I sat back in my chair.The picture was coming into focus, and it wasn’t pretty.
Gil Moran had been taking the Pacific Lady into restricted waters, fishing illegally, and selling the catch.He’d been doing it solo, on days when Eddie wasn’t on the boat.The catches were bigger because protected waters were teeming with crab that nobody else was allowed to touch.That’s where the money was coming from.Not savings.Not investments.Illegal catch from a marine reserve.
And maybe Eddie had found out.Rosa had said Eddie wasn’t sleeping, that he’d been upset about something with Gil.At some point, Eddie must have checked the GPS himself and seen the same thing I was seeing now: coordinates in protected waters on days he knew he hadn’t been on the boat.
Maybe Eddie had confronted Gil.Perhaps that was what the fight had been about.Not the affair with Tess, although that might have added fuel to the fire.It made more sense, though, that the real issue, the thing that was keeping Eddie up at night and making him cold on the phone with Gil, was that his partner and lifelong friend was breaking the law with their shared boat.
Gil had endangered all that Eddie and he had built.If Gil had been caught, he wouldn’t be the only one going down.Eddie would have taken the fall with him.Eddie wouldn’t have let that slide.He’d have wanted to do the right thing.He’d have wanted to protect his name, reputation, and his family’s livelihood.
The question was what happened next.Maybe Eddie threatened to report Gil.That gave Gil a motive.If Eddie reported the poaching, Gil would lose his fishing license, face criminal charges, and the partnership would be destroyed.Gil’s life would be destroyed.
What was confusing was that Eddie’s death had damaged Gil anyway.He’d lost access to the boat, the permits, everything.Would a man running a profitable poaching operation destroy his own infrastructure?I supposed if Eddie was threatening to report him, Gil wouldn’t have had anything to lose.If Eddie had turned him in, he’d have lost everything anyway.
With Eddie out of the way, now Gil could buy the boat from Rosa with his ill-gotten gains and keep doing what he’d been doing.Before long, he’d have recouped what he spent buying the boat.He’d be flush with cash again, and Eddie wouldn’t be around to ruin the fun.Gil would be home free to rake in as much money as he wanted, and no one would be the wiser.
But then Spencer had started asking questions.Even if Spencer had thought he was being subtle, it was possible Gil had realized he’d said too much to him that night at the Rusty Anchor.Had he gone after Spencer to make sure he didn’t share what he’d heard with anyone else?
I had to talk to Gil.Had to see his car and check if there was any visible damage to it.If he thought Spencer was a threat, I couldn’t just let him run loose.He might try again to silence Spencer.
One thing that kept nagging at me, though, was why Craig had said Eddie was sleeping with Tess.Had he just made that up, or had she lied to protect Gil?One of them was lying.That didn’t make either of them killers, though.
I poured over all the paperwork and GPS information for the next four hours, looking for any details I might have missed.Eventually, my brain was overloaded, and I closed the case file and turned off my desk lamp.It was almost 10:00 p.m.Spencer was probably asleep.I wanted to go by his place to check on him, but felt guilty about Scout.I’d left him alone yesterday and all night.
Spencer was probably fine.He was a grown man, and he didn’t need me to babysit him.Scout, however, actually did need me.So I left my office and went home to my lonely dog.Tomorrow, I’d pick up where I’d left off.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Spencer
I lasted four days before I caved.
Four days of lying on the couch, shuffling to the kitchen for food, lying on the couch again.Four days of minding my own business, watching daytime television, and taking my pain pills as the same four walls closed in.The cuts and bruising on my face had faded, and my ribs were better.Not good, but better.I could breathe without wincing and walk without limping too badly.The headaches from the concussion had faded to a dull pressure behind my eyes that I could mostly ignore.
Declan texted me every day and had dropped by twice.He’d been warm but distracted because of the homicide case.He’d spent the night once, and we’d had a great time together, but most of the four days I’d spent alone.
And I couldn’t take it anymore.
I needed to be around people.I needed food that wasn’t from a can.Something along the lines of greasy fried fish and chips.I’d even skipped my pain pills for the day so I could have a beer.I texted Declan around 6:00 p.m.to tell him I was going to the Rusty Anchor for dinner.I hinted I hoped he’d join me, but I didn’t have much hope because I knew he was busy with the case.He hadn’t responded to my text.
I pocketed my phone, carefully pulled on my jacket, and walked out to my light green Honda Civic.I usually walked to the Rusty Anchor, but took pity on my aching body and drove instead.I only planned on having one beer, so it wouldn’t be a problem.I hadn’t driven my car in a while and was happy when it started right up.
The Rusty Anchor parking lot was half full.As I parked, I noticed Gil’s truck nearby.I casually strolled past it, even though it was out of the way, and glanced at the front bumper.It was clean.No dents, no scrapes, no damage.I felt a wave of relief I hadn’t been expecting.I’d been carrying the suspicion that Gil had been behind the wheel that night, and seeing his truck in one piece took some weight off my shoulders.Maybe it really had been a drunk driver who’d hit me.
Inside, the bar was its usual weeknight self.A dozen regulars spread around the room.The jukebox played something by Fleetwood Mac.After being cooped up at my place for so long, the smell of fryer oil and beer was welcome.It felt good to be back in a space that wasn’t my living room.I had to smile when I saw Gil sitting at the bar.Same stool as always.He had a beer in front of him, and he looked tired but more sober than the last time I’d seen him.He nodded when I came in.
“Hey, Spencer.”He sounded friendly.“Heard you got banged up.You doing okay?”
“Getting there.”I eased onto a stool a couple over.“I had to get out of the house.I was going stir-crazy.”
His sharp blue eyes were empathetic.“Glad you’re all right, man.Hit and run is some scary shit.”
“Yeah, it wasn’t fun.”
Tess was behind the bar.She gave me a smile as she set a coaster in front of me.“You’re back.It’s been a while.I’ll bet you could use a beer.”
I smiled.“You read my mind.”
She went to pull me a draft of my usual.When she returned, she said, “This one’s on the house.Welcome back.”
