“Could it be a child ghost?” asked Helen. “They brushed their fingers on you when they passed.”

  “No, it’s not a child. Doesn’t feel like a ghost at all.” The yacht shifted beneath us and I grabbed hold of the rail.

  “Let’s get off here,” said Helen. “Whatever it is, none of us like it. I’m just grateful I didn’t eat anything before we came out.”

  “Me too.” Even my stomach was unsettled. I gave the sea one final appreciative glance. As I did, I felt an icy cold shove on my back. I lost my grip on the railing and pitched over the side of the yacht.

  Chapter 8

  It was like my nightmare had just come true in horrifying technicolor. The water was icy cold as I plunged in and I repressed the urge to scream as my head went under.

  I broke the surface and gasped, flailing around and trying to grab hold of something to keep me from going under again. The drop from the top deck must be twenty feet, and I felt my skin tingling from the impact of the water.

  Helen’s anxious looking face appeared over the side of the yacht. “You okay?”

  “No! I got shoved overboard.” I took a few calming deep breaths. Despite the shock, I wasn’t hurt, just a little winded from hitting the water. But the sea had barely a ripple on it, and I was a decent swimmer. I wasn’t in any danger.

  “Anything I can do to help?” yelled Helen.

  I saw Flipper next to her, getting ready to jump in and be a hero dog. “Grab hold of him and make sure he doesn’t come in. I can get myself out.”

  “I’ll find an inflatable to throw you,” said Helen, as she hauled Flipper away from the edge of the yacht. A few seconds later, a red float appeared, and I grabbed hold of it.

  Now I had the float, I was less panicked and just felt stupidly embarrassed. I spotted a ladder next to the mooring and waved at Helen before pointing to the ladder and kicking through the water.

  I’d almost reached the ladder, when something huge and gray flew through the air, off the side of the jetty, and landed next to me.

  I screamed and spluttered, almost losing my grip on the float, before coming face to face with an enormous husky. The dog grabbed hold of my collar and dragged me toward the jetty.

  A few seconds later, the curly haired woman I’d seen at the Carlisles’ house with the dog stenciled van appeared. “Saw you fall and thought you might need help.”

  “I’m okay.” I petted the husky, hoping he’d let me go.

  “Brutus is trained in search and rescue. He almost yanked my arm off when he saw you go overboard. I couldn’t have stopped him saving you if I’d wanted to. It’s in his blood to help people.”

  We reached the ladder. Brutus remained in the water as I slowly climbed up. “Well, thanks for rescuing me. It was a shock pitching over like that.”

  Brutus leapt onto the jetty and showered us both with seawater as he shook his fur.

  Helen hurried over, with Flipper by her side and a large fluffy pink towel over her arm.

  “Did someone push you in?” The woman cast a suspicious glance at Helen.

  “No! I must have tripped.” I shot Helen a warning look not to say anything about ghosts as I took the towel from her.

  “Really?” The woman looked up at the side of the yacht. “Must have been quite some trip to go straight over the railings like that.”

  “I am accident prone.” I rubbed my hair with the towel. “I’m Lorna, by the way. Just started working here.”

  “Taylor,” said the woman.

  “I saw you yesterday,” I said. “Were you at the Carlisle house?”

  She smiled at me. “That’s right. Mrs. Carlisle is interested in getting a new dog. I’m known around the village because I train dogs and own a few. Brutus is one of six dogs.”

  “That’s a lot of dogs,” said Helen.

  “I find them more faithful than men,” said Taylor. “And they’re so easy to train. Again, more so than men.” She petted Brutus on the head.

  I grinned at her. “Can’t argue with that.”

  “And who’s this?” Taylor looked at Flipper.

  “He’s mine,” I said and made the introductions. “Oh, and this is Helen.”

  Helen scowled at me, but she was used to me putting Flipper before her. Taylor smiled at Helen as she petted Flipper. “He’s a handsome boy.”

  “And he knows it,” I said.

  Taylor grinned at me as she stood. “They always do. I think I have my dogs well-trained, but they’ve got me wrapped around their paws. I’ve devoted my life to them. But they make me happy.”

