“Quit fishing,” Suzette laughed. “I’ll tell you what I did last night. I went down to the Lobster Den to talk to Sam about Deidre. I had to wait to ask him the questions until after the bar started to clear out. Then as we were leaving some guy in a white car tried to run us down. I ended up taking Sam home because he got really banged up saving my life.”
“Suz, how awful. What are you going to do?”
Suzette reached under her pillow and pulled out a snub-nosed Chief’s Special. “From now on I’m carrying this and I’m going to use it if I get a chance. The next time that white car tries to run me down, whoever is driving is going to get a real shock when I put a bullet through his window or his tire.”
“You sound like you mean it.”
“Sweety, I do. You’ll never know just how much I mean it. I’ve had enough jumping out of the way to last me a lifetime and when he started trying to take my friends with me, then it just made me mad. If I go, I’m taking someone with me.” Her tone was grim; her face set and hard.
Hallie held up her hands, “Please be careful. Guns scare me to death.”
“Don’t worry. I won’t shoot either you or me. I’m trained and licensed to carry a concealed weapon.” She laid the gun on the bedside table. “I don’t like guns either and I usually don’t carry, but after my last case I learned how to shoot and I got training in thinking the way you need to in order to shoot a human being.”
Hallie grimaced. “Just be careful, okay?”
Suzette looked at Hallie’s carefully combed hair and new outfit. “So who’s here?”
“Oh, I guess I didn’t tell you, did I? I got distracted by your experiences last night. It’s Doug’s twin brother.”
Suzette shuddered. “Please tell me that he’s not another Derek. I don’t think I could stand another Derek.”
“No. He’s a hunk, like Doug–tall, blond, gorgeous and successful, but he’s nice.”
“What does he do?”
“Something with money. I’m not sure if he’s a stockbroker or an investment banker or what. Wait until you see him. I think he’s wearing a $10,000 suit and it really shows off his bod. Man, if he weren’t my first cousin I could really fall hard for him.”
“I thought you already had.” Suzette grinned at Hallie.
“No, I’m just drooling. But you should have seen Deidre. If she could have figured out a way, she’d have been all over him.” She stretched her arms over her head. “Oh, Aunt Cordelia sent me to tell you that we leave for the mortuary at 11:00.” She got up and sauntered out of the room.
Suzette looked at her watch. “I’d better get moving then. I can’t wait to see this hunk to die for.” I just hope he isn’t the one who is trying to get me to die.
********
Suzette walked into the breakfast room to find Mike, Mitch and Hallie talking to a handsome blond man who barely resembled either Derek or Dorothea. He looked a lot like Doug. He had the same build and coloring, but his hair was golden blond rather than Doug’s light brown, and he had brown eyes instead of Dorothea’s pale blue eyes. Although he resembled Doug, he was much better looking, more polished, more smooth, less of a phony.
He rose to his feet when she entered the room, forcing Mike and Mitch to do the same, probably for the first time in her acquaintance with them. Hallie said, “This is Dustin, Aunt Dorothea’s oldest son. I think he’s seven minutes older than Doug. Dustin, this is Suzette Bishop.”
“Hi, Suzette.” His voice was pitched pleasantly low. “What branch of the law do you represent?” He pulled out a chair next to him.
“I’m not in law enforcement. I’m an insurance investigator. I was called in to try to get the facts of the fire in the summerhouse.”
As Suzette helped herself to eggs, sausage, pineapple upside-down cake and fresh watermelon, she commented, “If I stay here much longer, I am going to have to do some serious dieting when I get home. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many fancy and fattening dishes for each meal.”
“Are you getting close to finding out what happened at the summerhouse?” Dustin slid back his chair and leaned back on two legs, his hands behind his head.
“Yes, I’m getting somewhere. We know it’s arson and I’m close to finding out why and then we’ll know who.”
Dustin dropped the front legs of his chair with a thud. He looked at his watch. “I’d better go see what I can do to get mother moving. She is not a morning person.”
