Murder on the Island

by Daisy White

  Ailsa waved the inky sheets of The Royal Gazette. ‘Anyway, as I was saying, there’s an exclusive right here. It says she was jealous of Matthew’s success, they had a row, and she killed him. There was DNA evidence on the trail where his body was dumped, apparently. Not to mention she was involved in dealing drugs, and not just historically either.’

  Chloe frowned. ‘So that’s good. Not the drugs thing, but I mean that it’s solved then.’ But her earlier relief was tempered by another thought. ‘You just mentioned the trail though… How on earth did she get his body down there? He wasn’t a small man, was he?’

  Ailsa stuck her nose back in the paper, popping her reading glasses back onto the bridge of her nose. ‘They were walking along the trail when she killed him. It also says she denies the charges against her, and that items belonging to her were found at the scene.’

  ‘Sounds pretty conclusive.’ Chloe still felt edgy. ‘Can I have a quick look?’ Hadn’t Josonne mentioned a 911 call to BFR just before Jonas had called in the murder? Had someone else suspected Kaila was going to harm Matthew and wanted to get some first responders down to the scene?

  Ailsa passed the paper over and propped her chin on her hand. ‘I brought you an extra box of eggs, too.’

  ‘Thank you, you are sweet! I gave Antoine the last of mine this morning. He’s going to give them to his mum.’ Chloe realised she had been expecting this latest revelation to tie up all the loose ends, but Melissa wasn’t mentioned at all in the article. On the other hand, Finn clearly knew exactly what he was doing, and the police had been very good to her, so she really shouldn’t doubt them. Should she?

  ‘Did you get your locks changed all right?’ her neighbour enquired.

  ‘Yes, thanks, Benji was very efficient.’

  She nodded. ‘He’s a good lad, not like some tearaways I could mention.’

  ‘Is Jordan still giving your daughter a hard time? I thought you said he’d got back into his cricket?’ Chloe asked tentatively.

  ‘I don’t know… Cheryl said he was out all night again, and he didn’t get the job in the sports shop.’ Ailsa screwed up her face. ‘He’s young, though, so perhaps it’ll sort itself out.’ She didn’t sound hopeful.

  ‘I was thinking of visiting a couple of the other stables on the island.’ Chloe changed the subject as they sipped their drinks. ‘Just for a friendly chat. Do you think they’d mind?’ She stretched out a foot and gently rubbed Hilda’s tummy. The dog grinned, still upside down, legs splayed, displaying perfect white teeth. Chloe giggled, remembering Antoine’s previous comment. ‘She does look a bit like a frog.’

  ‘I wouldn’t say frog, but she’s obviously got character.’ Ailsa laughed at the dog and Chloe’s indulgence. ‘Anyway, back to your question, I would say it depends on who you visit.’ her neighbour suggested cautiously, picking up a handmade candle and holding it gingerly to her nose. ‘This is nice. Smells of the sea. One of yours, I suppose?’

  ‘Yes, it is, and you can take one if you like… I know Dre and Ellis Jack had a long-standing feud but I think he might talk to me. He did volunteer information when Goldie was stolen, which was kind. Not that we know who took her yet.’

  ‘He did?’ Ailsa looked sceptical. ‘If I were you I’d leave Green Ridge Stables alone.’

  ‘Oh. Well perhaps the Daileys at Cliff End then?’

  ‘They haven’t been doing so well either, from what I hear, but I’m sure Sarah would be up for a natter.’ Ailsa approved the choice.

  Annoyed that her previous euphoria of a job well done seemed to have disappeared, leaving a mess of loose ends trailing like untied shoelaces, Chloe got back to work after her neighbour left.

  Back to the laptop, she edited the rest of the photographs she had taken this morning and loaded them onto the website, gave the wording another tweak and emailed the photographer from the shoot to remind him of his kind offer to send some of the Palm Bay pictures over.

  By now, a headache nudged at her neck and jaw, and the sunshine beckoned. Stretching her arms above her head, she had a sudden longing to be out in the sea, allowing the waves to wash her worries away.

  Not wanting to tempt fate and put too much into Hilda’s first few days, Chloe gave her a dog biscuit and set her down on her tweed bed. ‘You stay here, darling, and I won’t be long.’

