by K. E. Warner
“Kids playing in the sand, discover a body, turns out it’s Belcher. He’d been out of town for two weeks, over in Asia looking at car manufacturing plants with his son, and here he is, dead in the sand.”
“His son? Who’s his son?” Magda knew Brian from city council meetings. He was a vigorous supporter of the community and an advocate for the resort industry in Stey Cove. In the past year she’d interviewed him about speed limits through the town, the colour of the bridge paint, and the theme of the flowers being planted on the boulevards. “He has a son?”
“Dan. Same last name. And to save you time, the guy has a shady past and wasn’t on speaking terms with his family for a few years. He used his dad’s shop as a place to chop cars for parts. Part of a gang reselling the parts in overseas markets – without their owners' permission. Got off on all charges, and his dad told him to get lost until he grew up.”
“What? A chop shop?” Her chin dropped.
Raheem tried not to grin. Finally, a few things she didn’t know. “Yup. He showed up here recently, and his mom encouraged a relationship between father and son. Dad took him on a trip to Asia as a kind of bonding and grooming experience. He hoped the kid would take an interest in the family business.”
“Not sure what would motivate him to do that. Sounds like a -.”
“Love. For his wife, not his son. At least that’s my understanding. The son is AWOL now. Fallen off the map. We’re checking airports and customs to nail down dates of departure and re-entry. In the meantime, if you can help by getting word out on the son’s disappearance, it would help. It might prompt a tip to jumpstart the investigation.”
“Sure. Got anything for me off the record.”
He stared at her for a moment. They became so close over the last year. But he sensed the growing distance between them over the past few weeks. Being more open with her could narrow the gap. Magda was an intelligent, observant, and popular member of the community. And he could use her help.
“Okay. Off the record. And I’m not sure if there’s a connection, or it’s a coincidence. Alice Connor was looking for Brian Belcher just before her car accident. He wasn’t there, and she had a run-in with Anne, his wife. Anne says she doesn’t recall seeing Alice that day, but according to the dealership’s GM, Alice was doing a lot of yelling - at Anne.”
Magda leaned on the desk, looking like a child waiting for story time. “A person would remember that. Why would she say she didn’t? Maybe embarrassed?”
“Possibly. But the guy also remembers the accident that occurred minutes after the yelling, and Anne told me she didn’t. When Webb and I asked her for details about Brian, and where he was, she said she gave me that information earlier, when I was asking about ‘the woman’. I didn’t mention a woman to her. How do you put that together?”
Magda leaned back in the chair, brought the coffee mug to her lips and looked at Raheem over the edge of the cup. His heart pounded, and he wondered if it was heartburn, or the grin she was trying to hide.
She tapped a finger on her iPad. “Brian is younger than Alice, right? Late fifties?”
“Yes, but what are you getting at? Oh. No. I doubt that.”
“Why? Something against a younger man falling for an older woman?” Her grin took over her face as she set the mug down.
Her teasing surprised him, and he shook his head. “No. It’s just that – no. No. Besides, he had something for her apparently – a package. She went to pick it up and was mad he wasn’t around.” He drummed his fingers on the desk. “I think I need to go back to Anne and dig a little deeper.”
“I’ll talk to the Connors for you. I’m concerned about Alice, and it would give me a chance to reach out. Or Donna can? Or maybe Donna knows something she hasn’t shared with me.” She chuckled at the thought of Donna keeping something to herself. But Donna might be the right person to talk to the Connors. They’d been friends for years.
“I’d appreciate it.” He shuffled paper on his desk for a few seconds as he searched for the next words. Picking up a pile, he tapped it against his knee and blurted, “How about we try again? Dinner? Tonight?”
Her response sounded coy. “How about tomorrow night? I have plans for dinner tonight.” She shuffled through her knapsack.
He cocked his head and watched her out of the corner of his eye. “Oh?”
“Yes, Donna and I are meeting Elaine for dinner.” She greeted his look with a smile.
“Tomorrow will work. And we can compare notes.” He hoped she took the olive branch.
Her eyebrows raised and her face lit up, “I thought - ”
“You aren’t the only one who thinks, you know.” He raised himself from his chair and reached to hold her hand.
“Too soon,” she whispered. “Let’s see how dinner goes.”
And with that small window of hope still open, she left the office.
Chapter twenty-one
Magda stopped in the foyer of The Black Swan and scanned the cherry-wood room for her friends. Her shoulders relaxed as she crossed the threshold and saw Donna and Elaine wave simultaneous hellos. The women looked comfortable beside the old stone fireplace. This was Magda’s favourite restaurant, and her friends occupied Donna’s favourite table.
“Sorry, I must be late.” Magda gasped as she hurried toward them. A half-finished beer sat in front of each woman. Magda made punctuality a priority and glanced at her watch. Right on time.
