The Island of Dangerous Dreams

by Joan Lowery Nixon

  “Kurt?” I was so thankful to recognize his voice that it took me a moment to realize what he had asked. Here by myself?

  I whirled around to look behind me. The kitchen door was closed snugly, and there was no sign of Pete.

  CHAPTER

  12

  “Andrea?” Kurt sounded puzzled. “Answer my question.”

  I turned to face him. “I came outside to look for you.”

  “Why?”

  “You told me to tell you if I discovered anything important, and I have.”

  “What did you find out?” He waited, and while I was trying to think of what to do next, he added, “Would you rather get away from the house before you tell me? Maybe that’s a good idea.”

  “No!” I glanced over my shoulder at the house, which was so quiet it seemed deserted. Pete must still be in the kitchen. He must have seen Kurt, or maybe he suspected that he was out here and sent me out alone to find out. I didn’t want to get too far away from Pete.

  “There’s no need for you to be afraid,” Kurt said. “Walk down to the dock with me. We can talk there.”

  As I hesitated again he switched off his flashlight and said, “We don’t need flashlights. There’s enough moonlight so that we can see where we’re going. We can pick up the path over there.”

  I didn’t have a choice. Whatever his reason, Pete had told me not to let Kurt know that he was on the island, and he trusted me to keep his presence secret. So I walked with Kurt over the lawn to the path and down the path to the dock. We walked almost to the end of the dock before Kurt sat down on the edge, his legs dangling over the water. I sat next to him.

  The sea wasn’t beautiful now. The moon had dropped low enough in the sky to have sucked its silver reflection from the surface of the water, leaving in its place a deep, menacing blackness that surged around the dock. I imagined the large sea creatures—the knife-tailed manta rays, the deadly barracuda, and the sharks who never sleep—just under the surface of the water, watching and waiting. I pulled my feet in close to my body and hugged my knees before I spoke.

  “I know who committed the murders,” I said. “Aldo.”

  Kurt was silent. He watched me, studied me. Finally he said, “Is that it? You must have a reason for what you said.”

  “I do.” I hoped it would sound as sensible as when Pete and I figured it out a little while ago.

  “What are you waiting for? Let’s hear it.”

  I took a deep breath and jumped in. “Okay. In the first place, I don’t think that Aldo is representing some sheik in the Mideast. I think he’s a professional art thief.”

  “Then he could have just helped himself to the artifact by force, left the island, and saved a lot of time and trouble. Right?”

  “No! That’s not right. I think he’s the kind of thief who’d work with his wits and skill and avoid force as much as possible.” He frowned, and I added quickly, “The point is that none of the people who came to bid on the topaz knew that the others would be here. Aldo thought he was coming to deal with the judge and that would be that.”

  “Go on,” he said as I paused. His voice was so low, I could barely hear it.

  “When Aldo realized what the situation was, he went along with it. I don’t know what he had in mind. Maybe he was thinking up ways to steal the artifact from whoever bid for it and got it, but a couple of things went wrong for him. The judge told him that he looked familiar, and sooner or later he’d remember where he’d seen him. When Judge Arlington-Hughes referred to someone present sailing under false colors, Aldo thought the judge had figured it out.”

  Kurt shook his head. “You didn’t know the judge,” he said. “He liked a good private joke, even if it wasn’t very funny to anyone except himself. He was getting a big kick out of passing me off as his secretary, when he’d hired me as a private investigator and bodyguard.”

  “You were his bodyguard too?”

  He groaned at the surprise in my voice and said, “Don’t say it. Don’t think I don’t keep reminding myself that I let him down.”

  “I’m sorry. I—”

  His voice was brusque. “If you’ve got any more to tell me, get on with it.”

  “Okay, to get back to what the judge said. I think that Aldo couldn’t take the chance that the judge had figured out who he was, so Aldo decided to simply kill the judge and steal the artifact. He hoped there’d be no problem with the murder, that everyone would accept it as an accidental death.”

