Touching the Sun: A Harry Beck Thriller (The Bahamas Series Book 1)

by Len Maynard

  ‘How long were you two together?’

  ‘Four years. Since I worked at the Moonlight. Understand, Harry, I didn’t set out to have an affair with him, or him with me for that matter. It just sort of happened.’

  Jerry was back, sitting at the piano vamping a few chords and laying some lead lines over the top of them. He kept glancing across at us, glaring daggers at me, softening his gaze when he looked at Serena

  ‘When did you split up?’

  ‘Two weeks ago. It came out of nowhere…I thought we were happy. Oh, I knew he was a married man and there was never going to be any long-term future in the relationship, but I wasn’t expecting it to end quite that suddenly. I remember it was a Thursday night. He arrived here and went straight backstage to my dressing room. That was unusual because he’d normally sit and watch the set. Afterwards we’d go for dinner somewhere, or maybe just grab a drink before heading back to my place. But this night, this Thursday, I saw him come in to the club, and then saw him disappearing out back. I suppose I knew then something was wrong. I found it hard to focus after that, and I cut the encore and went back to see what was wrong.’

  She lit another cigarette. This time I joined her.

  37

  ‘He’d been drinking. I found him in the dressing room, sitting in a chair, his head in his hands. He told me he’d had a blazing row with Jack, and the two of them had parted on very bad terms. I asked him what the argument was about but he wouldn’t say. When he took his hands away from his face I saw he’d been weeping. That image burned its way into my mind, Harry; I’d never seen Alan cry before. He was always so fun-loving, so tough. He never seemed to have a care in the world. And then he dropped the bombshell. He told me it was over; him and me, over. Then it was my turn to cry.’

  She reached across and grabbed my hand, squeezing tightly. Jerry at the piano noticed and fired a couple of thermonuclear missiles at me with his eyes. I flinched involuntarily and gave all my attention to Serena.

  ‘Did he give a reason for the break up?’

  ‘Yes, but it made no kind of sense at all. He just kept repeating that he wouldn’t be able to protect me anymore. I tried telling him that I didn’t need protection, that I was more than capable of taking care of myself, but he wouldn’t listen. I asked him who he was protecting me from, but he just said I didn’t want to know. He kissed me goodbye and left.’

  ‘And have you seen him since?’

  She shook her head and wiped a tear from her eye. ‘This thing you told me; the kids, the photos…I can’t believe Alan’s involved in anything like that. It’s just not him.’

  ‘Yeah,’ I said. ‘That’s what people keep telling me. So why is he missing, and why did he leave me the flash drive with all that damning information on it? If he’s not involved, then how did he get his hands on it in the first place?’

  ‘Come on, Harry, you know him, probably better than I do. Do you think he’s capable of such a thing?’

  I looked her directly in the eye. ‘I’ve been asking myself the same question for the past few days, and the answer is, I don’t know. I really don’t know anymore. The Alan I grew up with has vanished, and all I’m left with are doubts and uncertainties. The question is, do you ever know anyone as well as you think you do?’

  Serena finally managed a smile, though it was a rueful one. ‘In my case, probably not. But you, Harry, it’s different. You’ve been friends for years. He left you the evidence, not Jack or his wife, or the police for that matter. He left you with it, so he must believe in you, even if your faith in him has been shaken. He must trust you to do the right thing. He gave you the flash drive. I think it was a cry for help.’ She squeezed my hand, even tighter this time. ‘Help him, Harry. Find him and help him.’

  I squeezed back, ignoring Jerry and his lethal looks. ‘I’ll try, Serena. I’ll try. I just seem to be running around in circles and getting nowhere. Are you going to be all right?’

  She shrugged. ‘I’ll be okay.’

  ‘Maybe you should keep a low profile for a while. Until this gets resolved.’

  ‘That’s difficult in my line of work, and a girl’s got to eat. Besides, I’ve got Jerry. He has a rather protective attitude towards me.’

  I glanced across at him. He glowered back. ‘I noticed.’

  ‘He likes to look out for his kid sister.’

  Understanding dawned. I smiled. ‘Yes,’ I said. ‘I can see that.’

