Pool Party

by Linda Cargill

  When she reached the suite, Sharon opened the wooden double doors and walked in. The room was freshly made up with a stack of clean bath towels and perfumed soaps in the middle of the bed.

  There certainly wasn’t anything unusual—except that the doll wasn’t in the rocking chair. She breathed a sigh of relief. Unless Dan meant her to take note of the air-conditioning, which reached arctic proportions here, there was absolutely nothing to see. Sharon rubbed her hands up and down her sleeveless arms and felt goosebumps.

  She thought, The customer was right.

  The canopy bed hung with old-fashioned lace curtains looked undisturbed. The china wash basin still sat on the mahogany bed stand. The portraits hadn’t moved. The Persian carpet lay in the same place.

  Sharon shrugged. She just didn’t get it. What did Dan mean? She sighed and looked at her watch. She’d better get downstairs and see if her mother needed any help with dinner.

  Then she spotted it.

  When she first walked into the room Sharon had noticed the pile of freshly laundered towels on the bed. Now there was something else, too. It looked like an old-fashioned, threadbare handkerchief, made of yellowed linen with lace edges—the kind nobody used anymore. In one corner the initials CW were embroidered in gold thread.

  The handkerchief was damp.

  Sharon suddenly remembered what the little girl had said. She’d urged her mother not to check out of Ocean House. She’d babbled on and on about the pretty lady with the long blond hair who’d visited in the middle of the night. “The pretty lady will cry if I don’t say goodbye,” the girl had said.

  Was this the lady’s handkerchief?

  Sharon placed the handkerchief back on the bed. But as she turned to leave a warm gust of air blew directly down on her. She looked up. The warm wind must have come down the spiral stairway. She listened. A door slammed repeatedly up in the tower, banging in the breeze.

  She started up the stairway.

  The door to the balcony was wide open. She stepped onto the balcony and into the blazing sunlight. She waited as her eyes adjusted to the light.

  Directly below the balcony stood the black marble pool. The roof slats of the glass enclosure were open. Her mother, father, one of the policemen, and Phil still stood around the pool talking. Phil was skimming the pool with a net. He looked up at her, smiled, and waved.

  She waved back.

  The sun danced on the surface of the pool. The black marble gleamed. She squinted, blinked, and squinted again. She’d never looked down at the pool from quite this angle before. Funny, but she thought she saw those initials CW staring back at her from the bottom of the pool—the same golden initials that were embroidered on the handkerchief.

  Then they vanished.

  She rubbed her eyes. Was she hallucinating? She’d swum there many times. There was nothing on the bottom of the pool!

  Sharon glanced at the pool again—nothing. She shook her head as she started down the tower stairs. The shower was running! She froze in alarm with her foot on the bottom stair.

  Somebody must have just checked into the room! The pile of fresh towels and perfumed soaps had vanished from the middle of the bed. She had to get out of there as quickly as possible.

  As she was tiptoeing across the floor, she stepped on a loose floorboard. It creaked loudly. Sharon spun around and stared at the bathroom door. Had she been heard? Should she just make a run for it?

  The bathroom door was ajar. She caught a glimpse of the shower curtain. Sharon cringed with embarrassment, expecting to see the outline of a human body.

  But there was nobody there.

  She did a double take. What was going on?

  Slowly she approached the bathroom. Her heart was pounding. Her head was spinning. Her body was shaking all over. She knew she ought to run, but something was drawing her forward.

  Sharon entered the bathroom and placed her hand on the shower curtain. This was the most frightening thing she’d ever had to do. She took a deep breath and quickly drew the shower curtain across the rod.

  It took her mind a minute to take in what she saw. The claw-footed tub was already half-filled with water. There was something floating facedown on the surface. The doll with the long blond hair. She picked it up.

  The doll’s expression had changed. Its face did not have the neutral expression Sharon remembered. It looked very angry. The once-blue eyes had turned red. Blood started trickling out of the doll’s mouth, down her chin, and onto the floor.

  Sharon dropped the doll and screamed.

