by Cindy Bell
Simon froze, then turned to face Paul. “I figured that might be why you were here. I heard.”
“I should have called you.” Paul frowned.
“It’s all right. It’s hard to talk about.”
“You saw him yesterday?” Suzie met his eyes. “How did he seem to you?”
“I didn’t see him yesterday.” He sat down across from them with a plate filled with an assortment of seafood.
“Oh? The GPS on his boat said he traveled here,” Suzie said.
“Well, I must have missed him. What a shame. I was out fishing yesterday. I wonder why he stopped by?”
“It’s hard to say.” Paul shook his head. “He was probably just coming by to say hello.”
“Maybe.” Simon narrowed his eyes. “I wish I knew though. It’s hard to think of someone’s last hours, and knowing that they wanted to see you, but didn’t get the chance.”
“It is.” Paul took a bite of his food.
“We saw you leaving the Garber docks yesterday. Didn’t you see him then?” Suzie asked.
“No.” He shook his head. “I never docked. I just passed nearby on my way back home from fishing.”
“Do you know anything about that pearl farm in the area?” Suzie nibbled some of her food and then took a larger bite. Paul was right, it was the best she’d ever tasted.
“Uh, I heard about it.” He nodded. “The word around town is that they’re struggling. They are real reclusive folk. Not the type to make friends with. So, I’ve kept my distance.”
“I didn’t even know they were out there.” Paul shook his head. “Just discovered them today. Can you think of any business that Robbie might have had out there?”
“At the pearl farm?” He spoke between bites of food. “No, not really.”
“Do you remember that girl that he was sweet on?” Paul laughed. “Maybe she was from the farm.”
“Oh, that’s right?” Simon nodded. “Maybe she was.”
“Really?” Suzie raised an eyebrow. “She seems a bit old for him.”
“No, this girl is young, she’s probably about twenty. He had a thing for her,” Simon said. “I don’t think she was from the pearl farm but maybe she was. I don’t know if he ever approached her.”
“Do you remember her name?” Suzie asked.
“He mentioned it, but I don’t.” Simon shook his head.
“I think it was April? Or May? Some calendar name.” Paul shrugged. “I think we can rule out December.” He laughed. Suzie looked over at him with an amused smile. He seemed so relaxed around Simon.
“If you happen to remember can you let Paul know?” Suzie looked at Simon. “That crowd over there is not very welcoming, and since we were greeted by a gun, there’s a good chance they had something to do with Robbie’s death.”
“It’s a shame.” Simon hung his head. “He was just starting out really. Could have done well for himself. I guess he stuck his nose into something he shouldn’t have.”
“Why do you say that?” Suzie locked eyes with him.
“Ain’t that always how someone ends up dead?” He stared back at her with a gaze so cold that her heart dropped. She glanced over at Paul to see if he had noticed, but Paul was too busy taking the last few bites of his food to notice. She shivered and lowered her eyes. Maybe it was just her imagination, but it seemed to her that Simon meant his words as a threat.
When they had finished up their meal Simon led them out into the back. He talked to Paul about all of the projects he planned to finish. Suzie tuned out as she sorted through her own thoughts. Was she overreacting to the way that Simon had spoken to her?
“I guess we’d better head out.” Paul placed a hand on the small of Suzie’s back. “Don’t want to be out in the dark.”
“I heard that there’s a fierce storm rolling in tomorrow. Keep an eye out for it,” Simon said.
“I will.” Paul nodded. “Thanks for the warning.”
“Wait. We should get a picture.” Suzie pulled out her phone and smiled as the two men huddled around her. As she snapped the selfie she reminded herself that Simon was a friend of Paul’s, and that meant she needed to give him the benefit of the doubt. She tucked her phone back into her pocket. “It was really nice meeting you, Simon.”
“You too.” He smiled and winked at her. “You might have to throw an anchor around this one to keep him on land, but it’ll be worth it.”
“Ah, that’s where you’re wrong, Simon. Not even an anchor would keep me out of the ocean. Luckily, Suzie understands. Don’t you, Suzie?” He glanced over at her.
“Yes, I do. I would never keep him away.” She patted his chest and smiled as she looked into his eyes.
“Good woman.” Simon nodded and stared at them both for a moment then gestured to the dock. “I’d walk you down, but I’ve got to clean up. Have a good trip back.”
“Thanks, Bud.” Paul gave him a light shove on the shoulder then slipped his arm through Suzie’s. As they walked back towards the boat Suzie considered mentioning her concerns, but it had been such a nice visit, she didn’t want to add tension. She kept quiet for the ride back to the docks. When Paul cut off the engine he looked over at her.
“Okay, what is it?”
“What?” She smiled.
“You are never this quiet.”
“Don’t be silly, I’m quiet all of the time.”
“No, you certainly aren’t. Especially when you’re investigating something.”
“Okay, okay. I am a bit more quiet than usual.”
“So? What is it?” He met her eyes.
“It’s just Simon.”
“Simon? What about him?”
“Did you notice anything off about him?”
“No, not really. Did you?”
“I’m not sure. Something about the way he talked to me, warning me to stay out of other people’s business, really left me flustered.”
