Valentine's Day is Murder

by Arnold, Carolyn

  “They could have used a flashlight.”

  “No. I’m not buying it. First off, he was quick to recognize Jimmy. Why? They must have many tourists through here.”

  “As far as he knew, Jimmy left his date alone. That drama would stand out to him.”

  “Yes, I suppose.” Sara let her eyes drift to the water. As they skimmed its surface, she brought her gaze closer to the edge of the pool. That is when she spotted it. She sat up straighter, peeked over a shoulder and addressed Sean. “Darling, look in the water. See? It’s about six inches out from the edge. Can you reach it?”

  Sean turned toward the pool and slipped his hand into the water. He came up with the small object pinched between his fingers. He tucked it into a pocket just as Paul returned.

  “Dessert?”

  “The bill, please.” Sean put his Visa on the table.

  “Certainly.” Paul’s gaze traveled over the two of them, carrying displeasure and contradicting his statement.

  Sara suspected there was more to it than their rejecting a sweet finish to their meal.

  On the way out, they stopped by the hostess, and Sean showed Jimmy’s picture to her. “Do you recognize him?”

  She glanced at the photo but gave it no thought. “No.”

  “Were you were working last night?”

  “No. I’m sorry. Please excuse me.”

  She bustled out of sight, on some random mission, that left a couple waiting to be seated.

  -

  Chapter 10

  PIRATES?

  MAKING THEIR WAY DOWN THE hill in darkness, strangers pressed to the front and back of them, sending tingles up Sara’s spine. Was Jimmy’s abductor in this crowd? Did they know about them? Or was her imagination getting the best of her?

  Sean insisted on her leading while he sheltered her from behind. His reasoning, while it was sound, still didn’t sit well with her. She wouldn’t forgive herself if anything happened to him.

  They made it to the road, and the streetlights, despite being dim, cast much-needed illumination. Sara turned around and, besides other patrons, she didn’t see anyone who stood out to her.

  “I say we go back to the resort and we’ll check out our little find from the pool.” Sean tapped his pocket and then reached for her hand.

  SARA SAT ON THE END of the bed and took off her heels. She rubbed her toes. The incline of the hill had wreaked havoc on the balls of her feet. “Why did you pay by Visa at the restaurant?”

  “If your feeling is right about Paul, I want them to know who we are.”

  “Are you sure about that?”

  “If they know who they’re up against—”

  “Darling, we’re ex-cops, licensed PIs, nothing more. You’re not Rambo.”

  It warranted a laugh from Sean. “Come on, you mean you don’t think of me like that?”

  “Sean, be serious. The people who took Jimmy are dangerous. They abducted him from a public place.”

  “Yeah, under the cover of night.”

  “Still.”

  “Yes, I know what you mean.” He pulled out the item he had taken from the water before he plopped onto the bed beside her. He held it up, pinched between his thumb and index finger.

  “A gold coin?” Sara took it from him, releasing her hold on her foot. “What would this be doing there?”

  “It was in a pool of water. Someone making a wish?”

  “No, this has to do with Jimmy’s abduction. I feel it. The question is what it has to do with it.”

  “So, someone comes up behind Jimmy while Meredith is in the washroom.”

  “They either hold a gun on him or drug him somehow, get him to go with them.”

  “And make it appear as if he left willingly.”

  Sara elaborated. “But if they drugged him, how did they get him down the hill?”

  “Good question. Although, I did see a few vehicles at the top. There must be a way to drive up there too.”

  “So whoever took Jimmy likely had a vehicle they carted him off in.” Sara’s attention went back to the coin. “But where does this fit in?”

  “Are you sure you want my opinion?”

  “Of course I do.”

  “Pirates.”

  “Pirates?” She giggled. “You think our friend was taken by pirates?”

  “Stranger things have happened.”

  With the seriousness of Sean’s words, she gave honest consideration to his suggestion. Did pirates have Jimmy? If so, how would they get him back?

