by Cindy Bell
“Really? She’s the only one from the farm with a clean record. But I was going to get all of them in from the farm for further questioning, anyway. She’s the first one on the list and she should be here in around an hour.”
“Oh, okay. If she hasn’t been in trouble with the law before, she might be more talkative.”
“Good point. Someone is going out shortly to pick her up.”
“Let me know how you go.”
“I will.”
Suzie hung up and pushed her cart forward in line again. She glanced at the other registers that were closed. Unless there was a big event the grocery store rarely had more than one register open. Still, she could hope. As she waited bits of conversation drifted to her ears.
“Robbie knew better. He shouldn’t have gotten mixed up in all of that.”
“You don’t know that for sure. Just because there are rumors doesn’t make them true.”
“Rumors maybe, but he was flaunting the cash. You saw his new boat, and the way he flashed money around town. It’s not like he was trying to hide it.”
Suzie didn’t realize that she had leaned too heavily against the cart until she felt it bounce against the woman’s ankle in front of her.
“Ouch!”
“I’m so sorry!” Suzie drew the cart back.
“Oh, Suzie right?” The woman smiled at her. “I bet you’re getting all set for the wedding, huh?”
“Busy, busy.” Suzie nodded. “It’s an exciting time.”
“Yes, it is. Make sure you wish Jason and Summer well from Judy.”
“Are you a friend of theirs?”
“Not really, but their romance is the talk of the town.”
“Among other things?” Suzie raised an eyebrow. “I’m sorry I just couldn’t help but overhear what you said about Robbie.”
“How embarrassing. I don’t usually gossip. But it’s such a sad story.”
“Did you know Robbie?”
“Sure, we went to high school together. We’d say hello to each other when we saw each other in town, but nothing more than that.”
“I’m sorry for your loss.”
“Thank you. I just wish he’d been more careful.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Well, clearly he was involved in something criminal. He started making big purchases, had a lot of money in his pocket. He didn’t come right out and say it, but he might as well have.”
“Maybe he just had a good run?”
“Not that good. Like I said, I grew up around here, and no fisherman no matter how good the run, has that kind of cash. You know a lot of the boats run drugs, things like that.”
“A lot of them?” Suzie raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure about that?”
“Okay, that might be a bit of an exaggeration. But if you ask most of the guys that work on the boats they have stories about the illegal activity that could make them a mint.”
“Stories.” Suzie frowned. “Do you think they’re anything more than that?”
“It’s hard to say. But I can tell you the only person I’ve seen with that kind of money over the past few years is Robbie. It doesn’t come from the ocean. Good luck with the wedding.” She rolled her cart away from the register.
Suzie paid for her items and then pushed the cart out to the car. The more she heard about Robbie’s recent behavior the more she suspected the same thing that some other people did. If Robbie had some kind of windfall his family would know about it. She called Paul as she loaded the groceries into the car.
“Paul, did any of Robbie’s family members mention him having some kind of windfall lately?”
“Windfall? No. They were worried about the debt they might have to deal with from the boat and dock fees.”
“Paul, it sounds like Robbie was making money somewhere, and more than likely not legally.”
“What are you thinking?”
“Maybe the pearl farm was on his GPS tracker because he was stealing from them.”
“I hate to think that.”
“Me too, but I think we have good reason to suspect him.”
“It’s hard for me to believe that my friend could have been involved in these things without me knowing it.”
“Maybe you missed it. If people want to hide something they usually can.”
“Maybe I did miss it.” He sighed. “Maybe if I was around more.”
“No, Paul, you can’t think like that. If Robbie got himself wrapped up in something it was because of his choice, there’s nothing that you could have done.”
“I can do something now though. Get to the bottom of this.”
“Jason is going to interview the girl from the pearl farm that Robbie might have been seeing. I might accidently bump into her while she’s at the police station.”
“Accidently.” He laughed. “Okay, I’ll wait to hear from you.”
Suzie hung up the phone and started to open her car door. Before she could grasp the handle a heavy force drove her forward to the alley beside the grocery store. She panicked as the large figure behind her continued to propel her.
“Suzie, I need to talk to you.” Mike’s gruff voice filled her senses.
“Get off of me, Mike!” She shoved back at him. “What are you thinking?”
“The cops are all over me, asking questions, inspecting my boat. I didn’t do this!”
She stared hard at Mike. “If you really want me to believe that you had nothing to do with this then you should stop doing things like this. This tough guy act isn’t convincing me of anything but your bad judgment.”
“It’s not an act!” Mike growled.
“All you’re doing is driving yourself even deeper into suspicion. Is that what you want? To get locked up?”
“No, it’s not.”
“Well, that’s where you will be, Mike, you shoved me down here in this alley like some brute and if I wanted to I could have you in handcuffs by now. So why do you think I should believe you?”
