Murder in Barbados: An Anna Winters Cozy Mystery (Murder in Paradise Book 4)

by Penelope Sotheby

“It was a soft pop, like a firecracker.” Gordon responded. “I had no idea what it was. Had I known it was an actual gunshot, I wouldn’t have opened the door.”

  “So much death happens around you.” Anna replied. “Your wife has died, her lover has died, and the woman up the hallway in Pauline’s room. Add the cop who was keeping watch over you, that’s four people.”

  “I don’t appreciate the accusation.” Gordon replied.

  “No, I don’t suppose you would.” Anna snapped. “It was the very same accusation you gave me when your wife died.

  “This isn’t the time really.” Pauline offered.

  “Oh, there is another reason for this.” Anna replied. “I’m going to unmask the killer.”

  “You know who the killer is?” Detective Jensen asked. “You haven’t done anything more than walk into the room.”

  “That was all it took for me to determine who the killer was.” Anna offered. “Hopefully, this makes sense. My mind is a little fuzzy, but bear with me and I think it will all make sense in the end.”

  “This I have to hear.” Gordon replied.

  “Are you sure you are up for this?” Pauline asked.

  “If you want to gather your thoughts first, you can.” Detective Jensen rubbed Anna’s shoulders.

  Closing her eyes for a moment, she cherished his touch. She had only known him for a short time but it felt like they had spent decades together. He seemed as though he were her perfect match and she found herself enjoying being around him.

  “Let’s begin by looking at some of the things we noticed when we arrived at the room.” Anna began. “We arrived and the officer who was assigned to protect Gordon was dead by the door.”

  “That means the officer was dead.” Detective Jensen replied. “I don’t see what it shows us at this point.”

  “It shows that whoever wanted to gain access to the room had to take care of him.” Anna continued. “There was no way the person would be able to gain access to the room otherwise. Because it was unlikely the person would be someone Gordon would let in without a fight, they needed to have no distractions.”

  “Gordon could have killed the guard to cover his guilt and set this up.” Pauline suggested.

  “I didn’t kill him!” Gordon replied defensively.

  “No, you didn’t.” Anna agreed. “I noticed the officer was having trouble staying awake when I came by earlier.”

  “When did you come by?” Gordon demanded. “I haven’t see you since the reception.”

  “I came by earlier.” Anna paused. “While you were fighting with Graham in the bathroom. I overheard the argument and know about the jealousy that has existed between you for years.”

  “He doesn’t like my success.” Gordon sighed. “That doesn’t mean anything more than a scuffle now and then.”

  “No.” Anna agreed. “Let me show you something.”

  Motioning for the others to meet her in the hallway, Anna got on her knees.

  “What do you see here?” Anna asked.

  “Police examining the scene.” Detective Jensen replied. “What’s your point, Anna?”

  “No.” Anna replied and pulled a piece of tissue from her pocket. Then reaching under the chair, she pulled out a paper coffee cup from a coffee shop.

  “He drank coffee?” Pauline asked. “I don’t understand why that matters.”

  “Coffee should have given him a boost of energy.” Anna paused. “This is a large 20 oz. cup. The cup was in his hand when he was having trouble staying awake while Gordon and Graham were talking.”

  “So he was tired?” Detective Jensen asked. “Is that what you are trying to tell us? How does that lead us to the killer?”

  Anna turned the cup around. The name “Graham” was written in permanent marker on the cup.

  “So Graham got him a cup of coffee.” Gordon shrugged his shoulders. “What does it matter?”

  Anna pulled off the lid. Inside, a white powdery substance was floating in the coffee.

  “It could be sweetner.” Gordon continued.

  “We both know it is a sleeping aid.” Anna sighed. “When you were fighting in the room, I was surprised to find that instead of checking on you, he had fallen asleep. It just didn't add up. Now, I know why he was struggling.”

  “But if Graham slipped him a sleeping aid, why kill him?” Pauline pressed. “Why not let him sleep and hope no one found out?”

  “Because I believe he was a warning.” Anna replied. “Just like the maid in your room was a warning for me to back off.”

