Cozy Mystery: Life's a Beach

by S. Y. Robins

  “It’s a good thing those policeman didn’t search her bags, I think we’d have all been up the creek without a paddle.” I said as I looked down at a pile of small plastic baggies.

  Pills of every color of the rainbow filled the tiny bags, along with several powders, and other things I couldn’t identify. I picked each one up, one at a time, and wiped the bags with a t-shirt, I didn’t want our fingerprints on them. I placed them into another larger bag before we went through the rest of it.

  “I think we know how they’ve been making money anyway. Tina couldn’t have been doing all of these could she?” Amber asked. “Surely that many drugs would have killed her?”

  “She very nearly died tonight. Maybe she was taking them all? But I doubt it. I also doubt these are vitamins and blood pressure pills. I think this powder is cocaine. What do we do with it?”

  “Nothing. We put it back and do nothing with it. This frightens me, Mel, it really does. Drugs don’t bring the good kind of people around, you know? And if she was dealing that means there’s someone out there she owes money to.” Amber looked frightened, very frightened. I couldn’t blame her, I felt the same.

  “Wait, have you found any money?” I asked, looking back at Amber.

  “Not yet.” Amber said as she shook her head no.

  I went back through the suitcase once more, checking the lining of the case. I found a hole under a storage bag sewn into the lining and slid a finger down into it. I could feel paper, a lot of it. I started pulling out the paper, finally ending with a stack an inch and half thick when I had it all together.

  “Three thousand two hundred and eighty one dollars.” I concluded as I counted out the money. I looked at Amber with sorrow. “She was definitely dealing.”

  “What if that’s from a savings account or something?” The statement was almost a question.

  “Look at the bills, all crumpled, some even rolled up into tubes, all of it in bad shape. This didn’t just come from a bank. There’s a lot of different denominations as well but mainly ones and fives. Either she took up waitressing or she’s dealing.” I’d seen enough shows to know most drug deals didn’t take place with large denomination of money.

  “Dang it all, Tina.” Amber came as close to swearing as she’d ever come.

  “This doesn’t look good. It doesn’t equal murder though. Have you found her phone?” I went back through the pile again.

  “Got it.” Amber said. She flicked through the lock screen, the year of Tina’s birth the not so secret lock code, and started going through the pictures. There were a lot of pictures of houses, women dressed in expensive clothes, and things that didn’t make sense, such as jewelry and other items. It started to dawn on me what we were looking at when I started to see electronics as well.

  “Ah. They were selling stolen property as well. Look, I think these are the houses they robbed, this is all the stuff they stole.” I flicked back through the pictures to show Amber.

  “I think you’re right.” Amber looked like I felt, sick to my stomach.

  “What do we do with this information?” I asked. I was thinking out loud more than anything.

  “I think we have to report it but Tina is our friend.” Amber’s anxiety wasn’t levelling off. Mine wasn’t either.

  “I say we give it a little time, let me do some research, it’s what I’m good at. Maybe we can find a way to help Tina out of it.” I offered as Amber started going through Tina’s text messages.

  Amber found messages of where Tina had arranged sales of the items she had “available” and we noted down those numbers. Not much use but if we did turn this over to the police they could track the stuff anyway. I know, we should be turning all of this over to the police but it was a hard decision. Our friend had almost died tonight, her life was in shambles, and we knew the person beneath all of that. We loved that person, not the one she’d become, and for now we were sticking by her, hoping to find a way to help her turn her life around.

  I have to admit though, with the information we’d found out already it was kind of hard to keep protesting to myself that Tina was innocent of the woman’s murder. Maybe the woman had caught them breaking in? Tina knew where the key to the house was so they could have gotten in with no problems. That gave me an idea and I noted it down, promising to check the houses I’d seen and try to find out if they were all vacation rentals.

  “So we’re sitting on this for now then?” Amber asked absently as she scrolled through messages.

  “Yeah, for now.” I said, going through the handbag one more time.

  “Holy cow. Mel, look at these!” Amber’s voice told me something was wrong.

  I scrolled the messages indicated by Amber and blanched. Yeah, I saw why she sounded so afraid now. Tina had been getting threats from Tony to keep her mouth shut or face the consequences for three days now. The last one demanded to know where she was because it was time to assure him she still loved him.

  4

  Using some of the apps, sites, and tricks I’d learned as a junior lawyer and researcher I tracked Tony down to a cheap motel not far from where we were staying. That didn’t make me feel very safe at all. It appeared he didn’t know where we were though so that helped.

  I feel as though I’ve been on an emotional roller coaster for the last month. Wait, no, that isn’t right is it? I can’t believe all of this has happened in only a few days! Sighing I ran my hands through my hair, put my elbows back on the desk, and stared at my computer screen. So far I’d found out some pretty creepy information about Tony. Creepy as in pervy, not scary, although when you put it all altogether it was rather scary.

  I’d managed to trace the email the man used to several swinger websites. If you don’t know what those are, they’re websites for people, usually couples, to meet up and swap sex partners. He sounded like a real charmer. I’d also learned the man had arrest records for breaking and entering, fraud, prostitution, human trafficking, and drug trafficking. Not a winner in my books.