“Not late. We’re early. Just needed to catch up. Lot’s of news today.” Donna, glamourous in black tights with a white cotton sweater draping her thighs, beamed at Magda. She stroked her white gold necklace. Leaning back with her legs crossed, a silver lamé stiletto caught the flicker of the fireplace flame.
“If you have the Jagged Face IPA, it’s on me.” Elaine piped up, raising her mug to Magda as she did so. Elaine, more conservative than her friend, wore black jeans and a pastel pink shirt with a taupe and pink linen shawl over her shoulders. Her footwear of choice was a pair of white boat sneakers. Together the women made elegant bookends at the table.
“Oh, local – of course. Thank you, Elaine, I will. I’m underdressed compared to the two of you. I should know better.” Magda’s grey linen jumper and sack purse became a staple when she wanted to relax. She leaned over each of the women, wrapping her arms around them with a hug. Slinging her purse over the back of the chair, she chirped, “I’ll head to the snug for that beer. Can I order food for you while I’m up there?”
Magda took their orders and headed into the snug, returning shortly, beer in hand. “So happy to be here with the two of you.” It wasn’t often she got to relax in the company of two of her favourite women. Elaine and Donna often hosted get-togethers, and although Magda enjoyed helping to host their events, she preferred sitting and talking with them.
She raised her glass to the two women and toasted. “A friend’s eye is a good mirror. Cheers.”
They echoed back the cheer, and the group relaxed into a hum of conversation.
“Elaine, how are you? I didn’t have the chance to ask last time I saw you, what are you painting?”
Elaine took up painting after arriving on the island. A few lessons helped her develop an expert eye for colour, perspective, and dimension. And most importantly, she unleashed a passion for island landscapes.
“I’m capturing the sandcastles, but from a distance. I’m trying to retain the perspective of the structures as the focal point of the beach. And for the first time, I’m adding people into the mix. A stab at something new – surrealism. I’m having so much fun with it I might do a few more paintings of the actual sculptures themselves, if I have time.” Elaine preferred to work in real-time from the landscape, rather than using photographs. Because of this, she was a familiar figure around the area and people loved to stand behind her, watching as she duplicated the view on canvas.
“Oh, I love that idea. I enjoy your landscapes so much. I can’t wait to see what surrealism brings to your art.”
Elaine
jumped and reached for her purse. “Oh. I just remembered - I found these on the beach today. I can only think to take them to the police station, but Magda, maybe you could pass them to Raheem for me. There’s no identification.”
Magda caught the darting glance between the two older women, and recognized a conspiracy. Knowing Donna, she had told Elaine the romantic duo was currently engaged in an unromantic duel. This was part of a set-up to connect Magda and Raheem, and the likely topic of conversation before Magda arrived.
“May I see them, Elaine?” She held out her hand and saw the women glowing at each other as if they had solved one of the world’s most important crises.
She stared at the keyring, a little perplexed by the mass Elaine handed over. The totem attached was an oversized, white plastic snowflake, the size of a woman’s outstretched palm; air-filled as if it was a child’s toy. It seemed strange to have something so large hung off a keyring, given there were only two odd-looking keys attached.
“I won’t have time to deliver them during office hours tomorrow. But I could give them to Raheem. I’m meeting him for dinner tomorrow night. Hopefully, no one will show up at the detachment before he takes them in. But police would get contact information if someone came looking.” She held the keys out in front.
“I’ve never seen keys like this. Do you know what they’re for?” She tried to imagine the lock they would fit.
Elaine shook her head. “I haven’t seen anything like them, but Raheem might have some idea. The snowflake wouldn’t fit into a pocket, and the spokes make it awkward to carry. But they must be important to someone.”
“Where did you find them? The police will want to know.”
“Off to the side of the sand sculptures, across the street from the entrance. It was in the sand where the children build sculptures. It was under the sand, but I had my sneakers off and a key nicked my foot. I stopped to see what was in the sand, there’s rarely glass or anything dangerous, but if there was, I didn’t want anyone else to get hurt. When I brushed away the sand, a key appeared. I tugged it and the keyring came out too.”
Magda visualized Elaine’s description of the location and realized it was near where they found Brian Belcher.
“Okay. I’ll let Raheem know. I suppose if they’re important, someone will come asking.” She tucked the keys into the side of her purse and sat up just as their meals arrived.
Magda watched Elaine slice through the crust of her fisherman’s pie, allowing steam to escape. Donna’s bangers and mash smelled delicious, but when she saw the chicken curry madras, she was more than happy with her choice. Both Donna and Elaine glanced at the meals ordered by their companions and with everyone pleased with their respective choice, they tucked in.
Nobody said much for the first few minutes, but as the pace of consumption slowed Magda turned to Donna.
“Donna, do you know anything about Alice Connor that might involve Brian Belcher? I know that sounds like an odd question, but I was wondering what she was doing when she had the accident.”
“Oh my. Gosh, we haven’t even talked about poor Brian, have we? I just don’t know what this town will do without that man. He was such a wonderful voice for the resort industry. I can’t believe he’s gone. With Sonja’s death, and now Brian. It's so hard to understand. And scary. People shouldn’t wander around alone. Or with relative strangers.” She looked directly at Magda.