  I paused, but Kurt didn’t say anything. He was listening to me so intently, it gave me more confidence. I went on. “Franklin Granakee told us, when he came aboard the boat, that he knew everyone, and Aunt Madelyn said later that it was a known fact that Mr. Granakee had dealings with art thieves. It’s possible that Mr. Granakee threatened to tell the police about Aldo. So—don’t you see—Aldo had to kill him too.”

  I waited tensely. I was so sure of what I’d told him. What would I do if he said that my idea was stupid, or—like Mom sometimes said—that my imagination had run away with me again?

  Kurt seemed to think for a long time. Finally he said, “You could be right.”

  I sighed loudly, thankfully. “Then you can arrest him!”

  “It’s not that easy.”

  “Why not? You have a gun.”

  He stared at me sharply. “What makes you think that?”

  I gulped. “Oh. Well, because you’re a private investigator. Don’t all private investigators carry guns?”

  “You watch too much television,” he grumbled.

  Relief at not having given Pete away made me reckless. “If you don’t carry a gun, then how do you make an arrest?”

  “As a licensed investigator I don’t make arrests. I get information for my clients. If I uncover criminal activity, I inform the police, and they make the arrests.”

  “Then what will we do about Aldo? He’s a murderer. Can’t we lock him in one of the rooms so he can’t hurt anyone else?”

  “We’ll leave him alone,” Kurt said.

  “Just because you can’t arrest him doesn’t mean that—”

  He interrupted. “That’s not the reason. The reason is that we still don’t know the location of the artifact.”

  “Do you think Aldo has it?”

  “Who knows? If he has it, and he’s free, he could lead us to it.”

  “If you knew where the artifact was, would you do something about Aldo?”

  “Yes. If I had that topaz in hand, I’d do anything you’d ask me to do.”

  It’s time that someone else knew, I thought. I’m tired of handling this by myself. Kurt was the investigator. He’d be the logical one to tell.

  The moon had disappeared, and I realized that we were seated in a gray haze from which outlines were beginning to emerge. Kurt’s face grew real and vivid, the muscles around his eyes and neck strained and tense. His voice was raspy and low, and it frightened me. “Do you know where the artifact is, Andrea?”

  My fingers were twisted together so tightly that they hurt. I had promised Pete I wouldn’t tell Kurt. I had to keep my promise. I looked directly into Kurt’s eyes and said, “We’ve all been searching. It hasn’t shown up yet.”

  “Keep looking,” he said, and smiled. The patronizing tone was back. “Maybe we could have a bonus, a nice cash award for the person who finds it.”

  From where I sat I could see through the now-clear, pale water to the waving tendrils and spines of sea grasses and poisonous animals. My backbone felt as though those wet, clammy, deadly fingers were trailing down it, and I involuntarily shivered. Was Kurt just putting out feelers? Or had I gone too far, and did he now suspect me?

  He stood up, and I scrambled to my feet, wishing I had Pete here to hang on to. “I’m going back to the house,” he said.

  “What should I do?”

  He put a hand on my shoulder. His fingers pressed a little too tightly, and I winced. “Keep looking. We’ve got to find that artifact before the boat comes back this
afternoon. Understand?”

  “Yes.”

  I tried to wiggle out from under his grip, teetering at the edge of the dock, but he didn’t release me until after he said, “If you find the topaz or discover who has it, come to me. To no one else but me. Until the police arrive, I’m in charge of this investigation.”

  As Kurt strode briskly off the dock, I stumbled forward and caught my balance. By the time I looked up he had disappeared. What was the matter with me? Couldn’t I trust anyone? Kurt was the closest to police authority that we had on the island, and he was right. The artifact belonged in his care. I should get it now—right now!—so Kurt could lock up Aldo and the whole matter would be settled. And once the artifact was in the hands of the police, I could explain about the Peruvian government and—Would the police pay any more attention to me than to anyone else? Would they let me give it to the Peruvian consul or ambassador?

  I’d made a promise to Pete, so before doing anything I’d have to check with him. All I had to do was find him.

