Death in a Beach Chair

by Valerie Wolzien

  “Yes. You see, Kathleen, Kathleen Gordon, his wife-you’ve met her.”

  “Many times. A lovely young woman. Go on.”

  “She was assaulted today.”

  “Good heavens. Where?”

  “At Compass Bay. She was sitting on the beach when someone came up from behind and hit her on the head with something. It knocked her out. She was unconscious for a while before I found her.”

  “You found her?”

  “Yes. You see, I was looking for her, and I saw something lying next to one of the kayaks-they’re kept on the beach during the day-and it turned out to be Kathleen.”

  “Who had been unconscious for a while, but no one else found her before you.”

  “Exactly, and when we called the police, they refused to do anything. Assault is a crime. And Kathleen and I think that it’s possible that the person who killed Allison hit her, so if only the police would look-” She stopped talking. The expression on Frances Adams’s face puzzled her: Frances Adams looked skeptical. And she looked very, very sad.

  “Your friends are lucky to have someone like you who cares so deeply about them.”

  “I don’t just care about them. I know them. Jerry is not a killer.”

  “You have much more experience with this type of thing than I do. And I can’t say I’m sorry about that. But my understanding is that you have found murderers among your friends and neighbors.”

  “Yes. I-” Susan glanced back at the computer. “The Hancock Herald is on-line. You looked me up!”

  “Yes. You have quite a bit of experience. So perhaps you will understand my next question. Do you believe we are all capable of murder?”

  “Perhaps… under the right circumstances… mothers protecting their children… You think Jerry killed Allison!”

  “I have, in fact, absolutely no opinion about that. Well, that’s not true. I believe he’s a very nice man and I hope he didn’t kill her. But, no, I can’t be sure he’s innocent. And the police are convinced he’s guilty. Your story about Kathleen’s assault must sound suspicious to them.”

  “But-”

  “Think about it. Compass Bay is a small resort. I understand the cottages are two-thirds full right now. So say there are close to thirty guests there. And full staff is twenty-seven…”

  No wonder everything flowed so smoothly, Susan thought, distracted by the statistics.

  “… so you’re telling me that almost sixty people were close by Mrs. Gordon lying on the beach and they did not spy her body. You, on the other hand, just happened to be there and find her.”

  “You think I’m lying to you!”

  “No, I don’t. But I think Mrs. Gordon loves her husband very much, and she is trying to direct the attention of the police away from him and came up with this fake assault to do so.”

  “I can’t believe-” Susan started.

  “I am perfectly aware of the fact that you don’t believe that. But, I’m afraid that’s what the police believe and the facts certainly can be read that way. Mrs. Henshaw… Susan… you had better work very hard and very quickly to find the real murderer. Because right now, everything points toward Jerry Gordon as the guilty party.”

  TWENTY-EIGHT

  Susan was still upset when she arrived at Compass Bay. She didn’t bother to smile at Lila, working behind the front desk. She didn’t stop at the gift shop to see if Kathleen had called out. She didn’t even stop to see Kathleen. She stormed into her own cottage. Jed would make her feel better in this crisis as he had done in every crisis during the thirty years of their marriage.

  If only he would wake up.

  Miserable and impatient, Susan shook her husband awake. It wasn’t an easy task. He muttered and pulled away from her without opening his eyes.

  “Jed! Wake up! You’ve been sleeping all afternoon. I need you.”

  “Sus-” His right eye opened.

  “Jed. We have a real problem. No one believes Kathleen was assaulted.”

  “Kathleen… assaulted. Is she okay?” Both eyes were now open, but Susan stopped shaking him. When she found Kathleen on the ground, she had screamed. Everyone had come running. Everyone except for Jed.

  “Have you been sleeping all afternoon?” Susan asked.

  “I… all afternoon? What time is it?”

  “It’s almost six o’clock. You were going to take a nap right after lunch.”

  “I guess I did.” He sat up and shook his head. “I haven’t felt like this since I got drunk my freshman year of college.” He looked at his wife. “Did you say six o’clock?”

