by Mary Ellis
‘He’s probably used to living alone in a quiet house,’ offered Izzy.
‘We agreed to his terms, so let’s just play along,’ said Beth.
‘I don’t think we have much choice,’ Hunter muttered, locking gazes with Nate.
When Nate opened his mouth to speak, Frazier and Creery returned, with Creery carrying a serving tray which he set in the center of the table. ‘Ladies and gentlemen, may I present the clues in this case.’ He held up and identified each object – an iron wrench; an empty whisky bottle; a packet of white powder; a folder of file notes, and, finally, an envelope of photographs. ‘You will use whatever you learn from these clues and from the potential suspects to determine the murderer. I went to great lengths to obtain these. Tonight you will be able to look but not touch the clues. Later in the week, you will be free to examine each in detail.’
Everyone scrambled to their feet and crowded around the various objects, even though they were rather ordinary in nature.
Frazier stood like a benevolent grandfather, smiling at his handiwork. ‘Very good. Now if you’ll take your seats, I’ll introduce our cast of suspects.’
There were plenty of amusing conjectures tossed around the table by the Price employees and spouses. Nicki, Isabelle and Beth looked ready to levitate from their shoes. Michael stared at the objects with his analytical mind. Hunter simply focused on eating his raspberry cheesecake. And Nate didn’t know what to think.
When Compton opened the double doors again, two armed guards in black tactile vests strode in carrying assault rifles. Behind them five people shuffled forward in leg irons with chains binding their wrists and cloths covering their mouths. Four people wore heavy black robes, while the fifth’s robe was white. Before Compton closed the double doors, two more armed guards entered to complete the ensemble.
Nate sprang to his feet. ‘See here, Mr Frazier. We were under the impression we were solving a fictional mystery. What’s with the gags and restraints?’
‘Again, Mr Price, I ask you to sit back and relax. The suspects are staff members who are being paid well to act their parts.’
Hunter cleared his throat. ‘Even from where I’m sitting, those weapons appear to be real.’
Frazier’s grin widened. ‘Indeed they are, Mr Galen, but they’re not loaded.’
Hunter sipped his coffee without taking his eyes off their host.
‘Now, my esteemed guests, may I continue?’ Frazier let his gaze land on Izzy, Nicki, and Beth in succession, and his ploy worked.
Nicki pinned Hunter with a warning glance, while Izzy squeezed Nate’s upper arm. ‘Please continue, Mr Frazier,’ murmured Izzy. ‘This will be great fun!’
‘Thank you, Isabelle.’ Frazier motioned to the guards who prodded forward the first hooded person. ‘This is Reuben, our first suspect.’ He threw back the hood, revealing a pale, emaciated white male between thirty-five and forty years old.
The guard prodded the second player to step forward. ‘This is Charles, also known as Chuck.’ When Frazier flipped back the hood, a jowly, overweight male of approximately sixty-five years glared around the room with beady eyes. Nate suspected he possessed an over-fondness for alcohol, judging by his reddened nose.
When the guard prodded forward the third suspect, the thespian resisted. Only when two guards strong-armed the man front and center was Frazier able to reveal a graying blond man of approximately mid-forties. His bloodshot blue eyes flashed with hatred, primarily directed at Frazier.
‘This is Bob, who seems to be in a surly mood tonight,’ Frazier added with a smile.
Next the guards lifted and carried the fourth person to the forefront. When the hood was thrown back, a pair of brown eyes blinked from a dark complexion. This suspect was a woman of around forty years of age and, by Nate’s estimation, didn’t seem to be a willing participant.
‘Ladies and gentlemen, I’d like you to meet Jennifer.’ The woman struggled to no avail against her captors. ‘For now our last suspect will remain faceless and nameless. One, two, or maybe all of the suspects are cold-blooded killers. It will be your job, Price employees, to discover the truth.’ Frazier pivoted toward his assistant. ‘Thank you, Mr Creery. You may take these talented actors back to their quarters. I’m sure they’re eager for supper.’
