Murder at the Mayan Temple (A Starling and Swift Cozy Mystery Book One)

by M. J. Mandrake

  “Yeah,” one of them admitted, shrugging. Kitty wished they wore name tags. It was too late to ask now. It would seem bizarre after nearly a week together. “But it was Tyler’s idea. He said if we called over Skype there wouldn’t be roaming charges.”

  So that was Blake. At least one mystery was solved. “What time was this?” she asked.

  “About five-thirty. Nobody was up,” Tyler said. “Well, somebody was. We could tell they’d been in the yard.”

  “What did you see?” Leander asked, a notebook in his hands.

  “I’ll be right back,” Eric signed and stood up.

  “Sit down,” Leander said quietly.

  “But I―”

  “Sit down,” he repeated. He didn’t raise his voice, and his face was impassive, but there was no mistaken the non-negotiable tone of his request.

  The room froze as Kitty signed for him. The wind howled against the house as if adding its outrage to Leander’s request. Penny and Elaine had matching expressions of shock. Eric looked furious. Ashley gripped his hand. All eyes were on Eric as he slowly sat back down in his chair. He signed something about the bathroom, glaring at Leander.

  “It was really muddy in the yard,” Blake said. “Somebody was washing their boots, I think. There were some rubber waders and a lot of water on the ground. I slipped in the dark.”

  “Did you see them?” Leander asked calmly.

  Tyler shook his head. “No, they were gone before we got there.”

  “Probably Señora Gomez. Or Juanita,” Eric said.

  “They didn’t come out until about six,” Liliana offered. “I was up at five thirty and went to the kitchen to get some water out of the fridge.”

  Kitty met Leander’s gaze. The murderer had borrowed a pair of rubber boots from the hacienda, probably to protect their shoes. Or maybe to keep from tracking blood back to the house. But that also meant the footprints weren’t any good. What they’d both thought were man-sized prints were simply large boots. The handprints would still be useful, but there were no casts. Only pictures with Leander’s shoe for reference.

  “That’s why you had dirt on your hand at breakfast,” Kitty said.

  Blake frowned. “I thought I’d washed it all off.”

  “Can I see your phones?” Leander asked.

  Both teens reluctantly passed over their phones for inspection. Leander tapped the Skype app on each phone and made several notes. “Thank you,” he said, handing them back. His expression didn’t give Kitty any clues about whether the call log proved their story was true, but when he turned to Eric, she knew the teens were cleared.

  “I heard you and Jace had an altercation,” Leander said.

  “He had it coming,” Eric said defiantly. “I just wished I’d punched him when I had the chance. It’s too late now.”

  “Where were you last night between the hours of three and six?”

  The table went still. Ashley was already shaking her head. “He was with me. All night. He never left.”

  “Were you awake?” Leander asked.

  “Well, of course not. I was asleep.” Ashley swallowed hard. “I―I would have known if he left, though. When he gets up, Billy goes with him, even if it’s to the bathroom, and Billy’s tags jingle. It always wakes me up.”

  “You never told me that.” Eric looked shocked.

  “I didn’t want to bother you about it,” Ashley signed. “It’s not a big deal.”

  “You should have said something. I can fix his tags so they don’t bother you at night.”

  They gazed at each other for a moment until Leander cleared his throat. “That’s all for right now. You can go.”

  Eric got up from the table and Billy followed him as he left the room, just like Ashley described. Leander stowed his notebook into a pocket and headed into the main area of the kitchen. His mouth was set in a line and he moved slowly, as if he were feeling as achy as Kitty.

  “Can I make you a sandwich―?” he started to ask Kitty when Penny rushed ahead of him.

  “Let me cook you something. Poor dears. Sit down and tell us all about it,” she signed, then pushed him back into a seat.

  Kitty translated, and then added, “Why don’t you tell them about it? I’m too tired to think straight.”

  He met her eyes and nodded his thanks. This way, he could control what he thought the group needed to know.

  “Well,” he began, rubbing his forehead and wincing as he touched the large scrape near his hairline. “Kitty reminded me that one of the ruin’s entrances wasn’t locked after business hours.”

