by Vicki Delany
“You met them?”
“Yes. Some of the guests here are bossy and rude. Some are very nice. She’s very nice. She leaves a good tip every day. I don’t mean she’s nice because of the tip. But it shows her character.”
“What about him? Mr. Hunt?”
The tears were flowing heavily now.
“Gosh, I’m sorry,” I said. “I don’t mean to upset you.”
She blew her nose. “It’s fine. He was… he was great. A nice man.”
She stuffed the tissue back into her pocket. She grabbed a pile of towels and held them to her chest. “I’m sorry. I have work to do.”
“Okay. Nice meeting you.”
“If you’re looking for Mrs. Hunt, she had her swimming costume on. She might be by the pool.”
“Thanks. What time’s checkout?”
“Noon.”
“Are Mrs. Hunt and Sally Hunt leaving today?”
“No. I would have been told.”
I found Christina doing laps in the infinity pool. Her swimming stroke was strong and powerful. Families and children played in the larger pool, but Christina had this one to herself. I took a seat on a lounge chair next to a small table holding a book and sunglasses. A hotel towel and a big straw hat were tossed onto the chair on the other side of the table. I recognized the blue-and-gold wrap. Christina had been wearing it the day her husband died.
I leaned back in the chair and closed my eyes. This, I thought, was the life. The sun was hot on my bare legs and arms. I go from pasty white to sunburned without getting a tan in between. But I’d be okay in the sun for a couple of minutes while waiting for Christina.
* * *
Drops of cool water splashed on my legs. I woke with a start. A dark shape loomed over me. I quickly sat up and swung my legs off the chair.
“Be careful,” the woman said. “You can get a bad burn sleeping in the sun.” She grabbed the towel and wrapped it around her slim body. Even without makeup and with her dark blond hair wet, she was beautiful. The delicate skin beneath her eyes was dark and puffy. Fine lines radiated out from the corners of her mouth.
She slipped her sunglasses on. “I recognize you. You were here the other day and at the hospital. You helped…you tried to help my husband.”
“I’m Ashley Grant. I’m a paramedic with the V&A health service.”
“Do you have news about my husband’s…body?” She shook her head before I could answer. “No. If there were news, it would be delivered by someone in more official clothes.”
I wore shorts and a Toronto Blue Jays T-shirt. I flushed. “Sorry. That’s not why I’m here. I’m a friend of Sally’s. That is, I knew her when we were in school.”
I couldn’t see Christina’s eyes through her Ralph Lauren sunglasses. But I felt them study me. “My stepdaughter is having a very difficult time dealing with her father’s death.”
“Yes, I know.”
“She might have told you that I killed him.”
“She—”
“I assure you, I did not. Nor did I want to.” She let out a long sigh. She dropped into her chair. “Sally and I have never gotten on. She expected her father to mourn her mother for the rest of his life. She couldn’t accept that he could find happiness again. With me. And we were very happy. In the short time we had.” She took off her sunglasses and stared up at me. Her eyes were wet. “If you have nothing to tell me, please leave me in peace.”
“Sorry,” I mumbled. I fled.
Hurrying toward the villas, I spotted Candice, the maid I’d spoken to earlier. She stood in a doorway, watching me. She did not smile.
NINE
I DIDN’T HEAR from Sally for two days. My time was taken up with working, which included extra shifts to cover the injured Kyle, and getting to know my new island home. Harry, the cab driver, ferried me around. Liz, the afternoon-shift driver, filled me in on all the best places to shop. Lucy from the hospital invited me to dinner with her and some of her friends. I got an island phone plan. I put the handful of local numbers I had into my contacts list.
I didn’t hear from Alan Westbrook. I told myself I wasn’t disappointed. I only wanted to know what was happening with the case.
I did hear from my parents. Every night. Mom worried that I was getting too much sun. She worried that the food wasn’t agreeing with me. She asked if I’d met any eligible young men yet. (Too busy, I replied). Dad worried about me living on my own in a foreign country.
