by Cindy Bell
“Now, wait a minute, Jason always does his job.” Suzie frowned.
“He just knows better than to waste his time accusing people who had nothing to do with a murder.” Mary shook her head. “My kids had nothing to do with any of this. They’re already shaken up.”
“Hold on, that’s not what I’m saying. I’m sorry they’re upset, but they’re part of this investigation. They may have been the last ones to see Curtis alive.” He straightened up and looked from one woman to the other. “I will do my job, understand? I have no interest in stepping on anyone’s toes. But if you’re not going to be cooperative then we are going to have a problem.”
“A problem?” Suzie clenched her teeth for a moment, then took a breath. “All right. Mary, he’s right. He’s just trying to do his job. It will be a few questions, and that will be that. Of course we want to help figure out what happened to Curtis. Have you been able to reach any family members?”
“I’m afraid not. From the background check I did on him, I haven’t found any living relatives, so there may not be any to find. In which case, I’m really going to need to gather as much information from you and Mary as possible. I know you don’t know me as well as Jason, but I can assure you that anything I investigate is going to be done by the book, and in the pursuit of justice.”
“That’s very reassuring, Kirk. I’m sure you’ll do a great job. Just try to remember that this has been very difficult for us as well. Curtis has been here for quite some time, and my kids just had a class with him this morning. Ben even saw him on the beach when he was pulled out of the water.” Mary winced and shook her head. “I’m sorry if I overreacted, this is emotional for me, too. We both really enjoyed having Curtis here.”
“Of course.” Kirk put his hand on her shoulder. “I’m not here to cause more distress. I want this solved, just like you do.”
“Just like we all do.” Suzie nodded.
“I’ll need to interview both of you as well.” Kirk looked from Mary to Suzie.
“Of course, come inside.” As Suzie stepped through the door with Mary right behind her, she noticed Trish approach from the stairs.
“What’s going on?” Trish looked at Suzie with wide eyes. “I saw the police car out front.”
Kirk stepped in behind Mary and pulled the door closed. “Did you know Curtis Malcolm?”
Trish looked between Suzie and Mary. “What’s happened?”
“Curtis is dead, Trish, they found him on the beach.” Mary frowned. “Kirk is here to investigate.”
“What? Curtis is dead?” Trish’s hand flew to her mouth to cover a gasp. “How?”
“It looks as if it was a homicide. I would like to ask you a few questions please?” Kirk gestured to the small study off the living room.
“Yes, of course. But I should tell my husband.” She began to type on her phone.
“Is he nearby?”
“I have no idea where he is. He took off this morning and…” Trish stopped mid-sentence. “I mean, I’m sure he just went to the store for something.”
“All right, let’s just get started. I’ll want to speak with him as well, when he’s available.” Kirk led her into the study and closed the door behind him.
“This is awful.” Mary peeked into the living room where Rick, Cathy, and Ben were gathered.
“I wonder if she’ll tell him?” Suzie crossed her arms. “About the kiss.”
“I didn’t even think about that. Hal was so angry with them both. What if he had something to do with this?”
“I don’t want to jump to any conclusions. But it’s possible. I doubt Trish is going to tell Kirk about any of it. We might have to be the ones to do it.”
“I’d hate to cause a problem if Hal wasn’t involved.”
“I would, too, but this isn’t about us, or Hal and Trish, it’s about Curtis.”
Mary nodded, then bit into her bottom lip.
“Someone has to tell Jim.” Suzie stood close to Mary. “I don’t think he should hear it from Kirk first. He may be a good police officer, but he’s not very delicate.”
“I haven’t seen him since breakfast. He went back upstairs after breakfast and he hasn’t come down since.”
“Do you think he’s okay?” Suzie asked.
“Well, he has to be up there, right? You haven’t seen him since breakfast have you?”
