Free The Girl on the Yacht by Thomas Donahue, Karen Donahue

her with what I saw. She claimed it was not what I thought and that she was just counseling Raphael. I wanted to believe her––but on his boat ?”
    “Did that make you angry?”
    “Of course it did, and it hurt, but you only needed to know Laura. She loved everyone.”
    “So you punched Montoya?” Cameron asked.
    He nodded.
    She shook her head in anticipation of the obvious growing complexities of the case. “We’ll need to search your boat and house. Is that okay?”
    “I need to get some clothes and other stuff from the boat.”
    “You’ll have to wait until we’ve searched. Is that okay?”
    “Yes.”
    “Did Laura have a laptop?”
    “Yeah, it’s on the boat.” He looked up at her. “It’s on the dining table in the salon.”
    “Do you have the keys to the boat?” Cameron put out her hand.
    “It’s open, but you’ll need. . . .” With his one free hand, he fumbled in his pocket and came out with his keyring. Then, in frustration as well as fatigue, he tossed the bundle to Cameron. “The condo’s the big one. Can you get them back to me or John later?”
    “I’ll have them for you in a few hours. You should be able to use the house and boat by then.”
    “I’ll figure it out,” Dan said.
    John eagerly stepped forward. “I’m sure Laura had it password protected.”
    Dan nodded.
    “Do you know her password?” Cameron asked.
    Dan shook his head. “I never asked.”
    “I’m good at passwords. Maybe I can crack it for you,” John said.
    “That’s okay. It could be evidence, and my computer tech can handle it.” She gave John a look like there was no way he was touching her homicide case evidence. Cameron turned toward Dan. “I’ll walk you out to the end of the dock, and you can see her. The Medical Examiner should be through by now.” She stared at his face. “You can’t touch her. Are we clear on that?”
    He nodded.
    They started out the door and Marin stopped the group. “Just a minute.” She picked up John’s blue windbreaker from the chair back and draped it over Dan’s bagged hand. “That’s better.”
    He smiled a thank you.
    The procession of Marin, John, and Dan followed Cameron to the end of the dock.
    They stopped fifteen feet from the dark bag with the white stenciled words, “Orange County Coroner.”
    Marin sensed that Dan would need support, but she wasn’t sure if she could go through with seeing Laura’s body again.
    Cameron nodded to the medical examiner, and he pulled back the zipper half the length of the bag. From where they stood, they saw Laura, her blonde hair still wet and matted to her head. The face was hers, but the grey color and frightened expression were not.
    Dan started for her. An officer raised a hand in front of him.
    John reached over and took Dan’s arm from behind. “Not now,” he said in a low voice.
    Cameron moved forward, visibly examining the minute clues on the body. “Is this your wife, Laura Douglas?”
    “Yes.” Dan cried out. His hulking body collapsed on to the dock. He wept.
    John gently touched Dan’s shoulder.
    Marin saw the tears on John’s cheeks, and she began to cry.
    In the solemn moment, she heard a familiar sound of comfort and glanced skyward to see a white seagull soaring overhead.
    John helped Dan to his feet while the medical examiner’s assistant wheeled Laura past.
    “Let’s go back to my boat.” John’s voice quavered with emotion.
    Cameron West signaled the coroner and a crime scene tech to follow. On the way back to one of the largest boats in the marina, she explained about the hand and what she needed from both of them—diagnosis, time, and cause of injury, as well as, possible trace evidence.
    Dan sat down at the dining table and extended his arm.
    The doctor painstakingly removed the plastic cocoon and took his swabs of the injured area.
    “It looks like this bruising is at least two days old,” the doctor said.
    “Wednesday afternoon,” Dan contributed.
    “That’s about