by Vicki Delany
Darlene said no one would kill over mass-produced tomatoes. But was that true? If they were caught, they’d lose their jobs. Maybe be charged with fraud.
Would someone kill to avoid jail time?
What the heck. I had nothing better to do that day. I went to my apartment and changed out of my bathing suit. Then I called my regular taxi driver.
“Blue Water Vista?” Harry said as I hopped into his cab. “Fancy place.”
“It is,” I said. “Best views on the island.”
“Ain’t that the truth,” he said.
Something in his tone made me ask, “What does that mean?”
He shrugged in that island way I was beginning to find familiar. “Some folks thought the hill should be kept as it was. They tried to fight the resort. I coulda told them you can’t fight money and politicians.”
“Do you ever hear any complaints about the restaurant there?”
“Ashley, in this cab I hear complaints about everything. Like I can do something about the weather.” He chuckled at a memory. “Or what time the tide comes in.”
The taxi pulled up to the front of the resort, and I jumped out. Instead of going into the lobby, I rounded the main building and headed for the kitchen at the back. It was one thirty, and the lunch rush should be over.
It had been only three days since the fire, but the place was almost back to normal. New windows sparkled in the sunshine. Singed wood had been changed or given a fresh coat of paint. Trampled bushes had been replaced and grass replanted.
Inside, pots clanged and a man shouted, “Watch out there.”
I hesitated at the door, unsure if I should walk in.
A young woman in a housekeeper’s uniform came out of the kitchen. She jumped when she saw me.
“Sorry,” I said. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”
She let out a long breath. “Can I help you, madam?”
“Yes, you can,” I said. “I’m looking for a couple of workers. I’m the paramedic who was here the other day. For the fire? I was…uh… passing, and I thought I’d check up on them. Marilee and Edward. Do you know them?”
She eyed me. “I didn’t know you people made follow-up visits.”
I tried to look helpful. “Can you ask if they’re around? Please?”
“I can do that.You better wait here. Kitchen’s always a busy place, but worse now that they had to rip out half the room.” She pulled the door shut behind her.
I didn’t have to wait long before Marilee came out. She gave me a wide smile. “So nice of you to call on me. Edward isn’t in today. It’s his day off.”
“How are you feeling? Any aftereffects?”
“My throat’s still a bit sore. Cough drops are helping.” She wrapped her arms around herself. “I’ve not been sleeping too well. I keep thinking about it. How it coulda been me trapped inside. Poor Rhonda.”
“Maybe you should talk to someone.”
“You mean like a head doctor?” She shook her head. “That costs money. I don’t need it anyway. I’ll be fine. I’m sorry, but I have to get back. With half the kitchen destroyed, and the head chef gone, they keep us hopping. Thanks for coming by.”
“My pleasure. Before you go, I have a quick question.”
“Sure.”
“I overheard some guests complaining about the dinner they had here.The wine wasn’t what they ordered and the vegetables weren’t fresh. Is everything okay with the restaurant?”
Marilee had been smiling at me, pleased I’d shown an interest in her. Now it was like a thundercloud passing over the sun. Her face darkened and her eyes narrowed. “What kinda question’s that?”
“Just wondering.”
“You should stop wondering. What goes on here is none of your business.”
“The fire chief ’s report said the fire that killed Rhonda was deliberately set.”
“Yeah. Set by Rhonda’s boyfriend. Nothing to do with me. With us.”
“If you know something —”
“Don’t be poking your nose where it isn’t wanted. I need this job. I like it here, okay? Don’t be causing trouble.”
“I’m just curious.”
“Curious about what?” said a voice behind me.
I turned to see a man standing only a few feet away. Trevor Bellings. He was not smiling.
“I’m wondering how Edward’s doing,” I said. “He swallowed a lot of smoke the other day. He’s not here, so I asked Marilee. I’m Ashley Grant. I’m the paramedic who —”
“I know who you are,” Trevor said. “Marilee has her work to do.” He gave her a look. “If she can’t do it, there are plenty of kitchen workers where she came from.”
