The Case of the Prescient Poodle

by B R Snow

  “At first, probably not well,” I said, reaching down to pet Chloe and grab the tennis ball she had dropped at my feet. “Don’t you dare shake on me again.”

  I did my best to shield myself from the torrent of water then fired the ball back into the pool. I wiped myself off again and stretched out on the lounger.

  “Jennifer said that her parents threatened to disown her if she didn’t break it off,” I said, glancing over at them.

  “Maybe everyone underestimated just how much bad blood there was between the two families,” Josie said.

  “Yeah, William said that Jensen never forgave his father for what he did to him,” I said.

  “What did he do?” Chef Claire said.

  “He made an example of him then used it as the centerpiece of his first political campaign,” I said. “It sounded like it was some sort of shady financial deal.”

  “So, we’ve got some sort of Romeo and Juliet thing going on?” Chef Claire said.

  “Yeah, that pretty much sums it up,” I said.

  “You don’t think that the daughter might have been involved with the yacht blowing up, do you?” Josie said.

  “She wouldn’t have done that to her parents. Estranged is one thing, but that’s just sick.”

  “We’ve seen stranger things,” Josie said.

  “Yes, I suppose we have,” I said, nodding.

  “And she is inheriting everything,” Josie said.

  “Maybe it was some weird sort of payback,” Chef Claire said. “Revenge is always a good motive.”

  “If I hadn’t seen the way they are with each other, I probably could have jumped to that conclusion,” I said.

  “Just so you could say you got your workout in, right?” Josie said.

  “Funny,” I said, making a face at her. “But as soon as I saw them together, I knew there’s no way she could have done it. You know, since there was a good chance that William might have been blamed for it.”

  “Maybe she didn’t think there was any way that would happen,” Chef Claire said.

  “But if that were the case, she would have felt guilty about it,” I said. “And I didn’t pick a trace of that. They’re a couple of lovebirds.”

  “So, where does that leave you?” Chef Claire said.

  “Chasing my tail,” I said. “I need to talk with Gerald at some point.”

  “But not until after he hears about William and Jennifer, right?” Josie said.

  “Yeah, there’s no way I’m going to be the one who breaks the news to him,” I said. “He’s going to need some time to process it.”

  “That makes sense,” Josie said, wiping her hands on a towel. “Chef Claire and I were talking about catching a late afternoon movie, then heading to the restaurant for dinner.”

  “You’re taking the night off?” I said to Chef Claire.

  “I am,” she said. “I’m doing everything I can to work myself out of a job.”

  “Don’t do anything crazy,” Josie said, giving her a mock stern look. “You want to join us?”

  “No, thanks. But maybe I’ll manage to make it to dinner. Rooster and I have something to do later on.”

  “Like what?” Josie said, glancing over at me.

  “We’re going out for drinks.”

  “Should I even ask where you’re going?” Josie said.

  “Probably not,” I said, shaking my head.

  “Just so I’ll have plausible deniability in case your mom is looking for you?”

  “You’re on fire today.”

  Chapter 25

  I pulled into small dirt parking lot next to the makeshift structure constructed of wood, cinderblock, and corrugated tin. It was painted lime green with purple trim, and a block-letter sign hung precariously from the top of the verandah and swayed gently in the breeze. We were in the northwest corner of Grand Cayman in an area called West Bay that was less than ten miles north of our place on Seven Mile Beach. Although the area had a residential feel to it, the inexorable creep of development and high-end housing was definitely making its presence known. But for the time being, the bar called Neptune’s Landing had managed to escape what so many call progress, and it sat on a side street nestled among a small stretch of shops selling tee shirts and assorted tourist tchotchke.

  Rooster and I climbed out of the jeep and took a few moments to take the place in before frowning at each other.

  “Are you thinking what I am?” Rooster said.

  “I think Detective Renfro must have a different definition of what constitutes a dive bar,” I said. “This place isn’t bad at all.”