  I got up to leave. She walked with me to the door.

  ‘Who told you?’ she said. ‘About Alan and me?’

  ‘A piece of scum called Leo Diamond. You know him?’

  She shuddered. ‘Pond life,’ she said. ‘He saw us together once. I never did trust him to keep his mouth shut.’ She pulled open the door. ‘How much did you have to pay him for the information?’

  ‘Nothing,’ I said. ‘I found a way to persuade him to part with it.’

  She read between the lines. ‘Then watch your back, Harry. He’s a vindictive little slug. I know how his mind works. He’ll try to get even with you.’

  ‘I’ll be careful,’ I said.

  ‘Yes, do,’ she said, and kissed my cheek. ‘I have a feeling Alan’s depending on you to come through for him.’

  ‘I’m staying at The Lucayan Star,’ I said. ‘If you need me, or if you hear from Alan, you can reach me there. But I’d appreciate it if you’d keep that piece of information to yourself. There are certain people looking for me that I’d rather avoid for the moment.’

  ‘Of course,’ she said. ‘I understand.’

  I walked out of the Scarlet Parrot feeling like the weight of the entire world had suddenly decided to roost on my shoulders for a while. Thanks for that, Serena, I thought as I hailed a cab and climbed inside.

  Another dead end.

  How many more would I hit before I finally found my friend? My brother.

  38

  I arrived back at the hotel to see Katy waiting for me in the lobby. I’d entered the hotel the same way I’d left it, through the kitchens, so she didn’t see me. She was sitting in the reception area, ankles demurely crossed, skimming through a copy of Vogue and, at the same time, watching the front doors. I came in behind her and took the elevator straight up to my room.

  I kicked off my shoes and flopped down onto the bed, pulling out the list Billie had printed off for me. I propped myself up on the pillow and began to run through the names again.

  The name I had spotted before leapt off the page at me again. I still found it hard to believe it was there. It was the reason I didn’t want to see Katy. If I saw her and I told her what had been going on since Alan disappeared, I would have to tell her that her father, Max Donahoe, was a pedophile, signed up as a client of a child pornography ring. As much as I was still angry with her, she didn’t deserve that. If she was as psychologically damaged as her father had said, the news could break her, and I didn’t want that on my conscience.

  There was a tap at the door.

  ‘Who is it?’

  ‘Ray.’

  I let him in.

  ‘She’s here again,’ he said as he walked in. He obviously disapproved of my trying to avoid her. He was delightfully old fashioned about courtesy was Ray.

  ‘I know. I saw her when I arrived.’

  ‘Are you sure you don’t want me to send her up? You can’t avoid her forever.’

  ‘Ray,’ I said. ‘You’re a good friend, but you’re not my moral guardian.’

  He looked slightly hurt. ‘I don’t mean to interfere, Harry…but you and Katy, you just seemed so right together.’

  ‘I never had you figured as a romantic, Ray.’

  ‘I’m not. If I was I’d still be married. But I let Jane slip through my fingers, and I can tell you now, it was it was the biggest bloody mistake of my life. I’d hate to see you make a similar one.’

  ‘Katy and I are finished, and have been for years. You remember the hell she put me through?’

  ‘Yes, I do. I al
so remember a very stubborn man who was so determined to build up his charter business that he became single-minded to the point of obsession. I didn’t say it at the time, but you couldn’t really blame Katy for finding comfort in the arms of other men.’

  He’d touched a nerve and I wheeled on him. ‘No, I could understand that. I could even understand that I had neglected her, badly. What I couldn’t understand was the sheer volume of men it took to make her feel better. If someone had told me she had slept with the entire Boston Symphony Orchestra I wouldn’t have been surprised. It was humiliating.’

  ‘Ah,’ Ray said. ‘So it was your pride more than anything else that was damaged.’

  I shook my head. ‘You don’t get it, do you?’ I went to the mini-bar and took out of miniature of scotch, unscrewing the cap and swallowing the lot in one gulp.

  ‘That’s a lot of names,’ he said. I turned. Ray was standing by the bed, the list in his hand. ‘There’re some very heavy rollers on here. What is it?’

  ‘My Christmas card list,’ I said, and held out my hand.

