Tequila and Sunrise

by Madison Johns

  “Oh, leave the lady alone. If she wants to drink, I’ll buy her one,” a man wearing a captain’s hat said.

  I thought for a hot minute we had our man, but I noticed the other three men in the bar also wore captain’s hats.

  “We’re looking for the owner of the Star of the West cottages,” I said.

  “Who’s asking?” a man with bushy eyebrows behind me asked. “You members?”

  “I didn’t realize this was a private club,” Irma said.

  Fishing lines covered one wall with taxidermy fish attached. The bar was made to look like an overturned boat.

  “Frank, don’t be so nasty to the only ladies we’ve seen so far today.”

  “I’m not, but we have a membership to adhere to.”

  “I’m sorry,” I said sweetly. “I was under the impression we could come speak to Frank since he’s taking the day off.”

  Frank pulled his cap down. “A man has a right to a few days off.”

  “Of course he does,” Irma purred. “But my daughter here was insistent about speaking with you about your charter service if you have the time.”

  “If we could speak privately,” I quickly added.

  Frank threw an arm up. “Oh why not? Meet me at the table over there.”

  Irma and I sat down at the table in the corner and waited for Frank. He walked over with three mugs of beer and set them down at the table as he joined us.

  I pushed the beer away. “Thank you, but I don’t drink beer.”

  “It makes her hurl,” Irma added as she took a hearty drink. She wiped her mouth on a paper napkin. “This is good.”

  “I’m not for small talk, so what do you want?”

  I cleared my throat. “We’re not here to ask about your charter service.”

  “I never thought you were.”

  “Sorry about that, but what we would like to ask you about was the murder that happened at one of your cottages last night.”

  The muscles in Frank’s jaw bunched, the creases deeper as he groaned. “Who are you?”

  “Tourists,” I said. “Or we were until I was pulled into the investigation. It’s a little known fact that I saw Bev’s body last night.”

  “I bet you spent a long night at the police station.”

  “No, I left before they showed up.”

  “It’s an awful thing what happened to the poor girl,” Irma said. “She was here on vacation.”

  Frank’s deep laughter echoed in the nearly empty club. “That’s rich. Tourists don’t occupy my cottages, crooks do.”

  “I didn’t expect you to come out with it like that,” I said. “I thought Bev kept under the radar better than that.”

  “Were you friends with the woman?”

  “No. We did a job together.”

  Frank met my eyes, and I stared back with an up tilt of my chin.

  “That’s unfortunate.”

  Irma leaned forward. “Especially since Bev betrayed Sarah.”

  I gasped. “Hold your tongue, would you.”

  “I’m not saying anything that’s not true, and if someone hadn’t murdered Bev before you arrived, I fear you would have.”

  I shook my head. “I’m no murderer. I only wanted back what was mine.”

  “Did you know who Bev was, Frank?”

  “No, only that her first name was Bev and I was to leave her alone.”

  “Who told you that?” I asked.

  “I’m not at liberty to discuss that.”

  “Did the person also threaten you if you spilled your guts?”

  “My guts would be spilled if I told anyone who she was working with.”

  “Did you speak to Bev?”

  “Only in greeting when I handed her the keys.”

  “That’s the last contact you had with her?”

  “Yes.”

  “Are you frightened of the person who gave you instructions pertaining to Bev?”

  Frank shifted in his seat.

  “Rico Alvarez?”

  Frank flopped across the table. “Shh, don’t say that name here, someone might hear you.”

  “Why? Are you afraid of who might wonder why a reputable businessman such as yourself would consort with a criminal of Rico’s caliber?”

  “Did Rico send you here?”

  Irma pursed her lips. “Now you’re getting the idea.”

  “I didn’t have anything to do with Bev’s murder, I swear. The cops cleared me earlier today because I was here the entire night.”

  “You see, the boss isn’t exactly trustworthy when it comes to the murder of one of his associates.”

  Frank swallowed hard. “I-I don’t blame him.”

  “That puts us in a difficult situation. If we don’t find the person responsible, there will be trouble. Bev was in possession of certain merchandise that we need to collect.”

  “I don’t know nothing about that. I swear.”

  Irma shook her head sadly. “You shouldn’t swear so much. It makes you sound guilty.”

  “I-I’m sorry that it sounds that way, but I don’t know any other way of saying I’m not involved, and I’ve never stolen anything in my entire life.”

  “What about someone else? Is there anyone who might have had contact with Bev the day she died?”

  Frank’s eyes rolled from Irma to me. “I have a housekeeper who cleans the cottages.”

  Irma produced an ink pen. “Name?”

  “Hattie. She should still be cleaning the cottages now.”

  “Anyone else?” I asked.

  “Not that I’m aware. Like I already told you, I left the woman alone.”

  “How long has she been here?”

  “She told me she had business in town and would only be here a few days.”

  “She’s only been here a few days?”

  “That’s what I said.”

  “Thanks, we’ll tell Rico you were cooperative.”

  We walked outside, and I stretched my arm muscles.

  “I don’t think it’s a good idea to keep mentioning Rico’s name,” Irma said. “It might come back to bite us in the butt.”