  “Oh,” Elaine exclaimed. “The killer rowed in through the bottom! Isn’t that brilliant, Penny?”

  “I don’t know,” she said. “Sounds risky to me.”

  Leander started speaking quickly as if trying to regain control of the conversation. “Unfortunately, the tide was coming in so we weren’t really able to see what we wanted.”

  Kitty was impressed with his half-truth. They had wanted more clues, better prints, even something dropped there to prove the identity of the killer. Nothing.

  The lights suddenly flickered once, twice, then died. The dim light from the window wasn’t enough to illuminate the room and the shadows loomed large in every corner. Kitty used her phone as a flashlight and found several large candles in the cabinets. Blake handed her a lighter, and soon the table was the only illuminated area of in the large kitchen.

  “I’m sorry, you two. It looks like I can make you some sandwiches.” Penny peered into the dark fridge. “I mean, burritos. Cold burritos.”

  “That’s fine,” Kitty rushed to assure her. She was starving and as long as it wasn’t raw in the middle, she was going to eat it.

  Daniel Van Horn pulled a candle close to him and idly poked at the pooling wax with a pen cap. He picked off the dried wax, and put it back on the pen. “You didn’t explain your injuries.”

  “Oh, well, we got caught by the tide. Right near the rocks.” Kitty shrugged. “Just wasn’t fast enough, I guess.”

  “That’s terrible,” Elaine said. “You could have been killed. Then where would we be? Stuck in Tulum forever.”

  Kitty wasn’t offended that Penny was more worried about her as a tour guide than as a person. “We’re going to make sure everybody gets home safe.”

  “I’m glad you’re okay,” Ashley said. Her gaze was sincere, and Kitty saw her eyes shine with unshed tears.

  “Thank you.” Kitty smiled at her. Whoever wrote that note did it without Ashley’s knowledge. She wasn’t the type of person to seek revenge or want to exact punishment, even through someone else. It just wasn’t in her nature.

  “So you suffered all of that for nothing?” Daniel asked. As he signed the words, shadows flicked on the walls.

  “I suppose so,” Kitty said, trying to sound offhand.

  “Well, I’m sorry you got hurt. Both of you. But I’m not glad you came away empty-handed. Jace deserved what he got and if I knew who did him in, I’d shake the man’s hand,” Daniel said, as calmly as if condoning murder at the dinner table was an everyday occurrence.

  “Oh, stop it! Your mother is sedated in a hospital because that awful person,” June said, furiously.

  “No, she’s there because of Jace. He was going to put her there one way or the other with the way he was carrying on with those girls on the ship. My mother is just too blind to see it.” Daniel punctuated his last word with a slap to the table. “And maybe this is better. Maybe mourning him as a dead man is going to be easier than mourning him as someone who never loved her and who couldn’t keep his pants buttoned.”

  Kitty cringed inwardly. She’d wondered that herself: was grief easier by death or betrayal. Would it have been easier if her best friend and fiancé had died in a crash?

  “Maybe she didn’t make the best decisions lately, but she was happy. More than I can say for any of us.” June pushed back her chair and rushed from the room. It was clear that the ‘us’ in her outburst meant the members
of her own family, especially herself.

  “She’s always been soft-hearted,” Daniel said, brushing off her pointed dig at him. “Sweet, isn’t it? But she would have run our company into the ground if I’d let her. No business sense at all. You’ve got to be tough. Sometimes a little ruthless. Otherwise people will take and take until there’s nothing left.”

  He smiled. The candlelight shone from below his face, making his features seem eerie and alien. His bright blue eyes were dark. Daniel held her gaze and Kitty felt a shiver race up her spine as he waited for her to respond. She didn’t know what to say. Maybe she’d feel differently if Mrs. Van Horn had been her mother and Jace had stolen her inheritance, but she hoped not. Nobody deserved to die like that.

  As the moment stretched on, Chica growled low in her throat. Kitty went to stand next to Leander. It was a futile gesture, since there was no immediate danger. Daniel certainly wasn’t going to attack her right there in the kitchen. But it made her feel a little better. Something was very wrong with a man who saw someone stabbed through the heart and felt glad about it.

