by Diane Capri
Thomas Banks, Caucasian, 29 years old, 5’10, 180 pounds, deep tissue wound on his left temple, skull fracture, water in his lungs. Cause of death, blunt force trauma probably caused by a blow to his temple with a heavy metal object with a pointed edge.
I wanted to continue to dig through the file, but I heard the deputy’s footsteps coming from the back. I quickly flipped the file closed and took a distancing step away. I grabbed more paper towels and continued to scrub at my fingertips.
“I’ll be leaving now,” I said, then marched to the half door and opened it. I didn’t look back, in case the deputy could read my guilty face.
Chapter 18
As I walked down the stone steps from the sheriff’s station, I was still wiping the ink off my fingers. I was certain the deputy put more ink on my fingers than was necessary. The sheriff probably told him to do that, just to be petty. My phone rang from inside my purse, and I scooped it out and answered it. It was Ginny.
“Where are you?”
“Doing an errand in the village.” I stopped walking and pressed myself up against the wall of the café as a very drunk couple stumbled by, holding each other so they didn’t fall. The girl tried to grab my arm, and I had to dance out of reach. “Whoa, there,” I said, phone still at my ear.
“What?” Ginny asked.
“Nothing. Just making my way back to the hotel so I can eat and get some rest.”
“And call your mother.” Ginny said. She’d been bugging me to make the call, and I’d been ignoring her. Which was what I did now…until she got tired of waiting and said, “You can’t put it off forever, you know.”
I sighed loudly. “I know, Ginny.”
“Okay. Well, Lois wants to know if you can help with cleanup after the keynote session tonight. It’s going to be really busy, and catering could always use the extra hand or two.”
I sighed again, wondering when I was ever going to be able to get some sleep. I’d thought moving to a quaint little island in the middle of nowhere was going to be the peace and quiet I needed. “Lois is punishing me.”
“No, she isn’t.”
“No, she is, believe me. I’m pretty sure I embarrassed her earlier in front of the mayors, and now she’s making me pay for it.”
“What did you do?”
I couldn’t believe Ginny hadn’t already heard about my stint in the pool. “Doesn’t matter. Tell Lois I’ll be there.”
“Okay. I’ll see you later.”
I ended the call and plopped my phone back into my purse just as I neared the chocolate shop on the corner. The smell wafting from inside drew my attention. My stomach rumbled like thunder. I hadn’t had a chance to have any supper. My own fault really. Instead of eating, I’d been jumping into pools and collecting evidence I had no business collecting. I walked into the shop and bought a little box of salted caramels. Nothing like chocolate for supper.
As I was popping the third one into my mouth, I heard voices coming from the alleyway beside the chocolate shop. I wondered if it was the drunken couple having an argument. The girl sounded like she was crying.
“I told you not to contact me again.” The man sounded extremely angry. “This has already gone too far.”
“I know, it’s just…I don’t know what to do.”
I kept walking and peered into the alley as I went. I spotted a man with thinning hair, average looking, and a pretty woman standing together. The man looked vaguely familiar, but they weren’t the couple I’d seen earlier. She was wiping at her eyes with one hand, her other arm wrapped around her swollen belly. I didn’t like the look of the situation. Despite the age difference, which was super obvious, they seemed mismatched. He looked like he’d spent a lot of time in a salon, and she looked like she hadn’t washed her curly, dark hair in over a week.
“Everything okay over there?” I asked.
The man swirled around, his hands in fists. When he saw me, he seemed to forcibly relax. Did he recognize me? “Everything’s fine.”
The girl kept wiping at her eyes, not looking at me, just looking at her feet.
“Are you sure?” I took a step into the alleyway. I wanted to see the woman’s face. I wanted to see if she truly was okay. I’d seen a few domestic problems over the years. The women usually got the worst of it if no one helped her.
He put his arm around her. “Just hormones. You know how it is.”
