Death in a Beach Chair

by Valerie Wolzien

  “Someone was standing on the balcony of the Parkers’ cottage, looking at us through a pair of binoculars.”

  “Oh, no. Who was it?”

  “I have no idea. Whoever it was seemed to be wearing one of those white terry cloth robes that hang in all the bathrooms here. It’s a pretty good disguise. One person wearing one in the dark looks pretty much like the next person.”

  “That’s true.”

  “Maybe they didn’t recognize us.”

  “We did come straight back to your cottage,” Kathleen reminded her. “Whoever’s up there could make a pretty intelligent guess.”

  Susan frowned. “Oh, well, nothing we can do about that now. Besides, maybe this will tell us who killed Allison.” She pulled the notebook from beneath her shirt.

  “Great.”

  “Hey, I was wondering where you two had vanished to.” Jed walked out of the bathroom, a towel wrapped around his waist and a comb in his hand. “I asked around and no one had seen you since dinnertime.”

  “Did you get something to eat?” Susan asked, reverting to concerned wife.

  “How’s Jerry?” Kathleen asked, feeling the same thing. “Oh, my goodness, I was supposed to bring him dinner!”

  “He’s fine. We had dinner together. The food wasn’t as good as it is here, but there was a lot of it. His biggest problem is boredom.”

  “Boredom?” Kathleen asked.

  “Yes. The lawyer we hired has Jerry writing out everything he can remember about Allison. I thought Jerry would object, but he seemed delighted to have something to do.”

  “I wonder if we could get a copy of whatever he writes,” Susan said.

  “We could ask.” Jed had pulled the robe off the wall hook and was slipping into it as he spoke. “Kath, the lawyer-his name is Jude Armstrong-wanted to talk to you as soon as possible. I suggested breakfast tomorrow. At seven. That’s when the restaurant opens,” he added somewhat sheepishly. “I know I shouldn’t make appointments for you, but he wanted to see you before he visits Jerry and-”

  “No, I’m glad you did. I’ll ask for a wake-up call.”

  “That’s right. You’ll be up late tonight reading,” Susan said, going over to her side of the bed and picking up a paperback with a bright cover and a clever title. “You wanted to borrow this, remember?” She gave Kathleen the book along with Allison’s diary. “It’s a real page-turner.”

  “But don’t you want to read it first?” Kathleen asked.

  “No. I’m going to go to bed. I’ll get it back in the morning. Okay?”

  “First thing in the morning,” Kathleen agreed.

  TWENTY-TWO

  Susan slept badly that night, rolling around searching for a comfortable spot in bed, flipping her pillow so many times that Jed, the mildest of husbands, finally protested and threatened to find a comfortable lounge outside for her to sleep on. Susan had gotten up, showered, and returned to bed only to fall into a deep sleep.

  When she woke up, the sun was shining through the louvers over the windows and Jed was gone. She could hear the cheerful voices of people strolling by on their way to breakfast. She sat up. Breakfast! Kathleen! The diary! Susan slipped from the bed and hurried to the bathroom. Ten minutes later, she discovered Jed in the process of demolishing a large omelet and plantain fries.

  “Want some coffee?” he asked, pulling back a chair for his wife.

  “Yes. And food. What’s that?”

  “Crab omelet. Fabulous. I highly recommend it.”

  “Then that’s what I’ll have-with fruit,” she said to the waitress who had appeared by their table.

  “Can’t beat the service here,” Jed mused as their waitress hurried off to the kitchen with his wife’s order.

  “One of the things people keep saying is that everyone on the island-the natives-wants to work here and that they work very hard to keep their jobs once they have them.” Susan frowned.

  “You look like you just had an idea,” her husband said.

  “I did.” Susan didn’t bother to explain. “Have you seen Kathleen this morning?”

  “Yes, she and Jerry’s lawyer were just leaving as I arrived for breakfast. They were going off to see Jerry. She said to tell you that she’ll be back as soon as possible and that she left the beach bag in her cottage for you.” He rummaged through the pockets of his shorts and then handed her a key. “She said to give you this.”

