by Cindy Bell
“What research would that be?” Jason asked, not bothered by the man's accusations.
“I don't have to tell you that,” Martin said stubbornly.
“No, of course you don't,” Suzie said with a short laugh. “It's not like you're under investigation or something. But we were just curious what you have been up to. It must be something very interesting for you to spend so much of your time on it.”
“Well,” Martin sighed. “If you must know, I am working on very interesting research. I am trying to study the level of metals in the sand at area beaches. People never discuss the dangers of sand, but they should. If the heavy metals are in the sand, then they are in our environment much more frequently than we believe.”
“That's impressive,” Suzie said.
“I have never thought about that,” Mary added quietly. Ben nodded beside her.
“There's nothing wrong with Garber sand,” Jason said defensively. “We've always kept the beach pristine.”
“Always?” Martin asked. “Even after the civil war when most of the town was burned to the ground? Do you really think people were concerned about what was tossed or leaked into the water then?”
Suzie tensed at the mention of the civil war. If he knew about the civil war moving through Garber then he likely had read about the gold that was rumored to be hidden there. But his explanation about testing the sand explained his equipment.
“Maybe not,” Jason said quietly. “But the water is tested frequently to ensure its safety.”
“And the sand?” Martin pressed. “When was the last time that you had the sand tested?”
“No one has ever tested the sand,” Jason admitted. “That I know of.”
“Well, then you can see how important my research is,” Martin said with confidence. “No one thinks things through. If the sand is part of our eco-system, it matters. It impacts animals, humans, food supply, everything you can think of.”
“I guess it's a good thing that you're testing it then,” Jason said calmly. “It's a lot better than what I've known treasure hunters to do to the beach. They like to dig holes looking for gold,” he paused at that and seemed to be studying Martin's face intently.
“There is nothing worse than a misguided treasure hunter,” Martin announced with disgust in his voice. “If any of them knew the truth, that the only treasure we have is this earth, then they wouldn't waste so much time trying to find gold,” he shook his head.
Suzie bit into her bottom lip. She glanced over at Mary, who looked over at Ben. Suzie was finding Martin less and less suspicious by the moment.
“I'd have to agree with you there,” Jason admitted as his gaze lingered on Martin. His expression was stolid, not revealing a hint of what he was thinking or feeling.
“How can you test the sand if you never leave your room?” Suzie questioned.
“Oh,” Martin cleared his throat. “Well, I got a sample when I first arrived and I’ve been doing tests on it using the equipment in my room ever since.”
“Oh, okay,” Suzie said casually but she noticed that Martin looked a bit nervous.
“If you'll excuse me, I need to get back to my research,” he said sternly.
“Of course. We'll try not to disturb you again,” Suzie said apologetically.
“Please, try your hardest,” Martin requested with a bite to his words. Then he turned and calmly walked back to his room. He shut his door with a sharp slam.
Mary looked over at Suzie. “I don't think that this is going well,” she said with a sigh. “Is it good business to have your guests suspected of murder?”
“I don't think so,” Ben cringed.
“Well, we have to get to the bottom of this,” Suzie said with exasperation. “The guests will all be leaving soon, and that might just include the murderer.”
“Suzie, I need to speak with you for a moment,” Jason said. Then he nodded to Mary and Ben. “Ben, I'll meet you tonight, okay?”
“Yes, I'll be there,” Ben nodded.
As Suzie and Jason stepped back out on the porch, he ran a hand across his face and sighed.
“Are you okay, Jason?” Suzie asked.
“Not really,” he said as he shook his head. “I need you to stop interrogating the guests.”
“I know I’m sorry, Jason,” Suzie said. “I just wanted to confront Alice about spying.”
“I know,” he nodded. “I feel like I'm getting nowhere fast on this case, and you're right, I'm running out of time.”
“Well, it’s not an easy case,” Suzie said kindly,
“But it should be open and shut,” Jason insisted. “I'm under a lot of pressure to get this solved. Doug worked a few towns over but a lot of the residents here knew him. My boss wants this solved, yesterday. But I don't want to rush the investigation, make a wrong move and end up letting the killer go free or worse, arresting an innocent person.”
“You’ll find the culprit,” Suzie said with confidence.
“So far I have a murder with zero credible suspects and no evidence,” Jason sighed and scratched his head. “I've been focusing mainly on the guests at Dune House, but really it could have been anyone in Garber at the time. Maybe it wasn't even one of the guests. Sure we suspected Alice, but she has a plausible reason for her behavior, as does Martin. I've only got Jim and Diana left, and they seem like harmless people.”
“They do,” Suzie agreed. “But I am sure it has to be either Alice or Martin.”
“Except I have zero evidence to support either accusation,” Jason pointed out morosely.
“Wait, you do have one piece of evidence,” Suzie pointed out. “The shovel.”
“Oh yes,” he nodded. “And that will be great once we have a suspect. The blood on it belonged to the victim. There were no usable fingerprints. It looked almost brand new but it is useless to us.”
“That’s not very helpful is it?” Suzie sighed.