“No and I’ve been on the front porch all morning. I’ll go check on him.” Suzie started up the stairs, but just as she set her foot on the bottom step she saw Jim at the top of the stairs. “Jim. You should come down here. Something terrible has happened.”
“What is it?” He pounded down the rest of the stairs and paused at the bottom, just as Kirk stepped out of the study.
“Jim Smithsy?” Kirk locked eyes with the other man.
“Yes, I’m Jim. What is this about?” He frowned.
“I’m sorry to inform you of this. Your friend Curtis has passed away.”
“What?” Jim grabbed the railing on the stairs and did his best to steady himself. Suzie grabbed his other arm to offer him some support.
“I’m so sorry, Jim.”
“You two were friends for a long time?” Kirk studied him.
“Years.” Jim straightened up and closed his eyes. “How did he die?”
“I believe he was murdered.”
“You believe he was, or he was?” Jim stared at him.
“At this time there is evidence to support that there was foul play involved in his death. However, the investigation is ongoing.”
“I don’t understand. How can you not know if a person was murdered or not?”
“He died because of a problem with his equipment. Can you tell me where you were this morning between eight and twelve-thirty?”
“A problem with his equipment?” Jim shook his head. “I was here. I went back upstairs after breakfast, did some research and then I fell asleep. I just woke up a little while ago and heard the commotion.”
“Suzie?” Kirk looked over at her. “Can you confirm that?”
“I was on the porch all morning, and Mary was in the kitchen. The lock on the side door is jammed so the door can’t be opened. If Jim had left, I would have seen him go through the front, or Mary would have seen him go through the back.”
“All right, thank you.” He made a note, then looked back at Jim. “Do you mind if we talk for a few minutes? I’d like to know as much as I can about Curtis.”
“Yes.” Jim closed his eyes. “I’ll tell you whatever I can. I can’t believe he’s dead. This is so surreal.”
“I can assure you, Jim, I will do whatever has to be done to make sure that Curtis’ killer is found. I’m very sorry for your loss.” Kirk led Jim away from the staircase to the study. As he closed the door, Mary shivered.
“Poor man. He lost a good friend. I should check on the kids.”
“Yes.” Suzie nodded as Mary walked past her to the living room. She leaned against the wall and closed her eyes. Where was Hal? Had he tampered with Curtis’ equipment and then taken off? It made her very uncomfortable to think that she might have allowed a killer to stay under their roof. Getting the guest’s details didn’t really give them much information about them. That thought reminded her that she had never registered Jim in the computer system. She dismissed it as unimportant now. She doubted he would be staying long.
Chapter 7
Suzie couldn’t stop thinking about Curtis. To distract herself she put a few things together in the kitchen and carried the tray out into the living room. Everyone stared at the crackers and cheese as if they might be foreign objects. Suzie set the tray down on the coffee table and sank down into a chair.
“I know this is going to be hard on all of you, but Kirk is going to want to speak to all of us. It’s important that he has all of the information that we can give him, even if you don’t think it’s important,” Mary said.
“Mom, I don’t want to talk to a cop.” Ben rubbed his hands along his knees a
nd frowned.
“Ben, it’s okay. We know Kirk, he’s a good guy, and he’ll treat everyone fairly.”
“No.” Ben looked into his mother’s eyes. “What if I say something wrong?”
“It’s not a test, Ben, you just tell the truth.” Cathy rolled her eyes.
“Cathy, be nice. This is stressful for everyone,” Mary said.
“It’s okay, Ben,” Cathy said. “There’s nothing to worry about. It’s not like you killed him.”
“Of course I didn’t.” Ben scowled. “That doesn’t mean I’m okay with being questioned by the police.”
“Relax hon, I’ll go in with you. With both of you.” Mary looked at Cathy. “I think that would be best.”
“Mom, it’s not really necessary.” Cathy sighed. “We’re not little kids.”
“I know that, but when it comes to something like this, it’s just best to be cautious.”
