The Black Widow - Mark Kane Mysteries - Book Three: A Private Investigator Crime Series of Murder, Mystery, Suspense & Thriller Stories...with a dash of Romance

by John Hemmings

  “Well we’ll just have to keep digging. That’s our job, isn’t it? Let’s at least give it another couple of days. We’ll see what Paul knows about the bar and maybe we can follow that up. We can’t just abandon Dale. Anyway Cary knows about the boat,” Lucy said.

  “I’ve already been there, Lucy. I don’t believe her – she’s just telling us what Dale wants us to hear.” We sat silently for a few minutes, and then I said: “Next time you go on vacation I’m going to insist that a chaperone goes with you. Why couldn’t you just have a normal vacation like everyone else?”

  Lucy went into a sulk as the taxi made its way along the coastal road back to the hotel. “It’s not my fault,” she said.

  I patted her leg. “I know,” I said. “I’m not blaming you, it’s just that it’s frustrating and there’s no end in sight.”

  Lucy was gazing out of the taxi window. Without turning her head, she said, “And dolphins aren’t all the same; they’ve got personalities. They reckon they’re more intelligent than people, too.”

  More intelligent than some people, maybe, I thought; but I kept that thought to myself.

  Chapter Seventeen

  The Big Picture

  Paul was as good as his word. He was waiting for us in the Café when Lucy and I arrived.

  “So how’s your investigation going,” he said. “Any luck?”

  “Not really, Paul. The key to helping Dale is to find some evidence that supports his claim about being given the boat by Larry. So far we haven’t found anyone who can verify that; except Cary, and I told you about my reservations in that regard. As you know, we’ve spoken to Gary and he at least confirms that Larry got into financial difficulties as a result of his investment in the bar with Dale. That tends to confirm what Dale told us – to the extent that Larry was in debt to him because of the bar. But it doesn’t corroborate Dale’s story that the boat was transferred to him by Larry in lieu of repayment. So far we haven’t met anyone who is able to confirm that.”

  The waitress approached and I ordered beers for Paul and myself. Paul asked Lucy what she’d like.

  “She’ll have a coconut juice,” I said. “Lucy’s not drinking any more alcohol for a while.” Lucy looked at me sheepishly.

  “One of us has got to keep a clear head,” she said to Paul.

  “So if you could ask around, Paul, to see if anyone else can help in that regard it would be very helpful. In the meantime, you were going to tell us something about the investment in the Olongapo bar. Gary was able to tell us a little about that, but he was a bit vague on the details, and he only knew what Dale told him; and it didn’t include the transfer of the boat.”

  “So did Gary tell you that the bar had to close because Larry couldn’t come up with his share of the money?”

  “That’s right, yes,” I said.

  “Well there was a bit more to it than that. I probably know more about it than Gary because I spoke to Larry about it at the time. It’s true about Larry having financial difficulties, and Larry himself told me that there was a bit of bad blood because of the shortfall – but I think they just used that as an excuse to get Larry out.”

  Paul took a sip of his beer before continuing.

  “The bar was to be a typical Philippine tourist bar. I’m sure you know what I mean; plenty of girls to drink with the customers – girls available for more than just drinks.” Paul looked uncomfortably in Lucy’s direction.

  “It’s okay Paul, Lucy’s a woman of the world.” I said. He smiled.

  “Well Larry was okay with that, but only if the girls were all adults. He was fiercely against any kind of exploitation. He was very much opposed to underage girls being permitted access to the bar. He told me it created friction – not with Dale, but with the local members of the syndicate who were involved as investors. All they were concerned about was maximizing profits. Larry believed that they used his inability to come up with his share of the cash as an excuse to get rid of him. He told me that he didn’t believe that the bar had to close because of his failure to come up with his full share of the cash. After all, they could easily have found an extra partner, or an alternative one – but that would’ve entailed returning to Dale and Larry the money they’d already paid. So he thought the whole thing was a con. It turned out he was right.”