Marilee dipped her head and slipped away.
“Guests and visitors aren’t allowed in this area,” Trevor said. “I’ll show you back to the public area.”
“That’s not necessary.” I forced a smile.
He did not return it. “But I insist.” Trevor stood back, making a path for me.
I walked away. Trevor didn’t speak to me again, but I knew he followed me every step of the way. He left me only when I reached the lobby. I checked that he was gone and then pulled out my phone and made a call.
“Ashley,” Alan Westbrook said. “What can I do for you today?” His voice sounded warm. I felt a small shiver of pleasure.
“This might seem like a strange question...”
“Wouldn’t be the first one coming from you.”
“I guess not. Ralph Bosleigh was seen at the Blue Water Vista shortly before the fire broke out. He was talking to a staff member.”
All the warmth disappeared from his voice. “I know that. Why are you telling me? Don’t tell me you’re still poking around.”
I decided not to answer those questions. “Who was the staff member he was seen with?”
“Ashley, I told you not to interfere.”
“I’m not interfering. I’m just wondering.”
“And I’m wondering if you know the difference.” He let out a long sigh. “Okay. I can’t see that it matters. Trevor Bellings. He’s in charge of the hotel’s restaurants.”
“So he is,” I said. “Thanks, Alan.”
“You’ll let me know if all this wondering brings you to any conclusions.”
“I will.”
“The case has been closed. Too fast for my liking. But it wasn’t my call to make.”
“Talk to you later,” I said.
EIGHT
I POPPED INTO the office when I got back to tell Darlene what I’d learned.
Although I hadn’t actually learned anything, except that hotel management didn’t want me poking around the back of the hotel and asking questions. I’d also learned that Marilee feared for her job. Why, I didn’t know. Maybe the bosses were just strict there, and she’d get in trouble for chatting when she should be working.
“I don’t know what else I can do,” I said to Darlene. “If the police have closed the case, no one will thank us for interfering. No one has to answer our questions.”
Darlene stretched her shoulders. “You’re right about that, honey. We’ve got no reason to think we’re right and everyone else is wrong. Ralph was a nasty piece of work.”
“What about his family? Are they okay with the idea of suicide?”
“Ralph’s father ran off when he was a baby. His mama died soon after. His grandma raised him, and she’s long gone. No one left to care much about Ralph one way or the other. Maybe that’s why he was such a mean son of a bitch.”
“Sad.”
“Don’t feel sorry for Ralph Bosleigh, honey. His grandma was a good woman. He could have turned out okay. He chose not to.”
“Do you want me to drop it?”
“I honestly don’t know. That would be the smart thing to do. But I can’t shake the feeling I have. Right now, though, I have to get my work done.” She waved a hand at her computer, and I left her to it.
I was trying to find something interesting to watch on T
V when my phone rang. Darlene.
“Aunt Antonia called me. She wants to talk about Rhonda’s death. Want to come with me?”
“Sure. Did she say what it was about?”
“Nope. I get off work at six. Be ready then.”
Antonia answered the door. Her eyes were red and her face haggard. She gave Darlene and me tight smiles. Darlene enveloped her aunt in a hug. When they separated, both women had tears in their eyes.
“Thanks for coming,” Antonia said. “Don’t stand out there on the porch. Come on in.”
Delicious smells came from the kitchen. Outside, a dog barked and a child laughed. We were shown into the over-furnished room. Rhonda’s brother sprawled in a chair, his feet on the coffee table. A soccer match was on TV. When he saw us, he glanced quickly at his mother. He didn’t look happy to see us.
“Get your feet off the furniture,” Antonia said. “And turn off that blasted racket.”
He did as he was told. “What do you want?” he said to Darlene.
“Is that being friendly?” she replied. “I’m here because your mother invited me. I brought my friend.”
I gave him a wiggle of my fingers. He didn’t even look at me.
