Death Runs Adrift (The Gray Whale Inn Mysteries) by Karen MacInerney Page B

“Still, obviously they think someone did him in. Did Tania say anything about who she thinks might have killed him?”
    “No, but she told me the detective wanted to know a lot about Adam. I guess he’s the only one they have to go on.”
    “I hope his name is cleared quickly.” I tucked the phone between my shoulder and my chin as I opened the fridge and checked to be sure I had enough eggs. Although the sauce wouldn’t be made until the last minute, I wanted to be sure I wouldn’t be caught short. “Shouldn’t be hard. I can’t imagine Adam hurting anyone.”
    “I wouldn’t think so, either,” Charlene said, “but apparently things aren’t looking too good.”
    I almost dropped the eggs. “What do you mean?”
    “Tania said Derek and Adam had a run-in about a week back.”
    I wasn’t sure I wanted to know, but I had to ask. “What did he say?”
    “Adam seemed to think Derek had been taking out his boat without asking permission.”
    Just what Fred had said down at the store. “Did Tania confirm that?”
    Charlene sighed. “Tania didn’t know for sure, but she does know he left to do ‘errands’ at night a couple of times and wouldn’t say where he was going.”
    “Adam must have had some pretty solid evidence to lose his temper like that. He’s usually so easy-going.”
    “Derek was reportedly running the lobster boat with its lights off, and had almost run over someone on a skiff.”
    “How did he know it was Derek?” I asked.
    “One of the lobstermen saw him rowing a dinghy back to shore the night it happened, and whoever he tried to run over said he saw the boat’s name—it was the Carpe Diem .”
    Adam’s boat, I thought, feeling sick.
    “They tracked Adam down and filed a complaint with the police in Southwest Harbor,” Charlene continued.
    “No wonder Adam fired Derek.”
    “He didn’t just fire him.” I didn’t like the foreboding sound of Charlene’s voice.
    I remembered what Fred had told me down at the store, and cringed. “What else did he do?”
    “He threatened to kill him if he set foot on the Carpe Diem again.”

five
    I tightened both hands and realized I was still standing in the middle of the kitchen with a carton of eggs in my hands. I set them down before I damaged them, and groaned. If Adam was going to threaten somebody, why did he have to do it in front of half the island?
    “I hope he has an alibi,” Charlene said. “Does anyone know when Derek died, yet?”
    “Not that I know of. And even if they did, I’m guessing they wouldn’t tell me.”
    “Maybe we’re worrying too much,” Charlene suggested. “After all, they didn’t arrest him.”
    “They haven’t even finished the autopsy yet, Charlene.”
    “That’s right,” she mused. “Maybe he died of natural causes after all.”
    “He didn’t,” I said, looking out at the mountains beyond the serene blue water and wishing I felt as calm as the scene outside looked.
    “How do you know?”
    “I’m not supposed to say anything, but it was pretty obvious what had happened.” I told her how I’d found him.
    “Did you notice anything else?”
    “There was a note in his hand. He was supposed to be meeting someone named ‘T.’”
    “Tania?”
    “I don’t know,” I said. “I’ve been asking myself that question all afternoon.” As I gripped the phone, I glanced out the window toward the island. Beryl and Agnes were walking down the road toward the inn. “My guests are back from the mail boat,” I told Charlene. “I’ve got to run.”
    “Now you have me worried.”
    “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to do that.”
    She sighed. “Call me if you hear anything.”
    “Of course,” I said, hanging up the phone and reaching for a bottle of wine and a box of crackers. Murder or no murder, I still had guests to feed.
    _____
    “How did your trip go?” I asked as I walked into the parlor carrying a tray laden with Irish cheddar, water crackers, and a bottle of Merlot. The room was