A Hole In One

by Judy Penz Sheluk

  43

  Arabella was busy sorting through the boxes of inventory they’d purchased from Heidi—there was plenty they could list on eBay for what she hoped would be a relatively quick turnaround for some much-needed cash—when Emily blew into the Glass Dolphin. She was out of breath and her usually flawless complexion was red and blotchy.

  “Oh. My. God,” Emily said. “We have to do something. You will not believe who’s being questioned in the murder of Trent Norland.”

  “Luke Surmanski.”

  “Yes, but how on earth did you find out?”

  Arabella filled Emily in on her breakfast at the Sunrise Café.

  “Damn, that Kerri St. Amour is good,” Emily said, temporarily sidetracked, and with grudging admiration. “How did she find out?”

  “Fran said Kerri has ‘eyes and ears everywhere,’ whatever that means. The bigger question would be, how did you find out?”

  “Hudson called me late last night. He tried to reach you, but you weren’t answering.” Was there an accusation there? If so, Arabella chose to ignore it.

  “What did he say?”

  “That it has to be a big misunderstanding.”

  Arabella wasn’t so sure. After all, Luke had lied to the police about recognizing Marc Larroquette, and renting a houseboat with the only source of ID a pleasure craft operator’s card seemed a bit loosey-goosey for someone who ran a successful marina. What if he’d lied about other things?

  “Does Hudson know what evidence the police have on Luke?”

  “I don’t know. He said whatever they have, it must be circumstantial.” Emily bit her lip. “I just know that Luke is innocent. I’ve gotten to know him, and—don’t give me that look, Arabella.”

  “What look?”

  “That look that says when it comes to men, my judgment is sorely lacking. I’m telling you, Luke is different.”

  “I believe you.”

  “No, you don’t. I’m sure you’re relieved that Levon’s off the hook for the Trent Norland murder, at least, but now Luke needs our help, as in you and me and Hudson.”

  “What do you mean, ‘Levon’s off the hook, at least for the Trent Norland murder?’”

  “There’s still the question of Marc Larroquette’s death.”

  “Surely you don’t believe…” Arabella leveled Emily with her best how-dare-you stare. “Of course not, but I also don’t believe Luke is guilty. Do you?”

  “I don’t know. I know you’re into him, but how well do we really know Luke? It’s possible that he drove to the third hole, killed Marc, and went back to the clubhouse to ride back out to the course with us. He said that he was going to check on the jet ski, but we only have his word for it.”

  “We also have Hudson’s word.”

  “For all we know, Hudson could be an accomplice. He said he was going to the silent auction table. Maybe he was acting as a lookout.”

  “A lookout? Listen to yourself.”

  “I’m just trying to help.”

  “That’s your idea of helping Luke? Implicating Hudson? I thought you liked him.”

  “We’re trying to sort out whether Luke could be innocent. I’m not sure what else you want from me.”

  “I want you to meet Hudson for lunch at the Noose today at noon. He asked us to join him to discuss theories. He thought three heads would be better than one.”

  “What about the store?”

  “I’ve already called Caitie. She’s more than happy to help out.”

  “It sounds like you have everything worked out.” Arabella knew she sounded cranky, but she was tired of playing detective. She was also tired of men: Levon, Hudson, Luke. They were all a pain in the ass.

  “Will you come with me?”

  Arabella sighed. Sometimes the price of partnership came high. “Yes, I’ll come with you.”

  “Thank you,” Emily said as she picked up one of the boxes of Cornflower glass that Arabella had just sorted and labeled with “eBay.” She took it to her computer desk at the back of the shop. “I’ll get started on listing these straight away. Staying busy will keep my mind off Luke until it’s time to leave. And Arabella?”

  “Yes?”

  “Stop sleeping with Levon. It’s messing with your chi.”

  “I’m not—”

  “Oh please. I stopped off at the Sunrise Café on the way here. I thought I might pick up some nugget of gossip that could help Luke. Fran mentioned that you’d been in and had bacon and eggs.”

  Sometimes this town was too small to be believed. “So I had bacon and eggs. From that you determined I slept with Levon?”

