Pelicans, Piers and Poison

by Cindy Bell

  “I guess you figured it out, huh?” Ginger looked back at Jason. “I assumed that you would, eventually.”

  “I can’t take the credit for it, but yes I am aware that you and Jerome had a past connection. In fact, he investigated your previous marriage.”

  “Then you should also be aware that Jerome didn’t do anything to hurt me. In fact, he helped me.” Ginger closed her eyes, then shook her head. “That was so long ago. I like to pretend it was a different lifetime. If it wasn’t for Jerome telling me about the investigation, I would have lost everything, maybe even my life. He was worried about my safety, so he warned me.” She bit into her bottom lip and took a sharp breath. “He was a good man, who didn’t deserve any of this.”

  “Did you keep in contact with him over the years?” Suzie met her eyes. “Did you recognize him?”

  “On and off we did. I referred a few of my friends to him when they had issues, they needed solved. I even referred my boss to him, he said he needed someone to investigate something for him. Jerome and I weren’t close friends or anything. We never even met in person, but I never forgot what he did for me.” Ginger rocked back on her heels. “I sent him a letter recently, to thank him, again. Finding Sam has been like my second chance at life, at love, and I only have it because of what Jerome did for me. I wasn’t sure where to send the letter to, but I had some time off and my boss mentioned that whatever he was investigating led Jerome to Garber. That’s when I decided to have a break here and thank him in person, instead.”

  “That’s why you insisted on staying at Dune House?” Suzie nodded. “Even though Sam wasn’t so thrilled.”

  “We needed a vacation, and the truth is, I needed to tell him about my past. I thought maybe once I spoke to Jerome, I’d be ready to tell Sam about my mistakes. It seemed like the right way to do things. I was going to speak to Jerome right after dinner. But I never got the chance.” Ginger ran her hands across her face and sighed. “I know how this must look. I know that it all seems too coincidental, but I didn’t have anything to do with killing Jerome.” She lowered her hands and looked straight at Jason. “You don’t have to believe me, but it’s the truth. If I knew who hurt Jerome, I’d be more than happy to tell you. But we were all just eating, enjoying our meals, and then Jerome was gone. I know I still need to tell Sam about what happened, but with everything else going on, it just didn’t seem like the right time.”

  “Do you know why Jerome came to Garber? What he was investigating?” Jason frowned. “Did your boss tell you? I haven’t been able to get hold of him.”

  “No, not at all. He wanted to keep it under wraps. I have no idea if it was personal or business related.” Ginger glanced back at Sam, who watched her from the water’s edge. “I wish there was more I could tell you, but that is honestly all I know.” She frowned. “You can arrest me if you want, but it won’t change anything.”

  “I’m not going to arrest you.” Jason ran his hand along the back of his neck. “I have no reason to. I appreciate your cooperation. I will be in touch if I have more questions.”

  “Okay.” Ginger looked at Suzie. “I need to get back to Sam before he decides to give up on me. I just hope that when I tell him the truth he doesn’t decide to walk away.”

  “If he can’t handle the truth, then he might not be the right person for you.” Suzie looked past her, at Sam, then back to Ginger. “But if you never give him the chance, you’ll never know for sure.”

  “You’re right.” Ginger smiled some. “Thanks Suzie.” She turned and walked off towards Sam.

  “Isn’t there anything we can do to find out for sure why Jerome was here?” Suzie fell into step beside Jason as they both headed back in the direction of Dune House.

  “I’ve been trying. I searched his hotel room, cataloged everything we could find in his rental car. I documented every store and restaurant he visited based on his credit card activity, as well as canvassing the local businesses with his picture. But none of it pieces anything together for me. As far as his actions go, it was as if he was on a vacation. He ate out, he bought snacks to have at the hotel, he visited the museum, the library.” Jason shrugged.

  “The library?” Suzie raised an eyebrow. “That seems a little odd. What about his computer or his cell phone?”

