by Mary Ellis
‘I know, but just play along.’ Michael shoved the bills into his pocket. Then he walked over to the coffee service and – to Nate’s astonishment – drank the contents of the milk pitcher.
‘I guess we’ll have our coffee black,’ muttered Izzy.
Michael was still at the breakfront when Mrs Norville and her son delivered the carafe and their paltry morning meal. ‘Ahhh, that toast smells wonderful, Mrs Norville. Thank you.’
The woman’s lip curled. ‘Smells like it always does.’ Norville placed the toast and butter on the table while her son plunked a basket of assorted cereals next to the coffee carafe.
‘Oh, good.’ Michael pulled out one with bran flakes and raisins. ‘This one’s my favorite.’
‘Mine, too,’ her son agreed.
‘May I trouble you for milk for my cereal, Mrs Norville?’
The cook turned and glared at Michael. ‘It’s right there in the blue pitcher.’ She pointed with a stubby finger.
‘Yes, ma’am, but the pitcher is empty.’ Michael offered every bit of charm he could muster.
‘Too bad,’ Norville snapped. ‘I gotta fix those creepy guards their breakfast and the boss wants a soufflé today. Like I have time to fuss on a day like this?’ she added, halfway to the door.
‘Perhaps your son can refill the pitcher?’
‘Yeah, I can do it,’ the boy answered before Norville could refuse.
When Norville gazed at her son, her expression changed to true compassion. ‘You won’t spill it in the hallway, will you?’
‘No, Ma. I promise.’
‘Fine, Paul. You can refill the pitcher.’ Norville strode from the room with her son at her heels.
‘Thanks, Paul,’ Michael called.
‘Mind telling me what that was all about?’ Nate asked.
‘Just wait and see.’
So Nate waited until the young man returned with a pitcher of milk. Paul walked so slowly, none would have spilled if they’d been on a ship in high seas.
Michael checked to make sure Compton was still in the hallway, then met the boy at the breakfront. ‘Thanks, Paul.’ He poured milk on his bowl of dry cereal. ‘Say, Paul, may I borrow your gaming device for one day? It’s so boring when we’re stuck in here or locked in our rooms.’ Michael whined like a teenager.
The boy shook his head. ‘No way. My ma wouldn’t like that. This baby cost her plenty.’ Paul patted his back pocket.
‘I promise your mom won’t find out. I’ll give it back tomorrow, plus I’ll give you eighty dollars.’
‘Eighty dollars?’ Paul’s eyes grew round as saucers. ‘For real?’
‘Yes, for real, but you can’t tell anyone. Not Mr Frazier or Mr Creery or any of the guards.’
Paul nodded vigorously, pulled the device from his pocket and slapped it down next to the pitcher.
‘Remember, this is our secret.’ Michael handed him the wad of bills and tucked away the device just in time.
When Paul knocked on the door, Compton re-entered the dining room. ‘Eat up, Price employees. Mr Frazier is on his way to give the men final instructions and escort Mrs Price back to her room.’
‘But I’ll be going back to Nicki’s room, not ours,’ Izzy said softly.
‘Good, because I don’t trust crazy old people any better than crazy young people.’ Nate brushed her lips with a kiss.
The three of them barely had enough time to finish breakfast before Frazier marched in with Creery and two guards.
‘Good morning, Mr Preston, Mr and Mrs Price. I hope you enjoyed the meal.’ Frazier walked to the head of the table but did not sit.
‘Yes, sir, everything was fine.’ Izzy’s exaggerated drawl matched the one from last night.
‘Good to hear. I put a stack of magazines in your room, Isabelle, along with cheese and crackers in case you get hungry. Now if you’re ready, I’ll escort you.’
Izzy dabbed her mouth and stood. ‘That is so kind of you, sir. But could you please move those magazines and snacks to Mrs Galen’s room? While the men search for Mr Ensley, I’d like to spend time calming down Nicki so she doesn’t disrupt dinner tonight.’ Izzy punctuated her request with a warm smile.
‘Of course, if that’s what you prefer.’ The muscle in Frazier’s jaw tightened. ‘Nate, Michael, I gave you my instructions last night. Since the guards couldn’t find Ensley in the dark, don’t bother returning until you find that lawyer. And he’d better still be breathing. Come along, Isabelle.’ Frazier extended his hand.
