“Would they bring in adult dogs that were already trained, or would they train puppies here on the island?”
“I think they want to start off with adult dogs, but also get a puppy training program underway. At the moment, they can’t do anything because the funding application has stalled. The governor’s office has approved funding for one dog, and that’s all.”
Gigi was silent for her moment as her brain worked the angles.
“I’ve got an idea, but it’s a little outside the box.”
“Thinking inside the box hasn’t got us anywhere so far, so shoot.”
“They should turn it into a reality show. The Working Dogs of Prince William Island. I’d watch the heck out of that, especially if there were puppies in it.”
Eulalie stared at her. “That’s actually… a very interesting idea.”
“It is, isn’t it? The more I think about it, the more I believe it could work. Dogs are huge at the moment. They’re practically taking over the internet.”
“This is true. They’re almost bigger than cats. Every time I look at my phone I see another cute dog picture.”
“Exactly.”
“We’d have to pitch it to the Prince William Island Network. They’re always looking for new show ideas.”
“Chief Macgregor should pitch it to them,” said Gigi. “He’s a recognized community leader. If they decided to go ahead with it, I bet they’d cover the costs involved in importing and training the dogs. It would make such a good show. They could create drama between the handlers. Like, two of them could hate each other, and another two could have a romance. You know the sort of thing. It would be TV gold.”
Eulalie could only agree.
She stayed at Angel’s Place until ten, before heading back to Finger Alley. Now would be a good time to catch Jimmy the Knife at his favorite table at Mo’s Bar. She hoped Mo was as good as his word and hadn’t tipped Jimmy off that she was looking for him. She never knew when he might decide he didn’t feel like talking to her and try to run off.
She always caught him in the end, but it was a waste of time.
Eulalie walked into Mo’s and saw Jimmy in his usual spot chatting to a couple of cronies. His face hardly changed when he looked up and saw her.
“Evening, girlie.” His voice was genial. “The boys and I could do with another round here.”
Usually the price of information from Jimmy was a couple of beers for himself and a cash fee of anything from a hundred to two hundred dollars. Now he expected her to buy a round for his buddies as well.
“You’re lucky I’m on an expense account tonight, Jim. Your friends can get one round, and then you and I are talking in private, okay?”
He gave her a business-like nod, and she went to the bar.
“Another round for Jimmy’s table, and a small cane brandy for me. Two blocks of ice.”
“Coming right up,” said Mo.
Eulalie waited until the drinks were ready and took them over on a tray. Jimmy waved a dismissive hand at his acquaintances. They got up to leave, taking their drinks with them.
“Take a load off, girlie, and tell me what I can do for you. Is it that poor schoolgirl?”
Eulalie sat down and took a sip of her brandy, enjoying the fiery path it burnt down her throat.
“This isn’t about her, although maybe you can help me with that investigation too. This is a civil matter – insurance fraud. Tell me about your old friend Odysseus Pryor. What’s he doing with his life these days?”
Jimmy suppressed a smile. “Now that’s a name I haven’t heard in a while. Boyhood friends, girlie, that’s what we were. Odysseus left the island years ago.”
“So I hear. But I’ve also heard he likes to pop back now and then to relive old times with certain boyhood acquaintances.”
“Sounds like you know more about it than I do. His sister works for you, doesn’t she? Lorelei Belfast. A fine figure of a woman. You should ask her if there’s something you want to know about him.”
“Your memory seems blocked today, Jim. What would it take to unblock it?”
“I don’t rightly know. You’re asking me to rat on a friend, see? That is something that goes against my most dearly held principles.”
Eulalie reached into a pocket and produced a hundred-dollar bill. She laid it on the table. Jimmy shook his head pityingly.
She pulled out another hundred and laid it on the table next to its mate. Jimmy’s expression suggested that she was getting warmer but wasn’t quite there yet. She pulled a fifty out of her pocket and put it down.
“That’s as high as I can go, Jimmy. The insurance company haven’t authorized more.”
Jimmy gave a sorrowful shake of his head. “Can’t do it, girlie. You’re asking me to betray my childhood playmate.”
“You’re killing me here, Jimmy. I’m going to have to dip into my own money now. You’re gouging me out of my hard-earned income.”
Eulalie reached into her pocket and took out the last fifty that she had always intended to give him. She laid it on the table with a show of reluctance.
Jimmy smiled at her. “I can feel my memory returning.”
“Excellent. What can you tell me about Odysseus?”
Jimmy leaned forward and lowered his voice. “You know why he’s here?”
“I have a pretty good idea. He launched a cyber-attack on six companies that happen to be clients of my client, Queen’s Town Federal Life. He shut down their systems and destroyed a lot of data. The viruses he used are from the stone age and, quite frankly, an insult to my cyber skills, but they’ve caused a lot of expensive damage. I want to know who his client is. Mrs. Belfast reckons he’s working alone, but I don’t think so. There’s someone behind the attack and I want to know who.”
“You mean you didn’t figure it out? I was sure you would have.”
“Explain it to me in words of one syllable, Jimmy.”
