Clues in the Sand

by Terry Ambrose

  “Maybe not,” Rick mused. He heard the sound of footsteps and looked toward the front door. “Come on in, Deputy. Have a seat. Mr. Spaulding and I were just discussing his business. It’s quite an interesting business model. Did you know he makes glass and ceramics?”

  “Fascinating,” Deputy Cunningham said, letting his gaze ping pong between the two men.

  “He was also telling me about how he’s colorblind, but has turned that into an artistic asset.”

  Spaulding blushed slightly. “Well, I don’t want to brag.”

  “Huh.” The deputy crossed his arms over his chest and cocked his head to one side. “How’s this asset thing work?”

  Rick interrupted Spaulding before the man could answer. “I was thinking about having you make some new dinnerware for us once you’ve settled into Seaside Cove. It would be nice to have something…I don’t know, kind of fun. What we’ve got is so old.”

  “Well…it might get expensive.”

  “I understand. That’s because it would be custom, right? You’d have to have complete artistic control. I get it. I was kind of hoping we’d be able to have the design match the color of the walls, though.”

  “I told you. I can’t match colors.”

  “Oh, that makes it hard to do what I had in mind. What was the name of that condition you have again?”

  Spaulding grimaced and huffed his impatience. “I already told you I don’t know the name. All I know is I can’t distinguish colors.”

  Rick looked at Deputy Cunningham and said, “What’s up, Deputy?”

  “If you’ll excuse me. I’m sure you two have things to discuss.” Spaulding slammed the lid on his laptop and started to stand.

  Deputy Cunningham raised a finger and moved in front of Spaulding. “Actually, before you go I have a couple of questions for you. When I ran a background check on you, I discovered a minor conviction for possession. It must have happened while you were at Berkeley. I did some additional digging and discovered you left Berkeley shortly thereafter.”

  “You ran a background check on me? Why? I…I didn’t authorize that.”

  “I don’t need your permission, Mr. Spaulding. It’s no shame to not have a degree, but why lie about it?”

  “Because I find it embarrassing. I started three times at different schools. And I never completed the program.”

  “Why not?” Rick asked.

  Spaulding tapped his forehead and shrugged. “Stuff went in here, but it couldn’t come out when I needed it.”

  “You mean for tests?”

  “To…to make use of it. Didn’t matter if it was a test. Didn’t matter if it was a study group. People would say the answer and I knew it when I heard it, but I could never get the words out.”

  “Anyway, I never quite finished. Things came up. You know how it is.”

  “I sure do,” Rick said. “Life, in big, bold letters. But, if you didn’t finish at Berkeley, why did you have that discussion with Francine at Scoops & Scones?”

  Spaulding glanced from one man to the other. He grimaced and adjusted his glasses. “This is embarrassing, gentlemen. Do we really have to discuss my academic failures?”

  “Mr. Spaulding, I already know you only took a few classes at each school you attended.”

  Spaulding bristled. Cleared his throat. And again started to rise, but Deputy Cunningham motioned for him to sit. The man’s shoulders slumped as he complied.

  “I don’t want to discuss this.”

  Rick nodded and leaned forward on his elbows. “Come on, Mr. Spaulding, why you were so defensive with Francine?”

  “Acknowledging my limitations is not one of my strengths. It should be better here. It’s a small town. More friendly, right?” He grinned at Rick, then the deputy.

  “We like to think so,” Rick said. “I’m new here myself, but the people have been quite welcoming. The deputy has lived here his entire life.” Rick inclined his head toward Adam. “You know everybody in town. Don’t you, Deputy?”

  “Pretty much. What people appreciate around here is honesty, Mr. Spaulding. When Rick came in, he didn’t hold back about his past. He was never defensive about it, either. You strike me as a man who gets a trifle upset when others question him. Is that the case?”

  “I…I don’t mean to.”

  Spaulding spread his hands wide. Tried to smile. Failed.

  “I’m curious about an inconsistency,” Rick said. “The underglaze on the rice bowl was the wrong color for it to be from the Ming Dynasty.”