Nate swallowed the bad taste in his mouth. ‘Another moment, please?’
‘What is it, Price?’
‘We would like to talk to Beth before we leave. She wasn’t around when Izzy woke up on the beach, but Beth might have seen something or spoken to Jennifer Jacobs before she was shot.’
Frazier sauntered over to Nate. ‘You mean before Beth shot her?’
‘With all due respect, Beth had no reason to kill that prosecutor. She grew up in Mississippi and lived there her entire life until she and Michael moved to Savannah last year.’
‘We’ve already explained that – survival of the fittest.’
‘I know, but Jacobs might have told Beth something about Ensley. This is a hard island to find people.’
Frazier pondered Nate’s request, then he turned to Creery at the door. ‘Go get Mrs Preston.’
‘You can’t be serious, Julian.’ Creery’s fingers curled into fists. ‘These two are wasting time. Just send them out and see what they come back with.’
‘How much time would this waste – ten, fifteen minutes?’ Nate argued. ‘Beth might know something helpful.’
Creery needed only a few long strides to reach Nate. ‘You’re not much of an investigator, are you? You have failed in every attempt to question the suspects. Now you want some woman from Natchez to make your life easier?’
Nate and Creery glared at each other like junkyard dogs separated by a chain-link fence.
‘One more thing, Mr Frazier.’ Nate didn’t take his eyes off Creery. ‘Please keep your assistant and the guards indoors until Michael and I return. Funny how those guards keep turning up wherever there’s a dead body.’
Creery yanked Nate from the chair with a handful of shirt. ‘Who do you think you are, Price? You don’t give orders around here.’
‘Go get Beth Preston,’ Frazier thundered. ‘And stop wasting my time, Jonah.’
‘Fine, but if you fail, it’ll cost Hunter and Beth their lives. Right now, where they’re being held has plenty of air. But I might just cut off the ventilation as an added incentive. And considering what a windbag Beth is, Hunter might suffocate if you don’t find Ensley fast.’ Creery laughed as he walked out the door.
‘Jonah,’ Frazier called, his voice raspy. ‘Don’t you forget who’s giving the orders. This is still my game.’
‘For some reason, my assistant doesn’t seem to like Mr Price,’ Frazier said to Michael. ‘But I’ll see that Beth has plenty of air. You just find Ensley.’
Ten minutes later, the guards dragged a kicking and struggling Beth into the room. ‘Are you OK?’ Michael rushed toward his wife, but two other guards kept them apart.
‘Nothing I can’t handle, baby,’ she answered, cocky as ever.
‘Ask your questions, Price, and be quick.’
‘Beth, tell us everything you remember from the beach. When Izzy woke up, the tide was coming in, you were gone, and the ADA was dead.’
‘The three of us were coming back to the mansion when I felt a prick in my neck like from a tranquilizer dart. Then I blacked out. When I came to, I tried to wake Izzy up, but these creeps must’ve given her a stronger dose than mine.’ Beth managed to elbow her captor’s gut before they tightened their hold.
Creery opened up his palms. ‘After Beth shot the prosecutor, we felt we needed to subdue both of you. I apologize if Mrs Price’s dose was too strong.’ He bowed rather nobly to Izzy.
‘I didn’t shoot anyone.’ Beth struggled against
her restraints. ‘I found Jennifer lying in a pile of driftwood, dead.’
‘She appeared to have been shot with your gun, the gun you were still holding when we captured you.’ Calmly, Creery turned to Izzy. ‘I sent the guards back for you with a stretcher, but you were gone, so they brought back the ADA. Again, I apologize for any discomfort you suffered.’
‘This is a pile of you-know-what, Mr Frazier,’ Beth spat. ‘I didn’t kill that woman. Jennifer was willing to tell you what she knew.’
‘Did she say where Kurt Ensley might be hiding?’
Frazier’s question took Beth by surprise. ‘No, I don’t think she knew.’
‘Then this is a waste of time,’ Frazier concluded. ‘The police will check the weapon for fingerprints and run ballistics when they get here.’ Frazier spoke to the guards. ‘Take Mrs Preston back and make sure they get breakfast.’