  The sky was a clear, silvery blue, and colors were changing from pastels to blights. Ellison was probably up and making breakfast, so surely Pete wouldn’t still be in the kitchen. He had probably slipped out of the back door soon after Kurt and I walked down to the dock. Had he gone back to his boat? Or would he still be around? I sighed as I thought about trekking once more down the beach and across the island.

  I hadn’t gone far when I felt his presence again. “Okay,” I said, “where are you?”

  “Shhhh!” he hissed at me from the trees. “You’re too close to the house. Anyone who came out on the front porch could see you. Keep going. Walk a little farther.”

  I did, following the beach on its wide sweep inland. As soon as I was out of sight of the house, Pete burst through the bushes to join me.

  “What happened? Didn’t he believe you about Aldo?”

  “I’m pretty sure he did,” I said.

  “Then why didn’t he do something? Arrest him? Tie him up? Lock him in a closet? Whatever?”

  “Because the artifact hasn’t been found yet. For all Kurt knows, Aldo is in possession of it.”

  Pete’s sunburned nose crinkled in the middle as he thought. “That’s good, I guess. Yes, that’s definitely good, because he doesn’t suspect you of having the artifact.”

  “I think I should give it to him.”

  “What!”

  “That is, depending on if you know the answer to my question.”

  Pete’s voice was edgy. “What kind of a game are we playing?”

  “It’s not a game. It’s a very important question.” I sat on the sand, which was already becoming warm from the sun, and Pete dropped down beside me. “Your father is an attorney, so I’m hoping you might know the answer to this from hearing things he’s said. If the artifact is turned over to the police, what would they do with it?”

  He didn’t hesitate for a minute. “Hold it for evidence until the murder investigation is over and the case comes to trial,” he said, “which could be for a period of a number of months to a number of years, depending on continuances, scheduling, all that stuff. And then we’ve got something else to consider. What police are we talking about? We aren’t in U.S. jurisdiction here. So we could add extradition, and who knows how long that would take? Also, somewhere along the line that artifact could prove to be too much of a temptation.”

  I shivered. “I’m glad you explained all that. I had almost decided to give the artifact to Kurt.”

  Pete gave a sharp intake of breath. “You told him that you had taken it?”

  “No! I didn’t, because I promised you I wouldn’t, and I keep my promises.”

  He smiled and put an arm around my shoulders. “Yeah,” he said. “You really do. So he doesn’t know about the artifact, and he doesn’t know about me.”

  I doodled in the sand with one finger. “It might be safer for you if he did know about you.”

  “It might be safer for you if he doesn’t.”

  I looked up at him. “What does that mean?”

  “I keep remembering what a mean jerk he is. I remember his big foot. You’ve started thinking of him as an upholder of law and order. One of us is wrong.”

  “So? What do we do next?”

  Pete bent to kiss me. “I think it’s time to meet the family,” he said.

  I giggled. “Be serious.”

  “I am serious,” he said. “I want to meet your Aunt Madelyn.”

  “And ask her for my hand?”

  “You’re a weird girl. What would I do with your hand? I’ve got two of my own.”

  I pushed away from him and said, “What nonsense are you talking about?”

  “It may be necessary to leave this island in a hurry,” Pete said. “If so, we don’t want to scare the pants off your aunt. Therefore, we meet ahead of time, nice and friendly like, and let her get used to me.”

  “You don’t know my Aunt Madelyn. She’d never get used to someone like you.”

  “Is she a tyrant? A monster? A tough customer?”

  “No. I used to think so, because she’s—well, she’s my mother’s sister, but she’s not warm and outgoing like Mom. Madelyn’s dedicated to her job, and I didn’t understand her for a long time until I realized that she really is lonely.” I turned to Pete, adding, “I wonder if people can be so lonely that they forget how to love.”

  “Oh, tell me about it,” Pete moaned, and made a grab for me, but I was quicker than he was and jumped to my feet.

  “When do you want to meet Aunt Madelyn?” I held out a hand to help him up.