“Ben? Could I speak with you?” Kirk stood in the doorway of the living room.
“I’m going to join him.” Mary stood up.
“That’s fine.” Kirk nodded. “Whatever makes you comfortable.”
Mary followed Ben into the study with Kirk and sat down beside him. She was relieved that Kirk hadn’t fought her on it.
“I don’t know what I can really tell you.” Ben shrugged.
“Sometimes there are details that can be helpful to the case, that seem unimportant to you. So first, I’d like to know where you were between eight and twelve-thirty.”
“From eight until a little after eleven we were with Curtis, taking his class.”
“We?” Kirk glanced up from his notepad.
“Me, and my sister Cathy. Curtis was fine when we left him.”
“What time do you think that was?”
“About eleven-fifteen, maybe? I wasn’t really paying attention to the time.”
“Okay, and where did you go after that?”
“I stayed out on the beach.” He cleared his throat. “I saw some girls I wanted to try to talk to.”
“And?”
“And what?”
“Did you talk to them?”
“What does that matter?” Ben frowned.
“If you spoke to them, then I can check with them to solidify your alibi.”
“No, I didn’t talk to them. I was too shy.”
“Okay. What about anyone else? Did you speak to anyone who might be able to confirm your alibi?”
“I don’t need an alibi. I didn’t kill him.”
“Ben, I’m not accusing you. It’s just easier if I know where everyone was at what time. Just try to understand I’m here to help solve a crime not to cause problems.”
“All right, I’m sorry. No, I didn’t speak to anyone. I just walked around some. Then I got hungry and decided to come back here. As I was walking back, I saw Curtis being pulled out of the water.” He winced.
“What about the time that you spent with Curtis? Do you remember anything strange about it?”
“Strange how?”
“Anything. Was he frustrated, did he mention any problems he was having, did anyone show up that wasn’t supposed to be there?”
“No, I don’t think so. I don’t know.” Ben frowned. “We were near the shore when some cylinders were dropped off and he just waved to the guy.”
“If there’s something you would like to tell me about Curtis, now is the time. I need as much information as I can get.” Kirk leaned forward and tried to meet his eyes.
“It’s okay, Ben, you can tell him the truth.” Mary patted her son’s hand.
“I don’t know if it even matters. But during our lesson, before we got into the water, Curtis got a phone call. He seemed a little upset. He said that he was in the middle of a lesson and he didn’t want to deal with whatever it was right then, and hung up the phone.”
“Do you have any idea who he was talking to? A man, a woman? Did he say a name?”
“No. That’s why I didn’t know if I should mention it. He just went back to teaching us, but his demeanor changed. He wasn’t laughing as much. I just figured someone got under his skin, but he tried to focus on the safety lesson he was giving us.”
“It’s good that you told me. I can check his phone records to see who called him.” He made a note, then looked back at Ben. “I need you to be honest with me. Had you ever met Curtis before coming here to visit your mother?”
“No, I’d never met him before. He seemed like a nice guy though.”
“During your lesson was there anything that came up between you and Curtis, or Curtis and your sister?”
“No, nothing at all. We had a good lesson. I enjoyed it, and so did Cathy.”
“If you think of anything, anything at all, I want you to call me.” He handed Ben a business card. “Even if it seems trivial, or unimportant, understand?”
“Yes.” Ben nodded as he took the card and tucked it into his wallet. Kirk walked him to the door.
“Could you ask your sister to step in?”
“Sure, I will.” He paused and looked at Mary. “Are you going to stay?”
“Yes.” She met Kirk’s eyes. “If you don’t mind.”
“Not at all.” Kirk waited until Cathy stepped into the study. “Hi Catherine, I just want to ask you a few questions about your time with Curtis.”
“But I barely knew him.” She sat down next to Mary and took her mother’s hand. “I don’t know how I can help.”
“You might be able to remember something that could help us with the case. Was there anyone else in the water with you?”