  “The key to her cottage.”

  Jed shrugged. “I guess so. But you are going to hang around long enough to eat, aren’t you?”

  Susan was dying to see what was in the diary she had discovered last night, and she was pretty sure that Kathleen had read it and left it in Allison’s beach bag back at her cottage. But they were on vacation, Jed had looked lonely sitting all alone, and, besides, she was starving. “Of course,” she answered, smiling at him.

  “Then I’m going to have another cup of coffee and chat with my wife.”

  Susan’s smile vanished. “It hasn’t been a great vacation, has it?”

  “Not quite what we planned. I keep wondering what’s going to happen if we have to go home before Jerry is cleared.”

  Susan leaned across the table, trying to prevent their conversation from being overheard. “Jed! We couldn’t leave him here!”

  “Kathleen is going to have to get home to her kids. And I’m due back at work in less than a week. Susan, no one knows how long it’s going to take to get Jerry free.”

  “What does his lawyer think?”

  “He’s not optimistic. The authorities have one suspect. They’re not busy looking for another. The truth is that unless you and Kathleen come up with someone else, Jerry’s going to be tried for murder.”

  “Does he know that?”

  “He’s a smart guy, Susan.”

  “How is he doing really?”

  “Not bad. The lawyer is good, and Jerry feels confi-dent that he’ll be well represented if this does go to trial. Strangely enough, he seems more worried about Kathleen than himself.”

  “Sounds like he has his priorities wrong. Kathleen’s not going to be okay until he’s okay.”

  “I’ve told him the same thing, but he keeps worrying about her. Damn.” Jed put down his fork. “I can’t tell you how much I wish he could talk with us without being overheard.”

  “Can’t the embassy do something about that? Isn’t Jerry entitled to some privacy?”

  “I get the impression that they’re doing the best they can. And Jerry’s lawyer seems to think things might improve-and you might find the real killer.”

  “You don’t believe that.”

  “You and Kathleen don’t know anyone here. You don’t have any contacts in the police department. Susan, we’re in a foreign country, for heaven’s sake. I know you’re doing the best you can, but-”

  “I know what you’re saying, Jed, and I’ve been worried about that, too, but what I need is an ally who knows the-the lay of the land around here. And I think I’ve figured out who just might help us.”

  “Who?”

  “That doesn’t matter now,” she answered, smiling at the woman who had brought her food. “But I’ve got a question, Jed.”

  “What?”

  She waited until they were alone to ask it. “I don’t know what you think about Allison. Did you like her?”

  “Not particularly. And I can tell you something else.” He leaned closer and lowered his voice. “Jerry didn’t like her at all.”

  Susan looked up from her dish of mangoes. “Back when he was married to June?”

  Jed nodded. “I remember when Allison introduced him to her sister. He came back to the office and said something about being surprised that such an awful girl could have such a wonderful sister.”

  “I never guessed.”

  “Well, he didn’t mention it again until a few years after he and June were married. They didn’t live in the same town. Allison didn’t come to visit much. To tell you the truth, her name just didn’t come
up.”

  “Why didn’t you like her?” Susan asked.

  Jed frowned. “She flirted.”

  “With you?”

  “With me. Probably with all men.”

  “Really? She always struck me as so… I don’t know… so homely and dull. She wore such dowdy clothing.”

  “Just because a woman doesn’t wear designer clothing doesn’t mean she isn’t interested in men. At least, not in my experience.”

  Susan opened her mouth to ask exactly what experience he was referring to, but realizing that changing the subject wouldn’t be productive, she resisted. “Did she actually make a pass at you?”

  “Not really. She just flirted.”

  “Did she make a pass at Jerry?”

  “It’s possible. I know that he was very uncomfortable being with her for a while.”

  “When June was alive?”

  “After she died.”

  “How soon after she died?” Susan asked.

