Beaches in Paradise

by Kathi Daley

  “Hey, Tj,” she greeted me. “Any news about Gina?”

  “Actually, that’s what I wanted to talk to you about. Can you take a break?”

  Sheila looked behind me toward the nonexistent line. “Yeah. Just give me a minute to tell the others I’ll be away for a few minutes.”

  Sheila left the food truck and we wandered away from the crowd so we could speak without being overheard. There were picnic tables set up in the shade for lunchtime, so we grabbed one near the back where we were unlikely to be disturbed.

  “What’s going on?” Sheila asked. “I’ve been so worried about Gina.”

  “What exactly did Kate tell you last night?” I asked.

  “Not a lot. After she spoke to you and Kyle, Detective Baldwin came over to the rest of us and said she needed to speak to Gina about an investigation she was working on. She wondered if anyone had seen her, and several of us had volunteered with her earlier in the day. But no one said they’d seen or talked to her after that.”

  “Did Gina say anything about her plans for the day once she finished her volunteer duties?”

  Sheila paused. “She did say she was having lunch with a friend, but other than to comment in passing that she’d taken on some part-time work over the summer, she didn’t say much.” Sheila frowned. “Though she did mention she might have to meet with a man about a project she was working on, so she might be late to the bonfire.”

  “A project?”

  “She didn’t offer any details. I suppose she might be working on something different this summer, but she took a leave in April to do some sort of contract work. Greg might know more about it.”

  “Is he here?”

  “No. He’s watching the kids today while I help out here.”

  “Polly mentioned Gina looked run-down when she arrived to volunteer yesterday. Did you have the same impression?”

  “Now that you mention it, it did seem like she wasn’t her usual perky self.”

  “Polly said Gina had been losing sleep over the arrival of an old friend. Polly thought it was most likely an old boyfriend stirring up unwanted emotions.”

  Sheila hesitated. “It did seem like Gina had something heavy on her mind. She tried to hide it, but I could tell she was distracted. Still, she never said anything that would offer any insight into what was causing her to lose sleep.”

  I looked back toward the lake as I took a moment to think things over. So far, I hadn’t heard anything I didn’t already know. I needed more. “Has Gina confided anything to you she might not have shared with anyone else?” I asked. “You’re a counselor, and I’m not asking you to betray confidences, but did Gina ever mention a brother to you? A half-brother to be specific?”

  Sheila paused and then answered, “Gina did mention she had a brother during one of our conversations, but I got the impression she didn’t know him. They had different fathers but the same mother, and Gina was raised by her dad. Why do you ask?”

  “There’s a man staying at Gina’s house. He told me his name was Spencer Becker and he said he was Gina’s half-brother. I’m not suggesting he’s lying, but I had an odd feeling when I spoke to him.”

  “Odd how?” Sheila asked.

  “I don’t know. Something just didn’t ring true to me. The whole thing felt off.”

  “I suppose having a brother unexpectedly come to town could account for the emotional turmoil Gina appeared to be struggling with. Especially one she’d never met until now.”

  “Yeah, I suppose. Kyle did a very preliminary background check on the guy and he seemed to think he was legit, although he hadn’t been able to find a photo or a recent address for him, which is sort of odd.”

  “Maybe he should keep looking,” Sheila said.

  “Yeah, maybe he will, after he deals with a more urgent problem. There are reasons to believe the man staying at Gina’s house is the real Spencer, who’s her brother, though I can’t quite quell this nagging feeling. This whole thing with Gina has me pretty upset. I imagine intense emotion could be messing with my normally reliable instinct about people.”

  Sheila placed her hand on my arm. “Maybe your instinct is off, maybe it isn’t. If you have a bad feeling about him, my advice is to go ahead and explore it. If it turns out he’s on the up-and-up, fine, but if he isn’t…”

  Sheila had a point. “I guess you’re right. Thanks. I’m going over to Freshies. If you hear from Gina, let me know.”

