Permanent Sunset

by C. Michele Dorsey

  “Hey Salty, David and I’ve been over to see Cassie and got her blessing to use Larry’s plane. We’re going over to check it out now and maybe do a little trial run, just so David gets a feel for the plane and does a landing or two. He says it’s been about a year since he flew a seaplane over in Culebra.”

  “That sounds like a good idea. I’m headed over to Villa Nirvana with Lisa Keating to meet the others. Detective Hodge is letting them get their possessions.”

  “I’ll bet he’s got more than that in mind. Answer his questions in ‘yes’ or ‘no’ responses whenever you can. Do not volunteer any information. Remember, these guys aren’t your friends,” Neil said while Sabrina nodded a silent “aye, aye” to his instructions.

  “Neil, can they search me or my things, like my jeep or my purse, without a search warrant?” Sabrina asked as she watched Lisa’s eyebrows arch.

  “No, they can’t, and I doubt they have one yet, so don’t consent to any search. By tomorrow, David and I hope to have some information about Elena that may suggest why someone wanted to kill her. Did you know he’s fluent in Spanish?”

  Another secret Henry kept from her, although she didn’t suppose this one had been intentional.

  “Hey, Salty, listen. I’m calling for another reason. David and I reconnoitered your casa a little while ago. It’s a good thing you kept the cargo container in front of it,” Neil said. Sabrina detected a note of pride in his voice. It had been his gift to her, a full size cargo container, placed in front of her tiny cottage as a barricade against the press, who had come to hunt her down during the murder at Villa Mascarpone several months earlier. Neil wasn’t your average almost-boyfriend, and his gifts were proof of it. But wait, why was it good she’d kept the cargo container, which was still under a lease Neil had paid for?

  “Neil?” she pressed, wishing Lisa had had three Bloody Marys and was still zonked so she would have some privacy.

  “Sorry, kid, but they’re back. At least one was parked and hanging out in front of the container. You’d better stay with me tonight on the Knot Guilty.”

  Neil had never invited her to his home, telling her he was a typical guy-slob, only worse because he lived on a trawler. She wasn’t sure if he was really a slob or if he had just been reluctant to share his entire world with her. Sabrina thought the invitation might mark movement in their relationship until she realized he’d only offered because he was concerned about reporters being at her house.

  “We’ll see,” she said, instead of saying no, and hung up.

  “How’s your head?” Sabrina asked Lisa, who was rubbing her forehead.

  “I’m okay. I couldn’t help but hear. Are the cops going to be asking us questions?”

  “They may be. Why?”

  “Because I may want a lawyer if they do,” Lisa said.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  A uniformed police officer stood at the gatehouse at Villa Nirvana. Sabrina stopped the jeep, rolled down her window, and took a deep breath. While she felt better knowing the cops wouldn’t likely search her tote bag, she’d rather the necklace be somewhere else entirely. She still wasn’t sure what to do. If she left her bag in the car, how would she know if the police searched it without her knowing? And if she took the bag into the house, what would happen if she was separated from it?

  “Hi, I’m Sabrina Salter,” she said in her most breezy, friendly greeting that she usually reserved for villa guests.

  “Yes, I know who you are. Who’s she?” the young policeman asked.

  “Lisa Keating,” Sabrina said as the cop looked at papers attached to a clipboard and waved them through. Sabrina drove up the dirt road, past Ditleff Beach, where just yesterday she had pulled Elena’s body out of the water, shivering at the memory of the feel of wet lace and cold, damp skin. Looking at the beach today, Sabrina didn’t see a single sign that a woman had died there. The dive team must have come and gone.

  The Ten Villas van was parked next to the idle and empty rental jeeps. Sabrina got out of the Ten Villas jeep, quickly opened the back door and reached into her tote bag for the necklace, still in a plastic sandwich bag, and slipped it back into the pocket of her shorts while Lisa exited from the passenger’s side. If the necklace was with her, at least she had a modicum of control over what happened to it and to her.