  Hilda looked sulky, but tucked into her biscuit as Chloe went into the bedroom.

  Changing quickly into her swimsuit, she collected a towel and went down to the beach. Braver now, she swam out further, and then along the beach, past several hidden coves and rock formations. A shoal of fish, their scales silvered by the sunlight, swam along with her, and she even ducked her head under for a quick look.

  It was a huge step, and she had to tread water afterwards and wipe her salty eyes, but she had done it. She thought she might buy a snorkel set so she could investigate further.

  Rejuvenated by the sea and sunshine, she went back to the house, showered and changed, before taking Hilda for a quick run up to the paddocks. Practising calling her back, still attached to the long lead, Chloe felt the little dog had settled in so well she would soon be able to take her everywhere without a lead.

  Inside, she refilled the water bowl and called Jonas at the gallery.

  ‘Chloe! How nice. Have you called to set a date for our dinner?’

  She’d forgotten he’d asked her out on the beach where they had found Goldie. ‘Um… That would be lovely, Jonas, but I’m a bit busy this week. The stables need quite a lot of attention and relaunching the business is taking up more time than I’d thought.’

  ‘Of course,’ he said.

  There was an awkward pause. She hoped she hadn’t offended him. ‘Actually, Jonas, you said that Melissa was back, and I’d love to have a quick chat with her. About the possible commission.’

  ‘She’s out at a meeting with my stepfather, but I can get her to give you a call. They should be back by four…’

  ‘That’s great, thank you.’

  ‘Chloe, why don’t you bring some of your flyers to the gallery? We don’t have any photographs at the moment and Fiona was saying that the photographer from your shoot was keen to display a few.’

  ‘Was he? That would be wonderful and Goldie was such a beautiful model.’ Well, she had been thinking along the same lines regarding the flyers, Chloe told herself, but she also thought of Emma and the community shop and made a frustrated face in the mirror opposite. She was thankful Jonas couldn’t see her squirming. ‘Are you sure? That would be very kind.’

  ‘Bring a box in, and we’ll pop them on the counter. You know, one of my clients was in buying a wedding gift for her son yesterday. He’s getting married in Hamilton next month. Perhaps you could do wedding vouchers for your trail rides too?’

  He was being so helpful, Chloe instantly felt guilty for having suspected him of anything. ‘I’d have to check my contract with Fiona, but it’s a wonderful idea!’

  ‘Are you going to the Kite Festival this weekend?’

  ‘Yes, I…’ Should she say she was going with Finn?

  ‘I’ll look forward to seeing you there, then. Melissa and Arron will be coming and we’ll get a few bottles and a hamper. It’s tradition.’

  ‘Your stepfather is staying on the island for a while, then?’

  She could hear the tension in his voice. ‘Yes, for another couple of weeks, before he goes to Madrid. Normally, as I said, he leaves Melissa and I to run various parts of the business, but he seems very taken with Bermuda just now.’

  ‘I suppose with the Skylight Foundation here, he wants to support the community?’ Chloe suggested.

  Jonas made a noise that sounded like a half laugh, half snort. ‘He has charities and foundations coming out of his ears, and all over the world. I don’t think this one means any more to him than any other. Sorry, I shouldn’t have said that. Things are just… rather tense at the moment.’

  ‘No problem, I understand. I’ll see you tomorrow at the festiv
al and thank you so much for your offer about the flyers.’

  Chloe rang off and stared out of the window. In the faint reflection, her face was tanned and healthy, but her eyes were worried.

  25

  Hilda’s bark woke her up. The little dog had cosied up on Chloe’s bed again and looked at her with such sad, pleading eyes she had given in and let her stay.

  Now, blinking around the darkened room, trying to identify the feeling of danger, Chloe reached out for Hilda. But the dog had headed for the front door and was barking, rushing back and forth between Chloe’s bedroom and the exit to the outside.

  Her phone rang and she fumbled for it, dropping it off her bedside table, leaving it on the floor as she ran to the window, feeling the cool air from the draft around the sill. It was mixed with something. Tendrils were drifting across the room now, soft and menacing, stroking her face, making her nose twitch. Smoke. Fully awake, and aware. There wasn’t any fire in the house, she could see that very quickly, which meant it was outside. The stables!

