by Vicki Delany
I asked for a latte, and we took a table at the bar counter along the window, facing outside. We watched as the street slowly came alive. More people came in searching for coffee. Shop employees headed for work.
“Ask your friend Alan how the police investigation is going,” Dad said.
“He’s not going to tell me!”
“Sure he is. He wants to impress you.”
“He does not.”
“Sure he does. I see the way he looks at you when you aren’t looking.”
My cheeks burned. “That’s rubbish.”
“No it’s not. I used to look at your mother that way.” He chuckled. “Come to think of it, I still do.”
I scooped the last of the foam out of my mug with a finger and avoided my dad’s eyes.
“Someone’s in there,” he said.
“In where?”
“The jewelry store. They’re putting things in the window. Let’s go.”
“It’s only quarter to ten. They’re not open yet.”
“They’ll talk to me,” he said.
I followed him out of the coffee shop. What else could I do?
I didn’t believe for a minute that Paul had met with foul play. I doubted he was on any quest for justice. He’d said that to make himself sound important after enjoying a couple of beers with a man he’d just met. He was lonely after the death of his wife, on a vacation he wasn’t enjoying.
I looked at my father, charging ahead. On a vacation he wasn’t enjoying.
My dad was anything but lonely. He had a big family, a strong marriage, good friends, a loving wife. He was active in his children’s and grandchildren’s lives. Too active in my life.
But his job had been more to him than something to do. It had given him purpose. A sense that he was needed. I remembered how he’d rushed off to look at the plumbing in building two. He’d been proud to be asked. Wanting to be needed. Happy to help.
I caught up with him in front of the main window of the jewelry store. A woman was arranging the display—gold and diamonds on cushions of deep-blue velvet. She was in her early fifties, perfectly put together. Carefully applied makeup, expensively cut and colored hair. She wore a peach suit, the skirt cut at knee level, the form-fitting jacket buttoned up. A gold brooch matched the gold buttons on the jacket.
She smiled at us. Dad waved. He went to the door and tried the handle. It was locked, so he knocked.
The woman tapped the face of her gold watch. Dad knocked again. I tried not to look too embarrassed.
Finally she unlocked the door and stepped back with a smile. “Thank you for waiting, sir.”
“Not a problem,” Dad said.
“Can I show you anything in particular?” Her accent was English and very snooty. I wondered if it was real or just the way she spoke to potential buyers.
“I’m looking for a gift for my wife,” Dad said.
The woman glanced at me.
“Not me! He means my mom.”
She turned back to Dad, dismissing me as not worth worrying about. I knew I didn’t look like a woman who bought the sort of jewelry sold here. I was in a pair of beige capris, a cheap red T-shirt and well-worn sports sandals. All ready for a day exploring a remote island, not shopping for thousand-dollar earrings.
“I have something very particular in mind,” Dad said. “I want a ring with six diamonds and four rubies. For our six granddaughters and four grandsons.”
“I don’t know that I have a piece exactly like that in stock at the moment, but I can show you—”
“My friend was in the other day. He saw one similar to that. He told me about it.”
“Let me show you—”
“He was here on Wednesday. Canadian. Big guy. About my age. Curly gray hair.”
“I don’t recall—”
“Wednesday morning around ten. A taxi dropped him off outside.”
The smile disappeared from the woman’s face. Her eyes narrowed.
“Were you working then?” Dad asked.
“Yes, I was, but I can’t possibly remember everyone who comes in here.”
Dad looked around the shop. It was very small. “You can’t get that many customers. It was only Wednesday. Three days ago.”
“Oh yes, Wednesday. Now I remember. How could I forget?” Her light laugh was forced. “We had a plumbing emergency Wednesday morning. Water absolutely everywhere. It was a disaster. Total chaos. A few people came in around that time, but I was in such a panic I hardly saw them. I had to ask them to leave, as I had to close the shop.
“Now, about your gift. We own several shops, throughout the Caribbean, and I can call the others to see if they have exactly what you’re looking for. If not, our in-house jeweler can—”
“Not right now. I’ll try someplace else.” Dad turned and walked away.
“Sorry about that,” I said. “My dad’s very particular.”
I ran out of the store. My father was studying the window of the art gallery next door.
“Not very subtle, Dad.”
“I don’t have time to be subtle. If Henry told the cops he brought Paul here, they would have checked the shops to see if he’d come in. Funny she didn’t mention that.”
“Maybe she thought it was none of your business.”
“I’m thinking this isn’t such a bad place to live after all.”
“What brought that up?”
“Lots of work for a good plumber. Speaking of which…” He pointed to a white van parked at the end of the road. Big black letters printed on the side read V&A Plumbing.
The rear doors were open, and a man jumped out as we walked up. I got a glimpse of a jumble of pipes and hoses and toolboxes.
“Mornin’,” he said with an island accent.
“Good morning.” Dad thrust out his hand, and the man took it. “I’m Frank from Toronto. Been a plumber for forty years. No job like it. Just wanted to say hi.”
The man gave us big grins. “It has its moments. Tony. Pleased to meet you, Frank.”
“You being kept busy?” Dad asked.
