by Sonia Parin
Her mind grabbed hold of the idea. “An exclusive club with high membership fees. I like that. I have to write this down. I’ve no idea what it means, but I think it’s part of the puzzle.” Eve looked up. “Here they come. Eyes and ears, Jill. We watch everyone and listen to what they all have to say.”
They’d done well. Dante Hildegard had come with the group. Eve made a mental note to thank Shelby for the heads-up phone call.
A couple of people, including Allan Albright, gave her a nod of acknowledgment but she was not asked to join their party. Eve didn’t mind. She really wanted to focus on catching something of interest and thought her chances would improve if she didn’t lose herself in a conversation.
They didn’t have long to wait.
“Someone else will take his place...”
It took Eve a moment to realize the tone had changed from party mode to business. The subject at hand had to be a serious one. But not serious enough if they were prepared to tackle it in public, she thought, unless they were all confident no one would add two and two together.
“It can’t happen again.”
“Agreed.”
Moments later, their tone changed as a waiter came to take their orders.
“Anything but fish.”
Whoever had spoken triggered a general consensus. They’d all be steering clear of anything fishy. Their concern should have let them off the hook, but Eve refused to clear them of any wrongdoing.
“Where’s your spirit of adventure?”
A brief glance over her shoulder identified the man as Dante Hildegard. She knew that for sure because the woman next to him mentioned his name.
“Weren’t you recently in Japan, Dante?”
“I was. Next time you’re there, make sure you try some Fugu...”
Eve’s eyes widened. She looked at Jill and mouthed the word. If not prepared properly, Fugu could be lethally poisonous. She drew out her cell phone and sent Jack a text message. He hadn’t told her what sort of poison had killed Jon O’Brian but she’d bet anything it had come from the Fugu fish. It could have been snuck into the pâté.
Her mind whirled with possibilities.
From one moment to the next, she decided to take the fish out of the equation and leave only the poison. She knew the fish liver had the most concentration of toxin. The liver might have been blended in with the duck liver to make the pâté...
But how would they have managed it? She didn’t think the fish was available locally. She couldn’t be sure, but she suspected it might only be found in the tropics, and not in cold-water climates.
Unfortunately, once they’d made their menu selections they steered the conversation away from food and switched to fashion and yachts and their next destination. Eve noticed no one talked about vacations or time off. She imagined if anyone mentioned the word work they’d have to search a dictionary for the meaning.
“Did you get anything out of that?” Jill asked as Eve hurried her out of the restaurant.
“Only the possibility of the poison coming from a fish that is not even found in these waters. If Jack doesn’t get back to me with a confirmation I am going to be annoyed with him. He owes me.”
“At least you’ve perked up.”
“I feel we have something to work with now.”
“I would have liked to have dessert,” Jill complained, “Why did we have to leave so quickly?”
“I can only take so much talk about fashion and yachts. You can have some chocolate tart at Mira’s place. Mention of the fish shifts the suspicion back to Lana Bishop. We need to get on-line and see what we can find about her. As far as I’m concerned, she is currently our prime suspect.”
Lana had become the strongest connection to the possible source of poison. The pâté. Jack would want to know why. Eve decided Millicent had played an innocent role, ignorant of the consequences of taking the box to the Stevenson’s house. If she’d left the pâté behind, Jon would still be alive today.
Did Lana Bishop have a reason to want Jon O’Brian dead?
“I wish we had some insight into their conversation,” Jill said. “Someone else will take his place. I assume they were talking about Charlotte finding a new man. But I can’t begin to imagine what they meant by saying it couldn’t happen again.”
“Let’s toss a few ideas around. How about... they thought Charlotte had made a mistake by choosing Jon, a man who didn’t belong to their social circle, and they don’t want her to make a bad choice again.”
“We’re assuming her choice of husband would affect them.”
“It would. You should have seen them at the cocktail party. Like oil and water, not mixing. They don’t take kindly to outsiders. You heard the way they talk. It’s as if they have a secret code only they understand. Someone from outside of their circle would make life awkward for them. Come on, we’ll figure it out.”
“The more I think about it, the less ideas I come up with,” Jill grumbled.
“How about we divert our attention with some research?”
It took them several hours to trawl through the current online issues of several magazines but as the clock struck midnight, Jill jumped to her feet.
“I found something. It’s an article in a local newspaper. Mayflower Catering re-opens its doors after surviving its financial crisis. The owner, Lana Bishop, has taken over all catering of functions for the Stellar Group owned by Jon O’Brian. That sounds like a significant contract for her.”
“You found the connection.” Eve clapped her hands. “Well done. We have a link.” Again, she had no idea what the business connection meant, but they had to start somewhere, so she decided to use it as a springboard...
Getting a fresh sheet of paper, Eve drew a pyramid. Charlotte and her friends at the top. Below that, Jon and below him... Lana Bishop.
“Wait, there’s more. Brace yourself. The deal was brokered a day before the couple made their engagement official.”
Eve shot to her feet. “What?”
