Page 20 of Covert Chaos

"We have to! It's Hattie's corkscrew in his neck!" I didn't wait. I just took off for the docks, King Tut on my heels.

Behind me, I heard Beau shouting about making him choose between hunting a murderer and photographing a body, but I didn't stop. I ran down the ramp, skidded around the corner, then leapt onto the bow of the boat and tossed the keys to Hattie, who was already in the driver's seat.

King Tut leapt onto the boat beside me, and the boat engine roared to life.

"Wait! Wait!" Beau was shuffling down the dock in his flipflops, waving his notebook.

"We can't wait," Hattie said. "She's already around the bend."

Beau looked so funny shuffling down the dock, trying to move fast but unwilling to ditch his flipflops. His gray hair was askew, his ratty sweater hanging off him like a sack, his scrawny legs like little toothpicks. My heart turned over. This man was so tough and cranky, but he'd been there for us even when he was pretending he wasn't.

And he was smart, smarter than we were when it came to solving murders.

I grabbed the piling. "Wait for him."

"Dammit, Mia." But Hattie put the boat in neutral. "Hurry up, you old crazy bastard!"

"I'll file charges, you dangerous old bat," Beau yelled back.

"He called me old. I'm leaving."

"You called him old first." Lucy and I reached out for him as he neared. "Hurry up, Beau!"

He grabbed our hands, and we hauled him on board as Hattie shifted into reverse, almost pulling away before we could get him in. His feet dragged in the water, but he got them in, flipflops still on, before Hattie shifted into forward gear.

"Hang on!" She hit forward, and we all flew backwards as the boat took off. King Tut yowled and fell off the seat, then dug his claws into the carpet. I crashed into Lucy, and we both hit the back seat.

Beau was on the floor by Hattie's feet. "I'm driving!" he shouted.

"No way," she yelled back. "I'm the only race car driver here. My freedom is at stake, so I drive!"

Beau climbed to his feet, still bellowing at her to get away from the wheel. I ignored them as I got up. Lucy and I made our way to the front of the boat, scanning the lake for any sign of the mystery woman.

I saw nothing but dark water.

Twelve

The mystery boat with the murderer had been swallowed up by the night.

King Tut hopped up on the bow, the wind ruffling his long fur. He raised his face to the wind, his claws digging into the plush leather to keep his balance.

"Do you see her?" Hattie shouted.

My gut was sinking. "No."

Lucy shook her head. "Me either."

"Son of a biscuit," Hattie shouted. "We can't lose her!"

"I have binoculars." Beau opened his glove box and pulled them out. He scanned the lake, and then pointed. "I see the boat. She's driving without lights. Moving fast. Keep back, Hattie. I got her. She's close to the shore."

Hattie eased off the engine enough that we could talk, and I took a breath. "All we need to do is follow her to wherever she's going, and then we'll decide what to do." I pulled out my phone. "I gotta call Devlin now."

Lucy raised her brows. "That's going to be a fun conversation."

"I know." I grimaced, then hit send.

He answered on the first ring. "Thanks for the drinks on the house bit."

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