  “What…what do you mean?”

  The man was fidgeting like a frightened animal, which gave Rick encouragement. He might have to lie, but it looked more and more like this man committed murder. “Let me spell it out. The bowl was a forgery, made either by a rank amateur or someone who couldn’t gauge colors accurately. We found a cached copy of a page on your website which contained a picture of a rice bowl with the same decorative pattern. Did you make the rice bowl from the beach, Mr. Spaulding? Is that why almost half the pages on your website are missing? Were you trying to hide your online business? The one in which you sell fake artifacts?”

  “That’s preposterous!” Spaulding exploded.

  Adam jerked his head to the side and stared at Rick. His jaw tightened as Rick continued. “I also get concerned about having a hothead running around with a taser.”

  Spaulding glared at Rick, his eyes seeming to bulge in their sockets. “I told you I left it at home. Besides, it’s only for self-defense.”

  Deputy Cunningham ignored Spaulding’s claims and stared at him. “To my knowledge, none of our residents own a taser. And you were seen on the beach the morning Dani Collins died. Did you have your taser with you that morning? Perhaps you used it on her in self-defense?”

  Rick looked directly at Spaulding, sure the taser would be Spaulding’s weakness. “Did you know the deputy organized a search of the beach? They found a piece of confetti with the serial number from a taser—yours, to be exact. It was between some rocks near the body.”

  Spaulding cleared his throat as Rick and Deputy Cunningham turned a pair of steely gazes on him. As the seconds passed, his jaw tightened and his gaze flicked back and forth. After a few more seconds, he swallowed hard.

  “Ask those two women who were walking. They saw me in a different place.”

  Rick eyed Spaulding for a moment, recalling Isabelle’s statement. Spaulding had waved to her. It could have been nothing more than a friendly gesture, but perhaps he’d already been building his alibi. And right now he looked like a cornered animal.

  Deputy Cunningham said, “I need time to verify your story, Mr. Spaulding. Until then, I don’t want you leaving town.”

  “I’m planning on setting up shop here in Seaside Cove.” Spaulding pressed one hand to his chest and almost looked offended. “There’s no way I’m going to run.”

  Rick’s pulse picked up. The man was starting to make things up on the fly. What he and Adam had to do now was prove Spaulding’s taser killed Dani Collins. The autopsy would prove it…or they could get him to confess. And Rick wanted this. If for no other reason than to take the heat off Flynn O’Connor. He didn’t even have to lie this time. All he had to do was give the man a reason to confess.

  “I told you, Mr. Spaulding. We have the taser confetti. We all know what will happen with that. So, tell me, was this self-defense? Was she threatening you in some way?”

  The man hesitated for a moment, then blurted, “Yes! She was threatening me.”

  “Physically? Did she have a weapon?” Deputy Cunningham asked.

  “No. I mean, yes. I was in fear of my life.”

  “Your life? Or the one you wanted to build here?” Rick fixed his gaze firmly on Spaulding’s and waited.

  Beads of sweat formed on the man’s brow. He looked as though he might vomit as he croaked, “I didn’t mean to hurt her.”

  “She didn’t have a weapon, did she?” Rick asked.

  “No! That’s not true. She h
ad a piece of driftwood. I thought she’d club me with it.”

  “All she had in her hand was part of a rice bowl,” Rick said. “There was no driftwood nearby.”

  Spaulding groaned as he leaned forward and his shoulders began to shake. “It was her fault,” he croaked. “She would have gotten the notoriety. She would have been the one to expose it as a fake. Not me. I would have had nothing. I’d lost my business and had to do something. I tried to take it away from her, but she kneed me.”

  “In the groin?” Deputy Cunningham asked.

  “I thought I was going to throw up right there on the beach. It made me so angry I pulled out my taser and…and…” An anguished wail filled the air.

  “Looks like I don’t have to launch that big manhunt after all, Rick. We got our guy.”

  “Wait,” Spaulding gaped at Rick, then the deputy. He stammered, “You…you had another suspect?”

