by Cindy Bell
“Did you ever tell him what you found out about the boat?” Paul stepped forward. “Maybe he confronted whoever he thought sabotaged it?”
“No, I never had the chance. He had some things to do in town so he left me there. I worked on his boat, repaired it, then took my share of the shellfish out of one of his coolers that he’d left open for me. He hadn’t come back. I called him, he didn’t answer. So, I caught a ride back to my place with another fisherman. I had no idea what had happened until now.” He lowered his eyes. “What a shame.”
“Do you have any thoughts on who might have sabotaged the boat? Did Robbie mention having any problems with anyone? Maybe he was upset when he picked you up?” Suzie asked.
“I’m sorry.” He shrugged. “Robbie, was just Robbie. I didn’t notice anything different.”
“Maybe he took a phone call? Or he mentioned having a meeting with someone later in the day?” Suzie frowned. “I’m sorry I don’t mean to push, but you might have been the last person to speak with Robbie, other than his killer.”
“I wish I could help more. If I had known that Robbie was going to be killed, of course I would have paid more attention. But I didn’t. To me it was just a regular day. Anyway, you can check his phone and see that I called him about the boat. I left him a message to let him know that it was fixed and to call me so I could explain what had happened.”
“Thanks Gill.” She looked over at Paul.
“Sorry about the rough handling.” Paul offered him his hand for a handshake. “I should have asked questions first.”
“Yes, that would have been good.” Gill ignored Paul’s hand. “I hope you find out what happened to Robbie. But I had nothing to do with it.”
“Thanks for your time.” Suzie started to turn away, then thought better of it. She turned back. “Gill, just one more thing.”
“Yes?” He looked over his shoulder at her.
“Did you happen to lose your jacket at the dock?” The bright yellow jacket he wore was almost identical to the one she found by the docks. She thought that maybe he had replaced it with a new one or had two of them.
“No. I only have this one.” He brushed the sleeves of his jacket. “My daughter bought it for me a couple of years ago.”
“Okay, thanks again.” Suzie followed Paul back to the boat. As they drifted at the dock she leaned against the railing.
“Do you believe him?” Paul turned on the boat’s engine.
“I’m not sure.” Suzie stared at the backyard as they drifted away from it. “On one hand, maybe. He clearly didn’t act guilty of anything.”
“I feel awful for tackling him.” Paul grimaced. “I guess I should have thought that through.”
“It wasn’t the best, but no harm was done. Don’t let it get to you. You didn’t know that he might not be the right guy.”
“Might not? What makes you suspicious? He said he took the shellfish out of the cooler, that’s why it was left open. He also said he got a ride on a different boat. That explains his disappearing act.”
“But why did I find a yellow jacket with blood on it?” Suzie shook her head. “That’s what I can’t figure out. If it wasn’t Gill who wore the jacket, then who did?”
“Maybe someone saw him around the dock and decided to frame him for the murder.”
“You could be completely right about that. I hadn’t even considered it. Someone might have framed him, and I was ready to fall right into it.”
“It’s a stretch, but the yellow jacket does make me wonder. Maybe someone used it as a cover to get onto the boat. Maybe Robbie only saw the yellow jacket at first and thought it was Gill.”
“Maybe. Where are we headed now?”
“I’m just following what was in the GPS I have no idea what he would be going out to this location for. There’s practically nothing there.”
“I’m going to try Jason again. I want to make sure that he knows about Gill.”
“You can try, but reception isn’t always great out this way.”
Suzie dialed the number and waited for Jason to pick up. As Paul had predicted the call did not go through.
“How much further, Paul? Maybe once we’re on land again I can get a signal.”
“Just about ten minutes.” When he got closer to the location he slowed the boat.
“Oh, look at that, I guess there is some property out here. This must be where Robbie went. We should have a look.” Paul squinted in an attempt to read a small no trespassing sign.
“We better be cautious we might get into trouble if we get out and walk up to the building?” Suzie said.
“We should be fine. Just stick close to me. We don’t know what we might be walking into.”
“I will.” Suzie was always cautious from her days as an investigative journalist, but that never stopped her from investigating.
Paul stepped off the boat onto the rocky shore first. Then he reached back for Suzie’s hand. She leaned on him to steady herself on the slippery rocks. In the distance there was a long, single story building. It was very plain on the outside, similar to a warehouse.
“You said you didn’t know this was here?”
“No, but I haven’t been out this way in a long time.”
“Let’s see if we can figure out what this place is.” As she started to walk towards the building, something she spotted out of the corner of her eye caught her attention. It was a long, black cylinder that sunk into the water just beyond the shore. “Paul, what do you think this is?” She crouched down beside it. Paul crouched down as well.
“I’m not sure, but don’t…” Suzie reached out and pulled the cylinder out of the water before Paul could finish his sentence. Classical piano music filled the air.
“It’s a speaker?” She raised an eyebrow. “Why in the world would anyone be playing music under the water?”
“Don’t you touch my babies!”
Suzie looked up to see the barrel of a shotgun pointed at her. Her heart dropped.
