by Cindy Bell
“Okay, I was a little nicer than that. But he made a lot of extra work for me. Of course I am sad that he’s dead. He seemed like a good person, just nervous.”
“Nervous? I always thought he was pretty relaxed.”
“When he was here, he seemed pretty anxious. He’d check his phone a lot, look at the door, pace, then hunt down another book. It seemed to me that he couldn’t settle down.”
“That’s interesting. It’s like we knew two different people. Did you ever take a lesson with him?”
“Oh no, my feet are meant to be on the ground. When it comes to going underwater, I only go up to my chin,” Louis said.
“I understand that.” She offered a short laugh. “I think some people are just a little too adventurous.”
“And yet, here you are, sticking your nose into a murder.” He clucked his tongue.
“Is it that obvious?” Suzie raised an eyebrow.
“Yes, to me it is.”
“You always can see right through me. Anything you can do to help me out?”
“I’ll tell you what I can do, though it needs to stay between us,” Louis said.
“Of course it will.”
“I can give you access to his history. It’ll show all of his internet searches, and also whatever books he searched for. Like I said he never checked any out, so I don’t have any record of that, but he did look them up pretty frequently. That should give you some idea of what he might have been looking for.”
“Thanks Louis, that would be great.”
“Go take that first computer on the left, and I’ll open up the history for you.”
As Suzie settled in front of the computer she felt a little uneasy. Digging into Curtis’ business seemed to be intrusive, but at the same time she was certain that he would want her to figure out who killed him. She took a deep breath and began to look through the search history. She found that he navigated to several websites that offered to sell antiques and other valuable items. She could tell that he’d looked through some of the listings, however she didn’t see any posts made by him.
When Suzie began to sort through some of the library catalog searches he’d made, she discovered that he’d been looking up books about valuing antiques, restoration, and the legalities involved in finding foreign treasure. It occurred to her that he might have been planning for another treasure hunt. As interesting as the information was, it didn’t really give her a direction to go in. She returned to his internet history and found that he’d looked up the name Jim Smithsy. So Curtis had been looking for his friend Jim before he showed up? She thought that was a little strange.
Then Suzie noticed that Curtis had visited a website that allowed people to search coordinates over water. After some skimming she realized she wasn’t going to be able to find the exact coordinates he’d searched. She reached for a slip of paper beside the computer to jot down the website. As she began to write she noticed that the paper had some indentations, as if someone had written on another slip of paper on top of it. She brushed the tiny pencil across the ridges and dips in the paper and soon revealed a set of coordinates. Her heart skipped a beat as she guessed that Curtis had grabbed two slips of paper and realized it after he wrote down the coordinates, then put one back. She typed the coordinates into the website’s search engine, and found herself staring at wide open ocean. It told her absolutely nothing.
Maybe Suzie couldn’t figure out from the website exactly what the coordinates meant, but she was sure that Paul would be able to help her. He was supposed to dock that evening, and she couldn’t wait for him to get there. She was sure he would be able to help her at least figure out what Curtis might have been looking for out on the water. She tucked the paper into her purse. Then she shifted gears. She needed to know more about the people who were under her roof.
As she began to dig through Hal and Trish’s background it didn’t take her long to find out that Hal had a checkered past. He had a history of assault, and had been arrested at least twice before. Trish on the other hand appeared to be a saint. She worked with many charities, and had a beautiful singing voice, according to a few videos she found on the internet. With Hal’s history, it was pretty easy to assume that he could be responsible for Curtis’ death. However, the stumbling block was, whether he had the knowledge to contaminate Curtis’ equipment.
Suzie began to search for information about Curtis’ friend, Jim. He was much harder to pin down. However, using the information from the adventure school where they both took classes she was able to track down some of his social media posts. The most important was a photograph with Curtis, as they celebrated the find of a shipwreck. The post was from a few months ago, and didn’t say much about the find itself, but it did claim that both Curtis and Jim found the shipwreck together. She took a snap of it on her phone, and dug a little deeper.
No red flags were raised when she looked at Jim’s profile. She couldn’t find any family members listed and unlike Curtis he didn’t seem to have very many friends, but besides that everything looked pretty normal. Frustrated with the dead ends, she decided to take a break and zero in on Rick. Searching for information on Rick made her feel uneasy. She knew she was invading both Rick’s privacy, and Cathy’s. It was easy to find information about Rick by navigating through Cathy’s social media. She did discover that his parents were deceased. His stint in the navy hadn’t lasted long, and though there was no mention of dishonorable discharge, there did seem to be some controversy about why he parted ways with the navy. She also found several pictures of him in diving gear, at different exotic locations. The pictures were dated at least a year before he began dating Cathy. It seemed to her that he was quite an accomplished diver. He would certainly have the knowledge to contaminate Curtis’ equipment. But why would he? After reaching another dead end on information about his past, she decided that she was done with her search. The library was packed with kids and parents.