“Can I fix you some tea, Darlene?” Antonia asked. “How about your friend?”
“We’re fine,” Darlene said.
Teddy pushed himself to his feet. “I’ll leave you ladies to talk.”
“Sit down,” his mother ordered.
His eyes opened wide, but he dropped back down. We took seats on the overstuffed couch.
“Teddy’s been telling me things about my Rhonda,” Antonia said.
He threw up his hands. “Not that again. You have to get over it, Mama. Ralph Bosleigh killed Rhonda. The police said so.”
“First time I’ve ever known you to accept the word of the police,” Darlene said.
“I thought you invited me around for dinner, Mama,” Teddy said. “Not to be questioned.”
“We can do both,” Antonia said. She turned to Darlene. “I’ve been thinking about Rhonda. All the time. Awake or asleep. And I’m not getting much sleep.”
“That’s natural enough,” Darlene said. “It’s a tragic loss.”
Teddy glanced away. When he let down his guard, I realized, his own eyes were full of pain.
“Something was bothering her,” Antonia said. “Bothering Rhonda. Before she died. I didn’t pay much attention, and I’m sorry for that. I thought she was thinking about dumping Ralph, and I was glad of it. I figured if I said anything against him, she’d get her back up and stick with him. But now, I don’t think that was it. She said things about her job.”
“What sort of things?” I asked.
“Things I paid no mind to. Until now. When I can’t think of anything but that I shoulda listened. She’d been so excited to get that job at the Blue Water. Her dream job, she called it. She loved it at first, but then things changed. She didn’t say what. And I didn’t ask. I figured it wasn’t living up to the dream. Most jobs don’t, do they? One night I found her checking the job postings online. She shut the computer down soon as I came into the room, but not before I saw.”
“When was that?” I asked.
“Two weeks before she died.”
“I haven’t thanked you for the other night,” I said. “It was a real treat.”
“I thought it might help us get some answers,” Antonia said.
“Answers to what?” Teddy asked. “What happened the other night?”
I glanced at Darlene.
“Your mama thinks,” she said, “that something going on at that hotel got Rhonda killed.”
“You’re making something out of nothing,” Teddy said. “The both of you. You’re blaming yourself for not paying more attention to her. Rhonda was a grown woman, not a child. Her decisions were her own.”
Antonia’s eyes narrowed. “You don’t want to admit what you know.”
He threw up his hands. “What I know! I don’t know anything. Time for you to go, Darlene. You’ve upset Mama.”
“No one has upset me.” Antonia’s voice remained calm, but her hands were clenched in her lap. “My daughter’s death has upset me. My daughter’s murder has upset me.Your refusal to listen to me has upset me.”
“Mama —”
“Don’t Mama me. Tell me what she said to you the night before she died. You two argued on the front porch. Tell me.”
Teddy looked at his mother. Then he looked at Darlene. For the first time since I’d arrived, he looked at me. “Okay, Mama. You folks want to know. I’ll tell you. Something criminal was going on at the hotel. Rhonda was in the middle of it.”
“I don’t believe it,” Antonia cried.
“Geez, Mama. I didn’t want to tell you because it was Rhonda’s business. Now I’m telling you, and you don’t want to hear.”
“What sort of criminal activity?” I asked.
“She wouldn’t say. She told me she wanted out. She was searching for a new job.” He shrugged. “And then she died.” He glanced away before the tears could fall.
“If she was looking for a new job,” I said, “then she didn’t want anything more to do with it. Whatever it is.”
“I wonder if that’s what got her killed,” Darlene said.
A vein pulsed in Teddy’s forehead. “Ralph Bosleigh killed her. Everyone knows that. And then the fool realized he’d been seen and he’d go to prison. So he killed himself. Saved the country the cost of a trial and keeping him in jail for the rest of his miserable life. She’d decided to break off with him. I was glad to hear it. I told her to be careful. Everyone knew he had a temper. Don’t be looking to make things more complicated than they are, Darlene.”