  “Yeah, I kinda like it,” Rooster said, nodding his approval. “It looks like our kind of place. Maybe the detective has gotten spoiled hanging out at all the resorts.”

  “If Detective Renfro ever comes for a visit, we should take him to The Outer Limit,” I said, laughing. “You know, to broaden his horizons.”

  The Outer Limit was a notorious drinking establishment not far from Clay Bay that was as close to the epitome of dive bar I’d ever been in. Rooster chuckled at my comment then turned serious.

  “So, how do you want to play this?” he said.

  “We should probably go in separately.”

  “Okay,” Rooster said, glancing around at the sparse, late-afternoon crowd that was sitting outside under the covered verandah.

  “Detective Renfro said there would be a couple of undercover cops here,” I said.

  “I’m sure I’ll be able to pick them out,” Rooster said. “How are you going to handle Ramon?”

  “I thought I’d just start with my usual,” I said.

  “When in doubt, poke the bear?”

  “An oldie but a goodie,” I said, grinning back at him as I headed up the small set of steps.

  I entered the small, dark bar and paused in the doorway and glanced around. The windows were open, and two overhead fans were doing their best to keep the air circulating and deal with a thick cloud of cigarette and cigar smoke that hovered. There were about a dozen tables, half of them occupied, and several men lined the bar either chatting in pairs or hunched over alone with their thoughts. I spotted a large man with his back to me, and when he turned his head to get the bartender’s attention, I caught a glimpse of a gold hoop earring. I headed for the bar and wedged myself in next to Ramon. At first, he grudgingly gave me enough room to get my elbows on the bar, but when he realized I was a woman, he took a step to his right and did a half-turn and beamed at me.

  “Well, hello there,” he said, ogling me from head to toe. “Can I buy you a drink?”

  “Only if you let me return the favor,” I said, extending my hand. “I’m Suzy.”

  “It’s nice to meet you, Suzy,” he said. “I’m Ramon.”

  He pronounced his name as if it should register with me. Maybe, like Sting or Madonna, he only needed the one name for people to know who he was. Perhaps organizing cockfights was enough to put him on the celebrity A-list in the circles he traveled.

  “What would you like?” he said, snapping his fingers at the bartender, a trait I found incredibly annoying and disrespectful to service workers.

  “Please don’t do that,” I said, frowning at him.

  “Do what?” he said, confused.

  “Wisdom tends to grow in proportion to one’s awareness of one’s ignorance,” I said, glancing down at several empty shot glasses lined up in front of him. “What are you drinking?”

  “Beer with rum chasers,” he said, still trying to process my comment about his lack of self-awareness.

  “I think I’ll just go with a beer,” I said, getting ready to make my initial cast. “I’m not a big fan of rum.”

  “You’re not much for the hard stuff, huh?” he said.

  “Oh, I’ve been known to drink liquor,” I said, tossing my line out. “But I doubt if they have my favorite here.”

  “And just what would your favorite be?” Ramon said, leaning closer and exuding a scent that was a combination of sweat, boo
ze, and what I thought was cement.

  “Arrack,” I said, casually tossing it out for him to digest.

  Ramon twitched, quickly recovered, then forced a smile.

  “Arrack? What the heck is that?”

  “It’s a liquor that’s common in a lot of countries in Asia,” I said, returning the smile. “But my favorite is one that’s made in Sri Lanka.”

  That got another mild twitch out of Ramon, and his eyes narrowed.

  “Sri Lanka?” he said. “You ever been there?”

  “No,” I said, maintaining my smile. “I just like their booze. Have you been there?”

  “I couldn’t find the place on a map,” he said, then ordered my beer and another round for himself.

  It was a good response to use to avoid answering the question, and I put Ramon down as a definite maybe when it came to whether he had visited the place. The bartender set my beer down in front of me, and I took a long sip of the ice-cold Caybrew.

  “That hits the spot,” I said, taking another sip. “It’s hot today.”