“No and James from Winston’s has been away the last couple of days so I couldn’t ask him if Doug bought the shovel, his assistant couldn’t help us at all, he wasn’t working the day Doug went in there, presuming that he even did. I don’t expect it to be much help once I speak to him anyway,” Jason explained. James was the owner of Winston’s the hardware store in town. It always had some kind of sale happening. Suzie had loved going there while she was fixing up Dune House. “Anyway, I better head off. I'm going to check on some of the forensic evidence to see if they've come up with any hint as to who was under the house,” Jason said.
“You're doing a good job, Jason, keep it up.”
He looked up at Suzie, a little startled by her words. “Thanks Suzie,” he said. “I just hope I find the murderer quickly.”
She nodded as he walked towards his car.
When Jason had left Suzie looked out over the water thinking about the shovel. Why would a plumber need a shovel under the house? The pipes are not under the ground. What could he have needed it for?
She decided to go and see if James, who she had come to know quite well, was back at work and remembered who had bought it. It was probably Doug who had bought it but maybe it was his murderer.
***
The town was bustling and Suzie had to navigate to find a parking spot near Winston's which was located on the main strip of town. All of the small stores were connected by one roof on each block and very few had their own parking lots. She finally found a place to park, and hoped that the store wouldn't already be closed. Luckily the door was still unlocked when she reached it. When she walked into the store she smiled at James.
“Hi there, Suzie,” he said as he walked around the counter to greet her.
“How was your time off?” she asked politely.
“Great, I was away at my cabin,” he replied. “It is good to see you again. How is everything at Dune House?”
“Well, we're in a bit of a crisis,” Suzie admitted. “I was hoping that you could help me with something.”
“What is it?” he asked cur
iously.
Suzie glanced down the aisle that sold digging tools. “Do you have any shovels for sale?”
“Plenty,” he nodded and led her down the aisle. Suzie spotted the shovel that had been recovered at the scene. It looked identical to the murder weapon.
“Do you remember selling one of these shovels to anyone lately?” Suzie asked hopefully.
“Ah, well,” he narrowed his eyes slightly. “It's hard to say, I honestly don't always pay attention.”
“Maybe you could check your records,” Suzie suggested. “Your receipts?”
“Actually,” he took the shovel from Suzie. “I know for sure I sold at least one. I'm just not sure if I sold more than one.”
“Do you remember who you sold it to?” Suzie asked eagerly. “Do you have security cameras?”
“No, I don't have cameras. I don't like those new-fangled things. I think you should give people the benefit of the doubt, not videotape them just for walking through your door,” he sighed. “But I do remember who I sold it to. Yes, now it's coming back to me. The man who bought this type of shovel was dressed funny. He said he was staying at Dune House. It just struck me as odd, because if you're staying at a B & B why would you need a shovel?”
Suzie bit her tongue instead of telling him exactly what he had needed it for. So, it was Martin who had bought the shovel. The murder weapon.
“Yes, strange fellow, it was about three days ago,” he continued.
“Wait, three days ago?” Suzie asked. That was before Martin had arrived at Dune House. “Are you sure about that?”
“Yup, I'm sure,” he nodded. “I’ve been away since then and I wouldn't forget that guy for anything.”
“Was that all he bought?” Suzie asked.
“No, actually he also bought a pair of those slipcovers that go over your shoes to protect carpets. I have no idea what he was planning on using those for. Was he working in your garden or something?” he asked.
“No, but thank you for this information,” Suzie said with a grim frown. As she turned to leave the hardware store, she knew once and for all that Martin was her main suspect. Now the only question was, would she be able to find him and stop him before he killed again?
Chapter Eight
When Suzie returned to Dune House, she had an eerie feeling. Martin's dusty car was still parked in the driveway. She pulled out her cell phone and placed a call to Jason.
“Suzie,” Jason answered. Suzie decided that she was going to have to bend the truth a bit so it didn’t look like she was stepping on Jason’s toes.
“I went to Winston’s to pick something up today and I happened to ask him about the shovel,” Suzie said quickly before Jason could interrupt her. “I found out that the shovel was sold three days ago to Martin Cotes. I'm standing outside Dune House right now, and his car is still here. Can you get here soon?”
“I'll be there in a few minutes. Don't go into the house until I get there,” he warned.
“But Mary is in there,” Suzie argued.
“If you can get her attention, get her to come out, otherwise you're just going to have to sit tight until I get there. It will be much more dangerous if Martin suspects we're onto him. So just try to be casual. If you see him, keep your distance and be polite.”
“I'll try,” Suzie said fretfully. After she hung up the phone she tried to follow Jason's instructions. She really did. But all she kept thinking of was whether Martin might already have hurt Mary, or if she could be hurt before Jason arrived. Finally, she couldn't wait any longer. She crept up the steps and onto the porch. She slipped inside the house as quietly as she could. She spotted Mary in the kitchen washing some dishes.
“Mary,” she hissed.
Mary looked up and over at Suzie. Her eyes narrowed as she studied her strange expression.
“What is it?” she asked.
“Come outside with me,” Suzie said and gestured to the door.
“I just have a few dishes to finish up,” she said and turned the water back on.
