Rising Tide

by Patricia Twomey Ryan

  As soon as they spotted Emily they walked over.

  ‘Well, my dear! I hope you have lots of sunscreen on,’ Marietta said. Turning to Peggy, she added, ‘And I certainly hope you’re careful with that baby. She shouldn’t be in the sun at all. The worst damage can be done when they’re young.’

  ‘Oh, don’t worry, Marietta,’ Peggy said. ‘I’m more than careful. Those swimming clothes, her hat – all UV protection. And she’s got SPF fifty all over her.’

  Marietta arched an eyebrow. ‘It’s you, of course,’ she whispered, leaning towards Peggy.

  Peggy tried to pretend she didn’t know what she was talking about, but that would never work with Marietta.

  ‘The witness, that “Peggy”. It’s you, isn’t it?’

  Peggy nodded.

  ‘I knew as soon as I heard it on TV. Everyone is talking about it. Of course, Martin’s sister-in-law should never have said anything to that reporter. What is wrong with her? I can’t abide people like that. Always wanting attention, talking about things they know nothing about, and to the press, no less. Don’t people realize what happens when they talk to the press?’ Emily laughed to hear Marietta speak about the press like this, as she herself wrote a society column in one of New York’s newspapers. ‘Does she understand nothing?’

  Maggie poured a shovelful of sand on her head and started to wail. Before Peggy could grab her, Nora had swooped down to pick her up. ‘Here, let me take her,’ she said to Peggy, and with that she started dusting the sand away and singing a silly song. Maggie immediately started giggling, leaving Peggy at Marietta’s mercy.

  ‘Did you recognize the young man?’ Marietta asked.

  ‘No, I didn’t recognize him. And I didn’t see him with Ariana. Joanne got that all wrong. It was just a young man on the path. I didn’t see anything. And I think I’d rather not talk about it anymore.’

  ‘Of course, of course. How insensitive of me. Bothering you just when you’re trying to relax. Well, believe me, I know from experience that Inspector Moller will get to the bottom of this. Isn’t that right, Emily? Why, last year—’

  ‘Marietta,’ Emily said sternly.

  ‘Oh, there I go again. Well, let’s not talk about unpleasant topics. Speaking of Inspector Moller, Emily, tell me, how is that dalliance going?’

  For a moment, Emily almost wished Marietta would go back to talking about the murder investigation. ‘I’m afraid Thomas is too busy to think about any romance right now, Marietta.’

  ‘Pity. I saw the two of you at the wedding. You make a lovely couple. He’s so handsome – and so tall. Tall enough for you, and that can’t be easy to find.’

  ‘Marietta …’ Nora said, interrupting her singing to Maggie. ‘I don’t know how you manage it, but you do always tend to put your foot in your mouth.’

  ‘Don’t be silly, Nora. Emily knows what I mean. You don’t mind my saying that, do you, dear?’

  Emily laughed. ‘No, Marietta, I don’t mind.’

  ‘See, Nora, I told you.’

  ‘Well, I think we’ve overstayed our welcome,’ Nora said, handing Maggie back to Peggy. ‘And we wanted to head up to the main house to pick up some more sunscreen before we head back to our room.’

  Emily and Peggy laughed as Marietta and Nora walked off. It felt good, Emily thought. They settled down in their lounge chairs, Maggie content to lie quietly in Peggy’s lap. Emily checked her watch. ‘My God, it’s almost four o’clock,’ she said.

  ‘That’s hard to believe. I’m hoping Maggie will fall asleep here. I might even close my eyes as well. I’m exhausted,’ Peggy said, her eyelids already drooping.

  Emily watched the crowd contentedly. She could see Martin’s sister, Alice, swaying in a nearby hammock, her white beach hat shading her face. Nearby, her husband was stretched out on a lounge chair. His book was overturned on his belly and his eyes were decidedly shut. One of the bar boys came by and picked up the two empty glasses standing in the sand. He walked toward Emily, but she held her finger up to her lips, pointing to Peggy and Maggie. A broad smile covered his face as he made his way to the young man sitting by himself a little further down the beach.

