Murder on the Island

by Daisy White

  The two men exchanged glances and Josonne shook his head. ‘You might not want to do that. You see the person who reported Ellis to the animal welfare people was Dre.’

  ‘Oh my God! Really?’

  ‘Yeah. They never really spoke after that,’ Antoine said. ‘Dre was adamant that she dropped in for a chat, and saw him using illegal training aids, but he denied it when the welfare people pitched up.’

  ‘I suppose he couldn’t have taken Goldie, could he? For revenge or something?’ Chloe queried.

  Josonne leant back against the fence, considering. ‘Don’t see why he should have. I mean, the row was between him and Dre, not you, and if there were going to be any repercussions it would have been last year when the incident occurred. He’s a nice bloke as it goes.’

  ‘If he had taken Goldie, he’d hardly volunteer information about his ex-employee, would he? He’d keep a low profile, surely.’

  ‘Charlie said he promised Ellis someone would pop in later and take details of the tack theft and the missing lad anyway,’ Josonne added, finishing his drink. ‘Come on, Ant, let’s get back to it!’

  Chloe dropped back into the house for a drink. She sipped the iced water, so lost in thought that she jumped in fright at the banging on her front door.

  ‘Hallo, you must be Chloe?’

  ‘Yes?’ Chloe stared blankly at the smiling, bearded man outside.

  Confusion crossed his face. ‘I’m Andie. I’m from the SPCA to do your home visit check?’

  Chloe put her hand to her head. ‘I’m so sorry, I totally forgot you were coming.’ She invited him in, and explained about Goldie.

  ‘That’s terrible.’ He gulped down the orange juice she offered. ‘Look, this is obviously a bad time for you. Shall I go and we can rearrange?’

  ‘No!’ Chloe said, surprised by the strength of her feelings. ‘No, I would like to show you around. There are people out searching and the police will call if they find Goldie.’

  Andie stood up, still looking doubtful. ‘If you’re sure…’

  He left an hour later, and informed her that the house and land had passed the check and her home was certainly suitable for Hilda to take up residence. After she had signed more forms, and promised to deal with the small hole in the hedge which Ailsa liked to use as her own personal entrance and exit to Chloe’s garden, Chloe sank down on the sofa with exhaustion.

  There was delight, of course, that she could go and pick up Hilda. She had hated leaving her at the rescue centre, despite the fact it was obvious she had been well cared for. But the worry for Goldie, and for her business suddenly made her feel like crying. How could things have gone so wrong in the space of a few hours?

  Pulling herself together, she made sandwiches for herself and Antoine, piled cartons of iced drinks on a tray and took them down to the stable yard.

  Antoine tucked straight into the sandwiches. ‘Thanks, Mrs C. Any news?’

  She shook her head, and went to fuss over Star and Candy. Both mares seemed slightly subdued. Even Star accepted her cuddle, without nipping her owner as she was prone to do. ‘If I had managed to get Hilda earlier she would have heard the horse thief and barked.’

  Antoine stuffed another sandwich in his mouth and shoved the paper straw into his juice. ‘Was that the bloke from the SPCA earlier?’

  ‘Yes, I passed the home check which means I can pick her up,’ Chloe said, gulping down her own drink. ‘I’ll leave the tray in the shade, that way anyone who comes to help look for Goldie can help themselves.’

  ‘I’m going out again now,’ Antoine announced, leaping up after apparently swallowing the last of his sandwich without chewing, and with visible effort.

  ‘I’ve got something to do, but I’ll be out again later. Call me if you find anything, won’t you?’

  He nodded and headed for the gate.

  Luckily, word had spread and Chloe was grateful to find messages on her answerphone that several local people were now out searching the surrounding area for Goldie.

  She popped over to welcome Ailsa back home with a bunch of flowers and one of her home-made candles, before rejoining the search parties.

  Ailsa was sitting on her porch in the rocking chair, chickens clustered around her feet, pecking her shoes. She jumped up as Chloe appeared via the usual way through the interconnecting hedge. ‘I was going to come over when I saw you were back home. Any news of the horse?’