  Susan glanced over at the clock on the nightstand. “Six-oh-three.”

  “And Kathleen. You said she was hurt.”

  “She was. Jed, you haven’t heard anything all afternoon?”

  “I’ve been completely unconscious. Almost like I was drugged or something.”

  “I’d bet anything that that’s just what happened to you. You were drugged. At lunchtime. By someone who didn’t want you to find Kathleen.”

  Jed looked at his wife. “I don’t get it. I’m still a little woozy. Tell me what’s going on. From the beginning.”

  “I went to see Jerry.”

  “Is everything okay?”

  “Sort of. He kept telling me that Kathleen and June were very much alike. It’s not true, of course. I’ve thought about that so many times since I saw him. Kathleen is almost nothing like June.”

  “Of course she isn’t. Go on.”

  Susan smiled, glad her husband agreed with her. “Anyway, while I was in town, I went into a bar. I know, it’s not like me, but I was thirsty and that’s not the point. The point is that the bartender had seen Allison and Jerry there together the afternoon before she was killed. They weren’t exactly getting along.”

  “Let’s just hope he doesn’t tell this to all his customers.”

  “True. Anyway, I came right back here to find Kathleen. I didn’t tell her what Jerry said about June, but I did want to see if she knew Jerry and Allison had been together. But I couldn’t find her anywhere. I was looking down on the beach when I saw her arm sticking out from beneath a kayak. She was unconscious. I screamed. Everyone in the place came. Well, everyone except you. I must have been upset. I should have realized you weren’t there. Did you know that the bride is a doctor?” she asked, changing the subject.

  “No, go on. What had happened to Kathleen?”

  “Someone hit her over the head. She thinks she was unconscious for quite a while.” Susan looked at her husband, waiting for his response.

  “And no one else saw her in all that time?” he asked.

  “That’s the problem,” Susan said. “No one did. I didn’t think of that. And neither did Kath. We called the police because we thought that the murderer must have been the one who hit her. Well, I still think that’s possible.”

  “But the police don’t agree?”

  “Of course not. Apparently everyone thinks Kathleen was just pretending to be hurt-despite the large lump on the back of her head-and no one is going to investigate anything. I went to see Frances Adams.”

  “Again? The woman must be getting tired of us!”

  “Maybe. But, although I didn’t like what she was saying, she did manage to get me to see what everyone else is thinking.

  “Anyway, that’s the story of my day. It’s been horrible. Every time I think I’ve found something that might help Jerry, it has turned out to be just the opposite.”

  “Where’s Kathleen now?”

  “In her cottage. She’s sleeping, too. You know, I should check on her.”

  “Good idea. You do that and I’ll use the bathroom and join you two. It sounds as though we could all use a drink before dinner.”

  Susan hurried next door to the Gordons’ cottage, realizing, guiltily, that she should have checked on her friend’s condition before waking up Jed. Not bothering to knock, she opened the door and peeked in.

  She need not have worried about disturbing Kathleen. A qu
ick look around the room was all it took to be sure that her friend wasn’t there.

  This time, she didn’t scream, although the room was in a shocking state. The bedding was on the floor, dresser drawers emptied onto the bare mattress, and looking through the open door into the bathroom, Susan could see makeup, shampoo, and the like spilled onto the countertop and tile floor.

  “Good God!” Jed appeared in the doorway behind her.

  “Kathleen’s missing,” Susan said.

  “You’re sure she’s not just hiding under all this mess?”

  “No. She may be hurt. Doesn’t it look to you as though there was a struggle?”

  “It looks to me as though someone was searching for something.” He walked in and picked up a paperback from the floor and replaced it on the nightstand. “You know, this could all have happened after Kathleen left the cottage. She could be sitting on the beach reading a mystery novel or drinking some rum punch.”