  “You left here on a mission yesterday afternoon. I figured you were off looking for Levon, and it turned out I was right. According to Kerri’s blog, you and Levon went to the police station last night. Levon is no longer a suspect. You celebrated. When you’re hungover you eat dry toast or grease like bacon and eggs. And the only thing that gives you a serious hangover is cognac. Levon, cognac—I did the math. When are the two of you going to admit you’re still stuck on each other?”

  Arabella wasn’t about to mention Gilly’s surprise visit. “Is there anything else you want to lecture me about? Or can we try to get some work done?”

  “I would appreciate it if you gave Luke the same benefit of the doubt that I extended to Levon.” Arabella nodded. “I can do that.”

  Or at least try.

  Another smile. “All we have to figure out is what the police have on him and then find a way to disprove it. Without implicating Levon again, of course.”

  “Is that all?” Arabella said. “That’s all.”

  It was the way she twitched her shoulders that gave her away. There was more to this story than Emily was telling her. How much more remained to be seen.

  44

  The Hanged Man’s Noose was doing decent business for a weekday morning. Betsy greeted Arabella and Emily at the door. “Hudson’s already here,” she said, leading the way. “Nina’s all about comfort food today. The specials are mac and cheese or veggie lasagna. Hudson’s going with the mac and cheese.”

  Nina was a great cook, but the thought of either made Arabella’s stomach churn. She took a seat across from Hudson.

  “The veggie lasagna sounds great,” Emily said, sitting next to Arabella. “Anything to drink?”

  “White wine spritzer with lime and lots of ice.”

  “Coors Light,” Hudson said.

  “Bottle or glass?”

  “Glass.”

  “Arabella?”

  “Just club soda for me,” Arabella replied, catching Betsy’s look out of the corner of her eye. It was the one that said, we’ve been friends forever and the only time you order just a club soda is when you’re hungover. She hated that she felt the need to explain. “I had a big breakfast. I didn’t realize I was coming here for lunch.”

  Betsy grinned. “Uh-huh. One club soda coming right up.” As soon as Betsy left, Hudson got right to the point.

  “Here’s what I know. Detective Merryfield has interviewed me three times. Each time he asked the same questions. Did I know Marc Larroquette? Answer: no. Did I know Trent Norland? Answer: not before the day of the golf tournament. Did I belong to or know of an organization called ‘fist?’” Hudson closed his hand to demonstrate.

  Arabella glanced at Emily. She hadn’t told her about the connection to FYSST.

  “Fist?” Arabella said, mimicking Hudson’s closed hand. She needed to know what he knew.

  “Yes, fist,” Hudson said. “And once again, the answer was no. Luke told me they asked him the same questions.”

  “And his answers were also no?”

  Hudson took a moment to reply. “Yeah…but…on the day of the golf tournament, Luke told the police that he didn’t recognize the body. Later, he admitted he did, but couldn’t place him because the man he’d met had been wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses.”

  “That’s plausible,” Emily said. “I’ve run into people that I know from swi
mming or golf, and I can’t place them out of context.”

  “Except that Marc Larroquette rented a houseboat from Luke using only a Pleasure Craft Operator ID card.”

  “With Kevin Hollister Cartwright’s name on it,” Emily said. “Luke said Marc paid cash, including a damage deposit.”

  Hudson frowned. “Even so, houseboats aren’t inexpensive. What if he’d totaled it, or, had stolen it? What would he say to his insurance company? The more I think about it, the less likely I believe that Luke would rent to a stranger without a credit card or driver’s license for back up. I didn’t question it at the time, but you can be sure the police have.”

  Arabella had been thinking the same thing. There was also the “coincidence” of Marc renting the houseboat under the name of Kevin Hollister Cartwright, Emily’s ex-fiancé.

  “Are you suggesting that Luke knew Marc Larroquette?” Emily asked.

  Hudson shook his head. “No, but I do think he knew Kevin Hollister Cartwright. He didn’t know ‘Kevin’ was really Marc Larroquette.”