  “What kind of warning?” Pauline asked.

  “When Gordon wouldn’t open his door, Graham wanted to make a statement.” Anna shook her head. “He wanted Gordon to know he was the one who killed Laura and that he had no problem with killing again if he needed to. Had Graham made it into the room, he would likely have killed Gordon instead.”

  “Why are still accusing my brother?” Gordon demanded. “It wasn’t him, I swear.”

  “But it was.” Anna replied. “We both know you know. Look at the evidence.”

  “What evidence?” Gordon asked.

  “When we arrived, you were hiding in the bathroom.” Anna said. ”If you had found the body, you’d have called the police. You did hear gunshots and knew what they were, because you knew your brother was shooting him. He had come to your door, pounded on it, and demanded to be let in. When you refused to open the door, he shot Tom.”

  Walking back in the room, she pointed to the bathroom, right where Gordon had been on the floor.

  “No.” Gordon shook his head.

  “You hid in the bathroom where you assumed you’d be safe.” Anna continued. “When the door opened, you tried to escape because you assumed you were in danger. You didn't know help had arrived. You had reason to be afraid because your brother wants to kill you.”

  “He never loved me.” Gordon snapped. “All he ever wanted was all I had. He was jealous of everything in my life. I felt bad for him. Graham needed to outshine me and never could. It used to just be annoying at first. Over time, he slowly became more aggressive and he was getting to be dangerous. This is all my fault.”

  “No.” Anna offered a comforting hand. “This isn’t your fault. You had no control over him killing others. You had no idea he was going to murder those people. If you had known, I have no doubt you would put an end to it right away.”

  “So what happens now?” Gordon asked. “Will he go to jail?”

  “Well, because the evidence is mostly circumstantial, we need to get a confession.” Anna replied. “How we do that will take some planning.”

  “I don’t want you to put yourself in any kind of danger.” Detective Jensen growled. “The last thing I want is for someone to hurt you.”

  “I’ve quite literally been under the gun many times.” Anna smiled. “I’ve even been pistol whipped. How many people do you know who can say that?”

  “This really isn’t something you should be taking pride in.” Pauline sighed.

  “I’m going to need you all to work with me on this.” Anna urged. “We can do this.”

  “No.” a voice replied. “It would be incredibly daft of you to do this alone.”

  “Monica!” Anna exclaimed. “There is your phantom detective.”

  “The Phantom of Barbados.” Detective Jensen replied.

  Pulling his gun, he aimed it at her chest.

  “If you kill me, you won’t have my help.” Monica mocked. “Then your precious girlfriend dies. I guess you’ll need to learn to work with me.”

  “What I want to do is arrest you.” Detective Jensen warned.

  “Your best shot at taking down this man is me.” Monica snapped. “Yeah, you have guns. He’s killed four people. Graham is going to go down in a blaze. You need someone as evil as he is to take him out. So, you need me. Accept it.”

  “Put your hands behind your head.” Detective Jensen ordered.

  “Oh, sweetie.” Monica laughed. “If you think I a
m going to play with you, I’ll crush you like an insignificant bug.”

  “Why must you use terms of endearment for everyone?” Anna demanded.

  “Because it is incredibly condescending.” Monica smirked. “You are doing much better than I expected. Good for you. The tape recorder was a nice touch." She turned her attention to Detective Jensen. "It was unfortunate I had to take it from you.”

  “It’s in my pocket.” Detective Jensen reached into his pocket and fumbled around searching for it.

  “You don’t become a master thief and leave loose ends.” Monica shrugged. “There is no evidence and no confession. Could you build a case against me? Probably enough to get me a little time behind bars. Until I blackmailed the prosecutor and have all the charges dropped. Consider yourself lucky. You know who the Phantom of Barbados is. There is a mystery you no longer have to solve, thanks to Anna Winters.”

  Pulling a gun from behind her back, Monica pointed it at the others.

  “Now, I can get three shots off before you even pull the trigger.” Monica warned. “Do us all a favor and don’t be a hero. I’m here to help you. Let’s focus on that now and we’ll negotiate my capture later.”

