Summer Secrets - Barbara Freethy [128]
Tyler stared at Duncan, realizing the old man had just given him a big clue. "Why would Ashley hate you?" He wondered if he'd finally hear the words -- because I gave up her baby.
"They all hate me for taking them to sea, making them race, not letting them go home when they wanted to go," Duncan said instead. "They didn't know how much was at stake. I couldn't just quit. I'd bet everything, the life insurance money, the mutual funds set up for the girls, Nora's jewelry, her wedding ring. It would all be gone if we didn't win that race. I'd made side bets they didn't know about, and I'd used some of the money to help ensure our victory. It wasn't really cheating, even though Jeremy wanted to blow the whistle on me. He just didn't understand how things were done."
"Jeremy wanted to turn you in?" Tyler asked, trying to make sense of what he was hearing.
Duncan didn't answer him. His eyes were glazed, his face and clothes soaked from the steady rain pouring down on them. Tyler wondered if he even realized where they were.
"I thought he loved Kate," Duncan said. "But he loved the truth even more. Or maybe he just wanted to prove that he was better than me. I should have kicked him off the Moon Dancer when I had the chance."
"How did Jeremy get on the boat?" Tyler asked, still not sure he was following what Duncan was saying. The old man was rambling in a dozen directions at the same time, and it was hard to keep up.
"Kate snuck him aboard," Duncan said, "at the last minute, as we were leaving for Hawaii. She was clever about it. No one knew. We were underway before I realized he was there. I would have lost time kicking him off."
"So you let him stay. And then there was an argument. You fought with him about something to do with cheating."
"I just shoved him away. He was in my face. I didn't mean for him to fall. I didn't know he hit his head. I never saw that." Duncan's voice filled with anguish. "It was an accident, I swear it. I heard Kate scream, and when I turned around she was in the water. My daughter had jumped into that angry sea. My precious girl. I had to save her." His eyes begged Tyler to understand. "You understand, don't you? A man has to save his child."
"What about Jeremy?"
"He disappeared. He was there, and then he was gone. The storm was huge, far worse than this. No one could survive more than a minute or two. I didn't let him die."
"But they thought you did." Suddenly it was all so clear. "That's it, isn't it? The girls think you killed Jeremy. That's the big secret." Tyler suddenly realized why Kate had been stonewalling him all this time. It had nothing to do with a baby and everything to do with Jeremy's death.
Or maybe Jeremy had had something to do with the baby? Had he come on board to help take care of Kate because she was nearing the end of her pregnancy? Hadn't Duncan said that Kate wanted Jeremy with her? What other reason could there have been? They were in the middle of a race. And they would have been together forever only a few weeks later when it was all over.
"Why would Kate jeopardize everything by taking Jeremy onboard on the second-to-last leg? Wasn't that against the rules?" he asked. "Wouldn't you have been disqualified as soon as you got to the next port?"
Duncan shook his head. "You could have a crew of up to six. It didn't matter who they were." Duncan paused, looking at Tyler. "I didn't kill Jeremy. I just couldn't save him."
"But he was going to blow the whistle on you. That's a good motive for letting him drown." Tyler knew it was stupid to speak so frankly at this moment. Lord knew he wasn't in a position to piss Duncan off, but he couldn't stop the words from coming.
"I couldn't find him. I tried. He must have been unconscious. Otherwise he would have been swimming."
"Why was his name listed on the other boat's manifest?" Tyler