  Tugging on tracksuit bottoms with shaking hands, she picked her phone up and dialled 911. The horses were whinnying in fear, and panic clogged her voice as she gave her address to the operator. Hilda was still barking, spinning around by the front door like a frenzied creature. Slamming the phone down, Chloe wrenched open the door and ran outside into the thick darkness with the dog right beside her.

  The gate to the stables was open, but the yard gate, which led onto the trail was still shut. Momentarily indecisive, she froze. Where could she take the horses that would be safe? Smoke was billowing thickest near the tack room, and the crackle of orange flames could be seen at ground level.

  Already neighbours were shouting, running to help. She tore a nail on the latch as she swung open the gate to the small paddock, and ran to shoot the bolts on the doors.

  The flames were reaching greedily towards the stables now, fanned by the Atlantic breeze, but Chloe guessed she had woken pretty much as soon as it was started, judging by the fact it was still small and fairly contained.

  There was no time for halters, and through the smoke she was aware of others helping, grabbing manes and noses, running the animals to the safety of the paddocks. The goats and chickens followed, hustled by shouting helpers, until the yard was clear.

  She yelled that she had called the fire service and turned on the hose, dragged it across the yard towards the tack room. Two men were filling buckets from the trough, forming a human chain. Looking round in another brief burst of panic, Chloe was relieved to see Hilda, a little black shadow amongst darker shadows, faithfully tailing her owner.

  The sparks rained down on the surrounding area as Chloe aimed her jet of water at the base of the flames. She had no idea if she was doing the right thing, but there was no way she was going to watch her livelihood burn down.

  More people joined the fight, with more buckets. The yard was slippery with water and grime, and Chloe was half choking from the acrid smoke. She wiped her sweaty face with her forearm and grimly concentrated on the task in hand. Torches spotlit the scene and the golden heart of the fire burnt brightly.

  The noise and heat made conversation impossible, but fairly soon it became obvious that they were winning. Even before the blue flashing lights and sirens grew louder, vehicles jolting up her driveway, the flames were spluttering defiantly into a thick smoky mess.

  Chloe relinquished the hose to a neighbour, and went straight up to check on the animals. By the time she returned from the paddock, Ailsa had staggered through the hedge, pushing aside Chloe’s makeshift barrier, struggling to tie her pink quilted dressing gown, but determined not to miss any gossip.

  ‘What happened?’ Josonne asked Chloe, as the firefighters spread out. Some checking for any further fires around the yard or house, and others cooling the heart of the fire, salvaging anything that they could, and piling it into an untidy heap on the other side of the stables.

  ‘My dog woke me up, and then I smelt smoke.’ Chloe could see Finn getting out of his car. ‘All the horses are okay. Whoever started it must have only just scarpered, because when I got out here it was just starting to spread.’

  ‘Thank God you woke up,’ Josonne told her, and Finn joined them, concern in his eyes.

  Finn added, ‘This could have been very bad, Chloe. Did you see anyone?’

  She shook her head. ‘No… I was sort of hoping that things had died down.’ Chloe reached down to fondle the dog’s velvet ears. ‘Thank God I got Hilda. She was the one who heard, or I guess smelt what was going on. If I woke up any later it might have spread to the stables.’ She couldn’t bear to think of her precious horses trapped and terrified, so hastily swung her thoughts back to the perpetrator. Who was doing this? Jonas and the developers? Jordan’s name had to be up there with the suspects, but could she do that to Ailsa? What would her neighbour’s grandson have to gain by ruining her livelihood?

  ‘Chloe,’ Finn said gently, ‘what are you thinking? Did you see anyone?’

  ‘No! I honestly didn’t. But during the last week I’ve been doing a lot to promote the business. You know, saying how great we were doing, touting for new bookings. Perhaps whoever did this didn’t like that?’

  ‘You certainly rattled someone’s cage, but that was a pretty dangerous way of doing it,’ Finn said, in concern.

  Chloe wiped sweat and grime off her face, and squared her shoulders. ‘I didn’t do it on purpose! I was trying to save the business. I honestly can’t understand who would have any motive for destroying my home and stables apart from the developers. But I won’t let anyone drive me out. Doesn’t matter if I can’t prove who is doing this, I won’t let them win,’ she said passionately.