  By morning all the local newspapers had the story:

  Three Missing Girls—

  Stolen Jewelry—

  Love Triangle Explodes!

  Bloody Doll Found in Bathtub—

  Is Ocean House Cursed?

  Sharon and her mother knew they were in for a bad day. They even got an angry call from Sharon’s father, who’d taken up residence in a small apartment just down the street. While Sharon listened in on the extension, he rebuked Mrs. Jones for not keeping a tighter rein on things around Ocean House.

  “I’d like to see you raise a teenage daughter and manage an inn at the same time!” Her mother burst into tears on the phone. “All you ever do is go on business trips.”

  “I’ll stay here as long as it takes to get to the bottom of this.”

  “Is that a promise?” Her mother sounded more hopeful.

  “You bet.”

  And then Phil called. She had expected him to pounce on her for trusting Dan, but all of his anger seemed to be directed at her former boyfriend.

  “That jerk’s responsible for this.”

  “So you think Dan could have done all that even after the police carted him off?”

  “Didn’t you say he left you a note to look upstairs?”

  “Yeah…” She hadn’t told Phil that Dan had warned her about him, too. Then Phil would really go into orbit.

  “It’s as obvious as the nose on your face. His jealousy’s driven him nuts.”

  “Maybe…” It was the only explanation that made any sense, but it didn’t seem like Dan.

  “What do you mean maybe? Say, honey, you aren’t still sweet on this kook, are you?”

  “Of course not, Phil!”

  “That’s what I like to hear. I’ll be right over.”

  Sharon hung the receiver up slowly. Sure, it was true that Dan had suggested she check out the room. It was true that he could have gotten a key and planted the handkerchief and the red paint on the doll. But it just didn’t seem very much like something Dan would ever do.

  When Phil arrived, he insisted on taking her to school every morning. He snacked on doughnuts while he waited impatiently for Sharon to finish breakfast.

  She hadn’t slept well and wasn’t her best at that hour. But Phil didn’t notice, and she didn’t say anything for fear of angering him. She still liked him a lot and wanted to go out with him, but she wished he wouldn’t play watchdog. Why couldn’t he give her a little more space?

  He dropped her off at school on his way to work. “If I’m a little late, no sweat.” He told her. “I explained the emergency to my boss, and Tony’s a swell guy. He understands.”

  After school her mother made matters worse. When Sharon tried to suggest that maybe she and Phil needed a little breather, her mother cut her off. “I don’t know what we’d do without Phil!” She exclaimed. “He’s like a son.”

  “I know Phil’s been nice, but—”

  “Haven’t you seen how he’s volunteering his time for us? Ocean House would go under without his help.”

  “He’s working for you now?” Sharon was confused.

  “He’s not charging me or Irene a penny. He had lunch with me today and explained everything. Your dad took us both out. Now we are all beginning to feel a lot better.”

  Sharon was shocked. When had he offered his services? She tried to get her answer later when she saw him rushing through Ocean House’s gardens toward the pool.


  “Phil, what’s up?” Sharon asked.

  He gave her a quick kiss. “Out of the way, gal, I’m gonna be late.”

  Several kids sat around the pool waiting for him. They greeted Phil by name. Then he promptly started a round of pool games interspersed with swimming lessons. Sharon joined them for a bit, and he explained that Tony was allowing him to offer the resort services free because of Ocean House’s recent difficulties.

  “What did I tell you?” Phil said. “Tony’s a swell guy.”

  Some days Phil gave swimming lessons. Other days he would transport the kids to nearby miniature golf or even to the beach. One day Irene joined in and showed the kids how to sketch.

  Still, most tourists shied away from Ocean House. Phil intensified his efforts. At night, he offered advanced swimming lessons and recreational swimming for adults. Occasionally he even offered lifesaving or scuba and snorkeling lessons to all Ocean House guests free of charge. Sometimes his buddies from Fun & Sun Resort Services would drop by to help him out.

  Sharon got to see Phil more than before. The time he spent working for pay at the other resorts on the island was halved. The rest of the time he spent escorting her back and forth to school or hanging around Ocean House helping her mother.