  Detective Jensen looked around and bowed his head, then shoved his gun into its holster. Monica reached behind her back and slid her gun into the back of her pants.

  “Isn’t it wonderful we can work together, honey?” Monica squealed with joy.

  “What’s the plan?” Anna demanded. “I’m not thrilled about working with you.”

  “Oh, baby doll.” Monica pouted. “This isn’t the way to treat your savior, is it?”

  “You aren’t my savior.” Anna scoffed. “Now, tell us your plan so we can decide if we want to work with you.”

  “We’re getting there.” Monica put up her hands. “I just want an apology from you first.”

  “An apology for what?” Anna demanded. “I don’t see any reason in this world to offer you an apology of any kind. Let’s be real. Shall we, honey, darling, dear. Or whatever you want me to say.”

  “You told my deepest, darkest secret to others.” Monica whined. “No one in the world knew who I was before you blabbed it to everyone you encountered. I must admit, I am a little disappointed in you.”

  “I am so sorry I revealed that you are a con woman.” Anna rolled her eyes.

  “Oh, sweetie.” Monica shook her head. “No. I am not a con woman. I am a criminal mastermind. But I suppose that is as good as I am going to get. Such petty hatred for poor little me! Let’s all gather round and hear my fabulous plan. Oh! It will blow all of your minds.”

  Monica motioned for everyone to come in closer to her. She then gave the details of her plan. Everyone in the group looked curiously at her and Anna couldn’t help but wonder if they were all preparing to die.

  Chapter 10

  Anna trembled as she approached Graham Segal's room. Her palms were drenched in sweat, but she knew she needed to finish this now. Raising her hand, she knocked on the door and prepared for the confrontation.

  The door open slowly and Graham looked at Anna for a moment. Then he smiled. His eyes showed a darkness she hadn’t noticed before.

  “You’re not dumb enough to come inside.” Graham offered. “We can talk here. We both know why you are here.”

  Anna nodded. “You killed Laura.”

  “Oh, I did more than just kill Laura.” Graham laughed. “I killed so many people. It was almost a spiritual experience. Yes, I poisoned the cous cous, La Di Dah. I wanted to see my brother suffer. I wanted to destroy everything he held dear. Yeah, I lived in his shadow. I could handle that. But when everything kept going his way and his ego grew bigger, I had to bring him down.”

  “So, you killed his wife.” Anna answered stoically.

  “The look of agony on his face was worth it.” Graham laughed. “To see the pain and torment and realize something didn’t go his way was priceless.”

  “Then you killed Stuart.” Anna pressed. “Why did he have to die?”

  “Oh, I killed him for fun.” Graham beamed. “Really, I did him a favor. I wrote the stupid little note to see if I could get you going. You were an annoyance I needed to send on a goose chase.”

  “Yet, here we are.” Anna coldly responded.

  “I figured killing your friend would help get rid of you for a while longer.” Graham chuckled. “Obviously, you felt nothing for her.”

  “Pauline is still alive.” Anna stated.

  “Oh, dear.” Graham tried to fight back laughter. “So, some random person died. Well, that is absolutely brilliant. What was she doing in the room?”

  “She was a maid.” Anna turned her head. “Obviously, you killed the police officer to send a message to your brother.”

  “Actually, I was just having fun killing people.” Graham smiled. “You reach a point where it gives you a euphoric high. The first is always a little hard. The second leaves you breathless and with your adrenaline at a new high. After that, the thrill remains and you need to kill again and again.”

  “You’re insane.” Anna whispered.

  “Not at all.” Graham sighed. “The murders made a point. They served a purpose and all of them directly affected my brother. That was my overall goal anyway. I hate him. He got everything he deserves in the end.”

  “There is something I need to know.” Anna could feel her heart quicken. “How did you get the poison in the cous cous?”

  “I got it in there.” Graham winked. “That is all that matters.”

  “Did someone on my staff help you?” Anna demanded.

  Graham smiled at her and pulled a gun out of his pocket.

  “Before you kill me, just give me that much.” Anna pleaded. “I need to know if someone is betraying me.”