He grabbed a backpack off the table and headed for the door. “Is that what you want, Mama? Darlene and her friend poking around? Asking questions that’ll cause people to disrespect Rhonda’s memory?”
“I want the truth,” Antonia said.
“I gotta go. Night, Mama.”
“What about supper?”
“Not hungry.” The door slammed behind him.
“You two will stay for supper,” Antonia said firmly.
The meal, lasagna and salad, was delicious. Darlene and her aunt talked about family things. I knew Darlene was trying to keep Antonia chatting so she wouldn’t think too much about what Teddy had said.
But I thought about it.
Teddy seemed convinced that Ralph had killed Rhonda. That he had been angry at her for dumping him. But doing it at her workplace? I couldn’t see that. Setting a fire in a busy public place was an indirect way of killing someone. Not to mention it had a high possibility of failing. The fire chief had said Rhonda had become confused in the smoke and couldn’t find the way out. If that hadn’t happened, she might have lived. If someone else had come in unexpectedly, they might have died. I didn’t know Ralph. But I got the feeling he’d have used a more direct approach if he wanted to kill his girlfriend.
Teddy was trying to convince himself, not us, that Ralph had killed his sister. Why would he do that? Because she’d told him she was in trouble at work and he had done nothing about it. Because he didn’t want anyone to say Rhonda had been up to no good. That it was her fault she died.
Then again, maybe everyone else was right and Darlene and I were wrong. Ralph Bosleigh had killed Rhonda Michaels.
“More lasagna?” Antonia said.
“What? Oh, no, thank you.” I’d already had two huge servings. “That was great. It was kind of you to invite us for dinner.”
Antonia looked around her clean, well-appointed but small kitchen. “I like to have people to cook for. Rhonda said she cooked all day. She didn’t want to do it when she came home.”
“I’m still not sure cheating on food and wine is a motive for murder,” Darlene said. She drove through the quiet streets, taking me home. “That seems so…cheap. How much money would they be making off it? A lot of people had to be involved. The purchaser, the cooks, th
e wine steward. No one’s going to get rich off a scheme like that.”
“You never know what will push some people over the edge,” I said.
“True. Antonia said Rhonda was looking for another job. Why wouldn’t she just tell management what was going on?”
“Because management’s in on it?’
“Possible.”
She pulled into the driveway of my place. Lamps threw circles of yellow light on the walkway. The palm trees were full of shadows. The pool glowed an unearthly shade of blue.
“Are you working tomorrow?” Darlene asked me.
“I start nights.”
“Good. We can go during the day.”
“Go where?”
“The Blue Water Vista, of course. Meet me here at five tomorrow morning. Something’s happening there. It’s possible Rhonda was murdered because of it. Maybe Ralph was killed to give the police and the family a reason for her death. It’s time to get to the bottom of this, Ashley.”
NINE
“WHY ARE WE going so early?” I asked Darlene the following morning. “No one’s going to be around.”
“You might live here now, Ashley, but you’re still thinking like a tourist. Plenty of people are going to be around at five o’clock. The garden staff. The fellow who rakes the beach and sets out the chairs. The pool cleaners. Kitchen helpers getting breakfast started. People taking deliveries. Doing all the things that make a good hotel work. While the managers, who get all the credit, are still in bed. If you want to find out what the bosses are doing, ask the people at the bottom.”
“You’re thinking there’s more to this than refilling expensive bottles of wine with cheap stuff?”
“I am. More serious things often begin with minor cheating. In for a penny, in for a pound. As they say.”
“You might be right. I remembered something last night. Marilee told me she needed this job and couldn’t talk to me anymore. At the time, I thought she meant she’d be in trouble for slacking off. But now I wonder if it’s more than that.”
“Meaning?”
“I don’t know. Something’s not right at that place. I can’t go to the police with nothing but my feelings.” Plus, I’d been told — several times — to stay out of it.