“Suzie, get back.” Paul lunged in front of her. The man who wielded the gun looked to her as if he was only a few years into his twenties. His stringy hair was pinned beneath an old, faded baseball cap.
“Please, we don’t want any trouble.” Suzie raised her hands in the air. The speaker splashed back into the water.
“No, you just didn’t want to get caught, but you have, so now you’re going to pay.”
“That’s enough, son, put down the gun.” Paul started to stand up.
“Don’t you move a muscle, old man, or I’ll make sure that you never get back on your boat.” Suzie put a hand on Paul’s shoulder to restrain him. His protective instincts were likely trying to convince him to tackle the man. But Suzie could see from the wild look in the man’s eyes that he was not bluffing.
“Nobody is going anywhere. You’re in charge here. My name is Suzie, what’s yours?” She kept her voice as soft as possible.
“Like a thief is going to tell me her real name. You two just sit tight until the police get here. Then you’re going to pay back every dime for the pearls you’ve stolen from my family.”
“This is all a misunderstanding. My cousin, is a police officer in Garber. Maybe you know him? Jason?”
“Jason is your cousin?” He lowered the gun some, but kept it pointed in her direction.
“Yes. I took over Dune House in Garber. Have you been in town to see it since the remodel?”
“Yes.” He lowered the gun a little more. “If you own that place, why are you stealing my oysters?”
“I’m not.” Suzie narrowed her eyes. “Has someone been stealing them?”
“Yes.” He looked over at Paul for a long moment then finally lowered his gun the rest of the way. “I thought that’s what you were doing.”
“Not at all.” Paul met his eyes. “We are here about the death of a friend of mine. I didn’t even realize this was a pearl farm. You haven’t been out here too long have you?”
“No, we haven’t, just
over a year. If people keep stealing from us we won’t be out here much longer either. Who’s your friend?”
“Robbie Stillswell.”
“Robbie.” He narrowed his eyes. “I’ve met him before. What happened to him?”
“He was killed,” Paul said. “We’re not sure by whom.”
“I’m sorry. That doesn’t explain why you’re here.”
“We’re here because this location was listed on his GPS as a place that he traveled to. Have you spoken to him recently?” Suzie asked.
“Here? No. He’d have no reason to be here that I know of.” He shook his head. “I could check with my mother.”
“Is she available now?”
“Sure. Follow me.” He turned and walked towards a path. Suzie hesitated for a moment. Was it safe? The man had pulled a gun on them just a few minutes before. She grabbed Paul’s arm.
“Do you think we should go with him?”
“We’re out here. If he tries anything, I’ll put him down.”
She shook her head and smiled at him. “So tough. I guess you can snatch a bullet out of midair, too?”
“I sure would try.” He wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “Let’s catch up, I’m not too keen on the idea of getting lost out here.”
“Why do you think Robbie would have come here?” Suzie asked.
“I have no idea. Maybe he got lost.”
She nodded and they walked together down the path. Not far along she noticed a large house that looked similar to Dune House only on a smaller scale. There was a sign with an arrow pointing towards the house. The sign said ‘Inn’.
“An inn in the middle of nowhere. Why is that?”
“It’s probably because it’s a good way to maintain a profit if the pearl turnout is low. Many people would like the secluded area and beautiful beaches.”
“Do you think that Robbie might have stayed here? That might be why this location was on his GPS.”
“It might be. Or maybe he came here to visit someone who stayed here or works here.”
“It’s possible, or maybe he even got lost.”
“Wait here, I’ll get my mother.” He ascended the wide porch. Suzie lingered beside Paul and watched as the man disappeared inside the house.
“I’ve never even heard of a pearl farm before,” Suzie said.
“It’s not too common around here. In fact this is the only one I know of in this area. They haven’t been around very long and must be trying to get a foothold.”
“It’s funny though, I’ve never really thought about how pearls are harvested. Is that why there was a speaker in the water?”
“Uh, that seems a little odd to me, but I’m sure they have a reason.” Paul smiled.
The front door opened and a small-statured woman stepped out. She had long, gray hair that hung loose around her shoulders and well past her waist.
“What is it?” She put her hands on her hips. “This is private property you know.”
“We’re only here to ask a few questions.” Suzie stepped forward. She assumed that perhaps the woman would be more comfortable speaking with her, than with Paul.
“Do I look like a librarian to you? If you want information, that’s who you should talk to.”
“We don’t mean to bother you, but this is in regards to a murder investigation. Do you think you could spare a few minutes to answer some questions?”
“Murder investigation? Who’s dead?” She narrowed her eyes.
“A friend of mine.” Paul removed his hat and stepped forward. “Robbie, a fisherman.”
“Robbie? Oh, he was just a young man. I’ve met him a few times. But why do you want to ask me questions about him?”
“This location was listed on his GPS. Do you have any idea why that might be?”
“Well, I can’t really say. I haven’t spoken to him. But we do have guests that stay here. I don’t keep track of their visitors. Just about the only way to get out here is by boat. The dirt track takes ages. Maybe he came by to meet with someone.”
“You don’t keep records of the boats that come in and out?”