  “Sue, you know I’m not as observant about this type of thing as you are. And I don’t remember exactly. I do remember all four of us going to dinner at the Hancock Inn sometime after June had died.”

  “We all went there the day after her funeral.”

  “I’d forgotten that evening. What a horrible time. I really thought Jerry was going to crack up. A man shouldn’t have to live with that much pain.”

  Susan nodded. “It was awful, wasn’t it? I remember we went out because no one wanted to cook and I thought it would be a good idea if Jerry got away from the house. I was completely wrong, of course. I still remember Jerry sitting at the table, looking down at his cranberry-glazed Cornish game hen with tears pouring down his cheeks. I haven’t ordered that meal at the inn since that dinner.”

  “That isn’t the dinner I’m thinking about,” Jed said. “This was later. Allison had come out from the city to pick up some of June’s things.”

  “She did that a couple of times,” Susan said. “But go on. Why did you think Jerry was uncomfortable with Allison?”

  “He told me so. He was glad she was going to have some of June’s things, but he wished she could do it without insisting on visiting him. He even tried to be away on business when she was in town.”

  “But she didn’t stay in the house with him,” Susan said. “He moved into that condo almost immediately.”

  “That’s true. I don’t remember where Allison stayed.”

  “I don’t think she ever spent the night in Hancock after the week of June’s funeral. But you’re saying that Jerry didn’t like seeing her.”

  “Hated it. At the time I thought that she reminded him of June and the accident and all, but later he said something that made me wonder if maybe Allison had been hoping to take June’s place.”

  “She was in love with Jerry?”

  “I got the impression that he thought so.”

  “Or maybe she just wanted what her sister had had,” Susan mused, thinking of the book Allison was supposed to have written.

  “I don’t know,” Jed said. “Do you want to go see Jerry?”

  “Yes, definitely. When are you going?”

  “This morning. But I’m playing gofer. Whatever Jerry and Jude want or need, I get or do. So I don’t know if I’ll even see him.”

  “And Kathleen’s there now,” Susan said. “Why don’t you go see if they need anything now and I’ll hang out here? I have a few things to do.”

  “Okay. You finish your breakfast and do whatever you’re planning, and I’ll head on into town. You know, we need a place to leave messages for each other,” Jed said. “I spenda lot of time looking for either you or Kathleen. Why don’t you just write where you’re going on the bathroom mirror before you take off?” He suggested their usual method of communicating.

  Susan shook her head. “No, the women who clean the cottages would read them.”

  “Why would that be a problem?”

  “We really don’t know who was involved in Allison’s murder,” Susan reminded him. “It doesn’t make any sense that any of the staff were involved, but you never know.”

  “Okay. If you want to leave me a message, write it in the front cover of the book I’m reading-the Grisham on my side of the bed-and I’ll write to you there, too. Okay?”

  “Pretty smart. Are you going right away?”

  “Yup.” Jed stood up and paused. “Listen, Susan…”

  “I will be careful,” she assured him, offering her cheek for a good-bye kiss.

  “I’m depending on that.” He leaned down to kiss her before leaving.

  Susan concentrated on her breakfast. It was delicious and she was hungry, so she didn’t become aware of the difference between today and yesterday until she had finished her eggs and was spearing the last chunk of pineapple with her fork. Then she looked up and scanned the area. The restaurant was about one-third empty, and many of the diners were finishing their meals, as well.

  And no one was paying any attention to her. No one was coming up to her to tell her about Allison. No one was asking her about the murder. It was hard to believe that less than twelve hours ago, most of the people eating here now had been eager to discuss the murder and the time they had spent with Allison. Susan put down her fork and frowned. What had changed?

  She placed her napkin beside her plate and stood up. She felt in her pocket for the key Kathleen had given Jed and smiled. She was going to discover what Allison had written in her diary. Susan headed for the Gordons’ cottage.

