Cedar Bay Cozy Mysteries #3

by Dianne Harman

  “Carola, that's brilliant. I just hope this thing doesn't backfire. I don't think Jack would be very happy with you.”

  “I'm sure he wouldn't, but if it saves his career and helps catch Dudley’s killer, I'm sure he'll overlook it. I also called the front desk last night and found out that Philip’s room number is 2706. My maid is meeting us there at 9:00, so we probably need to try and find it. I'm not looking forward to going out in the rain again and then stumbling around trying to find his room. I couldn’t find my site map of the resort anywhere.”

  “You won't have to. I’ve still got mine. Just a minute.” After a quick search of her suitcase Kelly said, “Here it is.” She looked at it for a moment. “Actually, we won't have to walk far at all. His room is only two buildings away. Carola, you're going to think I'm nuts, but when we were researching what to bring to Cuba, Mike read that we should bring some small plastic bags.” While she was speaking she pulled four plastic bags out of her suitcase. “I know this sounds strange, but when we search Philip's room for the diary, we should both put our hands in these plastic bags. That way, if something goes really wrong, they won't find our fingerprints on anything.”

  “Kelly, you probably are nuts, but it's a brilliant idea. I'm ready to go when you are. I'd like to get this over with.”

  “Me, too. I don't technically think this qualifies as breaking and entering, but I really don't want to find out if my semantics are off when I talk to the Cuban constable. To say nothing of the fact that Mike would be furious if his wife was arrested for breaking and entering when he's working with the constable to solve a capital crime. No, that definitely would not be a good thing.” She opened the door to a sheet of blinding rain as they both stepped out into the fury of the ever increasing storm.

  CHAPTER 24

  Kelly and Carola hurried down the path to the building where Philip's room was located. As usual, Cayo tagged right along next to them. They saw the maid’s cart next to the building sheltered by an overhang. “Kelly, I better go by myself, and you can come in when you see the maid leave. She might think it’s a little over the top for two women to be meeting Philip. With our age difference, it would kind of look like a mother-daughter thing, and that might be beyond the scope of believability.”

  “Why don't you stand under the overhang of the building next door? You'll be out of the rain, and there's no one around, so I don't think anyone will question why you're standing there. I brought a flashlight for two reasons. One, I doubt that Philip has made friends with the people in the nearby rooms, but I'd rather people didn't see lights on in his room if they know he's gone. Secondly, there will probably be a power outage at some point today, and I wanted to be prepared. Wish me luck.” She blew a kiss to Kelly, and with that she walked towards Philip's room. The maid opened the door when she knocked and let her in. A few minutes later Kelly saw the maid leave the room and walk down the path, a clear plastic tarp covering her head and her cleaning equipment.

  Kelly hurried over to the room she’d seen Carola enter and knocked. If I've got the wrong room, this could get real interesting, she thought. I could always say I became confused because of the darkness and the rain. Fortunately Carola opened the door and Kelly and Cayo walked in.

  “Kelly, I've never done anything like this, and I don't have a clue where to start.”

  “Start by putting one of the plastic bags we brought on each of your hands. I hope you remembered not to touch anything in the room after the maid let you in. Why don't you take the bedroom, and I'll take his closet and bathroom? We're looking primarily for the diary, but if you find something else of interest, take it. Of course the bad news is that we don't know if he meant he wrote in his diary when he was here, or whether he kept one at home. Let's hope for the best.”

  They were both quiet for a few minutes as they started searching the room and then Carola said, "Kelly, I found something interesting. His iPad is here, and I turned it on. You can't access the Internet from the rooms, but the iPad opens to the last place the person using it was reading. It looks like he's copied and pasted information about calcium chloride. I don't know what this means, but I think we should take it and show it to Mike.”

  “I agree, but I may hide it for a few days. I know Mike would definitely not approve of what we're doing at the moment. Let's keep looking for the diary, but yes, that is very, very interesting. Why would he have information on his iPad about calcium chloride? I don’t even know what it is.”

  “Carola, I found it,” Kelly said about fifteen minutes later. “Let's go to my room, I'm really uncomfortable here. I read that the Santeria religion is practiced here in Cuba with juju and stuff like that, and right now, I'm feeling a lot of really bad energy or juju. I just want to get out of here.”

  They quickly glanced around to make sure nothing had been disturbed. “Carola, I just thought of something. You got the maid to let us in, so we could find this stuff. Now we're leaving. Question is, how do we get back in if we need to replace the iPad and the diary?”

  “I have no idea. Let's just hope it's not necessary. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. We can talk about it once we look at the diary.”

  They looked around the room one final time and decided it didn't look like anyone had been in the room other than the maid. Kelly opened the door and peered out from side to side. “Coast is clear, let's go. Cayo, come.” Moments later they were back in Kelly's room, out of the rain, the diary in front of them.

  “What do you think's in it?” Kelly asked. “Maybe it's nothing more than him recording thoughts he has like maybe his shrink or someone told him to do.”

  “I have no idea, but let's find out.”

  They both put plastic bags back on their hands. “You do it, Kelly. I really don't know what to look for.”