  “I will, and you do the same.”

  Freshies was pretty close by, so I decided to walk there. The prettiest route was along the beach but the quickest route was through the parking lot. I headed down the path toward the parking lot when I noticed Kate walking toward me.

  “Kate,” I greeted. “Any news about Gina?”

  “Nothing I am inclined to share. I hope your presence at the wakeboard competition isn’t an indicator that you have ignored my dictate to stay out of things.”

  I plastered on a fake grin. “Of course not. I was only here to watch the heats this morning. I have full confidence that you and Roy are all over this.”

  Kate frowned. “How do you know Roy is back if you haven’t been digging around?”

  “I ran into him earlier. I’m late for an appointment. It’s been nice talking with you but I gotta go.”

  I was sure Kate would pick up on my lame statement and realize that I had been snooping so I walked as fast as I could toward the pier, glancing behind me only once to make sure Kate hadn’t followed. She hadn’t, but she would very likely pick up the clue about Gina’s lunch date, so I knew I needed to hurry to stay out ahead of her.

  The restaurant was already open for lunch and there was a fairly large crowd when I arrived. I looked around for a familiar face. Waiting tables was a common summer job for high school students, and after a brief perusal, I spotted one of the girls on my soccer team speaking on the phone at the hostess station. I wandered over and waited for Sybil to finish her call.

  “Are you here for lunch, Coach Jensen?” she asked.

  “No, I’m not. Did you work yesterday?” I asked.

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Did you see Ms. Roberts when she was here for lunch?”

  Sybil nodded. “She was with Mr. Bristow.”

  “Did anyone join them?”

  “No, they seemed to be talking business. Every time I stopped by to see how they were doing, they were discussing finances and strategies. It was way over my head.”

  If Gina had met Bristow here for lunch, it seemed obvious she wasn’t trying to hide that she was working for him. That made me wonder why I hadn’t heard about it before. Though I’d been very busy the past few weeks, spending most of my time at the resort, helping out while my dad was laid up. The truth of the matter was, there probably were a lot of things going on I hadn’t heard about.

  “Do you know what time they left?” I asked.

  “I’m not sure. I guess around one thirty. Why do you ask?”

  “I’m just trying to track down Ms. Roberts. We were supposed to meet, but she never showed up.”

  “Did you try calling her?”

  “Her phone seems to be turned off. She didn’t mention where she was going when she left here, did she?”

  A large group walked in behind me, and Sybil picked up a stack of menus. “Not that I can recall. I only spoke to her for a moment when she was on her way out. She asked if I was ready for school next month and I said I wasn’t. She asked if I planned to play soccer again and I said yes. She mentioned she’d been working on a new math program she wanted to introduce next year and I just groaned and told her math was definitely not my subject. When Mr. Bristow finished paying the check, they left.”

  “Okay, thanks for telling me what you remembered. If you see Ms. Roberts, will you tell her I’m trying to get hold of her?”

 
“Sure thing. You should come back when you have time to eat. The salads here are really good. The apple pecan blue cheese wedge is my favorite.”

  “It sounds delicious. I’ll keep that in mind.”

  I left the restaurant and headed to Murphy’s. I’d found the note on Gina’s bedside table that said Murphy’s at eight, but it didn’t specify a date. I figured it must be fairly recent, though, or Gina would have tossed the note by now.

  Murphy’s was a popular hangout. It had been my grandfather’s favorite place to grab a cold one since before I was born, and some of my earliest memories were of sitting next to him at the bar, sipping a soda and watching a game on television. Although I’d visited many times as an adult, the smell of beer mingling with tobacco still created a welcoming feeling that in many ways was as soothing as a warm hug.

  “Afternoon, Murphy,” I said as I entered the dark bar.

  “Tj. Must be a having a bad day. It’s not like you to stop in so early.”