  It was strange to see someone alone on the beach at the Bluffs, a place where couples dominated, but perhaps things were different with the wedding, Emily thought. Like Peggy, not all the guests would have a significant other. She had thought her significant other would be Thomas, but it was clear that, for the second time, Emily would spend most of her stay here alone.

  The young man shook his head no to the bar boy. He didn’t say anything or smile, just returned to the magazine he was reading. He must be here by himself, Emily thought. No lounge chair next to him; no sense he was waiting for anyone. Occasionally he would pick his head up and look around the beach, but only to observe.

  Emily’s eyes moved on to a couple closer to the water, their chairs at an angle as if to catch the last of the afternoon sun. The man was dark and muscular, his skin like mocha. The woman was tall and blonde – striking – and it took Emily only a moment to recognize the voluptuous body, slick with oil, concealed only slightly by a neon-green bikini. Emily couldn’t help chuckling. Officer Turner. Once again, Thomas had assigned his trusted young officer to keep watch. Clearly, the young man with her was a fellow policeman. Their presence immediately made Emily feel more comfortable, and no one on the beach would suspect their real purpose.

  Billy had picked a lounge chair with the perfect view – to one side the neon-green bikini woman and to the other the redhead and the one with the baby. He couldn’t decide which view was better. He pretended to read his magazine but behind his sunglasses his eyes kept a constant vigil. Not much to see, however. They talked to a couple of people − the two old women, the egret and the dumpy one. Dykes, even from here he could tell. Other than that they just sat there. The mother and baby slept for a while. He thought about taking them out here; he could do it. Just shoot and run. The little girl woke up for a moment and played with her mother’s hair.

  He could see the doors to their rooms, right next to each other. The lights had been fixed. He’d hoped they wouldn’t get around to it that quickly; he’d wanted to have some darkness down here after the sun went down, but this was the Bluffs – things like that always got done quickly. It was getting late, the sun was losing some of its heat and guests began gathering up their stuff to head back to their rooms. Soon the beach would be empty and he would have to find a new place to wait.

  Peggy and Maggie slept for half an hour, until Peggy woke with a start. ‘Oh! Emily, I can’t believe I actually fell sound asleep. I had the strangest dream. I was at the airport waiting to get on the plane, only it was all wrong … it was so dark, full of staircases that went nowhere. And I couldn’t find Maggie. I was running up and down calling her name and all of a sudden Ted was there, carrying her, and she was dressed in a Christmas tree costume. Isn’t that weird? What time is it?’

  ‘Quarter to five. I was going to head in to watch the press conference.’ She paused. ‘Do you want to come?’ she asked, putting her book in her bag.

  Billy was relieved when he saw them gathering their stuff. He had to catch that news conference. As soon as they turned their backs, he started walking casually toward the employee parking lot. He couldn’t move his car now – someone might notice. He’d have to walk out. He knew that the press conference was scheduled for five; he needed to hurry. The lot was empty, as usual, so he walked through it, down the dirt roadway and onto the street. He walked to his left, to a broke-down beach bar. He’d been there before and knew they had a TV that hung on the wall. It usually played sports, mostly Caribbean or European soccer, but he knew that everywhere would have the news conference on.

  Emily was happy to get into the coolness of the suite. The overhead fan whirled a slight breeze and as always there was a plate with fruit and cheese next to a chilled bottle of white wine on the table. Peggy put Maggie down on the carpet and ran next door to get her formula
. While she was gone Emily poured two glasses of wine and turned on the TV.

  Thomas’ face and voice seemed to fill the room. He looked worn out – eyelids heavy, hair just disheveled enough to give it away. Emily knew he had gotten little sleep. The slowness of the investigation was eating him up. He spoke carefully and deliberately. First, a review of what they knew for sure − which still wasn’t that much. Then the possible leads, rumors and suppositions. Here there was more.

  Thomas let the reporters know that they were doing extensive interviews with Ariana’s friends and classmates. He again called for anyone who had been at Charlie’s on Saturday night to contact the police. He tried to dispel some of the more salacious rumors and then moved on to the real meat of the press conference.

