But Lance surprised her.
“No, they don’t ask for a dime. There’s always a request, but it’s seldom for money. You see, it’s more complicated than that. We’re not picked randomly. Someone in our life has nominated us for this torture. In my case, it was my ex-wife. She heard about this…service through a friend. Word of mouth is the only advertising for this type of thing, but it can be very effective. My ex-wife paid a lot of money to Hummers International to set me up.” He took a deep breath and looked around at his fellow victims. “They come in the middle of the night and knock us out. Then they use a hypodermic needle to insert two miniature electrodes into our backs. The electrodes are so small that they are almost undetectable by most medical diagnostic procedures. Gilbert stole the plans for the electrodes from a biomedical research firm where he worked before coming to Hummers International, and then paid someone to adapt them for his purposes.
“These electrodes feed sound waves through our skin, which to us sound like a refrigerator running, or a diesel motor idling. No one else can hear it. It gets louder and louder as time goes on, and we get more and more desperate. Doctors are useless, because the electrodes don’t show up on their tests.”
“They insert the electrodes in your back? I would suspect most doctors would be concentrating on your head and ears. But how do they work?” Sabrina involuntarily put her hand to her back, and noticed that many of the Hummers were doing the same.
“The technology is based on a recent invention that helps deaf people hear through their skin, instead of through their ears. The noise sounds like it is coming from inside your head.” Lance grimaced. “We become willing to do almost anything to get rid of it. Most of us turn to the Internet, and most of us discover Hummers International. When we contact them for help, they set us up on these retreats. Once we’re here, they make us believe that we have to do these…things to get rid of the Hum. And they’re waiting there with the camera. They deliberately do this outside, you know, just to make it more humiliating, and the photos more shocking.”
“But surely this doesn’t work on everyone? What if a person refused to perform at these sessions? Or what if they never find Hummers International in the first place, or sign up for the retreat?” Sabrina was trying to grasp the enormity of this blackmail scheme.
“Of course there are failures. The blackmailer pays a hefty fee even if the victim doesn’t cooperate, though they would get the bulk of their money back.”
“But this doesn’t account for the thousands of people around the world who suffer from this Hum. That’s been going on for years. The government even funded an investigation into it.”
Lance shrugged. “Michael and Gilbert have been doing this for a couple of years. I don’t know about all those other people, the ones who aren’t hearing the Hum through the electrodes. I suppose they’re hearing something, though I don’t know what.”
“Master Joseph hears it for real, I know that,” Sophie said, her voice firm with certainty.
Sabrina nodded. Whatever shenanigans Hummers International Incorporated had going on, she did not doubt that Joseph Siderius’ Hum was genuine.
“How did you find out all this?” Patti asked, her voice hard with anger.
“The second day we were here, I went by Gilbert’s room to clear up a question he had about my payment for the retreat. Isn’t that nice, by the way? We have to pay for the privilege of being set up for blackmail. He wasn’t there. The door was locked, but he hadn’t pulled it all the way shut. When I knocked on it, the door swung open. I figured I would go in and wait for him. I saw pictures lying on his desk and others displayed on his laptop. They were…they were horrible. I was too stunned to think, at first. I just left.
“I went down for a drink and saw Gilbert in the bar. He looked like he was going to be there for a while. By this time, I had recovered my wits. I went back up and copied his hard drive onto my laptop. Then I went through it. All of it’s in there. He must have been getting sloppy, to leave that laptop out of its locked briefcase.”
Sabrina remembered the first time she met Gilbert, and Michael Siderius saying: You’re getting sloppy, you know that? You’ve been acting like a chicken with its head cut off ever since we got here. Something was weighing on Gilbert’s mind, enough to make him careless when he should have been most on his guard.
