Danger at the Dive Shop

by Mary Jane Hathaway

  Penny leaned closer. “I think it’s that young guy, Mark.”

  “Why do you think that?”

  She shrugged. “It’s always the person who’s going to inherit. Or maybe he wants the dive shop to himself.”

  “No way,” Elaine said. “Everybody’s looking at this all wrong. It’s about the treasure. I bet Coleman found the gold and that’s why he was trying to keep everyone away from Punta Molas.”

  “Maybe. What do you think, Kitty?” Leander asked.

  She thought hard, her fingers tracing lazy circles in Chica’s fur. Finally, she signed, “Something’s not right here, but I’m not sure what. I don’t know anything except that he drowned.”

  “Not drowned. There were stab wounds on the body. Very obvious once they pulled him from the water,” Leander said.

  Kitty’s eyes went wide. She hadn’t noticed. Then again, she hadn’t realized he wasn’t a dummy, either. It did explain how the crabs had gotten into the suit, though.

  “What do you know about the others in your group?” Leander asked.

  Kitty shrugged, giving him the little that she’d gleaned from spending the last week in their company. She felt a flash of embarrassment at how little she’d interacted with her tour mates, and often she’d headed to her room instead of staying up to talk. But now that one of them might be a murderer, she’d probably been better off keeping to herself.

  She ended with, “I know it’s not much. I wish I knew more.” Glancing down at Chica, she considered telling Leander about how Chica had been shadowing Angelina, but it didn’t seem to fit anywhere in the present investigation. Chica didn’t shadow violent killers, and if Angelina had been the target, she would have been killed first, instead of Coleman.

  “Everyone kept talking about the treasure, and maybe that’s it. Maybe he really was killed for some old coins. But I have this feeling…” Kitty shook her head.

  Even before the treasure took center stage, she’d felt the dynamics of the dive shop were off somehow. Not because Coleman was a jerk to everyone, but small, inconsequential things. Mark’s tense attitude and arguments with Angelina, and Angelina’s feelings of being misunderstood by her American boyfriend. Lisa’s overbearing behavior, as if she were directing a play. Joan’s quiet anger simmering under the pudgy soccer mom persona. Christina’s over-the-top, enthusiastic show of how much fun she was having. How Andrew was a better and more experienced diver than anyone in their group and yet he was taking a beginning-to-intermediate course. How Jenny said she was working on a very important class project for her graduate program, but never took notes or wrote anything down that Kitty could see. The way Ren seemed so easy-going but then had argued with Coleman several times over the itinerary.

  She looked up to see them all watching her intently. The hanging lights in the small room suddenly seemed overly bright and Kitty’s right eye twitched. “I don’t know. I can’t put my finger on it.”

  Chica walked around the table and ffroooofffffed in her throat at Leander, as if to say, She needs a cold Diet Coke and a siesta now. Make it happen.

  He nodded at Chica as if he understood, and turning to Penny and Elaine, he said, “Where are you staying?”

  “We were staying at Akumal and leaving tonight on the last flight to Miami.” Penny looked worried. “Our house is rented for the week. But I’m sure it won’t be hard to find something.” Penny glanced at Toto and Kitty knew what she was thinking. It was easy to get a room if you were two adults, no pets. But even though Toto was a trained service animal, some hotels still balked at accepting them into the room.

  “Why not stay with me at the dive shop?” Kitty asked. “I think the private rooms have vacancies, and this way we can stay together.”

  “Wonderful idea,” Elaine said. “Then we won’t have to hunt around for a place.”

  Kitty nodded, although she had an ulterior motive for wanting the two octogenarians with her. There was a safety in numbers, and two service dogs were better than one.

  “Besides, we can get a lot of detecting in tonight. Between us, I bet we uncover some juicy clues.” Elaine was clearly thrilled at the prospect.

  Leander looked alarmed. He held up one hand and signed slowly, as if not wanting to overstep. Kitty thought it was charming that Leander worried about Elaine and Penny’s feelings. She would bet her last dollar that as nice as they were and as friendly as they seemed, those two would do just exactly as they pleased regardless of anyone’s disapproval. “I think it’s a good idea, too―”

  At that moment the door opened and Officer Flores announced, “You are needed in the next room, Señor Estornell.”