  ‘In other words, it’s none of my business.’ He handed the list back to me.

  ‘No, Ray, it’s not,’ I said as I folded it and dropped it onto the nightstand.

  ‘I saw Katy’s father on the list. Is this anything to do with Alan’s disappearance and the bomb that killed Anna and poor little Sally?’

  ‘Ray, I’m going to give you the same advice that someone gave me the other day. Stay out of it. You really don’t want to get involved.’

  ‘And did you take that advice?’

  I said nothing.

  ‘I thought not. Tell me about it, Harry. I’m watching you chasing your tail, driven out of your home, the police wanting to interview you, nasty looking characters demanding to search your room. No man’s an island, Harry.’

  ‘And no man should be allowed to spout clichés like that,’ I said.

  He smiled ruefully. ‘Point taken,’ he said. ‘But talk to me, Harry. Tell me what’s going on.’

  With a sigh I sat down on the bed. ‘Okay. But for the moment you keep it to yourself. What I’m about to say doesn’t leave this room.’

  ‘You have my word.’ Ray pulled up a chair and I went through the story again. To be honest, I was sick of repeating it, because every time I did it reminded me that I knew so little about everything. It made me feel inadequate.

  Once I’d finished, Ray leaned back in the chair and closed his eyes, as if digesting what I’d just told him. Finally, he sat forward. ‘Well, the answer’s obvious. You go and see Reynolds and lay it all out for him. Tell him everything you’ve just told me. That way you relieve yourself of the burden, and you put this into the hands of people much better equipped to investigate it.’

  I shook my head. ‘That would be the sensible thing to do, Ray, but I can’t do it. At least not until I’ve spoken to Alan.’

  ‘Then that tells me everything I need to know. There’s still a part of you that believes in Alan’s innocence. You’re not prepared to throw him to the wolves.’

  ‘Until I’ve heard his side of the story, then no…no, I’m not.’

  He rose from the chair and went across to the mini bar, helping himself to a Coke. He popped the tab and took a long swill. ‘Let me help,’ he said.

  ‘I don’t see there’s much you can do. Besides, you are helping me…letting me stay here, protecting my anonymity. Just keep the wolves at bay for a little longer. That would be a great help.’

  ‘Yeah, yeah, I’ll do all that as a matter of course. But I can help in other ways. I know a lot of people, both here on the Islands and in the US. You’d be amazed at the number of people that pass through this hotel. Important people; people of influence. I’ve met these people, gotten to know them. I facilitate their stay in the Bahamas. I provide certain services, and I cover up their indiscretions.’

  ‘You’re making yourself sound like a pimp.’

  ‘And to a certain extent I am. A very highly paid one though. At least let me make a few phone calls. Pull in a few favors. I can’t promise anything, but you never know.’

  ‘I don’t see how that’s going to help me find Alan. He’s gone to ground. He could be anywhere on the Islands. He could have gone to Cuba, Haiti, Florida…anywhere.’

  ‘So you haven’t got the resources to hunt him down. The people I know have, and they can do it discreetly.’

  I looked at him for a long moment. Another revelation, another shock to my belief system. I had been friends with Ray Burgess for the best part of twenty years, but now I was slowly coming to terms with the fact that I really didn’t know anyone very well at all, and the reason for that was mostly down to me. I had been too absorbed in my own life to really look into the lives of those around me to see what was going on under the surface.

  ‘Okay,’ I said. ‘I’ll keep your offer in mind. If I need to take you up on it I will. And thanks.’

  He smiled. ‘At last! A breakthrough. You don’t have to fight the world on your own, you know? Sometimes it pays to reach out to others.’

  ‘Okay, okay, don’t labor the point. It doesn’t mean I’ve gone soft.’

  ‘Perish the thought,’ Ray said. ‘Perish the thought. Now I’m going to go downstairs and send Katy up.’

  I opened my mouth to protest, but he silenced me with a wave of his hand. ‘You need a clear head if you’re going to resolve this, and you can’t do that with your past love life hovering in the background ready to floor you when you least expect it. See Katy and get it sorted out once and for all.’

