“Nice work.” Luke whistled as he flipped through the photos. “I know this boat, as a matter of fact. It’s the Devil May Care, and it belongs to the inn. They rent it to guests.”
“Really. So someone at the inn rented this boat and came all the way out here to shoot up the Bloodshot Eyeball. What the hell?”
Jack could hear the undercurrent of irritation in her voice, and figured her head must be hurting. “Let’s head to the inn and see what we can learn. Maybe get you an aspirin while we’re there.”
When she didn’t argue, he knew the pain must be pretty bad.
“Chad Gridley should have all the details,” said Luke. “He’s the marina manager. I’ll finish up interviewing everyone here. Let me know if you learn anything from Chad.”
“Call the Coast Guard too. We need to find that boat.”
“On it.”
“One more thing.” Tina fished in her pocket and pulled out a bullet with a napkin wrapped around it. Jack gaped at it. When had she had time to collect a bullet? She was sincerely impressive. “Send this to the Harbortown PD and they’ll have ballistics test it. I would, but I’m on vacation and I’ll just get yelled at.”
“Some vacation, huh?” Luke shook his head, then looked from Tina to Jack. “Sorry your Sea Smoke getaway included a shootout. That’s not normal around here.”
Jack didn’t bother to correct Luke’s assumption that he and Tina were a couple. He didn’t have to, because Tina jumped on it like a lion on a gazelle.
“Oh no, we’re not here together,” she said quickly. “We met here. I mean, we’re not together here either. Of course, we are standing here together on this dock, but that’s where it ends. Not that there’s anything to end, because it never began.”
Luke shot Jack a confused glance, to which Jack waved vaguely at the bump on Tina’s head. “Potential head injury.” Some devilish impulse made him add, “We should get back to the Honeymoon Suite.”
“Which is where he’s staying, not me.” Tina gestured at Jack, then winced as she realized she’d used her injured arm.
“Drive nice and slow,” Luke warned them as Jack steered Tina off the dock. She didn’t resist; it was all catching up to her now. Beads of sweat dotted her face.
“Seems like a good guy,” he murmured to Tina. “I don’t remember there being a constable back in my day.”
“Did you know Luke then?”
“No. I didn’t hang out with the Carmichaels, we were just lowly West enders. He’s right about the drive. You’re lucky that I probably have the best shocks of any vehicle on this island. But getting across the sandbar won’t be fun.”
She endured the journey with gritted teeth, but she was several shades more pale by the time they reached the inn. Word had already spread about the shooting, and as they pulled up as close to the front entrance as he could get, a tall woman in a blazer and a blunt red bob hurried toward them.
“How are you feeling, Officer Chen?” She looked at Jack. “I’m Judy Griffin, the manager here. What do you need? What does she need? We hear she was quite the hero today.”
“I can speak for myself,” Tina grumbled, even though she waited for Jack to help her out of the cab of his truck. “A hot bath would help, and about a bottle of Tylenol. I need some antibiotic ointment for this arm, a large bandage, and I’d like to talk to…”
“Chad Gridley.” Jack filled in the name when Tina drew a blank. “The marina manager.”
“Chad? I’m sorry, but Chad’s out today. It’s his day off.”
“Who fills in when he’s gone?” Tina asked, as they all moved toward the entrance.
“One of the groundskeepers, usually, but we didn’t have any bookings today so no one filled in.”
Tina waved her hands in the air, then winced and held her left hand against her body. “You’re saying no one was monitoring the marina today?”
“It happens on occasion, especially since we’re past the peak season.” They all stepped inside the elegant foyer, which always felt to Jack like a throwback to Colonial days with its creaky polished floors, as if Paul Revere might come thundering through on a horse.
Tina looked like she wanted to argue, but Jack decided it was time for some executive decisions. “We’re going up to the Honeymoon Suite. Please have everything Officer Chen requested sent there. If you would be so kind as to call Chad on his day off, route him through to us, and we’ll talk to him on the phone.”
“Yes, sir.”
Judy hurried off to tend to those orders. Tina opened her mouth to object.
“Bigger bathtub,” he explained, causing her to drop her protest.