  Suddenly she remembered the call on her phone, right after Hilda had started barking. On pretext of checking a message she flicked the screen to recent calls. An unknown number registered a call, just as she had thought. No voicemail. Another warning?

  Finn grinned at her, but his eyes were serious, probing. ‘Come back to us, Chloe. What are you thinking?’

  ‘Sorry, distracted by a text. I am fine, honestly. And like I said, business will go on as usual.’

  ‘The warrior spirit is strong. But it could also get you in serious trouble. Let’s go inside and talk,’ Finn suggested.

  Josonne, who was surveying the yard, asked suddenly, ‘And have you rung Antoine?’

  ‘No. He’ll be asleep.’

  ‘He won’t. Word spreads fast. By now somebody will have woken him up and told him about the fire. Wouldn’t surprise me if he was on his way over. He loves those horses, doesn’t he?’

  ‘Oh God, you’re right. I don’t want him to worry. I’ll text him now,’ Chloe promised.

  As they reached the door of the house, Ailsa was waiting in the shadows, eyes red-rimmed and tired. ‘I suppose you’ll want the tea made? Hallo, Hilda!’ She leant down and petted the dog.

  ‘Ailsa, you shouldn’t have come over. I can make the tea. Are you all right?’ Chloe asked, concerned by the fatigue in her neighbour’s face, the lines of worry that wrinkled her forehead.

  ‘I’m fine. Just wanted to check all the horses were safe. I was hardly going to lie in bed with an inferno next door, was I?’ Ailsa retorted, with a spark of her usual spirit.

  ‘We’re all fine. It’s all over now, so you’re welcome to head home and go back to bed. Or come in for a hot drink if you prefer?’

  The older woman shook her head firmly. ‘I’m fine and I’m coming in.’ Any awkwardness that might have lain between the two of them after the dinner at The Ocean Club was rapidly dissolved by Ailsa’s presence. Finn went through the usual questions for his report on the fire, another officer taking notes, deferring to his superior but occasionally slipping in other questions, or asking for clarification on an answer.

  Chloe answered everything carefully, sipping her tea, conscious now of her dirty tracksuit bottoms and baggy, torn, white T-shirt. Her hair had come loose from its night-time
plait and she pushed tendrils back from her sweaty face. Exhaustion made her stumble over her words, and her headache was back. Hilda sat firmly at her feet as she boiled the kettle and reached mugs out of the cupboard, wet nose just touching Chloe’s bare ankle. Her presence was extremely comforting.

  While they were talking, Ailsa drank her own tea, poked around Chloe’s kitchen, discovered cake in the tin, and made another four cups for Josonne and his team. Only when she had dumped all this on a tray, did she turn back to the table.

  ‘I’ll put those on a tray and take them out,’ Chloe said, standing up, but Ailsa put out a hand.

  ‘Wait a bit, I’ve got something to say to both of you.’

  Finn and Chloe exchanged surprised glances.

  ‘Yes, something important to say.’ She sat down, slowly and carefully, linking her hands together and putting them firmly on the table in front of her. ‘I’ve given this a lot of thought, but I know whose side I’m on.’

  ‘Go on,’ Chloe said gently.

  ‘I know who’s been trying to run you out of business. It’s been me.’

  26

  Ignoring Chloe’s gasp and Finn’s quick exclamation she went on. ‘It’s true, but maybe not how you think.’

  She sighed, suddenly looking sad as well as tired. ‘It’s time this came out. Too many years and too many lies. You know of Ellis Jack?’

  ‘Yes. He and Dre had some long-standing feud, didn’t they?’ Chloe said, staring wide-eyed at Ailsa. Never in a million years would she have suspected her. But the niggling little voice told her, perhaps even though she claims responsibility it might still be her grandson… She quickly tuned back into what Ailsa was telling them.

  ‘…She accused him of neglecting his animals. Mud sticks and it took him a long time to get rid of the reputation. He lost a load of money after that. His agent dropped him and he couldn’t tour. He was in debt up to his eyeballs. But it was more than that. His farm is only leased, and Dre owned her land and buildings outright. He wanted what she had, so when she died, and left the place to you, he told me to help get rid of you.’ Ailsa was staring at the table, unable to meet Chloe’s eyes as her words came rushing out.