Nelson DeMille - Plum Island

"Go on."

"Okay… so he phoned them, then knocked on the front door and then went around back and saw that the rear door in the Florida room was unlocked. He went inside and found them in their bed. Both had died of apparent head injuries caused by a crowbar that he found on the floor with blood on it." She added, "The house was ransacked. Also, with the police presence on the street, it's assumed that the house was approached from the bay side."

I nodded.

Beth said, "You can imagine the Southold PD is in a state of uproar, and the whole North Fork will soon be. If they get one murder a year, that's a lot."

I thought of Max, who liked things quiet and peaceful.

Beth continued, "The county PD is sending a task force because now the thinking is that this is a psychotic who burglarizes houses and murders the occupants." She added, "I think that whoever killed the Gordons could have taken the Murphys' key from the Gordon house, and that's why there was no forced entry and why the back door was unlocked." She added, "That would indicate some premeditation."

I nodded. Tobin knew he might have to get rid of the Murphys at some point and thought ahead far enough to take the key. When Beth mentioned that the Murphys' key was not found in the Gordon house, that should have alerted us. Another example of underestimating the killer. I said, "We should have predicted…"

She nodded. "I know." She continued, "As for Emma Whitestone… well, either she left her door unlocked or, again, someone had the key… someone she knew."

I looked at Beth and saw that we both knew who she was talking about. In fact, she said, "I had that surveillance put on Fredric Tobin Sunday morning, as you suggested, and it ran all day, but some higher ups called it off from midnight to eight…for budgetary reasons… so, basically no one was watching Tobin after midnight."

I didn't respond.

She said, "I had trouble getting them to agree to any surveillance of Tobin. He's just not a suspect." She said pointedly, "I didn't have anything on him to warrant around-the-clock surveillance."

I was paying attention, but my mind kept returning to images of Emma, at my house, swimming in the bay, at the historical society party, in her bedroom where she was found murdered… what if I'd spent the night there? How would anyone know that she was alone…? It occurred to me that Tobin would have killed me, too, if he'd found me there, sleeping beside her.

Beth said, "By the way, I met Fredric Tobin at his party, and he was very charming. But he's a little too slick… I mean, there's another side to that man… There's something not so nice right behind that smile."

I thought of Fredric Tobin and pictured him talking to Emma on the lawn at his party. As he spoke to her, he must have known he was going to murder her. I wondered, though, if he decided to kill her to keep her from talking to me anymore, or if he just wanted to say, "Fuck you, Corey. Fuck you for being a wiseass, fuck you for figuring out I killed the Gordons, fuck you for fucking my ex-girlfriend, and just plain fuck you."

Beth said, "I feel a little responsible for the Murphys."

I forced myself to think about the Murphys. They were decent people, helpful citizens, and unfortunately for them, witnesses to too much that had taken place next door over the last two years. I said, "I brought a photo of Fredric Tobin to the Murphys on Wednesday, and they ID'ed him as the guy with the white sports car… Tobin owns a white Porsche…" I explained my short visit to Edgar and Agnes Murphy.

Beth nodded. "I see."

I said, "The murderer is Fredric Tobin."

She didn't reply.

I said, "He killed Tom and Judy Gordon, Edgar and Agnes Murphy, maybe that Plum Island veterinarian, and Emma Whitestone. And maybe others." I added, "I'm taking this very personally."

I stood and said, "I need some air." I went out back and stood on the porch. The rain was heavier now, gray rain falling from a gray sky into a gray sea. The wind was coming off the bay from the south.

Emma. Emma.

I was still in the shock and denial stage, working up to the anger stage. The more I thought about Tobin bashing her head in with an iron poker, the more I wanted to bash his head in with an iron poker.

Like a lot of cops who have a personal and close-up encounter with crime, I wanted to use my power and knowledge to take care of it myself. But a cop can't be a vigilante, and a vigilante can't be a cop. On the other hand, there were times when you had to put the badge away and keep the gun…

Beth left me alone for a while during which time I was able to get myself together. Finally, she came out on the back porch and gave me a mug of coffee laced with what smelled like brandy.

We both stood silently watching the bay. After a few minutes, she asked me, "What is this all about, John?"

I knew that I owed her some information. "Gold," I replied.

"Gold?"

"Yes. Buried treasure, maybe a pirate's treasure, maybe the treasure of Captain Kidd himself."

"Captain Kidd?"

"Yes."

"And it was on Plum Island?"

"Yes… as far as I can guess, Tobin somehow got on to this, and realizing he could never get access to one of the most inaccessible places in the country, he began looking for a partner who had unlimited access to the island."

She thought about that, then finally said, "Of course… it all makes sense now… the historical society, the digging, the house on the water, the speedboat… we were all so hung up on plague and then drugs…"

"Right. But when you completely discount those possibilities, as I did because I knew the Gordons weren't capable of that, then you have to rethink the whole thing."

She nodded and observed, "As Dr. Zollner said, When the only tool you have is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail."

I nodded.

"Tell me all of it. Go ahead."

I knew she was trying to get my mind off Emma's murder, and she was right that I had to work the case and do something positive. I said, "Okay… when I was on Plum Island, these archaeological digs struck me as totally out of character for Tom and Judy, and they knew I'd think that so they never mentioned it to me. I believe they were thinking ahead to a day — after they supposedly discovered treasure on their own land — when certain people might remember their digging on Plum Island and make a connection. So, the fewer people who knew, the better."

Beth remarked, "It wouldn't be the first time something valuable was moved and suddenly discovered in a more convenient place."

"That was the crux of the entire plan. The X on the pirate map had to be moved from Uncle Sam's land to Tom and Judy's land."

She thought a moment and asked me, "Do you think the Gordons knew exactly where the treasure was buried on Plum Island? Or were they trying to find it? I don't remember seeing too many fresh digs on the island."

"I think Tobin's information was reliable and believable, but maybe not very accurate. I learned a few things about pirate maps from Emma… and from this book here…" I pointed to the book on the end table. "And, as I learned, these treasures were meant only to be buried temporarily, so some of the landmarks on a map or some instructions turn out to be long-vanished trees, rocks that have been quarried or fallen into the sea… that sort of thing."

Beth asked me, "How is it that you decided to interview Emma?"

"I just wanted to check out the Peconic Historical Society. I was going to give it about an hour, and I really didn't care who I spoke to… then, I met her and in the course of conversation, it turns out she was once Tobin's girlfriend."

Beth contemplated all of this for a while as she stared out at the bay, then said, "So, next you interviewed Fredric Tobin."