  “Probably right, but right now it’s the only tool we have to dig into Bev’s death.”

  “It’s sounding like Bev did work for Rico.”

  “Yes, and he’s probably mad as a hornet that he couldn’t recover the ruby.”

  “I wonder why he left it to her.”

  “She might have been running a scam. I bet she didn’t produce the ruby for Rico to take a look at. If Bev was smart, she’d move it herself to make sure she got her cut.”

  “Crime bosses aren’t exactly trustworthy.”

  “Let’s hope the cleaning lady can offer some clues for us to follow.”

  Ten

  Irma tugged my shirt as we headed to the cottages. “Slow down, Sarah. I can’t imagine the housekeeper will want to speak to us if we come running up on her.”

  “If we can even find her today.”

  “Frank told us where we could find Hattie.”

  “Not exactly. What if we can’t find her today?”

  “Then we’ll find her tomorrow.”

  I turned to stare at the ocean, lost in my thoughts.

  “Penny for your thoughts?”

  I met Irma’s eyes, holding back tears that I had refused to acknowledge were ready to fall since last night.

  “It’s Bev. I’m not unmoved about her murder.”

  “I can understand that. The woman was your partner.”

  I wiped my sweaty hands on my shorts. “We weren’t partners the way you think. When she asked me to help her with the heist, I nearly turned her down. I don’t know why I changed my mind.”

  “Maybe you thought if you did one last heist, you could put that part of your life behind you.”

  “I’ve never been involved with a heist before, and I didn’t feel good about it going in.”

  “That’s right, you only stole from jewelry stores.”

  “It never made m
e feel good, but it was the only thing I’ve ever known how to do. My grandfather didn’t exactly instill me with morals. He’s been in the game a long time.”

  “I’m sorry you didn’t get the chance at a real life, but you have that chance now.”

  “I know, but I don’t know the first thing about what that life will be like.”

  “I can understand that. I’ve made changes in my own life.”

  I cocked an eyebrow. “Such as?”

  Irma sighed. “Can we save that conversation for another time?”

  “I suppose I don’t have much of a choice.”

  “No, you don’t. I see the maid’s cart parked outside that cottage over there.”

  I turned and nodded. I had to pull myself together and try not to think that if Bev hadn’t left me behind at the museum, what would have happened to me? Would I have gotten involved with Rico myself? Would I have met a violent end like Bev did?

  Irma glanced in the garbage can on the housekeeping cart.

  “Are you planning to jump in there?” I asked.

  “You can find all sorts of interesting things that are thrown out that aren’t considered trash to most of us.”

  A woman sporting dark hair with gray roots stepped out of the cottage. She pulled out glasses from the pocket of her blue uniform and adjusted them on her face.

  “Can I help you folks?” she asked.

  “It depends. Are you Hattie?”

  “She looks like a Hattie to me.” Irma smiled.

  I leaned into Irma. “How can you be so sure?”

  “The name Hattie went out of fashion some time ago.”

  “Are you folks finished? Because I have work to do.”

  “We’re not stopping you.”

  “You kind of are; you’re blocking me from reaching my cart.”

  I smiled. “So that must mean you are Hattie.”

  “I thought we had already established that,” Hattie said as she pushed between Irma and me.

  “We were hoping we could speak to you for a moment.”

  “If you can make the time for us.”

  “Do I have a choice?”

  “Not unless you want us following you all day.”

  Hattie put her hands on her generous hips. “Can we do it in the shade at least?”

  “You took the words out of my mouth,” Irma said.

  We walked to a clean table with a large yellow umbrella and sat down.

  “How did you know my name?”

  “Frank told us,” I said.

  Hattie’s brow knitted. “That’s strange. Frank doesn’t normally spill his guts.”

  “I don’t know if I’d call it spilling his guts.”

  “He’s a ruthless businessman.”

  “He only runs a charter boat service and rents cottages,” Irma said. “It’s not like he works on Wall Street.”

  “If he’s so ruthless, why do you work for him?”

  “Because he pays me well to keep my mouth shut.”

  “They why are you talking to us?”

  “If Frank gave you my name, it must mean he’s in trouble. My husband told me working for him would end badly for me.”

  “Like the woman in the cottage over there?” I pointed out.

  Hattie’s eyes glassed over. “Oh, you want to talk about her.”

  “For starters.”

  “I don’t know nothing about what happened there last night.”

  “Are you saying that because you were there or learned about it this morning?” I asked.

  “I have a friend who lives on the beach, and she called me when she saw all the cop cars.”

  “Did you come down here?”

  “No, it’s the last place I wanted to be. I expected something like this would happen eventually.”

  “Why is that?” Irma asked.

  “Well, Frank rents his cottages to riffraff.”

  “Meaning?”

  “People who stay here are only in town for a short period of time.”

  “You mean ones who come here for business?”

  “Call it what you like. I only work here and make generous tips for not disturbing them.”

  “We heard that was the case for Bev as well,” I said.

  Hattie swallowed hard. “It’s that way for all of them.”

  “How long has Bev been staying here?”