  “It’s always hot. You should try working in it all day,” Ramon said, tossing back his shot of rum and washing it down with what had to be half his beer.

  “What do you do for work?” I said, going for casual.

  “At the moment, I’m back in construction,” he said, draining his beer and waving to the bartender. “I’m thirsty.”

  “You deserve it,” I said, turning sympathetic. “Working in that hot sun all day.”

  The bartender returned with Ramon’s drinks and set them down in front of him and glanced at me.

  “No, I’m good for the moment,” I said, reaching into my pocket for cash. I handed the bartender more than enough to cover a couple of rounds. “Here you go. Get one for yourself while you’re at it.”

  “Thanks,” the bartender said, then wandered off.

  “I do like a woman who buys drinks,” Ramon said, reaching for his rum.

  “Happy to do it,” I said, beaming at him. “And I do like a working man. Construction, huh?”

  “Just for now,” he said, stifling a burp. “I’ll be transitioning into something new soon.”

  “A career change?” I said, nodding as I took another sip. “Interesting. What are you going to be doing next?”

  “Well, I was about to get into the import-export business, but that’s hit a snag,” he said, his eyes starting to glaze over.

  “Oh, I hate when that happens.”

  “Tell me about it,” Ramon said, tossing back his shot of rum and immediately waving for another.

  “Maybe we should just ask the bartender to leave the bottle,” I said, tossing some more cash on the bar.

  “What’s your deal?” he said, glancing back and forth at me and the money. “You rich or something? Or maybe you’re just a tourist who likes to sample some of the local attractions.”

  He puffed up and leered at me. I almost threw up in my mouth, but recovered and took a long swig of Caybrew.

  “No, just looking to kill a few hours before dinner,” I said, then glanced at the bartender. “Just leave the bottle, so we don’t have to keep bothering you. But on second thought, I think I am going to need another beer. Thanks.”

  Ramon poured himself a shot, tossed it back, then refilled the glass and left it sitting in front of him.

  “So, your plans to work in the import-export business went south, huh?”

  “Yeah,” he said, deflated. “And those people better pay me what they owe me pretty soon, or we’re gonna have a problem.”

  “They owe you money even though you haven’t started working for them?”

  “I did a few odd jobs for them,” Ramon said, deflecting. Then he decided a new topic of conversation was called for. “So, what’s your deal? What do you do?”

  “I spend most of my time working with dogs and food,” I said with a shrug.

  “You work in dog food?” he said, puzzled.

  “No. Dogs and food,” I said. “I’m involved in a couple of restaurants. And I run a dog business. You know, veterinary services, dog rescue, stuff like that.”

  “Hmmm,” he said, giving it some serious thought.

  “I love it,” I said. “Especially the rescue side. Why, just the other day, we rescued the most gorgeous poodle you’ve ever seen.”

  “You don’t say,” Ramon said, setting the shot of rum he was about to inhale back down on the bar. “A poodle, huh?”

  “Yes. She was very lucky to get off that boat before it blew up,” I whispered.

  Ramon gave me a long stare, then tossed his shot back and washed it down with half a beer.

  “The dog got off the boat?” he said, staring off at a spot behind the bar.

  “Yes,” I said, nodding. “Unfortunately, the people who were on it didn’t.”

  “Yeah, I think I heard something about a boat blowing up the other day.”

  “I’m sure you did,” I said, glancing over at him.

  “What?”

  “I mean, how could you not have? It was all over the news.”

  “Oh, yeah, sure. That’s where I heard it,” Ramon said, toying with the bottle of rum, apparently unsure if he should have any more.

  “And I just heard that the police have arrested the Premier’s son for it,” I said, shaking my head in disbelief. “Can you believe that?”

  “I guess anything is possible,” Ramon said, giving me a wary stare.

  “The police apparently found some debris that ties him to the explosion,” I said. “Bad luck for him, huh?”

  “I guess,” Ramon said with a shrug. “But I really wouldn’t have a clue.”