  Then one morning, instead of dropping Sharon off, Phil went with her to school. They drove straight past the flagpole where he usually let her out and kissed her goodbye. He proceeded to park the van in the visitors’ parking lot.

  “What’s up? Do you have the day off?” Sharon asked.

  “Just the opposite. I’m gonna be busier than ever today.”

  He was being deliberately vague and mysterious and when she asked Sue, Angel, and Vicki, they didn’t know anything about it either.

  Not even Irene knew. Her father had wanted her to stay on at Ocean House for a few months to make sure it got off to a good start. So she’d enrolled in the senior class at Ocean High.

  But Sharon got the answers to her questions as she listened to the morning announcements. After the Pledge of Allegiance, the school lunch menu, and the special events of the day, came Phil’s voice:

  “All right, all you high-school dudes out there, this is Phil Darling. I remember what it was like being loaded with dates, parties, and football games. I even remember putting in a few hours studying now and then.”

  Laughter.

  “It was hard being a senior with no time to call your own.”

  Students nodded. “You said it, man!”

  “But this morning I’ve come here to lay down a challenge for you. If you think you’re busy now, I want you to get twice as busy. There is a family in our midst that needs our help. An old historic structure right here on our island is in danger of going under, being sold, and perhaps knocked down. Of course you know I’m talking about the Jones family and Ocean House.”

  Sharon turned purple and tried to slump down in her seat. She could feel everyone staring at her.

  But Phil didn’t stop:

  “The Jones family is in danger of losing their franchise to Ocean House, which has stood in the same spot for over a hundred years now. We owe it to that fine family and to our community pride to pitch in and do what we can. If plants are your thing, volunteer to weed the grounds. If you like pools, run the barracuda. If you’re a neat freak, straighten a room. I call this project ‘Save Our Inn.’”

  Sign-up sheets were passed around in senior homerooms. Kids eagerly signed up for cleanup, garden, and pool duty. Anyone with special talents—such as wallpapering, painting, carpentry, plumbing—volunteered on a special sheet.

  Sharon wished she could sink through the floor and disappear. When the bell rang for first period she was surrounded by kids who’d never before spoken to her. “Shame on you, Sharon, why didn’t you tell us you were in that much trouble?”

  “Say, I remember your party. You had a real nice place. Shame to lose it,” said another.

  “Hard luck! I hope things look up soon.”

  Sharon felt like a charity case by the time she’d walked down the hallway to her first class. Every other kid stopped her and gave her one of those “I-remember-when-my-dad-lost-his-job-I-really-feel-for-you” speeches.

  Whatever happened to old-fashioned pride and keeping your problems to yourself? Sharon thought. Phil hadn’t left her any room for dignity. She felt exposed. Now everyone knew everything about her personal problems and her family’s bank account.

  “How’d I do?” Phil caught up with her on his way out of the building.

  “Oh … just great I guess.” She didn’t want to hurt his feelings. He seemed so proud of himself, and her mom swore by his help. She ought to set her own feelings aside for once.

  He kissed her quickly and was on his way to work. She should feel proud to have Phil as a boyfriend. What was wrong with her?

  Suddenly Irene was at her side, “You’re lucky to have such a sweetheart as a boyfriend. They don’t make them that sweet back in England, or I would have landed one for myself by now.”

  Irene was beginning to sound just like her mother.

  “I’ve asked my father to be more understanding and generous. But he didn’t get where he is today by being a nice guy. He insists that Ocean House turn a profit.” Irene shrugged apologetically. “But my dad ought to like Phil’s scheme. Dad goes for self-help and pulling yourself up by the bootstraps.”

  Sharon concluded that she was probably crazy not to appreciate Phil’s efforts.

  At lunch Sharon pushed her food around on her plate until Sue plopped down beside her. She’d known Sue for only a couple of weeks, but it seemed now as if it had been for years. “Sue, what’s wrong with me? Everybody’s being so nice, and I’m down in the dumps.”