  It was typical of her neighbour to have her finger firmly on the pulse of local news, even when she was recovering from an injury. Chloe sighed with relief at having her closest ally on the island back in the fight, so to speak. ‘Not yet, but I’m sure we’ll find her. How are you feeling?’

  Ailsa brushed off her enquires, and went inside to make coffee. She ignored Chloe’s protests that she should be resting. ‘I only got a clout round the head. It didn’t affect my brain, and my legs and arms still work, so don’t fuss. I’ve only just got rid of my Cheryl. She would have had me in bed for the week if she could.’

  ‘I expect she’s worried about you.’

  ‘No need.’

  Despite her words, Chloe winced at the sight of the purple-and-yellow bruise that decorated Ailsa’s forehead and her left eye. Neat Steri-Strips stretched like a ladder across the cut on her cheek. ‘Any news of your attacker?’

  ‘No. It’s always busy down here at that time of day, so there were a lot of people. Nobody spotted anything out of the ordinary. Mind you, if he walloped me and then strolled off, who could tell?’

  ‘You think it was a man?’

  Ailsa shrugged, and put two steaming mugs, plus a plate of rum cake, on the table. ‘Let’s have this in the kitchen, it’s a bit hot outside. I don’t know. I suppose so. I remember seeing the outline in the glass, opening the door to him, and then… nothing.’

  Chloe, feeling that she needed to lighten the mood, told her neighbour about Hilda, adding, ‘Don’t worry, she’s totally okay with chickens, horses and goats.’

  ‘Oh I don’t mind dogs. I used to have a couple of rottweilers.’ Ailsa smiled. ‘Jack and Jill. Lovely creatures, they were.’

  They chatted a bit about dog breeds, before Chloe decided she must ask the question that had been bothering her since she discovered the break-in. She felt a bit bad about broaching the subject when Ailsa was only just out of hospital, but she needed to know. ‘You remember the spare key I gave you?’

  ‘Of course.’ The dark eyes were shrewd, worried. ‘Someone been in your place who shouldn’t have been?’

  ‘Yes. I just wondered if the key is still here?’

  Ailsa indicated a key rack next to her front door. ‘Yours is the one with the pink ribbon. I got my daughter to check everything was safe and secure because the police wanted to know if anything had been stolen. Seems like maybe I just got unlucky. Someone off their head on drink or drugs who thought I might have something to steal, maybe… Perhaps they went to your house first to try their luck.’

  Chloe didn’t think this was at all likely, and she couldn’t help feeling Ailsa was being very blasé about the whole incident. Strange behaviour would have been noted by the other residents, as would any shouting or sounds of a struggle. She sipped her drink, thinking hard. There was no other way her own house could have been broken into. Finn had checked the locks and windows carefully.

  ‘You all right?’

  ‘Just thinking that somebody else has a key to my house,’ Chloe told her soberly.

  18

  There was no sign of Goldie by nightfall, and Chloe stood in the warm garden, facing the sea. She desperately hoped the horse was okay. They were such friendly, undemanding beasts, and the thought that their trusting nature might be abused was horrible.

  Antoine and the other searchers had gone home, and the yard was peaceful. Chloe looked down at the beach, the sea… She felt restless and ill at ease. The locksmith was booked for tomorrow evening, which was the only appointment he had. She had bolts, which she would use tonight. It
would be fine. Tomorrow she would also pick up Hilda and her little guard dog would be there warn her of any intruders.

  Fiona had been brilliant about the news that her equine model was missing, saying how awful it was, but she was sure that Goldie would turn up. One thing she couldn’t do, however, was postpone the shoot, so if Goldie wasn’t found they would need another horse. Another palomino or something equally striking, so none of Chloe’s other horses would do.

  She googled Ellis Jack’s place at Green Ridge Stable. The website was full of photos and there was lots of information about his status as a horse whisperer, his sell-out tours. Just out of interest, she found herself clicking on the photos of his horses for hire. No palominos. It was silly anyway. Antoine and Josonne were right, the bad blood had been with Dre, not herself.