As soon as he’d left the room, Suzette hissed, “Just what have you been telling him? We don’t know if he’s involved in any of this or not.”
Hallie looked embarrassed. “I guess I got carried away, but Suz, he couldn’t have killed my mother or kidnaped Justin. He wasn’t here. He’s been in London for the last couple of weeks. He was telling us about it.”
“Relax, Suzette. I think you’re being a little paranoid,” Mike said. “Justin’s okay. Finding him is what we came down here for.” Now that they had found Justin, Mike was back to his calm, serene self.
Suzette scowled and pushed her chair back. “I didn’t. I was hired to find out who set the fire and who killed Jeanette. I’m glad we found Justin, but he isn’t my primary reason for being here.”
One by one, they finished and left the room. Suzette began sputtering to herself. “Paranoid, my tush! He may say that he was in London, but has anyone checked it out? Besides that, he could have partners down here. What about Doug, there’s no reason why he and Doug couldn’t be partners? I think I’ll put a call into John and ask him to check on some of this stuff for me.”
Mitch was waiting on her balcony. “Suz, what’s going on? You seem very uptight and just a tad hostile.”
“Do I? Sorry, I guess I’m just tired.” She turned to put on the navy blue jacket that matched her dress.
Mitch grabbed her arm and turned her to him. “Don’t give me that crap, Suz. You aren’t hostile because you’re tired. Something’s happened that you aren’t talking about. Spill it.”
She took a deep breath. “I don’t think now is either the time or the place for this type of discussion. But I will say this, I feel that you and Mike have pretty much cut me out of the picture. You go off without telling me where you’re going or what you’re doing; you don’t tell me what you’ve learned. You don’t ask me what I’ve learned which might be something you need to know, so yes, I guess you’d say I was a tad hostile. Now let go of me, I’ve got to get ready or I’ll be late to the funeral.”
Mitch let go of her arm and stepped back. “You’re right. We haven’t been working as a team. It’s just that Mike and I are--”
“I know.” She said bitterly, “you and Mike are police officers and I’m not. You don’t have to tell me that, in your eyes, I don’t have the same status; but just remember this, I was the one who found Justin and rescued him.”
“But--”
Ignoring the interruption, she continued, “The one thing that’s bothering me in your cutting me out of the investigation is that I seem to be the focal point of some part of what is happening. I’m the one someone keeps trying to frame and I’m the one that someone is trying to kill. I don’t know if that has any bearing on what you are investigating, but it is important to me and I’ve been totally isolated. I’ve had to turn to other people for help and when some of that help is several thousand miles away, it makes things tough.”
“Suzette, you’re getting paranoid. No one has been trying to kill you. You had the one incident where some guy almost ran over you, but that’s all.”
“That you know about. I haven’t had a chance to tell you about the other occurrences or about the death threats.” Angrily she jerked her arm away from his grasp. “But since you feel that way, I won’t bother you with my problems.” She got up and went to the door. “I’d appreciate it if you’d leave my room.”
Mitch looked down at her, stunned. “I’m sorry that you are so upset. I wish you’d reconsider talking to me and Mike.”
Suzette
bit her lower lip. “Mitch, I thought we were friends, but I see that I’m just a means to an end. I thought Mike and I were friends until he jumped up and down on my self-esteem when I didn’t immediately find Justin. It seems that to ‘cops and cop types’ regular people don’t count and aren’t worth much. Thanks, but no thanks. I think I’ll rely on my non-cop friends to help me figure out who is trying to kill me. If I’m not worth enough to be included because I’m not a cop, then I’m not worth enough for you to help me.”
When the tears threatened, she pushed him out of the room. When the door shut behind him, Suzette walked out on the balcony, dropped into a chair and began to sputter to herself. “I’m paranoid, am I? I’m not a ‘real’ police officer, am I? I’d give anything to solve this case and make him eat every single word.”
Cordelia came out of her room onto the balcony. “Suzette, you sound angry and frustrated.”
“You could say that, since that’s exactly how I feel.”
