Laura nodded. That was it, then. If they had any connection at all, it was buried so deep that it would be hard to find it. When a man you knew even in passing died, you mentioned it—said you couldn’t believe it because you’d just had a coffee with him that week, or just gone on one of his tours with your friends a year ago, or so on. Either she was hiding the connection from her family, or there was no connection at all.
“What about Dina—did she express any concerns to you at all during the last few weeks and months? Particularly anything or anyone she found suspicious?” Laura asked.
“Not that I recall,” Mrs. Grey said, looking to her husband for confirmation. He shook his head.
“What about boyfriends?” Nate asked.
“None,” Mr. Grey said, grunting it, almost too fast. Like perhaps Dina wasn’t allowed a boyfriend. She had been twenty years old, though. Surely, a little too old to be controlled by her parents and whether or not they wanted her to date someone.
In Laura’s experience, parents who tried to control the dating lives of their children like that often failed miserably. In most cases, the child had a partner anyway—one that was hidden from the family and therefore complicated everything.
If that was the case here, it could certainly be an interesting twist that would wrap the case up quickly. A young woman having an affair with a married father who should have known better—that was more than enough reason for murder in many cases in the past.
“Friends?” Laura asked. “Dina grew up here, is that right?”
“No, actually,” Mrs. Grey said. “We grew up here, Jerry and me. We got married in our mid-twenties and left the area. We moved back here last year after Jerry’s mother passed on and left us this house. We ended up renting out our place over in Connecticut and coming back here. Dina’s dealt with it well, but I think she feels a bit like a fish out of water.”
“That’s understandable,” Laura said. “So, she’s working on the south beach as a lifeguard, is that right?”
“Yes, it’s a new job since a couple of months ago,” Mr. Grey said. “Since she stopped working on that damn boat.”
Laura and Nate exchanged a glance. “What boat?”
The parents both stared back at them. “The boat,” Mr. Grey said.
“Theboat?” Laura asked. “The one she was found on?”
Mrs. Grey looked over their heads, at the deputy. “Yes. I already told that to the Sheriff this morning.”
“I apologize,” Laura said with gritted teeth. “Somehow, that didn’t make it into our briefing. So, she worked on this boat?”
“Yes, as part of the tour crew,” Mrs. Grey said. “She was a waitress—or whatever you want to call it, I suppose. It’s not one of the ships that goes out into the harbor, it stays moored and they take people around it in full historical dress. Then the tourists all sit down for meals on the deck. Dina was one of the servers.”
“What happened?” Laura asked. “I mean, did she quit or was she fired?”
“Neither, really,” Mrs. Grey shrugged. “They let her go in November. Her last day was Thanksgiving. The tourist season drops off after that, so they go down to a smaller crew. They said she could come back again next year if she wanted to, but she needed something more stable, so she applied to become a lifeguard back at the start of November in preparation. She started that job on that Friday.”
“She was very well-organized,” Laura noted, prompting the ghost of a proud smile from Mrs. Grey. “Were there any bad feelings between her and the owner of the boat, or any of the other employees?”
“I don’t think so.” Mr. Grey shrugged. “It was last one in, first one out. The other servers had been working there for a few years. She was expecting it from the moment they hired her. It was always supposed to be temporary while she looked for another job.”
“Thank you for that information,” Laura said. “Do you know the name of the person who hired her?”
“It’s Theo Kelleigh,” Mr. Grey said. “He owns a lot of the boats around here. It was his father’s business back when we lived here before. He started with one tour boat and ended up with a whole fleet.”
“Theo Kelleigh,” Laura said, making a strong mental note. “Thank you very much. We understand this is a terrible time, and that things might slip your mind just now. So, if you do think of anything else, please call us, alright? Any time of day or night. This case is our sole priority right now.”
Nate slid a business card out of his pocket and over to them before Laura could, and Mrs. Grey took it. “We will,” she said, though her voice was a little distant. Laura recognized the look well. She was disappearing into her own grief. Realizing all over again in a slightly new way that her little girl was never coming home again.
Laura shuddered at the thought.
She nodded to both of them and murmured quiet goodbyes along with Nate before standing up and making their way out to the door. It was only once they were outside, and the door was closed behind them that Laura put off her gentle exterior in favor of hardness again.
“Theo Kelleigh?” Nate suggested.
“My thoughts exactly,” Laura replied grimly. “Let’s go check him out.”
CHAPTER TEN