“No, there was no one else out there with us.”
“What about on the beach? Did you see anyone walking? Any joggers? Anyone else?”
“Oh well, just Hal.”
“Hal? Trish’s husband?” Kirk made a note.
“Yes, when we were about to go into the water he walked past. Curtis was in the middle of giving us an instruction when Hal muttered something, he turned around to look at him.”
“What did Hal say?”
“I didn’t hear it. I was almost under the water, and Ben already was.”
“What did Curtis do?”
“He didn’t do anything. He just stared at him for a minute, then got back to the lesson.”
“Do you think Hal’s comment upset him?”
“Maybe surprised him?” Cathy frowned. “I don’t know for sure. He didn’t say anything about it.”
“What about anything else? Did Curtis talk to you about anything personal?”
“Nothing that would matter.” Cathy shrugged.
“Let me be the judge of that.” He leaned forward and looked into her eyes. “What did you and Curtis talk about?”
“Not much.” Cathy glanced over at her mother.
“It’s okay, honey. Tell him whatever you talked about. It’s important not to leave out a single detail.”
“Well, like I said, it’s not important. I’m a History major in college, and he asked me if I had any knowledge about artifacts, ancient culture, that kind of thing.”
“And that didn’t strike you as odd?”
“Not really. He’d mentioned that he was a bit of a treasure hunter, most deep sea divers are I guess. I figured he was interested in understanding how to tell the age of things so he could value them. I arranged to meet him at the library this evening to go over some websites that I thought might be helpful.”
“What time were you supposed to meet?”
“Around seven.” She took a deep breath. “I don’t know how someone can just be gone like this. I’m sorry, I just can’t believe it.”
“It’s difficult, I know.” Kirk cleared his throat. “So did he mention what he wanted to value? Jewelry? Sculptures?”
“No, I asked him, but he said he didn’t want to talk about it too much out in the open. I thought that was a little odd, but the lesson was over, and he hurried off.”
“Did he say he had somewhere to be?”
“No, b
ut he did look at his watch, and then he walked away fast, you know, like he was running late.”
“Interesting. Thank you, Catherine, you’ve been very helpful. If you think of anything else that you think might have some bearing on the case, please contact me right away.” He handed her a business card. “Anytime.”
“Okay, I will.” She frowned. “I hope you figure out who did this.”
“Oh, I will.” He stood up and straightened his shirt. As Cathy stepped out of the study, he turned back to Mary. “Where is Hal?”
“I have no idea. I’m sure Trish filled you in on their argument?”
“No, she didn’t mention any argument.” He narrowed his eyes.
“Oh.”
“What about it, Mary?”
“Trish and Hal were having a bit of a spat.”
“About what?”
“Curtis, I assume.” Mary sighed. “Please understand, I’m sure Hal had nothing to do with Curtis’ death.”
“You can’t be sure, can you? You barely know him.”
“Maybe you’re right. Hal was jealous over Curtis and Trish flirting. Curtis gave them lessons when he first arrived. He’s friendly to all of his students. He was just a naturally friendly person. I think maybe Trish took it the wrong way. Or maybe Hal did. I don’t really know. All I know is that they were arguing about it yesterday, and this morning he took off, and hasn’t been back since.”
“How far did things go between Curtis and Trish?”
“I’m not sure if Hal knows how far.”
“But you do?” He rubbed a hand along his cheek and took a breath. “I know, you don’t want to get Trish into trouble. I’m not going to reveal more than I have to, but I need to know what was going on between Trish and Curtis.”
“I think I saw her kiss him.”
“You think you did?”
“It was at a distance, and I don’t see very well far away. But it did look like she kissed him. She kind of, surprised him, from what I could tell.”
“So he didn’t initiate it?”
“Not from what I saw.”
“After you saw this, did you see them together alone again?”
“No, I didn’t.”
“When she kissed him, did he talk to her for a while, or walk away?”