“What did you notice about the six companies that were targeted?”
Eulalie thought about it. The companies had little in common apart from being insured by Queen’s Town Federal Life. One was a bank, one was a museum, one was a pharmacy. They couldn’t have been more different.
“I can’t think of anything, apart from the fact that they all had really poor virus protection.”
Jimmy waggled his eyebrows at her. “Bingo.”
“Is that it? Their lousy cyber security? So, Odysseus’s client offers virus protection?”
“You didn’t hear it from me.” He tapped the side of his nose. “You’ll have to get the name of the company from Odysseus. I don’t know exactly who they are. But you see the scam, don’t you?”
“I think I do. They identify a group of companies with the same insurer and weak cyber security and launch a destructive cyber-attack on them. The insurance company freaks out and insists that they upgrade their online security, and then the company wins six new major contracts.”
Jimmy beamed like a proud father. “I knew you’d get there in the end.”
“And you really don’t have a name for me?”
“Odysseus never told me. You’ll have to ask him yourself when you finally catch up to him.”
“Where is he staying while he’s on-island?”
“He spent a couple of nights with me. But apparently the accommodation was not to his liking, because he moved on. I don’t know where he is now – he’s been moving around a lot. I thought he was planning to see his sister while he was here. Have you asked her?”
“He broke into her house while she was sleeping to look for cash.”
Jimmy tutted and shook his head. “That’s not right. You don’t do that to family.”
“That’s what I said. But he tossed the place. It looked as though the FBI had been through it. I wish I knew how much longer he planned to be in town.”
“The job is done, but he’s still hanging around. Maybe the client wants to make sure that the scheme worked before paying him in full.”
“Hey, Jimmy. Let’s say you were at Queen’s Town High School fifteen years ago…”
“I was forty-five, girlie.”
“Okay, but hypothetically speaking. If someone mentioned the ‘club’ to you, what would you understand by that?”
“I’d understand the need to stay far away. You know I’ve never been one for the drug scene. Drugs and girls are the two things I won’t go near.”
“It was a drug thing?” Eulalie felt a prickle of excitement. Finally, she was on the right track.
“It was a prescription drug scam. The kids faked depression or injury to get access to pills, which were then sold on to someone with retail connections. The kids got money out of it. Not my scene at all, kiddo, as you well know.”
“Whose scene was it?”
“Fifteen years ago?” He took a long pull of his beer. “I guess that would have been Luigi Giacomo. He’s dead now. The line of work he was in wasn’t great for a man’s longevity, if you know what I mean.”
“You sure about this, Jimmy? This is what the club referred to?”
“That would be my best guess.”
Chapter 16
The next morning, Eulalie was torn between staking out the internet café in the hope of catching Odysseus Pryor and conducting more interviews in the Chirac case.
It would be good to get Mrs. Belfast’s brother off the island. It was clearly stressing her out to have him here. If Eulalie caught him, she could put the whole insurance fraud case to bed. That would mean a good fee to bump up her bank account, and a happy client.
But a murder investigation took priority over everything. Roland Chirac had the right to know what had happened to his daughter, even if he had been an awful father.
Eulalie knew she had rattled some cages with her interviews. Somewhere on the island, someone who thought they had got away with it was currently feeling nervous. It was her job to make them more nervous still. Her investigation finally had momentum behind it. Now wasn’t the time to take her foot off the gas.
She would prioritize the murder investigation. If a gap opened up in her day, she might spend some time staking out the internet café.
“Morning, dear.”
It was Mrs. Belfast, a little early for work as usual.
“Morning, Mrs. B. Here’s a question for you.”
“What’s that, dear?” She bent to stroke the cat.
“When you were the school secretary, can you remember hearing a rumor that some of the high-school kids were faking depression and sports injuries in order to get access to scheduled prescription drugs, which they then sold on to dealers?”
“Drug dealers? Goodness no, dear. How awful. I didn’t know about that.”
“I suppose it would have been shut down if it were generally known.”
“Although… there was something about prescription drugs, now that I come to think of it. It had nothing to do with dealers, though.”
“Tell me anyway.”
“The teachers noticed that rather a lot of teenagers were going on medication for insomnia, and depression, and pain. They couldn’t imagine why. Opioid use wasn’t well understood back then. The kids didn’t look or behave like addicts, so it wasn’t seen as a problem. I certainly never heard about them working for someone else.”
“Thanks, Mrs. B. That helps a lot.” She slung her bag over her shoulder.
“Are you going out, dear?”
“Yes, I am.” She held up a coupon for her secretary to read. “I’m going to have a hands-free Reiki massage.”
“A hands-free massage?”
“Mostly. It’s all done with energy waves. The therapist holds her hands near you and on you, according to this brochure.”
“How interesting. Well, enjoy it, dear. And good luck with the investigation.”
Eulalie took her Vespa to the wellness center. She had booked the treatment in advance, and specifically requested Rosalind Grier as her therapist. She hoped the woman would be more inclined to speak frankly if Eulalie were a paying customer.