  “Or unconscious under a kayak,” Susan said. “Okay. Let’s look around. If we find her, fine. But we can’t search the beaches in both directions. If she doesn’t turn up right away, I say we call the police. Or Lila. Or maybe we should call Lila first and then call the police.”

  Jed looked at his watch. “I’ll look around all the cottages west of here. You take the gift shop, bar, restaurant, pool area, and beach. Keep an eye on the time.” He looked at his watch. “We meet back here in fifteen minutes. There’s a murderer loose. Don’t take any chances.”

  “You, too!” Susan turned and got to work.

  They met back at the Gordons’ cottage as planned, Susan arriving a few minutes late.

  “Where have you been?” He sounded worried.

  “Saying hello in what I hope was a perky manner to half the guests in the resort. It’s predinner drinks time, you know. I didn’t want them to think something else odd had happened. You didn’t find her?”

  “No, but James was down by the water putting away the kayaks. He says he’s been walking between the cottage and the beach for the past hour or so and hasn’t seen anything unusual.”

  “Did you tell him about this mess and all?”

  “Just asked him if he’d seen Kathleen. He said no and-”

  “That he’d been walking back and forth, etc.”

  “Yes. Exactly.”

  “So we call the police,” Susan said.

  “And we tell Lila,” Jed added, following his wife toward the office.

  Actually, Lila called the police. Susan couldn’t tell whether or not Lila believed her, but it was obvious that a possible intruder at Compass Bay wasn’t something she could ignore. Once again the police arrived almost immediately. Once again there were two men. This time, however, Susan was pleased to note that they listened with great seriousness to Susan and Jed and assured them that they would immediately organize an all-island search. While Susan gave one Kathleen’s description, the other got on the phone with headquarters.

  “I think they’re doing all they can,” Lila said when the three of them were together again. “Perhaps it’s time for dinner…”

  “Definitely,” Jed agreed.

  “But, Jed, we forgot to tell them that you were dr-”

  “Let’s go, hon. Our reservation was for seven. We don’t want to be late.” He grabbed her arm with more force than necessary, and Susan got the idea at once.

  “Yes, you’re right! Thanks for your help,” she added to Lila as her husband guided her away.

  “Why did you do that? The police should know if you were drugged!”

  “They should and they will in good time. But, Susan, if I was drugged, it happened here.”

  “You think one of the staff did it? Which one?” Susan peered around at the numerous servers on the crowded patio restaurant.

  “I’ve been thinking about that. Assuming that my food was tampered with, it may have been someone in the kitchen or the waiter or maybe the bartender. I had a beer with my meal. Draft, not bottled. Or…”

  “Or?”

  “Or it could have been someone who stopped at my table to chat. Let’s sit down and I’ll try to think who I spoke to during lunch.”

  “You have reservations for three, I believe, Mr. Henshaw,” the hostess said, approaching them with a slip of paper in her hand.

  “Yes, Mrs. Gordon won’t be joining us this evening,” he answered. “I wondered if you could find a table with some privacy for Mrs. Henshaw and me. It’s been a long day, and my wife has a slight headache.”

  Now, Susan had never had a “slight headache” in her life. She either felt fine or as though a brick had knocked her over the head, but she tried to look appropriately wan and droopy as the hostess led them to a small table on the patio around the pool.

  “I’ll tell a waiter to serve you here,” she said before walking away and leaving them alone.

  “This is pretty good. If we speak softly, no one should overhear.”

  Susan scooted her chair slightly to the right so she could look up at the restaurant without turning further. “So who stopped at your table?”

  “Lord, Susan, you know I’m not good at names.”

  “Then just describe them to me.”

  “Well, all the bridge players were there. They were playing at a table right next to mine, and whoever was dummy usually took the opportunity to order another drink and stop over and chat. That foursome really packs away the alcohol.”

  “Well, three of them do anyway,” Susan said. Their waiter came for their drink order and to announce the dinner specials. “So tell me who else appeared at your table,” she asked when they were alone again.