  “Well, if it's any consolation, I'm not so sure I do either.” She began leafing through the diary. “From what I'm seeing, he must keep a separate one for each year. Obviously, this one is for this year.”

  “And?” Carola asked.

  “I'm looking for the entries he made last week. I think that's what would be relevant. Give me a couple of minutes.” She was quiet for several minutes and then said, “I think we just hit the mother lode.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Last week he wrote he was going to Cuba and was going to see what he could do to become the United States go-to person for fishing in Cuba. From that day forward he lists the people he's met, how they can help him get an exclusive contract to represent Americans wanting to fish in Cuba, and there’s a large section devoted to Dudley. Oh, Carola, I don't believe this,” she said, her breath catching.

  “What did you find?” Carola asked.

  “He says it was necessary to kill Dudley, because after he caught the bonefish, the tarpon, and the permit, and was eligible to become a member of the Grand Slam Club, he had to die. Philip wrote that if Dudley became the only English guide to ever do that he would almost certainly get the contract from Bartolo. That would mean he would have the exclusive rights to Europe as well as the United States, and he couldn't allow that to happen.”

  “I knew something was wrong with him!” Carola exclaimed.

  “Philip writes that his doctor gave him a prescription for calcium chloride, because he’s prone to muscle spasms. Evidently the doctor told him to be very careful if he gave himself an injection, because an overdose could cause his heart to stop beating. He says he was glad he remembered what the doctor told him, and he used a huge injection of calcium chloride to kill Dudley. He says the information he got on the Internet when he used his iPad indicated an overdose of calcium chloride was practically impossible to trace.”

  She continued reading. “Carola, he's written that last night when they were in the taxi coming back from the marina he asked Jack if he could fish with him today. He said Jack needed to have a bad accident, and that way he could become the exclusive representative for Bartolo. He says Jack is his final competitor f
or the fishing rights, and he needs to be eliminated."

  “Kelly, that means he's out in the boat with Jack right now and in this weather! He could do something to Jack and make it look like it was a weather-related accident.

  “Jack told me when they left the fishing club yesterday Philip told Guido he wanted to fish with Jack today, and they wouldn’t need a Cuban guide. Philip said he wanted to work for Jack if Jack got the Bartolo contract, and he wanted to show him what a good guide he could be. He said he's been here several times, so he knows how to run the boat, and they would fish in the zone closest to the marina.”

  Carola looked at Kelly with a terrified look of fright on her face as she slowly realized the enormity of the extreme danger Jack must be in at that very moment. The increasing fury of the howling wind and the rain pelting against the window didn’t help her fright, it only increased it. Kelly made an instant decision and said, “Carola, you're the one who speaks fluent Spanish. Go to the front desk, and tell them you need to speak to the constable immediately. Tell Mike what we've found out and tell him that the constable and Mike need to get to the marina as fast as they can.”

  “What are you going to do?”

  Kelly pulled a lightweight raincoat over her head and said, “I'm going to the fishing club and get Guido to take me out to where Philip said they were going to fish today. Pray we're in time.” Cayo sensed something was happening and jumped into the beach bag Kelly was carrying. She ran out the door and down the steps leading from her room, intent on getting someone to take her to the marina.

  CHAPTER 25

  Kelly ran through the lobby and over to where the security guard was standing. “I need a taxi! Right now!”

  “I'm sorry, senora, one just left and there are only two on the island. It will be perhaps half an hour before another one will be here.”

  She frantically looked around and saw a man getting into a maintenance truck with the logo “Compania Electrica de Cayo Largo” written on the side. Kelly ran over to him. “Senor, if you can take me to the marina, I will pay you well. Please, this is an emergency.”

  The man looked blankly at her, evidently not understanding a word she’d said. The burly Cuban security guard had followed her and translated what she’d said. He told the man it was an emergency.

  The guard turned to Kelly. “He wants to know what kind of an emergency.”

  “A friend of mine is going to be killed, if I don't get there immediately. Please, tell him someone's life is in his hands. I have one hundred Cuban pesos for him if he will take me there.”

  The guard spoke rapidly to the man. The mention of money seemed to make the difference. He spoke to the guard who opened the front door for Kelly. “Get in. Where do you want him to take you?”

  “I want to go to the Bartolo fishing club at the marina. The Grand Slam Club. Can he take me there?”

  Again the guard spoke rapidly in Spanish and turned back to Kelly. “He knows where it is and will have you there in a few minutes.” He closed the door, and the driver pulled out onto the road. Between the rain and the darkness it was almost impossible to see anything, but after a few minutes the man pulled into the parking lot of the building Kelly had visited a few days earlier and pointed to the building.

  “Gracias,” she said throwing the door open and giving him a one hundred peso bill. “Vaya con Dios,” the man said, “Go with God.”

  Believe me, I hope he's with me, she thought as she burst through the fishing club’s door and saw Guido sitting at his desk.

  “Senora Reynolds, what are you doing here on such a miserable day? You should be at the hotel, waiting out the hurricane.”