I didn’t. I’d never been pregnant. I was offended that he just assumed I would know because I was a woman.
Finally, the girl looked up and flashed a small smile. “I’m fine. Really.”
I studied her for a long moment. I didn’t think she was truly okay, but maybe they were just having an argument. Couples did that, and it wasn’t always pleasant, but it wasn’t something I needed to butt into. I’d had a few doozies with my last boyfriend, Nick. We’d yell at each other, but then we almost always ended up having make-up sex afterward. It got to the point that was the only way we’d have sex. Needless to say, we broke up. It wasn’t a healthy relationship for either of us.
I nodded at them and continued on my way back to the hotel. The path up the hill was at a bit of an incline, but I needed the exercise. I hadn’t been able to get into a regular exercise routine since arriving on the island. If I didn’t get back to my daily yoga and hour walks, I was going to start packing on the pounds, especially since I enjoyed the food at the restaurants too much. It was dangerous how good the desserts were, especially the Bourbon Chocolate Cake. I really needed to stock my mini-fridge with fruits and vegetables to stop me from ordering the cake from room service at midnight, like I had the first few nights.
Once I got to the hotel, I went directly to the conference rooms. It was close to eight, and I didn’t know when the keynote event was scheduled to finish. As I walked down the corridor, I spotted Daniel outside the main hall, pacing and reading over some cue cards. He pulled at his tie and cleared his throat.
“Hello, Mayor Evans,” I said as I approached him.
He looked up at me, gave me a quick smile, but didn’t say anything. Gone was the self-confident politician I’d seen earlier. He looked nervous, and he was actually sweating. His top lip beaded with perspiration. Not that I was scrutinizing his perfect mouth.
“Are you okay? You look a little…”
“I’m waiting to give a speech.” He cleared his throat again.
“You seem really nervous.”
He frowned. “Public speaking isn’t really my forte.”
“And you’re a mayor?” I laughed.
“I know. Go figure.”
“I thought all politicians were good speakers.” I tapped my lips. “No, wait, that’s not really true at all.”
He laughed, and it seemed to relax him a little.
“The best advice I’ve heard about public speaking is this: don’t talk right away, let the audience absorb you first, then make eye contact with everyone one at a time, and speak slowly to show you are in command.”
He nodded. “That’s good advice, Andi. Thanks.”
Interesting. He remembered my name.
“I may not seem like the most level-headed person, considering what you’ve seen,” I teased to help him relax, and he chuckled at that, “but I am actually pretty smart.”
“I never doubted it,” he said, then glanced down at his cards again.
He went over his speech silently, his lips moving as he read the words, I took that moment to look him over. Not that I hadn’t already done that a time or two. I was checking out his suit. It had a similar cut to the one I’d found in the spa.
“Are you a 44 regular?”
“I beg your pardon?”
“Your suit. Is it 44 regular?”
“Yeah.” He frowned.
“Did you bring more than one suit to the conference?”
“Why are you asking me this?”
“Just curious.”
He scrutinized me. “I have a feeling that you don’t do or say anything just out
of curiosity.”
“That’s most likely true.”
“The answer is yes, I brought two suits to the conference, in case one gets a stain or a tear or something. A little secret I learned the hard way when I didn’t bring an extra suit once and a woman dumped a whole glass of red wine all over me.”
“And that other one, the blue one, would be hanging in the closet in your room?”
His eyes narrowed. “Are you seriously interrogating me?”
“No. Just curious.”
“Uh-huh. I think we already established that bit about your curiosity.” He shook his head. “And the answer is yes, my blue suit is hanging in the closet. It was the one you accidentally spilled Kombucha on.”
The door to the conference room opened, and Lindsey stepped out. “We’re ready for you, Daniel.”
He nodded at Lindsey and then turned to me. “Thanks for the interesting pep talk.”
“Any time.”
He adjusted his tie once more and then walked into the conference room. The door shut behind him.
