The Body in the Beach House

by Grace York

  Addison frowned. That didn't sound at all conclusive. She'd hoped the arrest meant she and the rest of the household could breathe easy once again. She said as much to Isaac.

  "Do you really think you've got the right guy?" she asked.

  He nodded. "We do. I'm sure we'll turn up something at his house to link him to Patrick. I suspect it has to do with a drug deal gone wrong, maybe a debt of some sort. Or maybe they were known to each other in the past and it caught up with them."

  "Speaking of the past, I had a chat with Patrick's sister. She told me about a stalker he had a few years ago. Have you looked into that?"

  "We have," said Isaac. "We confirmed that she moved to London and is still there. She didn't have anything to do with this. Relax, Addison. We've got the right guy." He checked his watch. "I have to go. The search of his house is about to get underway. I'll let you know once we've got enough evidence to charge him."

  He gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze before he left. Addison walked to the French doors and opened them, stepping out onto the balcony. She watched Isaac fold his large frame into the police car and drive off. She wrapped her arms around herself, feeling a chill despite the warmth of the morning sun.

  Isaac might be confident he'd got the right guy, but Addison wasn't so sure.

  24

  Addison was still up in Patrick's room, trying to get her head around ever being able to let it out to a new boarder, when Jason arrived to fix the door.

  "Hi," he said, after knocking on the open door. "Amelie said you were up here. Everything okay?"

  "Yes. No. Oh, Jason, I don't know. Have you heard? They've arrested Louie."

  Jason nodded. He entered the room and stood awkwardly by the bed. "I really don't think it was him. He barely even knew Patrick. Why would he kill him? And then cover it up to make it look like suicide? It doesn't make any sense."

  "No, it doesn't. Isaac – Detective Wilcox – thinks it has to do with drugs. You did say Louie had a history with drugs."

  "Yeah, but only pot. He smoked a bit of weed, that's all. His mum called me early this morning. She said they're saying he sold cocaine to Patrick. That doesn't sound like the Louie I know."

  Addison pulled out the chair from Patrick's desk and sat. "I can't see Patrick as a cocaine user, either. I know I only met him a couple of weeks ago, but he lived in my house. Sat at my dinner table every night. I like to think I'm a pretty good judge of character, and I got nothing from him that said drug user."

  "So what can we do?"

  "I don't think there's anything we can do. It's up to Louie. If he's innocent, he needs to account for those missing five minutes in his story."

  "Yeah." Jason sat on the edge of the bed. "I tried to ask him about that, but he wouldn't give me a straight answer. He's hiding something. I just don't think it's murder. I don't think I ever saw him even talk to Patrick. But…" Jason hung his head, elbows resting on his knees. He looked shell-shocked.

  "But what?"

  "Well, if they're right… if he did do it… then it's my fault for bringing him here. I'm sorry, Addison."

  "Don't be ridiculous," said Addison. She couldn't help but feel sorry for Jason. In the short time she'd known him he'd had his heart broken, gone through the trauma of being suspected of murder himself, and now he carried the burden of possibly introducing a killer into Addison's house. The poor guy couldn't catch a break.

  "It's not your fault, whatever happens," Addison continued. "You've been nothing but kind and generous to me and my family, Jason. You've done a lot of work on this house, and I know you haven't charged me enough for everything you've done. We'll discuss that later. But I don't blame you for any of this, and neither will anyone else."

  Jason lifted his head. "Thanks," he said with a solemn nod. "That means a lot to me."

  "You're welcome. Now, what do you say we get that door fixed and get this room back to normal?"

  Jason smiled then, and got to work. He examined the broken door handle and the splintered wood while Addison straightened the bed. The more time she spent in the room, the more comfortable she was becoming with it again.

  "Dan made quite a mess here," said Jason.

  "Can you fix it?"

  He nodded. "I'll have to go into Riverwood for a new handle and lock, but the wood can be patched." He took a few photographs on his phone. "Right. I'll go and get the supplies and be back in an hour or so. Is there anything else you need from the hardware store while I'm there?"

