was old news. Thus, no story.”
“What can you tell me about that night on the boat?”
“Matt, you know I’m always happy to talk to you, but why are you so interested?”
“Do you remember that a young man was killed on the beach the same day?”
“Duh. I’m not senile.”
“Sorry. The dead man was the son of a friend of mine from my army days. He asked me to look into his son’s death. The police are at a dead end.”
“I thought that pretty Detective Duncan was in charge of that investigation.”
“She is, and she’s helping me. We’re thinking there might be something that was missed on the first go-around.”
“Are you interested in the murder or the detective?”
“Both, I guess, but I’m pretty sure I’ve got a better chance of solving the murder than wooing the detective.”
Dora laughed. “Okay. But what does the murder on the beach have to do with the Dulcimer killings?”
“At first, I didn’t think there was a connection. But now I’m not so sure. I’m just grasping at straws at this point.”
“There’s not much I can tell you. It was a pretty normal evening. Nothing out of the ordinary. Just people having fun.”
“Did you see any Asian people on the boat that night?”
“Not that I recall. Why?”
“I don’t know. I’m beginning to think that some Asians were involved in the killing on the beach. I’m just working back, trying to find a connection.”
“Absolutely nothing stood out about the evening until the lights went out and we hit the sandbar.”
I thought for a minute, trying to think of anything else to ask her. Then an image jogged my brain. A camera. I’m an idiot, I thought. “Dora, did you have your camera?”
She smiled. “I thought you’d never ask.”
“Did you get any pictures?”
“A lot.”
“What happened to them?”
She reached into her purse and came out with a compact disc. “They’re all here. Yours for the price of a small salad.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
Jock, J.D., and I were seated around my desk. I was scrolling slowly through all the pictures on Dora’s CD, looking for something that might be of use to us. There were close to a hundred photos of smiling people staring into the camera, engaged in their meals, looking out the large windows of the dining deck.
“There,” said J.D. “Isn’t that Katherine Brewster?”
I looked more closely. The photo showed a pretty blonde woman seated at a table by herself. Over her shoulder I saw the back of a man wearing a flowered tropical shirt and across the table from him was Betty Garrison. “That’s Katherine,” I said. “That’s the Garrisons sitting behind her.”
“Let’s see if we have any more of that area of the deck,” said J.D.
I scrolled through more pictures. I didn’t see Katherine or the Garrisons. But I did see an Asian man, sitting at a table with another man and a woman. “There’re our Asians,” I said. “Let me see if I can home in on their faces.”
I manipulated the photo program, bringing the face of the first man into sharper focus. “I’m pretty sure that’s the one who tried to knife me,” I said. “Let me get a look at the woman.” I played with the mouse, bringing the woman’s face into view, blowing it up some, playing with the resolution. “That’s her,” I said. “She’s the one who was with the guy on the boardwalk.”
“What about the other guy?” asked Jock. “Do you recognize him?”
I looked closer, manipulating the program some more. “No. I’ve never seen this one.”
“Can you make some prints of their faces?” asked J.D.
“Sure.” I fiddled with the program some more, cropping it so that I finally had reasonably good pictures of each of the Asians. I printed three copies of each one.
“Who do you think the third guy is?” asked J.D.
“I don’t know. But there had to have been two men involved. One of them broke the neck of Captain Prather, and I don’t think the woman would have been able to do that. She could have stabbed Katherine or Garrison, but I don’t think she could have gotten both of them.”
“You’re probably right,” said J.D. “From the time the boat veered off course until the lights went out was just a few seconds. I think the murders would have had to have taken place during the first few minutes when the confusion was at its maximum. The one on the bridge wouldn’t have had time to get to the dinner deck.”
“Let’s see what else we can find,” Jock said.
I scrolled some