I considered going back to my suite to eat a proper meal and then come back for cleanup, but I didn’t want to waste a golden opportunity presented to me. I could go into the conference room and observe everyone inside. It was like having my very own captive lineup to identify the suspect. And without the sheriff’s disapproving gaze.
So I didn’t interrupt Daniel’s speech, I entered through the door at the back of the room, careful not to let the door fall shut with a metallic clatter. I took up a position along the wall. From there, I could see every table. Granted, I could only see the backs of heads. Almost everyone had turned toward the podium to watch Daniel’s presentation on cooperative building projects between the two towns.
There were ten tables arranged around the room, and about five people at each table. There were a few vacant chairs. I noticed that the majority of attendees were men, but I counted six women scattered among the sea of gray and navy menswear. A few of the men didn’t wear jackets and just had on varying colors of shirts and ties. There was even one guy in a flouncy white blouse and vest. His mustache and slicked-back hair gave him a distinctive look, and I guessed that his name was Karl Neumann and he worked for the historical society. Ginny had told me about him. He was a notorious ladies’ man about the island, and she gave me the heads-up.
Picking out likely suspects proved more difficult than I first thought. Especially since my attention kept going to Daniel as he walked around the front of the room and delivered his speech. He spoke slowly and smoothly, and I was pleased he’d taken my advice. Despite his claim that public speaking wasn’t his thing, he was doing a fantastic job. Just about everyone in the room was engaged. All except one guy at the far table. He kept fidgeting in his seat and checking his phone.
I watched him for a few moments more, sizing him up. He was of average height and build. He wore a gray suit, and I wondered if he’d brought a blue one with him as well. At one point, he looked up, and our gazes met. There was something unreadable in his face, as if he was agitated for some reason. He looked away from me and glared at something else or someone else across the room. I couldn’t tell who or what. Then he was back to checking his phone, with his leg bouncing up and down.
Interesting. I turned back to Daniel, who was wrapping up his remarks.
When he’d finished, the room erupted in applause. I noticed the fidgety guy was up and out of his seat immediately, heading out of the room. I tried to follow him, but everyone seemed to stand and move toward the doors all at once, like a stream of worker ants. By the time I was able to escape the room, he was long gone. I was all set to snoop him out when Lois stepped into my purview, a hand on her angular hip.
“I’m happy to see Ginny delivered my message.”
“Yup, I’m here to help in any way I can.”
“Good.” She pointed to the big plastic bin that had been wheeled into the room. “There’s the trash container. You can help put stuff in it.”
Dejected, I joined the other waitstaff and started to clear off the tables. I set the dirty dishes and glasses on the provided carts. I gathered napkins and other trash and tossed it into the garbage bin. As I went around the room, I stopped at the far table where the nervous man had been sitting. I looked at his place setting and saw nothing out of the ordinary. I didn’t know what I was expecting. A signed confession maybe would’ve been nice.
I pulled out the chair and searched on the floor for any garbage. My gaze landed on a small crumbled-up piece of yellow paper. It looked like a sticky note. I picked it up and unfolded it. Scrawled almost illegibly in blue ink was Room 209.
My heart jumped into my throat, and I had to sit down. Room 209 was the room Thomas Banks had checked into.
Chapter 19
I grabbed one of the waitstaff by the arm. The poor boy nearly jumped out of his skin. “Do you know who was sitting here?”
Eyes bugging out, he shook his head, then moved slowly away from me. I didn’t blame him. I probably seemed like a mad woman right about now. I dashed out into the hallway, hoping to find someone who had a seating plan. Or maybe there wasn’t one, and I’d never find out who the man was. Nope, I wasn’t going to adopt a defeatist attitude. I had determination, and that counted for something.
I spotted Ginny in the lobby and pounced on her. She also looked a bit frightened by me. “Was there a seating plan for the keynote?”
“I don’t think so. It was first come, first seated.” She made a face. “What are you up to? You have that manic look again.”