  Now that he was on the defensive, I had a choice to back off or go full speed ahead. I glanced around the bar and noticed Rooster staring back at me. Then he looked away, and I followed his eyes to two men who were doing their best to look like a couple of tourists enjoying an afternoon cocktail. They were sitting at a table near the bar, and when my eyes landed on one of them, he gave me a slight nod of his head. Since I had more than enough backup, I decided to push Ramon a bit more.

  “They said on the news that the guy they arrested has a construction company that specializes in demolition,” I said, staring deep into Ramon’s eyes. “Hey, you work in construction. Maybe you know him.”

  “No, I can’t say that I do,” Ramon said, then placed his hand on my forearm and left it there. “You seem like a woman who knows how to party.”

  “Oh, does it show?” I said, going for coy.

  “It’s written all over your face,” he said, fiddling with one of the gold hoops with his free hand.

  “I’ve been known to cut loose from time to time,” I said. “But from what I’ve heard, most of the local supply took a serious hit when that boat went up.”

  “What?” he said, his eyes going wide.

  “But you’re the kind of guy who wouldn’t let that stop him, right, Ramon? I’m sure you have lots of ways to get around that problem. I mean, a guy like you must have all sorts of connections with the right people.”

  He glared at me then his expression morphed into a huge smile.

  “Say, why don’t we get out of here and go someplace more comfortable?”

  “Oh, I don’t know, Ramon,” I said, taking a sip. “I’m pretty comfortable here at the moment.”

  “I’m sure we can do a lot better than this place,” he said, starting to squeeze my arm.

  “Ow. Please, stop that, Ramon,” I said, flinching. “That hurts.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry,” he said, releasing some of the pressure without letting go of my arm. “Say, why don’t we go to my place? It’s not far from here.”

  “Why would I want to do that?” I said, grimacing.

  “Well, to party, of course. I’d love to have a chat with you in private,” he said, ratcheting up the pressure on my arm.

  “I bet you would,” I said, trying to get my arm free. “I should probably warn you that I bit the last guy who did that.
”

  “Oh, you like to get rough, huh?” His face morphed again, this time into an expression that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. “I’m sure I’ll be able to accommodate you. Let’s get out of here. You’ll find my place very interesting.”

  “Interesting?” I said with a cold stare. “Why, is there a cockfight there tonight?”

  Ramon recoiled, intensified his glare, then tried to squeeze the life out of my arm.

  “Who the hell are you?”

  “I’m Suzy,” I said, again struggling to get my arm free.

  Ramon started to turn away from the bar and pull me toward the door when he was thwarted by a large presence standing directly behind him.

  “Excuse me,” Ramon said to Rooster. “You’re in my way.”

  “Well done. You got it in one. Maybe you aren’t a total idiot,” Rooster said without emotion. “Let go of her arm.”

  “This is none of your business,” Ramon said. “The lady and I have a few things to talk about.”

  “Let go of her arm.”

  “And if I don’t?” Ramon said, making a big mistake by asking that question.

  Rooster effortlessly snatched the offending hand free, bent the index finger back until I heard it pop, then he grabbed Ramon by the back of the neck and bounced his forehead hard once against the edge of the bar. Apart from the force of the blow and the fact that the object was a large bald head, Rooster’s movement was reminiscent of how one might crack an egg. I suppose Ramon would have screamed from the pain of his broken finger if he hadn’t dropped like a rock, unconscious.

  Everyone inside the bar initially focused on the commotion, then lost interest and went back to what they’d been doing. I glanced over at the two cops who were sipping their beers as they watched the scene play out. The bartender peered over the bar at Ramon who was splayed out on the floor. Then he gave Rooster a blank stare, apparently waiting for him to speak first. Rooster showed his palms to the bartender then reached into his pocket and tossed some money on the bar.

  “We’ll be leaving now,” Rooster said. “Why don’t you buy a round for everybody then keep the change?”