(2003) Deep Waters by Jayne Ann Krentz

Author:Jayne Ann Krentz [Krentz, Jayne Ann]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Contemporary Romance
ISBN: 9780671524203
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Published: 2003-06-03T21:36:01.379000+00:00

10

The sea tastes as salty as blood. Life depends on both.

—“On the Way of Water,” from the journal of Hayden Stone

Hank Tybern glanced at his notes through a pair of reading glasses that rode low on his nose. “Let me see if I’ve got this straight. You went to Rick Swinton’s motor home shortly after eleven. Saw an unidentified woman leaving—” He broke off and looked at Elias across the desk. “You’re sure you don’t know who it was?”

Charity held her breath. Thus far Elias had done all the talking. She had to admit that the interview had gone very smoothly. As smooth as the surface of an untroubled pond.

“Positive,” Elias said. “The hood of her jacket was pulled up to cover her head. The only reason we could tell that it was a woman was because of the way she moved. Although the fact that she was coming from Swinton’s trailer was also a strong hint.”

Hank grimaced. “Yeah, I’ve heard the rumors about his womanizing. Okay, so you checked inside the motor home to see if Swinton was there, and then you went back to where the cars were parked on the bluff to find Newlin. You heard the screams and took off with the others to see what had happened. Joined the crowd in front of Gwendolyn Pitt’s motor home, went inside, and saw the body. That about it?”

“That’s it,” Elias said easily. “Charity and I were together the entire time.”

“Fine. It doesn’t help me out a lot, but that’s not your problem.” Hank’s wooden chair squeaked as he settled back into it. “Anything else about the murder scene, itself, that you noticed which you think might be helpful?”

Elias reflected briefly. “I think I told you everything. Swinton was there ahead of me. He was crouched on the floor near the body. The Voyagers who had accompanied him were standing outside together with some other people. That empty tape player in the drawer was the only thing that caught my eye.”

Startled, Charity broke her silence. “What empty tape player?”

It was Tybern who answered. “Found it in a half-open drawer. Doesn’t mean much because there was no tape in it. Apparently Gwendolyn Pitt routinely recorded her business meetings. We found a box of tapes, but I doubt if they’ll be of much use.”

Charity frowned. “I suppose it would have been too much to hope that she had taped her own murder.”

“Afraid so.” Tybern smiled wryly. “No one ever makes things easy for the people who have to clean up the mess. Well, that’s my job. To clean it up. Meanwhile, now that we’ve taken care of the formalities, I’d like to say thanks on behalf of a lot of people, Winters.”

“Forget it,” Elias said.

Charity glanced at him. “What did you do?”

Hank raised his brows. “Don’t you know? Thanks to Winters, the Voyagers are going to get back most of their money.”

“What are you talking about?” Charity demanded.

Elias shrugged. “Let’s just say that Rick Swinton decided to make amends.”

“I don’t believe that for one minute,” Charity said.

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