Mike growled and ran his hands across his face. “I just want one person to believe me. I had nothing to do with this. My whole livelihood is dependent on that boat. I’ve never done anything wrong. If the police take it, what will I have?”
Suzie sighed and shook her head. “Stop Mike, just stop. The police are investigating the case. It’s going to get sorted out.”
“Right, with me as the fall guy.”
“Not unless you paint a target on your back.” She frowned. “I believe you. Okay? I don’t think you had anything to do with this.” Suzie wanted to placate the man and although her gut told her that he wasn’t involved she still suspected him and she didn’t want him to know that.
“Thank you. That’s all I want.”
“Great. Can I go now?” She peered past him at the car.
“Yes. You’ll tell Jason?”
“That you practically kidnapped and assaulted me?” She raised an eyebrow.
“No! That’s not what I meant.”
“I know that, Mike. But you need to lay low. Don’t do anything stupid. This will all be settled soon.”
“Thank you, Suzie.”
She nodded and stepped around him. Despite the fact that the confrontation was over, her heart still raced so fast that it was hard to breathe. She hurried back to her car. For a moment she considered a phone call to Jason to tell him what had happened. But she didn’t want to bother him.
Suzie took a deep breath and then focused on the drive back to Dune House. She dropped off the groceries, shouted a greeting and goodbye to Mary then headed back to the car. She drove straight to the station. She hoped that maybe she would be able to catch April on her way out and ask her a few questions. Maybe she would be able to get more information out of her than the police could.
When she stepped inside there was a small crowd at the front desk. She edged her way around it and was greeted by a patrolman at the entrance of the hall that led to the interrogation rooms.
“Hello there, Suzie.”
“Hi.” She smiled. “Just dropping by to visit Jason.”
“Uh huh, and I’m just here to make sure you don’t interrupt any conversations. At Jason’s request.”
“Really? He sent muscle?”
“Looks like his instincts were right.”
“I was just checking in.” She shrugged.
“Just do me a favor and stay out here in reception, hm?” He met her eyes.
“Yes, of course.” She retreated a few steps towards the seating area. When he walked away a door opened and she noticed a beautiful, young woman who stepped out of it. She guessed that it was April. Jason stepped out behind her. Suzie started to smile at Jason but his serious expression stopped her. The girl that walked towards her looked fragile and young. It was hard for her not to want to comfort her. April brushed past her towards the door. Jason paused beside Suzie and spoke in a low tone.
“I didn’t get much out of her. I have no reason to hold her. About the only thing she admitted was knowing Robbie. That’s not a reason to arrest her.”
“Can’t you question her more?”
“Not without cause, Suzie. I did the best I could.”
“I know you did, Jason.”
As Suzie turned away from him she noticed the door as it swung shut behind April. This was her turn to give it a shot. She hurried after her and caught up with her on the sidewalk in front of the police station.
“April! Wait!”
April turned back and brushed her blonde hair away from her face. “What is it?”
“I’m sorry. I just wanted to ask you a quick question.”
“Are you a police officer?”
“No, I’m not. Just curious.”
“Curious about what?”
“Did you know Robbie?”
“Look, I said all I was going to say. I have nothing more to add. I don’t know why you are harassing me.”
“I don’t mean to harass you, really I don’t. It’s just that I have a few questions and it would be so much easier if you answered them. It would be better than your family being questioned about your involvement with Robbie and the thefts at the farm.”
April froze and shoved her hands into the pockets of her light jacket. She looked straight at Suzie. “Why are you asking me these questions?”
“April, I just want to help you.”
“By threatening to get me in trouble with my family?”
“It’s not like that. You’re young. There’s no way you were the mastermind of all of this. I just want to give you the chance to come clean and maybe not get in as much trouble with the law.”
Her lower lip trembled as she closed her eyes. “None of this was supposed to happen.”
“What do you mean? What did Robbie get you into?”
“No, it wasn’t like that.”
“It wasn’t? Just tell me the truth, April. We can try to sort it all out.”
“Robbie had nothing to do with it.”
“What do you mean he had nothing to do with it? He was murdered over it, he had to be involved somehow.”
“Not exactly. Look, I don’t want to say too much. But Robbie, he was never supposed to get in the middle of any of this.”
“Tell me what happened, April.”
April pulled her hands out of her pockets and brushed her hands across her face. Suzie noticed some cuts on the skin of her hands.
“Shucking,” April said when she noticed that Suzie was looking at them. April curled them into fists to show off the marks. “It’s what I do. I shuck the oysters. That’s it. All day long. The smell is disgusting. I can’t stand it.”
“So why do you stay?”
“I have no choice.” She sighed. “I’m part of the family. It’s the family business.”
“Did Robbie have a choice?”
“Robbie was innocent in all of this. I’m not saying anything else.”
“If Robbie wasn’t involved then where did he get all of the money from?”