I worked night shift on Saturday. Kyle returned to work. That meant I would have all day Sunday off.
I was yawning heavily when I got out of the cab just after nine on Sunday morning. We’d had a last-minute call to a serious car accident, and I was late getting home.
Darlene came out of the office. She gave me a wave. People here usually dress very nicely. Today the hotel manager was in a pretty blue dress tied by a thick white belt. Her blue shoes had high heels. A small white hat sat on her head. A woman and a child were with her. The woman was Darlene’s cousin, Candice. She held the child’s hand. The little girl wore a frothy pink dress and pink socks trimmed with white lace. A mass of pink ribbons had been wound into her curly hair.
“Good morning,” Darlene said. “You’re home late, Ashley. Busy night?”
“It was. Are you working today? On Sunday?” Most businesses on the island close on Sundays.
She shook her head. “I forgot something. We’re on our way to church, so we stopped by. This is my cousin, Candice.”
“We’ve met. Hi again.”
“Good morning,” Candice said.
The little girl gave me a huge smile.
“And what’s your name?” I asked.
“Rose. I’m almost four.”
“What a beautiful name.” Rose’s skin was the color of coffee with a lot of cream added. I couldn’t help but glance at the cousins, both of them deep black.
“Have you heard if anything’s happening about Julian Hunt’s death?” I asked Candice.
Her lovely eyes clouded over. “No. Mrs. Hunt and her stepdaughter are due to leave today. I don’t know if they will be.” I glanced again at the smiling child. I saw something familiar in the tilt of her mouth.
“Have you worked at the Club Louisa for long?” I asked Candice.
“Six years.” She stared at me.
“I’m sorry for your loss,” I said.
Candice’s eyes opened wide in surprise. I gave her a small nod. She lowered her head and whispered, “Thank you.”
“We have to go,” Darlene said, “or we’ll be late.”
They got into a Toyota Corolla parked by the office doors. The car was clean and rust-free, about five years old. Darlene fastened Rose into the backseat. Candice got behind the wheel. Rose waved as they drove away. The car windows were down. The child’s pink ribbons blew around her head. I waved back.
In my room, I took off my uniform and had a quick shower. I put on my pajamas and crawled into bed. I’m used to sleeping in the daytime, but today I couldn’t fall asleep. I lay in bed for a long time, looking up at ceiling. The room phone rang. I hurried to answer it.
“Hi, Ashley.” Sally. “I’m calling to say bye. Keep in touch, will you?”
“You’re leaving?”
“The police released Dad’s body last night. No reason to hang around, is there?”
“Did anything happen with your suspicions?”
“Stupid cops. I told them to investigate Christina, but they wouldn’t. Tell you the truth, Ashley, I think that guy in charge is incompetent. I bet the Mounties sent him down here to get him out of the way.”
“You mean Sergeant Westbrook?”
“Yeah, that one. He might be cute, but he’s as dumb as a stack of bricks.”
“The police aren’t going to tell you details of their investigation, Sally. Maybe they looked and didn’t find anything.”
She snorted. “I’m not dropping this, you know. When we get back to Canada, I’m going to insist on talking to someone
. Someone important. She killed my dad. She’s not going to get away with it.”
“What time’s your flight?”
“Six.”
“How about I come around now? I’d like to say goodbye in person.”
“If you want,” she said. “I’ll be here.”
My next call was to Alan Westbrook.
“I know it’s none of my business,” I said when he answered, “but has anything happened with the Bobby Green murder?”
“Good morning to you too, Ashley. Lovely day, isn’t it?”
“I’m sorry.” I let out a breath. “I might have a lead, that’s all.”