Nate glanced around the table at everyone’s expressions. Izzy and Nicki looked terrified. Beth looked confused, while Hunter appeared furious. When Nate exchanged glances with Michael, even his level-headed forensic accountant seemed just as uncomfortable as he felt. It didn’t seem like the five people were acting. ‘When will we hear the details of this cold-case murder?’ he asked. ‘So far, we have the possible suspects and potential clues, but we have no crime.’
Once the door closed behind the guards and actors, Frazier walked back to the group. ‘That will come next.’ Their host glanced at his watch. ‘But it’s dreadfully late now, so I will reveal details of the murder tomorrow at breakfast. Shall we meet here again, say at eight o’clock?’
Following a murmur of discontent around the table, Nate rose to his feet. ‘Excuse me, sir, but we have a few concerns. Our cell phones don’t seem to work here on the island.’
‘Of course, they don’t work,’ snapped Frazier. ‘We’re too far from the cell towers on the mainland. But there’s a working telephone in every guest’s room. The landline phone cable runs underwater.’
Nate nodded. ‘Thank you, sir, but could you please ask your maintenance man to unlock the doors to our patio? It would be nice to have coffee outside in the morning.’
‘By all means,’ Frazier said, exchanging a glance with Creery. ‘I’ll see that it’s done first thing in the morning.’
Hunter stood and helped Nicki to her feet. ‘We don’t feel comfortable having the windows in our room nailed shut, just in case of an emergency.’
Frazier’s eyes narrowed. ‘Jumping from your window would be far more dangerous than exiting down the hall, then the staircase, and out the front door. This house is equipped with sprinklers in the unlikely event of a fire. It’s hard to believe, but we’ve had numerous break-ins on the island, hence our heightened security measures. If there’s nothing else …’ He started for the door.
‘One more thing,’ said Nate. ‘My other investigator, Kate, and her boyfriend, Eric, wish to join the retreat either tomorrow night or on Monday. Could you send your yacht back to pick them up on St Simons?’
‘It would be my pleasure. I will speak to my yacht captain. Perhaps Captain Burke can more easily get ahold of them and set up a time to meet.’
‘Thank you, Mr Frazier, for the lovely dinner … and everything else,’ Nate added.
‘You’re welcome, Mr Price, agents.’ With that, their host disappeared through the double doors, leaving them alone with an array of dirty dishes and uneaten desserts.
‘Well, this was an interesting evening,’ said Beth, rising to her feet.
‘See everyone in the morning.’ Michael guided Beth toward the door.
‘The food certainly was delicious,’ Izzy concluded, always the peacemaker.
‘Yes, it was,’ said Hunter, ‘but I think it’s time we retired for the evening too.’ He wrapped his arm firmly around his wife’s waist.
‘Good night, everyone,’ Nicki squeaked. Indeed, she looked downright green around the gills.
Halfway to the door, Hunter stopped and turned. ‘Did you mention to Frazier what Kate and Eric’s last names were?’
‘Yeah, he requested the names of my agents and spouses, and my agents’ cell phone numbers after I accepted his invitation.’ After he and Izzy were the only ones left in the dining room, Nate asked, ‘Would you like me to carry your dessert upstairs?’
‘No, I’ve eaten enough for one day.’ Izzy peered up with her luminous green eyes. ‘What do you think, sweetie? Have we landed on Fantasy Island or checked into Bates Motel?’
‘Come on, Izzy, we’re all overtired. This might not be what we expected, but the retreat will
be fine. Just wait and see.’
Only Nate didn’t really believe that. Not for one minute.
Sunday, a.m.
Nate awoke the following morning to a chilly room and dense fog beyond their casement windows. He tried slipping from their bed without waking his wife, but Izzy bolted upright before his feet hit the floor.
‘What’s wrong?’ she demanded.
‘Why would anything be wrong?’ Nate reached under the covers to tickle her legs. ‘Just because I heard chains rattling in the closet and saw the rocking chair start moving on its own?’ He mimicked ghostly noises all the way to the bathroom. When he returned, Izzy was by the window with her bathrobe wrapped tightly around her.
‘Make all the jokes you want, Nathan Price, but I saw something spooky last night. Right down there.’ Izzy pointed to the area directly below their room.
In a few long strides, Nate was at her side, peering down where she indicated. ‘You can’t see twenty feet away in this pea soup.’