  “I’m not going to kill you.” Graham smiled. “To answer your question. I won't tell you anything. There is something beautiful in never having the answers you need. Think of yourself as my final victim.”

  With that, Graham raised the gun to his head and pulled the trigger. As he fell, Anna screamed and Detective Jensen turned the corner breathlessly.

  “We are too late.” Jensen said. “Where is Monica?”

  “His madness was fascinating, baby.” Monica thoughtfully spoke. “I could have stopped it all, but didn’t. We all want to hear what he had to say. It’s just sad for housekeeping they have more blood to clean up.”

  Anna looked at the woman with rage on her face and Detective Jensen wrapped an arm around Anna. With his other hand, he aimed a gun at Monica.

  “She could have died.” Detective Jensen spat. “You’re under arrest.”

  “Oh, sweetheart.” Monica howled. “I’m already gone.”

  Tossing a flash bomb to the side, Monica covered her eyes and began to run. Anna headed toward the woman as the bomb went off and she couldn’t see a thing. A few seconds later, her eyes cleared and she fumbled around to find Detective Jensen and hung onto his arm.

  “Flash bomb.” he replied through clenched teeth. “I should have seen it coming.”

  “She’s going to get away.” Anna whispered. “We need to bring her to justice.”

  “Let’s be real.” Detective Jensen sighed. “She was always meant to be on the run. Our chances of ever catching her are slim unless she wants to be captured.”

  “So, she just gets to escape and keep on committing crimes.” Anna asked. “That doesn’t seem fair.”

  “Real life isn’t like the movies.” Detective Jensen replied. “There isn’t a happy ending all the time. She’ll eventually be caught. Maybe not here, perhaps in New York or in Rome. All we can do is our jobs and just hope that it all works out in the end.”

  “I just wish it had worked out differently.” Anna sighed.

  “Now, I’m obviously going to be tied up with paperwork for a few hours but let’s plan for dinner tonight.” Detective Jensen said. “Go get washed up and relax for a while. I’ll take it from here.”

  Anna smile
d and nodded. She hugged the man before she turned to leave. Turning the corner in the hallway, she saw Pauline crouched on the floor praying. Anna crouched beside her friend.

  “You never quite get used to that.” Anna shrugged.

  “Seeing someone die or having a gun pulled on you?” Pauline asked.

  “Both.” Anna replied. “Each time, it affects you a little less. Does that sound cold?”

  “Most people get used to death when it fills their life.” Pauline offered. “You’ve investigated a number of murders and have seen so many dead bodies. You were bound to become numb to them eventually.”

  “I suppose so.” Anna agreed. “You were always right and I am so sorry.”

  “I was right?” Pauline asked.

  “Cassandra.” Anna cringed. “She’s in on this. Graham was dodgy with his responses. There is someone on our team helping these killers. I know in my heart it isn’t you. It could be Pierre still, I won’t say I haven’t entertained the thought of him being a criminal mastermind. But Casandra seems to be the most probable.”

  “Pierre is incredibly stupid.” Pauline chuckled. “I know you like him.”

  “No, I liked him.” Anna responded. “Past tense. I’m really fond of Detective Jensen. Right now, I am going to take things slow with him and see where we stand.”

  “Just be careful with your heart.” Pauline smiled and squeezed Anna’s shoulder. “I don’t want you to get hurt.”

  “I won’t.” Anna promised. “But, for now, we need to start getting ready to go. Another island awaits us.”

  “But how are we going to stop Cassandra from killing again?” Pauline asked. “If we give her access to the food, she is certain to poison someone else. Can’t you tell your cop boyfriend she was in on this?”

  “Everything we have is circumstantial.” Anna sighed. “We need to step it up and get something concrete. Just knowing she is guilty won’t be enough. We need a vial of poison with her fingerprints. We need to see her place the poison in the food. There needs to be a witness. If we went up to an officer and claimed our friend was killing people, they’d need proof. So we need to find it.”

  “So, someone else is going to die.” Pauline replied through clenched teeth. “It doesn’t feel great knowing that, does it?”