  “No,” Rick lied. “We knew it was you all along.”

  CHAPTER 47

  RICK

  After Spaulding confessed to using his taser on Dani Collins and leaving her on the beach, Deputy Cunningham took him into custody. The arrest and the San Manuel became hot topics in the gossip mill, which also caused talk about Exploration International’s plans for Seaside Cove. Suddenly, the “EI firestorm” raged through the town and Exploration International became persona non grata almost overnight. In response, Mayor Carter called an emergency meeting of the town.

  At Alex’s insistence, Rick and Marquetta agreed to sit in the front row at the meeting. Rick supposed he shouldn’t be surprised because Alex found the entire town government concept fascinating. At least, that’s what she claimed. In any case, Alex sat to Rick’s left; Marquetta was on his right.

  The other thing Rick liked about being in the front row was that he would not appear to be hiding from Francine. Sitting up front made the point, if the mayor wanted to continue their last conversation, he was here. When Francine did appear, she marched to the front of the room, looking quite official in her dark business suit with its tailored lines and conservative cut. Combined with her matching pumps and briefcase, she exuded an air of sophistication and power. She rapped her gavel on the podium and looked out over the crowd.

  “Attention! Attention!” She motioned with her index finger at the people who were standing, then at the empty chairs. “Everyone please take your seat. I’d like to get this meeting underway.”

  “Don’t we all?” Marquetta whispered into Rick’s ear.

  He snickered and whispered back, “She’s in her element. This is the Francine Carter we all know and love.”

  Marquetta rolled her eyes and shook her head. She started to say something, but Alex quieted them both with a finger on her lips.

  Turning away from Alex, Rick spoke in a low voice. “Guess we’ve been reprimanded.”

  His comment got a smile from Marquetta, which fell away when Reese Potok entered the door. She strode to the front of the room, where she exchanged a few words with the mayor while the two women shook hands.

  “Good grief,” Rick muttered. “What are those two plotting?”

  Francine turned away from Reese and rapped her gavel again. “I’d like to say a few words before I turn this meeting over to Miss Potok.” She stopped and gazed at the back of the room. “Ah, Miss O’Connor, you came.”

  Rick saw Flynn leaning against the back wall, her arms crossed as she looked back at the mayor.

  “As you know, Miss O’Connor has been cleared of all charges,” Francine said. “Personally, I am quite happy justice has been served.” She stopped and began to applaud.

  Rick, Alex, and Marquetta, along with a number of the others in the room, joined in. When the applause settled down and Francine continued, Rick glanced over his shoulder. While Flynn appeared relaxed, she kept her gaze fixed firmly on Reese Potok. “It looks like there’s another battle shaping up,” he whispered to Marquetta.

  She followed his gaze and nodded as Francine resumed her introduction.

  “As you also know, Exploration International has a strong interest in helping Seaside Cove prosper. They have plans I believe would be of great benefit to this town’s future.”

  “Enough with the political posturing, Francine. Get to the point.”

  Rick recognized the voice as that of Jordan Lane. “I’m surprised Jordan’s here,” he whispered.

  “He’s thinking for running for the town council next year. I don’t think anything would keep him away from this meeting.”

  The mayor rapped her gavel twice, cleared her throat, and turned to Reese. “Very well, I’ll turn this meeting over to you, Miss Potok.”

  Almost immediately, Reese launched into a presentation about the benefits of having a major “community partner” such as Exploration International. She explained that, in the interest of full disclosure, she wanted to report that the missing Mr. de la Guerra had been reassigned to a project in Southeast Asia and would be out of the country “indefinitely.”

  The news drew mutterings of satisfaction, but after a few minutes the mood began to sour. It was then that Alex raised her hand.

  “How about if we wait until the end for questions? Okay?” Reese finished off her comment with a condescending smile.

  Alex stood and spoke in a clear voice. “Our teacher says that a question held is a question forgotten.”

  “Fine.” Reese huffed after the group murmured its agreement. “What’s your question, Alex?” Reese looked like she might be ready to explode, but she held her silence.

