Page 1 of Off the Hook

CHAPTER 1

FAITH

The timer beeped, interrupting my salad prep. I smiled at the golden crusted skin on the Cornish hen as I pulled it out of the oven. The baby red potatoes sizzled in the juices while I tossed the spinach salad in homemade strawberry vinaigrette. “Not bad if I do say so myself,” I mumbled over the Christmas carols playing in the den. For my first attempt at cooking my mom’s traditional Christmas Eve dinner, not bad at all.

It was my father’s favorite, she always told me. He died when I was three, so the few hazy memories I had were from the stories that went along with the photos of the tall, lanky man with eyes the same color of blue as mine. The older I got, I realized it was my mother’s way of keeping his memory alive around the holidays.

I carried the pyrex to the table on my terrace and poured myself a glass of pinot noir. My phone rang on the counter as I went back for the salad. My lips spreading in a smile as I set the salad back down, I figured that my mother’s psychicstreak had struck again. She always seemed to know when I was thinking about her, even from 2500 miles away.

Instead of Mom the screen announced Work. It was the department. After setting the salad back down, I answered, “Detective Pierce.”

“Merry Christmas Eve, Detective,” my favorite deputy said cheerily. “Sorry to bother you tonight, but 911 dispatch just got a report of a body floating in a canal in Venetian Shores, and since Detective Ramirez is away, they want you to go check it out.”

“Of course,” I stammered as I headed out to the terrace to bring my dinner back to the oven. His qualifier irked me. Even if my senior partner hadn’t been away for the holiday, I’d be called to respond along with him. But I didn’t take it out on Louis. “What’s the address?”

I looked longingly at the full glass of wine before I left it in the fridge and grabbed my keys.

The paramedics were loading the stretcher into an ambulance when I pulled up in my unmarked Charger. I approached, speaking softly. “Evening, gentlemen.” Their faces were somber. “Evening, Detective.” The tallest of the two pulled back the sheet covering the victim. “Twenty-something female, looks like she’s been in the water for several hours at least. Lacerations to the right temple. Seems like she hit her head and drowned.”

I shined my flashlight to examine the red marks on her head and face. “Do we have an ID?”

“No ID on her, just a phone that was still in her back pocket. But the homeowner who called it in says she lived down the street.” He nodded toward a distraught older man who wasspeaking to Officer Russell. Gene pursed his lips and gave me a nod as I approached. “Mr. Sanchez, this is Detective Faith Pierce. Faith, Adam lives here with his wife, Rosa.”

“Hi, Mr. Sanchez. I understand that you knew the victim?”

“I know she lives down the street.” He choked up, correcting himself. “Lived. She lived three doors down, in the downstairs apartment of her mother’s house.” He pointed to the south. “We’re only here on the weekends and holidays, and we’ve only had the place for a year, so I didn’t know her well. My wife said her name’s Kaitlyn, or Kayla, something like that.” Mr. Sanchez motioned towards a woman coming down the stairs dabbing her eyes with a tissue. He pulled her into his side. “This is my wife, Rosa.”

“Hi, Rosa, I’m Detective Pierce,” I said, extending my latex-gloved hand.

Rosa tried to smile but her face contorted as she offered me her hand and she sobbed.

“Her poor mother.”

I looked at Gene. “Has anyone spoken to the victim’s mother?”

Gene started to answer but Rosa interjected. “I saw her when I was walking the dog last time we were here. She said she was spending Christmas in Texas.”

My gaze shifted to her husband. “You found the body here behind your house?”

“Yes,” Mr. Sanchez nodded. “I went down to the dock to look at the stars—because there’s no moon tonight and there’s so many stars here. Not like Miami. Anyway, that’s why I was looking up, so I didn’t see her at first. I was there for a longwhile before I caught a glimpse of something in the water, between my neighbor’s boat and the dock.”

I started toward the canal, motioning for him to follow. “Show me,” I said as I made my way through a carport and along the paver stone walkway to the dock.

“There,” he pointed, stepping to his right. “I was standing here, watching the stars,” he said while looking up at the blanket across the sky, his voice cracking as he continued. “And then, finally, I saw her, there.” Lips pressed together but still quivering, he stared at the dark canal water where he pointed.

I pulled out my flashlight, shining it along the concrete dock. Nothing was apparent but I needed to check more thoroughly later. “And then you called 911?”

“Yes, of course.” He ran his hands into his silver-streaked hair. “I ran upstairs and told my wife, and called immediately.”

“Did you see or hear anything, maybe even earlier tonight before you came down, that may be related to this incident? Anyone strange in the neighborhood? Any unusual noise?”

“No, nothing,” his mouth twisted. “Maybe if I’d seen her sooner they could have saved her.” His words were coated in guilt.

“The paramedics said that she had been in the water for a while. You couldn’t have saved her. You did the right thing.” I tried to force a reassuring smile, but the sadness weighed heavy. Christmas Eve. I almost let myself get pulled onto the empathy train, but through sheer will I forced my detective brain into gear. I pulled out my phone and googled the tide table. “High tide is in an hour, so the tide is still coming in.” Iheld out my hand. “We can go back to the other side of the house if you prefer.”

Lights pierced the darkness, flashing across the side of the house as another patrol car pulled into the driveway. The driver’s side door swung open and Sheriff Waylan Bennett jumped out and rushed over to the ambulance. They were pulling back the sheet again when I approached. The sheriff’s face twisted. “This can’t be.” He shook his head. “No, no, no. Not Kylie.”

“You knew the victim?” I asked softly.

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