“Oh, Simon can be that way.” Paul frowned. “I’m sorry I didn’t notice that. But he can be a bit harsh.”
“Do you think he knows something about what happened to Robbie?”
“If he did, he would tell me.” Paul narrowed his eyes. “He would want Robbie’s murderer brought to justice.”
“Are you sure? I mean, it looks like Robbie was up to some things that you didn’t know about. Maybe Simon is hiding things, too.”
“Suzie, I respect your instincts, I truly do, but just because Simon is a little rough around the edges, that doesn’t mean that he had anything to do with Robbie’s death.”
“I know that, you’re right. I just think it was a little odd the way he spoke about some things.”
“Today is the first time that you met him, so I can understand that. His type of charm is something that has to grow on you.”
“I understand, I guess I’m a little paranoid. Hopefully we can find something out about the people at the pearl farm. If so we might be able to get to the bottom of things.”
“I want to check in with some of Robbie’s friends. Some of his family is also supposed to be coming into town.”
“Do you want me to come with you?” Suzie met his eyes.
“No, thanks. I just want to make sure they have everything they need.”
“I’ll go and update Jason.”
“Good idea.” He glanced over at her. “Are you okay?”
“Of course I am. Why?”
“The gun thing.” He frowned.
“No, I’m fine. You were there with me, right?”
He smiled. “That I was.”
“Then I’m fine.” She kissed his cheek.
“Do you want a lift?”
“No thank you, I could use the walk.” Suzie smiled. “Let me know if the family needs anything.”
“I will.” As Suzie walked away she tried to convince herself that he was right. Simon had nothing to do with what had happened to Robbie and had no information to offer. Her instincts were off. But she couldn’t shake the feeling that she was right.
Chapter Twelve
By the time Suzie reached the police station she’d already decided to tell Jason about Simon. When she walked up to Jason’s desk he had his phone trapped between his ear and his shoulder. She noticed the way his brow furrowed, and the ripple of his jaw. His shoulders were hunched over and his skin was pale.
“Do whatever it takes, and just get it done.” He frowned as he hung up the phone and ran his hands across his face.
“Are you okay?”
“Yes I’m fine, just busy.”
“Let me know if you need help with anything.”
“All right, what can I do for you?”
“Paul and I took a ride around today to the places that Robbie last went to just to see if there was anything interesting out there.”
“Why doesn’t that surprise me? I had second thoughts about giving Paul a copy of the coordinates. I hope you didn’t antagonize anyone or jeopardize the investigation?”
“No of course not, but there were a couple of things of concern. One, at one of the places Robbie went to we found a man in a yellow jacket that has a bald head. He matches the description of someone that was seen hanging around Robbie’s boat on the day he was murdered. Apparently, he was repairing Robbie’s boat.”
“Yes, I know, I spoke with him just before.”
“And you have the jacket I brought in last night?”
“Yes. I’m going with the idea that someone else in a yellow jacket was the one who actually killed Robbie. But I’m not sure of that yet. It’s possible that Gill bought another jacket to replace the one he damaged. Or the murderer deliberately tried to frame Gill by planting a yellow jacket.”
“That would make sense. But maybe there would be a paper trail that we could follow to see if Gill purchased it recently?”
“Maybe, but if he bought it with cash it won’t be likely. And it would be quite a difficult trail to follow. I plan to ask him for a DNA sample and we can compare that to what we find on the jacket.”
“What about the blood? Is it Robbie’s?”
“That hasn’t been confirmed yet, but at the moment I’m assuming it is.”
“Have you spoken to the people at the pearl farm?”
“Oh yes, that’s another can of worms. I made some inquires with the police department where the family that owns the pearl farm used to live. Apparently Cecily Wren, the owner of the farm, has a long history of run-ins with the law. She’s even been arrested for breaking and entering before. Her son, Junior, is no better. He’s had some assault charges brought against him.”
“Not surprising, since he pulled a gun on us.”
“What?” His eyes widened.
“Don’t worry about it, we handled it. Apparently they’ve had some thefts at their farm and he assumed we might be involved.”
“Hm. They haven’t reported any here. Someone is stealing from criminals. Good to know.”
“Easy Jason, they could be turning their lives around. You never know.”
“Sure, you’re right.” He sighed. “Did you discover anything else?”
“Well, we went to the last place on the GPS and it turned out to be a friend of both Paul’s and Robbie’s. His name is Simon.”
“Right, I know him and I’ve spoken to him and there doesn’t seem to be any reason to suspect him. Paul also told me that he wouldn’t be an issue.”
“I know that Paul feels that way, but I have to wonder.”
“Why do you have to wonder?” Jason leaned forward some and looked into her eyes. “Your instincts are usually on target, Suzie, let me know what you’re thinking.”
“It’s just that Simon claimed not to have seen Robbie. Then he gave me this look, and a warning about sticking my nose in other people’s business.”
“He threatened you?”
“No, I couldn’t exactly say that. But I did feel like it was a threat. Just the way he said it, and the way he looked at me, made me think that he was warning me not to get into his business.”
“It’s not unusual for fishermen to behave like that. They like their privacy.”