“I found him that night in the restaurant and confronted him with what I knew. Gilbert laughed—he was quite drunk—and he said he’d make me a deal. He wouldn’t give my session pictures to my ex-wife to use against me in our upcoming custody hearing, if I would keep my mouth shut. I didn’t know what to say, I was so pissed. We were in public, and I left after a few heated words. When I heard he was going to be on the island by himself, it seemed like a perfect opportunity to talk to him in private. That’s why I went, but when I saw he was dead, I took the duffel bag in case there were pictures in it. Good thing I did, because there was a bunch of them in there, plus a lot of other information about the blackmailing scheme. That night I broke into Gilbert’s room, took his laptop, and searched for any other incriminating evidence. After that, I thought I was safe. I thought we were all safe from them.”
Lance shook his head. “Little did I know, Michael Siderius had another file with all the same information. Gilbert had told him that I knew about them, and after Gilbert died, Michael confronted me, accusing me of killing Gilbert. We had a little altercation and I punched him. But I kept my mouth shut, anyway, because I couldn’t bear to lose my kids. I couldn’t bear for them to ever see those pictures.” Lance’s voice broke and he dropped his head into his hands.
Sabrina looked around to see that the Hummers had closed ranks. “Did any of you know this was going on?”
They all shook their heads.
“I know who’s doing it to me, though,” Patti said. “I’m being sued by this woman who has hated me since we were in high school. She has tons of money ever since her husband died, but now she wants my coffee shop, too. She must’ve planned to use the pictures to put me out of business, and who knows what else.”
“It’s Shane, I know it is,” Sophie murmured, and Dennis held her hands tightly. “He’ll do anything to get me back.”
“I don’t know who would do this to me,” Dennis said, looking around. “I can’t think of anyone who hates me.”
It was Matt who answered. “It could be anyone,” he said. “You’re a big basketball star. Any number of people would love to have something on you so they could control whether you win or lose your games.”
Dennis looked stricken. “Someone could use those pictures to make me blow a game whenever they wanted me to! I wouldn’t do it, though, I’d quit first.”
“I, on the other hand, can think of about a dozen people right off hand who would pay lots of money to get me by the…ahem.” Walter laughed, but it was weak, wavering sound.
“My ex-wife won the lottery,” Lance said. “I wondered what she’d do with the money. Now I know.”
“I wondered where the money came into this,” Sabrina said. “Not all of you are rich, but all of you have rich enemies. Matt, you better call the police to come get Michael Siderius.” She felt incredibly tired all of a sudden.
“He was just here,” Sophie said. “I saw him come out of his room and follow us. He was listening to everything Lance said.”
They looked around, but Michael had disappeared.
Chapter Forty-five
Vicki Carroway was locking the front door of Paradise Vacations when she saw Sabrina Dunsweeney limping up the front steps. Vicki turned, putting a hand in her purse for her stun gun. She’d been attacked before by unhappy customers.
Sabrina stopped at the top of the stairs and regarded Vicki without speaking. Her blond curls were smashed flat on one side of her head, as if she just woke up and didn’t think to run a comb through them before leaving the house, and her clothes looked as if she hadn’t changed them in days.
Vicki smiled. This would
be fun.
“I’ve got something I want to say to you.” Sabrina’s voice was calm, and for the first time, Vicki noticed the bird sitting on her shoulder. Vicki tried to take a step back, but the door was behind her. She wondered if stun guns worked on birds.
“I know you’re not here in an official capacity. I heard you got fired. So, what do you want?” The bird was looking at her. Just staring with those beady little eyes. Vicki wanted to wring its tiny neck. Her father used to make her spend the night in the chicken coop as punishment for everything from talking back to bringing ice cream cones to her convalescent mother. Ever since, she hadn’t been able to stand their musty smells, their feathers, or those chirpy noises they made.
“No, I’m here as a private citizen. I wanted to tell you goodbye. You’ve caused enough havoc on this island, and I think it’s time for you to leave.”
Oh, this was rich, rich, rich! Was the woman serious? “You think it’s time for me to go? The last I heard, you were the one without a job or a home. I think it’s time for you to leave.” Vicki went to step around the lunatic, but couldn’t bring herself to come any closer to the bird, so she acted like she had put her leg out to inspect her hose for runs.
“The game’s up, Vicki. No one wants you here. If you don’t leave voluntarily, I’m going to personally make sure your life is miserable until you do.”