“This is dated seven months ago.” Jill grinned. “I believe we have a motive... or two. Jealousy and possibly, revenge.”
“Are you suggesting Jon dumped Lana for Charlotte?” Eve asked.
“I’d stake my non-existing reputation on it.”
“We’ll have to find out how they broke off the engagement and... When Jon met Charlotte. When and how did that happen? That way we can draw up a timeline.”
“If someone broke up with me and moved onto someone else, I don’t think I’d want to have anything to do with them.”
Eve thought about it. “What if there’s money involved. Lana Bishop had recently resurrected the business. She wouldn’t want to take backward steps. But would she bide her time? Wait for the opportunity to seek revenge on the man who dumped her, assuming that’s what happened.” Eve got up and paced around the sitting room. “She talks Jon O’Brian into convincing Charlotte to have the wedding on the island and to engage Mayflower Catering. For all time’s sake. That would have been a big account for her. But she’s still furious with Jon for dumping her. With everything in place and going according to plan, she strikes at the most opportune moment. She has a contract so her connection to Jon’s company remains intact. Someone else takes over Jon’s company and she continues to do the catering for them because no one knows she killed him. I think it’s called having your cake and eating it too.”
“You’re starting to think like a killer.”
“Are you afraid to spend the night under the same roof?”
“Now that you mention it... Yes!” Jill laughed. “Are you going to share this with Jack?”
“I’ll sleep on it. I’d like to have something more solid. Jack is starting to appreciate my input. I don’t want to ruin his new perception of me by giving him something flimsy.”
Jill continued to read the article. “The break-up didn’t affect their business relationship. And she even picked up quite a few other clients along the way, all with links to Jon.”
>
“So now that she’s secured the business contacts, she strikes. We know the poisoned pâté came from her catering company and we assume the break-up left her embittered.”
Jill raised her hand. “To be fair to her, anyone in her company could have contaminated the pâté. Including the chef who fell ill.”
“We don’t even know his name. Millicent should be able to help us out. We should try to get as much information out of her as possible before she realizes her livelihood is being threatened. If she thinks we have something on Lana, she might decide to cover for her boss and save her job.”
“Or she might wise up and use her knowledge as leverage to blackmail her boss. Give her support in exchange for...” Jill shook her head. “I think I’m getting carried away. Best to focus on the victim and the suspect we already have instead of trying to make someone else a target.”
“I don’t think Lana would do something drastic if Millicent turned against her. It’s all out in the open now. It would be too obvious. Another murder? No.”
Eve brushed her hands across her face.
Lana and Jon.
Did Charlotte know her fiancé had been engaged to the caterer?
Absolutely. Yes. Charlotte didn’t like surprises so she would have had her fiancé’s background thoroughly scrutinized. Eve wondered if she’d confided in a friend, maybe one of the jet setters.
Eve laughed under her breath.
Charlotte wouldn’t spread this type of news around and she definitely wouldn’t confide in anyone. Charlotte had always known many people but none she would consider friends. Not really.
“I need to speak with Charlotte.”
Chapter Ten
The next morning, Eve strode into the kitchen and found Jack studying her notes. She’d almost forgotten how handsome he looked at any time of the day.
“Who let you in?”
“Mira.”
She looked over her shoulder and saw the door to Mira’s study closed.
“She said she’d been up since the crack of dawn, apparently her duke is giving her some trouble.”
The duke who just happened to resemble Jack... “And you decided to help yourself to all our hard work.”
“I assume you were going to share it with me.”
“Only after Jill and I made any sense of it. I’ll put some coffee on. I suppose you’ll want breakfast as well.”
“I wouldn’t say no.” He tapped one of the pages. “You seem to have made quite a case against Lana Bishop.”
“Did you know she’d been engaged to Jon O’Brian?” The tightness in his jaw told her he hadn’t. “I’m sure you would have found out eventually.” She told him all she knew as well as her suspicions, even though they were all over the place.
“So you think Lana Bishop bided her time, set herself up with contacts and contracts and then took her revenge on Jon by killing him.”
“It’s a safe assumption. She didn’t seem to make a fuss when the engagement ended and they remained business associates. She must have set her personal issues aside and put her business first. That makes her single-minded and determined to surge ahead no matter what. Her catering business had been on the brink of failure. She wouldn’t let her ego ruin all her hard work.”
“How did you find out about the fish?”
She swung around. “Are you actually confirming the sushi was laced with Fugu toxins?”
He nodded. “We found it in the pâté.
Eve filled him in on everything they’d overheard at Shelby’s Table and agreed with him that all the remarks were open to interpretation. “It can’t happen again. They had to be referring to Charlotte’s choice of husband. And also implies they have some say in the matter. I’m thinking they might apply peer group pressure so Charlotte doesn’t make the mistake of getting mixed up with the wrong type again.”
“What do you know about the toxin?” Jack asked.