  “Of course,” he said, standing up. “I’ll walk the ladies to the front and make sure they are taken back to the dive shop, and then I’ll be right in.”

  “Oh, don’t worry about us,” Kitty said, hurriedly, gathering her tote and tucking her book under her arm. “We’ll be fine. See you back at the dive shop.”

  There was an awkward moment where Leander seemed as if he wanted to say something else, and Kitty realized that he might not be free to drop by for dinner like any other friend would.

  “I hope―,” he started to say.

  “I mean, only if―,” she said, speaking at the same time.

  Officer Flores looked from Leander to Kitty, his expression one of supreme boredom. “Por favor, Señor Estornell.”

  “Yes, of course.” Leander made a faint gesture that might have been an “oh well” or maybe a “to be continued”, and then he was gone.

  “Oh, this is so exciting,” Penny said, gathering her things.

  “Who should we interrogate first?” Elaine asked.

  As the two women hurried out of the room and into the hallway, Kitty followed with Chica by her side. The evening loomed ahead of her, dark and foreboding. Dinner with her diving group wasn’t going to be some kind of party game where they unveiled the murderous villain at the end, then enjoyed hors d’oeuvres together. Someone―maybe someone sleeping just a room away―had hated Coleman enough to stab him to death and stuff his body in the reef.

  Her phone buzzed and Kitty glanced at the screen. It was from Leander.

  Be careful, please.

  We will. Kitty tucked the phone back into her pocket. It occurred to her that keeping herself out of harm’s way might not be as difficult as keeping Penny and Elaine from attracting the ire of a killer.

  Chapter Seven

  “I have noticed that even those who assert that everything is predestined and that we can change nothing about it still look both ways before they cross the street.”

  ― Stephen Hawking

  Kitty set the small red bowl filled with salsa on the table in the courtyard. Leaning slightly to the left so she could see into a small room at the far end of the outdoor space, Chica sat near the door, where she had followed Angelina and Mark into the kitchen. It was sweltering even in the shady outdoor area. Chica must be really feeling the heat near the double row of burners. Mark and Angelina seemed to be having an argument, although their voices were soft. Angelina’s shoulders slumped, she looked at the ground and shook her head. He stepped forward, speaking intently to her. Chica didn’t seem alarmed, so whatever reason she had for shadowing Angelina, it wasn’t because of Mark.

  “I don’t know if anybody’s really hungry for dinner,” a voice said and Kitty jumped.

  “Hi, Andrew. Angelina thought it would be better if we stuck to the schedule, at least for meals. Sometimes it helps for people to have something to do.”

  He shrugged, sweat beading his face. He looked at the bowls of rice, black beans, corn, and roasted chili peppers on the table. “Fish tacos. I was really lookin’ forward to these. Now I think I’ll just have a few beers.”

  Andrew always seemed to be having a few beers, so Kitty assumed he meant a few more, which wasn’t a pleasant idea. He’d been in the main building a few minutes ago, going over his pictures from the last dive with Ren and Jenny. The tension between
them seemed to have disappeared.

  “It’s been a long day. I think a little food is a good idea for everybody.” Usually she was more of a chocolate fountain and strawberry margarita girl herself, but even she had to admit that it wasn’t the right time to indulge.

  “Maybe so.” He sat in one of the chairs and toyed with the brightly embroidered tablecloth. The needlework patterns of fish, turtles, and parrots matched the artwork on the dishes. Kitty had thought they were charmingly colorful yesterday, but now they seemed garish in the light of Coleman’s murder.

  Placing an ice cold bottle of water at each place setting, Kitty thought of Detective Soledad’s questions about Texas. “Andrew,” she said, trying her best to sound casual, “I never caught what you do back in the States.”

  True to form, Andrew perked up at the chance to talk about himself. “I own a construction company. We’ve built luxury hotels all along the Gulf for the tourism industry. Just finished our twelfth a few months ago.”