  They walked around a half a dozen cruisers parked by the front entrance, essentially as a barricade. Another young uniformed police officer stood at the foot of the small set of stairs like a sentry at a Roman palace. Sabrina made introductions again and walked with Lisa into the great room, where Henry and the Keating entourage sat perched on the rattan sofas and chairs Elena had selected personally with Sean.

  To Sabrina, the villa looked like a St. John hurricane had blown through. Past the great room by the pool, the tables that had been so painstakingly set by her staff for the wedding feast were now littered with dirty dishes, glasses, and silverware. Cloth napkins dotted the terra-cotta tiled floors. Several gardenia plants had been toppled with dirt and fading blossoms cascading out of their pots. The ornate mahogany bar, which sat on wheels, had been relocated from the great room to the poolside. Sabrina could see the fully stocked supply of liquor had been almost depleted. The lights above the tables on the tents were still on, even though the midafternoon sun was burning down on the villa.

  Sabrina fumed. She had little doubt about what had happened at Villa Nirvana. Sure, there had been some investigating done by the police, but to her, it looked like there had been a whole lot more partying. Debauchery at a crime scene where a wedding should have taken place was bad enough, but at the hands of the police, it was disgraceful.

  She looked around at the faces of the Keating clan for any sign they were equally outraged and was surprised to find none. Sean’s swollen eyes looked unfocused and dazed. Heather sat at the edge of her chair looking down at the floor, while Kate and Jack sat back on a couch leaning into one another. Even Paul, the understated CFO, appeared to be concentrating at gazing out the window on the opposite side of the room. No one seemed to even notice the disarray surrounding them. Sabrina looked at Henry for a reality check. His subtle frown told her he got it.

  “Where is the other brother?” Detective Hodge asked, not bothering to greet her or Lisa. He stood with his arms folded in front of him with a scowl that reminded Sabrina how unpleasant cops could be and how nice it was when one was civilized, like Leon Janquar.

  “I don’t know.” Sabrina figured Lisa could make excuses for Gavin since she had so much experience at it.

  “He said he’d meet us all here. He had some business calls to make and the reception at the Westin isn’t very good,” Lisa said, sinking down on to a couch next to Kate.

  “Detective Hodge, these folks have been through an ordeal in the past two days. Can’t you just let them get their stuff so we can get them away from here?” Sabrina asked, choosing not to sit down but rather meet Detective Hodge at eye level.

  “So you agree that it’s not wise to have guests staying at this villa, Miss Salter?” Sabrina could see that Hodge’s confrontational tone had caught the attention of the Keatings and Paul Blanchard, all of whom were now focused on her.

  “I agree it’s not wise to have guests staying here after it has somehow been transformed from a glorious setting for a wedding feast into a pigsty the Board of Health would shut down in a minute. It will take hours for a crew to make this villa habitable again.” Sabrina could feel her heart pumping at a rapid rate. She knew she should shut up, but that didn’t stop her. She was furious and tired of being afraid of cops who were bullies. Screw it.

  Ignoring her, Hodge turned to the others, his back now facing Sabrina.

  “My investigative team has worked tirelessly all night and cleared all the rooms on the main floor, including your bedrooms, with the exception of the victim’s room on the upper level. I have a list of items we have confiscated as evidence. If you find something missing in your room as you pack your belongings
, you may check with me.”

  “Why would anything be missing from our rooms? You can’t just seize people’s stuff.” Gavin swaggered into the great room as if he were the chairman of the board.

  “Oh, but I can, Mr. Keating. So nice of you to join us.”

  Sabrina was relieved that Gavin seemed to have captured Detective Hodge’s vitriol, replacing her as a target.

  “What’s going on? Lisa said you were making business calls. I’m out of the loop without my cell phone, which I certainly hope isn’t on your list Detective Hodge,” Jack said.

  “I have mine, but I haven’t gotten any messages about anything going on,” Paul said.

  Sean shook his head.

  “I don’t even have my phone on.”