  Everyone leaned back in their seats and thought. Arabella put together what she knew. Chloe was Marc’s stepdaughter. Chloe had lived with Kevin after Kevin had broken up with Emily. It was possible that Chloe had told Marc about Emily Garland, Kevin’s ex. Maybe Chloe told him Emily had moved to Lount’s Landing and owned part of an antiques shop. It wouldn’t take long for Marc to find out that Arabella Carpenter had founded the store.

  If Marc Larroquette had been keeping tabs on Levon—and Arabella was sure he had—then he’d know that she had once been married to his son.

  She told the others what she was thinking, concluding with, “What I don’t know is why Marc felt the need to drag Emily into this, and he had to know using the name of her ex-fiancé would do just that—unless he was trying to send a message. I’m not sure what message he was trying to send or to whom. It’s bizarre.”

  Hudson nodded. “It also doesn’t explain how Luke knew Marc Larroquette, regardless of what name he was using.”

  “Does Luke have a tattoo?” Arabella asked.

  “He doesn’t have any tattoos,” Emily said, and blushed.

  Hudson looked confused. “What does having a tattoo have to do with this?”

  Betsy came by with their drinks and slid into the empty seat next to Hudson. “Finally, a break in the action. So who’s getting a tattoo? Are you finally going to get a tat, Arabella?”

  Betsy had a tattoo of a pink butterfly at the nape of her neck. You didn’t see it unless she wore her hair up, unlike the small noose on the inside of her right wrist. That one she liked to show off whenever she could.

  “The only thing I might consider as a permanent addition to my body would be diamond stud earrings,” Arabella said with a smile.

  “I already have the Canadian flag on my ankle,” said Emily. “It’s the only body art I need.”

  “Then it must be you, Hudson.” Betsy said.

  He shook his head. “Like Arabella, I’m a holdout when it comes to tattoos. We were talking about Luke Surmanski.”

  “Then I’m with Hudson,” Betsy said. “Why does it matter if Luke has a tattoo?”

  “That’s what I was trying to find out,” Hudson said.

  “Not just a tattoo,” Arabella said. “A specific tattoo of a wagon wheel with the letters F-Y-S-S-T around each spoke.”

  “F-Y-S-S-T,” Hudson said. “Not F-I-S-T.”

  “Exactly. It stands for Face Yesterday, Save Someone Tomorrow. It was started by a couple of men who wanted to do something good. What we do know is that Marc Larroquette was a member. He even headed up a branch, if you can call it that, in Northern Ontario. If Luke had the tattoo, it meant he, too, was a member.”

  “That doesn’t mean he wasn’t a member,” Betsy said. “It just means he didn’t get the tattoo.” Emily picked at her napkin and started shredding it into strips. “Luke has an aversion to needles.”

  “So not having the tattoo…” Betsy said.

  “Doesn’t mean he wasn’t a member,” Emily said, and started to cry.

  45

  By unspoken agreement, there was no more talk about Luke until they’d finished eating. Arabella regretted her earlier decision not to order anything, but Betsy had her covered with a mini order of Full Noose Nachos.

  “On the house,” Betsy said with a wink, sliding the plate on the table.

  Food eaten, dishes cleared, and drinks replenished, it was time to address the subject of Luke once again. Emily started the conversation. “I think it’s safe to assume that Luke knew Marc Larroquette. I also think it’s safe to assume the police have come to the same conclusion.”

  Hudson nodded. “I agree. Anything else?”

  “I think FYSST is the most obvious connection,” Emily said, “but I’m inclined to believe that he knew Marc as Kevin Hollister Cartwright, which would explain the houseboat rental.”

  “I hate to ask,” Arabella said, “but did you and Luke ever talk about Kevin?”

  Emily shook her head. “I told him that before I moved to Lount’s Landing, I’d been serious with a guy in Toronto, but I wouldn’t have mentioned his name. In fact, if the guy I’m dating name-drops, it’s a red flag to me that they’re still hung up on their ex. I figure the reverse is true. So, yeah, Luke would have known there used to be a guy in Toronto, but not his name.”

  “The next obvious question, why would Luke want to join an organization like FYSST?” Arabella asked.