  39

  A short while later there was a knock at the door. Katy stood there looking radiant, and I felt my stomach lurch. I tried to keep control, but it was a fight I was always going to lose. From the moment we first met I discovered that Katy Donahoe had the ability to turn me to jelly without even trying. She was a powerfully sensual woman, and my body, if not my mind, responded to her sensuality every time.

  ‘Come in,’ I said.

  She wafted past me in a cloud of Eternity, a scent that roused even more memories from their graves.

  ‘I’ve come to apologize,’ she said without preamble.

  ‘Really? What for?’

  She dropped to the bed and sat, legs crossed. ‘Any chance of a drink?’

  ‘Sure.’ I crouched down in front of the mini bar and opened the door.’ Gin and tonic?’

  ‘Yeah, fine.’

  ‘I can’t run to ice and a slice,’ I said. ‘But it’s pretty cold anyway.’ I poured the contents of a miniature gin into a glass and handed it to her, along with a small can of Indian tonic water.

  ‘So’ I said. ‘What are you apologizing for? I should be apologizing to you for holding you at gunpoint the last time we met.’

  She waved that away. ‘I need to apologize for my father and that ridiculous offer he made you.’ She poured a small amount of tonic water into the glass, took a sip, shuddered, and poured more tonic.

  ‘Oh?’

  ‘I mean, it’s ridiculous. You? Running a casino? Can you imagine? I don’t know what he was thinking.’

  I pulled up a chair, flipped it around, and sat astride it. It was obvious she had more to say. ‘Go on,’ I said.

  ‘I mean, you’re Harry Beck, man of the sea, the Hemmingway-styled adventurer. Can you imagine yourself dressed up like a penguin tending to the needs of high rollers and blue-rinsed slot junkies? I can’t. I can’t ever remember seeing you in a suit. The whole concept just doesn’t gel in my head.’

  ‘Well, thanks for the vote of confidence,’ I said.

  She took another mouthful of gin and shook her head. ‘Oh, don’t get defensive, Harry. You know the idea is patently dumb.’

  I went back to the mini bar and found myself a tiny bottle of rum, poured it into a glass, and went back to my seat. ‘Is that all you came here for, to tell me how inept you think I’d be at running one of your father’s casinos?’

  A frown crossed her pretty forehead. ‘W
ell, yes. What other reason would I have to be here?’

  ‘I thought your dad might have mentioned the other part of his proposal. The bit where we married and I made an honest woman of you.’

  She’d just taken another swig of gin, but it exploded from her mouth in a spray and she coughed. ‘He suggested what?’

  ‘That we get married. I don’t think running the casino for an obscene amount of money and a seat on the board was dependent on it, but I kind of figured it might be a factor in my long-term association with his company.’

  She placed her glass down on the nightstand and stood, crossing to the window and staring out. ‘The conniving old bastard,’ she said, almost to herself. ‘What else did he say?’ She saw my shrug reflected in the window. She wheeled around. ‘Come on, Harry, don’t be coy. You might as well tell me, because, if you don’t, I’ll squeeze it out of him when I get back to The Minotaur.’

  ‘Very well,’ I said. ‘He told me how you had a breakdown when you finished with me, and how he had you committed.’

  That got to her. Two spots of color appeared at her cheeks, and her nostrils flared. ‘How dare he? My breakdown had nothing, nothing whatever, to do with you.’

  ‘He told me you were hooked on heroin as well. Maybe that had something to do with it.’

  Katy then did something that surprised and shocked me. She started to cry. As the tears rolled down her cheeks she spun back to the window. ‘Don’t look at me,’ she said. ‘Don’t look at me!’

  I came up behind her and slipped my arms around her waist. I felt her tense. ‘I’m sorry,’ I said. ‘I didn’t mean to make you cry.’

  I kissed the back of her neck…I just couldn’t help myself. It was the perfume and old memories conspiring against my better judgment. She turned in my arms and her lips found mine. The next few minutes were an exquisite mixture of passion, urgency, and comedy as we fumbled like excited teenagers with each other’s buttons, and tried to divest each other of our clothes. We tumbled backwards onto the bed and lay there semi-clothed, laughing hysterically. Finally, we kissed again, and then made love.