by Sarah Kelly
She did. For some reason, tears were gathering in her eyes. The whole thing was quite overwhelming.
“Look, I know I can’t stop you,” he said. “I can see that. But just be careful. Really careful, okay? I don’t want to see you get hurt.”
“I’ll be careful,” she promised. “But I have to do this, Zave. I feel like I’m right where I’m supposed to be.”
He nodded. “I’m trying to understand. I’m going to go process him now. Why don’t you come in?”
“I’d prefer to wait for him out here,” she said. She wanted some time to think.
Xavier sighed again. “You really won’t let me protect you, will you?”
“I will,” she said. “It’s just… just not right now.”
He looked at his watch. “I really have to go in. Will you at least lock the doors?”
She nodded. “Yep.”
He patted her on the hand, then got out of the car and headed toward the front door. Halfway he turned back and pulled on the driver’s door handle. He leant against the car frame and looked at the floor. “I... It’s just that I love… I don’t want to see anything bad happen to you, okay?”
India nodded. “I’ll be safe. I’ll lock the doors. It’s fine. You don’t have to worry about me.”
He offered her a weak smile. “But I do. I expect Hayden will be out in ten minutes or so. I’ll watch out the window, to make sure everything’s okay.” Then he closed the door and went inside.
CHAPTER 5
Just as Xavier said he would, Hayden staggered out of the police station some ten or fifteen minutes later. He looked awful, his blond hair sticking out in all directions, his face drawn in, and his expression like a dead man walking.
India jumped out of the passenger seat of Xavier’s car and ran over to him. He flinched away and hollered.
“It’s okay,” she said gently. “Remember me? I was helping to cater at the party.”
He looked even worse close up, with his bloodshot eyes and stubbly cheeks. “Yeah,” he said hoarsely.
She felt so bad for him that she couldn’t help but give him a quick boost. Closing her eyes for a second so she could focus her mind, she thought a happy thought (of her little white cat Yang back in Wisconsin), found herself smiling, and then WHOOSH, it was transferred.
She opened her eyes to see him straighten up his posture. His eyes took on a different quality, and he looked around like he had just woken up. “Hi,” he said.
India got a little buzz, seeing that her magic worked. “Hey. I know you’ve just been released, and it’s getting kinda late. If you want, me and Officer Bradford can take you back to the beach house in the car. We’d just need to wait ten minutes or so for him to finish up inside.”
“Uh… well, yeah. I guess. Thanks.” He offered the tiniest of smiles. “But if a bus comes along before then I’ll take that.”
“Sure,” India said, following him as he walked up to the kerb.
The low roar of the nighttime ocean was just about the only sound, along with an occasional passing car.
India racked her brain, thinking of how she could delve in without being insensitive.
Eventually, he was the one who broke the silence. “I didn’t do it, you know.”
“I believe you,” India said, and managed to resist adding I think.
He whipped his head toward her, his eyes intense. “But why do you believe me? All the evidence points to me, doesn’t it? Me and Gianna were… you know, together. And I was going to propose to her. And I sent Erica the drink. It doesn’t look good. I’m surprised that guy Kimble let me out at all.”
“Well, it’s all a bit obvious, isn’t it?” India said. “Maybe too obvious. I don’t think you’d kill Onyx in such a blatant way. At least, not if you didn’t want to get caught.”
“Hmm.” He thrust his hands in his pockets and looked out over the palm fringed street, his face creased with worry.
India knew she was treading in sensitive territory, but she couldn’t stop herself. “Why didn’t you just break up with Onyx, Erica, whatever her name is, when your thing with Gianna started?”
He pushed his lips out, looking weary with the whole world. “Erica lives in peaks and troughs. Peaks when she feels on top of the world, and she’s the most amazing, dazzling person to be around, and troughs where everything’s wrong and there’s not a damn thing anyone can do to make her feel better.” His voice cracked. “Not even me. And I knew that after those stupid concerts, she was going to be a wreck. That damn Mark, you know all he cares about is money. He couldn’t care less about Erica.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes,” Hayden practically spat. “And I think they’re sleeping together. Maybe. I know I don’t have the moral high ground here, but still… it’s still wrong.”
“Did Erica ever admit anything?”
“No, she always denied it,” he said. “It’s hard to tell, because she flirts with everyone.” He puffed out a resigned breath. “I mean, flirted. I just can’t believe she’s gone.”
India gave him a moment to collect himself, but she desperately wanted to press on. “So what made you think she was sleeping with him?” she asked eventually.
“He was always giving her massages,” he said. “It started like a month or six weeks before… before yesterday.”
“Massages can be innocent.”
“Yeah, but these didn’t look that way. There was something… sensual about it. I could barely even look at him without feeling sick.”
India nodded. “You were jealous?”
“Absolutely. And I realize how hypocritical that is, given my actions. But you can’t just turn your feelings off like a faucet, you know? Even though I wanted to leave Erica, that didn’t mean I didn’t still love her.”
India thought for a moment. “You don’t think Mark would have wanted her gone, do you?”