Suzie waved to Louis on her way out the door, but he was occupied with a very long line. On the drive back to Dune House she considered whether Curtis might have been trying to find something in particular. She recalled Louis mentioning the rumor of a nearby underwater cave. Maybe Curtis suspected there was treasure there. She decided to try to find out if the cave actually existed. She parked in front of Dune House and sat in the car for a moment. On the porch she could see the furniture she stained. Just that morning, getting that project done, was the most important thing to her. Now that it was done, she couldn’t care less about it. All she wanted to know was what happened to Curtis.
Chapter 10
Mary glanced at the clock. There was still an hour before she could get started on dinner. She found it difficult to keep herself occupied. Her mind kept turning back to Curtis, and her kids being on the suspect list.
“Mom, have you seen my shoes?” Ben frowned as he walked into the kitchen. “I left them by my bed, and now I can’t seem to find them anywhere.”
“I haven’t seen them. Are you sure you didn’t wear them down to the beach at some point?”
“No, I didn’t. Maybe Rick took them.”
“Why would Rick steal your shoes?”
“I don’t think he would steal them, but maybe he wasn’t paying attention and took them by mistake. We have the same size foot.”
“Hey Ben, how well do you know Rick?”
“Pretty well, I guess. He’s always pushing Cathy to invite me when they go out somewhere.”
“Really? Why do you think that is?”
“He said, he didn’t want me to feel left out. I think it drives Cathy crazy. I turn down some invites because I know she wants time with him.”
“It seems a little odd that he’s so clingy so fast, don’t you think?”
“I don’t know. He said family is important to him. I think he’s been through a lot of hard times to be honest.”
“Has he told you about any of them?”
“No, but he implies that he’s been alone most of his
life. I can’t imagine what might have happened to his parents. I don’t like to be too nosy.”
“I understand that.” Mary shook her head. “I don’t like to be either. But he is dating your sister.”
“I’ll keep an eye on him, don’t worry.”
“Here they come now.” Mary tilted her head towards the kitchen window that overlooked the beach. “You can ask Rick about your shoes.”
“Thanks Mom.” He went out through the front door to meet them. Mary heard some footsteps on the stairs and turned to see Jim.
“Hi Jim, how are you holding up?”
“I’m still trying to make sense out of all of it, to be honest. Curtis was such a good guy, I can’t imagine anyone wanting to hurt him.”
“Me neither. But when you two worked together, was there anyone that he had problems with?”
“Never. Curtis was always looking out for people. He even gave free lessons to kids that couldn’t afford it. He used his day off to do it. We worked together at an adventure business. It offered abseiling, diving, and a few other sports. He focused mostly on the diving, and I took care of the abseiling. He even convinced me to offer some free lessons. Trust me, I wasn’t the generous type at the time. But seeing those kids so happy, it changed me. If it wasn’t for Curtis, I never would have experienced that.”
“Good friends can do that for you.” Mary smiled. “I know, Suzie and I have been friends for decades. I wouldn’t be here in this beautiful place if it weren’t for her.”
“I’m so glad you two have each other.” He sighed.
“I’m sorry, Jim. Losing Curtis must be very hard on you. Do you have any family that you might reach out to?”
“No, no family. Curtis didn’t have any either. That’s something we had in common. We both came up in the foster system, though we didn’t know each other then. It was something only he and I could talk about, you know?”
“I imagine so.” Her heart ached for Jim. He’d been through so much in his young life already, and now he’d lost a good friend. “If there’s anything I can do to help, anything at all, just name it. All right?”
“I think I’m just going to go into town to pick up a few things. I hadn’t planned to stay, but it doesn’t feel right for me to leave until all of this is settled.”
“It’s probably best that you don’t. Kirk may need more information from you.”
“Yes, I know.” He shook his head. “I wish I knew something that would help. I’ll be back in a little while.”
“Dinner’s at five.”
“I’ll be here.”
As he headed for the door, Suzie opened it. She nodded to Jim as he stepped past her, then headed straight for Mary.
“How are the kids holding up?”
“Okay, I think. Cathy is attached to Rick’s hip, and someone has stolen Ben’s shoes.”
“Well, I found out a little information at the library.” Suzie filled her in on what Curtis’ search habits were at the library. She showed Mary the coordinates and explained how she had got them. “I think he was on to something. Maybe he was trying to find that cave. Maybe he was trying to find treasure. Whatever it was, I think he was willing to risk his life to get it, and in the end it did cost him his life.”
“So you think someone murdered him because he found treasure?”
“Maybe?” Suzie shrugged. “Or maybe not. I’m not sure. But Paul’s meant to dock today so I am going to talk to him tonight about finding that cave. It has to have something to do with all of this.”
“But Louis said it was just a rumor, right?”
“Yes, he did, but Louis doesn’t know everything”
“Really?”
“He knows almost everything, not everything.”
“Don’t tell him that.” Mary winked. “Let me know what Paul says. I can handle dinner here. You deserve a night away from all of this. Take him to dinner.”
“I think I will do that. I don’t want to throw him right into the middle of all of this without having a chance to talk to him first. But are you sure you want to do dinner by yourself? With Trish and Hal?”
“I’m not worried about it. Besides, Cathy and Ben will be here with me. I will be just fine. Stop worrying about me, and find out about that cave.”