  First, he released Peggy’s full name, though most of the reporters had already figured it out. He corrected Joanne’s faulty version of what Peggy had seen, emphasizing several times that she hadn’t seen anyone with Ariana. Then he addressed the bracelet. He read out the inscription and revealed the name of the owner. The expected furor ensued. How did the girl get the bracelet? Did someone give it to her? Did she steal it? Did someone else steal it? Had they interviewed people at the Bluffs? Staff? Guests? When did the owner notice it missing?

  Emily and Peggy were tense as they watched. They knew this would mean a great deal of unwanted attention at the Bluffs and they could only imagine the stories in tomorrow’s papers. Emily dreaded the story of the bracelet being out there, but she dreaded the speculation even more. How could Christiaan and Katrien possibly deal with all of that?

  As the reporters shouted their questions, their voices getting louder and louder as they tried to get Thomas’ attention, Peggy realized that Thomas wasn’t kidding when he mentioned Maggie’s picture being on the front page. These people were ravenous for anything, fact or fiction. It didn’t seem to matter.

  ‘I’m glad we’re leaving tomorrow,’ she said quietly. Emily said nothing.

  Thomas ended the press conference with the most important piece of new information – the sketch. The young man, he said, was simply wanted for questioning. He stressed – more than once – that he was not a suspect. It hardly made a difference. The questions poured forth. Any idea who this man was? Was he a friend of the dead girl? Was this the young man seen at the Bluffs? Or had he been seen at Charlie’s? Thomas refused to give them much more. He made a plea for the young man, or anyone who recognized him, to please come forward and then left the podium.

  TWENTY-FIVE

  The minute he saw the sketch, he knew − she had to go. He put the last of his beer down on the bar and looked around. Six people. All of them had just watched that press conference and seen that sketch. Would any of them recognize him? Maybe not now, not yet, but if that sketch was on the front page of the morning papers, soon. Was it a good enough likeness? Probably not with the baseball cap and sunglasses on, but he couldn’t wear those forever. And only she could really identify him. The older lady already said she couldn’t. The gun itched against his hip.

  He left the bar quickly, averting his eyes from the people around him. He headed to the parking lot and quickly changed into his khaki pants and white shirt. That sketch was close, he thought, but probably not close enough. As casually as he could, he walked the narrow path to the service shack behind the main house. Slipping in the side door, he quickly grabbed one of the white polo shirts with the Bluff’s staff logo on it. Better. This would probably get him back onto the grounds. For extra insurance, he grabbed a serving tray from a side table on his way back to the car.

  Less than two hours till dark. Enough time to get back to his apartment and get what he needed. He had to remind himself to drive slowly. He couldn’t get stopped. He could feel his mind speeding up, jumping from one thought to another. His eyes darted around the road before him, searching side roads and oncoming cars. As he reached San Nicolas, he put the baseball cap back on. He scanned the sidewalks and alleys for any sign of the police, and he followed the eyes of every pedestrian. Were people looking at him? Recognizing him?

  By the time he got to his apartment, his shirt was soaked with sweat. When Rico said no AC he hadn’t thought it would be this bad. But he was smart to be using this car – by the time he got it back to Rico tonight everything would be settled. The sun rippled the sidewalk and its glare stung his eyes as he walked down the deserted street. He knew he only had a short amount of time to pull this off.

  It took him just a few minutes to pick up what he needed – dark pants and a black long-sleeved shirt, a length of rope, a knife, a bandana and the truncheon he had picked up in the alley behind Senor Frog’s. He threw everything into his backpack and changed into the white Island Bluffs shirt. With the shirt and his khaki pants he’d definitely pass. He dropped a couple of pills in his mouth as he walked out the door and within a few minutes he was whistling as he drove.

  Emily and Peggy watched the evening news for a while, anxious to see what kind of reaction the press conference was getting. They showed a clip of Thomas giving Peggy’s full name and then, to Peggy and Emily’s dismay, a photograph of Peggy and, just as Thomas had predicted, one of Maggie. ‘Where the hell could they have gotten those photos?’ Peggy said, overtaken with alarm. ‘I can’t believe this.’