“Maybe,” Hayden said. “He really is a horrible guy. He made his wife and three kids lose their house because he gambled away the mortgage payments. People like that make me sick.”
“He gambles?”
“Yeah. Poker. On his phone, you know, on the internet. It’s like throwing money away in the trash, if you ask me.”
India’s mind raced. She remembered the little scrap of paper in the beach house kitchen. That must have been some kind of poker notation? But it didn’t get her any closer to solving the murder. There wasn’t any motive.
“Would he stand to benefit financially from her death?”
Hayden stared ahead of him, looking numb. “Not that I know of. He’s not in her will. He already took his 15% cut from the shows. The tickets were non-refundable. They’ll put on a tribute concert, I guess.” He pressed his lips together. “She should never have agreed to those damn concerts. I don’t know why, but I have this strong feeling that if she had turned them down, she would still be alive.”
India noted that. Intuition, though highly flawed, sometimes led in the right direction.
“She was so worried about them,” he continued. “And rightly so. I loved her and all, but she didn’t have the same energy she used to. She tried to kid herself that she did, but I know as soon as she got on stage, the truth would have hit her in the face like a freight train. I couldn’t leave her like that. She might have… done something real stupid.”
“Like, killed herself?” India asked gently.
“She’s threatened it before,” Hayden said. “Many times.”
India made a mental note. So maybe she really had drugged her own drink.
His voice quavered. “I would have waited ‘til she was at a peak, and I’d have ended it then. She wouldn’t have cared when she was feeling so good. In fact, she’d have probably told me good riddance and had a new boyfriend by the end of the week.”
India’s heart went out to him, but she knew she needed to nip that sympathy in the bud. It could blind her to the truth. As much as she didn’t think it was likely, it could really be the murderer
standing in front of her.
“And then Gianna and I could have started our lives together.” He shifted his weight from one foot to the other over and over, and looked around in every which direction. “She probably thinks I’m a killer now.”
“Maybe not,” India said, though she wasn’t hopeful.
“I was going to give her my grandmother’s engagement ring. She gave it to me when she passed. It has an amethyst. Purple’s Gianna’s favorite color. She told me that when we had just met, ages ago.”
India nodded.
“Not that you care,” he said, shaking his head. “Sorry. I’m blabbering.”
“No, really, it’s fine,” India said. “To tell you the truth, I’m trying to find out who the killer is, and everything you say helps in one way or another.” She didn’t know if it was wise to tell him that – after all, if he was the murderer, he might target her next. But if she was going to snoop around more, it would be pretty obvious what she was doing anyways.
“I hope you catch them.”
“Me too.”
An uncomfortable look crossed Hayden’s face, and he was silent for about a minute. Then he blurted out, “I think I know who it is. Maybe. Oh, I don’t know. I’m not sure.”
“Who?”
“Don’t hold me to this,” he said. “I might be totally wrong. It’s just an idea.”
India glanced back at the police station, and saw Xavier at the window, watching them. In a flash of inspiration, she realized she wanted to be a detective, using a mixture of traditional methods and her magic powers to solve crimes.
“Tell me,” she said. “I know it’s just an idea. That’s fine.”
“Well, you know I was telling you about the will?”
“Yes.”
He twisted his hands, and the night breeze from the ocean pushed his hair away from his face. “Well, I’m in it. For 50%. But do you know who else is in it, for 50%?”
“Who?”
“Answer.”
India’s heart skipped a beat. “Really? She never mentioned that.”
Hayden gave her a pointed look. “I wonder why. Half of Erica’s money is going under Answer’s control, to give to charitable causes in Erica’s name. See, she was crazy about big endangered exotic creatures, like, I don’t know, types of orang-utan, and stuff like that. But she was no good with money, really. So Answer has to decide which charities to distribute the money to.”
“Interesting.”
Hayden’s eyes were gleaming. He looked more alive than she’d seen him yet. “And what’s stopping her from setting up her own charity,” he said, “as a cover up, and putting all Erica’s money in that? She’d be set for life.”
“Wow,” India said.
“Plus, Answer was still mad at her because Erica didn’t pay up yet for a few years back.”
“Yeah, I did hear that.”
Hayden folded his arms across his chest and nodded at her with a degree of satisfaction, as if the case was closed.
“That’s all very interesting,” India said. “I’m going to think a lot about that.”
She was just about to ask him if he knew anything about how Answer could have slipped poison in the champagne, but a bus pulled up.
“You sure you don’t want a ride?” India asked.
Hayden shook his head. “I need some time to think, you know?”
“See you, then.” She felt like he was an old friend, almost.
“Bye.”
He got on the bus, paid the driver, and waved to her as it pulled away.
As soon as he was out of sight, she rushed back toward the station, ready to tell Xavier all about answer. But he came out before she reached the doorway.
“Find anything out?” he asked, his expression not entirely approving.
“Answer, you know the spiritual adviser, stood to inherit half of Erica’s money.”
Xavier looked impressed. “Well, that’s certainly a motive.”
“You bet it is.”
“I should go tell Detective Kimble,” he said, turning to go inside.
