
All three of them could see nothing by water on the horizon. "It's been nearly three days," Danny pointed out. "That boat could be half way to China or Russia by now."
"We've only got about a half hour left before we should turn around," Steve said. "Without daylight this is pointless."
Chin studied the horizon for another few minutes, glancing down at his computer from time to time. "West," he finally said. "Let's try further west."
A muffled hum from the engine was all they heard as the boat turned west with Steve's help and then sped forward.
Fifteen minutes later Steve and Chin were ready to call it a night, knowing the search had been a long shot at best. If the ketch had been fully rigged, the sails could've carried it just about anywhere in three days, as Danny had mentioned, and Martin Chase along with it. They shared a brief look and nodded in unison before Steve took the wheel again and began to turn them back toward shore. "We can always try again in the morning," Chin shrugged.
"Wait!" Danny shouted over the sound of the engine revving. "I think I saw something."
Steve halted his actions and the boat came to a complete stop. "Where?"
Danny pointed due west.
Their boat rocked from side to side as they slowly drifted.
"He's right," Chin abandoned his computer in favor of a set of binoculars to check out Danny's sighting. "We've got a sail boat of some sort directly west of here."
That was all Steve needed to put their boat back in motion. Within five minutes they were alongside of the sailboat. "It's the Laule'a," Chin confirmed.
The boat's royal blue hull was contrasted by three white, triangular sails which were whipping about in the wind. But the boat appeared to be anchored. Steve cut their boat's engine and he and Chin carefully tied off to the sailing vessel. "Danny, now would be a good time to contact the Coast Guard," Steve instructed as he and Chin climbed aboard the Laule'a.
"I don't like this," Chin spoke as they drew their guns and aimed in a defensive manner.
Steve led the way. "Me either," he agreed, another bad feeling brewing in his gut. They searched the narrow upper deck just by turning their heads left then right. Not seeing anything significant, Steve descended the short set of steps to the lower berth. "Damn," he grumbled as Chin came down behind him. They both stared at the very dead body of Martin Chase which was laid out on the wood planked floor.
Dried blood caked the entire left side of the man's face and a distinct smell of decay had set in. Steve holstered his weapon, pulled his t-shirt up over his nose and crouched beside the body. "Looks like a single gunshot wound to the head," he reported.
Noticing the gun in Chase's left hand, Chin sighed. "Gunshot appears to be self-inflicted. He must have killed Dugan and then himself."
That assessment didn't settle well with Steve. Following a hunch, he reached out and lifted the bottom hem of Chase's red polo shirt. "Looks like Dugan wasn't the only one who recently had some creative branding work done," he motioned for Chin to take a look.
"Same dove mark as the one Dugan had," Chin recalled, having only seen the pictures Max had taken of the brand.
"Great," Danny's voice entered their conversation as he appeared below deck. "Why is it that every time I get on a boat there's a dead guy?"
"Don't exaggerate," Steve stood and glanced around. "See if there's anything else here," he instructed.
Only a minute later Danny had something in hand. "Personal recording device," he pushed the play button on the slender metallic item.
"If you're listening to this then I couldn't live with the lie anymore. I loved Cathy too much to see her hurting so badly. That's why I extorted the money to help her. I encouraged the contractor we worked with on the Middlehern building to make some serious cost cutting changes that would weaken the structural integrity. It was enough money for Cathy to pay off a large sum of the medical bills. But she found out I'd altered her structural work on the project. She threatened to tell Myer and…"
The three men stared at the device a little longer, willing it to say something more.
"I guess that's it," Chin was first to break the silence.
"Is it?" Steve wondered.
"His inflection was certainly defeated," Danny noted.
Not entirely convinced, Steve noticed something white peeking out from a draw across the lower deck. He walked forward, stepping carefully over the body. Steve opened the drawer and pulled out a white envelope. Inside he found pictures, copies of the same ones that had been delivered to him on Sunday. "Chase took these pictures?" he thought about that possibility out loud. "Why?"
"Maybe to shift the blame to Harrington," Chin suggested. "We know the pictures were taken after Dugan's death. If he was in love with Dugan, Billy's ex-girlfriend, then maybe he figured he could make Dugan's death look like it was Billy's fault. By sending you the pictures he gets you upset enough to go after Billy."
Steve continued to ponder it all. "Dugan must have been the one at Chase's place searching for the drawings, evidence of what he'd done. Chase showed up, surprised her, drugged her, took her to the boat he was about to buy. He tossed her overboard. Then went home and tried to think of a way to cover up what he'd done."
"But he loved her," Chin added. "They must've gotten those dove markings at the same time," he guessed. "Some sort of romantic gesture."
"He did admit to loving her on the recording," Danny recalled. "So maybe he felt guilty for killing her, and guilty for trying to set up Billy to take the fall," he kept the ball rolling. "He went back out to the general area where he dumped Dugan and decided to end his life."
"That really is it then," Chin thought it seemed clear enough.
Their team leader still wasn't as convinced as them. "I don't know," Steve kept staring at the pictures in his hands and at the dove brand on Chase's back. "Something about this Romeo and Juliette ending just doesn't feel right to me."
"Let me guess… your gut?" Danny asked.
"My gut," Steve nodded.
To be continued…