“Abby,” he said, aching to draw her to him, but it wasn’t the time or the place. “Abby, I’m sure some ghosts never make contact with anyone. They might be there, but they never show themselves. Others are outgoing and curious and seek out those who might see them. Some can create cold spells or learn a certain ability to move objects. But to my knowledge, there isn’t a ghost out there with the strength or energy to physically attack human beings—to bind them with rope and throw them in the river. No one believes that Blue Anderson is after people.”
Abby let out a breath. “So, you agree it’s someone dressing up as Blue,” she said.
“That I don’t doubt. Let’s go see the others, discuss what we’re all thinking and what moves we should make today.”
Abby smiled. “It’s a good day so far. Helen’s awake.”
“It is a good day,” he said. “Come on. I have some info I should be sharing with everyone.”
In the dining room, they discovered Kat and Angela seated at the side of the room, where they could watch the screens.
Jackson was at one of the computers, a sheaf of papers in front of him.
“Where’s Will?” Malachi asked.
“He went off to spend the day on the Black Swan,” Kat said.
“Glad to hear it.” Malachi pulled out a chair for Abby, taking a seat himself.
“Anything going on at the Dragonslayer?” he asked.
“Macy’s arrived. She’s at the host stand. Looks like she’s checking reservations. Sullivan is hanging glasses. Bootsie just came hobbling in. He’s alone—no Aldous or Dirk at the moment—but David called Dirk to let him know he could see Helen, just for a few minutes. He’s not going out on any of the pirate voyages today. Will’s going to work with his cast instead,” Angela told them.
“It looks like business as usual at the Dragonslayer,” Kat said.
“All right.” Malachi sat forward, folding his hands on the table. “There’s something I happened to catch because I started researching when I first came down here—Savannah and then the Dragonslayer and pirates in general. The name Helen Long gave us was Christopher Condent. I know David Caswell is searching local records to see if anyone with that name was registered at a hotel or bed-and-breakfast or used a credit card at a restaurant, gas station, shop or any other venue. I don’t believe he’ll find such a person. I think the man Helen met chose the name because it was that of a real pirate, one who survived his days of piracy to become a rich man and live happily in France after his career on the high seas. My guess is that he intends to ‘retire’ from piracy one day and live on his proceeds, so to speak. The real Condent was born in the 1690s, fled Jamaica in 1718 when Woods Rogers came in and went on to practice all kinds of atrocities. He cut off the ears and noses of many of his captives and tortured others. He was known to be brutal to those he captured. Karma didn’t ever catch up with him. He and his men captured an Arab ship worth a fortune and Condent went on to negotiate a pardon with the governor of Bourbon. He became a merchant and died fat and wealthy in France in 1770. I’m telling you all this history—or legend, whichever it might be—because I think our killer specifically picked this pirate. This was a man who practiced atrocities, got away with it and prospered. Supposedly, he was the man behind the ever-popular Jolly Roger flags. His own flag had a row of three skulls.”
“If this person wants to be a pirate and retire happily—after doing horrendously cruel and brutal things—why would Helen have thought she was attacked by Blue?” Abby asked him. “Blue was revered as a gentleman pirate. He never hurt anyone, he didn’t rape his female captives and he had a strict code for his men.”
“I believe this guy dresses up as Blue because Blue’s such a famous pirate in Savannah. Blue’s image is used at the Dragonslayer, and there are shops with his image worked into their décor. There’s a wooden image of him down by the river, with the face cut out so people can stick their own faces in for their pictures. Then, looking at the psychology of it—” he glanced at Jackson, who nodded, clearly intrigued by Malachi’s theory “—he may resent Blue, since the real Blue didn’t behave the way this creep thinks a pirate should. He didn’t rape, torture or murder. This killer may find it amusing to think that if he’s ever seen, people will believe Blue is somehow walking the streets again and that his reputation was a lie because he was as vicious as the rest.”
“What’s consistent is that he has to kill his victims by forcing them off his ship or boat—or whatever conveyance he has them on,” Abby said slowly. She looked around the room, as if assuring herself that they wanted to hear her opinions. “So, we’re back to the river. He uses the underground, not so much to get his victims to the docks, but because he figures a pirate would use the tunnels to secure captives or shanghai crew members.”
Jackson nodded. “I also think this man is no tourist or newcomer to the city. I think he’s known and that, until now, if he were caught in costume, he’d be able to explain it easily. He’d claim he was going to help out a friend—like Dirk—on a ship.”
“Or...he is Dirk,” Malachi said.
Abby raised her eyebrows. “Don’t you believe that if Dirk was guilty, he’d stay away from Helen?” she asked.
Malachi shrugged. “Not necessarily. He might be confident in his disguise.”