  “You mean the bar didn’t close?” I said.

  “Yes and no. That venture, which included Dale of course, collapsed. But the local investors have since opened a bar at the exact same location. The name’s different than the one that was originally proposed, but it’s essentially the same bar, with the same group of investors – except that Dale and Larry are no longer part of it.”

  “And neither Dale nor Larry got any of the money back that they’d invested?” I said.

  “Exactly – it seems like they were swindled. Larry didn’t live long enough to see his suspicions realized, but the fact is that the local investors didn’t lose money as they claimed to Dale and Larry – on the contrary, it looks like they cheated Larry and Dale out of the money they’d already invested.”

  “I think I’d like to go and visit this bar,” I said. “What’s it called and where exactly is it?”

  “It’s now called The Firehouse – it’s in Manga Beach. It’s on the main street so it’ll be easy to find. I’m afraid I can’t tell you the names of any of the partners. They’re all locals now.”

  “Does Gary know about this?”

  “Probably not. I guess I took more of an interest with what happened to the bar after Larry and Dale lost their investment because of what Larry had told me about his suspicions. I haven’t spoken to Gary about it, and I haven’t seen Dale for months so I never had a chance to talk about it with him either.”

  “Well thanks, Paul. Your information has been very helpful. But I’d be grateful if you could follow up on the boat thing. Let me know if you come across anyone who may be able to confirm the transfer of the boat to Dale.”

  Paul said he’d do his best and Lucy and I went back to the hotel.

  “Well that gets rid of one set of suspects,” I said. “If what Paul says is true then the local investors had no axe to grind with Larry.”

  “Is there any point for us to visit the bar, then?” Lucy said.

  “Not really,” I said, “except to see what kinds of assholes are running the place, and see if I can confirm what Paul has just told us. I’m sure he’s told us the truth as he understands it, but he’s probably relying on word of mouth – perhaps gossip. If we can confirm what he’s told us then it removes the bar owners from any suspicion regarding Larry’s death. If what Paul says is true then they owe Larry’s widow ten thousand bucks and Dale thirty thousand. That would be more than enough to pay my fee.”

  “Do you think we can get the money back, then?”

  “No, I’m afraid we’re out of our depth here. What Paul told us may well be true but it’s not evidence. No doubt the bar owners have the local police in their pockets – they’d have to if they’re operating a bar with underage girls. I expect the local police will be getting their cut too.”

  “Do you think Cary knows about all this?”

  “I guess not, or she’d probably have said something. But from the point of view of our investigation it at least narrows the field. From what Paul told us the bar owners had no reason to want Larry harmed − they’d got what they wanted from him and Dale already.”

  “So that just leaves three suspects for the murder,” Lucy said, “Cary, the gang from Macau and the jilted suitor.”

  “Four including Dale,” I said. “But frankly I think we can discount the gang from Macau. People who want money from someone rarely want them dead.”

  “So that only leaves Cary, Dale and the jilted suitor then?”

  “As far as we know; but Larry seems to have led a complicated life. Maybe there are others we don’t know about,” I said. It was a sobering thought.

  We decided t
o spend the afternoon by the poolside and get a taxi to the bar in the evening. It was an opportunity for us to review what we’d learned from the investigation so far and see if we could narrow down the list of suspects further.

  “Let’s start with the jilted suitor,” I said. “I would put him at the bottom of the list as far as the suspects go. It doesn’t seem to me that his motive for wanting Larry out of the way bears much scrutiny. If he had arranged for Larry to be killed so that he could have another crack at Cary, then why dispose of the body that way? A missing person wouldn’t be presumed to be dead. I don’t know what the law is here, but back home you’d have to wait seven years before such a presumption is made – and don’t forget that Larry’s body was only found by chance. So if the theory is that he did it to get Larry out of the way so that he could have another go at Cary then it doesn’t make logical sense. It would have been more appropriate for him to have Larry killed in such a way that it appeared to be an accident – or death by an unknown assailant. That way Larry’s death wouldn’t have been in doubt and the path would have been clear for him to try his luck with Cary again. I think his involvement is too far-fetched and unlikely to keep him on the list of suspects.”