  Addison didn't think so. She was just keen to get this room back to looking normal again. She couldn't think of any other projects right now.

  "Let's just get this done," she said. Jason agreed and set off for Riverwood.

  By the time she got back into the kitchen Adam and Amelie were nowhere to be seen. Addison presumed they were in their rooms working. There was a note from Ivy saying she'd gone out for the day with her brother again, and may not be back for dinner.

  The chocolate cake for Hazel was sitting on the cooling rack waiting to be iced. The smaller one she'd made for the beach house already had a piece missing. Adam, presumably. That boy would eat anything at any time. She'd once found him eating cold pizza for breakfast.

  As she iced the cakes Addison thought back over what Isaac had said. Louie was definitely suspicious, she couldn't argue with that. She'd had him in her sights as well. But was that because he really was guilty, or because she didn't want to think it could be one of her boarders?

  He couldn't explain why he didn't come straight away when he heard screaming, and then lied to the police about hearing the screaming at all. He had a history with drugs, and there were traces of cocaine found in Patrick's room. He was small enough to fit in the wardrobe, so he theoretically could have hidden in there while the rest of them found the body. And like Adam said, he looked shifty. Not that that was a great indicator of guilt, she had to admit.

  There were things that didn't add up, though. Louie seemed to barely know Patrick. Jason hadn't ever seen them speak to each other. Louie's drug history had to do with marijuana, not cocaine. And Patrick didn't strike Addison as a drug user, either.

  Then there was the theft of Patrick's laptop from the police station. Why would Louie have done that? It certainly didn't fit with the drug motive.

  Patrick's murder had been planned to some extent – whoever did it had the foresight to bring a rope with them to stage the crime as a suicide. If it didn't have anything to do with drugs, as Isaac suspected, then what possible motive could Louie have for murdering someone he barely knew?

  That was the key. Patrick had been in Getaway Bay for only two weeks. Whoever killed him had a plan, and you don't plan to kill someone you've barely known for a fortnight. Surely that's not enough time to develop a motive for murder?

  So who did that leave? Who'd known Patrick for longer than the two weeks he'd spent in Getaway Bay?

  Only one person sprang to mind.

  Amelie.

  25

  Addison didn't know what to do. She'd delivered the cake and Anzac biscuits to Hazel, hoping to get a chance to speak to her friend about her suspicions. Everyone at the cafe was talking about Louie's arrest, but unfortunately Hazel had been too busy to take a break. Addison didn't want to get into it with the town gossips, so she found herself back in her kitchen, alone, and not feeling at all confident that Isaac had arrested the right man.

  She really needed to talk this thing through. Jason would be back soon with the supplies to fix the door, but he had work to do. She wondered whether Mrs Jones was around. A quick look over the back fence put paid to that idea. The little cottage was locked up, Bella sunning herself on the back step, so Mrs Jones must have already left on the bus for her weekly trip into Riverwood.

  It was close enough to morning tea time, so Addison made herself a coffee, cut a slice of the vegan chocolate cake, and settled down at the kitchen table with her notebook and pen. If she couldn't talk the issue through with anyone, she'd do the n
ext best thing and write it all down.

  She started with Isaac's main suspect, Louie. She wrote down all the reasons why Louie was suspicious, and underneath that she listed the clues that didn't add up. She was no more convinced of Louie's guilt than she had been when talking to Jason earlier.

  Next, she looked at Amelie. The fact that she was the only one to have known Patrick for more than two weeks was a strong clue, in Addison's opinion. If Patrick's murder had been an accident, or something that happened in the heat of the moment, then she could understand him being killed by someone he didn't know well. But all the signs pointed to at least some level of forward planning. It just didn't make sense that Patrick could have done anything to upset someone in such a short space of time to provide enough motive for premeditated murder.