  “Hotels? That’s not your usual construction job, right? I can’t imagine such a big project.” She also couldn’t imagine Andrew running a company where he had to be polite to a lot of people. Maybe he was exaggerating the ‘owning’ part. Or maybe he had a CEO who interacted with all the clients.

  “You have no idea.” He grabbed a napkin and wiped his face. “Even though it’s hot as blazes here, it’s better than Houston. The only way I get through it without stabbing someone is to take one of these trips and get some time down there in the reef, just forgettin’ everything.” A half a second later, he seemed to think about what he’d just said and let out an awkward-sounding laugh. “Not literally stabbing anybody, of course.”

  “Of course,” Kitty murmured. Had the police mentioned to anybody else that Coleman had been stabbed? If that wasn’t common knowledge, then how did Andrew know about it? Kitty felt a surge of unease and couldn’t help glancing at the array of knives at the table.

  As she moved to the other side of the table, she wondered why Andrew would ever want to kill Coleman. Maybe treasure really was enough to bring out the murderer in some people.

  Jenny and Ren came into the courtyard, holding hands. Jenny had dark circles under her eyes. “Dinner ready?” Ren asked, the cheerfulness in his voice sounding strained.

  “Almost, I think.” Kitty glanced back at the kitchen and saw that Mark had his arm around Angelina now, his lips pressed to her temple. She was leaning into his side as if for comfort.

  Angelina was young. She didn’t know that a woman needed to put her foot down, to set boundaries with a man, and to make sure she was treated better than a servant.

  Taking a deep breath, Kitty reminded herself that she knew very little about the couple, and it was likely her own past was making the situation seem more serious than it was. Kissing in the kitchen was better than fighting through dinner, anyway.

  Jenny took a seat at the table, her face pale. Kitty wondered if it was the shock of Coleman’s murder or the heat that made her look so unwell. She was wearing a long-sleeved shirt and slacks. Maybe she’d run out of clean clothes but Kitty felt a few degrees warmer just looking at her outfit. Jenny rearranged her plate and silverware, fiddling with the fork but looking as if her thoughts were elsewhere.

  “Did you two get everything you needed for your project?” Kitty asked.

  Jenny grimaced and said nothing.

  “Just two left,” Ren said. “We went out again a few hours ago, but we didn’t find what we needed.”

  “Oh, I didn’t realize you’d gone diving again after…” Of course there was no reason why they couldn’t. The police had only said not to leave the island. They had never barred them from diving for the time they had left on Cozumel.

  “Yeah, Lisa and Christina went with us. We hired a boat from the little shop a few blocks away. Angelina told us they couldn’t take us out anymore so we looked around. We’re headed out tomorrow morning, too.”

  “What happens if you don’t find the last two on your list? Can you substitute or rewrite the paper?”

  “Substitute?” Jenny asked, her voice tight with anger. “Like, with a seastar or something? Maybe a cute little clownish?”

  “Jen, she’s just asking,” her boyfriend said quietly, putting a hand on her shoulder.

  She shook it off with a grimace. “Easy for you to say. Your daddy pays for everything. I’m going to lose my scholarship if I don’t nail this project.” Tears pooled in her eyes, but she was clearly furious.

  “I’m not going to let that happen. I swear, we’re in this together.”

  “You’d better not hitch your cart to this horse. Isn’t that what your mother said? That I would just pull you down? Me and all my family?” She swiped at the tears on her face.

  “You know I don’t listen to―”

  “Well, you’d better, or you’ll be in the same place I am. Hustling for money and on the verge of losing your place in the program.” Taking a deep breath, she stood up. “Never mind. I’m gonna go see if they need help in the kitchen.”

  There was a silence at the table, broken only by the sound of Andrew popping open a cold beer.

  Lisa, Joan and Christina walked through the back door of the dive shop and made their way toward the table. Lisa looked recovered from the trauma of the morning. Her lipstick was back in place and her dark bob was perfectly smooth. She was wearing a short sleeved pale blue shirt and knee-length matching shorts. Kitty thought they looked a little bit like the complimentary pajamas they passed out on the cruise ships.