  I told Amber about my findings and we agreed that we were going to keep the information about Tina’s drug stash to ourselves for now. This Tony sounded like he could give us all problems if we handed over the stash. I hate to say I was a coward but I knew enough about the world to know that people like him weren’t to be trifled with. It was all well and good to be a Good Samaritan but getting your head kicked in over drugs and money you didn’t have anything to do with was just silly.

  We went to see Tina the day after she was admitted into the hospital but she wouldn’t speak to us. The moment we arrived she just started to quietly cry, tears streaming from her eyes as she stared out of the window of the visiting area. We thought she was comatose or catatonic, something like that, but the nurse assured us Tina’s reaction was only because of us. I felt terrible and wanted to leave. Not because I felt guilty about Tina being in there or something bad about myself, but because I felt we were making our friend much worse.

  Amber and I had another of those unspoken conversations and we soon left Tina but we agreed we’d be back the next day if they released her. We went home and arranged to stay for a few days longer, just in case, and spent a lot of time feeling useless and helpless. I kept investigating Tony and found he had arrest warrants in several states but nothing that would take him off the radar permanently, mainly petty things.

  “You know, I have no idea why that man isn’t sitting in jail already.” Amber spoke the exact words I’d been thinking as we sat in the surf, that afternoon. “How does a man commit that many crimes and still get lenient sentences?”

  “I don’t know sweetie. If I had to guess I’d say it’s a sign of the times. Jails are full of prisoners now and even if the justice system has turned into a business for profits there’s only so many they can house.” I thought about the numbers and spoke again.

  “Do you know America has one of the highest prison populations in the world and we don’t even have the highest population in total?” Amber looked ov
er at me in surprise.

  “Really? What’s that about?” She asked.

  “Mainly petty drug crimes, things that wouldn’t have even been blinked at 100 years ago because marijuana was considered a plant and nothing more, are now crimes that garner a lot of time.”

  “Wow, that’s insane.” Amber responded and I could see her mind ticking over.

  We discussed the subject a little while longer before we headed back into the house. I didn’t realize just how much information I had on the subject until I started talking about it and realized that was part of the reason I wasn’t in such a hurry to turn Tina in. Lawyer or not, I knew the reality of the current justice system better than most and I wasn’t willing to throw my friend under the bus. I argued all of the points with myself but still came back to the same conclusion, Tina was my friend, and it was that simple.

  Despite that decision I called a lawyer friend in Atlanta and got some advice about lawyers in Florida. I contacted the lawyer and apparently my friend had already made a phone call. I arranged a meeting for a few days from then and waited for Tina to be released from the hospital. She was released the next day and the fragile little bird we brought home was a far cry from the rude brat we’d met a few days ago, and even further from the woman we’d grown to love.

  Tina was somehow broken, her experiences finally catching up with her. She spent the first hour crying in her bed, both of us with her as she cried out her sorrow. I knew what was coming was going to be brutal and tried to prepare myself. I don’t think a year of preparation would have helped.

  “I’m awake now. I don’t think I have been for months now.” Tina started. Even my memories feel like they were just dreams. Oh God, I owe you two such an apology. I owe so many apologies!”

  She started crying again then but it only lasted a few moments. She was speaking again soon enough and her words chilled me.

  “It started out as a way to have fun. To loosen up when Tony took me to some of the clubs he liked the best in Atlanta. I didn’t mean to become a habitual user.” I noted she didn’t say addict but let it slide. “First it was just pot, then pills. Then pills and booze. It just kept growing.” Tina’s voice went higher as she spoke until she was almost screeching.

  “Shh, honey, calm down.” Amber tried to soothe her.

  “No, you don’t understand. I’m a terrible person and I don’t deserve either of you. I really don’t. I wasn’t me on those drugs, the things I did, the things I saw. I started using the drugs more as a way to numb myself to the memories, to get through the day and then I just needed them. The cravings were so horrible, bone-deep and soul-crushing. Nothing could stop them and I started letting Tony convince me to do things.”

  I tensed at this point. I wasn’t sure I wanted her to continue. But she carried on, even though my brain wanted me to run away.

  “We were robbing the vacation houses. We’d rob one, fence the goods, find another one online to rent for a day, find out the codes and where keys were hidden, then go back a week later and rob it. We’d use the money to buy drugs and rent the next place. I have an entire notebook with security codes in it.” Tina waved in the direction of her bags. That explained that then. I’d seen the notebook but didn’t have a clue what the numbers meant.

  “Tony decided to stay at the house we always stay at because I knew where the keys were. I was at another hotel then and he called me, told me to get over to the house because he had some fun planned for us. I had no idea what he had in store for us but I went. By that time I’d learned not to question him. I’d had enough slaps and kicks.” Tina’s eyes went dark and I took her hand, gripping it tight.

  “I got to the house and I could hear noises from upstairs. I knew Tony had another woman up there and I just couldn’t face it again. I couldn’t do it. He heard me when I tripped over a plant and demanded I come upstairs and join them. I didn’t want to but I was afraid not to. You don’t know what he’s like when he’s angry!” Tina’s eyes revealed the desperation she must have felt in that moment.