“Not a problem. I’ll go first. Bobby Green seems to have come into some money all of a sudden. Stupidly, he was flashing it around. The night he died, he treated the entire bar to a round. He was a small-time crook, but not a very smart one. His brothers are different. They play in what passes for the big leagues on the islands. Meaning drug smuggling. I’ve heard rumors of human trafficking. They’re in way over their heads and have some powerful enemies. Officially, we think whoever killed Bobby did it as a warning to Edward and Fredrick. One witness gave us a rough description of the man running out of the bar. If it’s who we think it is, he was on the first flight to Miami the next morning. The witness wasn’t located for more than twelve hours. We were too late. The flight had landed, and he’d disappeared. The Miami police have been notified.”
“You say officially. Is that what you think happened? A falling out among bad guys?”
He hesitated. “I have no reason to think otherwise.”
“Well, I do. I think someone took Julian Hunt out on a paddle boat on Monday morning. They hit him over the head and pushed him into the water to drown. I think they bribed Robert, aka Bobby, to lie about the boat. Robert came back for more money. Julian’s killer realized she had to get rid of him. Permanently.”
“You say she?”
“Christina Hunt.”
“Why would Mrs. Hunt do this?”
“Money. Maybe she was cheating and her rich husband was threatening to divorce her.”
“This is too much to talk about on the phone, Ashley. Where are you?”
“I’m at my place. I’m going to Club Louisa. Sally and Christina are leaving today. If I’m going to talk to them, it has to be now.” I glanced at the clock on the wall. It was almost eleven. Checkout time was noon.
“You might be onto something. But you have to let us handle it, Ashley.”
“I’ve told Sally I’m coming around to say goodbye. I might be able to get Christina to talk, whereas you can’t.”
“Ashley.” A warning was in his voice.
“Let me do this, Alan.”
He sighed and gave in. “I’ll meet you there. I’m on the other side of the island. I’ll be at least half an hour. Don’t do anything without me.”
* * *
Harry picked me up within minutes of my call. He was, he said, just passing by. I arrived at Club Louisa ten minutes after hanging up on Alan. I paced up and down in front of the main doors. The lobby was crowded with people checking out.
I decided not to wait for Alan to arrive. I headed for villa five.
Sally opened the door to my knock. The corner of her mouth turned up in her crooked smile. She wrapped me in a hug. “Nice of you to come and say goodbye.”
I glanced behind her. A suitcase lay open on the bed among a jumble of clothes, shoes and jewelry.
“I’ve learned something that might be important,” I said.
“About my dad? Come on in.”
“I’d like to talk to Christina too. Is she in her room?”
Sally’s eyes darkened. “I have absolutely no idea where she is. Probably having one last meeting with her secret lover.”
“I’ll check,” I said. “Wait here.”
Christina answered my knock. She was dressed for traveling, in loose blue pants and a white shirt. She wore a thin gold necklace and small gold earrings. Her two suitcases sat by the door.
“I’m Ashley. Remember me?”
“I do.” Her voice was cool. “I’m sorry, but I’m leaving shortly for the airport.” She made no move to invite me in.
“That’s okay. I have something I want to talk to you about. You and Sally.” I gestured down the hall. “Together.”
“I doubt that my stepdaughter wants to talk to me. She’s made that plain.”
“Won’t take long,” I said.
“Very well.” Christina reached behind her and grabbed the room key off a side table. She stepped into the corridor. The door to her room closed silently behind her.
Sally was sitting on her bed, arms crossed over her chest. She glared at Christina.
Christina’s face softened. “Sally, dear, I don’t want us to…”
“I am not your dear,” Sally snapped. “Get on with it, Ashley. I haven’t got all day here.”
I glanced from one woman to the other. Now that I was here, I wasn’t so sure of my facts after all. Alan had told me not to get involved. Was I being fanciful? Had Julian taken out a boat alone and had an accident? Had Bobby simply fallen afoul of some bad people?
I took a deep breath. “Did you know that Julian fathered a child when he was here four years ago?”
Sally sucked in a breath. Christina’s eyes widened.
“I don’t see that that’s any of your business.” Christina’s voice was cool.
“You can’t go around saying that,” Sally said.
“Neither of you seems surprised,” I said. “I met the little girl. Her name’s Rose, and she’s gorgeous. She doesn’t look like Julian. But she does look a lot like you, Sally. You have the same slightly crooked smile.”
