Chaos in Cuba (A Starling and Swift Cozy Mystery Book 4)

by M. J. Mandrake

  Toto had shifted a few feet closer to Chica and both dogs looked like they were ready for a nice cold bowl of water and a nap in the shade. Kitty decided she’d give Sabrina a few more moments before moving inside.

  Glancing at Leander, she saw him watching the water beyond the main road. The cruise ship was docked at the terminal and Kitty wondered if Leander ever thought of the long night they’d spent together in her luxury suite. Probably not. He’d slept on a cot in front of the door because a killer was determined to end her life. She was sure there hadn’t been anything romantic about it for him. Not even a little bit. But she couldn’t help smiling as she thought about the old T-shirt he’d worn to bed. Kiss me, I’m Catalan.

  Leander turned and caught her eye. “Did you bring your Hello Kitty pajamas?” he whispered.

  Her face went warm. “As if I’d tell.”

  “So… that’s a yes?”

  Penny wagged her finger at them. “If you don’t let us into the conversation, we’ll have to assume you’re talking about us.”

  Kitty apologized, shamed by Penny’s gentle chiding. It was very rude for a hearing person to speak in front of a deaf person and not sign if they could. It was like whispering at the table.

  “I was just asking Kitty about her preferred sleepwear,” Leander said and was rewarded with looks of mock outrage from both Penny and Elaine.

  “The nerve,” Elaine said. “You keep your mind out of the gutter, young man.”

  Kitty snorted with laughter. Leander was quite possibly the least gutterfied men she’d ever known.

  After pretending to be chastened, Leander went back to observing the area, and Kitty followed his lead. Being only steps away from the dock, the monastery would be a good place to collect stolen goods. It was relatively private, too. The shopping boutiques across the street were bustling with customers but the monastery courtyard was empty except for a flock of pigeons and a few tourists taking pictures of the statues and the five-story bell tower.

  “Let’s go on ahead,” Sabrina said suddenly. “My friend will look for us inside.”

  Kitty translated for Penny and Elaine, then asked, “Is he the one who was going to give us a private tour? Maybe you can text him.”

  Sabrina looked temporarily confused. “Yes, she was. But it’s fine. We should go.”

  They followed her through the arched doorway and into the main room. Directly inside the door, the glass floor exposed the tombs of the faithful. The main cemetery was founded a few hundred years after the church so there were no newly dead among the inhabitants but Kitty found herself stepping to the side. Of course the dead wouldn’t care if she walked over the top of their graves. No spirits would rise up and attack her for being disrespectful. But she still felt a slight shiver despite the heat at the idea.

  Chica followed Kitty’s lead and walked to the side, but Kitty could tell Chica by her relaxed gate and peaceful expression that she didn’t mind the dead on display beneath their feet. Penny and Elaine had stopped to gaze at the tombs, then stepped around the glass. Kitty glanced behind her and saw Leander had moved to the side, also.

  “Perhaps we’re a little superstitious after all,” he signed.

  “Doesn’t feel right, does it?” Penny said.

  “Not at all, but it’s just because it’s disrespectful,” Kitty said.

  Another benefit of signing was that they didn’t have to worry about speaking too loudly in a place of worship. The main area of the monastery had been converted to a concert hall, but Kitty still felt the solemnity of the place. The dais where the altar had been was now empty, and the pews had been replaced by wooden chairs. A small room to the right was crammed with paintings of Mary and the saints. Stained glass windows high above cast colored light onto the stone floor. The sign could announce it as a concert hall or a museum, but there was no covering the fact it was a church and a burial ground.

  Sabrina made a bee line to the right and disappeared from view behind some pillars. Penny and Elaine looked to Kitty, and they exchanged shrugs. That was more like the Sabrina they knew and didn’t like.

  Kitty shrugged off her irritation and spent a few moments taking in the beauty of the place. She’d been in dozens of churches while living and traveling in the Yucatan, but she was always amazed at the beautiful architecture. Even though it was over five hundred years old and the walls had the softened look of stones exposed for half a millennia, the ceiling was still a wonder of craftsmanship.