“No, Mary, no, come with me now,” Suzie insisted and started walking across the dining room towards her. Just then Suzie heard a door in the hallway open. Her heart skipped a beat. She locked eyes with Mary. Mary could now clearly see the fear in Suzie's eyes.
“Suzie, what's wrong?” she asked as she moved towards her.
“Yes, Suzie what's wrong?” a voice asked from the hallway. Suzie spun on her heel to face the voice. It was a relief to see that it was Alice.
“Alice, I suggest you go out on the town today,” Suzie said quickly. Then she grabbed Mary's hand. “Let's go outside ladies, it's such a nice day.”
In the distance Suzie heard a scraping sound. She couldn't be sure if it was coming from inside or outside the house.
“That's already what I was planning to do, but thanks for the tip,” Alice said with a roll of her eyes. “You get stranger every time I see you.”
Suzie ignored her words. All she cared about was getting the two of them out of the house before Martin emerged from his room, if he was even in there in the first place.
“Let's go outside now,” she said in what she hoped was a cheerful voice. If Martin was listening in, she didn't want him to think that there was a problem. As she made her way towards the front door, she heard the scraping sound again. She still wasn't sure what the sound was, but she wasn't going to hang around to find out. Just as they stepped out onto the porch Jason's patrol car was pulling into the driveway. He jumped out of the car and jogged across the driveway to meet them at the bottom of the porch.
“I told you not to go inside,” Jason barked sharply and gestured for them to move away from the porch.
“What is all of this about?” Alice demanded. “You know what, never mind,” she shook her head. “I'm out of here.”
She walked to her car and drove off ignoring the entire situation. Jason pulled out his radio to call for backup.
“We need to get in there and see if he's there,” Suzie insisted. “If we wait for backup he could be long gone by the time they get here.”
“I'll go in,” Jason said firmly. “You two stay out here,” he looked from Mary to Suzie and back again. “I mean it.”
“We will,” Mary assured him. But Suzie didn't say a word. As soon as Jason stepped through the door into Dune House, Suzie was on the move. She was afraid that if Jason went in through the front door, then Martin would go out through the side door. She ran around the porch to the side of the house.
“Suzie, where are you going?” Mary demanded as she chased after her.
“Look,” Suzie said as she pointed to the window of Martin's room. It looks like someone has pushed the screen out.
“He's not in here,” Jason said as he opened the window. “We must have missed him.”
“Now what?” Suzie frowned as she waited for Jason to make his way back out of the house.
“Now, we have to figure out where he might have gone,” Jason said as he glanced towards the beach.
“His car is still here,” Mary pointed out.
“And all of his fancy equipment is still in his room,” Jason frowned.
“Maybe we missed something under the house,” Suzie said with a slight frown. “There has to be some clue or evidence there that was overlooked. Maybe there will be a clue of where he is. He must have been sneaking out the window all of this time that we thought he was holed up in his room. That's why the note that Mary left was pushed halfway out from under the door. The breeze from the window being opened must have made it scoot. He purchased footies to go over his shoes at the hardware store, too. He must have done that to keep from tracking dirt and sand into the room, so that we'd have no idea what he was up to,” she sighed. “He really covered his bases. But I'm willing to bet if he was foolish enough to leave the shovel under the house after killing Doug that he left something else behind, too.”
“It's possible,” Jason admitted and adjusted his gun belt. “It is a tight space under th
ere. I'll take a second look.”
“I can't believe he just took off and left some of his equipment behind,” Mary said. “It seemed so important to him when he arrived. Maybe he didn't leave at all.”
“But if he didn't leave, where is he?” Suzie asked. “His car is still here. Where could he be hiding?”
“Wait a minute,” Jason frowned. “If Martin is our prime suspect, then it's possible that he is still looking for that gold. If he wanted it so badly that it drove him to kill someone, would he really be willing to abandon the idea of finding it?”
“It's worth a look,” Mary said nervously.
“It would be a huge risk for him to take,” Suzie pointed out.
“True,” Jason argued. “He couldn't have gone far. He probably felt very confident about throwing us off his scent with that speech about contaminated sand. He might have taken another chance,” he lowered his voice. “He could still very well be underneath Dune House.”
“Let's find out,” Suzie said boldly. Mary nodded her agreement.
“I guess it would do no good to ask you two to stay here out of harm's way?” Jason asked grimly.
“You can always ask,” Suzie said sweetly. Mary only shook her head.
“Fine, you can come with me, but stay back from the house. If Martin is down there, he's going to be desperate when he is caught,” he frowned and adjusted his gun in the holster. Suzie noticed that he made sure that the strap that secured it was loosened.
Carefully the three of them walked around to the side of the house. Jason put his finger to his lips, motioning for them to be as quiet as possible. It was clear that someone had been there recently as the pile of dirt that had been removed in order to give the police easier access to the space had been disturbed and the crime scene tape had been torn. Jason crouched down slowly, doing his best to be silent. Suzie and Mary stayed close together as Jason peered into the opening.
He glanced back over his shoulder at Mary and Suzie. His eyebrow raised and he gave a slight nod. He reached down and turned off his radio to make sure he could move in total quiet. As he crept beneath the house he drew his gun.