  Checking her emails she picked up one from Alexa:

  Hi Chloe,

  Just checking in. Hope all okay in sunny Bermuda. Before you see anything on social media, Mark has moved in with a new girlfriend. You are well shot of that bastard, so I hope you will just be pleased he’s out of your hair. Her name is Tamsin and she’s a photographer he met on an assignment apparently. Don’t worry, Maria is away in Ireland doing another celeb wedding, so she hasn’t gone round to kill him!

  Alexa x

  Chloe read the email several times, and the words seemed to ring in her head. She had known her ex would move on, known that they both would, but her heart was pounding as she tapped through his social media. Sure enough, on his Instagram page, there were several photos of him entwined with a pretty blonde girl. She looked very young. Early twenties at a guess.

  The curse of social media, Chloe thought, unsure if she was craving information on the new girlfriend because she was jealous, or because she was being masochistic. The girl was young, pretty and slim, all things Chloe felt she was not, and it wasn’t doing her confidence any good at all. Deciding it was the latter, she forced herself to reply to Alex:

  Hi Lex,

  All good here, and thanks for the info. He can do what he wants, and I’m fine, honestly. Still hurts but I’m back in a happy place so I really should thank him.

  Still got papers to sign re divorce but I’ll get it finished soon. Spare room all ready for you. I’ll message Maria and tell her not to put out a hit on Mark. Yet!

  Love,

  Chloe x

  Ps. Found an amazing artist who could do some pieces for your hotels. See att pix.

  She shut down the computer, went back into her living room and picked up the framed photo of Dre. Her grandmother’s dark eyes stared back, her wide, tomboyish grin and tousled black hair so typical of her in her younger days. Chloe felt tears again. Dre would have understood how she was feeling. She had been through it herself.

  She sighed. She should have come back, should have written letters. But who wrote letters these days? Life had always been so busy she had allowed the most important things to slip away, unchallenged. And now she had lost one of Dre’s horses. Horses that had been entrusted to her.

  On impulse, encouraged by the warm evening air, and the low tide, Chloe went in and changed into her swimsuit. She looked in the mirror for a long moment, and then pulled on a loose dress and flip-flops. Dre had loved to swim and dive.

  As a child she had swum all the time, and even as a teenager she had swum at school. It was only in her twenties that all forms of exercise had tailed off, and for some reason the longer she left getting back in the water, the more anxious she became.

  It didn’t matter how many times she told herself it was totally irrational to be afraid of the water, she still panicked about submerging, about water stinging her eyes, about not being able to breathe. But now, today, the tanned, slightly more muscular woman in the mirror looked ready to brave the ocean.

  Taking deep calming breaths, Chloe stood with her feet in the water. The little wavelets frothed and danced across her toes. She waded across to inspect the rock pools, enchanted by the marine life that inhabited them.

  Then she walked in deeper, pushing the cool, silky waters apart, watching her hands, pale under the waves. Without any further thought she stepped off a sandbank and out of her depth.

  The water was far colder out here, but the waves were still gentle. She was swimming, gasping at the sudden exercise, carefully keeping an eye on her landmarks, the lights of her house shining like a beacon.

  It was foolhardy, even dangerous, but it was exciting, and her body revelled in the darkness of the sea. The moon provided a silver path towards the horizon, and the stars glittered full and bright, making cloud shadows flutter across the beach.

  Chloe rolled onto her back and floated. ‘I can still do it!’ She wouldn’t have dreamt of swimming in the sea at night six months ago. If she had suggested it, Mark would have scoffed at her stupid ideas, would have told her she was scared of the water anyway, so why bother?

  ‘I’m not scared, just not familiar with myself anymore. Now that I have to cope on my own, with a murder, with a break-in and a horse thief, I’ve realised how strong I really am.’

  The sound of her own voice brought Chloe back from her night-time adventure and she started for the beach, her strokes rusty but purposeful. In no time she was rubbing down quickly with a towel, shivering at the change in temperature, and dragging the dress over her head.

