Death by Drowning

Author:Abigail Keam [Keam, Abigail]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Suspense, Usernet, C429, Kat, Extratorrents
ISBN: 9780615429083
Publisher: Worker Bee Press
Published: 2011-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

14

Late next morning, Jake and I “borrowed” Lady Elsmere’s boat again. It was the first day of the Butterfly tour, so I figured she would be too busy to notice its absence. Besides, I wanted out of the house. I didn’t want to watch people snoop at my things or gape at me. I left the house in the capable hands of Charles, Lady Elsmere’s butler, and his middle-aged daughters, Bess and Amelia.

Jake had procured a guide map of the river, so Jamie’s movements on that fateful night could be retraced from the police report. Charles, loving the fact that we were pinching his boss’s boat, donated a picnic basket, full of tasty delights with an ice chest full of cold drinks including little baby bottles of champagne.

Franklin, having eavesdropped on our plans the night before, showed up dressed in canvas deck shoes, white cotton pants with a navy stripe down the side, matching navy sailor’s shirt and a dandy little red hat. Of course, he brought Baby with him. It took both Franklin and Jake to carry Baby onto the boat.

Irritated for some reason that Franklin had crashed our outing, Jake told Franklin that he would have to mind Baby. As if to impress Franklin with the importance of our mission, Jake jerked his Glock out from his shoulder holster, dropping the clip and then reinserting it with a manly thrust.

In response, Franklin whipped out his binoculars and scanned the riverbanks.

Ignoring them both, Baby went to sleep as I sat on the backbench going through the basket to see what there was to eat.

Starting down the river, Jake put Merle Haggard’s Greatest Hits, which he had pulled from CDs scattered around the captain’s chair, in the CD player. Franklin groaned, “Got any Gwen Stefani?”

Stuffing my mouth full of crustless cucumber and cream cheese sandwiches, I opened the report on Jamie’s death and read the details out loud while Jake scoured the river map trying to find the landmarks mentioned in the report.

“Like old times,” commented Franklin, putting his arm around me and giving a hug. “The three of us on a boat.”

“Hardly like Key West,” I said. “But I wouldn’t want to miss this. Spring in Kentucky is beautiful.”

All the wild dogwoods were in full bloom and, like an impressionist painter’s palette, the limestone cliffs were dotted with green and white.

“We’re here,” Jake said, pointing to the map. Tracing his finger along the map, “There is Silver Creek Vineyard, Firstvineyard, and then according to the report, we follow the river to Lock 8 where Jamie’s body was found washed up on the north side of the river. Golden Sun Vineyard is located west of where the body was found.”

He read the Kentucky River Guide brochure. “According to this,” Jake quoted, “A Jean Dufour selected land belonging to a John Hazlerigg and started the first commercial vineyard and winery in the United States, 1799. The company was named Firstvineyard. In 1804 he shipped two kegs to President Jefferson. A spring frost killed all the grape vines in 1809 and Dufour closed the winery and moved to Indiana.

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