  “He didn’t have a cell phone on him, or in his car, or at his hotel. He came to Garber with one, we were able to trace his last call from it to the docks, not far from Dune House. But after that there isn’t any activity. There was no computer either. Apparently, his computer was being repaired. A couple of officers have picked it up and they are going through it now.” Jason shrugged. “I thought maybe he’d decided to take a break from technology and not bring with a replacement computer, but where did his phone go?”

  “Interesting.” Suzie followed him into Dune House with Pilot at her side.

  Mary turned to face Suzie and Jason as they stepped into the house.

  “Nice walk?” Mary smiled as she set the tray of cinnamon rolls on the counter to cool slightly.

  “Very nice.” Suzie sniffed the air. “Wow, I wish I could smell that scent forever.”

  “Oh, you’d get sick of it, eventually.” Mary grinned.

  “No, I don’t think I would.” Suzie walked over to her and leaned close to the cinnamon rolls.

  “Don’t touch, they’re cooling a bit so I can put the frosting on.” Mary winked at her, then looked straight at Jason. “Did you speak to Ginger?”

  “Yes, I did.” Jason sat down at the dining room table. “Unfortunately, our conversation didn’t lead to anything new.”

  “Coffee is ready.” Mary carried the pot to the table where several coffee mugs were already placed out. “I’m guessing you could use some of this.”

  “You guessed right.” Jason nodded and smiled as she poured some into a mug near him. “Thanks Mary.”

  “You’re welcome.” Mary filled a mug for herself and Suzie as well. “Where are Sam and Ginger now?”

  “Having an uncomfortable conversation, I’d guess.” Suzie sat down across from Jason. “She planned to confess the truth about her previous marriage.”

  “That will be tough.” Mary sat down with them as well. “It’s funny isn’t it? The ways our lives change. There was never a time when I thought I’d be running a bed and breakfast with you, Suzie, and now I can’t imagine living any other way.”

  “Me either.” Suzie took a sip of her coffee.

  “I wonder if Jerome’s life changed that way.” Jason rapped his knuckles on the table. “Maybe things in his life took a dark turn, one so dark that he couldn’t share it with the people around him.”

  “According to his receptionist, that could be very possible.” Mary nodded slowly. “She said he wouldn’t tell her what was going on because it was too dangerous.”

  “I think the key to solving this might be taking a closer look at Jerome’s activities while he was here. We need to find out exactly what brought him to Garber.” Suzie narrowed her eyes. “It may be the key to figuring out who was after him. He must have been on to something that someone was willing to murder to hide.”

  “I need to talk to Ginger’s boss.” Jason’s eyes narrowed. “Whatever Jerome was working on in Shorehead for him, might hold the key to this.”

  “Oh wow, that smells delicious.” Ginger nearly squealed as she stepped through the side door off the dining room. Sam followed right behind her, his hand wrapped around hers. “Mary, you weren’t kidding about your specialty.”

  “No, I wasn’t.” Mary grinned as she stood up. “There’s fresh coffee, I just have to frost the cinnamon rolls and they will be ready to eat.”

  “Can’t wait.” Sam pulled out a chair for Ginger, and once she was settled, he sat down beside her. Immediately, he took her hand again.

  Suzie noticed the way he looked over at Ginger, his lips curved in a faint smile. If they’d had their conversation, it seemed to her that it had gone quite well. She thought about how it f
elt when Paul took her hand. It was such a simple gesture, something that she’d experienced many times in her life, but when Paul’s hand curled around hers, it stirred something unexpected in her every single time, a subtle sense of surprise, and contentment. She sensed the same reaction in Ginger as she turned to smile at Sam. No, she didn’t have anything to worry about with Sam. She had no reason to want to kill Jerome. At least, none that Suzie could see.

  Mary poured two more mugs of coffee, then focused on the cinnamon rolls. Minutes later she returned to the table with the tray and everyone dug in.

  “I’d better get back to it.” Jason wiped his mouth with a napkin and stood up from the table. He gave Pilot a quick pat. “Sam, Ginger, have a safe trip home.” He nodded to them, then turned and walked out the door.

