Murder on the Island

by Daisy White

  ‘But why would you help him? I thought you liked Dre?’ Finn said.

  ‘A long time ago, Ellis did me a favour, and now he wants it paid back,’ Ailsa said reluctantly.

  ‘Can you tell us what the favour was?’

  ‘I don’t think I can at the moment. It was… personal. But I can tell you he agreed to turn a blind eye to something important. He did it because he and I…’ – she flushed and played with her teaspoon – ‘He and I had an affair many years ago. After we were both married. Neither of our partners found out, and it blew itself out fairly quickly. I’m not proud of it.’

  ‘So he turned a blind eye to something because he was… fond of you?’ Finn suggested.

  ‘Something like that.’ She sighed again. ‘But then a couple of years ago, after the thing with Dre, he was struggling financially and he started asking me for money. My husband left me a bit when he passed away, and the house, and Cheryl makes a lot. He said I owed him. I didn’t do much, just put around a bit of gossip that Beachside Stables wasn’t doing well. Ellis’ girlfriend, Kelly was at the gallery the night you landed the Palm Bay Hotel contract and photoshoot. She told him, and he spun that story about his lad being sacked and going missing so you’d keep him up to date on what was happening.’

  ‘He took Goldie, then?’ Chloe queried, anger in her voice.

  Ailsa shook her head. ‘He got someone else to take Goldie and lead her down to the Railway Trail. He met them and took her away. I thought that was it, and it was finally over.’

  ‘Someone else? He was blackmailing you,’ Chloe said coldly, shocked to the core that her friend could have been involved in all this.

  The other woman nodded. ‘He’s changed as he’s got older. Bitter as anything now, and just before Dre died his landlord gave him a year’s notice on his stables. She wants to turn it into guesthouses. Ellis said if you sold, and I gave him enough to buy you out, we’d forget about the favour – we’d be quits. I didn’t see any way of saying no, but then I met you, and liked you. You were a bit lost and I know you aren’t blood relatives, but you’re a lot like Dre in so many ways.’

  ‘Did Ellis threaten you?’ Finn asked gently.

  She hesitated, then nodded very slowly. ‘Yes. He kept saying that he was only asking for me to pay my dues. But eventually I told him I wasn’t going to help drive you out. There’s been too much water under the bridge.’

  ‘And he hit you?’

  ‘Yes. He came over that day, and he wasn’t pleased. He’s always had a temper. When I came out of hospital and heard about Goldie, I knew it was him. I rang him and shouted at him to give her back. But now the fire, he’s getting desperate, and I’m scared he might hurt somebody.’

  ‘Are you happy to make a statement?’ Finn asked.

  Chloe was still trying to come to terms with the fact that Ellis Jack had been behind the hate campaign. Not Jonas, or even the boy, Jordan. The hurt cut deep, and it came to her that the reason she felt so betrayed was because she thought she had escaped all this. Childishly, she had felt like she had strayed into a parallel world of paradise and sunshine, and now her illusions were shattered. ‘Do you or Ellis have any ties to Jonas and Melissa Aliente?’

  ‘Them again! No, of course not.’ Ailsa was watching her beadily now, regaining her spirits slightly, now the confession was over with. ‘You’ve got a right bee in your bonnet about that pair, haven’t you? But no, their business is nothing to do with ours. That murdered artist wasn’t anything to do with Ellis either, but you already know that. He was pleased, though, because it was so close to your place. He said it was fate’s way of telling you to get off the island.’

  Chloe stood up, and grabbed the tray, before noticing the tea was cold. ‘Thank you for telling us, Ailsa.’ She tried to keep her voice steady and cool, fighting hard with her emotions. It wasn’t Ailsa’s fault. She had been blackmailed, and she hadn’t realised the consequences of what she was doing… But she still knew what was happening. Tears were bright and stinging behind her eyes and she busied herself with clearing empty mugs, hiding her hurt.

  ‘It was the right thing to do.’ The other woman nodded, watching her with something that might have been sorrow.

  ‘Okay, I’ll get moving, Chloe. Ailsa, I’ll send someone over in the morning to take a proper statement, and don’t worry, we’ll be over at Ellis’ place by first light,’ Finn said briskly.