  “They’re only calling me. I listed my number as the contact when I issued the press release yesterday. I didn’t think Sean would be up to it, and neither of you have ever enjoyed contact with the press, so I stepped up to the plate,” Gavin said.

  Sabrina marveled at how he had managed to turn a police investigation into a business meeting. The guy was smooth.

  “Who’s calling you?” Heather asked.

  “A number of reporters. Apparently someone leaked the information that Elena was murdered,” Gavin said, looking directly at Hodge.

  “I think you should just respond to any inquiry with ‘no comment.’ No good can come to Keating Construction, or to any of us for that matter, from the press.” Jack leaned forward.

  “I agree,” Paul said.

  “Well, I don’t. We need to make sure this doesn’t work against the company. I mean, here we have an in-house wedding between a high-ranking employee and the son of the owner, and the bride gets murdered the night before the wedding. You don’t think Inside Edition, People Magazine, and Chasing Justice will be all over this? We either spin it to our advantage or get run over with it. You have to be one step ahead of these vipers.”

  Sabrina almost gagged at Gavin’s pomposity. Lecturing his father and the company CFO, Gavin’s voice was tinged with arrogance. What had a nice girl like Lisa ever seen in such a jerk?

  “Okay, folks. Enough company business. Why don’t you all go pack your belongings and then come back here so I can start the interviews,” Detective Hodge said, apparently also having had enough of Gavin as the rest of them.

  Gavin sat down in an empty chair as the others rose to go to their rooms.

  “Don’t you have personal items here you wish to retrieve, Mr. Keating?” Hodge asked.

  “My wife will get them for me, Detective,” Gavin said, looking over toward the pool where the sun was beginning to relent. “Holy shit, what the hell happened there?” he said, rising to his feet and pointing at the tables strewn with dirty dishes and other debris from the wedding feast.

  Hodge didn’t bother answering him. Sabrina sat next to Henry and waited in silence while Gavin scrolled down his phone and answered e-mails. Within twenty minutes, everyone had returned to the room, rolling suitcases behind them. Henry jumped to help Lisa drag three small pink ones and two additional adult-size suitcases.

  “Does anyone need to check the list to see if they’re missing any items that have been retained to help us with our investigation?” Hodge asked, pulling a folded sheet of lined yellow legal paper from the breast pocket of his shirt.

  “I’d like to see the list,” Lisa said, walking over to take it from Detective Hodge. She scanned it and gave it back, obviously not pleased by what she had seen or perhaps not seen.

  “Gavin, you really ought to open your own suitcase to make sure you have everything.”

  Gavin looked up from his phone.

  “What? Why? You’re the one who packed it.”

  “May I just double check?” Heather asked, reaching to take the paper from Hodge. Sabrina was dying to see what was on the list.

  Heather looked up from the paper.

  “Why did you take my flip-flops? And it looks like everyone else’s. And my mother’s art supplies.”

  “To identify various footprints along the beach, of course. And because the art supplies were near the scene of the murder,” Hodge said, a smug smile on his face. He liked being in control just as much as Gavin Keating did.

  “There’s no jewelry on this list,” Heather said.

  “Why? Are you missing any jewelry, Miss Malzone?”

  “Dr. Malzone,” Henry said, speaking for the first time.

  “I don’t know. I can’t remember what I packed,” Heather said, handing the list back to Hodge.

  “Now that everyone has collected their items, we can start the interviews. Miss Salter and Mr. Whitman, I’ll be taking you last, so feel free to start cleaning up,” Detective Hodge said, motioning toward the tables. Sabrina’s jaw dropped, but a glance from Henry told her not to take the bait.

  “Sorry, but I’ve got a five o’clock appointment I can’t miss,” Gavin said, finally standing to take one of the suitcases Lisa and Henry had deposited in front of him.

  “I’m not going to be interviewed without an attorney, Detective Hodge,” Lisa said, taking the children’s suitcases and wheeling the other adult one over to her husband.

  “None of us are.” Jack looked over at Paul, who nodded in agreement.