  Pilot trailed after him to the door, then lay down not far from it.

  “I can’t thank you enough for your hospitality.” Ginger gave Mary a hug, then Suzie. “Maybe our little vacation didn’t go exactly as planned, but I am grateful we came just the same.”

  After they left, Mary began to pack up the remaining cinnamon rolls.

  “Some for Wes, and some for Paul?” She smiled as she piled them into two separate paper sacks.

  “Wonderful. I know that Paul will love them.” Suzie carried the empty tray to the sink and began to wash it. “I can’t stop thinking about exactly what Jerome was doing here. Jason said they didn’t find a computer, or his cell phone. How could he conduct an investigation with no tools to do any research with?” She shook her head. “When I conducted investigations, I had my computer, my phone, my contacts in different areas, I used all of them. The only thing that I can think is that maybe he used the computers at the library. Jason said he went there a few times.”

  “If so, they might still have a record of what he was researching.” Mary wiped her hands on a dish towel. “Let’s head over there and find out what Louis might know.”

  “Good idea.” Suzie grabbed one of the paper bags. “I can drop this off to Paul on the way back.”

  As they headed out the door, Pilot gave a soft whimper.

  “Not this time, buddy.” Mary smiled as she crouched down to pet him. “No dogs in the library. I know, I know, it’s not fair.” She scratched behind his ear, then followed Suzie out the door.

  Chapter 20

  As Suzie and Mary walked towards the library, Mary watched the people they walked past. Everyone had gotten back into their usual routines, and yet things still felt foreign to her. A terrible crime had taken place in their beautiful town, and though she knew that people had to move on, she couldn’t quite understand how they had been able to. Maybe she would be able to feel the same way once Jerome’s killer had been found.

  Suzie opened the door to the library and they both stepped inside. The air-conditioned environment always had the same faint scent of paper and glue. Mary smiled as it wafted under her nose.

  “Ladies.” Louis smiled at them as they approached the central desk. “It’s good to see you.” He sniffed the air. “Did you bring me something delicious?”

  “Oh sure.” Suzie smiled as she pulled one of the cinnamon rolls from the paper bag she held. “Mary made them this morning.”

  “Yum. Thank you so much.” Louis took a big bite of the cinnamon roll.

  “Jason mentioned that Jerome had been in here a few times during his stay in Garber. We were just wondering if you noticed whether he used the computers?” Suzie closed up the bag.

  “Yes, he did. He said his computer was being repaired. I had to log him in because he didn’t have a library card.” Louis pointed to one of the computers along the wall. “He used that one.” He raised an eyebrow. “If you happened to login you would probably still be able to access his history.”

  “Thanks Louis.” Suzie headed for the computer.

  Mary leaned against the counter as she looked at Louis. “Did he say anything to you about why he was here?”

  “No, he didn’t say much at all. Just came in, sat at the computer for about an hour, printed off a few things, and then left. He did that for about two or three days in a row.” Louis shrugged. “I didn’t think anything of it at the time.”

  “Any idea what he printed?” Mary met his eyes.

  “That I couldn’t tell you. It was only a few pages, though.” Louis took another bite of his cinnamon roll. “This is delicious.”

  “Thanks.” Mary smiled at him, then walked over to join Suzie at the computer. “Anything interesting?”

  “He spent a lot of time on this site.” Suzie tilted the monitor some so that Mary could see as well. “From what I can tell it gives information about the docks, about the boats available to charter, and the daily activity to be expected in the area.”

  “Look at this.” Mary pointed to a small image on the upper right-hand corner of the screen. “It links to a live video feed of the dock.”

  “Let’s see.” Suzie clicked it, then waited as the image loaded. “Not much to see.” She watched as the water lapped at the dock and the boats rocked gently back and forth.

  “Not now there isn’t.” Mary glanced at her watch. “It’s fairly early still. Can you tell when he accessed the site?”

  “Uh, let’s see.” Suzie frowned as she skimmed through the history tab. “No unfortunately, it just has dates, not times.”