She reported to the reception desk and was given a white robe and a pair of slippers to put on. It felt strangely unprofessional to be interviewing a witness in a fluffy robe, but she didn’t have much choice. She was shown into a treatment room and told to take off the robe and lie face down on the table. Suddenly interviewing a witness in a robe didn’t sound so bad after all. The assistant covered her with a towel and told her that Rosalind would be along shortly. Harp music tinkled in the background.
A minute later, the door opened, and Rosalind Grier walked in.
“Good morning,” she said in a low voice. “Welcome to the ancient art of Reiki.”
Eulalie lifted her head and turned to look at her. “Good morning.”
Rosalind stopped in her tracks. “You!”
“I thought I’d take advantage of those fifteen-percent-off coupons you gave me.”
“Okay.” Rosaline looked at the door, and then back at Eulalie. “So, you’re not going to ask me questions about Rochelle?”
“Who knows what might come up in the course of conversation? I’ll tell you this, though. If I have a good experience here, I’ll ask my grandmother to recommend you to her customers. She owns Angel’s Place.”
“Angel’s Place! That restaurant is so popular. Would she really put in a word for us?”
“That all depends. If I ask her nicely, she might even agree to keep a stock of your cards to hand out to customers.”
It was an irresistible offer. “I’ll do it.”
Rosalind warmed her hands over a burner. She was prepared to put up with an interrogation if it meant a chance to boost her business.
“The ancient art of Reiki,” she said, slowing her voice again and lowering it a couple of octaves. “Is based upon the transfer of chi – the life force that inhabits the universe. Chi cannot be created or destroyed, it can only be transferred. In Reiki, the therapist acts as a conduit between the life force in the universe and the patient’s body. The chi in you will guide me to different areas of your body that need special attention. By laying hands on you, or holding my hands close to your skin, I will transfer the healing power of the chi into the vessel that is your body. As a certified Reiki Master, I will allow myself to be guided by the chi that resides within you and the chi that operates freely in the universe.”
Eulalie knew from her research that a Reiki Master’s certificate could be bought off the internet for as little as eighty dollars, but she wanted Rosalind to feel comfortable, so she said nothing.
“You may feel a sensation of warmth as the session progresses. You may even feel tingling, and in some cases buzzing as the chi is transferred. A few people have reported feeling a sensation like a bolt of electricity pass through their bodies. But those individuals are very advanced in the science of Reiki. Do not be alarmed at the sensations you may feel. Receiving the chi can be a very intense experience.”
She brushed her hands up and down Eulalie’s calves. Eulalie was very sure that the sensation of warmth she was experiencing came from the heated oil Rosalind was rubbing into her skin.
Rosalind moved up to the backs of her thighs and repeated the gentle, up and down motion.
“Are you a dancer?”
Eulalie shook her head.
“Or a gymnast?”
“Not a gymnast either. I’m just a private investigator.”
“You have the muscles of a professional athlete. I would have guessed a dancer or a gymnast.”
Rosalind moved the towel to uncover Eulalie’s back, and went to work on massaging her shoulders.
“There’s a lot of tension here. The chi is guiding me to this area.”
Eulalie let her have a few minutes of uninterrupted chi transferal, and then got down to business.
“Tell
me about the club, Rosalind,” she said.
The woman’s hands stilled. Eulalie thought she detected a jolt of surprise. After a moment, she resumed her rhythmic stroking.
“What club? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I’m talking about a group of teenagers faking physical and mental problems to gain access to prescription medication. I’m talking about you and your friends selling those pills to a dealer to distribute to addicts in the general population.”
Rosalind’s hands stopped moving again.
“Keep that chi coming, Rosalind. I’m just starting to feel the benefits.”
Her hands moved again, but jerkily. “I think you should leave now.”
“I don’t think so. I wouldn’t want to have to leave a Tripadvisor review saying that the owner refused to complete her therapy session with me.”
“I’m moving onto the hands-free part of the session anyway,” Rosalind said, her voice tight and angry. “Turn over and lay the towel over your torso. I will transfer the chi by holding my hands over your body. It’s more intense that way.”
Eulalie turned over and rearranged the towel. It suited her to be able to watch Rosalind’s face.
“Just remember that the statute of limitations on drug offences runs out after twelve years. You’re in the clear for whatever you might have done back in high school. The most that could happen now is that you would help me solve a fifteen-year-old mystery and set a father’s mind at rest. Roland Chirac wants to know what happened to his daughter.”
Rosalind’s hands were suspended over Eulalie’s chest, but she didn’t seem to be channeling anything except anger.
“I don’t know why you think you can come in here after all these years and disrupt my life. It’s not fair. I’ve put the past behind me.”
“Tell me what I want to know, and I’ll get out of your hair.”
“You seem to know it all already.”
“Not quite. Who recruited you?”
“It was Sheena. She said she had a great way for us to make extra cash. All we had to do was convince our parents to take us to the doctor for pain pills or sleeping pills. We handed them over to Sheena and she gave them to her contact. Then she split the money with the rest of us.”
The Complete H-Series of The Eulalie Park Mysteries Page 130