  “And you think the Macau gangsters can also be removed from the list?”

  “With the jilted suitor out of the picture the Macau loan sharks are at the bottom of the list as far as I’m concerned. According to Gary, most if not all of the original loan was paid off – the remaining sum was the exorbitant interest. I can’t think of any logical reason for them to kill the golden goose. So long as Larry was alive there was always the chance that they could recover some more money from him. Unsavory characters though they may be, they would essentially be businessmen. Dead men don’t repay debts. As far as I’m concerned that removes them from the list too.”

  “But that only leaves Dale and Cary,” Lucy said.

  “I’m afraid it does; either acting alone or together.”

  “But from what Paul and Gary have told us Cary doted on Larry. It doesn’t make sense that she’d want him dead.”

  “With Larry dead Cary gets the house and probably a substantial insurance payout. On the other hand, if what Paul and Gary have told us about their relationship is true – and we have no reason to believe otherwise – she’s not a person who would be motivated by greed; and she had the house anyway – it was all in her name. Divorce is forbidden in the Philippines of course, so if she had some reason for wanting to free herself from Larry for some reason unconnected with money then his death would be the only way forward. But what possible reason could there have been? I can’t think of any, can you?”

  “No, I can’t. And we’ve met Cary. I can’t bring myself to believe that she’d be connected with his death in any way – and wouldn’t the same argument that you made for the jilted suitor apply to Cary? If she wanted to be free of Larry for whatever reason she would have wanted his death to be known. She wouldn’t have any reason to dispose of his body in a way that might have resulted in him never being found.”

  “I agree. So I think this leads to an inevitable conclusion, don’t you? If we remove Cary from our list of suspects it only leaves Dale.”

  “I suppose you’re right,” Lucy said dejectedly, “by a process of elimination.”

  “I’m afraid Dale has always been the obvious suspect,” I said, “but because he’s our client – and your friend − we’ve been trying to find somewhere else to lay the blame. But let’s analyze the case against him carefully and objectively. I admit there’s really only the missing boat which points the finger at him, so let’s consider the evidence. First, we know that the boat was found in a mooring rented by Dale. Second, the name had been erased by painting it over. Third, I am sure that Cary didn’t know that Dale had the boat when she reported Larry’s disappearance and fourth no-one else is apparently aware of the transfer of the boat to Dale. Now we have to consider the implications of all these facts. Is there anything I’ve missed?”

  “I don’t think so.”

  “Okay, let’s consider the first of these points. If Larry had voluntarily transferred the boat to Dale why would he have found it necessary to move the mooring? I can’t think of any reason for that.”

  “No,” Lucy said. “Neither can I.”

  “The second point then. Is Dale’s explanation for painting over the name a plausible one? You remember the reason he gave us when we went to see him in Manila”

  “Yes, I remember” Lucy said. She’d stood up now, walked over to the railings and was gazing out over the ocean. “It’s not really plausible is it? It might be a bit more believable if he’d actually changed the name, but he said he was only thinking of changing the name. And anyway, why bother to change the name at all. When you look at everything objectively it doesn’t really make sense.”

  “I think we can deal with points three and four together,” I said, standing up and going over to join Lucy. I could see she was miserable. I put my arm around her to comfort her.

  “In my opinion, it’s too far-fetched to accept that nobody except Dale would have known about the transfer – that he wouldn’t have at least mentioned it to someone else, or that Larry wouldn’t have mentioned it; maybe not to Cary, but to someone. Whatever Cary may say about it now, her report to the police following Larry’s disappearance proves that she didn’t know about it at the time. As I said before, I’m sure she’s changed her story to lend credibility to Dale’s account, and she’s done so at his request. But it does raise an important question. Why would she do that?”