  Emily shook her head. “I don’t really know much about his past, outside of what he’s told me. His mom and dad live in Toronto. He gets along with them, and they have dinner together on the last Sunday of every month. He has an older sister who lives in Alberta. He hasn’t seen her in a couple of years, but they text each other on a regular basis.”

  “That’s what he told me, too. But I’ll bet that’s not the story Kerri St. Amour is planning to write,” Hudson said.

  “And you know this, how?” Emily asked.

  “Because I had the ‘pleasure’ of speaking to her early this morning,” Hudson said, using air quotes around the word pleasure. “She grilled me about Luke’s past, and intimated that there were some buried secrets. I wasn’t sure if Kerri was trying to get me to tell her things she didn’t know, or if she knew things that I don’t.”

  “What did you tell her?” Emily asked.

  “Exactly what you just told us, but I haven’t known Luke all that long. We met when I moved to Lakeside.”

  Arabella wondered if Luke had a secret he was willing to kill two men for. “You need to call Chloe,” Arabella said to Emily.

  “Who’s Chloe?” Hudson asked.

  Arabella filled him in while Emily stared at her hands.

  “Arabella’s right,” Hudson said. “Chloe may have some answers.”

  Emily nodded. “I know. I’ve been putting it off, hoping it wouldn’t be necessary. I’ll call her as soon as we get back to the shop. I can’t promise she’ll want to speak to me, though.”

  “All you can do is try,” Arabella said, but a big part of her was worried about the outcome. What if Chloe’s answers hurt Luke, instead of helped him? What if Kerri St. Amour had been there before her?

  What if Luke really was guilty?

  46

  When Emily made the call she was surprised that Chloe not only agreed to meet with her, but also offered to make the trip to Lount’s Landing the next day.

  “She’s going to come here? To the Glass Dolphin?” Arabella asked. “She said she needed to get out of Toronto for a day.”

  “Hmm. Well, if you’ve got the store covered, I’m going to see Levon.”

  Emily didn’t push it. She had enough on her mind without worrying about Arabella’s love life. “Safe travels, then.”

  Emily had a hard time concentrating while she waited for Chloe, but she managed to list a handful of items on eBay and check on the status of a dozen more, in between helping the occasional person who wandered into the store
. She was wrapping a pink Depression glass platter for a customer when the door chimed. It was Chloe. She’d ditched her usual spandex for a floral skirt, white tee shirt, and sandals; her blonde hair was pulled back in a ponytail. She wore minimal makeup though her red- rimmed eyes had been heavily mascaraed. Chloe had been crying, and crying hard.

  Chloe waited until the customer left the shop before speaking. When she did, the words tumbled out in a rush. “Kevin’s left me, and it’s all because of that bastard Marc Laurentian. Or should I say Larroquette. God, he didn’t even use his real name when he married my mother. She always did know how to pick a loser.”

  “I’m sorry. I know firsthand how much it hurts to get dumped.” It wasn’t meant to be a dig. Kevin left her for Chloe, but kicking someone when they were down wasn’t her style.

  “Yeah. I guess you do, thanks to me.”

  “I used to blame you, but I came to realize our breakup wasn’t your fault. Kevin likes to get engaged, but he’s not the marrying kind. As you’ve just found out.”

  “It’s true we’ve been arguing lately, mostly about money. He thought we were spending too much on the wedding.”

  “If that’s the case, why did you blame Marc Laurentian?”

  “Because he came to town spouting who-knows-what sort of nonsense. Kevin was livid. He considers organized religion a cult. Something like FYSST sent him over the edge. And then Marc used Kevin’s name to rent that houseboat. He went ballistic over that.”

  “Kevin told me he thought Marc asked you for a donation to the cause. Did he?”

  The two red splotches on Chloe’s face told all. “Yes, but I didn’t tell Kevin about it. He was already angry enough. Besides it was more like blackmail than a request for a donation.”

  “Blackmail?”

  Chloe nodded. “I got pregnant at sixteen and gave the baby up for adoption. A boy. I didn’t want to, but my home life was hardly conducive to bringing in a baby.”

  “Did Kevin know?”