Magda tried to redirect her friend’s attention back to Alice. “Do you know how well he knew Alice?”
“Magda, you can’t think Alice had something to do with his death?”
“No, no, not at all. I was curious if she spoke to you about him.”
“No. She hasn’t.” Donna hesitated and continued, seeming to ramble. “But I know Dave Connor does not like the man. Called him an enabler. I tried to tell him it was marvelous to enable people, and he snorted at me. Don’t you think it’s a marvelous thing when someone enables the community to succeed? I do.”
Magda frowned, realizing Donna’s age may have interfered with her ability to interpret Dave’s nuanced use of the word enabler.
Donna went on, “Do you want me to ask Alice something for you?”
“No, I’m just curious. She was exiting the car dealership when she had her accident.” Wanting to end the discussion before she said too much, she blurted, “Maybe she wanted to buy a car.”
Donna shrugged and changed the topic. “So. Raheem?”
Magda tore off a piece of naan, scooped a mouthful of curry onto the bread, and shoveled it into her mouth. She mumbled nonsensical syllables at Donna to avoid the discussion.
Donna ignored her. “Well, I’m hoping everything is good between you. The other night at the bandstand you seemed to enjoy the company of Chris Ducharme, and I just wouldn’t want that to impede something lovely.”
Magda laughed. “Donna, my mother will be so pleased to know you continue to be a surrogate on her behalf. Chris is an interesting person. He just fascinates me, that’s all. He’s barely an acquaintance. But I prefer to judge him based on what I learn about him directly, as opposed to gossip.”
Donna’s lip quivered. “I’m sorry Magda. I don’t mean to be a nag. You know I love you like a daughter, and just want what’s best for you.”
Elaine slipped her arm over her friend’s shoulder. Magda took it as a sign of solidarity in the discussion, and sighed.
“Donna, I don’t think you’re nagging. But I have to deal with some things on my own. My relationship with Raheem is one of those things. Trust me, I want what’s best for me too. I’m sorry. I don’t mean to make you feel bad.”
“That’s all right. I overstepped.” A smile spread across her face. “Listen, can we split a dessert as a truce? I have a craving for Chocolate and Guinness Pie.”
“Perfect. My treat.” Magda hopped up before they could respond. She hurried into the snug leaving Elaine to console Donna for a few minutes more.
Chapter twenty-two
“Hi, Mrs. Belcher. I’d like to speak with you.” Raheem took in her groggy expression and disheveled clothes. “I have a few questions.”
She said nothing but pulled the door open to accommodate his frame. He didn’t move until she spoke.
“Yes. Come in. Leave your boots.” Her statement sounded less like a command and more like a simple statement to fill the space between them.
He followed her into the living room and lowered himself to the couch. Resting his forearms on his thighs, he leaned toward her as she sunk into a big easy chair and stared back at him.
“Mrs. Belcher, Alice Connor came to see Mr. Belcher on the day she had her car accident. She spoke with you directly. You didn’t recall that when we first spoke. Perhaps your recollection is better now. What did you speak about?”
Her shoulders heaved, and she sighed. “She said he had a package for her. I don’t have a clue what the contents were, and she didn’t elaborate. I felt as though she was uncontrolled and dangerous. I just wanted her to leave. I told her I’d get Brian to call her when he returned.”
Raheem jotted in his notebook as he asked, “Have you seen or heard from Dan since we last spoke?”
“No. No, nothing.”
“Mrs. Belcher, you mentioned you received texts from both Brian and Dan while they were away.” She nodded, and he rose from the chair and continued. “I’ll be on my way now, but I need access to those texts.”
Anne stood and began to step toward the door. “Yes, yes. Of course.”
The two faced each other, Raheem hesitating before he shared the next bit of information.
“Brian and Dan never got on that plane to Japan.”
Her chin dropped to her chest just before she hit the floor.
Chapter twenty-three
Magda pulled into a parking space and rubbed her eyes, irritated by the glare of the morning sun. She snatched sunglasses from the dashboard, pushed them on her face and hoped they’d cut the reflection off the water. Lifting herself from th
e car, she looked up at her watch as her arms headed for the sky in a cat-like stretch.
“Damn. I’m early.” Maybe too early for a late-riser like Chris. She peered over her car’s roof and admired the beach growing with the retreating tide. A small sail expanded as it bumped along the waves toward the bay. Paddleboarding would be fun, even if she thought Chris’ motives were suspect.
She wandered to the sand and kicked off her sandals letting the cool wet grains wedge between her toes. As she stepped along the edge of the water, she watched for the large red jellyfish that invaded the beach each summer. Although most were dead when they washed up, they could cause a nasty sting if you stepped on them. She hadn’t heard of any sightings this summer, but knew they would arrive soon. Nature was predictable in that way.