  I liked Taylor. Anyone as obsessed with their animals as I am was all right in my books.

  “Well, I must go. I’ve got dog walks to do. And I’m spending the afternoon with a six-month-old puppy, teaching him the delights of how to sit and stay.”

  “Thanks again for saving me,” I said, as I waved her and Brutus goodbye.

  “Are you sure you’re okay?” asked Helen, once Taylor was out of earshot. “You didn’t trip, did you?”

  “I didn’t. And it wasn’t someone living who shoved me in either.” I wrung water out of my hair. “Felt like I got shoved in the back.”

  “I said it was the ghost of a child on the yacht,” said Helen.

  “But no one’s mentioned a child. I was expecting to find Blake’s ghost here. A ghost child will complicate things.”

  The sound of running footsteps made me look up. It was Marcus and Honey barrelling toward us.

  “Everything okay?” asked Marcus, as he stopped by my side.

  “Everything’s fine.” I rubbed my hands over my sodden clothes. “Just had an accident.”

  “That was quite a fall.” Honey turned her wide eyes to the yacht. “And it’s the same place Blake fell overboard.”

  “It was?” I looked back at the yacht. “Blake fell from that exact spot?”

  “Well, close enough,” said Marcus. “No one saw him fall, but that’s where the police think he fell over. They found smeared prints, as if he’d tried to cling to the railing but couldn’t get back on board.”

  “But it was easy to get out from where I fell in,” I said. “Even without the help of the float and that dog, I could swim to the ladder. It’s no distance.”

  “Not so easy in the middle of the night if you’ve been drinking,” said Marcus, his hands hovering over me and his forehead wrinkled. “We need to get you some dry clothes. You look a fright.”

  “I’m okay,” I said. “Better get back to the house and get changed.”

  “I insist,” said Marcus. “We keep clothes on the yacht. I’ll have you dried in an instant.”

  Reluctantly, I followed Marcus back on board. I wasn’t so sure about being on the deck after what had just happened. I looked around carefully, but couldn’t see any sign of my ghostly attacker.

  “Get changed below deck,” said Marcus, as he reappeared and handed me two more clean towels. “I’ve laid out clothes for you.”

  Despite his officiousness, I appreciated Marcus’s help. I headed below deck, washed the salt out of my hair and then changed into the clothes. Marcus had selected a cream sleeveless dress and pale pink short-sleeved cardigan for me. It was more the sort of thing Helen would wear, but all I cared about was that it was dry.

  When I returned to the living area, Marcus had made tea for everyone, and I could smell toast. My stomach grumbled.

  He smiled at me and ran an appreciative gaze over my outfit. “Looks like it was made for you. Join us; none of us have had any breakfast. There’s plenty of food on board.”

  I accepted a cup of tea from him as I sat at the table where Honey and Helen were sitting, happily munching on toast.

  “What made you both come to the yacht so early?” asked Marcus. Flipper followed him around as he made more toast, no doubt hoping to get some of his own, all thoughts of his upset stomach seeming to have gone. Nothing stopped Flipper when there was the opportunity to grab food.

  “Oh, just wanted another look around,” I said.

  “I’m the same,” said Marcus. “Love it here. I brought Honey along because there’s a cleaning job going at the club I thought she might be good at.”

  Honey snitched her nose. “I’m not ready to leave the house just yet.”

  I smiled at Honey. “You didn’t get the chance to tell me what you and Blake were working on last night.”

  Honey placed her cup down. “After I left college, I struggled to get a job. Blake was kind enough to offer me work experience. He paid me and gave me a room in the house. He was showing me how the business operated. I was learning a lot.”

  “Are you planning on staying on?” asked Helen, shooting me a knowing look. “Work under Julianne instead?”

  “She hates me,” said Honey. “She’ll be glad when I’m gone. And I’ll go as soon as I can, but I have nowhere to live. I’m looking around, but everything is so expensive here. Might move further away. But I’ve grown to love the place. I’ll be sad to leave.”