  After Chloe had remade the tea, taken it out to the appreciative fire service, and helped Ailsa home, it was 2am. Back in her own house, she sank down onto the sofa, still filthy, and pulled a blanket over her. Sleep was immediate.

  Knowing that Antoine would be over as soon as he woke up, she had left the front door unlocked, and the coffee mugs out. Now that she knew Ellis would be arrested this morning, she felt sure he wouldn’t try another attack so soon after the fire, and anyway, Hilda had curled her warm furry body into the small of Chloe’s back, like a canine hot water bottle.

  Sure enough, her stable manager bounded through the door at half past five, making the dog bark and bombarding her with questions.

  ‘You make the coffee, I’ll tell you what happened,’ she muttered sleepily.

  After two mugs, she fed Hilda and let her out into the garden. She began to feel slightly more human, and was able to give Antoine a brief summary of the night, including Ailsa’s confession.

  Antoine was shocked. ‘Who would have thought Ellis was behind it? He’s always come across as such a straight guy, but I kind of remember the scandal when he was accused of animal cruelty. I almost went to work for him, you know. It was him or Dre, but Dre was giving me a shot at being manager and he just wanted another stable lad.’

  ‘It was Dre, wasn’t it, who reported him for the cruelty?’ Chloe put in, pulling her hoody around her shoulders against the cool morning air as Hilda rushed back inside. ‘That was when all this started.’

  ‘I can’t believe he was blackmailing Ailsa,’ Antoine said.

  ‘I know!’ But although Chloe had given Antoine an abbreviated version of the truth, it was the missing pieces that still worried her. What was the favour behind the blackmail? And was it possible Ellis could have stolen her package and made off with the money? According to Ailsa he needed the money from her to buy Chloe’s house and land, so it wasn’t just a case of frightening her into selling.

  ‘At least we know who was behind it. Now we can get on with building up the business,’ Antoine said cheerfully.

  ‘Yes. You’re right, but the first thing I need is a shower and another cup of coffee,’ Chloe told him, ‘especially as I should think it’ll take a few weeks to get everything sorted out. The tack room is a pile of ashes. We’ll have to store saddles and bridles in the house for safety until we get it rebuilt.’

  Antoine nodded. ‘Once the insurance pays up we can get someone in. What about tack in the meantime?’

  Chloe shrugged. ‘Well, Ellis Jack won’t be needing his for a while, will he? Or perhaps I can pick some up cheap, second-hand… I don’t know. Cancel the booking for today and tomorrow and I promise I’ll have something sorted by then.’

  ‘Yes, boss!’

  Chloe was still mulling over the missing pieces of her puzzle when Antoine left to sort out the horses, and she went for a hot shower. As she washed the soot out of her hair, it came to her.

  She was certain now, Jordan must have taken the package, and then removed the money, but returned the painting. He would have had access to the key, and nobody would have suspected Jordan if they saw him hanging around Ailsa’s house. He was a familiar face. And now, finally, after Ailsa’s confession, she felt she could confront her neighbour without any ill feeling.

  Resolving to pay Ailsa another visit after the police had taken their statements, Chloe, dressed, but with her wet hair bundled up in a towel, padded off in search of toast and more coffee. Hilda looked so beseeching, with her big brown eyes and mournful frog-like expression, that Chloe gave her a piece of toast. ‘Just th
is once, mind.’

  Hilda took the prize over to her bed, popped it between her front paws, and crunched it with evident pleasure.

  But when Chloe, gathering her courage, popped next door a few hours later, Ailsa was out and her door locked. Even the chickens had departed to Martha’s garden two doors over. The confrontation would have to wait.

  27

  Having dithered over taking Hilda to the Kite Festival, Chloe finally decided that she would. The dog bounced around the yard as she mucked out, running after an orange ball Antoine had bought her.

  ‘She’s settling in really well!’ he said, smiling at the panting dog. ‘I can always look after her if you need to go out.’

  ‘Thanks, Antoine.’ Chloe wheeled the barrow over to the muck-heap, dodging chickens as she went. ‘But you’ve got competition from Ailsa, who has also fallen for her amphibian-like charms.’