April cringed. “He wasn’t involved. He never should have been involved.”
“So, you were?” Suzie stared at her. “Were you stealing from your family?”
“It wasn’t like that.” April closed her eyes and shook her head. “I’m not saying anything else.”
“How can I help you if you won’t tell me the truth?”
“I can’t.” She stared up into her eyes. “Don’t you see? If I say anything, I’m going to be next. Robbie didn’t deserve what happened to him, but I can’t do anything about it, he’s gone. Now all I can do is worry about protecting myself. I don’t have anything else to say.”
“If you don’t answer the questions the police will have to ask everyone at the farm.”
“Then the next time you see me I’ll be on a slab.” She shrugged. “Not that it should matter to you.”
“It matters to me. If you tell me the truth, I can try to find a way to protect you. I can ask Jason to.”
“Tell that to Robbie.” She rolled her eyes and skirted past Suzie to the street. “Do what you have to do.”
Suzie sighed and stared after her.
“How did I know you wouldn’t stay out of this?” Jason’s voice carried from just behind her.
“Did you hear all of that?”
“Some.”
“Do you think she’s telling the truth?”
“I think she’s hiding everything.”
“But is she hiding it out of fear? Jason, she’s so young. What if she gets killed in all of this?”
“Suzie, she’s lying to me. There’s nothing I can do about it. I’m going to head over to the farm and see what I can find out.”
“Wait, Jason. Can you wait until morning?”
“Why would I do that?” He shook his head. “This isn’t something I can drag my feet on.”
“She seemed scared to me, Jason. She didn’t want Robbie to die, something is way off about all of this. I think you should wait a bit before you do anything. At least wait until morning, see if there’s any new developments before then.”
He sighed and rubbed a hand across his forehead. “It’s one day until the wedding, Suzie. It would be much better if I could wrap this up today.”
“I know that, Jason, I do. But will you feel like getting married if April shows up dead?”
He frowned. “No. Of course not.”
“Then let me follow my instincts.”
“What are they telling you?”
“I’m not completely sure, yet. I just want to think this through properly first.”
“Okay, but be careful, Suzie. If Robbie really didn’t have anything to do with this, then we’re dealing with some ruthless killers here.”
“I won’t do anything. I just want to run it through in my head and it will give you more time to work it out without putting April at risk.”
“Okay.” He nodded.
“By the way, some of Summer’s family are getting in tonight. You should come to Dune House for dinner.”
“I don’t know, I’m busy with the case.”
“Jason. They are going to be your in-laws. It’s the respectful thing to do.”
Jason laughed and looked over at her. “Are you mothering me?”
“I wouldn’t know. But you should have dinner with Summer’s family. Right now it might not seem like a big deal, but the impression you leave on them will last.”
“Fine. I’ll go to dinner.” He pointed a finger at her. “Don’t do anything stupid, it’s just time to try to work this out.”
“I won’t.” She smiled. On the way to the car she called Paul. “Meet me at the docks. I have a plan.”
“I’ll be there in five minutes.”
Chapter 15
Suzie arrived at the docks just as Paul stepped off his boat.
“Hey, you all right?” He looked into her eyes.
“Why?’
“You look a little shaken.”
Suzie smiled at the thought that he could read her so easily. “
I’m okay. I want to talk to you about something.”
He gestured to a bench beside a low wall that lined the entrance of the dock. “What is it?”
“I think Simon had something to do with this.”
“Ah, Suzie, you don’t know that.”
“No, I don’t. But I think that either Robbie or Simon were involved in the thefts from the pearl farm. Or maybe both.” She met his eyes. “Do you want to know the truth or do you want to save their reputations?”
“That’s not fair, Suzie. Of course I want to know the truth. But I don’t want to make unfounded accusations either.”
“Paul, please. I know you don’t want to believe that Simon could be involved in all of this, but Nina pointed him out in a photograph and identified him as someone who tried to sell her pearls and that wasn’t the only time he was in there. What business would Simon have in a jewelry shop? He doesn’t seem the type to browse the latest charms and ring settings. So, why was he there?”
“Suzie.” He frowned and leaned back against the wall. “It’s just that I’ve known Simon for a long time.”
“I know you have, and I know that you don’t want to believe that he had anything to do with any of this. But at some point you have to ask yourself whether you are just not facing the truth.”
He looked up at her sharply, but the expression faded the moment he met her eyes. “I know you’re right.” He shook his head. “I just wish that you weren’t.”
“It’s better to know the truth, don’t you think, Paul? If we at least find out what really happened to Robbie then you can have some answers for his family. Isn’t that what you want?”
“Of course it is. You know better than to question that. But, you’re asking me to believe that Simon might have had something to do with Robbie’s death. We were all friends.”
“You thought you were.”
“And if we’re wrong? If Simon has nothing to do with any of this? Then I’ve lost two friends.”
