Page 99 of The Summer Inn on Plum Island
“So Chris, Connor, and Missy were loose ends they needed to tie up as well,” Liam guessed. “But why dart Ben with real luminotoxin?”
“They were going to drag him onto the boat so when it blew, you’d find him and blame him,” Connor said. “Only this old guy and his team of wetsuit ninjas came out of the sea and once again thwarted their plans. But they were a little too late, and the boat had already taken off. The one ninja seemed to morph into a hotel staff member. The other leaped onto the ship, and the old man calmed down that huge black dog with the red eyes.”
“Old man?” Dawn asked, looking alarmed. “Did you get a look at him?”
“No. Only his icy blue eyes the rest of his face was covered. I only knew he was old because of the crinkles around them and the bit of silver hair escaping his cap.” Connor told them. “He got thethird ninja to get me out of the hotel and help me get to Detective Winslow.”
“What?” The detective’s eyes widened accusingly. “You failed to mention the part with these weird ninjas from the sea wearing wetsuits.”
Liam saw Connors’s eyes widen in alarm. He knew he wasn’t supposed to have mentioned that part at all, but his enthusiasm at telling the story had got him carried away. “Oh, didn’t I?” He looked at her innocently.
“I would’ve remembered sea ninjas and an old dude,” the detective told him. “You know Connor, all deals are off if you don’t tell thewholetruth.”
“He told me not to mention he was there,” Connor told them. “The dude was helping me. If it wasn’t for him, I’d be dead like Chris and Missy.”
“He must’ve been the one that called in the anonymous tip as to your whereabouts,” Liam said, realizing what he’d let slip.
“Excuse me?” Dawn’s brows creased as she looked at Liam suspiciously. “I thought Scott’s tracking device in my necklace did that?”
“No,” Liam shook his head. “Scott asked me not to say anything until he knew how that SOS notice sprung onto his phone with the coordinates of where to find you. Then as soon as we got close Scott’s system started to bleep alerting us we were close.” His eyes glanced at her necklace. “Just like how we found you and Ben.”
All eyes fell on Connor. “Don’t look at me.” His chin dipped as his head went back. “I can’t even tell my left from right. I ain’t going to be able to give nautical coordinates or whatever they’re called.” He raised his eyebrows. “But I can tell you that it really angered my sister and Greg. She accused him of being the one to tip off the Coast Guard. He said he didn’t, and he reminded her about the ninja that had attacked them before they could get the dinghy off the boat.”
“The duck man,” Dawn said. “Harper and Lila said they saw a duck man attack the two people who’d kidnapped them.”
“Now we need to know who this mysterious man and his team of sea ninjas are,” Liam said before the detective could.
“On it,” the detective said, typing on her phone. “So, it seems the whole plan here was to kidnap Miss Vanderbilt, get payback, and terrorize you, Mr. Gains.”
“Me?” Liam frowned.
“Yes, my sister hated you,” Connor told him. “During the argument I overheard last night, Greg told her that if she’d done her job they’d have this hotel and could’ve taken their money laundering business to a new level with the tunnel system that runs beneath it.”
“That’s right,” Liam remembered. “Jackie Travis handled the legal work for the hotel.”
“My sister also accused Greg of being obsessed with Dawn so I think Greg hated you too, Mr. Gains,” Connor informed him.
“Why did you take my journal?” Dawn asked Connor.
“I didn’t,” Connor told her. “Although I did have a look in it when I was waiting. I’m sorry. I was curious about Dawn Vanderbilt magic journal that the press always wrote about.”
“You didn’t put it beside my bed?” DAwn’s brow creased.
“No. It was already there before I came into your room,” Connor told her.
Liam and Dawn’s eyes met, both reflecting their alarm.
Before they could say more the detective looked at her phone. “My men, accompanied by the FBI, have just picked up Greg.They say he wasn’t even in the agent’s car for two minutes before he started telling them he was just a pawn in his ex-wife’s scheme to kidnap and kill Dawn, the Blackwells, Wade, Ben, and Brad Danes.”
“Huh!” Dawn snorted. “He acts like such a bully until someone stands up to him, then he runs away like a dog with its tail between its legs.”
The detective frowned. “My request to look into the old man has been denied.” Her brow furrowed even more. “Seem’s as soon as my captain tried to look into it, he got a call.”
“From the FBI?” Liam asked as he and Dawn exchanged alarmed looks he knew she was thinking the same thing as him —Dawn’s uncle, Forsythe!
“Yes!” The detective nodded.
“Where is my brother?” a husky female voice shouted before banging on the door and barreling into Liam’s office. She stopped when she saw everyone eyeing her. “Don’t say a thing, Connor. Whatever you’ve done this time. I’ll explain your mental health issues and get you back to the hospital.”
