by Lois Schmitt
“Sorry, Detective Wolfe.” I grinned. “I guess you need to look somewhere else for your suspect.”
Detective Wolfe took several steps toward Jimmy and leaned in. “You’re sure you didn’t look for a replacement closer to six-thirty?”
“Absolutely not,” Jimmy said. “We don’t sell refreshments once the game starts. We sell exactly one half hour before. Oscar was here at six. He sat next to me during the game, so I know he was here until he got a phone call a little after seven-thirty.”
“That was when Commander West contacted him to help assist the police in removing Katie’s body from the sea snake tank,” I reminded Wolfe.
It appeared Oscar was in the clear.
Chapter Thirty-nine
“Dad told me grandma will be leaving in a week,” Abby said as Archie pulled on the leash in an attempt to chase a squirrel who was scampering toward a nearby tree.
I nodded as we stopped walking, so Archie and Brandy could sniff a nearby pile of leaves. “She told us that a few nights ago. But there’s more. She’ll be engaged to Paul Andre unless I can prove he’s up to no good.”
“Why not tell grandma about the blond you saw—”
“Because Paul will tell her it was a business meeting. He’ll say the blond was investing in his health spas.”
“You’re sure it’s not that?”
“He told the blond they’d have a wonderful life together.” I shrugged before we continued walking the dogs. “Maybe he’s scamming her too.”
“Either way, isn’t that proof enough to make grandma suspicious that his intentions are less than honorable?”
“No. Paul will twist it and claim he told the blond she’d have a wonderful life because of all the money she’d rake in with her health spa investment.” I shook my head. “I saw them holding hands. But Paul will deny any romance with the woman, and I’m afraid my mother will believe him.”
“I don’t get it, Mom. What’s Paul’s angle with grandma? Once she said she didn’t want to invest with him, he stopped pressuring her. So how is he scamming her? Do you think he wants to marry her for her money?”
“Possibly, but I don’t think so. She has the condo and a pretty decent nest egg, but that’s not enough for a man like Paul Andre. She’s financially comfortable, but he wants to be rich. Trust me, if he were marrying for money, there are far wealthier women in Florida. Whatever he has in mind for my mother is happening quickly, and I don’t know what it is.”
I had an idea. But before I said anything to Abby or anyone else, I needed to check it out. When we arrived back at the house, Abby left to go to work. After I made sure the dogs had water, I grabbed the picture I had snatched from Marcia Silver’s photo album earlier in the week. Then I went on the Internet and clicked onto my favorite search engine. When finished, I grabbed my phone and punched in a series of numbers.
“Jason,” I said when I reached my daughter’s boyfriend. “I need your help again.”
*****
The next night, Abby picked me up at home, and we drove to Clam Cove.
“You sure this will work?” she asked as we traveled parallel to the bay, passing the Clam Cove motel.
“No, but it’s the best chance we have.”
We pulled off the road and trekked down to Ruby Diamond’s cottage. Night had fallen, but the light from the waning moon and a twinkling of stars provided the illumination we needed.
Once we reached the edge of Ruby’s property, we crept partially down the embankment, and hid behind tall sea grass. From this spot, we had a close view of Ruby’s house as well as the water.
“What do we do now?” Abby asked.
“Wait.”
I pulled binoculars out of my bag and scanned my surroundings. The bay appeared like a sheet of glass, the stillness broken only by an occasional ripple.
Thirty minutes later, I spotted a small boat maneuvering around the curve. As I adjusted my lenses, I made out the silhouette of a figure in the boat. I thought it was a man, but I wasn’t positive.
Seconds later, lights flashed from the boat, followed by lights flickering from inside Ruby’s cottage. After a short period of darkness, lights appeared again, first from the water, then the house.
“You’re right, “Abby whispered in a voice so hushed I could hardly understand her. “This is a code.”
A figure emerged from the back door of the house. I was sure it was Ruby. She wandered to the water’s edge, using a flashlight to illuminate her path. She flashed it on and off twice.
As the boat came closer, I recognized it as a kayak. I watched as its sole occupant paddled into shallow water, hopped out, and pulled the boat to shore. I could now see everything clearly without binoculars.
I sucked in my breath as I realized the boat’s occupant was Kyle, Ruby’s friend with the billy goat beard. They were talking, and I was able to make out snatches of the conversation.
“Thursday… earns… farmer.”
Kyle turned his face, and I couldn’t hear anymore. Ruby handed him what looked like an envelope and he gave her a package. He pushed his kayak back in the water, hopped in, and padded away. Ruby returned to her cottage.
“What do you think farmer means?” Abby asked while we trekked back to where we had parked.
“I’ve no idea. There’s a farm adjacent to Moray industries.”
“There’s also a few on the outskirts of Clam Cove. But what could she be bringing in from a farm? I never heard of illegal pumpkins or apples.”
“I feel in my bones that Ruby is involved in a smuggling operation. Or something else involving illegal merchandise. But what?” I frowned as I hopped into the car. Whatever was going down was happening next Thursday. I had a week to figure it out.