“Oh, yeah? I’m quivering in my boots.” Vicki smirked, but her hands were shaking just a little bit. Why was the woman freaking her out? She seemed different, somehow. Vicki reached for bravado. “I plan to be around for a long, long time, Sabrina, you mark my words.”
The battle lines had been drawn.
Sabrina’s voice was soft. “It’s time for you to leave.”
Vicki found she had nothing to say.
Sabrina turned and walked down the stairs into the gathering shadows.
Chapter Forty-six
After leaving Vicki, Sabrina steered the moped down the gravel road beside the harbor. She should be going the other way, toward her apartment and her packing, but she had unfinished business at Boathouse Alley.
The small nap she stole after returning from the hospital on the mainland was just a drop in the empty reservoir of her sleep deficit. She felt as if she could sleep for days, but when she was finally done with the police out at Shell Lodge, the choice had been either lying down to sleep or visiting Lima.
Lima was asleep, but still Sabrina told him everything that had happened. She hoped the story would relieve the boredom that abundant unconsciousness must be bringing him. Mary Garrison Tubbs listened in open-mouthed astonishment
“And he got away? They let him get away?” Mary pounded her fist on a nearby machine, making it sound an alarm. Nurses came running.
Amid the scrambling nurses, Sabrina nodded. “Michael must have heard Lance tell his story. By the time the police arrived, he and his father had left, and they found Michael’s rental Jeep at the ferry docks. Cindy at the ticket booth said Michael bought a walk-aboard ticket, but by the time they got things organized on the mainland, the ferry had docked and Michael was gone.”
“Was Cindy sober when she saw him?”
“It was seven o’clock in the morning,” Sabrina protested.
“You didn’t answer my question.” Mary tapped her foot.
“Anyway, it looks like he left his father on the island. The Hummers agree, though, that Joseph never uttered a word in their sessions. It looks like Michael was using him as a puppet, so the police have named Joseph a person of interest for his own safety. They still haven’t found him.” Sabrina had not told them where to look. She wasn’t sure why, but it somehow seemed a betrayal of both Joseph and Bicycle.
“And the Hummers, they’re all here at the hospital getting those electrodes taken out?”
“I’m sure they’re done by now. With the help of the files from Gilbert’s computer, the doctors knew exactly where to look.” Sabrina gazed down at Lima. He looked so fragile, his cheeks drooping with age spots, his eyelids bruised and brittle. He would hate it if he knew he looked vulnerable.
Now, as she drove the moped down Hurricane Harbor Circle, she saw Sergeant Jimmy watching her, shaking his head.
“Where in the world did you get that contraption?” he asked as she pulled up in front of him. “Never mind. They’ve been questioning Lance Mayhew all day, but he’s sticking to his story.”
“He could have killed Gilbert easily,” Sabrina mused as Calvin woke up and chirped at Jimmy. He liked the sergeant’s beard. “And he had a very good reason to do so.”
“I’m not convinced he didn’t go to Goat Island with the intention of killing the victim. Why didn’t he sign out the kayak? Why weren’t his fingerprints on it? By his own admission he was the last to see Gilbert. Whether he did it or not is anyone’s guess. We’re still sorting through the ramifications of this blackmailing scam. Of course, this just introduces a bunch more people who had very good reasons to want the man dead. I wish we knew where the murder weapon—the corkscrew—went. That bugs me, that the killer came back for it after Lance Mayhew saw the victim dead on the beach. I’m not sure what to think, but I have my money on Michael Siderius.”
“I think he was jealous of Gilbert.” Sabrina tried to keep the moped balanced with one good leg. “If Gilbert was gone, Michael would have complete control of the organization.”
Jimmy nodded. “Makes sense to me. I’ve got him figured for the attack on the model, and the ransacking of Myers’ boat, at the very least. I think he must have figured out what Myers was up to and sacked his boat as a kind of warning.”
“Then he went on to attack Sophie. I wonder why?”
“He may have been looking for something, or he may have just felt like taking a go at her. She is a beautiful woman, and Siderius doesn’t strike me as the type to control his impulses.”