“I understand. Since we found Justin, that’s exactly how I feel. I’m sorry to say this, but even you haven’t included me much lately.”
“Cordelia, I’m sorry. I wanted to, but I felt like you had all you could handle with Justin’s illness and Jeanette’s funeral. You’ve been spending a lot of time at the hospital.”
Cordelia nodded. “Justin’s improving rapidly. I think he’s ready to come home, but I did talk the doctor out of releasing him today.” She chuckled. “I told him that with the funeral and all the company, I couldn’t guarantee that Justin would be taken care of the way he should be. He decided right then and there to keep him until Sunday. I just wish we could know who kidnaped him before he comes home. I’m worried something else will happen to him.”
“I know. After the funeral, let’s make an excuse to take a walk along the beach. We’ll talk then and no one will be able to overhear us.”
“I like that. Maybe we can talk in the limousine. If the window is up, the driver can’t hear us.” She paused, “We need to give Hallie an assignment. She’s feeling left out, too.”
“Okay. I guess we’ve all been so involved in our own problems that we’ve kind of gone our own ways. When we work together, we really go places and make things happen.”
Cordelia smiled. Lizzy came out on the balcony. “The limousines are waiting, ma’am.”
She and Suzette walked through Cordelia’s room and down the stairs. As they were getting into the lead limousine to support Hallie, Dustin opened the far door and climbed in, sitting with his back to the driver. “I can’t resist the chance to ride with three beautiful women.” He turned to Hallie with a slight smile. “Hallie, I can’t tell you how sorry I am about your mother’s death.”
“Thank you,” she whispered.
Suzette looked him over as he talked. There is something about this man that makes me nervous. I don’t know what it is, somehow, he’s too good to be true. But it’s probably because he’s Dorothea’s son and because we wanted to talk about our problems and we can’t because he insisted that he sit with us.
When the service ended, the casket was lowered into the ground and the flowers placed on it, Suzette put her arm around Cordelia. “Let’s go. I don’t think it will be good for Hallie to stand and watch the dirt shoveled onto the casket. She looks like she’s going to pass out.”
Cordelia’s face was a pale greenish grey. She said, “I know I can’t stand anymore. I’ll head for the car, if you’ll get Hallie.”
Nodding, Suzette walked over to Hallie. Doug was standing next to her, talking about the pluses of cremation. “Doug, I’m taking Hallie back to the car. I really don’t think that discussing different types of burials is a good idea.”
“I’ll come with you. I can help if she faints.”
“No!” The word came out louder and sharper than she expected. “Please just go in the car with your mother and your brothers. Leave Hallie to me. I can handle things if she does faint.”
Doug glared at her, muttering about high-handed women, but Suzette ignored him. “Come along, Hallie. Cordelia is waiting in the limo. You’ll feel better after you get away from this depressing cemetery.”
Dustin came up on Hallie’s other side. “I’ll just help you get her back to the car.”
Hallie flinched away from him. As Suzette looked up, she saw Jeremy. She motioned for him to join them. “Jeremy, would you help me get Hallie into the limousine? I think she needs some peace and quiet before she collapses.”
“Of course. Come along, old girl. You’ll feel better when you get some food into you.”
They walked across the grass, leaving Doug and Dustin standing together.
After Jeremy helped Hallie into the car, he climbed in and sat in the seat facing them.
Suzette looked at Jeremy and wondered at the different feeling each man gave her. They looked a lot alike–blond hair cut in an expensive wind-blown style, nice eyes and very white teeth. Jeremy was pleasant to be around even if he was an attorney and her client. Both Doug and Dustin set her teeth on edge.
Back at the Palms, Suzette was adding some tiny crab-stuffed popovers to her plate when Mitch joined her a little tentatively. “I’ve often felt like a wake is more like a party than a funeral,” he said. “It seems a little disrespectful to the dead.”
“I know,” she said, frigidly. Her cell phone rang. She hesitated knowing that someone malevolent was listening in. “I’m expecting a call from my partner,” she said as she flipped it open.