  “Only a few days of the three days she was booked for.”

  Hattie raised an eyebrow. “Did you have any contact with her?”

  She shrugged. “I brought her fresh towels on occasion.”

  “Oh, so you weren’t only here to clean the cottages?”

  “I work until six and carry a phone in case the visitors need anything during my working hours.”

  “Good to know they’re not left to their own defenses,” I said. “But I have a feeling you have more to share.”

  Hattie stood up. “I better get back to work.”

  “If you’d rather the cops talk to you instead of us, that can be arranged,” Irma said.

  I shot Irma a look.

  Hattie sat back down with a sigh. “She was a nice lady. I just don’t understand how a woman could get herself involved with Rico. He’s bad news in this town.”

  “Did he come to see Bev?” I asked.

  “Rico doesn’t come to see anyone.”

  “Have you ever met him?”

  “Nobody meets Rico.”

  “What is he, a ghost?” I laughed.

  “If you’ve been asking around about Rico, stop it. Nobody knows who he is or what he looks like.” Hattie glanced around. “He could be watching us right now and we’d never know it.” She sniffled. “Promise me you won’t tell anyone I mentioned his name.”

  “We’re not in the business of sharing information,” Irma said.

  “So what is your interest in the deceased lady?”

  “The murdered woman you must mean. She had a name; it was Bev.”

  “No need to frighten the woman off,” Irma scolded me.

  “What is your interest in this? You can’t be cops or you’d have shown me your badges by now.”

  “You’re right, we’re not cops. I did a job with her. I meant, I was acquainted with Bev professionally.”

  Irma massaged her brow. “You’re making it sound like you were both hookers.”

  “I didn’t mean it like that, but it’s important to me to find out what happened to Bev and who would murder her.”

  Irma nodded. “They were more than working partners.”

  “I thought we were anyway until she betrayed me. Now I’m worried about meeting the same fate as her.”

  “If you did business with her, that might happen.”

  “I’m not worried about it right now, but I’m interested in anything that was left behind by the cops.”

  “I can’t go in the cottage; it’s still considered a crime scene.”

  “I can see that. Is there anywhere the guests who stay in the cottages might keep their belongings?”

  “I don’t follow you.”

  “I’m talking about valuables. I can’t imagine the guests have a safe in the cottages.”

  “No, but there is a lockbox at the pier, but only Frank has the access.”

  “That seems inconvenient for the guests.”

  “You’d think that, but Frank is paid to keep their valuables safe. But there’s a storage building near here that the guests use.”

  “Where would this be?” Irma asked.

  “It’s beyond the pier in an old boathouse, but it’s very secure and has an alarm.”

  “That’s good to know.” I smiled. “Do you know if Bev left anything behind?”

  “I already told you her cottage is still considered a crime scene.”

  “I know what you said.” Irma hugged herself against the brisk wind. “But you must have taken a peek. I know I certainly would.”

  Hattie shook her head. “You’re going to get me into trouble.”

  “We pr
omise we won’t tell anyone.”

  “Okay, so I might have taken a peek inside.”

  “Did you find anything interesting?” I asked.

  “Nothing noteworthy, but she had an address book hidden beneath her bedpost. But it didn’t make much sense to me.”

  “Did you keep it?” I asked as I clenched my hands tightly.

  “Yes, it’s in my cart. I don’t know why I took it.”

  Irma patted Hattie’s hand. “You probably were curious. I’ll admit I’d be that way too. It’s not everyday you find something the police couldn’t find.”

  Hattie smiled sheepishly. “I suppose that’s why I took it, but I didn’t know what to do with it once I found out it didn’t mean anything.”

  “It might mean something to me,” I said. “I have a code book myself. People like Bev and I have to be careful in case our books fall into the wrong hands.”

  “I’ll take it out of my cart and leave it under the doormat of the cottage I finished with so nobody will see me giving it to you.”

  “Sound like a brilliant plan to me,” Irma said.

  Irma and I walked up the beach, and I winced at the sand that flew into orbit and struck my sensitive skin. We didn’t move until we saw Hattie walk to a storage building.

  We wandered back, and I knocked on the door of the cottage to make it appear that I was there to speak with the guest of the building and not pick up what might be evidence from beneath the mat.

  Irma pulled out the book, and I stumbled back as a hulk of a man opened the door with enough hair on his arms to knit a blanket.

  “I, um, you aren’t Pete.” I stumbled over my words.

  “Who are you?”

  “I’m in the area on vacation and looking for my friend Pete. He’s supposed to be staying at the Star cottages.”

  “It’s the wrong cottages,” he bellowed and slammed the door.

  We walked a few hundred yards until my heart didn’t feel like it was ready to burst out of my chest. “I nearly had a heart attack when that door opened.”

  “At least it couldn’t be a reality for you like it could me. I’m an old woman.”

  “How old are you anyway?”

  “Old enough to guide you in the right direction.”

  “Which is what?”

  “Head back to the hotel so I can change my soiled underpants.” She laughed. “That was one big son of a gun.”

  “At least you weren’t close enough to smell his body odor.”