‘I know that, Mr Obvious, but it was very different at one a.m. I saw two of Mr Frazier’s … guards dragging one of those performers. They each had one of her arms and her feet were swinging and kicking like she didn’t want to go.’
Nate looked down again with the same result. ‘In which direction did they go?’
‘It looked like they were bringing her back to the house from somewhere.’ Izzy pointed down the sloping lawn. ‘There is some kind of barn or stable there. I’m not sure, but maybe they were coming from there.’
‘Describe what you saw.’ Nate was no longer smiling.
‘Well, judging by her bare feet, I think it was the one female suspect. She appeared to be black, thin, and of average height. She was wearing a long gown with a white hood pulled up around her face.’ Izzy stepped back from the damp windowpane.
‘So the woman was dressed head-to-toe in white, while her feet hovered above the ground? Sounds like a female African American ghost. You don’t get to see those too often. I always see bony old grannies that are missing most of their teeth.’ Nate rubbed his face with his hands.
Izzy stomped her foot. ‘Will you please be serious?’
‘OK, let’s think about this. One of last night’s suspects happened to be an African American woman. Could it be you were meant to see this as part of Frazier’s charade?’
Her face scrunched up. ‘How would they have known I would still be awake at that hour? Don’t be ridiculous.’
‘Maybe because one of the guards saw you pacing back and forth in the front of the French doors?’ Nate bit his inner cheek to keep from grinning.
His beautiful, dignified wife of several years stuck out her tongue. ‘I’m taking a shower. You’d better make sure this is part of Frazier’s game, because our cell phones don’t seem to work and he took our firearms.’ Izzy closed the door behind her with a bit more force than necessary.
Nate stirred the cold ashes of last night’s fire, trying to find a hot ember and to make sense of what Izzy saw. Five minutes later, he gave up on both endeavors. Instead he stalked to the Keurig machine in the alcove to make coffee. When Izzy opened the bathroom door, makeup on but hair still damp from her shower, he handed her a cup of coffee. ‘This is organic hazelnut from Central American farmers, grown under the rainforest canopy.’
‘Think this will compensate for you thinking I’m making stuff up?’ Izzy clutched the mug with both hands.
‘That is my fondest hope.’ Nate started a second cup for himself.
‘Mmm, this coffee just might.’ As Izzy sipped the dark, aromatic brew, the corners of her mouth pulled into a smile. ‘Do me a favor. Don’t say anything about me seeing a ghost in chains last night. I don’t want Beth ducking behind a vase to smirk at me.’
‘What? You think my crack-shot, ex-cop employee is a smirker?’ With a laugh, Nate headed to the shower with an armful of clean clothes.
Twenty minutes later, the two of them entered the formal dining room ten minutes before the appointed hour of eight. Except for their host, they were the last to arrive to breakfast.
‘Good morning, boss, and boss’s better half. Sleep well last night?’ These questions came from Beth Preston who, as Izzy implied, was smirking while she poured coffee from a silver carafe.
‘Like babies in a mother’s arm,’ Nate said. ‘How about you two?’
Michael held out his cup to be filled. ‘I did, but Beth kept waking up with every sound she heard. She doesn’t understand that these gorgeous old mansions creak and groan at night. All perfectly normal.’ He added two sugars and plenty of cream.
‘What I don’t understand is why we had to give up our firepower. What if one of Mr Frazier’s guards suddenly goes psycho on us? We’re all defenseless.’ Beth slumped into a chair at the table.
Michael took the chair next to hers. ‘You, my darling, wouldn’t be defenseless if you were naked in a cage of wild badgers.’ He leaned over and kissed Beth’s cheek.
‘Ughh.’ Nicki Galen sniffed. ‘Newly-weds are ridiculous – so uncouth, so tacky.’ She feigned a haughty inflection, not in keeping with her rural Mississippi upbringing. ‘We were never like that, were we, darling?’ She draped her arm around Hunter’s shoulder.
‘Goodness, no, my dear.’ Hunter’s accent didn’t need to be faked. ‘We were refined and tasteful even when making out behind a French Quarter dumpster.’ He punctuated the sentence with a hearty laugh.
‘You two are too much!’ Beth threw a packet of sugar at Nicki, who parried to the left. The packet landed on the thick Aubusson rug.