“I hope you enjoyed the funeral. The next one will be yours.” It was the same harsh laugh. Her face went white.”
“Suz, what is it?” Mitch gripped her arm as she seemed to stagger.
“Another death threat.” She pushed back her hair and then rubbed her arms. “I should have expected him to call on this phone.”
“We need to call my office and get a trace on this phone.”
“It won’t do any good, Mitch. I already told you about the accident attempts and you didn’t believe me. When he’s ready to show himself, he will.”
Chapter 35
Later that night, Suzette slid onto the bar stool. “How is your leg feeling?” She asked as he limped over to her.
“It’s a bit sore, but the injury didn’t turn out to be as bad as it looked. You look tired.”
“If I hadn’t given up drinking before I started, I’d ask you for a whiskey, straight up, but I’ll take a Shirley Temple,” she said to Sam.
“That bad?”
“The worst, but the funeral is over and so is the wake. I just put the last of Jeanette’s children on a plane in Orlando.”
“How did the funeral go?” He began wiping down the bar, his eyes on her face.
She downed her Shirley Temple and pushed the glass back to him. “Hit me again. I need the energy.” When Sam had refilled her glass, she said, “I hate funerals and try hard to avoid them, but this one wasn’t too bad. It was a closed casket so the viewing was okay. Then the funeral was short and to the point. Cordelia told me later that everyone totally lied about how good and kind and wonderful Jeanette was. I guess the funeral is meant to comfort those who are left. I would have hated to say something awful but true about Jeanette in front of her children.”
Sam nodded. “I understand.”
Suzette finally smiled. “I guess all that sugar is finally making me feel better. I have to tell you about the two really good things that happened today.”
He laughed, “Trust you to find some good in a funeral.”
“Well, not in the funeral but after. I’ve been giving Cordelia driving lessons. She was so excited that she not only signed up for professional lessons so she can get her license more quickly, but she bought a car over the phone. She just called up the dealer and told him what she wanted. We picked it up an hour later. I turned in my rental car and drove her back in her new car. She starts her lessons tomorrow and swears that she’ll have her license by the end of next week.”
Sam grinned. “That�
�s how the super-rich do things.”
Suzette nodded, “It would be nice to have that kind of money in some ways, but in others–no thanks. I wouldn’t want Cordelia’s family leeching off me like they do off her.”
“What kind of a car did she get?”
“It’s a Cadillac, but it isn’t a huge, old-lady car. It’s smaller and fun to drive. It has everything, including OnStar.”
“Why OnStar? That seems like an expensive luxury in a well populated area like this.”
“She said that she didn’t want to get caught somewhere with a flat tire and alligators. I guess she’s just playing it safe. She’s 73 after all.”
Suzette grinned. “But the best news of all is that Rebecca Austin is my sister. She brought the results of the test over during the family gathering after the funeral. She had a meeting she had to go to and couldn’t get out of since she was conducting it, so she missed the funeral. She was going to go tell our grandparents tonight so I can go meet them before I head back to San Francisco. She was supposed to call me on my cell, but she hasn’t. She might have gotten hung up in another meeting and not had time to drive down the coast to see them. They live in Boca Raton.”
“Congratulations. I’m sure I don’t understand what you’re feeling, since I was the second of ten children and have often wished I was an only child.” He rolled his eyes. “If you knew my sisters, you would want to be an only child, too.”
Suzette laughed. “I’m not sure that I really believe you’d like to be an only child, especially since you never have been. It’s just, well, I can’t really describe what it feels like, to go from being an orphan, even though I’ve got a great adoptive family, to actually finding out who you really are and that you do have a biological family.”
A cell phone rang. Automatically, both Suzette and Sam reached for their cell phones. “It’s mine,” Suzette said laughing. Suddenly she frowned. “I hate answering this. I hope it’s Rebecca but--”
“Hello?”
Sun, Sand and Murder: A Suzette Bishop Mystery (Suzette Bishop Mysteries Book 3) Page 21