‘Wait!’ Beth pleaded. ‘Please let me kiss Michael before you throw me down that rabbit hole.’ But she was quickly dragged away.
‘Isabelle, are you ready to go?’ Frazier asked. After she nodded, Frazier said to Nate and Michael: ‘I suggest you not disappoint me again.’
Nate understood what they were up against, but not what Michael had up his sleeve. However, he waited until they were outdoors and far from the house to ask, ‘What on earth do you want with that kid’s gaming device?’
Michael patted his pocket. ‘I recognized the device is just like one my niece owns. Although you can’t make phone calls, you can still send texts. It must have a cheap, limited data plan. As soon as we’re far from Frazier’s spies, I’ll send Kate and Eric a text. If at any point today we get within range of St Simons, the message might go through. It’s worth eighty bucks to try.’
Once they were deep in the woods, Michael pulled out the device and searched for the correct screen. ‘Trouble is I can’t remember Kate’s number. I always use speed dial.’
‘I know it.’ Nate took the device, entered the cell number, and tapped in a message.
Price team fine. But 4 other guests dead. Bring help. Trust NOBODY here except us.
Nate recited the message for Michael and then hit the ‘send’ button. ‘That ought to do it, if we’re lucky. Let’s head toward the boat dock where we were dropped off. That’s got to be the closest spot on Elysian to St Simons or the mainland.’
‘Let’s hope the gaming device works.’ Michael tucked it back in his pocket.
‘We’ll walk slowly so we can listen and watch for signs of Ensley.’
When they reached the dock, Michael typed and sent the message again, yet they’d found no signs of the lawyer. Along the way back to the house, they checked the old barn and found only small footprints in the dust, which had to be Izzy’s and Beth’s.
‘You know what Frazier said.’ Michael wiped sweat from his neck and face.
Nate peered up at the curtained windows of the second floor. ‘Don’t bother coming back without the lawyer.’ He gazed up at the sun’s position. ‘How long have we been out here – an hour and a half? And we’ve only searched the island at the narrow, rocky part. Let’s head to the beach at the widest point and see if we can find Ensley. If I were him, I’d be trying to flag down a fishing boat or shrimp trawler. And you can’t walk through sand without leaving footprints.’
‘Which way?’ Michael turned away from the house.
‘Izzy said she and Beth headed south yesterday. So we’ll head due north and hopefully come across a path.’
But after hours of hiking through fields of spartina, stepping in plenty of water-filled holes, crossing paths with two snakes, and getting bitten by insects, the only trails they found had been made by crabs. And there was no sandy beach on the northern end, only acres of swampy marsh which eventually became open water.
Nate and Michael had no choice but to turn around and head back the way they had come. After hours of slogging across tidal marsh and through the tall weeds on higher ground, Nate finally spotted the closest thing to a path they’d seen all day. ‘This is ridiculous.’ Nate lowered himself to a fallen log. ‘Either that guy grew wings and flew off the island, or Creery already killed him and disposed of the body.’
‘Maybe Ensley flagged down a passing boat.’ Michael swatted an insect against his neck.
‘Have you seen even one boat come near this island? I haven’t, and neither has Izzy. Right now we only got a couple more hours of daylight. Then we won’t be able to see two feet in front of us. I say we head down this path and see if it leads to the house.’ Nate pointed in the direction he wanted to go.
‘You heard what Creery said.’ Michael scuffed his boot heel in the hard-packed sand. ‘We’re not going back without Ensley. It’s not your wife who’ll be running out of oxygen.’
‘You didn’t let me finish,’ Nate snapped. ‘This path should cut through the island at the widest part. If we keep yelling Ensley’s name in every direction he should hear us, as long as he’s still alive.’
‘What if that lawyer thinks we’re as big a threat as Frazier and Creery?’ Worry and fatigue deepened every line on Michael’s face.
‘Unless you got a better idea, it’s the chance we must take.’ Nate didn’t say another word, giving Michael time to decide.
‘You’re right. This is our best shot.’ Michael tied the bandana around his forehead. ‘You lead the way and watch everything left of the trail. I’ll follow behind at twenty paces and keep watch on the right.’