  “I’m not here for a drink. I’m here for information. Can you remember seeing Gina Roberts in here recently?”

  “Sure.”

  “Do you remember when?”

  Murphy rubbed his chin as he appeared to be considering my question. “I guess it must have been Wednesday.”

  “Was she with anyone?”

  He set a glass of water in front of me. “She met someone, although I don’t know his name and he didn’t look familiar.”

  “Can you describe him?”

  Murphy picked up a towel and began drying glasses. “I guess he was around forty. Dark hair peppered with gray at the temple. He had a professional look to him.”

  “Professional?” I asked. He didn’t sound like either Bristow or Spencer.

  “Wore a suit despite the fact he was sitting in a bar in the middle of the summer. It was a hot day too. I’m pretty sure he was the only one in here not wearing shorts.”

  “Do you have any idea what they were talking about?”

  “No. It was busy, and I didn’t pay any attention to their conversation. Is there a reason you’re asking all these questions?”

  I wasn’t sure how many people I should share Gina’s status with, but I’d known Murphy my whole life, and enough people knew Gina was missing that word was bound to get out soon if it hadn’t already. “Gina seems to be missing. At least I don’t know where she is, and she isn’t answering her phone. I’m trying to retrace her steps over the past couple of days in the hopes of picking up a clue as to what she might have been up to.”

  Murphy set the glass he’d been drying on the rack and looked at me. “Funny you should mention Gina being missing. I ran into Hank Hammond at the restaurant supply in Reno early this morning and he mentioned he needed to get back because he had a meeting set up with Gina and Bristow at lunchtime.”

  “Lunchtime today?”

  “That’s what he said.”

  “Do you know what the meeting was about?”

  “Hank’s on the town council, so I imagine Bristow wanted to meet with him to get his support for his project.”

  “Okay, thanks.” I stood up and took a quick sip of the water Murphy had given me. “I’ll go talk to Hank. Maybe he knows something about whatever’s going on.”

  Hank Hammond was Texas born and bred. He’d moved to Serenity about five years ago and opened a popular lakeside restaurant, the Beef and Brew. As Murphy had indicated, not only was Hank a successful business owner but he was a member of the town council. I knew Kyle had been trying to protect me by not filling me in on Bristow’s plan, but Hank wasn’t one to mince words. If he knew something, I was certain he would have no problem sharing the dirty details of Bristow’s plan and Gina’s part in it.

  Unfortunately, it wasn’t much after noon and the place was slammed. I was told by the hostess that Hank was busy cooking in the kitchen, and I poked my head in to tell him I needed to talk to him about Gina. He said he was supposed to meet with Gina and Bristow at eleven to talk about the mall project, but they never showed up. I asked if either of them had mentioned other council members they were going to speak to, and he said he knew they were making the rounds, but he wasn’t sure where they were in the process. I told him I had some additional questions, but he was too busy to take a break but would call me later if things slowed down a bit. I thanked him and headed back to Kyle’s.

  Chapter 7

  By the time I arrived back at Kyle’s it was almost one o’clock. He’d used the notes he’d found in Gina’s files to create a list of people who might either have a personal grudge against Bristow or were firmly against the mall project to the point where he felt they might resort to violence. I was glad he’d gotten the ball rolling. I’d hoped Roy would have called by now with the news that Gina had been found alive and well, but so far, Roy hadn’t been in touch with news of any kind.

  “Okay,” I said after we’d settled once again around the kitchen table with cups of hot coffee. “What have you found?”

  “I’d like to begin by saying I don’t necessarily believe any of the individuals on my list shot Bristow, but all of them do seem to have motive.”

  “I get it. You aren’t accusing anyone, just offering suggestions.”