  “I’m sure Julianne doesn’t hate you,” I said. “She’ll give you time before you have to move out.”

  “You saw how she treated me yesterday,” said Honey. “And now Blake’s gone, she’s got me doing domestic work rather than learning about the business. I’ll be getting out as soon as I can afford to.”

  Marcus hurried over from the kitchen with a plate of toast and a fresh pot of tea. “Julianne has old-fashioned values when it comes to running the business. She prefers men to be in charge.”

  “Which is why she wants me to look at the accounts.” I shook my head as I helped myself to toast.

  “Well, that is all rather odd,” said Marcus, his eyebrows shooting up. “I’m sure she’s still grieving after losing Blake. She’s made some strange decisions recently.”

  “You consider me to be a strange decision?”

  “Oh, no! I didn’t mean that. I’m sure you’re excellent at what you do.” Marcus dashed away before bringing back a tray of preserves. “It’s just that, well, Blake was grooming me to take over the business.”

  “Is that so?”

  “Absolutely,” said Marcus, as he sat next to Honey. “They don’t have children and he was looking for someone to carry on his excellent work. He knew I could be relied upon.”

  “He couldn’t have been thinking of retiring,” said Helen. “How old was he?”

  “Only a few years older than Julianne,” said Honey. “He was in his early forties. And he wasn’t talking about retiring. He loved Firefly Vineyard. I always imagined he’d be working there until he was old and gray.” She sniffed and her gaze dropped.

  “So, if he was going to carry on running the business for decades,” I said to Marcus, “you wouldn’t wait that long before taking over?”

  Marcus focused on his toast. “I got the impression he was winding down, spending more time with the family. He needed someone to oversee day-to-day things. That was how I was planning on starting out.”

  “Before you took over completely?” I arched an eyebrow.

  “It takes years to learn how to run a business like this,” said Marcus. “And I’m in no hurry. Blake paid me well and I enjoyed his company. I was happy to help out however I could.”

  “But now he’s gone.” Honey placed her knife down. “So, none of us will ever find out what he really wanted.”

  “I’m certain he’d want me to remain here,” said Marcus, giving a quick nod. “There is only so much I can learn from Julianne. I’ll be making a formal recommendation to the board that I take on the director role of the company.”

  Honey looked at him in alarm. “Julianne doesn’t want to give up the business. She loves it as much as Blake.”

  “Why do you care what Julianne wants?” asked Marcus. “She’s horrible to you.”

  “Even so, you can’t go kicking her out of the company. She’s under enough stress having just lost Blake.”

  “I’m not kicking anyone out,” said Marcus. “You wouldn’t understand how this works.”

  “Explain it to us.” Despite Marcus’s excellent tea and toast making skills, he was annoying me.

  “It’s important the vineyard is well run.” Marcus shuffled the preserves around on the table, lining them in a neat row. “I was thinking Julianne could take on a figurehead role. Be the name of the company, shake the right hands, that sort of thing. Hand over the running to me and make sure it’s done properly.”

  “Julianne runs things well,” said Honey.

  “But my ideas will modernize things. We could double turnover.”

  “Blake didn’t like your ideas,” said Honey.

  “You know nothing about the business.” Marcus patted Honey’s hand. “You stick to what you’re good at.”

  “Which is what?”

  “Looking beautiful and being charming.” Marcus smiled at us all, expecting his compliments to be well-received.

  Honey stood from her seat. “If you’ll excuse me, I need some air.” She stomped away and up the stairs.

  Marcus watched her go, a smile on his face, before turning to us. “She isn’t all that bright, but I enjoy Honey’s company, when she isn’t trying to do anything that impacts the business.”

  I bit the inside of my mouth. “She seems very nice.”

  “And Blake thought so as well.” Marcus leaned closer. “Did you know, she was more than just his assistant?”

  “He was having an affair with Honey?” It was a thought I’d had myself.

  “Isn’t she too young for him?” asked Helen.

  “Blake was a powerful man. Young women like that. That’s why I model myself on Blake.” Marcus straightened the cuffs on his shirt. “I want to be just like him.”