  The key Susan pulled from her pocket was adorned with a wooden bird painted black. She put it into the small hole under the doorknob and turned. Nothing happened. She took it out, put it back in, and tried again. Nothing. Susan frowned, shook the doorknob, and was shocked when the door swung open, revealing the inside of the cottage. Susan hurried in and closed the door behind her, taking care to turn the dead bolt.

  The room had not yet been cleaned. The bed was unmade, a damp towel was flung across the desk chair, and Allison’s big straw bag had been placed in the middle of the dresser. Susan hurried over to the bag and rummaged through it. No diary! She took a deep breath, looked around, and began to search the room. It was a small cottage, and ten minutes later Susan was sure of one thing: The diary wasn’t here.

  TWENTY-THREE

  Susan was sitting on the edge of the unmade bed playing with the unused key when Kathleen walked in the door.

  “What does that open?” Kathleen asked.

  “Who knows,” Susan answered, tossing it on the nightstand. “Do you have it?” she asked immediately.

  “Have what?”

  “Allison’s diary.”

  “Of course not. It’s in the beach bag. I left it here for you. Didn’t Jed tell you?”

  “It’s not here now,” Susan explained.

  “Are you sure?” Kathleen asked.

  “Yes, positive.”

  “Someone must have come in here and taken it.” Kathleen walked around the room, pulling open drawers and peering into them. “It doesn’t look as though anything else is missing. Why would someone take that diary and nothing else? And how could anyone have known that we had it?”

  “Kathleen, that doesn’t matter now. What did it say? You did read it last night, didn’t you?”

  “Yes, but…” She paused.

  “But what?”

  “It didn’t say anything. At least, it didn’t say anything significant. It was a diary about food and clothing and exercise and dieting.”

  “You’re kidding.”

  “No, apparently Allison’s New Year’s resolution was to lose ten pounds.”

  “So she’s just like every other woman we know,” Susan muttered.

  “Well, yes-and no. Allison apparently did it.”

  “No, not like every other woman we know,” Susan agreed. “But is that really all there was? No comments about other things in her life? How she ended up vacationing here? Stuff like that? Anything at all about Jerry, or Hancock, or June?”


  “Nothing. Really.” Kathleen walked over to the window and peeked through the louvers. “Now what do we do?”

  Susan frowned. “There are two things I need to do today. First, I want to see Jerry. Do you think he’d like that?”

  “According to Jed, his biggest problem is boredom.” Kathleen looked back at Susan. “I’m sure Jerry’d love to see you, but you can’t get any information from him. It’s like Jed said, he’s never alone. I-well, I wonder if you wouldn’t be better off here talking to people and trying to find out if anyone saw anything the night Allison was killed.”

  “You know, everyone seems to want to talk to me about the time they spent with Allison, but, except for Ro, no one has told me anything significant about that night. Maybe I do need to stay here, but I’d hate it if Jerry thought I was ignoring him.”

  “Oh, Susan, you know Jerry would never think that! And he’s so confident that he’ll be released.”

  “Then I’d better get to work here and see what I can dig up. The next time you see him, you’ll give him my best.”

  “Of course!” Kathleen glanced at her watch. “I told Jerry I’d order more meals for him. Guess I’d better get going. I’m going to bring him a late breakfast. I’ll find you as soon as I get back. Okay?”

  “Sure. I’ll be around.” Susan spoke her last words to Kathleen’s back as her friend hurried off. Susan sighed and sat down on the bed, feeling completely alone.

  She wasn’t going to look further for Allison’s diary. If Kathleen hadn’t destroyed it altogether, she would have hidden it in a place where it wouldn’t easily be found. Whatever Allison had written must have been incriminating. So incriminating that Kathleen didn’t dare share it with Susan.

  Susan was shocked and confused. She needed time to think and she needed to keep investigating. She couldn’t imagine that it was possible to do both at the same time. Unless…

  It was the best thought she’d had in days: time for a massage. It would relax her, and for once, a talkative masseuse would be a plus instead of an annoyance. She hurried off to the gift shop, determined to snag the first free appointment of the day.