  So what was Amelie's motive? Unrequited love, according to Layla. But was that all? Was there perhaps some jealousy that Patrick had shown an interest in Ivy since showing up at the beach house?

  Amelie seemed like such a nice woman. Isaac had said Patrick was strangled – did Amelie really have the strength to do such a thing? She was fit and strong, there was no doubt about that. Patrick was of average build, and not particularly fit. Perhaps if she'd taken him by surprise, approached him from behind… it could be possible. But then could she have moved his body over to the wardrobe and positioned it to look like he'd hanged himself?

  Addison was sure she wouldn't be able to do such a thing herself. She struggled to think that Amelie could have either. But then someone had done it. And she'd only known Amelie for two weeks as well. Did she really know her well enough to say she couldn't have killed Patrick?

  Then there was Patrick's laptop, stolen from the police station. Adam said he saw Amelie go out in the middle of the night on Saturday, which put her out of the house and alone when the laptop was stolen. Could she have been responsible for that?

  Addison punctuated Amelie's entry in her notebook with a number of question marks, before moving on to the next person on the list. Adam. She'd more or less ruled him out already, but it felt like she should include him in her analysis.

  Adam had an argument with Patrick two days before he died. Amelie said there'd been pushing and shoving. Adam had a history of violence. But he'd explained that, and Addison believed him when he said he'd never used his fists against anyone since. She didn't think Adam had anything to do with Patrick's death.

  That brought her to Ivy. As far as she could see Ivy and Patrick had been getting on quite well before his murder. She noticed them sitting in the back garden a couple of times, where they seemed deep in discussion. They'd only known each other for two weeks, and Addison couldn't think of any possible motive for Ivy to want Patrick dead.

  The other person present at the time of the murder was Ivy's brother, Dan. He should be considered as well. A cyber security expert in town on business, he'd brought his family with him and took time out to visit his sister. He didn't strike Addison as a murderer, either. What possible motive could he have? Unless Addison had been mistaken about Ivy and Patrick getting on so well. Patrick could be abrupt and even rude when he didn't like someone – maybe he and Dan had got off on the wrong foot and Dan was protecting his sister?

  It sounded ridiculous even as Addison wrote it, but she couldn't discount anything. This case was indeed baffling.

  There were the other facts to consider, too. How did the killer get out of the room when both doors were locked from the inside? And what was the secret project Patrick had appeared to be working on before he died? Did it have something to do with his death? Was that why his laptop was stolen? Addison wished Senior Constable Short had been able to take a closer look at that computer while they still had it.

  She finished her coffee and realised she hadn't touched her slice of cake. She closed the notebook for now and picked up her fork, sliding it through the icing and into the cake. It looked good and tasted even better. The coconut milk gave it an interesting twist. She hoped it hit the spot with Hazel's vegan tourist crowd.

  She was wondering what to do next to take her mind off Patrick's murder when Olivia called.

  "Hi, sweetheart," she said, answering her mobile phone. "Don't you have classes this morning?"

  "Hi, Mum. I just finished, now I have a break until after lunch. I thought I'd call and see how you were doing. Is there any news?"

  Addison filled her daughter in on Louie's arrest, as well as her own suspicions and difficulties understanding the case.

  "There are just too many loose ends," she said once she'd brought Olivia up to date.

  "The stalker sounds promising," said Olivia. "Did you say the police couldn't find her?"

  "Isaac said they did, and she was in London like Patrick's sister said. So that's a dead end."

  "Oh, right. So nothing on her website then."

  "No. Well we couldn't find anything like the website Marilyn described. All we found was a really plain-looking site that we figured Patrick must have set up himself. It just has his books listed, and a short bio. Nothing helpful."

  "Okay. Send me a link to that and I'll take a look. Just to be sure."

  "Don't you have that assignment to work on?"

  "Finished it last night," said Olivia. Addison could hear the smile in her voice.

  "Oh, well done. Okay, I'll email you as soon as I get off the phone. How's everything else going?"