  “Phil’s really cute. He’s got charisma. Maybe he’s even got it all. But, personally, I’d feel more comfortable around Dan. Phil’s always rushing around and uptight. Dan’s more of a let-your-hair-down sort of guy.”

  “Oh, Sue, what would I ever do without you!” Sharon gave her new friend’s hand a squeeze. She felt the same way. “Then you don’t think Dan’s guilty?”

  “We’ve all talked about it. We think he’s OK.” Sue smiled.

  Everything that anyone did to help Ocean House only reminded her how little anyone was doing to help Dan. The police were charging him with kidnapping and maybe murder.

  The police had turned up more damning evidence against Dan. It had been splashed all over the papers. They had found more threatening letters addressed to Sharon, and maps of Ocean House. And they’d found them in Dan’s bedroom.

  Dan was released on bail, pending trial. His parents had put up the money by taking out a second mortgage on their house.

  Then Dan announced that he was going back to school. He must be innocent, or he’d stay at home. Sharon thought. At least I would.

  Even though all the evidence pointed against him, there had to be more going on. Dan just wasn’t acting like a guilty criminal.

  But then why had Dan told the police he was guilty?

  Chapter 5

  There were rumors for days before Dan finally showed up for class. By the morning it finally happened, the whole hallway was abuzz.

  Sharon tried to undo her combination lock and get all her books out before Dan appeared, but she was in a panic. Her fingers wouldn’t obey her. The lock kept slipping out of her grasp.

  Sharon felt rather than saw Dan at the end of the hallway. She held her breath. Her heart pounded. She wanted to run, but she knew everyone was staring at her. So she leaned her forehead against the locker and tried to calm down.

  Then the whole hallway fell into a hush. For a few moments all she could hear were Dan’s footsteps walking slowly but steadily down the hallway.

  People began to shout nasty comments. “Hello, Mr. Murderer! Where did you stash the bodies?”

  Another girl whined, “Got any more gold jewelry for sale?”

  “How about some more bloody dolls? My little sister would love one o
f those!” another hissed.

  The footsteps stopped right behind her. “Hello, Sharon,” Dan mumbled.

  Sharon turned around slowly to face him.

  His face was pale. He was thinner. He looked like he hadn’t gotten any sleep.

  But before Sharon got a chance to say anything, an arm clamped itself around her shoulders. “Phil, what are you doin’ here?” Sharon wet her lips. “I thought you were at work!”

  He smiled. “Tony gave me an hour off to escort you to class. I explained the situation.” Then he gave Dan a dirty look. “Why did they let the jailbird out? Or did he escape?”

  Dan was silent.

  “Now I don’t think that’s fair!” Sue stepped up beside Dan and stood shoulder to shoulder with him. “Personally, I don’t believe any of this crap!” She stuck out her chin stubbornly.

  “Thanks, Sue,” Dan said.

  “Neither do I!” said Angel. “He couldn’t have done anything to Donna, Elaine, or Marge.”

  “No way!” said Vicki. “He was standing beside Sharon the whole time until he went looking for them.”

  There were a few more catcalls from all the kids gathered around them expectantly. They seemed to be waiting for fireworks. Maybe Dan and Phil would get into a fight. It would be a good show.

  Irene stepped up. “Shame on you! Isn’t everyone presumed innocent until proven guilty in this country? If the judge let Dan out on bail, that should be good enough for all of you.” Irene eyed the kids in the crowd.

  A few of the hangers-on backed off. They slunk back to their lockers. Irene’s super politeness and manners often shamed a lot of people. Nobody could challenge those exotic-looking violet eyes.

  At lunch Sharon had to listen to Sue grumble about all the flack she was taking for sticking up for Dan. The feeling against him ran so high that kids were now avoiding Sue. She’d even found a snake in her locker after second-period class.

  “I’m convinced that Dan’s innocent no matter what the police say. Get real. I know the guy. I thought you did, too, Sharon.”

  “He was gone only a few minutes when he went back into Ocean House to search,” said Angel. “He couldn’t have done anything that fast.”