  “I’ve heard that during a concert, some people come here just to see the monastery light up from the outside,” Leander said.

  “It must be so beautiful,” Kitty agreed.

  He held up a flyer he’d taken from a stack at the entrance. “I know you head back to the ship tomorrow and I have a meeting in the afternoon before I’m set to fly out, but there’s a string quartet playing tonight. Would you like to go?”

  “Yes!” Kitty cleared her throat. She had signed and spoken at the same time, and her “yes” was a little too loud. “I mean, are you asking about the music or the lights? Both sound nice. But whatever you meant… sure.” Kitty wanted to roll her eyes at herself. Talk about awkward.

  He grinned. “Enthusiasm is a good thing.”

  “You two will have plenty of time to catch up,” Penny said. Motioning to the stairs, she said, “If we don’t have a personal tour, do you think can we still go up to the bell tower?”

  “I don’t see any signs saying we can’t.” Kitty looked around for any kind of official, but they seemed to be alone in the monastery.

  Chica nosed Kitty’s leg and she turned to see Brooke and Katie walking through the arched doorway. Jackie looked like she’d just walked several blocks in the late afternoon heat and was glad to get her paws on the cold stone floor. Toto made a soft sound of greeting and Jackie responded in kind. Chica’s tail wagged a few times and then she sat down again. Kitty smiled to see them proving how service dogs were a subtle sort.

  “We heard you guys came for a tour and decided to tag along,” Katie signed after Kitty had introduced them both to Leander.

  “I think Victor and Lola are coming, too, if you can wait a few more minutes before you start.” Brooke wiped her forehead.

  “Oh, I didn’t realize you might want to come along.” Kitty felt a surge of guilt. She wasn’t being a very good tour guide. Leander had arrived and her brain had gone on vacation. “I should have asked. I’m sorry.”

  “No problem,” Katie said. She always seemed so cheerful and at the moment, Kitty was extra thankful for it.

  “It’s not an official tour,” Penny clarified. “Well, we thought there might be some kind of organized walking and talking, but apparently, we’re on our own.”

  “That’s too bad.” Katie glanced around. “Maybe we’ll look around in here for a few minutes until Victor and Lola get here. They decided to take a cab rather than walk in the heat, but maybe they had to wait for one to pick them up.”

  “If there’s no tour, you might as well go ahead,” Brooke said. “I would have stayed home if I’d known there wasn’t any tour.”

  “Well, since we’re here, we might as well look around. No reason to be cranky about it.” Katie was already moving toward the paintings.

  “Would you like to borrow my guide book?” Kitty asked. “I’ve already marked the pages about the monastery.”

  “That would be great.” Brooke looked slightly happier. “We’ll share it with Victor and Lola when they get here.”

  “Might as well head up,” Penny said. She looked determined. “I’ve got vertigo but I’ll just stay away from the windows. I got me some new knees a few years ago, but the rest is all original. Unfortunately.”

  “I won’t be any faster.” Elaine slapped her hands to her hips. “New hips, but old knees. If they put all our new parts together, we’d make one spry old lady. You all go ahead.”

  Leander shot Kitty a glance. “Race you?”

  She started to say no, but then looked do
wn at her flats. She spent most of her time around people on vacation and although she did plenty of walking, her time at home was rather sedentary. “Why not? You won’t win, of course.”

  “Confident, are you?” He adjusted his tie. It occurred to Kitty that she didn’t know any of Leander’s hobbies. Maybe he was a runner.

  “Very,” she said. She gave him a wink as they stopped near the base of the old stone steps. She slipped the strap of her purse across her body. Chica looked from Leander to Kitty and her eyes lit up as if she understood that they were going to play a game. “On your mark?”

  “Get set,” he responded, crouching a little, muscles tensed.