  Leander offered her a cup hot coffee and she took it gratefully. It was only afternoon, but with the storm and the lack of electric lights, it felt like midnight inside the large house. They were nowhere near finding the killer and the weather had them trapped all together.

  It was going to be a very long night.

  Chapter Ten

  “Enjoy life. There's plenty of time to be dead.”

  ― Hans Christian Andersen

  Kitty wandered the bottom floor of the house, casually taking stock of cabinets and dark corners. She had a terrible feeling she was going to have to know where the best hiding places were, and she didn’t want it to be at the last minute. Part of her said that she was being paranoid and ridiculous. The other part reminded her of how strong and fit Jace was, and how his body had looked splayed out over the altar, a blade in his heart.

  Chica padded along beside her, seeming to take mental notes as Kitty opened and closed doors. It was a large house, meant for visiting dignitaries and their families. The kitchen had an attached pantry, and beside it were steps to the basement. Kitty wanted to go down for a look, but didn’t want to raise suspicion. Although most of the tour group was settled in the main living room where they had set up more candles, there were a few people as restless as she was. Blake had come into the kitchen twice to search for snacks. Tyler walked the house with his phone held up, looking for a better signal. Eric didn’t seem to be able to sit still. He paced through the open first floor, crossing from one end to the other, stopping to look out at the bending palm trees and sheets of rain.

  Kitty started up to the second floor, turning left down a narrow hallway. It was dark, but she had a small penlight from her keyring. Chica nudged her leg and she slowed down, peering into the darkness. Ron Brown loomed into view, Callie trotting beside him. Kitty put a hand to her throat, trying not to look startled. She hadn’t heard him walking toward her. The rubber soles on his shoes had muffled any sound against the tiles.

  “Sorry. Didn’t mean to scare you,” he said and put a hand on the golden retriever’s head. He had his coat folded over one arm. He didn’t seem to go anywhere without it lately. Smart, with the way the storm was going. He might have to wear it inside if the roof started to leak.

  “No. Really. It’s me.” Kitty sighed. She was supposed to be the calming force, reassuring her tour group that they were all going to be okay. She couldn’t run around jumping a foot in the air and acting terrified every time she ran into a guest. “I’m just taking stock of the rooms and what we have available here.”

  “Because you think we’ll be stuck a while?” He looked pale and tired. “I’ve got to get back to Houston. I’ve got classes starting in a week and Liliana has her job at the museum. Let’s speak to the embassy guy. Surely he can figure something out.” He put his hand on her elbow and started to lead her back down the hallway.

  Chica made a low noise in her throat and Kitty removed her elbow from his grip. Poor Chica could feel how tense and angry people were. She probably felt like everyone was a threat and nobody was safe. They were both going to need spend a few weeks reading in front of the fire in their quiet bookstore in order to recover from this trip.

  “I’ll come with you in a little bit. I want to look at the rest of this floor.” She squinted into the darkness. “You and Liliana have a room up here?”

  “Yes, first room on the left.”

  “And Leander’s room is over there,” she said, pointing. “Who has the rooms at the end?”

  “Penny and Elaine, and the honeymooners. Then a spare room and a supply closet, I think.” He turned to go, signing as he went. “See you downstairs.”

  Callie touched Chica’s nose before she turned away. Kitty flashed her penlight down the hallway toward the other rooms. Maybe she could peek inside, just briefly. Not snooping. Just taking stock of the house.

  As she started walking, she realized Chica hadn’t moved. “What is it?”

  Chica stood at attention until Callie and Ron had turned the corner. Her body was completely still.

  “Come on. Let’s get going before anybody comes up here.” Kitty was relieved when Chica finally followed her.

  The first room was Ron and Liliana’s. The door was closed. Kitty considered knocking and peeking inside, but Ron had only just left. She moved on to Penny and Elaine’s room. The door stood open and their overnight bags were sitting near the bed. Kitty stuck her head in and shone the penlight around. One window, one dresser, one bedside table with a lamp.