“I don’t know why you’re doing this.” Sally stood up. There was no trace of the smile now. “But you can get out of here.”
“I’m doing this because you asked me to, Sally. You got me involved in your father’s murder.”
“It was an accident,” Christina said. “A sad, tragic, horrible accident. You have to let it go, Sally.”
“I’ll never let it go,” Sally said. “Not until I see you in jail. Where you belong.”
Christina just shook her head.
“Was it a shock to him?” I asked. “To come back here and see the maid he’d had a holiday fling with? To be told he had a daughter?”
“No,” Christina said. “He knew about Rose. Julian was a good man. He did the right thing and had been sending money for the child since her birth. He told me before we married, but not any of the details. Which is why I foolishly booked a vacation on this island and at this very hotel. Sally once mentioned that he’d enjoyed this place the last time he was here.”
“He’d been tricked by a nasty, greedy woman,” Sally yelled. “That child’s not my father’s. If there even is a child.”
“I’ve met her. She’s very sweet,” I said. “The mother’s still working here as a maid. She’s not making a living out of fleecing rich, lonely men. Your dad was sending her just enough for her to put some money away for the child’s education. To buy a few nice things to help her out.” Like a used car. “I believe she genuinely cared for him. She was probably happy to see him again. She was very upset when he died.”
“Of course she was,” Sally said. “She was sad when his bank account died, not him.”
“Is that why you killed him?” I asked. “So he wouldn’t send her any more money?”
“I didn’t—” Christina said.
“Not you, Christina. But you, Sally. You didn’t know about this child, did you? Must have been a heck of a surprise to you when he told you. Did he actually introduce you to the woman?”
“No,” Christina said. “It was me who introduced them. I thought she was charming. I told her I was pleased to meet her. She said she was delighted that Julian had found happiness again. I suggested we go to their house and meet the child. But Julian said no. He didn’t want to be involved in their lives.”
“
He always was a sucker,” Sally said.
“Did you plan to kill him?” I asked her. “Or did that just happen?”
“This conversation is over. Get out, both of you.” Sally’s eyes had narrowed in anger. A vein pulsed in her neck.
I’d been such a fool.
I pulled out my phone.
“What are you doing?” Sally asked.
“Phoning the police, of course. Sergeant Westbrook told me they’ve found the paddle boat.” He had, of course, not said any such thing. “They’re checking it for fingerprints today.”
“They can’t…”
“Can’t what, Sally? Can’t have found it? The waters around this island are very shallow. You have to get past the reef to reach ocean depths. Didn’t you realize that when you sunk it?”
She jumped off the bed and grabbed the phone out of my hand.
“Sally!” Christina yelled.
I lunged for my phone. Sally threw it across the room. Then she kicked me. Hard. She’d been aiming for my right knee, but I turned just in time. The blow hit me on the side of the leg, and I went down.
Christina ran toward Sally. Sally grabbed her computer bag off the side table. She swung it at Christina’s head. I heard it connect, and Christina fell onto the bed with a cry.
Sally ran out the door.
TEN
I PUSHED MYSELF to my feet. My leg hurt, but nothing seemed to be broken. I ran to help Christina. She groaned and struggled to sit up.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
“Yes. I think so.”
“Don’t try to get up.” I examined her hairline. She’d have a mighty big bruise the next day and a headache to match. But the bag had not broken the skin. “Stay still. I’m a medic. Let me look.”
“No. No time. I’m fine. We have to go after her.”
She struggled to stand. I gave in and helped her to her feet. She swayed but remained upright.
My phone had hit the wall. It lay on the floor beside the verandah doors. I scooped it up and pushed buttons. It was still working. “I’m phoning the police.”
Christina ran out the door. I followed, punching in Alan Westbrook’s number as I ran.
“Sally killed her dad,” I gasped. “She confessed to it. She attacked me and Christina. She’s running away. We’re at Club Louisa. I’m after her.”