Every minute or two the men yelled Ensley’s name at the top of their lungs. At least searching became easier as the path entered the maritime forest. Unfortunately, those trees cut off the last of the setting sun just as Michael spotted human footprints in the dirt.
As Michael knelt down to examine the prints, Nate searched for a dry place to spend the night. ‘It will be dark soon. Maybe we should stop here and continue at first light.’ He pointed at a sprawling live oak tree.
Michael jumped to his feet. ‘No, let’s keep calling Ensley’s name until we can’t see a foot in front of us. Then we’ll stop.’
Suddenly, a commotion overhead curtailed their argument as a man dropped from the tree in front of them. ‘Who in the world are you two?’ he asked. ‘And why are you looking for me?’
TWELVE
St Simons Island. Thursday p.m.
Kate soon realized that ‘urgent situation’ and ‘please call ASAP’ meant something different to a corporate CEO from Atlanta than to a private investigator from the Panhandle of Florida. Although she’d watched her phone throughout dinner at a local pizza shop and kept it on her lap for the rest of the evening, Alexander Frazier didn’t return her call until almost eleven o’clock. She and Eric had fallen asleep on the couch when the ringtone jarred her awake.
‘Kate Weller.’ She poked Eric in the side and hit the speaker button.
‘This is Alexander Frazier. I’m sorry for the delay, Miss Weller, but my secretary didn’t relay your message until after the company’s board meeting. You believe something is wrong out on Elysian? Is it my uncle’s health?’
‘We don’t know exactly what’s wrong out there, but either your uncle or one of his employees has purposefully kept us from joining the company retreat. My partner and I have been unable to reach co-workers, and when we hired a boat to take us to Elysian, someone shot at us.’
Frazier paused. ‘If that’s all that’s wrong, Captain Mike Burke ferries the guests from the mainland to the island. You should get ahold of him.’
‘No, sir, that’s not all that’s wrong. We talked to Captain Burke yesterday. He said Mr Creery specifically told him we had changed our plans and weren’t coming to the retreat. He told Captain Burke to take the rest of the week off with pay. None of that was true.’
‘Mr Creery?’ Frazier asked. ‘Mr Jonah Creery?’
‘I guess so. How many assistants named Creery does your uncle have?’
‘You’re right, Miss Weller. Something is wrong on the island. I’m calling my uncle
right now.’
‘Wait, please!’ Kate begged. ‘Tell me what’s going on first. You don’t want to make matters worse.’
Frazier took a moment to consider. ‘Jonah Creery is the chief financial officer of Resilient Automotive Systems. He’s been absent all week without taking vacation or telling anyone where he’s going. Since Creery wasn’t taking my calls, I had my auditor run a quick check on our balance sheets.’
‘And?’ Kate prodded when Frazier fell silent.
‘What I’m about to tell you is extremely sensitive information. It could cause a panicked sell-off of the company’s stock.’
‘Look, I’m not going to say anything, but lives may be at stake on the island, including those of my friends.’ Kate wanted to reach through the phone and shake the guy. ‘Tell me what your auditor found out.’
‘Jonah Creery has been skimming from the company for at least fifteen years. At first, he took only small amounts. Then, after my uncle retired, Creery became bolder with the money he stole.’ Frazier huffed with contempt. ‘What’s particularly disgusting is that my uncle trusted Jonah. They had been friends for years. If Creery told him the books were being regularly audited as bylaws require, Uncle Julian took him at his word. After my accountant reported the theft, I called an emergency board meeting for this evening. I have my uncle’s proxy to vote his shares whenever he’s not in Atlanta.’
‘What happened at the meeting?’ Kate asked.
‘What do you think? We voted to replace Creery with an interim CFO pending a full investigation. Look, I don’t mean to sound harsh with you, Miss Weller. I’m just totally disgusted. My uncle trusted Creery with his life.’
‘Let’s hope it hasn’t come down to a life-and-death struggle out there.’
‘I still don’t understand the connection between Creery’s theft and you not reaching your company’s retreat? Creery couldn’t possibly know what my accountant discovered, or that he’d been removed as the CFO. Everyone at the meeting was sworn to secrecy under corporate privacy laws.’
Kate then told the nephew everything she knew as succinctly as possible, including the passenger list from the previous week.’