  Kyle nodded. “Exactly. The first person who came to mind is a man named Byron Wildman. Wildman owns the property that backs up the piece of land Bristow wants to build on and has been vocal in his opposition to the project since day one. It seems that if the project is approved, not only would Wildman’s fence back up to a parking lot instead of the green meadow with a seasonal creek that currently exists, but there’s a dispute about the property line. Wildman says he’s lived on the land for forty years and the property line was always the creek, but Bristow insists it’s actually a good twenty yards beyond the point where Wildman’s fence is now.”

  “Has anyone looked in to it?” I asked.

  “Harper did before he died. He seemed to think Bristow might be correct, but after Harper died and it looked like the mall project was dead, the dispute sort of faded into the background. Now that Bristow was gaining support for his project again, the argument between the two men had escalated. I don’t know for certain Wildman would shoot Bristow, but he’s used a shotgun to run Bristow off the land he considers to be his on at least one occasion.”

  “So you think he might have snapped and shot the guy?”

  “I’m just saying it’s a possibility.”

  “From what you’ve said, I agree. Who else do you have?”

  Kyle opened a folder he’d set on the table in front of him and opened it to the first sheet of paper. It looked like an invoice of some sort. “Clint Buford is a local architect who specializes in commercial projects. When Bristow first had the idea of building the mall, he hired Buford to draw up a design he could present to the council. After his design wasn’t met with enthusiasm or support by the council, Bristow decided to go in another direction and hired an out-of-state firm to handle the project. Bristow never paid for the design he prepared, and Buford has filed a lawsuit against him.”

  “Sounds more like a motive for Bristow to shoot Buford to avoid an expensive lawsuit, not the other way around,” I pointed out. “If Buford won the lawsuit, Bristow would have had to pay, but with him dead, Buford will likely never get his money.”

  “I don’t disagree. Still, Buford is pretty upset. Not only has he been running around town badmouthing Bristow, but based on his behavior, it seems he might have been mad enough to pull the trigger. Before he died, I spoke to Judge Harper about it, and he said he’d looked at the agreement and the contract Bristow signed didn’t state that the fee was contingent upon the town’s acceptance of the plans. It really does look like Bristow was just trying to stiff the guy.”

  “Do you know the status of the lawsuit? At least up to the point at which Bristow was shot?”

  “It’s still
on the books, but Bristow had made it clear to Buford that he should move on because there was no way he was paying for a design he couldn’t sell to the town council. I don’t have any idea how the lawsuit would have played out in court, but I understand Buford visited Bristow’s office last week and the confrontation between them was so intense one of the neighboring businesses called Kate to break it up.”

  “You spoke to Kate?”

  “Only briefly at the time of the incident, and only as a council member inquiring about a matter that could very well affect the town.”

  I wasn’t thrilled Kyle seemed to get along with my archrival, but he was Kyle and tended to get along with everyone. I didn’t comment but instead wrote down Buford’s name on my list, below Wildman. “Okay, who else do you have?”

  “Bristow was in the middle of a divorce,” Kyle continued. “While his ex doesn’t live in the area, she was seen in Serenity last week. It seems Bristow had stopped sending his support checks and she was here to collect. I’m not sure she’s even still in town, but if she is, I think she should be considered a suspect until proven otherwise.”

  “I agree. What’s her name?”

  “Connie Bristow. Not only was she angry at her ex, but I would be interested to know whether she’ll inherit Bristow’s wealth now that he’s gone.”

  “Can you find out?”

  “I’ll investigate the matter.”

  “Okay, I’ve added Mrs. Bristow to the list. Anyone else?”

  Kyle picked up another file. It looked like he had neatly organized everything he had discovered, printing physical copies of documents neatly sorted by suspect. “Just one more. I’m not sure if there’s anything here, but I already mentioned there’s a seasonal stream that flows through the area where Bristow wanted to build his parking lot. A group headed by a man named Billy Sparks has been attempting to block the project for environmental reasons. I don’t know Sparks well enough to know if he has violent tendencies, but there were several emails among those saved by Gina that were very strongly worded. I think it’s at least worth following up on the status of the relationship between the two men.”