  “Go!” Kitty up bolted three or four steps and then slowed to a walk. Chica had shot ahead like a bullet and she could hear the two of them ricocheting up the winding stairs. She chuckled at the thought of Leander trying to out-run Chica.

  Kitty paused beside the large window to look out over the courtyard. The pigeons circled lazily in the air. Sunlight sparkled on the water, and the cruise ship loomed over the walkway that extended down to the dock. Kitty thought longingly of her comfortable bed and the perpetual chocolate fountain. Leaning against the window ledge, she thought of how guests would soon be filing in to the Bingo room and setting up their cards. She felt only a slight surge of excitement and was surprised. Leander’s visit had pushed her little addiction to the back burner. Or maybe she was just swapping one out for the other. Kitty frowned at the idea. She didn’t want to depend on him for her happiness, but maybe she already did.

  A sharp scream sounded from a few floors above, and a second later, two deep, booming barks split the air. It wasn’t a greeting, and it wasn’t a warning. It was a bark Kitty had only heard a few times from Chica. She, or someone she loved, was in mortal danger. Kitty was already running before she formed a clear thought.

  Leaping up the steps two at a time, she shouted for Chica, then Leander. There was no response. Kitty’s heartbeat pounded in her ears and she felt her fingernail snag on the battered handrail as she pulled her way up the stairwell. Faintly, down below, she heard Toto and Jackie barking their warnings to the others. Something bad was happening.

  There was a dull sound, like a door being closed, and Kitty stopped on the landing, listening hard. Nothing. Just as she turned toward the stairs, something large flashed by in her peripheral vision. Less than a second later, there was a horrible sound against the stone-flagged courtyard below.

  Kitty stifled a scream and stood frozen to the spot. Maybe it had been something else, like a coat or a blanket. But she knew the thing that had fallen past the window, fluttering in the wind, had been more substantial than a coat. Much more substantial, like a body.

  Creeping toward the ledge, Kitty slowly leaned out to see what―who― had fallen and was now lying on the stones. She already knew and yet felt compelled to be completely certain.

  One look and Kitty knew that the perpetually tardy young tour guide was now permanently late, in more ways than one.

  Chapter Six

  “It's better to die laughing than to live each moment in fear.”

  ― Michael Crichton

  One look was enough to know Sabrina was dead.

  Kitty felt her knees buckle beneath her and she struggled to stand, clutching the window ledge for support. Chica’s barks were growing closer, and soon Leander skidded down the stairs, nearly landing on top of Kitty.

  “Sabrina!” he managed.

  Chica was right behind Leander and it took a few seconds to reverse her trajectory down the stairs and come back to Kitty. She stood in front of her, fur raised and a low rumble issuing from her throat as she shielded Kitty from danger. For just a moment, Kitty thought Chica was guarding her from Leander and her heart leaped into her throat. He stretched out his hand to help her up, but she crouched lower, away from him.

  Confusion flashed on his face and he let his hand drop to his side. “It wasn’t me,” he said. “I didn’t see who pushed her. I only heard her scream and then saw her fall past the window. I ran up the last flight to catch whoever it was, but there was nobody there.”

  Don’t be stupid. Chica would be biting that hand to pieces.

  Kitty shook her head and stood up. “Of course. I’m sorry. I just―” She put a hand to her eyes, feeling as if the walls were closing in on her.

  “Sit down,” Leander said, gently helping her back to the floor. Kitty put her head on her knees and tried to breathe deeply. Leander pulled out his cell phone and called the police, asking for an ambulance even though there was no doubt that Sabrina was beyond help.

  He dropped down beside her and put an arm around her shoulders.

  “I thought maybe we could stop what was going to happen,” she whispered.

  “I know,” he said.

  “You said nobody was there.” She looked up, hopeful. “Do you think she jumped?”

  He shook his head. “There’s a door that leads out of the tower from the other side. I looked down the hallway but it was empty. He could have gone anywhere.”