  “As soon as you can set it up. Just give me time to get back to the boat for a few things, like breakfast. When you want me walk out on the downstairs veranda. I’ll be watching.”

  “So will Kurt. You may run into him.”

  “Not if I’m sharper and faster than he is. For a PI, he doesn’t move very quietly. He clomps through the woods like a two-hundred-and-forty-pound elephant. Did you see that movie last year about the mummy with the hacksaw who—”

  “No mummies. I couldn’t take it. I’ll see you later.” I turned and ran back to the house. Pete was crazy. He was fun. He wasn’t anything like Rick. Pete could even make me temporarily forget that there was so much here to be afraid of.

  Madelyn was on the lower veranda and waved to me. As I ran up the steps she said, “I was looking for you. You haven’t had breakfast yet.”

  “What about the others? It’s still early. Didn’t they sleep late?”

  “Sleep? Who can sleep?” In spite of her makeup, which she’d carefully applied this morning, Madelyn looked tired and old.

  “I’m sorry,” I said, and gave her a hug.

  She hugged me back.

  “There’s someone I want you to meet,” I told her.

  “Of course,” she answered. “As soon as we get back to Palm Beach.”

  “Not in Palm Beach,” I began, but Aldo stepped onto the veranda.

  “If you’ve had breakfast, we can begin,” he said.

  I moved away from Madelyn. I hoped he hadn’t heard what I’d said. My heart began to thump so loudly, I was afraid he could hear it. It was hard to meet his gaze, suspecting what I did about him. Making my expression as bland as possible, I asked, “Begin what?”

  “A reenactment of the showing,” he said.

  “Showing?”

  “Showing the artifact,” Madelyn explained. “Remember—when Justin brought it out and displayed it to us.”

  “Kurt thought if we went over it again, one of us might recall something important,” Aldo added, “something related to the disappearance of the topaz.”

  I didn’t like that idea at all. I tried to stall. “Could it wait until I’ve had breakfast?”

  “It’s a continental breakfast,” Aldo said. “It won’t take long.”

  “I hate to eat fast. It’s not good for the digestion.”

  “I’ll keep you company,” he said, and it made me mad, because h
e might just as well have said “I’ll make sure that you don’t dawdle.”

  “We’ll all keep you company,” Aunt Madelyn said. “Benita’s already in the dining room working on a caffeine jag, and Kurt is in the living room attempting to recreate the setting. We’ll invite him to join us.”

  The only choice was to accept.

  I drank a cup of coffee—hot this time—and munched through two large cinnamon rolls. I hated having four pairs of eyes on me while I ate. It made me so self-conscious that I couldn’t pick the raisins out of the rolls. I’ve always hated raisins.

  I hated being here. I hated the horrible things that had happened. I hated being pressured by these people who thought it was perfectly all right to steal a Peruvian artifact in the name of art. At the moment I was in such a bad mood that I didn’t even feel too kindly toward the country of Peru.

  “Have you finished your meal?” Aldo asked, and it didn’t come out like a question.

  “Yes.” I laid my napkin on the table. They began to rise, but I said, “Wait a minute! There’s something else we should figure out first.”

  Each of them sat back down again and stared at me. “What?” Madelyn asked.

  “We need to know who had access to the living room, who might have had time to strip that cord.”

  Aldo shrugged. “If the cord was deliberately stripped and not worn, it would take only a minute or two.”

  Madelyn spread out her hands and looked puzzled. “And all of us were in the living room, in and out, ever since we arrived.”

  “But who was in the living room alone after the stage was set for showing the jewel?”

  Benita gaped at me. “We were together, examining the setting.”

  “Did anyone notice whether the lamp had been plugged in or what the cord looked like?”

  Benita said nastily, “We had only candlelight to see by. You should remember that, since you were responsible for knocking out the generator.”

  Madelyn quickly said, “And then we were asked to go to the veranda for cocktails. Soon afterward Ellison called us, and we all went into the dining room for dinner.”