“No. We barely have anyone come out here anyway.”
“Your son greeted us with a gun. Is that how you always greet guests?”
“We weren’t expecting any new guests. However, over the past couple of weeks we’ve had someone stealing some of our pearls. I’m sure Junior just assumed that might be you, since you two decided to show up without calling ahead and we weren’t expecting anyone. A courtesy call could have prevented all of those problems.”
“Fair enough.” Suzie nodded. “What about your guest registry? Could we see a copy of that?”
“Sure. I’ll get it for you. Just wait here.” She went back into the house.
“See? Not too bad.” Paul smiled at Suzie.
“You do know she’s not coming back, right?” She raised an eyebrow.
“She’s coming back.” Paul looked towards the door. “Any second now.”
Suzie glanced at her watch. Then she looked back at him. After a few minutes passed she glanced at her watch again.
“All right, all right.” Paul sighed. “You were right. She’s not coming back.”
“Should we knock?”
“If she’s not going to cooperate there’s no point. I’m sure that Jason will have better luck getting the information from her. Let’s keep going to the list of locations.”
As she walked back towards the boat Suzie thought about the thefts at the pearl farm. By the time she reached the boat she knew that she was going to have to broach the subject with Paul.
“Do you think that Robbie might have been the one stealing the pearls?”
Paul gritted his teeth as he helped her on board. “I’d rather not think that.”
“I don’t know. Remember that he was coming and going at odd hours.”
“Says Mike, who is our prime suspect.”
“Not just Mike.”
“Suzie, until we get solid information that he was involved, I don’t even want to consider it.”
“All right.” Suzie nodded and settled into silence as he pulled up the next location on the GPS.
“There’s not much point to going out to Simon’s place. If Robbie went out to see him it was just to visit. Simon’s been a friend of ours for years.”
“Still, it might be good to find out what he spoke to Simon about, or whether Robbie acted strangely. We did see Simon’s boat pulling away right before we found Robbie.”
“That’s true. I wouldn’t mind checking in with Simon anyway. If we’re lucky he might offer us lunch. He has a way with seafood, it’s always been the best I’ve ever tasted.”
“Mm, sounds delicious.” Suzie settled into a seat and stared out at the water.
Chapter Eleven
As Suzie and Paul sailed towards Simon’s place Suzie was lost in thought as she looked out at the large expanse of water. In her mind she tried to form a timeline of what might have happened from the time that Robbie launched in the morning until the time he docked and met his murderer. It was hard to place exactly where he was at what time as the GPS only recorded the time when the boat stopped at the specific coordinates, and not how long the boat was in each particular location.
The fact that Robbie’s death came not long after there were a few thefts at the pearl farm was something that Suzie could not shake. Could it really just be a coincidence? She knew that Paul wanted to believe his friend was an honest person, but some of the information she’d gathered so far about him, indicated that he might lead a different lifestyle than Paul was aware of.
“Not far now.” Paul slowed the boat. Suzie stood up and watched as they approached a short dock. The dock was littered with lounge chairs, coolers, and fishing poles. It looked very well used. Paul eased the boat to a stop. “Let me just give him a call and let him know we’re here.”
As Paul made the call Suzie focused on every detail of the dock. If it was one of the last places that Robb
ie had been, there might be a clue as to what had happened to him.
“Hey buddy, it’s Paul. I’m at your dock. Are you free?” Paul looked over at Suzie and nodded. “Sure we’ll be right up. Yes, I brought her.” He chuckled. Suzie raised an eyebrow as he hung up the phone. “He’s looking forward to meeting you.” He grinned. “I think he thought I’d made you up.”
“Really?” Suzie laughed. “That’s silly.”
Paul smiled and gave her a light hug, then climbed off the boat. He turned back to help her off as well. They walked up a small hill to a single story house. It didn’t look like it was in the best repair. The yard was scattered with half-finished projects and piles of wood that waited to be chopped. Music drifted through the open windows of the house. Suzie recognized the melody. It seemed to her that Simon had an affection for classical music. Paul led her up to the back door of the house. He knocked once, then opened the door.
“Come on in the kitchen, Paul!” Simon’s voice bellowed from around the corner. Paul took her hand and turned down the hall to the kitchen. A wonderful scent greeted her just before a man with only an apron for a shirt walked towards her with his arms wide open. “You must be Suzie!” He wrapped his arms around her before she had the chance to stop him. Not only did he hug her, he lifted her right up off the ground. When he released her she plopped back down on the ground with a laugh.
“Nice to meet you too, Simon.”
“Sorry, I should have warned you, he’s a little physical.” Paul put his hands up before Simon could hug him, but Simon still wrestled his arms around him. “How are you, pal? I haven’t seen you in a while.”
“I know, I’ve been a little, occupied.”
“I can see that.” Simon chuckled. “Lucky man. You two hungry? I’ve got lunch on the stove ready to go.”
“That would be great.” Paul nodded.
“Sure, just settle in, I’ll get you some plates.” As Suzie and Paul sat down at the table Simon tossed a pack of paper plates towards them. Paul pulled some out.
“Did you hear about Robbie?”