“No, wait,” India said. She went over to be closer to him, until their bodies were almost touching. “Listen, Zave, I know you’re doing things by the book, but… You’re an officer. You can still interview people.”
He looked wary. “Right…? And…?”
“Well, I really want to speak to Onyx’s manager again, you know, Mark Meyer. Because he’s been with Onyx a long time, and I’m guessing he takes care of hiring people and stuff. So he should know a lot about Answer and the history between her and Onyx.”
“Oh, man.” He looked torn.
“Come on, Zave. Wouldn’t it be great if we solved this case together? Like, I know you’d be stepping a bit beyond your boundaries as an officer, but how could they grudge you for catching a killer? They’d see how dedicated you were to your work.”
He looked into her eyes for a moment, like he was trying to draw strength from them. “I want to, but… I’m just not sure.”
“Zave, you got into this work to make a difference,” India said. “You’re always telling me you want to help people. But…” She struggled with whether or not to go on. It could hit a nerve, and the last thing she wanted to do was hurt him. But it was the truth. It had to be said. “But, really, Zave, how much difference have you made so far? You give out traffic tickets. Separate drunk people fighting. You’re not making the difference you thought you would.”
He shoved his hands in his pockets, and stared up at the sky. All the constellations had come out, and twinkled in the darkness. His voice seemed to come from deep within his chest. “I know.”
“So let’s do this. I know Onyx maybe wasn’t the greatest person in the world, but she sure didn’t deserve to die. You have a real opportunity to help her, and not only her, but the people who have lost her. If we catch the killer, it gives them all closure. And gets them off the hook. Imagine someone so close to you dying, and then being considered a suspect. That must be horrendous.”
Zave turned his gaze back to her, and placed each of his hands either side of his face, his fingers pushing through her hair. It sent tingles through her. “You’re… I don’t know… you’re just something else, In.”
She giggled. “I hope that’s a good thing.”
“Yes,” he said. “It’s a very good thing.”
Then he leaned in and kissed her gently. It was tender and soft and vulnerable, but strong, too. Powerful. “Let’s go first thing in the morning,” he said. “Go talk to this manager.”
“Yes!” India said, feeling rather lost in the romance. “Let’s.”
“Let me give you a ride home.”
***
“I don’t see why this is necessary,” Mark said, looking down at his smartphone.
They sat on a wide verandah at the back of the house, with a sea view on one side, and a blooming tropical garden on the other. A massive bunch of bananas grew on a tall tree and hung over the verandah railing, while a whole swathe of pineapples sat regally on their spiked leaf thrones a little further out. Long, straight coconut trees dwarfed them all, shooting up so tall India had to crane her neck to get a good look.
“Please put your cell down on the table,” Xavier said in an authoritative voice. “This won’t take long, but we need your full attention.”
India loved to hear him speak like that. His limited role on the force wasn’t showcasing his potential at all.
Mark made a face, but put his cell down.
“Playing poker?” India asked.
“That’s not a crime,” Mark shot back.
India was beginning to seriously dislike him. If he’d had his name on the will, she’d have jumped right into investigating him. But, like with Hayden, she knew she had to put her personal feelings to the side. Just because someone was a jerk, it didn’t make them a murderer. And someone being personable didn’t make them innocent, either.
Xavier gave him a warning look. “Can you tell us ab
out the disagreement over payment between Answer Davis, and Erica Onyx Johnson?”
“Erica never paid ‘Answer’ because she thought she was a fraud, which she is. Her real name is Gabrielle Fuller, by the way. Not Answer Davis. What kind of dumb name is Answer? All that mumbo jumbo stuff is just a way for scam artists to con innocent people like Erica. I’ve seen so many of them come and go, each as bad as each other. Erica was right not to pay that fraudster.”
“So why does Answer stay,” Xavier asked, “if Erica won’t pay her?”
“You’re wet behind the ears, aren’t you?” Mark said. “To kill her of course.”
India thought for a moment. “But it was Hayden who sent the champagne, and she wasn’t even in the room between the time he took the champagne and sent it out to Erica.”
“Who said it was the champagne that killed her?” Mark said.
“What else could it have been?” India asked. “She didn’t take anything else all night.”
Mark raised his eyebrows. “You’re not really cut out for this, are you?”
“Don’t get smart,” Xavier said. “Just answer the question. What else could it have been?”
“After Onyx and Gianna had that little argument, who came along?”
“Answer,” India said.
“And what did she do?” he said slowly, as if they were both incredibly stupid.
“She put essential oils on her, on her wrists, and neck. And a drop in her mouth,” India said. “Oh, wow. You don’t mean…?”
Mark smiled tightly. “Poison in that little bottle. One drop of cyanide is enough to kill. Easily.”
“Wow,” India said again, leaning back in the chair. “Wow.”
Xavier narrowed his eyes. “You seem to know an awful lot about poison, Mr Meyer.”
“You’ve never caught a rerun of Poirot?”
***
“That guy is such a sleazeball,” Xavier said, as they went inside.
The carton of orange juice with extra bits was still there, so India poured out two glasses. “Tell me about it. He makes my skin crawl.”
“I guess the next step is to take all Answer’s bottles.”