“A madhouse around here lately. Everything seems to have decided to go bust at the same time. Hi, Ashley.”
I’d never seen Tony before, but I’d learned not to be surprised when people knew who I was. Islanders seemed to know everyone and everything that was going on at any given time.
“Pays the bills,” Dad said.
“That it does.” Tony shifted his equipment belt. “Better get to it. Nice meeting you, Frank.”
“A quick question, if you don’t mind,” Dad said. “That jewelry store over there. I heard they had an emergency on Wednesday.”
“Yeah, they did. A pipe broke in the washroom. Flooded it and the shop next door. Catherine, the lady what works there sometimes, was havin’ a purple fit. She can be a right drama queen, if you know what I mean.”
Dad chuckled. “What time was this?”
“Ten thirty. I had to leave another job half-finished. You can be sure Island Jewelers will be paying through the nose for that.”
“I’m looking for a friend of mine. He was in the store on Wednesday around the time they were having this emergency. She says she doesn’t remember him because of all the chaos.”
“What’s your friend done?” Tony asked.
“Nothing, far as I know. I’m just wondering if you saw him. Big guy, my age.”
Tony thought. “Yeah, I might know something about that. I didn’t see him, but I might have heard him. Does your friend have a Canadian accent like yours?”
“Yes,” Dad said.
“I was working in the bathroom. I finally got Catherine to get out of my hair and back out front. She opened the door, and this guy came in. He wanted to speak to the owner. Catherine said he wasn’t there. He asked for the owner’s home address. Catherine said she couldn’t give it. He got mad. Started yelling at her. Insisting she tell him where he could find the owner. I started to get up, see if she needed help. She threatened to call the po
lice. He left. Said he’d be back another time.”
“That was it?”
“That was it. I finished the job and left her to clean up the mess. No idea if he came back or not.”
“Thanks,” Dad said.
“If you find your friend,” Tony said, “tell him to go home. There’s some people on this island you don’t want to mess with.”
“What’s that mean?”
Tony adjusted his equipment belt and winked. “Hope you enjoy the rest of your stay, Frank.”
SEVEN
“OKAY, DAD,” I said. “I’ll admit that you might be onto something.”
“I won’t say I told you so,” he said.
We were back in the coffee shop. Dad had a slice of apple cake, and I had another latte.
“I’m not saying anyone killed Paul,” I said, “but that incident does sound strange. I wonder if the police know about it.”
“Why don’t you ask them?”
“I will.” I called Alan.
“Good morning, Ashley,” he said. He sounded pleased to hear from me. I decided not to read too much into that.
“My dad and I are at Stone Mills. We’ve been…uh…”
“Trying to find out what Paul Saunders was up to the day he died?”
“Something like that.”
“We know a taxi dropped him at Stone Mills Wednesday morning. We don’t know where he went after that. Do you?”
“No, but we did learn something interesting about what he did when he was here.”
“Okay,” Alan said. “I’ll bite. Not on the phone though. Are you still at Stone Mills?”
“Yes.”
“Meet you at Corner Coffee in fifteen minutes?”
“As it happens, we’re already there.”
I put my phone away and looked up to see my dad grinning at me. “What?”
“Nice to have the cops on speed dial.”
“We work together. This entire island has just one working ambulance, four medics and four drivers. Naturally, we meet the cops a lot.”
“If you say so, honeybunch.”
“I do,” I said. “Let’s find a bigger table.”
The coffee shop was filling up with the pre-lunch crowd, but I managed to get us a table for four next to the back wall.
Alan soon came in. He was in uniform. It wasn’t noon yet, but thick stubble covered his jaw and his eyes were red. He spotted us and came over. He gave me a smile and nodded to my dad. “Get you anything?”
“Coffee’d be nice,” Dad said.
“Nothing more for me, thanks,” I said.
“So,” Alan said when he’d put the drinks down and pulled up a chair, “what’s up?”
I told him what we’d learned from Tony the plumber.
His face didn’t give away anything. He sipped his coffee.
“Is that news to you?” Dad asked.
“I knew Paul had been in the jewelry store, yes. I didn’t know about any argument. The woman working in the shop said he’d come in and browsed for a couple of minutes. He didn’t show any interest in anything and soon left. She thought he was killing time while his wife shopped.”
“She lied,” I said. “She didn’t think you’d speak to the plumber.”
“Don’t make assumptions,” Alan said. “This plumber might be making something out of nothing.”
“Why would he do that?” Dad asked.
“He wouldn’t be the first guy to try to make himself sound important to impress an attractive woman.”
I was about to say, What attractive woman? when I realized Alan meant me. Flames crawled up my neck and face. He smiled at me.
My dad coughed. “I believed him.”
“Look,” Alan said. “I appreciate that you’re trying to help. But there’s no evidence your friend’s death was anything other than an accident. If not an accident…” His voice trailed off.
“You think he killed himself,” I said.
He nodded. “It’s a possibility. I’ve spoken to his son. His son tells me Paul was depressed after the death of his wife.”
“What did she die of?” Dad asked.
“Cancer.”
“Tough.”