  “I guess there are only two possible explanations,” Lucy said. “Either she knows that Dale isn’t responsible for Larry’s death, or she believes his protestations of innocence and she’s trying to protect him.”

  “If the first explanation is correct then it suggests that she knows who was responsible,” I said. “If the second is correct then it’s just a simple act of friendship. But it still begs the question of why she’d stick her neck out for him like that.”

  “Anyway, it doesn’t help because she can’t change her story to the police now.”

  “Well, only if she says that she only found out about the transfer of the boat after she made the report. But then she’d have to explain how she found out. Saying that Dale told her so isn’t going to cut the mustard.”

  “So you think there’s nothing more that we can do? We’ll just have to let events take their course and Dale will have to take his chances in court one day.” Lucy said. She seemed resigned to that now.

  “I’m prepared to fly back to Manila for another meeting with Dale,” I said. “We know a lot more about the background to this case now. If he’s really innocent it’s time for him to cut the crap and be frank with us. I don’t think we’ve been told the whole story – not by a long way.”

  Lucy decided it was time to cool off. She dived into the pool and then floated on her back. After a few minutes she clambered out and went to sit at a table under a parasol. We’d brought a cold-bag with some drinks and Lucy fumbled about inside it trying to find something non-alcoholic. Finally she found herself a coke and cracked open a can of San Miguel for me.

  “You know there’s still the question of motive,” she said. “We don’t know of any motive for Dale to have killed Larry. He can’t have done it for the boat.”

  “Motive isn’t something that the prosecutor needs to prove in a murder case. At least it’s not in the States and I’d be surprised if it was any different here. The case against Dale is circumstantial – based upon inference. I have to say it’s not the strongest of cases though, because there’s no evidence as to the cause of death. I’ve been thinking about that, and I have a theory that may explain the absence of apparent motive.”

  “How do you mean?” Lucy said.

  “From everything we’ve learned about this case and the people concerned it seems unlikely to me that Larry was intentionally killed. I’m inclined to
the view that perhaps Dale killed him accidentally. There may have been a fight, perhaps because of the tension caused by Dale losing what can only be described as a substantial amount of money. Despite what Paul told us this afternoon Dale would have considered Larry responsible. I appreciate that it’s only speculation on my part, but it’s speculation based on a number of factors. If Larry was killed by Dale accidentally it makes more sense of the big picture.”

  “But if it was an accident why doesn’t he say so?”

  “Well if I’m right he’s rather dug a hole for himself now.”

  “How do you mean?” said Lucy. She’d returned to a sunbed and she turned towards me, raising herself on one elbow as she did so.

  “Let’s follow my theory through. Suppose Dale killed Larry accidentally. The fight might have occurred on the boat itself or it might have occurred somewhere else. Either way Dale may have been frightened to admit he was responsible for the death. Perhaps he panicked. But his actions since then will only have made things more difficult. If he supplies that explanation in court now, he may not be believed – even if it’s the truth.”

  Lucy thought this over for a while. “I think we should go back and see him again. If your theory’s correct then it would be better for him to make a clean breast of it as soon as possible.”

  “I agree. It’s possible Cary might be able to help him in that regard.”

  “How?”

  “Well as I said a few minutes ago, looking at the big picture and assuming my theory to be correct it’s possible that Cary knows it was an accident. It would explain why she’s willing to stick her neck out for him about the boat. She may even have been present when Larry died. You remember the photograph she showed us? The three of them used to go out on the boat together. If Larry was killed accidentally whilst they were at sea and his body either fell or was thrown overboard she may have been there. That might also explain why she’d identified the body even though it was apparently in an unidentifiable state when it was found. It may have had nothing to do with the teeth. She knew it was him because she was there when he was thrown overboard. All this is speculation, but don’t you see how the pieces of the jigsaw fit neatly together when viewed in this way?”