“Uh, oh, I’m almost out of gas,” Abby said as she turned on the engine. There’s a twenty-four hour station about a mile east of the aquarium. I think we better go there, then double back. I don’t know what else is open this late.”
“Okay,” I said. Abby had a reputation for never filling up her tank until it was near empty. Right now, we were probably coasting on fumes.
As we drove down the road, I gazed up at the sky, noting streaks of orange and yellow in the distance.
“What’s that?” I asked.
“It looks like fire.”
“Oh, no.” I gasped. “It’s the aquarium.”
Chapter Forty
We sped down the road, halting at the spot where fire trucks, police cars, and emergency vehicles blocked traffic from moving further. I hopped out of the car and raced toward the barricade with Abby behind me. I coughed from the smoke in the air.
“Are you going to ask a fire fighter what happened?” Abby asked.
I shook my head. “I’m not bothering them while they’re working. But maybe someone else can answer my questions.”
I scanned my surroundings, finally spotting Commander West. He stood alone, staring straight ahead. The flames had begun to subside, replaced by heavy waves of black smoke.
“Commander West,” I called. “How did this happen?”
He turned around and made his way in my direction. “Don’t know. The administration wing went up in flames. Luckily, I think it’s contained to that section. It’s not hitting any of our marine life.”
“Will the damage be minimal?”
“Hopefully, but it will still cost a pretty penny to repair.” He shook his head. “We have insurance but there is always extra costs and we need every dollar to put toward our campaign to purchase the twenty acres. We can’t afford any additional expenses.”
“Do you think it was deliberately set? Or an accident?”
“Tomorrow, the arson squad will begin an investigation.” He frowned. “This building is up to code so I don’t think its an electrical fire. It’s a non-smoking facility too.” As he spoke
, I saw the anger in his eyes. “I don’t believe this was an accident.”
*****
The next day, I drove to the office that housed the arson division. Three years ago, Matt had performed life-saving surgery on a Golden Retriever and had earned the gratitude of the dog’s human family. That grateful dog parent, Ben Barone, was chief investigator of the arson squad. Matt had called this morning and made an appointment for me to interview him.
“I told Matt I’m glad to help, but this is an ongoing investigation,” Ben said as we shook hands. “That means—”
“That means it’s arson.”
He rubbed his well trimmed mustache. “You’re right. This wasn’t an accident. It’s arson, but there is a lot we don’t know yet. Which means I’m limited in what I can tell you.”
“I’m not asking for any information that would impede the investigation. Can you tell me how the fire started?”
He nodded. “We believe it began in the trash can.”
“But couldn’t that be accidental?” I thought back to a fire in my community where a teenager, hanging out with his friend in a mall parking lot, threw a lit cigarette into a garbage receptacle full of paper. The fire spread quickly and destroyed several stores.
Barone shook his head. “An accelerant was used. We found traces of it in the parking lot. It’s a fuel that is common in camping stoves and lanterns. The arsonist must have spilled some before starting the fire. And the trash can had been moved up against the—”
“Whacha got?” a booming voice behind me called. “I heard you have a preliminary—”
He stopped mid-sentence. I found myself facing Detective Steve Wolfe, who looked like he was about to have a stroke.
“You!” He wagged a finger at me. “You’re interfering with an investigation. I warned you.” He pulled out his handcuffs. “You are under arrest.”
“Hold on,” Ben said. “I invited her. This investigation in currently under the jurisdiction of the arson squad and that is me.”
Judging by Detective Wolfe’s beet-red face, he knew he couldn’t stop Ben from talking with me. He put his handcuffs away.
“Why are you here?” Ben asked Detective Wolfe. “You’re a homicide detective. This fire didn’t involve murder, only property damage, and not that much since it was extinguished so quickly.”
“The brass thinks this case is possibly related to a homicide at the aquarium. I’m not so sure.”
Something had been bothering me, but up until this moment, I couldn’t put my finger on it. Now I knew what was wrong.
“I always thought fire spreads quickly,” I said. “But this fire was contained to one section. How come it didn’t spread through the entire aquarium?”
“Because we probably arrived within seconds of the fire igniting,” Ben said. “A contingent of Clam Cove fire fighters had just put out a small oven fire in a house up the road. They were returning to town, and as they drove past the aquarium, a few of the fire fighters noticed flames by the building. If they hadn’t been there at that moment, I think the whole facility would have been destroyed.”
“Did the fire fighters see anyone driving away from the scene?”
“Yes. But we’ve been unable to identify the car or driver. The fire fighters saw a convertible, possibly silver or gray, speed out of the parking lot just before the fire trucks turned into the entrance.
“A silver convertible?” I repeated.
Sam Wong drove a silver convertible.
Chapter Forty-one
“What’s so urgent that you needed to see me today, Mrs. Farrell?” Early the next morning, Sam Wong slid into a chair across from me at Pirate Pete’s Coffee Shop. Abby had called him and set up this meeting.
“Where were you Wednesday?” I asked. “A little before midnight?”