“Thanks Mary.” She headed up the stairs with a particular blouse in mind that she wanted to wear to greet Paul. As she passed Ben and Rick’s room, she noticed that the door was open. Her investigative past insisted that she take a look through his things. The desire for Cathy to trust her fought against the urge. She lingered in the doorway for a few more seconds, then took a step inside. She had to check the linens, and things. That was her excuse. She noticed Rick’s bag. It was open on the foot of his bed. As she walked towards it, her heart seemed to grow too big to be contained by her chest. She reached for the bag.
“Aunt Suzie?”
She froze, then glanced over her shoulder at Ben. “Hi.”
“Hi. What are you doing?”
“Oh, your mother told me that your shoes were missing. I thought I’d take a look around for you.”
“Don’t worry, I’m sure that they will turn up. I just need flipflops for hanging out on the beach anyway, right?”
“Sure, okay. If I see them, I’ll let you know.”
“Great, thanks.” He smiled.
Suzie excused herself from the room and hurried into her own. As soon as the door was closed she let out a breath of relief. She was lucky it was Ben and not Rick who caught her snooping. After a few moments to calm down, she changed, and headed back down the stairs. The kitchen smelled lovely with whatever Mary was cooking, but there was no one in sight to enjoy it. She caught a glimpse of Cathy, Ben, and Rick on the deck, then spotted Mary near the side door. To her surprise, Mary swung it open, and stepped in.
“Oh wow, did the locksmith come out?”
“Oh yes, I’m sorry, I’m so scatter-brained today. He came out while you were at the library. It’s all fixed now.”
“Great. That’s one good thing I guess.”
“We need as many as we can get. Go enjoy your evening with Paul, that’s a very good thing.”
“Yes, I hope it will be.”
Suzie headed towards the dock. When she parked she noticed that Paul’s boat was already in the slip. She headed down the wooden planks to meet him. As she approached the boat he emerged from the cabin and smiled at her.
“You are a beautiful sight.”
“Thanks.” She returned the smile. “So are you.”
“Coming on board?” He offered her his hand.
“Yes please.” She climbed onto the boat with his hand to steady her. Once on board she hugged him, then shared a lingering kiss.
“Every time I leave, I wonder if I’ve lost my mind to leave you behind.” He gazed into her eyes.
“But isn’t it so sweet when we reunite?”
“Yes, it is.” He kissed her forehead. “So, what kind of wild adventures did you have while I was gone?”
“Unfortunately, no adventures, only tragedy.”
“Tragedy?” He led her into the cabin and pulled out a bottle of wine. “What happened?”
“Curtis was murdered.”
“Curtis?” He nearly dropped one of the wine glasses. “How? By who?”
“Someone tampered with his equipment, Kirk doesn’t know who yet.”
“That’s awful. Does he have any suspects?”
“Just everyone at Dune House.” Suzie frowned. “Including Mary’s children.”
“What? That’s ridiculous.”
“Yes, it is, but it doesn’t change the fact that they are suspects. Mary and I have been trying to get to the bottom of things, but we don’t have much to go on.”
“This must be rough on both of you.” He poured the wine and handed her the glass. “How is Mary holding up?”
“I think she’s okay, but she’s a nervous wreck. On top of her kids being on the suspect list, Cathy’s boyfriend who she b
rought along is also. Honestly, I don’t trust the guy.”
“Would you trust anyone that dated Cathy?” He took a sip of his wine.
“Probably not. But this guy has some real issues. He has temper problems, and he’s an experienced diver. Something went wrong while he was in the navy. Everything about him just feels off.”
“Hm. Your instincts are usually pretty good. Do you think he did this?”
“I’m not sure. The obvious suspect is Hal, remember you met him before you launched?”
“Yes. He seemed like a decent guy.”
“He did, I know. But there were some issues between him and Curtis. It’s so tough to put my finger on who might have done this. At least I know it wasn’t Ben or Cathy.”
“That’s a relief. Does Kirk know that?”
“I’m not sure. They don’t have alibis, so he won’t remove them from the suspect list. But he’s been polite about it.”
“Mary must be beside herself.” Paul finished his wine. “I’m sorry you were dealing with this all alone, but I’m here now.”
“And I’m so glad.” She wrapped her arms around him and closed her eyes. After a few moments of savoring his warmth, she recalled the question she wanted to ask him. “Do you know anything about a secret underwater cave around here, near Bucky’s Inlet?”
“Oh, you’ve heard about the cave?” He laughed.
“So there is one?”
“No.” He shook his head. “That’s an old story that some of the teens of my generation made up. It was to keep people away from their island.”
“Island? No secret underwater cave, but there is a secret island?”
“It’s not really secret, just tiny and unpopular. At least it was. The idea of the cave and its supposed location was to divert attention from the island. Teenagers like to use it for fun and not be interrupted by adults.”
“Ah, I see. So you’re sure there’s no cave?”
“I’m certain. Why?”
“I think Curtis was searching for it before he died. I thought maybe if he found it, it might have something to do with his death.”
“No, there’s no cave. I’m not sure why he would be looking for it.”
