Lin opened the back door, let the dog out, and stepped onto the deck. Cloud cover hid the moon and stars making the yard unusually dark. She sucked in a long deep breath and sat in one of the chairs.
How could she have been so wrong about the killer? Everything seemed to fit. A wave of guilt washed over her. It had been easy to suspect Leonard. The way he looked and his poor social skills made Lin uncomfortable and she always wanted to get away from him, but those things didn’t make him a murderer. She’d been too quick to jump to conclusions.
Lin looked out over the yard. “Nick?” She stood and walked down onto the grass where she called the dog’s name again.
Bits and pieces of information flashed in Lin’s mind like tiny sparks. Leonard had said that he wanted to tell her something, he’d said he was in trouble. He looked like he’d been in a fight. Other thoughts sparked in her brain and her mouth dropped open in realization.
Just about every time the ghost had appeared, one particular person was present. Lin closed her eyes. Everything aligned and pointed to one person. My God. How did I miss it? I know who killed Greg Hammond.
Nicky’s insistent whine from behind the shed shook Lin to attention. A man’s moan floated on the air. Flickers of anxiety pulsed down her back as Lin rushed to where the sounds were coming from. Rounding the corner of the shed, Lin saw Nicky standing over a man who lay on the ground face-up.
Lin moved closer. She could see blood on the man’s face and chest. Leonard. She reached wildly for her phone, but when she shoved her hand into her pajama pocket, it was empty. She let out a curse.
Lin leaned closer to the man and whispered his name. As she reached her hand towards Leonard, cold air surrounded her and something caught her eye to the left.
The ghost. His eyes were wide. With a swoop of his arm, he pointed behind her.
Lin sensed movement. She hit the ground and rolled to the side narrowly missing being struck from behind. Leaping to her feet, she faced Bill Ward. He held a knife in his hand.
“You.” Lin sucked in a breath. “You greedy monster.”
“Save it.” Bill spat out the words and slowly circled preparing to lunge.
Having just arrived home, Viv stepped from the back door of the house and scanned the yard looking for her cousin. “Lin?”
Lin yelled, never taking her eyes from Bill Ward and his silver knife. “Stay inside, Viv. Call the police. Lock the door.”
Bill rushed at Lin holding the knife in his right hand like a spear. Lin side-stepped to her left which made the force of the man’s swing less effective, the thrust of the knife less powerful. She brought her right forearm up like a shield. The knife grazed her arm. Lin spun around and using the whole sole of her foot, she kicked Bill in the back of his leg.
Just as the man’s knee buckled, Nicky jumped up and chomped into Bill’s leg. At the same moment, the dark gray cat leaped through the air from the top of the shed. The snarling feline sank her claws into the man’s shoulders and her fangs bit into his neck. Her back legs ripped through the assailant’s shirt and into his skin.
Bill screamed and lost his balance. The knife fell from his hand and hit the ground with a thud. While the cat and dog continued their attack, Lin kicked out and the blade scuttled across the lawn out of Bill’s reach.
Viv rushed off the deck and into the yard, wielding the fireplace poker like a spear. Her chest heaving, Lin saw her cousin running towards Bill like a banshee. She couldn’t help a tiny smile from spreading over her lips.
The letdown from the sudden release of adrenaline in her body caused an enormous flood of fatigue to wash over Lin. Then she burst into tears.
Chapter 23
Lin, Jeff, Viv, and John sat in beach chairs overlooking the ocean. Lin pushed her toes under the warm, soft white sand and rested her head against the chair back. The four had spent an hour body-surfing and floating on the waves and were now warming themselves under the late June sun. Viv had packed the cooler with roasted chicken, pasta salad, crusty Italian bread, and yogurt and fruit parfaits layered in little plastic cups. It was a chance for everyone to relax and enjoy the warm, summer day after the strange events of the past few weeks.
“So, fill in the details for us.” Jeff sipped from a can of seltzer.
Viv groaned. “I don’t want to talk about it anymore. I’m just glad it’s over and things can get back to normal.”
Lin sat up in her chair and adjusted her sunglasses. “I’ll tell you about it. Where should I start?”
“At the beginning.” John smiled. “I leave the island for a week and everything is solved when I get back.”
Lin stretched her legs out over the sand. “Bill Ward was stealing from Hammond Landscaping for years. His wife was the bookkeeper and she doctored the stats to make it seem that, over a few years time, the company was sliding into financial trouble.”
“How convenient that Bill Ward’s wife was a bookkeeper.” John shook his head.
Lin continued. “Recently the speed of the embezzling picked up. Hammond was frantic about the rapid loss of money. He’d been reading histories of the island for years and he believed the stories that said Sebastian Coffin had hidden valuables on his property. If Greg could get his hands on those valuables then his financial troubles would have been over.”
Viv sighed. “That’s when he started his pursuit of my house.”
“Leonard told the police that Greg talked to him about his concern that someone in the company was stealing from him,” Lin said. “Greg always talked about the island stories and history with Leonard. Leonard thought that looking for pirate’s treasure at Viv’s house was folly, but he humored Greg.”
Even though Viv had said she didn’t want to talk about the whole mess, she was drawn into the telling of the story. “Greg told Leonard that he suspected Bill of embezzling. Bill revealed to the police that he’d overheard Greg making accusations against him and that he had no choice but to kill Greg in order to silence him. Bill used his scuba equipment to approach Greg’s boat in the water early that morning. That way no one saw him on the docks.”
“I’m ashamed that I jumped to the idea that Leonard was the killer.” Lin frowned. “He came into town twice to tell me that Bill was stealing and that he’d probably killed Greg. Leonard was trying to do the right thing and I just thought he was harassing me.”
Jeff reached over and took Lin’s hand.
Viv put on a sun hat. “The night we heard noises outside and saw a man in the bushes, it was Leonard and Bill having a fight. Leonard followed us home from town that evening. He came to the house to try to tell Lin what he knew, but he saw Bill in the yard. Bill was trying to break into the shed to hunt for the valuables Greg claimed were hidden there, but Leonard confronted him about the embezzling and the fight broke out.”
“Leonard pulled out a switchblade and Bill took off. Leonard rang the doorbell, but we didn’t answer. Turns out, he had a concussion from the fight. He ended up collapsing in the bushes on the edge of Viv’s yard.”
“Leonard had been hiding out after the fight. He knew Bill would try to kill him. That last evening, Leonard returned to Viv’s house after trying to talk to me on the sidewalk.” Lin rubbed her forehead. “Bill had been hunting for Leonard since they fought the day before. Bill tailed him to Viv’s and attacked him in the yard. That’s when I went outside with the dog and found Leonard hurt behind the shed.”
“Lucky the animals were so determined to protect you. They were a big help.” Jeff squeezed Lin’s hand. “But I think all the bending and squatting you’ve been doing in the gardens has strengthened your legs and made you quick and that helped you take Bill down.”