  “Well…” The sun was sinking into the sea in the west, and Jed’s face reflected the vivid hues of the sky. He frowned.

  “What about the honeymooners? They didn’t stop to talk to you, did they?”

  “As far as I know, they followed their usual pattern and didn’t leave their cottage until well after the rest of us had eaten both breakfast and lunch.”

  “So they’re out.”

  “Yes.”

  “What about Joann and Martin?”

  “Yes. How she nags him. Now if someone had to die, why couldn’t it have been her? My guess is that Martin would be a very happy widower, although he would never put it like that.”

  “So they stopped at your table?”

  “Yes, but not to see me. Ro was dummy and sitting with me, and Joann wanted to talk to her about a kayaking trip. She sat down and chatted for a while, managed to let everyone within hearing know that she was tired of kayaking with her husband-apparently he can’t keep up with her-and then they both headed over to the pool. Joann needed to work on her tan.”

  “How about Peggy and Frank?”

  “I don’t think I know who they are.”

  “Good-looking couple. He has bright red hair. Around our age. They’re from Connecticut. They’re very athletic. Always swimming laps in the pool or taking off on long kayaking trips. They’re here on their second honeymoon and like to tell everyone about it.”

  “Oh, I know them. They stopped by and talked for a while. In fact, she gave me a message for you. She wanted to be sure you knew about some sort of scuba-diving class that James is holding tomorrow afternoon.”

  “Really… I’ve always wanted to try that. Remember when we were in Bermuda with the kids and Chad learned? He’s always said that was one of the best trips we ever took.”

  “I think that may have had more to do with the bikini-clad instructor than the submerged flora and fauna.”

  “Oh, well, I’ll probably be busy tomorrow anyway.”

  “This trip sure isn’t turning out to be the relaxing vacation we planned,” Jed said.

  “No, but it may be getting better. Lila is on her way here. With two police officers-oh, no.”

  “What?”

  “Those officers were here this morning. They think Kathleen only pretended to be assaulted. I wonder what they’re going to say this time. Now that she mig
ht have been abducted and her cottage searched.”

  It turned out that the officers were in a rut. This time, however, it was Susan they didn’t believe. And this time they threatened her with arrest if she-or any of her companions-continued to waste the island police department’s valuable time.

  TWENTY-NINE

  Susan was so angry she couldn’t sleep. She was also nearly paralyzed with worry. Jerry was in jail. Kathleen had been assaulted and then disappeared. And Jed, her husband, the person she loved more than anyone else in the world, had been drugged. The police refused to help out, and apparently, the embassy couldn’t. Jed, claiming to still feel the effects of whatever had caused him to sleep all afternoon, had dropped off as soon as he lay down. Susan hadn’t even bothered to take off her robe, and finally tiring of trying to read, she put down her book and wandered out on the deck.

  It was still early and Compass Bay was hopping. Susan leaned against the deck rail and watched the vacationers. The bridge players were still at it, sitting at a round table, illuminated by the lights of the bar nearby. She wondered if the convenience of the light outweighed the convenience of so much alcohol close by. The honeymooners were sitting together on the breakwater, their arms locked around each other. This really was a resort for couples. Susan spied two women she didn’t recognize chatting together by the pool, legs dangling in the water. They probably were here with the two unknown men sitting at the bar. New guests had arrived. Their vacations wouldn’t be tainted by Allison’s murder.

  She spied Joann and Martin heading down the path toward their cottage. They would soon pass by her. She hurried back inside, not wanting to talk to them.

  Getting ready for bed, she realized that, in the morning, someone was going to have to tell Jerry about Kathleen’s disappearance. She went to sleep hoping that somebody didn’t have to be her.

  Jed’s long nap combined with a good night’s sleep had him up at dawn.

  “Sue. Hon. I’m going to go see Jerry. I’ll tell him about Kathleen and… and I guess I’ll take it from there.”

  Susan, drowsy with sleep, muttered agreement, punched her pillow, and rolled over to find a cool spot on the mattress.