  ‘I’ll have to be second on the list then, I wouldn’t mess with Ailsa and her chickens.’ He laughed. ‘Hey, didn’t you say you needed to be ready by ten thirty. It’s nearly quarter past already.’

  Chloe dumped the last water bucket under the tap and called to Hilda. ‘Done. See you later!’

  Finn picked her up bang on ten thirty, and laughed at her bulging shopping bags.

  ‘Well, you said everyone brought food, so I’ve got a selection from the market.’ Chloe smiled at him. ‘Mostly healthy stuff like crisps and cake.’

  ‘I’m sure that will be a perfect contribution. Hallo, Hilda, and no, there isn’t any food for you in here,’ Finn told her, opening the boot. ‘By the way, I’ve brought your picture back. No other prints apart from Melissa’s, and it has never been listed as stolen, or even appeared in any of Matthew’s collections.’

  ‘So what do I do with it?’

  ‘I’d hang on to it as Melissa asked you, and wait for her to collect it. I know she denied all knowledge of the painting and the money when I asked her, but if you can let her know you still have it safe…’

  ‘What about the money?’

  ‘No leads I’m afraid.’

  ‘I can’t believe we still don’t know what’s really going on!’ Chloe said in frustration.

  ‘Hey, it’s meant to be a holiday today. Time out and time off. Let’s see what happens,’ Finn said.

  ‘Okay. I just need to hide the painting though. Looks like I might be stuck with it for a while.’

  He waited in the car as she ran back towards the house, but paused at the door. Antoine was at the top of the paddock, picking up droppings now, so there was nobody in the yard. Although the tack room was in ruins, the storage shed was a pretty good, secure hiding place. Chloe unlocked the heavy padlock, slipped the package between two boxes, and locked the door again behind her.

  Glancing quickly around, she popped the keys in her bag and went back to Finn’s car.

  The Kite Festival was being held on Horseshoe Beach on Good Friday, another stunningly beautiful sweep of bay where the creamy pink sand met the turquoise sea in a foamy kiss.

  ‘Wow!’ Chloe stepped out of the car, straight into the crowds and music. She glanced anxiously at Hilda, slightly worried she had made a mistake in bringing her along, but the dog was standing calmly next to her, wagging her tail. Above them, on the headland, multicoloured kites of all sizes were already flying, tugging at their ropes in the strong breeze. ‘I didn’t realise there would be so many people!’

  Ailsa was still missing by the evening, so Chloe had called Cheryl, who said her mother was staying with her for a couple of nights. She had been guarded, but friendly enough, and when Ailsa came on the line, she assured Chloe she was fine, just a little shaken up by her confession. They would all see her at the Kite Festival, she told her. Cheryl and Jordan would be with her.

  Finn was now calling out greetings to friends, unloading a picnic hamper from the boot. ‘Yes, it’s a proper celebration. Local legend says a Sunday school teacher was trying to teach his students about Christ’s ascension and used a kite to demonstrate. And that led to the Good Friday celebration we know today.’

  ‘Ailsa’s daughter and her grandchildren are coming later. She went to stay with them last night,’ Chloe said, helping with the towels and bags.

  ‘Is she still feeling guilty?’ Finn enquired. ‘Because Ellis was taking advantage of their shared history, blackmailing her. It isn’t busting any protocol to tell you that he won’t say what the favour was either. It shows how strong she is that she managed to confront him and then turn it around by telling us.’

  ‘I said as much.’ Chloe had already decided to get Jordan on his own and interrogate him today. There simply hadn’t been time to tackle her neighbour about it, and if she was honest with herself, she shrank from causing any more tension between them.

  The more she thought about Jordan, the more it made sense. And the favour? It could even be something to do with Ailsa’s grandchildren? The twins had been tearaways and in trouble with the law. Maybe Ellis had witnessed some of their antisocial behaviour, and kept quiet for Ailsa. It was unlikely that Alfie would have been awarded a scholarship to the UK with a criminal record, wasn’t it?

  ‘Ellis will be far too busy answering the charges against him to think about any retaliation. It’s all over now. We can enjoy the day.’ Finn started walking across the car park, joining the throng of revellers as they surged towards the beach. ‘Are you coming?’