  If Honey and Blake had been having an affair, that also made her a suspect. “You know for sure they were together?”

  Marcus shrugged. “It was obvious they were fond of each other. And he bought her presents.”

  “Doesn’t mean they were sleeping together,” said Helen. “I’ve had gifts from men in the past and didn’t so much as give them a kiss on the cheek.”

  “Julianne was sure of it, as well,” said Marcus.

  “So that’s why she hates Honey so much,” I said. “She thinks Honey was trying to take Blake away from her.”

  “It used to drive Julianne mad when she saw them together,” said Marcus. “Blake would take Honey on business trips. Julianne knew they were more than business acquaintances.”

  “Did she ever confront Blake about it?”

  “Not that I know of,” said Marcus. “But she wanted a divorce. She was so convinced he was cheating on her that she’d decided to leave him.”

  “How do you know that?”

  “Oh, well, I found divorce paperwork when I was looking through a file. By accident, of course.” Marcus stuffed a piece of toast into his mouth and chewed vigorously.

  More like he was snooping around, trying to find dirt on the family. My opinion of Marcus declined further. “So, if Julianne was planning to divorce Blake, she can’t have been sad when he died. I imagine he left everything to her in his will?”

  “She got the house and the business,” said Marcus. “It’s a shame. I hoped he’d leave me something. I’ve worked for this company for years.”

  “That is a tragedy.” My acerbic tone was clear.

  “But I’m still here, and I plan to be here for a long time. And I will get everything Blake had.” Marcus looked around the yacht, a gleam in his eyes.

  “Does that include Honey?” asked Helen.

  “She is a beautiful young woman,” said Marcus, a faint blush on his cheeks. “She would be foolish not to consider me.”

  “You want Honey?” I couldn’t hide my surprise.

  “Why not?” said Marcus. “She has nowhere to go and no prospects. She should be grateful I’d even consider her as the future Mrs. Patel.”

  “I’m sure that’s exactly what she thinks.” I caught Helen’s eye and smirked.

  Marcus brushed crumbs from his fingertips. “I’ll even give her a little job to keep her amused. Nothing too taxing. I’m not sure there’s much going on in that pretty head of hers. But I want to make sure she is occupied. She seems to like to work.”

  “Go figure,” I said.

  “I’ll make fresh tea, shall I?” Marcus gathered the plates. “Get some air with Honey. I’ll bring the tea up on deck.”

  “Good idea.” At least Marcus wasn’t old-fashioned when it came to getting his hands dirty in the kitchen. Honey wasn’t condemned to a life of kitchen maid if Marcus ever made good on his creepy promise of marrying her.

  I followed Helen up the stairs onto the top deck and spotted Honey at the back of the yacht, her hands gripping the railing and her hair blowing in the breeze. She looked like a supermodel.

  “What do you think of his claims about an affair?” I said to Helen.

  “We’d thought it ourselves. And it would make her a suspect in Blake’s death,” she said. “Jealous lover wants more than a few nights of passion. Maybe Blake got tired of her and told Honey it was over. She got angry and shoved him overboard.”

  “Or Julianne found out what they were doing,” I said.

  “And what about Marcus?” Helen cast a glance over her shoulder. “Think he’s ambitious enough to get rid of his boss and try to fill his shoes? Sounds like he wants everything Blake had, the business, the girlfriend, the fancy house, and yacht. What’s to say he won’t go after Julianne next?”

  “Don’t think Marcus has it in him to kill. It might put a wrinkle in his linen suit. And Julianne’s got the measure of him,” I said. “She doesn’t trust Marcus. Perhaps she’s picked up on his desire to take over everything she has.”

  “I still think he could have snuck up on this yacht and shoved Blake overboard,” said Helen. “It’s the sort of sly thing he would do. Didn’t want to get his hands dirty but needed Blake gone.”

  “He is unpleasantly ambitious. We’ll keep an eye on him.” I looked around the deck. “Now, if we can just find Blake and see what he has to say about all of this, we can figure things out.”

  “Still no ghost popping up offering unhelpful gestures and mimes for you to puzzle through?”

 

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