“Why do you want to know?”
“There was a fire at the aquarium.”
“What? You think I did it?” His eyes blazed with anger.
I’d been too blunt. I wasn’t the police, and he didn’t have to respond to my questions. But tact had never been my long suit.
“The fire fighters noticed a convertible, possibly a silver one, whizzing out of the parking lot around midnight,” I said. “You have a silver convertible.”
“The aquarium borders on the Hamptons, Mrs. Farrell. Lots of people here have convertibles.”
“So, you’re not going to tell me where you were?”
“Of course, I’ll tell you. He sighed. “I was home redoing my resume. I’ve officially resigned from Moray Industries. I walked out the door Tuesday at five for the last time.”
“Can anyone verify that you were home Wednesday night?”
Sam shook his head. “No. I was alone. Mama Grizzly delivered a bonus check from Lucien Moray but that was early evening. A little after six.”
“Mama Grizzly delivered your check? That’s service.”
He grinned. “She lives down the road from my house. But to tell the truth, I was surprised. Mama Grizzly never goes out of her way for anyone, except Lucien Moray. He probably told her to bring it to me. Lucien can be considerate when he wants.” Sam paused. “I didn’t expect the check. It was a generous gesture.”
“I thought you were staying with Moray through December?”
“I was. But I finished what I was working on. Moray is in-between projects, so this is a good time to leave.”
Sam glanced at his watch, then rose from his chair. “If there’s nothing else, I need to get going.”
“Just one more quick question,” I said. Sam frowned but didn’t leave, so I quickly spoke. “Wouldn’t it have served you better to leave after you landed another job?”
Sam shook his head. “No. I just would have been assigned another project, and Lucien doesn’t take kindly to staff leaving in the midst of an assignment. Since I plan to use him as a reference, I need him to think highly of me. Besides, if I were still there, I’d procrastinate about leaving. I need a change in my life now.”
“What do you plan to do?”
He paused. “I’m not sure. I may not stay in law. I’m going to take my time. I’ll probably move to Connecticut and work part-time as a judo instructor in my cousin’s jujitsu and karate school until I make my decision. Combined with my bonus check, that should keep me going for a while.”
A thought flashed through my mind. I had assumed that since Sam was small and slight, he wouldn’t have the strength to push Katie into a tank of sea snakes. But if he had expertise in martial arts, that made it a different story.
Sam left, and the waitress refilled my cup. I sat back, gazing through the window at the whitecaps on the bay and sipping my coffee. I recalled all that had transpired the last few weeks.
I vaguely remembered seeing another convertible recently. I had spotted the car in the Moray Industries parking lot. But it wasn’t Sam’s car. His convertible was silver while this one was ash gray.
What Sam had said was true. Convertibles were popular on eastern Long Island—there were certainly more than two.
Moray had a vested interest in seeing that the aquarium didn’t reach its financial goal. Monday, I would search the Moray Industries parking lot for the convertible and the employee who owned it.
*****
“Why are you concentrating so intently?” I asked Abby as I stepped inside my house. My daughter was sitting in the kitchen, pencil in hand, newspaper spread open on the table. “And why are you here?”
“I’m here because I had to drop off papers for Dad and talk to him about the animal lover’s festival. But he’s in the shower, and you know how long that takes. Anyway, I’m working on the crossword puzzle while I wait.”
“You appear stumped.”
“I am. What’s a fifteen letter word for prescription drugs? The sixth and seventh letters are c and e.”
&
nbsp; I thought for a moment. “Pharmaceuticals,” I said. I loved puzzles.
As I headed toward the refrigerator, I stopped in my tracks.
“That’s it.” I snapped my fingers. “That’s what Kyle was saying.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Don’t you remember, Abby? The night we hid in the tall grasses by Ruby’s cottage when Kyle kayaked to the beach. We overheard snatches of conversation.”
“I remember. We made out three words: Thursday, earns, and farmer.
“Right. Only it wasn’t farmer with an f. It was a ph. We couldn’t hear the rest of what Kyle said but I bet it was ceutical. Pharmaceutical.”
Abby’s eyes widened. “Of course. Ruby and Kyle are smuggling prescription drugs. No wonder she doesn’t want a research camp adjacent to her property.”
I nodded. “Scientists staying at the camp might be out exploring at night and notice the flashing lights. With Moray’s condominium development, there’s the vacant land that acts as a buffer. Adjacent to the vacant land is the tennis court, which according to Moray’s proposal has no lighting—”
“So it wouldn’t be used at night.” Abby completed the thought. “What are you going to do now?”
“First thing, I need to clear my schedule for next Thursday night. I need—”
“Mom, are you crazy? You can’t take down a drug smuggling operation.”
I held up my hand. “On Monday, I’m calling the Drug Enforcement Agency. I’ll let them handle it. But I’ll be hiding in the tall grasses watching them make an arrest.”
“Why must you be there?”
“I need to see what happens. Whoever would have thought the controversy surrounding the land acquisition involved drug smuggling? You have to admit, this is a terrific addition to my story.”