  PAUL TUCKED INTO A CORNER of the kitchen. As the staff hurried around him, his world slowed down. If the boss found out the abducted man had people looking for him, everyone would pay. He’d had a bad feeling when he saw them with the women, but to have them come around and ask about the man? He was quickly getting in over his head.

  He picked up the receiver and dialed. As he waited, he paced the few feet the phone cord would allow. Each ring burrowed into his brain. By the fourth, it was answered.

  “What is it, Paul?”

  They obviously had caller ID.

  “We have company.” Paul’s eyes darted around to the chefs and support staff. None of them gave him a second’s glance.

  “Did you take care of the other issue?”

  His palm went sweaty against the receiver, but it wasn’t from the heat. He was accustomed to that. Failure wasn’t acceptable and he would pay heavily. He hoped that the information he had to provide would compensate for his delay in killing the woman. “Did you hear what I said? We have company.”

  “Paul, Paul, you worry too much.”

  “You want them showing up? Surprising the boss? Then fine. It’s your life on the line.” He was prepared to hang up but slowed the motion when he heard the protest from the other end.

  “Who are you talking about?”

  Paul remembered the name on the credit card. While he didn’t have the resources to find out who the man was, the person Paul spoke to did. “Sean McKinley. I believe he and his woman are American.”

  “There are two of them?”

  Paul’s throat stitched shut. He bobbed his head.

  “Paul?”

  “Yes.” He’d temporarily failed to realize his nod wouldn’t be seen across the line.

  “You take care of this immediately.”

  “I have the rest of my shift to—”

  “You won’t have to worry about another one if you don’t handle this.”

  “You want me to kill them?”

  “You bring them to us. And, Paul, if I were you, I’d take care of that woman you were supposed to kill earlier today.”

  “And what are you going to do?” The inquiry left his mouth before he’d thought it through. He was in no position to question the boss’s right-hand man.

  “I’m going to wait for you to prove yourself.”

  With that, the line went dead. Paul knew what he had to do, but he never took pleasure in it.

  -

  Chapter 11

  AYE-AYE

  SEAN’S CELL PHONE RANG AND the caller ID showed it was Adam. The consideration that pirates took Jimmy had waylaid their logical progression of the investigation.

  “You’re on speaker. How did you make out with Clara?” To verbalize the notion that they were suspecting Blackbeard and his men wasn’t something he wanted to share right now.

  “She doesn’t have anything to do with this.”

  “How can you be so sure?” Sean passed Sara a look and she smirked. She was likely thinking the same thing. If they let Adam in on their suspicions, would he conclude his new employers were crazy? A part of Sean even wondered if they were delirious from the heat to give it a second’s consideration.

  “She still loves him. She’d never put him in danger. I have a lead, though.”
/>   “Who?”

  “Clara was recently seeing a man by the name of Ralph Hudson. They broke it off but get this. It wasn’t long after she mentioned your names to him.” Adam waited for a few beats and continued when neither Sean nor Sara said anything. “I think maybe he’s gone after Jimmy to get to you.”

  “I think we should tell him, Sean.”

  “Tell me what?” Adam asked.

  “Yeah, Sara, tell him what?”

  She batted Sean’s arm. “We have a lead, but we’re not certain if it ties back to home.”

  “What do you mean?”

  Hearing Adam’s direct inquiry snapped something loose in Sean’s mind. If they were going to operate on the thought that pirates were involved with Jimmy’s disappearance, they were closing their eyes to everything else. Narrowing in on one piece of evidence—if it was that—could taint their vision. There still wasn’t a logical reason why pirates would even know Jimmy, let alone want him for any purpose. If it was to extract money from him and Sara, why wasn’t a demand already made?

  “Sean? Sara?”

  When Sean’s mouth wouldn’t form the words, Sara spoke. “We found a gold coin.”

  “A gold coin?”

  “Yes.”