  Back in the house, after another quick check on the yard, she had a shower and pulled on her pyjamas. Finally, she made a tour of the house, checking every window and shooting every bolt. Her phone and the heavy torch rested by her bed, just in case. In the living room, Dre’s photographs smiled down at her, silvered by the moonlight.

  Whether it was the late evening exercise, or Dre watching over her, there were no nightmares to disturb her sleep, and no intruders, real or imagined. She woke early, ready to continue the search.

  There was no news from the police station, and Chloe didn’t like to ring and check up. She was causing enough trouble as it was, and although she had met with nothing but welcome and kindness since her arrival on the island, she really didn’t want any further trouble.

  Surprisingly, Jonas rang her mobile as she finished a piece of toast. ‘Chloe! I’m so sorry about the horse. I bumped into Fiona last night and she told me what happened. Any news?’

  ‘No.’ Chloe tried to stop herself from sounding unfriendly. After all, she had no proof it was anything to do with Jonas. ‘I’m sure we’ll find her.’

  ‘I hope so. Let me know if I can do anything. After all, you saved the life of one of my artists, the least I could do is join in the search.’

  ‘How is Sheetal?’ Chloe realised with a jolt of guilt that she hadn’t given the woman a thought in the last twenty-four hours.

  ‘She’s fine. Discharged from hospital and gone to stay back with her parents for a while.’

  ‘Good, I’m glad she’s okay. Don’t worry about me, Jonas, I have lots of people searching, and whoever is trying to drive me out, won’t succeed.’

  He was silent for a moment, then, ‘You think someone is doing that?’

  ‘What else can I think? It seems very strange to have a missing horse just as I book in a photoshoot with it. And I’ve heard gossip saying that my stables isn’t doing well, that we are unreliable. Which is a load of rubbish!’

  ‘Chloe, I know I was the one who asked if your house is for sale, and I know the Skylight Foundation has some investments in this particular development, but please be assured I would never, we would never try to force you to sell. Those kind of tactics are for idiots and cowards. It isn’t the type of thing our family would be involved in.’

  ‘Thank you, Jonas.’ She wasn’t sure how to answer that. Should she say that the developers were fast becoming her number one suspect? Maybe not.

  ‘Melissa is coming back to Bermuda tomorrow,’ Jonas added.

  ‘She is? That’s great I mean, I can speak to her about the commission.’

  ‘Yes. You do that. And, Chloe, I meant what I sa
id. If you need help, you can call me anytime.’

  ‘Thank you.’

  After she ended the call she let out a long breath she hadn’t realised she was holding. ‘That was awkward,’ she told a chicken, which had shimmied in through her front door. She dumped her plate in the sink and gently prodded the chicken back out. It scurried over to join its fellows under the spice tree, clucking crossly at the eviction.

  After a quick tidy up, Chloe shoved her clothes in the washing machine, and swept the kitchen floor. Her phone buzzed with a text as she put the broom down and she pulled it out of her pocket.

  Chloe. Don’t get too cosy with Melissa Aliente. She isn’t who you think she is and might bring you bad luck. I’m watching out for you.

  Chloe sank down onto a kitchen chair, her hands shaking as she reread the text several times. It was sent from an unknown number. She felt nausea creeping across her stomach. What was going on? Was Melissa spreading rumours and trying to wreck her business, and if so, why come to her with vast amounts of cash and a valuable painting?

  ‘Just us to start with today,’ Antoine told her. ‘We’ve got a booking of three at lunchtime, and I’ll take Star, Jupiter and Sunny. Look, I plotted out a new route of the map for us to search.’

  Chloe, having decided not to mention the text, was ready to go, in navy cargo shorts she would never have worn last year, and a white shirt. She pushed her strands of blonde hair from her hot face, and laced up her trainers. ‘Let’s go now. I’ve got to get Hilda’s food and bed before I pick her up this afternoon.’

  They took the trail down to the beach, but turned westerly, clambering across hidden coves. Occasionally Antoine would stretch out a hand to give Chloe a pull up the steeper inclines.