  Kitty thought of the man in the light blue suit and the older, balding man from the restaurant. Then there was Señora Delores and the envelope she’d given to the balding man. The memory of her early morning invasions now took on a sinister quality.

  The sound of sirens in the distance roused Kitty from the fog that enveloped her brain. Getting to her feet, she said, “I’m going up. Will you come with me?”

  Leander stood up and nodded. “Of course. We should get a good look before the authorities arrive.”

  It seemed to take forever for the three of them to walk up to the top of the bell tower. As Kitty stepped into the small room, she thought of how beautiful it was and how she would have loved to share this moment with Leander. But Death had inserted itself into their lives once more, and a beautiful young woman was lying on the ground far below.

  She felt anger course through her body and the last wisps of shock faded away. Sabrina hadn’t deserved such a terrible fate. She was selfish, rather lazy, and clearly uninterested in their deaf tour group, but that was nothing in the grand scheme of things. Kitty realized she didn’t even know Sabrina’s last name. It was probably on a paper somewhere in her folder of information.

  Stepping carefully along the perimeter of the room, Kitty tried to put aside her anger and take in everything as clearly as she could. There were a few leaves on the floor, two plaques on the wall describing the construction and renovations of the tower, one red flat near the window, a large bell suspended from the ceiling, and a trapdoor in the center of the room.

  She bent down to inspect the shoe. It was slightly scuffed at the toe. Perhaps Sabrina had dragged it across the floor on the way to be being pushed out the window. Chica sniffed at it, looked up at Kitty, then sniffed it again.

  On the other end of the room from the stairs, Kitty saw a small wooden door.

  “Is that where you went when…?” You realized she was already dead. As logical as Kitty was trying to be, it was difficult to say the words.

  He nodded. Using two fingers, he turned the handle and showed her the narrow hallway. Chica peered through the doorway ahead of Kitty, and although her fur was still on end, she stepped back and let Kitty look inside. The arched roof layered with crisscrossed brickwork was picturesque, but the dim light added a sinister feel. Brooms, cleaning supplies, and some dusty rags were gathered in a pile near ending the curve of the hallway where it branched off into two separate wings. An apron hung on a hook near a set of keys. White splotches on the floor made Kitty look up to where the pigeons were roosting on the beams. A mouse zipped from one crack in the wall to another, probably disturbed by all the running and slamming doors. There were several open doorways along the way, and Kitty could see how the killer had escaped so easily.

  “I wasn’t as careful when I opened it the first time,” he said, sounding disgusted with himself. “I palmed it, so probably obliterated any other prints. Rookie mistake.”r />
  Kitty took his hand and gave it a squeeze. Leander had degrees in psychology, criminology and forensics, plus extensive training in murder investigations. What would be a normal response for most was a real lapse in judgement and protocol for him. That’s what shock and horror did to a person. No matter how much training he had, Leander had reacted like a man who was chasing a murderer. “Maybe they can still get a few prints,” she said.

  He nodded but didn’t look hopeful. Closing the door, they walked back into the small tower room. They could hear voices from down below and loud footsteps sounded on the stone stairs. Kitty realized they were still holding hands, but she couldn’t seem to let go. In moments, they would both have to take on a professional role, putting each other behind their duties to the government and the tour group.

  She looked up at him, and wished she could say everything going through her head.

  “Well, shoot,” he said softly.

  “Yeah,” she agreed. She didn’t need to ask him for a clarification. She knew what he meant. Their trip had taken a very dark turn, as it had several times before. Now there would be interviews with the police, witness statements, and a warning not to leave the country. She would have to contact the cruise captain, Edward Tavish, and advise him of what had happened. Even though Sabrina was not an American citizen, she had been employed by the cruise company, and therefore Kitty would have to make sure the ship officials were aware of her death.

  The heavy tread of several pairs of feet grew closer, nearly at the top of the stairs.

  Squeezing her hand before letting go, Leander said, “As Mr. Smollett said to the crew, we must go on because we can’t turn back.”