  “All right. I’m not sure what that has to do with anything unless you think pirates have him.” Adam laughed.

  Sean and Sara remained quiet.

  “You think pirates have Jimmy?”

  Sean managed to speak. “We don’t know what to think right now. Some questions don't have answers.”

  “Yeah, like why would pirates want Jimmy?”

  “That’s the big one, yes.”

  “I think you should keep digging back home, Adam. It doesn’t hurt to cover all our bases,” Sean said.

  “You’re thinking that pirates are somehow connected to back home?”

  “Right now, we don’t know. That’s the thing. Can you help us?”

  “Absolutely. Actually, I tracked Ralph down. I’m getting ready to speak with him right now.”

  “Good stuff. Let us know what you find out.” Sean disconnected the call and turned to Sara. “So, we don’t know why pirates would want Jimmy—or even know him—and now we’re thinking they’re connected back home somehow?”

  “I don’t know what to think anymore, Sean.” She let out a huge yawn. “Only one thing seems apparent. They’re not after our money or they would have called by now.”

  Sean held up the gold coin. “If money’s not a concern, how can we save Jimmy?”

  Sara shook her head. “I don’t know, darling.”

  ADAM WAS OUTSIDE OF A pool hall in a bad part of town. He didn’t need to live in Albany to make that call. Bouncers in leather jackets flanked the door—one to each side, standing sentinel.

  He didn’t know what he had expected when he’d called Sean and Sara, but to hear pirates being high on their suspect list, that came as a shock. A part of him had given hope to the thought they would call him off and tell them they had everything under control. He wasn’t so fortunate. He’d have to face the challenge and live a little longer outside of his comfort zone.

  “It doesn’t hurt to cover our bases,” Adam mumbled as he pulled on the door and entered, the glares of the guard baboons hot on his shoulders.

  Ralph Hudson’s background was clean from a legal standpoint, but based on where he liked to hang out, Adam questioned if it had more to do with not getting caught.

  He spotted Ralph standing in a corner, slinging back a shot of amber liquid. He followed it with a beer chaser. Ralph’s jeans were tattered and his arms were riddled with tattoos. Yes, it seemed more likely, judging a book by its cover, that Ralph had escaped the law rather than that he was innocent.

  Ralph’s eyes glazed over Adam but drifted about the room until Adam stopped in front of him.

  Adam swallowed, the lump going down as a jagged rock.

  “Who are you?” Ralph slurred his words. The alcohol concoction was not his first of the night.

  “It doesn’t matter—”

  Ralph shoved his hand into Adam’s shoulder, jolting Adam back a few steps in order to keep his balance.

  “I asked who you are.”

  “My name is Steve.” Adam lowered the zipper on his jacket. It suddenly felt suffocating. It was either from lying—a practice to which he wasn’t accustomed—or due to the fact Ralph towered over him by at least five inches. The trace of a thought reminded him he had yet to face the Bulldozer—Meredith’s ex-husband—who was even taller than this guy.

  “What do you want, Steve?” Ralph dragged out his name.

  “You used to see Clara.”

  “You want her, she’s yours, but you’re a little young for her, ain’t ya?”

  What had Clara ever seen in him? To go from a man like Jimmy, to the realms of this? Somewhere along the way, she had lost both her confidence and self-worth.

  Adam was going to get to the point. “Do you know her ex?”

  “Nope, never met him.” Ralph held up his arm to the bartender, who nodded.

  “But you know of him?”

  “Clara might have mentioned him. Why?”

  Adam wasn’t sure what to disclose and what to hold back, but he figured if they were going to find Jimmy sooner rather than later, he best be forthright. “He’s missing.”

  “Well, good for him. If I could get outta this town, I would be too.”

  “How do you know he’s not in town?”

  Ralph’s eyes dropped to level with Adam’s. “It was a guess.”

  Something was lurking in the man’s gaze. What that was, Adam wasn’t sure.