“What about Sam? What happens to him?”
“Officially, he’s still our guy, but we’ve widened the investigation. A judge set his bail this morning, and some group out of Taos raised it by this afternoon. We told him not to leave the island, and since we impounded his boat, he’s staying down at Boathouse Alley.”
Sabrina didn’t mention that she had already heard this piece of information through the island grapevine, or that Boathouse Alley was where she was headed now. She was in Jimmy’s good graces at the moment, and she did so hate to ruin that.
“What about Marilee and the break-ins? What will happen to her?”
“Nobody wants to press charges, not even the absent owner of the rental cottage, once I explained the circumstances. I think Marilee’s learned her lesson, and Matt Fredericks has apparently decided to capitalize on the whole thing. He’s hired Marilee to be some sort of part-time prohibition tour guide at his lodge. Isn’t that something?”
“It sure is,” Sabrina agreed, but her eyes were on a tall man limping down the street toward them.
“It’s good to have Doc Hailey back in town.” Jimmy had followed the direction of her gaze.
The doctor approached the two of them and tipped his head in a cordial nod. “Sergeant, Sabrina. I trust you are doing well?”
“Have you heard anything about the Hummers, doctor?” Sabrina asked. He had coordinated the five Hummers’ visit to the hospital on the mainland to remove the electrodes.
“The whole thing is very interesting,” he said. “These electrodes are based on the principle of transmitting sound through the skin, bones, and liquids of our body, which in theory allows people to hear without using their ears. I really would like to do some more research on the whole matter. Perhaps after my next trip.”
“The Hummers are back from the mainland, and we’ve asked that they stay around a while longer,” Jimmy said. “This whole thing is still up in the air.”
“However, they are all so happy to be rid of the electrodes and the resultant hum that they are treating these extra days as a sort of vacation,” Doc Hailey said with a smile that lit
up his irregular face.
“I guess I can’t help but wonder about all the other people out there who are hearing the Hum,” Sabrina said. “They aren’t connected with Hummers International and their blackmailing scheme, so what’s causing their Hum?”
“I looked into it after I heard Joseph Siderius speak all those years ago. It seems clear that there are thousands of people who are suffering but, because their symptoms are so ephemeral, it’s hard to get anyone to pay attention to them. It’s a shame really, because these people may very well be tuning into something that is affecting all of us, and we don’t even realize it.”
“Sounds pretty deep,” Jimmy said.
“I’ll be going now,” Doc Hailey said. “Sabrina, please feel free to come see me if your injuries should trouble you. As a matter of fact,” he hesitated, the first time Sabrina had seen him show anything but complete confidence, “perhaps we could have dinner one night?”
***
Calvin trilled in delight as she sped toward Boathouse Alley. Well, sped was not quite the word for it. Calvin enjoyed the wind through his feathers, but he considered anything over ten miles an hour too fast. That’s why Sabrina was leading a parade of impatiently honking cars around Hurricane Harbor Circle toward the ferry docks. She understood their agitation as the ferry’s horn blew, announcing the last departure for the evening. She pulled off the road and watched the cars barrel past her, only to brake at the roadblock set up in front of the entrance to the ferry.
The police weren’t taking any chances. Sabrina nodded in approval and waved at the police officers manning the blockade. The public beach was empty this cloudy, windy evening, except for a few diehards who were searching the sand for shells. The sound looked dark and unsettled as the wind pushed at it fitfully, and thick clouds were drawn over the sky.
Ahead was the hulking row of two-story boathouses. The old dames of Comico Island, made up in bright colors for their last birthday party, were considered one of the island’s historic landmarks. Sabrina couldn’t imagine the waterfront without them. They were moored on the old ferry docks, which were damaged in a long-ago hurricane. Beyond the boathouses, behind a fence, were the ruins of the rest of the docks. It was a large complex, as the Navy had built onto the existing docks to use as a supply depot during World War II. The military soon abandoned the docks to move to a newly built base on the other end of the island.
Island Blues Page 24