Unfortunately, Mr Julian Frazier chose that moment to join his guests for breakfast. Just for a second, Frazier glared at Beth with as much venom as a facial expression could muster. As Beth rose to retrieve the wayward sweetener, Frazier poured coffee at the sideboard and took his place at the head of the table.
‘Good morning, owner and employees of the well-recommended Price team of private investigators. Do you each have your hot beverage of choice? If you would prefer a glass of milk, please just let my butler know.’ Frazier’s perusal of the table didn’t reach the Prestons. ‘If so, I’ll signal Mr Compton that he may serve breakfast.’ He pressed the button on his chair and leaned toward Izzy.
‘I trust you slept well, Isabelle?’ Frazier asked. ‘Before my sweet wife died, your room once was the master suite.’
‘It’s a lovely room, especially with the wood-burning fireplace and the view of your gardens. But I didn’t sleep well at all. I saw your guards dragging one of the suspects, Jennifer, I believe, back to the house.’
Frazier blinked twice. ‘When was this, exactly?’
‘Around one o’clock, perhaps?’
‘Unless my favorite suspect decided to work a little overtime beneath your window, your eyes were playing tricks on you. The house was locked up tight and everyone in bed by that hour.’
‘I see, but please see that our French doors are unlocked.’
‘Yes, I’ll see to that immediately after breakfast.’ Frazier studied Izzy over the rim of his cup. ‘You do understand how easy it would be for thieves to reach your door? Thieves, or miscreants with worse intentions in mind.’ He shuddered.
Izzy didn’t hesitate to reply. ‘I do understand, but this week I have my husband to keep me safe. He’s very good at what he does.’
‘Quite right, my dear. Ah, our breakfast is here,’ Frazier added as the butler opened the double doors. In marched two maids who delivered to each guest a plate of fresh fruit with two pieces of French toast. One piece was drizzled with caramel syrup and the other covered with fresh sliced strawberries. The third maid carried a platter of breakfast meats to the breakfront, along with a tray of yogurt, granola and cottage cheese for those who wanted healthy fare. ‘Mr Price, I hope your team finds something to their liking.’
‘It would be impossible not to,’ Nate said, rising to his feet. ‘Thank you, sir.’ He was first to add both bacon and sausage to his plate, followed by Beth and then Mi
chael, who chose cottage cheese with granola.
While they ate, the conversation centered mainly on the food and the rapid change in weather overnight.
‘I’m glad there are no televisions in the guest rooms, Mr Frazier.’ Nicki sliced a cube of melon in half. ‘What a treat not to wake up to CNN business news or the Weather Channel.’
‘At my age, Mrs Galen, I find business data a colossal bore and not worth watching on television. And regarding the weather? One simply has to look outside for a more accurate forecast than any Atlanta station. After all, this is an island.’
‘You have a point there, sir,’ said Hunter. ‘But I believe we’re all eager to hear the particulars of this mystery that you wish us to solve. My wife fell asleep trying to figure out how to use a file folder of papers to solve a murder.’
Everyone, including their host, chuckled. ‘Very well, as soon as Mr Compton refreshes everyone’s coffee, I will dismiss the staff and get down to business.’ Frazier tossed down his napkin, despite having barely touched his food.
Hunter and Izzy did the same, while Nate hurried through his second piece of French toast, along with his last sausage.
Once Frazier had the audience’s full attention, he cleared his throat and began. ‘As I mentioned, ladies and gentlemen, the case you’ve been invited here to solve is a cold case murder committed more than eight years ago. I believe one of the perpetrators remains at large. Also the particulars of the crime, especially the motivation, remain unclear. So you are to discover not only whodunnit, but where, when, how, and most importantly, why the crime was committed.’
‘I don’t feel you’re telling us the truth, Mr Frazier, just like it didn’t seem like those suspects were acting.’
‘You agreed to play by my rules, Mr Price. I’ll provide you with the necessary information as needed. Now, are there any questions about the case?’
Isabelle tentatively raised her hand like a schoolgirl and received a nod from Frazier. ‘May we assume the murder weapon was one of the five clues shown us last night?’
‘You may, Isabelle. Beth, did you also have a question?’