  “Neil Perry is securing counsel for me. You know that. He told you that yesterday,” Sean said, sounding more alert than he had all afternoon. “And if you expect me to spend sunset in this house, sir, you are going to have to arrest me.”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Sabrina practically skipped to the area where the four rental jeeps were parked. The minirevolt launched by Gavin resulted in Detective Hodge issuing a stern warning that “Each of you must report to police headquarters at nine on Tuesday morning to be interviewed—with or without attorneys.”

  “Sean wants his own jeep so he can go find Neil,” Henry said, grabbing the keys to a bright-orange Wrangler from Sabrina, who handed him a form for Sean to sign.

  “Heather and I would like one so we can go grocery shopping and pick up food for dinner. We don’t feel much like going out. And if there’s some place on island that sells art supplies, I’d love to know,” Kate said.

  “Art supplies? There are a number of places you can get them. This island is crawling with artists.” Henry took out one of the St. John guide maps from the glove compartment and marked locations for her.

  “We’ll take a jeep and a map that shows where you can buy some decent bourbon and cigars,” Jack said, while Paul scrawled his signature for Sabrina on the rental form.

  “How about you, Lisa? Do you want a ride back to the Westin or a rental jeep of your own?” Sabrina asked as she gazed at Gavin driving away alone in his mother’s rental jeep in the distance.

  “I guess I’d better have my own jeep at this point,” Lisa shrugged as the others pulled away behind Henry’s van, which was leading them to town. Sabrina wanted to get away from Detective Hodge before his fury at them for asserting their rights got the best of him, but she couldn’t resist asking Lisa what led her to insist on having counsel present during an interview with the police.

  “Are you kidding? After I heard the go-round between Detective Hodge and my mother-in-law last night, I am terrified of that man,” Lisa said.

  “I didn’t know about that. What happened?” Sabrina asked. She’d wondered if Detective Hodge and Sergeant Detree might head over to the Westin after hearing Kate suggest the signature they had been asked to identify was Anneka’s.

  “He and a female officer banged on the door until he woke up everyone in the condo, including the kids. Gavin was furious, but Detective Hodge demanded to speak to Anneka alone in the kitchen,” Lisa said.

  “Did she agree?” Sabrina asked.

  “You don’t know my mother-in-law very well, do you?” Lisa chuckled.

  “I’ve only met her once, not under ideal circumstances.”

  “With Anneka, there are no ideal circumstances. The only people she treats with less
than brute force are her granddaughters, fortunately. But with everyone else she’s a relentless tyrant. She told Hodge he had no business bullying an elderly visitor in the middle of the night and that she intended to lodge a complaint against him. Why was she being intimidated to identify a signature at such an ungodly hour, which certainly could wait until morning? I will say, she gave Hodge a run for his money.”

  “Did he back down?” Sabrina asked, wishing she could have seen the contest between Hodge and Anneka Lund, not sure she could root for either.

  “No, but he dialed it down a bit and cajoled her by saying surely, she must understand his concern when a beautiful bride was murdered on the island on the eve of her wedding, particularly when Anneka’s own son, his wife, and her grandchildren had been staying at the scene of the crime,” Lisa told her as she signed the rental form Sabrina had given her.

  “So, did she admit it was her signature?” Sabrina cut to the chase so they could get off the Villa Nirvana property if Hodge was tempted to come out and detain her, or even to demand she clean up after his food orgy.

  “Of course not. She said she was too tired, had taken a sleeping pill, and couldn’t be positive it was her signature. She told him she would have to see the entire document after she got some sleep and after she contacted her attorney to be present with her. Hodge got nervous when he heard that. These island cops don’t seem to like getting lawyers involved. That’s why I knew to demand one.” Lisa had the keys in the ignition now, the car running with the air conditioner turned up full blast. She seemed hesitant to leave.

  “Sabrina, the necklace I told you about, the one Gavin is giving me for our anniversary, it wasn’t in our room and it wasn’t on Hodge’s list. Do you think, would the cops take it? I mean, would they steal it?” Lisa asked.