  Chica nudged her leg and Kitty turned around, nearly jumping out of her skin at the sight of Leander. He was standing several feet away, palms facing outward.

  “Sorry. I thought if I stood back here…”

  “I’m just really jumpy,” she whispered. Her face was hot. He was clearly hoping that he wouldn’t have to dodge underwear again.

  “What are you doing?”

  She shrugged. “I’m not even sure. Looking around. Trying to find something useful.”

  “You need to be careful.” He stepped closer, coming into the small circle shining from her penlight. “If you get too close, they might decide you need to be silenced, too.”

  Kitty rubbed her forehead, wondering if her headache would ever go away. “But what if someone else accidentally finds a piece of evidence that reveals their identity? Then they’ll be in danger and through no fault of their own. As nosy as Penny and Elaine are, I can’t help but worry.”

  “Or the teen boys. I think they see a lot more than they appear to.”

  “But Daniel wouldn’t hurt them.”

  Leander hesitated. “You think Daniel killed Jace.”

  “Don’t you?” she whispered, coming closer. She hated the idea of someone overhearing their conversation. Especially if they were innocent. Even more especially if they were related to the killer. What a terrible moment it would be when Daniel was arrested and charged, his whole family watching.

  “No.”

  “But― haven’t you been listening? He’s glad Jace is dead! He has a service dog. He was going to lose his inheritance. He hated that his mother was being made a fool of by the pool boy.” She was ticking off the reasons on her fingers. “And he was sure she was going to get her heart broken. A devoted son could murder for any of those reasons.”

  “He doesn’t have the strength to row the canoe at high tide.”

  “What? Of course he does. He’s probably not even fifty, and perfectly healthy.”

  Leander pulled out his phone and brought up a photo. It was Daniel Van Horn, distinctive blue eyes, balding, dark brows pulled low over his eyes. “Notice anything?” he asked.

  “I― not really.” She peered closer. “He’s not wearing a hat, so probably a passport photo. Definitely makes him look different. I knew he was bald, though. It was the cap―” She felt her eyes go wide. There was a distinctive patch near his hairline, a white area
where the skin had no pigment. Kitty couldn’t believe she had missed the signs. She’d recognized it in seconds in Leander, but hadn’t noticed it at all in Daniel.

  “He has Waardenburg’s Syndrome, type three,” Leander said. “His symptoms include profound congenital deafness, lack of pigment in the irises and malformation of the upper arms. I noticed two of his fingers on each hand are permanently bent, and when I asked, he confirmed that he has skeletal issues causing weakness in the upper body.”

  “That’s why he didn’t lift the bags,” she said to herself.

  Leander nodded. “It can be difficult to spot since there are several types, but―”

  “I bet Mrs. Van Horn has it, too,” she interrupted. “Her hair is all white so she may have the lack of pigment, but her eyes are the same.”

  “Yes. He inherited it from his mother, who also lacks strength in her upper body and in the long muscles of her legs.”

  Kitty had assumed the walker was due to her age. “And the boys?”

  “Both have normal upper body structure, but Tyler is deaf in one ear.”

  Kitty felt like she needed a moment to process the new information. “The boys can be ruled out because of their Skype calls,” she said. “I think that’s all of the Van Horns, then.”

  “Well, just a moment.” Leander tapped at his phone, then glanced behind them to make sure there was no one else in sight. “Come in my room,” he said.

  Kitty didn’t argue. She’d rather have Penny and Elaine make comments than spend the night listening for footsteps creeping along the hallway. Leander was her best hope to find the killer. And besides, she trusted him. She wasn’t sure why, but she did.

  Shutting the door behind her and Chica, Leander pulled up another picture. “This bracelet was on Jace’s wrist.”

  The braided leather looked new and the clasp was shiny. She peered at it, searching for what was important enough to huddle in Leander’s bedroom. Then she saw the blond hairs caught in the chain of the clasp. There were quite a few, as if they had been torn from someone’s head in a struggle. They were about six inches long, too long to be from Jace himself. There was only one blond-haired person in the group.