  Christina claimed a place near the end of the table and grabbed a water bottle. She didn’t look as put together as Lisa, but she peered eagerly toward the kitchen, as if famished for supper.

  Hovering uncertainly, Joan seemed unsure which side to choose. There were plenty of chairs, and both Lisa and Christina looked at her expectantly. Then as if unwilling to make a decision, Joan headed to their room. “I’ll be right back. I forgot that new little bottle of hot sauce I wanted to try.”

  Christina shrugged and focused on Kitty. “Who was that strange-looking guy from the embassy? It seemed like you two were close.”

  Kitty took a second to swallow back a response about who exactly was strange. Maybe if Christina didn’t speak like Miss Piggy, Kitty would give her a little more leeway. Maybe.

  Snorting with laughter, Andrew said, “Yeah, that dude is a bit freaky with the dyed hair and weird eyes.”

  “It’s not dyed.” Kitty heard the angry note in her voice and tried to speak more calmly. “He has Waardenburg’s Syndrome, Type II, a genetic condition characterized by a combination of heterochromia iridis, white forelock, premature graying hair…” Also, possible malformations of the kidneys, heart, colon, and varying degrees of hearing loss. But he hadn’t volunteered any information, except to say his parents were Deaf, and Kitty certainly wasn’t going to ask about the state of his colon.

  Andrew held up his hands, laughing. “Whoah, Nelly. Looks like you got all his info. I’ve heard of women like you. They need your DNA and a genetic test before they get involved. Anyway, I was just asking a question.”

  Working with tour groups, Kitty had honed the skill of censoring herself. It was coming in handy tonight. “His name Leander Estornell. We met a few months ago when the embassy sent him out to help with another… problem.” Understatement of the year.

  “So,” Lisa said, squinting in a way that was supposed to imitate a smile, “You too are real close?”

  “No, not really.”

  “Cool. I was thinking we should invite him along to the Blue Dolphin tonight. So, what’s he like? Does he party?”

  It had been so long since she’d felt jealousy, it took her by surprise. It was a simple question.

  “Not that I know of.” They hadn’t actually had the opportunity to party, or not party, so she wasn’t exactly sure, but if she were a betting type, she’d say Leander wasn’t going to jump at the chance to go to the Blue Dolphin. “But you should as
k him.”

  “I think I will.” Lisa gave an exaggerated wink.

  Jenny, Angelina, and Mark emerged from the kitchen. They carried small containers of warmed tortillas, a large bowl of salad, and the special cream sauce for the tacos.

  “The fish is almost ready. I’ve got a few more pieces frying and then we’ll start serving up the food,” Mark said. He sounded tired. “I want to apologize for everything that’s happened, and thank you all for being understanding about the situation. We’re going to try and stay on schedule. Except for the boat trips, of course. The police are still examining them.”

  “Oh, no apology necessary. You don’t have to go to all this trouble. I’m sure everybody here agrees we can take care of ourselves until we’re free to leave,” Kitty said, her heart aching for this man who was stuck dealing with tourists after his uncle was murdered. “If there’s anything we can do, please ask.”

  He nodded, his chin up and face set in a stiff smile. Clearly, it was important to Mark that he continued to act as host.

  Joan emerged from her room with a small green bottle and took a place at the table. She looked miserable, probably from the heat.

  The back door of the shop opened and everyone turned to look. When Penny stepped through the doorway, Kitty started to smile. She was pulling rolling luggage, and Elaine followed behind her. They were dressed in a matching purple pantsuit, and despite their penchant for wearing fabulous gowns and flashy jewels aboard the cruise ships, they had dressed conservatively enough today. Except for the color of their outfits and the fedora perched on Toto’s head, they could have passed for any of a dozen elderly tourists she’d seen around. They were clearly undercover.

  “Everyone, these are my friends who were slated to go out on an evening flight, but they’ve been asked to stay in town for a few days.” Kitty signed as she spoke. She didn’t bother to mention that Penny and Elaine were deaf, and Toto was the service dog. If anyone couldn’t figure that out from what was before their own eyes, a more detailed explanation wouldn’t help them.