A Touch of Gold

know the world hadn’t just turned upside down, that the people I’d always depended on hadn’t really kept this truth from me. But there wasn’t time since I needed to do my “duty.”

“Like I was counting on you to tell me the truth about my life, Gramps?” I yelled at him. “Who is he? I need a name. I’m not leaving here until I get a name.”

“Dae—”

“You owe me that much.”

His mouth became a grim line. “Danny Evans. His name is Danny Evans.”

“Thanks.” I picked up my jacket and walked outside.

“Everything okay?” Kevin asked when I walked past him.

“Just fine.”

Danny Evans. I have a father. He isn’t dead, and his name is Danny Evans.

As the Eleanore made her way to the coordinates I’d given Gramps—the only thing I’d said to him since we’d left the house—the police boats followed like an armed escort through the dark Atlantic.

We’d picked up Walker and five of his men from the Coast Guard boat that had broken down right offshore. I could feel Walker’s embarrassment at having to be rescued from the dead vessel by a civilian.

There was no extra room on the Eleanore after that. I sat beside Kevin in the stern as the dark began to fade and dawn arrived, rosy and golden, on the horizon.

“You and your grandfather have a fight?” Kevin guessed as he shared coffee from his thermos with me.

“You could say that.” The clear light of morning picked out the men’s weary faces around us.

“Was it about going out to the island?”

“No. I don’t want to talk about it.”

“All right.” He put his arm around me, and I felt the hard metal edge of a gun under his blue winter vest.

“You brought a gun too.” I nodded. “Just like Gramps.”

“Old habits.” He shrugged. “We don’t know what we’re going into out here. That’s why your grandfather didn’t want you to come out alone.”

“Only you and he would consider being with a group of SBI agents followed by a dozen police officers as being alone.”

“Is there a problem between you and your grandfather?”

“Maybe. I don’t know.” I turned to him. “Could I move in with you?”

He choked on his coffee, then recovered. “This is a little sudden.”

“I know. But it’s not what you think. I need some time to myself. I could rent a room from you. You wouldn’t even know I was there.”

“That wouldn’t happen.” He kissed me lightly, then smiled. “You might as well tell me what’s going on.”

I told him the briefest details even though all of it wanted to burst out of me. I hoped the men around us couldn’t hear my tearful whispers. Kevin held me and didn’t speak until I was finished.

“I don’t know why this happened,” he finally said. “But I know your grandfather loves you. There must’ve been an important reason to keep this from you.”

“I’ve thought that a million times. But what possible reason could there be to lie to me about my father?”

“I don’t know.”

“And my mother. I thought we were so close because it was always the two of us. What am I supposed to think now?”

“I wish I had the answers.”

“One thing’s for sure—I have to find him.”

“Maybe that’s why your grandfather didn’t tell you about him.”

“I’ve thought of that.”

“But you don’t care.”

“Would you?”

“Probably not.”

We were getting close to the island. I could make out the shape of the big house on the hill. The sun was up, warming the cold winds made icier by the speed of the boat.

All the men onboard checked their guns, adjusted vests, hats and gloves, then stood facing the upcoming landmass. It was still early—barely eight A.M. Walker talked to each man, giving out instructions. I imagined Chiefs Peabody and Michaels were doing the same on the other boats.

It looked and felt like a raid, not the peaceful conversation and negotiation I’d been expecting. Knowing what I did about Bunk, I believed he’d know what to expect.

But as we came closer to the coastline, there was an air of stillness about the place. Was it because it was early morning? No, it felt like something else. I didn’t know what—until I saw the first man lying at the edge of the dock. There was another man facedown in the water near him.

Gramps stopped the Eleanore. He radioed the police boats behind us, and Walker spoke with Chief Michaels and Walt Peabody for a few minutes. Evidently, this wasn’t a scenario they’d considered either.

“You should go below deck,” Walker said to me when he was done talking on the radio.

“He’s right, Dae,” Gramps agreed. “This looks bad.”

“I’m staying where I am, thanks. I think I can handle it if you can.”

Walker shrugged and turned away, mumbling loudly about civilians being involved with law enforcement activities. Gramps went back to the helm. The three boats progressed more cautiously toward the narrow strip of land. Everyone’s eyes were alert, scanning the coastline for any sign of activity.

Nothing moved. As we got closer, I could see there were three other bodies on the dock. There was blood splattered everywhere. Boats rocked at their moorings, and I could see that some of them had bullet holes in them. Another, the one that had brought me home yesterday, looked as though it had been set on fire and was barely above water.

“What happened?” I stared out at the devastation that had taken place in the last twenty-four hours.

“Maybe a rival,” Kevin said. “A man like Bunk Whitley is bound to have some enemies. Are you sure you want to see this?”

Not really, I thought, but I said I did. I didn’t want to see it, but I didn’t want to hide from it either.

They brought the police boats up to the docks first, and several officers, guns drawn, spilled out to anchor the boats. Gramps nudged the Eleanore up to the mooring, and I jumped out to secure her as I always did when I was onboard. I didn’t think about it until I looked up and saw Kevin there beside me. Behind him were several angrylooking SBI agents. Apparently, I’d done their job for them.

The first group from the police boats was already disappearing toward the house, radioing back that the area seemed to be deserted. We followed in their wake. The only people still left on the island seemed to be the dead security men at the dock. There was no one else between the water and the house. Chief Michaels called back to everyone else to let them know the house appeared to be empty too.

I tried not to look too closely at the dead bodies, but I couldn’t help myself. I saw Nash among the dead but not Roger. Maybe he’d been killed somewhere else, but the carnage seemed confined to the docks. I was determined to mention my suspicions about Roger to Chief Michaels. Roger could certainly be the killer Bunk was trying to protect.

The devastation at the house was haphazard and wasteful, like something a child would do during a temper tantrum. Paintings were slashed and burned. The fountain was broken and thrown out of a window. Clothes were strewn everywhere along with cooking utensils and food. Not a single pane of glass was left unbroken in the sunroom where I’d had lunch with Bunk.

“What do you think?” Chiefs Michaels asked as he joined Peabody and Walker in the foyer.

“Beats me.” Peabody shook his head. “Safe’s been emptied. Can’t find a thing of worth not ripped apart or burned.”