“You’re right. Still, I think it might be best to confirm his whereabouts. Paul also mentioned something about Robbie having a crush on a girl and thought that maybe she was from the pearl farm. Paul and Simon couldn’t remember her name, but said she was quite young and her name was a month. You know like May or….”
“That might be Cecily’s niece, April. She’s on the list of employees. I guess that might be why Robbie went out to the farm.”
“Maybe.” Suzie nodded. “I know it’s not much to go on, but it’s a start.”
“Suzie, I know telling you to stay out of this is useless, but please be careful.”
“I will be, don’t worry,” Suzie said. “Don’t forget, Jason, you’re getting married. Make sure you write your vows.”
“I’m working on it, I’m working on it.” He yawned.
“Good.” Suzie stood up from her chair, then paused. “I know it’s not my place, but I overheard you arguing with Summer last night.”
“You did?” His cheeks grew red. “I figured that was why you didn’t give me the jacket.”
“I just want you to know, it’s normal to fight. Fighting means you care enough to struggle. If you’re not fighting, that’s when you should worry.”
“You know this from your vast experience?”
“Okay, you’ve got me there. But I know how much you two love each other, and I don’t want you to get discouraged.”
“Thanks Suzie.” He smiled, but the expression faded quickly. “I’ll check into Simon and see if I come up with anything. In the meantime I’m running down a few leads from the docks. I’ll be honest though, something is missing here. Normally there would be a thread, a piece of evidence that points me in the right direction. I just don’t feel like I have that yet.”
“Hopefully something will turn up soon.”
“Hopefully.”
“I’ll let you know if I hear anything new.”
“Thanks Suzie.” He picked up his phone again and began to dial a number. Suzie left the station and walked towards Main Street. The events of the day tumbled through her mind. Due to her investigative mind if she encountered anything that she didn’t have a base knowledge of, it hung in her mind until she learned more about it. She knew nothing about pearls, or pearl farms, or what anyone would do with stolen pearls. If she had questions, she thought the best place to go would be the jewelry shop. But before she headed there she decided to get a bottle of water. Her throat was dry from being out in the sea air. She stepped into the convenience store and grabbed a bottle out of one of the coolers. She pulled out her phone and dialed Mary’s number.
“Hi Mary.”
“Suzie? How is everything?”
“Okay. I’m just going to the jewelry shop in town, I have a couple of questions to ask Nina.”
“Oh good, I’ll meet you there. I need to speak to her about the rings.”
“The wedding rings?” Suzie paused a few feet from the register. “Is there a problem?”
“No problem. Jason wants to add an inscription to the rings, but he’s very busy on the case, so he asked if I could stop in.”
“Okay, see you soon.” Suzie hung up the phone and set the bottle down on the counter. She smiled at the woman behind the counter, Suzie knew her from the convenience store but she didn’t know her name.
“Looks like you’ve been out on the boat all day.”
“Oh?” Suzie reached up to touch her hair, but the woman shook her head.
“You’ve got some sunburn. Might want to get some aloe on that.”
Suzie touched her cheek and felt the heat against her fingertips. There was no question that she had sunburn. She grimaced at the thought. “Thanks for the warning.” She was about to walk away when she hesitated. “Did you hear about the fisherman that was killed on his boat?”
“Yes.” She lowered her eyes and shook her head. “Just awful.
”
“Yes, it is.”
“I had just seen him that day. He came in here.”
“Really. Did you notice anything strange?”
“It was early in the morning so I was rushing around getting the coffee pots ready. He and his friend waited for me to have a pot ready.” She frowned. “It’s so odd that a person can be right in front of you one day and then gone.”
“Yes it is. You mentioned he was with a friend. Did you know who the friend was? A woman?”
“No, a man. Uh, what’s his name?” She narrowed her eyes. “He’s hard to forget but his name, I just can’t think of it right now.”
“How come he was hard to forget?”
“Kind of loud. A burly guy you know. Oh that’s it, Simon.” She nodded. “That’s his name.”
“Simon?”
“Yes.”
“Are you sure it was the day Robbie died?”
“Yes, I’m sure. I gave them the first cups of coffee out of the pot. They seemed tense and I wanted to get them out of the store.”
“Tense how?”
“They kept talking real low, but the tone was hard, you know, angry.” She frowned. “I don’t know. I didn’t hear anything specific.”
“Okay, thanks for the info.”
“Sure, I hope they figure out who did it.”
Suzie picked up her water and headed out the door. As she did she dialed Jason’s number. The phone rang several times, but he didn’t answer. She hung up and tried Paul’s number. He didn’t pick up, either. She shoved her phone back into her pocket and sighed. If Simon was in the store with Robbie, why did he claim that he hadn’t seen Robbie? It was clear to her that Simon had lied to her, and after the way he had looked at her, she was sure that he was trying to hide something. As her mind still swirled she made her way towards the jewelry store.
Chapter Thirteen
A friend of Summer’s worked at the jewelry store. Maybe she would be willing to give Suzie a quick tutorial about pearls. Suzie pulled open the door to the jewelry store and stepped inside. The carpet was plush and the lights were bright. A woman waved to her as she walked towards one of the glass display cases.