  “Well, he might have been looking for something.” Mary pulled up a chair beside her.

  “Maybe, but we don’t even know for sure if he clicked on this link. The only thing we can be certain about is that he definitely had an interest in the dock, and what was happening there.” Suzie flipped through a few more websites. “The rest are just news sites.”

  “News sites? Local news?” Mary leaned forward.

  “No, actually. Local news sites for a city in New York.” Suzie shook her head. “I’m not sure why he would be looking that up. It looks like he read a few articles about a crime family there. The Mennossi family.”

  “I bet that’s what he printed out.” Mary shrugged. “But why?”

  “Whatever he was investigating might have been related to this crime family somehow.” Suzie skimmed the article on the monitor. “I don’t see how it could be related to Garber, but something might connect it.” She frowned. “Let me look a little further into this.” As she began to type, she heard Mary’s phone buzz with a text.

  “Oops, I forgot to turn the volume down.” Mary glanced around the library guiltily as she dug her phone out of her purse. She was relieved to see that Louis was on a phone call and hadn’t heard it.

  “Don’t worry, we’re the only ones here.” Suzie smiled, then scrolled through the results of her search.

  “Oh, look at this.” Mary handed her phone over to Suzie. “Phyllis sent a list of Jerome’s most recent clients and information about the investigations he conducted for them.”

  “Wow, this is a lot of information.” Suzie began to sort through it. “There are so many names, he definitely didn’t have a shortage of work. I’ll see what I can find.” She rolled her chair away from the computer. “See if you can find anything else in his history that might explain his connection to Garber.”

  Mary pulled a chair over in front of the computer and sat down. She pressed at the keys as she attempted a few different searches. After some time slipped by, she shook her head. “I’m sorry, Suzie, but I’m not finding much of anything. How about you?”

  “This is rather pointless.” Suzie set the phone down and sighed as she sat back in her chair. “We want to believe that we’re going to find an answer in his past, but it’s like searching for a needle in a haystack. Any number of his past clients could have held enough of a grudge to want him dead. Whatever he was doing here in Garber, we’re not going to find it by spending hours on a computer. I think we’re better off looking at our suspects. We know someone here in Garber killed him.”

  “Maybe.” Mary turned around in her chair and frowned. “Could we track down which of
his clients might have been in Garber at the time of the murder? I can at least go through this list, make some calls, and find out where each person might have been at the time of his death.”

  “That will take days, if not weeks.” Suzie shook her head. “And it will only lead somewhere if the people you call are willing to answer your questions. Let’s not forget that the nature of a private eye’s investigations is often secretive. Half of these people, if not more, probably never want to hear from or about him again. We can’t just keep sifting through an endless cycle of answering machines and hang-ups.”

  “What else do you suggest?” Mary looked up at her. “We don’t have much else to go on.”

  “Not yet, we don’t. We do know that the chef was in the kitchen and prepared the tainted mashed potatoes. We know that the waiter served him the tainted mashed potatoes. We also know that at least one man in our community had a reason to want him dead. Not to mention Freddy, a shady stranger who just happens to be in town at the time of his death and seated right next to him at the table before he died. I’d say that we have plenty of suspects to work with right here in Garber.” Suzie sat forward in her chair again. “They are the ones that most likely had the opportunity to kill him. They are the ones we should concentrate on.”

  “You really don’t think we should investigate any of these other people?” Mary took her phone back.

  “Let the police sort through them. I’m sure that Jason has the information, but I’ll make sure he gets this information just in case, and he has the manpower to comb through this computer history a lot better than we can.”

  “That’s true.” Mary nodded. “With Ginger and Sam gone, we have a few less suspects, unless new evidence comes to light. Maybe it’s time to narrow down the suspect list some more.”

  “I think our first stop should be the chef. His kitchen was the source of the poison, at least, we can assume that for now until we are able to prove otherwise.” Suzie stood up and waved briefly to Louis. “Maybe Jason will be able to come up with something from the computer, or this list of clients. But until then we should keep asking questions.”