  Olivia chatted for a while about the various happenings at uni, including her courses, the friends she'd made, and who was dating who. There was no mention of a love interest in her own life, and Addison didn't ask. Olivia had plenty of time for that.

  "I'd better go, Mum. I'm meeting Jayne for coffee. I'll see you this weekend. Send me that link."

  "Will do. Bye, love."

  Addison ended the call with a smile on her face. Talking to Olivia always made her happy. She looked forward to seeing her daughter when she came home at the weekend. For now, though, she'd better get moving. The kitchen was still a mess from this morning's baking, and Jason would be back any minute to fix the door. Plus, she had to send that link to Olivia. Maybe her daughter could see something the rest of them were missing.

  26

  Addison was in the middle of cleaning the kitchen when Jason returned from the hardware store in Riverwood.

  "Did you get everything you need?" she asked, wiping her hands on a tea towel.

  "Yep. I should have it as good as new in no time. Has there been any word from Wilcox?"

  "No, not yet. They were searching Louie's house, and then he was going to interview him again once the lawyer arrived. I expect that will keep him busy for most of the day."

  Jason nodded, and Addison could tell he was still troubled by his friend's arrest. So was she, to be honest. The more she thought about it, the more convinced she was that Louie was innocent. Well, innocent of murder, at least.

  "Do you think we're missing something?" Jason asked, pausing at the base of the stairs.

  "I think a lot of things don't add up," said Addison. She explained all the notes she'd made this morning while he'd been gone.

  "Yeah. I can't get past the fact that Louie barely even knew Patrick. And I don't buy the cocaine thing. No way would Louie touch that stuff."

  "Well if that's the case, he should have nothing to worry about. If he didn't do it, he needs to tell Isaac where he was for those five minutes, then he'll be off the hook."

  Jason sighed. "Let's hope he realises that. He can be a bit pig-headed at times. I'm going to get to work."

  He headed off up the stairs with his toolbox and bag of supplies, leaving Addison to her work in the kitchen. She was wiping down the bench when she realised she'd forgotten to email Olivia.

  She opened the door to her office, but her laptop wasn't on her desk. She could have sworn that's where she'd left it. Maybe she'd taken it up to her room last night.

  It wasn't there either. Addison started to panic. She checked all over her bedroom, on the floor, even under
the bed, although she knew she wouldn't have put it there. Where could it be?

  She went up the second flight of stairs and knocked on Adam's door.

  "Come in," he called.

  "Hi," she said, recoiling a little at the mess in his room. She was glad she'd stipulated that they cleaned their own rooms when she took on her boarders. "Have you seen my laptop?" she asked.

  Adam shook his head. "Not since we were all working downstairs last night. Where did you leave it?"

  "I was sure I put it away in my office, but it's not there now."

  "And it's not in your bedroom?"

  "No."

  "Did you lock your office door?"

  "N…No." Addison realised she should have, after everything that had happened. She'd started locking her bedroom door, which contained the master key to all the rooms, but she hadn't even thought about locking her office. She felt stupid.

  "Okay, let's not panic," said Adam. "It has to be here somewhere. We'll ask Amelie."

  They did so, and Amelie asked the same questions Adam had. Where did she leave it, has she looked everywhere, and so on. Together they searched the house but came up with nothing. Even Jason got roped in once he'd finished fixing the door.

  "It's not here," said Addison. "I've got a bad feeling about this."

  "Me too," said Adam. "Maybe you should call Detective Wilcox."

  Addison nodded, but before she could make the call her phone rang. "Speak of the devil," she said, and answered it.

  "We've let him go," said Isaac before Addison could get a word in.

  "Oh, what happened?" She put him on speaker so the others could listen in.

  "Long story. But basically we found a small amount of marijuana at Louie's house. No cocaine, no money, nothing to indicate any sort of drug operation. His lawyer arrived, and advised him to tell us what he knew."

  "Which was?" Addison asked. She could hear traffic noise in the background. It sounded like he was driving.