  “I don't have time to tell you. I need you to take me to where Philip and Jack are fishing. I know Philip told you he didn't need a guide today, and that he and Jack would go out by themselves. You must know where they are. You have to take me there immediately, and if you have a gun, bring it. My husband and the constable will be coming shortly.”

  “Senora, I don't have authority...”

  Kelly cut him off. “You better assume whatever authority you need, because if you don't Jack is going to be murdered and even if you're not charged with being an accomplice to murder, I'll make sure that everyone knows you had a chance to save a client's life and didn't. If that happens, I don't think you'll need to worry about assuming authority, because I'll bet you will no longer be employed as the head fishing guide here.”

  Guido hesitated for a moment and then reached into the bottom drawer of his desk and took a gun from it. “Follow me. My boat is tied up at the dock.” He pulled a raincoat over his head and put on a rain hat. They ran through the courtyard and down to the dock. He quickly untied the rope securing the boat to the dock and started the boat’s motor. “Sit behind me,” he said as he stood at the steering wheel and sped away from the dock. “All of our boats are equipped with a GPS system, so I can tell where each boat is located at all times. I can locate their boat using the GPS. It will take me a moment, but I'll head in the general direction where I think they are and soon the GPS will show me exactly where their boat is. It’s accurate to a distance of ten meters.”

  Kelly set her beach bag down on the floor of the boat and was surprised at how heavy it was. She hadn’t been aware of it on her way to the marina. She looked down and saw two eyes looking up at her. Good grief, I completely forgot about Cayo. Poor thing must be terrified to be in a boat and on the water.

  “Senora, I have found their boat’s location on the GPS. It's not too far from here.”

  “Guido, when we pulled away from the dock I noticed there weren't any other boats around. I think you met Jack's wife, Carola. She's calling my husband, who's a sheriff, and the constable, but how will they find us without a boat?”

  “The constable has his own boat at the marina, and there is a radio on his boat. He will be able to call me, and I can tell him where we are headed.”

  “In this weather even with your GPS system, how will you ever be able to find their boat?”

  “Each boat is equipped with the best GPS system that is made. It could locate where a fly was if we programmed it for that. Don't worry, we'll get there in time for whatever it is you’re worried about. Please, Senora, could you tell me what is the problem?”

  Kelly spent the next few minutes filling Guido in on what she and Carola had discovered in Philip's diary. She told him when it was all over she would tell him why she’d become suspicious of Philip. Guido slowed the boat down and turned off the engine. She could make out the running lights on a boat that was about fifty yards ahead of them.

  Guido looked back at her and said over his shoulder, “That's their boat. Now what do you want me to do?”

  “Do you have binoculars on the boat?”

  “Yes, they're in the dry storage bin beneath where you're sitting.” She stood up, and he pulled the top of the storage bin open and handed her a pair of binoculars. She could make out two figures in the boat and said a silent prayer as it looked like they’d gotten there in time. The wind dropped suddenly, and the water became very calm. Voices carry considerable distances across quiet calm water and she heard Jack ask, “What are you talking about?”

  She leaned close to Guido and whispered, “Why did the wind drop?”

  “Senora, I think we're in the eye of the hurricane. Often it gets very quiet before the torrential rains come.”

  “So the rains we've been having haven't been torrential?”

  “No, Senora. In about twenty minutes it will be very bad. What now?”

  “Can you quietly pole our boat close to them? I seem to remember you saying that's what the guides did when they got to where they wanted to fish, and with Jack and Philip both looking forward, maybe we can get close to them without being noticed.”

  “Si, Senora. I can do that." They heard angry voices coming from the boat in front of them.

  Jack, who was usually very mild-mannered, angrily said in a raised voice, “No, Philip, I don'
t want to be your partner. The company contacted me, not you, and I have every intention of being their representative in the United States.”

  “Then you leave me no option. I’ll have to kill you just like I killed Dudley. I was afraid that's what you’d say, and that's why I didn’t want a Cuban guide to come with us today. I’ll tell everyone you fell overboard, and even though the water is shallow, it was raining so hard, and it was so dark, I couldn't find you. By the time your body washes up on shore, the fish will have had their share of you, and it's very hard to determine the cause of death from a body when all that's left are the bones.”

  “Senora, what do you want me to do?” Guido asked in an alarmed tone of voice.

  “Get as close as you can to their boat. Get your gun out and be ready to shoot Philip, if need be.”

  “But Senora, he's qualified to become a member of the Grand Slam Club. I can't do that.”

  “Then hand the gun to me. I have no problem shooting him.”

  He handed her the gun, as he quietly poled their boat to within ten feet of Jack’s boat. Out of the corner of her eye she saw that Cayo had gotten out of her beach bag and had walked up to the bow of the boat.

  They were so close to the other boat that Kelly could clearly see Philip reach into a bag at his feet and pull a syringe out of it. “Jack, this won't hurt. It will all be over in a matter of...”

  “Cayo,” Kelly yelled as the calico cat hissed and leaped the short distance from her boat to Jack's boat. He sprang at Philip, biting him on the neck and clawing through his shirt with enough force to draw blood.