“I don’t know what you mean.” I surveyed the lobby and spotted several men in suits heading out the doors together toward the garden. “Is there an event in the garden?”
“Yes, drinks and music. I was able to book this local harpist. She’s quite—”
“Okay, thank you.” I made a beeline for the main doors.
“Andi?!” Ginny called after me, but I wasn’t slowing down for anyone. I had to find this guy. I had to find out who he was so I could, theoretically, give the information to the sheriff to follow up on. Not that I would tell the sheriff until I was one hundred percent sure he was the killer, or at least guilty of something. I would not have Sheriff Jackson looking at me like I was a fool—again.
I joined the crowd milling about in the gardens near the large, round stone fountain. It was the classic fountain with a mermaid in the center spouting water from her mouth. There were several white garden chairs and tables set around the grounds. Fairy lights had been strung around the trees and trellises, and the bushes had been trimmed to resemble various animals, giving the whole place a very magical and enchanting ambiance. On a different night, I would’ve probably soaked it all up and enjoyed it.
Uniformed servers wandered the grounds with trays of champagne flutes and little desserts. I snagged a drink and couldn’t resist a cherry tart—I needed to blend in, after all. As I sipped from my glass, I moved through the crowd trying to locate my target. I spotted Daniel talking to Lindsey and another man in front of me, so I reversed course. I didn’t want Daniel distracting me. He’d done that enough already.
I did two complete circuits through the crowd, nodding and smiling at everyone, while disappointment slowly flooded through me. I’d missed my chance. Maybe he hadn’t come this way at all. Upset, I snagged another glass of champagne, downed it, and decided to call it a night. I desperately needed sleep. The alcohol likely wasn’t the best idea, considering I was operating on less than five hours of sleep and fueled by a few salted caramels and a cherry tart. My head was getting a bit foggy. I needed a bed, ten gallons of water, and my little fur babies to snuggle me to sleep.
I was making my way back to the hotel, on the cobblestone path through the lavish flower garden, when I spotted him—the fidgety guy. He was alone and heading toward the hedge maze. Although I knew it was a bad idea, that I had no business getting involved, that really I should just contact Sheriff Jackson and tell him what I found and m
y suspicions, I followed the man, stealthily like a ninja.
Before he disappeared between the three-tiered Victorian lampposts guarding the entrance, he glanced over his shoulder. I darted to the side to hide behind a giant hedge swan. I nearly poked myself in the eye with an errant branch sticking out from one of the swan’s wings. After counting to three in my head, I peered around the greenery. He was gone, presumably inside the maze.
I approached the opening to the maze and took in a deep breath. It was creepy in the daylight, but at night, the maze was downright terrifying. My heart thundered in my chest. It felt like twenty horses were galloping across my rib cage. I peered to the left and then to the right of the maze, the yellow lamplight casting deep shadows across the greenery.
What the heck was I doing? This was crazy. I should just turn back and leave it up to the professionals.
But what if he got away? What if he left the island after this? I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I let a killer get away.
Patting my pockets, I realized I had left my phone in my purse back at the hotel. I was going inside the maze unarmed, so to speak. I thought about all my self-defense classes, visualizing scenario after scenario. I had on good shoes, ones that would make a serious dent in someone’s shins. In the event that failed, I could run for miles in them. I was as prepared as I was going to get. I took in a deep breath and stepped into the maze.
Remembering my two failed attempts at the maze earlier, I went left instead of right. It wasn’t a particularly difficult maze, but it did have a lot of dead ends and only two clear paths to the gazebo at the center. There was another entrance on the opposite side, and my fear was that he was going to just walk right through this and vanish without a trace on the other side.
When I reached the corner, I took a sharp right, went straight ahead, and then took another sharp right. That led me to a dead end, and I had to back up and retrace my steps. At the first sharp right, I took another sharp right. I felt like I was going in the proper direction now. Or I was going in a circle and would end up back where I started.