  “I didn’t like Seaside Cove when me and my dad moved here last year.” She turned and looked at the crowd. There was a stunned silence, then she continued. “But Marquetta started telling me all about the town’s history, and the kids at school were really nice.”

  “What’s your question?” Reese interrupted.

  “Let her finish,” Joe Gray snapped. “She’s a local and this is a meeting for locals. Go ahead, Alex.”

  Alex curtsied and nodded at Joe. “Thank you, Mr. Gray.”

  A chuckle ran through the room, but dissipated into silence as Alex continued. “What I learned is how this town is something special. It’s small and there’s not a lot of stuff to do, but we like it. That’s why me and my dad moved here.”

  Rick glanced sideways. Marquetta wore a satisfied smile and sat so close their shoulders touched, but he didn’t dare move for fear of losing the moment. He looked back to the front of the room, not wanting to miss a another word. This ranked up there as one of his proudest moments.

  “One of the things I like about Seaside Cove is that people do things and don’t ask for anything back. I’m just a kid, but if your company puts a lot of money into the town, aren’t they gonna want something? Could you explain what you want without all the fancy words?”

  A round of applause went up in the room. Next to him, Marquetta stood. Rick joined her and soon the entire room was standing. He bent down, hugged Alex, and whispered in her ear, “Well done, kiddo.”

  From the back of the room, Rick heard one of the residents say he didn’t want to have the town change. Others joined him and soon the room was chanting, “Don’t change our town!”

  Mayor Carter rapped her gavel several times, and one-by-one, people returned to their seats. Joe Gray was the last one standing, and before he sat, he called out, “Election’s coming, Francine!”

  There was a round of laughter and applause. The mayor rapped her gavel again, straightened her shoulders, and looked at Reese.

  “Well, Miss Potok, it appears we have quite strong opinions about what your company offers. It also appears it’s taken the innocence of a child to focus all of us on what is of utmost importance. We must preserve our sense of community in Seaside Cove!”

  Another round of applause filled the room, but instead of soaking it up personally, Francine smiled at Alex and clapped. As Rick watched her, he realized how she’d held her office for so many years.

  The meeting
adjourned not long after. Rick and Marquetta stood to the side and watched as many of the locals stood around Alex in a circle congratulating her. Joe Gray was one of the first to speak with Alex, then slipped away from the group to join Rick and Marquetta.

  “That Francine is a sly political fox, isn’t she?” Rick asked as Joe sidled up next to them.

  “Sly doesn’t begin to describe her,” Joe said. “Francine was class president in high school. There’s another picture I didn’t show you in that yearbook.”

  Marquetta frowned at Joe. “You weren’t in the same class as Francine.”

  “The yearbook belonged to Devon.” Joe pointed at Rick’s handyman, who stood next to Alex and towered over her. “Devon was going to get rid of it, but I talked him into giving it to me after Francine’s first election.” He shrugged. “I always felt like it would be helpful to have a record of her past. Anyway, you didn’t see Francine’s class photo.”

  “Why’s that significant?” Rick asked.

  “Because when she signed her photo for Devon, she wrote, ‘To Devon, from your future town mayor.’”

  “Oh my, the rumor’s true,” Marquetta said.

  “Which rumor is that?” Rick asked.

  Joe leaned in close to Rick and lowered his voice. “Some of the old-timers will tell you Francine set her sights on the mayor’s job the day her sister married Chief Jackson, but that’s not accurate. The truth is, she wanted the job well before her sister married Gerald.”

  Marquetta glanced across the room to where Francine was talking to a few of the remaining attendees. “Well, well. There’s a side of Francine I didn’t know about. She will do anything for power, won’t she?”

  Joe winked at Marquetta and backed away. “In the end, she always does what’s right for the town. Now if you two will excuse me, I really have to leave. Nice talking to you both. Take care.”

  As the group around Alex dwindled, Rick said, “Francine had better watch out. Right now I think Alex could run for mayor and win.”

  Marquetta nodded. “After the fundraiser she organized to help the Sachettis, and now this, she’s well on her way.”