Alan’s radio spat out static. He held up a hand and leaned closer to listen. “On my way,” he said. He turned to us. “Call from a hotel. Report of theft in one of the guest rooms.” He got to his feet. “Sorry, but I have to take this. We’ve got two detectives off sick, and I’m all that’s left.”
“You’ll think about what we told you?” Dad asked. “Paul was a nice guy. He wouldn’t have gone into a jewelry store and had an argument with a sales clerk for no reason.”
“Frank, you have to admit you didn’t know Paul. You only met him once.”
“I’m a good judge of character,” Dad said.
“When I have a moment, I’ll pop into the jewelry store and see what she has to say. That’s all I can promise.”
“Thanks,” I said.
Alan gave me another smile and left.
“Let’s go back to the hotel and meet Mom for lunch,” I said.
“How do you find out who owns businesses around here?” Dad asked.
“The same way you find out anything,” I said. “You ask an islander.”
EIGHT
I HADN’T WANTED to get involved, but it was looking as though Dad might be right. I believed Tony the plumber. He hadn’t been trying to impress anyone, least of all me, with his story.
Plus I hadn’t liked Catherine, the jewelry-store clerk. She looked shifty to me. Not that I’m a good judge of character, as my recent failed engagement might indicate.
Neither is my dad. But he likes to think he is.
Alan and the Victoria and Albert police would do their best. I knew that. But I also knew they didn’t have the resources to devote much more time to one tourist’s apparent accident or suicide. Alan would be spending his time now clearing up the hotel robbery. The entire economy of this country is based on tourism. And tourism is based on the country’s reputation as a low-crime, family-friendly destination.
The death of Paul Saunders would soon slip off Alan’s plate.
I respected the fact that my dad wanted to get to the bottom of what had happened to his friend. But I didn’t want him running off in all directions. Not in a country he didn’t know. I’d handle this myself.
“I have to go to the restroom,” he said. “Be right back.”
I watched him cross the floor and disappear down the back corridor. Then I whipped out my phone and called Darlene. I kept one eye out for Dad’s return.
In the three months I’ve been living on the island, Darlene and I have become friends. Not long after my arrival I helped her solve the murder of one of her cousins, a hotel chef. Darlene was born on Grand Victoria and has lived here all her life, except for some time away at university in Toronto. She is related to half the islanders. Her mother, or one of her many aunts, plays bridge or caters church suppers with the other half.
“Good morning,” she said. “I hope your parents are having a good day.”
“Sorry, but I’ve no got time to chat,” I said. “Do you know anything about Island Jewelers? At Stone Mills Center. Do you happen to know who owns it?”
“Why do you want to know?” she asked, as I knew she would.
“No reason,” I said.
“Of course you have a reason, Ashley. I’ll guess it’s to do with Paul Saunders. I liked him. He was quiet and polite.”
“Did he say anything to you about what he was doing here?”
“No, and I didn’t ask. I assumed he was here on vacation. He mentioned once that his late wife would have loved it here. The thought of her, I could tell, made him very sad.” She sighed. “Island Jewelers is part of a big chain. They have stores all over the Caribbean. Both in towns and at cruise-ship ports. They’re owned by a man named Claude Erasmus. Claude’s grandfather opened one little jewelry store on Grand Victoria, catering to locals. When tourism began to
grow everywhere in the Caribbean, Claude’s father expanded throughout the islands. Claude now runs the company. My grandma used to work as a housekeeper in his parents’ house.”
“Claude Erasmus. I recognize the name.”
“Everyone on the islands knows that name. And a lot of folks don’t like it. Claude’s into a lot more than the jewelry business these days.”
“Like what?”
“Property development. Resort management. Some say his business practices are not always on the ethical side. Sometimes they skirt the law. He has a great many important political friends. Although friends might not be the right word. Step carefully, Ashley.”
“I will,” I said. “Thanks for this.” I hung up and turned to see my dad approaching our table.
“What did you learn?” he asked.
“Darlene doesn’t know who owns the store. But her aunt…uh…once owned an art gallery in Stone Mills, so she’ll ask her.” I jumped up. “Let’s go. I’ll call Mom and tell her we’ll join her for lunch. She’ll be wondering where we are.”
My dad gave me that look. The one he used to give me when I was late getting home from “studying” at a friend’s house. I gave him my sweetest smile in return. The one I’d used in high school to say, “I am totally innocent.”
I did not want my father rushing off to confront Claude Erasmus. As Darlene had said, Mr. Erasmus was an important man around here. I’d been to his house once. The ambulance had been called. A dinner guest had suffered what he thought was a heart attack. The guest hadn’t had a heart attack though. He’d simply over-indulged in too much rich food and expensive wine.
I remembered the house. It would be hard not to. All sparkling glass and weathered stone. A dinner party had been underway around the pool. A huge blue infinity pool set into the side of the cliff, with an incredible view out to sea. Tables on the patio, covered in crisp white cloths, sparkling crystal, polished flatware. Candles flickering in the dark. Golden light spilling out from the house. In this job I see a lot of different places, and I’ve been to some nice houses. The Erasmus home had really impressed me.