  -

  Chapter 12

  ANOTHER PIECE OF THE PUZZLE

  “DARLING, IT’S TIME TO WAKE UP,” Sean whispered as he nudged Sara’s shoulder.

  She let out a moan as she did her best to open her eyes to the sunlight streaming in through the window. Sean must have opened it in hopes of waking her gently.

  “We need to get up.”

  “I know—” She took a deep inhale. “Coffee?”

  “You got it.” He directed her attention to the side table and the steaming cup.

  She struggled with the sheets, spinning herself into a tighter cocoon at first. “Where did—”

  He brushed back her hair. “I went down and got it.”

  Sara shot up to her feet and the quick movement made her head woozy. She put a hand to her forehead. “How early were you up?”

  “I’ve been up for about an hour.”

  “An hour?” Sara grabbed her dress off the back of a chair. “Why didn’t you wake me? Jimmy needs us.”

  Sean handed her the coffee. “Drink this and then we’ll go.”

  She nodded and then took a draw. Her eyes closed, instinctively, as she savored the robust flavor. She put the cup on a nearby table and licked her lips.

  “Darling?” Sean’s eyes went from the mug that was three-quarters full to her.

  She put a hand on his cheek. “First, we get Jimmy.” She pecked him on the lips and bounded for the door. “Are you coming?”

  “I’m right here.” He caught up with her and placed a hand on her hip as they left the room.

  “WE’LL GO SEE MEREDITH FIRST. See how she’s doing and if she’s thought of anything else,” Sean said, as they walked through the lobby of their resort.

  “I agree. I’ll call her to let her know we’re on our way.” Sara dialed and waited as the phone rang continuously. After six rings, it forwarded to voice mail. Sara held her cell out from her ear. “There’s no answer, Sean.”

  “I don’t have a good feeling about that.”

  “Me neither.”

  Sean flagged down a taxi. He opened the door for Sara, and she slid over as he came in behind her. He tapped the headres
t on the front seat. “There’s extra in it for you if you speed.”

  The Jamaican adjusted his rearview mirror to see Sean. “You got it.”

  Sara glanced over at Sean, certain her face was pale. Were they too slow? Did the same people who took Jimmy have Meredith now? Was she still alive? “Why isn’t she answering?”

  “Maybe she’s sound asleep, darling.”

  “Sean, that’s what I’m afraid of.”

  SEAN BANGED ON MEREDITH’S DOOR for the third time.

  “We need in that room.” Sara slipped her hand into her purse and pulled out a pin.

  With quick glances down the hallway, Sean took it from her and got to work on the lock. Less than a minute later, they stepped inside. The smell of blood tingled in Sean’s nose. He held up his hand, telling Sara to hang back, but she shot him a look that communicated she was coming through.

  The door opened to a living room. To the left was a kitchenette and to the right was the bedroom. They stood, both straining to hear anything, but there was silence. As they reached the bedroom door, red splotches dotted the floor inside. The pools of blood grew in size the farther they went in. They followed the trail to the other side of the bed, but they didn’t meet the result Sean had expected.

  “No one’s here.”

  “They killed her and took her body.” Sara fell into Sean and he wrapped his arms around her.

  As he held her, none of what they saw made sense. If someone had killed Meredith and left this mess, why take her body?

  Sara pulled her head back, her eyes were wide. “Did you hear that?”

  He was mid-headshake when it sounded like someone had come into the room. Had they returned to clean up the rest of their mess?

  Sean gestured for Sara to go to the back corner of the room while he looked around for a weapon. A lamp on a nightstand mocked him from ten feet away—much too far to reach in time. There were no bottles of hairspray or suntan lotion. The former was a defense he had utilized before. So even though they had permits and guns back home—here they were weaponless. To be able to bring them into the country, they would have needed authorization, but there hadn’t been time to work those details out. And to be caught armed, without that permission, would mean hefty prison sentences.