  The next clip was Thomas talking about the bracelet, followed by a picture of the model and a reading of the inscription. Several people gave their opinion as to how the bracelet might have figured into the story − whether Ariana might have stolen it, an ‘expert’ who spoke about kleptomania, and a discussion about whether it could have been given to her. There was a short segment about the Bluffs, with pictures and clips of the previous interview with Joanne Maitland.

  The phone rang just as the news ended. ‘Emily? It’s Annie. We’d like you and Peggy to join us up at the house for dinner. We’re serving in the dining room, but we thought you might prefer something quiet.’

  ‘Hold on, Annie. Let me check with Peggy.’

  Peggy quickly agreed. ‘I couldn’t face all those people in the dining room. Everyone staring at us. They don’t mean any harm, but it’s so uncomfortable.’

  Emily let Annie know.

  ‘Good,’ Annie said. ‘Dinner will be early – six-thirty.’

  ‘We have about a half hour to waste,’ Emily said. ‘Why don’t we take Maggie for a walk before we head up to Annie’s?’

  The heat of the day had dissipated, accompanied by a pleasant breeze. The sky was turning a deep purple with patches of grey clouds. Emily and Peggy walked the length of the bay beach and then through the garden paths. Without saying anything, they both took care to stay in the lit areas. ‘I guess you have no idea where things stand with Thomas?’ Peggy asked as they walked.

  ‘No, not at all. I mean, I know things were going well after the wedding. More than well. But since Ariana’s body was found there’s been … he’s been so busy.’

  ‘But you do care about him?’

  ‘I do. I just wish we could get some time together. I’m sure he does as well. Last night, we walked along the sea wall and just talked. Mostly about the investigation. Then about teenagers, their complications – boyfriends, girlfriends, school. How painful this has been for Kat and Christiaan. How responsible Thomas feels. He would in any case, but here, with the connection to Annie and Martin … their being such close friends, and now the connection to the Bluffs …’

  ‘I know. It must be so hard for them. Have you noticed any increased security?’ For a moment, Peggy sounded frightened. ‘I mean, I haven’t, but …’

  Emily laughed. ‘Oh, they’re there. If you didn’t know you’d never realize … Did you see the girl on the beach in the neon-green bikini?’

  ‘How could you miss her?’ Peggy said. ‘I think everyone on the beach noticed her. And the guy with her.’

  ‘Well, those two are the extra security. Or at least, part of it.’ And then Emily told her the story of how the very voluptuous Miss Turner had actua
lly saved her life last year.

  ‘Wow. Good to know,’ Peggy said, smiling. ‘I’ll make sure I stay real close to her on the beach tomorrow.’

  Neither of them noticed the young man who stood watching in the distance by the beach bar. He looked like every other server – a white towel over his arm and two empty glasses balanced on his tray. If they had watched closely though, they would have seen him veer around the bar, place his tray and glasses in a nearby bush and head for the rooms along the beach.

  When they reached the house, they found Annie, her brother Christopher and his partner Henri. ‘Martin’s down in the dining room. I just couldn’t face it, not yet,’ Annie said. ‘I promised him I’d go down tomorrow.’

  ‘I think he’s worried about you, Annie,’ Christopher said, placing his hand on hers. ‘He sees how upset you are … He adores her, you know,’ he said, turning to Emily.

  ‘Oh, Chris,’ Annie said with a smile, ‘stop.’

  Dinner was quiet. Maggie was the center of attention as she smeared mashed potatoes on her tray with great concentration.

  ‘Oh, Maggie. No, stop …’ Peggy said.

  ‘No, no, leave her,’ Henri said with his thick French accent. ‘She is painting.’

  ‘Annie, I haven’t told you yet, but Maggie and I are leaving tomorrow.’

  ‘Tomorrow?’ Annie sounded surprised. ‘Have you told Thomas?’

  ‘No. I only made the reservation earlier. Ted wants us home and I don’t think I have anything more to offer this investigation.’