  “What happened honey?” I urged her to continue.

  “I went up. I’d bought a new dress and when I got up there and saw Tony in bed with that woman I lost it. I picked up some scissors that were sitting on a dresser and started to cut the dress off. The woman, high as a kite, thought I was trying to join in and came over to me. She touched me, intimately, and I pushed her away. She thought it was part of the game and threw herself at me. I wasn’t paying attention and the scissors…oh God…the scissors slid into her stomach! They were those old fashioned metal kind, sharp and lethal and they slid right in!” Tina buried her head in her arms once more and sobbed.

  “Is that all of it, Tina?” I asked, wanting the whole truth.

  “Yes. Tony freaked out and injected me with something so I’d stop screaming. I fell asleep and didn’t wake up until the next day and Tony had put this ring on my finger, he promised we were getting married and I just kept taking the drugs. He said he’d dropped her off at a hospital and run. I believed him like an idiot! I thought that was it. He must have killed her though. I didn’t stab her that many times, I didn’t cause all of that devastation. It wasn’t me, I swear!” Tina’s fingers clawed at my arm and I patted her hand once more.

  “It’s alright dear. Well, it’s not but we’ll sort it out.” I didn’t know how but we would.

  Amber turned the recorder off on her phone and we left Tina to sleep. She’d told us she wanted to go to the police and we told her we’d take her the next day. I called the lawyer and arranged a meeting with him for sooner than we’d originally planned.

  “What a mess!” Amber exclaimed over a glass of wine a short while later.

  “I know. We have to make sure Tony pays for his part in this. He brought her to this.” I wanted vengeance against the man but had little hope of getting it. Not right away anyway. For now he’d destroyed Tina’s life and I hated him.

  “At least you figured most of it out.” Amber consoled me. “I didn’t even know where to begin. I was still trying to convince myself those weren’t her drugs, that she was holding them for someone else.”

  “Oh, I tried, believe me. It just didn’t work. But I think we’re almost done. If you want to go home…” I let my words trail off.

  “No, I’ll stay until this part is done. She needs us.” Amber assured me.

  I did more investigating and found something that could finally be helpful. Tony had an outstanding warrant for felony tax fraud. If the drugs didn’t get you, tax fraud would! I printed out all of the information I had and prepared a folder for the next day. Amber and I quietly agreed to flush the drugs down the toilet and use the money for Tina’s defense. At this point she wasn’t going to have a lot of say in what happened with her money.

  The next day dawned and we found ourselves sitting in the lawyer’s office. Tina was nervous but told her story once more and then I revealed all of the information I had.

  “Now, they can catch a small fish, which they seem to like to do, or they can agree the plea Tina has consented to and catch this much bigger fish. I have a feeling they’ll find he’s now a major supplier in the area and has also got scams going for robbing vacation homes as well as human trafficking. Our boy looks like he doesn’t have a job but he wears several hats at the moment. He’s a busy man, even when he’s not.” I slid the file over to the lawyer and he was impressed with the work I’d accomplished so far.

  “I believe you’re quite right, Melanie. Good work!” He shook my hand and then shook Tina and Amber’s. “I’ll probably need to see you back here in a few hours so don’t go far. Tina, I hope you’re prepared to stick to your bargain and do a whole lot of talking.”

  Tina shook her head in resignation and we took her out to eat. She was still recovering from the drugs but she’d been supplied with a prescription to help with the withdrawals.

  “This is going to be a long road guys, but I think, together, we can do it.” Tina said as our dinner woun
d down. “If it hadn’t been for you, Mel, I don’t know where I’d be right now.”

  “Tina, my darling, a lot of people might say you deserve that fate. They could even be right but they don’t know you, not like we do. Friends stick together and sometimes we bend the rules a little bit. If that rule-bending ends in a much better path for the person. I wouldn’t do this if I thought you’d go right back to that life. I’d leave you to it. Cruel perhaps but I have hope for you, I have faith in you, that you can turn your life around. That person isn’t who you are. You lost yourself for a while but I think you’re on the right track again.” I smiled at her and held her hand across the table, squeezing it.

  “I almost regretted this trip. I really did.” Amber chimed in. “But now, I’m glad we decided to have one last Spring Break getaway. It might not have turned out like we’d planned but we saved you, Tina. Or I hope we have.”

  “Oh, you have. I think that phone call might have been a desperate cry for help, and it wasn’t even completely screwed up at that point. I needed you ladies; I just didn’t know how to ask for help. I was too embarrassed, too ashamed. But I shouldn’t have been. I regret that now but I couldn’t have asked for a better result. Thank you ladies. I couldn’t have asked for better friends.”

  * * *

  Six months later

  I sat in my office, reading the email from the lawyer in Florida and smiled a tear-filled smile. Tina was getting out of prison soon and wanted to know if I’d take her in. I replied immediately that I would, without a doubt, take my friend in. She’d done the time assigned to her, completed her drug counselling and court ordered mental health programs, and was going to be on probation for several years. Who better than a lawyer to keep her on the straight and narrow?