  She blinked, abandoned her whirling thoughts, and followed him through the crowd, Hilda sniffing the air, walking carefully on the sand at the end of her lead. There was plenty of good-natured jostling for the best picnic spots, and Finn threw their blanket down further along the beach, away from a makeshift stage, and the fishcake competition.

  There was a decent amount of shade from an overhanging rock, providing a cooler space for Hilda to lie down. Chloe unpacked her water bowl and filled it to the brim.

  Children were shrieking and running up and down the water’s edge, colourful kites streaming behind them. Tourists were snapping selfies next to the sheltered little cove nicknamed ‘Baby Beach’, because of its shallow depth, encircled by a protective barrier of rocks.

  Several people came over to greet Chloe, to admire Hilda, and Finn introduced her to many more. Somehow, meeting new faces on the beach in the glorious sunshine, with sand beneath her toes, was far easier than the formal party at the gallery. People seemed to know who she was now, asking about her horses, about Antoine, and how she was settling in.

  Jonas wasn’t around, but about an hour after they set up on the sand, Melissa arrived with Arron.

  Chloe scrambled up. ‘Melissa!’ She brushed sand off her dress and smiled at the girl, scanning her face, hoping her voice hadn’t betrayed any emotion. ‘How are you?’

  ‘Hi, Chloe. I’m fine, thanks. Very busy at the New York gallery. Jonas mentioned you have a friend who wants to discuss a bespoke piece?’ Melissa had reverted to the cool, glossy exterior Chloe had first seen at the gallery. Her grey eyes were hidden by sunglasses, and her cream, linen summer dress was fitted and obviously expensive.

  Oh damn. Chloe had forgotten to email Alexa back when she asked about contact details. ‘Yes. Perhaps you’d like to pop over sometime and we can discuss it?’

  Arron, who was opening a picnic hamper, red-faced and sweaty with his grey hair sticking up in peaks, looked up. ‘Or you are always welcome in the gallery, Chloe. If your friend decides against Melissa’s work I can show you some of our up-and-coming talent. Oh, is that your dog? Isn’t she cute!’

  He held out a big hand and Hilda sniffed him politely, staying in the shade of the rock, all four legs stretched out, tail flapping gently on the picnic blanket.

  Melissa’s expression didn’t change, nor did she mention Hilda, but Chloe could feel the flinty gaze fixed on her from behind the tinted glass. ‘Of course. Alexa was very taken with Melissa’s work, though, and once she has made up her mind there is usually no stopping her. Melissa, why don’t you give me your mob
ile number and we can set up a meeting?’

  There was no way she could refuse without seeming rude, and Chloe really couldn’t see for the life of her why she would want to. After a pause Melissa reeled off her number and Chloe carefully added it to her own phone.

  ‘I’m so sorry about everything that happened… Kaila’s arrest must have come as a terrible shock,’ Chloe said to Arron.

  He was also wearing sunglasses, so she couldn’t see his eyes, but his lips smiled, showing excellent white teeth. He wiped his forehead with the edge of a towel. ‘It was a shock, yes, and I am horrified that there should have been such bitterness amongst my artistic community. But thankfully the Bermuda Police Service were able to bring the perpetrator to justice’ – he nodded at Finn – ‘we are very lucky to have such good criminal investigators in Bermuda.’

  ‘How lovely to see you, Arron, and Melissa,’ Finn said, his voice smooth, quick brown eyes missing nothing of the awkward exchange.

  Melissa acknowledged the pleasantry, accepted a glass of champagne from her stepfather and then, as he murmured something to her, smiled at Finn and Chloe. ‘We must catch up later. Arron wants me to meet someone.’

  Arron smiled again. ‘Sorry, won’t be long. Just a bit of business to take care of.’ He stumbled slightly in the sand as he moved away.

  As they walked away, neither Chloe nor Finn missed the fact that Melissa shrugged away from Arron as he put a gentle hand on her shoulder. As before, when his stepson reacted in exactly the same manner, Chloe saw him drop the hand, his own shoulders drooping slightly.

  28

  Chloe went back to arranging the picnic food on paper plates. Tipping crisps into a plastic bowl, she glanced up at Finn. ‘That was strange. I mean, I sort of feel sorry for Arron. His stepchildren seem to hate him.’