“I know the restaurant preparation of Fugu is strictly controlled by law. You have to be a qualified chef to prepare it.” She’d done some reading the night before but had eventually fallen asleep. “The training is quite rigorous and only about thirty five percent of the applicants pass. Part of the test actually involves preparing the fish and eating it. There have been some rare cases of death. The liver is the most toxic part, but it’s banned from use. I don’t know what the actual effects are. I didn’t get that far.”
“The toxin paralyses the muscles,” Jack filled in, “The victim can’t breathe and eventually dies from asphyxiation. There’s no antidote.” He raked his fingers through his hair. “You said you tried to perform CPR.”
“Yes, but someone hauled me away.”
“Who?”
“That’s just it. I don’t know. A man, but I couldn’t say which one of the guests.” She put some bread in the toaster. “Would CPR have helped?”
“Hard to say. The pâté that went into the duck sushi had a high amount of poison. You might have been able to keep him alive until the ambulance arrived, then it would have been a case of supporting the respiratory system, but like I said, the dosage was high. The medical examiner said a recovery would have been unlikely.”
“Strange. I don’t feel as bad as I did. I guess I felt guilty for not being able to do anything to save him.” Any attempt at CPR would have been futile. She had to believe that or else spend the rest of her life thinking she hadn’t done enough. Or rather, she hadn’t been allowed to do anything.
“Did you meet Jason Stevenson?” Jack asked.
The owner of the house. Eve tried to remember. “No. I’m sure I didn’t. Is he the one who pulled me away?”
“Yes. He was concerned you’d do more harm than good.”
Eve strode over to the table and added his name to the list.
“Just like that?”
“Yes. Everyone’s a suspect until proven innocent. I’ve learned my lesson. If Jason Stevenson was in on the poisoning, the last thing he’d want is someone stepping in and trying to save the day.”
“Motive?”
“He had money problems. Investments gone bad. He’s one of the obvious suspects and should have been on the list from the start.”
“And?”
Eve gave a small lift of her shoulder. “He’d be in a desperate enough position to do anything for a quick buck. Which brings us back to trying to pinpoint the person who would have gained the most by Jon’s death.”
“You have Lana down for crime of passion and revenge.”
“Premeditated. Jill and I decided last night Lana would have wanted to feather her nest before finding the right time to strike. We assume Jon dumped her and no woman likes that.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
She smiled and caressed his cheek. “You do that.”
“So, what are your plans for the rest of the day?”
“I’d like to find out more about Dante Hildegard. He’s a dark horse.”
“And unknown to us. Fill me in.”
“French toast all right with you?”
“Perfect. Need a hand?”
“No thanks.” She gestured for him to sit down. “Dante sailed in the other day in his super yacht. Everybody seemed to be in awe of him. I suspect he’s wealthier than all of them put together.” She whipped a couple of eggs and dunked the toast in. “If I hadn’t overheard him mentioning Fugu yesterday at Shelby’s Table...” She shook her head. “I’d probably still be waiting for you to share some information.”
“Remind me again why I have to do that?”
“In this instance? Because I’m involved. I’ve been dragged into this and they... he or she tried to make me the scapegoat. I have a right to know, Jack.” It didn’t surprise her to hear him change the subject.
“Going to the restaurant on the same day the guests were there was quite a coincidence.”
“I have my ways, you have yours.”
“Yours always sound more attractive and fun. Lunch and parties aboard a yacht. Did y
ou manage to hear anything else we might use?”
“The only significant piece of information we got from that lunch was the fish. Something you could have told us about. It’s not readily available here and we now know the pâté had been laced with it.”
“Thoroughly. Leaving no doubt of its effectiveness.”
“How’s the chef who fell ill doing?”
“He’s recovered and he’s gone on to another job.”
“And you obviously asked him if he prepared the pâté.”
“He didn’t.”
“But you know who did.”
“Yes.”
“And of course, he pleads ignorance. So that means the pâté had been tampered with by someone else. It had to have happened before or soon after it was put away in the refrigerator to set. I’m leaning toward Lana but you want motive.”
“It’s one of those essential, annoying details,” he laughed.
Eve set the French toast down on the table and sat next to Jack. “Help yourself.”
“Keep going the way you are and we’ll have to make you an honorary detective.”
Eve took a bite of her French toast and paused. “I like the sound of that, but I’ll have to pass. Thanks. I wouldn’t want to get a reputation for solving crimes. It could put me in an awkward position. I could end up being like a gunslinger from the old west. Their reputations made them a target for other gunslingers looking for a challenge. I’m already opening up an inn where a murder was committed. That’s enough notoriety for me, thanks.”
“You’re still worried it’ll become the destination for killers on vacation?”
“I can just picture the Killer’s Daily Gazette advertising the latest dream vacation spot where even the proprietor has a history of being a suspect.” Eve sipped her coffee and took a moment to enjoy sitting with Jack over breakfast. They hadn’t done that for a couple of weeks. She missed the company, but she understood he couldn’t always get away.
“Good morning,” Jill yawned.
“Hope we didn’t wake you up. Ready for breakfast?”
“Don’t get up. I’ll start with some coffee.” Jill shuffled into the kitchen and poured herself a cup.