by Sarah Kelly
Sam turned away from her. “No. I don’t have to prove anything. I’m the bride. Why are you all attacking me?” Then she burst into tears.
“Hand it over,” India said. “I believe we won’t find Dan had called her. The number we will find will be Tony’s.”
“What?” Tony exploded. “Nah nah nah. Why would I call her? I’m not involved.”
“Yeah?” India said. “We’ll see. Bowen, ring the police please.”
Bowen did as he was told, steering the boat toward land and looking distinctly out of his party mood.
Sam still cried, ignoring India’s instruction.
“Give your sister the phone,” Xavier told her in his most stern cop voice.
That made her take notice, and she handed it over to Jazz.
“This is so stupid,” Jazz said, taking the phone. “India, Xavier, I thought you were really nice people, but you’ve just… this is crazy. How could you ruin her holiday like this?” She scrolled through the phone, then paused. “Tony, what’s your number?”
“I don’t have a phone,” he said quickly.
“Yes, you do,” Bowen said, off the phone to the police by then.
“Don’t you dare!” Tony exclaimed, lunging toward Bowen.
Xavier was quick on his feet, and intercepted Tony. He stood tall and strong and when Tony tried to punch him he grabbed his arm and knocked him to the ground.
“It’s 485 3923,” Bowen said, reading from his phone.
Everyone looked at Jazz. She shook her head, confusion playing over her features. “That’s the number. Sam, why were you calling him? Were you… having an… affair?”
“Again?” Freya chimed in.
“No!” Sam raged, still crying into her hands in ungainly sobs.
“She was calling him because Tony was bribing her,” India said. “Because he’d seen her kill Charlie on the beach. She hadn’t banked on anyone coming to the beach that early, but Tony was always there. But they came to an agreement, even before Tony ran up to the hotel to report the murder, I imagine. And that agreement was he’d throw suspicion on Fitzgerald and not tell anyone what he saw.”
“Lies!” Tony yelled. He’s not even got back up to his feet, just scooted into a corner, his knees against his chest.
“It’s true.”
Jazz looked like she was going to vomit. “But why would you kill Charlie, Sam? I just… no, you didn’t do it, did you? You couldn’t have.”
India let out a long sigh. “She killed Charlie because Charlie was the one having an affair with her husband.”
Mikey and Jazz both gasped. Sam burst into fresh tears.
“I figured that out because Mikey told me it was one of your circle, but I didn’t realize until later on.”
“Then why would she try to kill Fitzgerald?” Freya asked.
India nodded slowly. She wasn’t fully sure of that one yet, but she had an idea. “Tony rang her when we were at the lava pits, and I figure he must have been asking her for more money she didn’t want to give. So she asks Fitzgerald for some kind of help, and he puts two and two together and figures out she did it. He accuses her, and she sees she has no choice but to push him in.”
“Is that…” Jazz looked like her whole world was crashing in. “Sam… is that… is that true?”
India held her breath, hoping she’d been right.
Sam wailed, “No!” Then she sank to her knees on the top of the boat. “Yes. Yes, it is.”
Everyone went silent, and no one said anything more until they got back to the beach. The water reflected the flashing blue police lights, and the air was thick with sirens that echoed over the sea. India hurried out of the boat first, found the police chief, and told her everything she knew. Then the police boarded the boat and arrested both Tony and Sam. Jazz, Freya, and Mikey clutched each other and cried. Bowen looked like he wanted nothing more than to be out of there. Xavier came over to where India stood on the dock and squeezed her hand. “I love you,” he whispered.
She looked back into his eyes and found her home there once again. “I love you too, Xavier Bradford.”
***
“Will Daddy be okay?” the little girl asked, snuggling back into her mother. She looked around eight years old, and the colorful beads at the end of her braids shone bright in the hospital’s fluorescent light.
“Yes, my dear,” her mother said. She hugged a bigger girl and a little three year old close to her curves. “God spared him, and now the doctors are helping him. Soon he’ll be just fine.”
India and Xavier sat across from them in the hospital waiting room. India found Mrs Joseph’s voice immensely comforting. She gave the little girls a small smile, hoping that what their mother said was true and their father would soon be fighting fit.
A young nurse popped her head out of the door. “We’re ready for you to come in now,” she said.
India and Xavier hung back, letting his family go in first. The older girl was first through the door.
“Rosie!” they heard Fitzgerald say in a strained voice. “Now don’t be alarmed, all right?”
India was expecting him to be horribly disfigured, but when she turned into the room, she found his face was intact. His neck was scarred, and a white sheet was pulled up to his neck, covering the rest of his body. India had no doubt his skin had been destroyed by the heat.
“Oh look,” he said scratchily, looking at them all coming in and his eyes filling with tears. “Everyone’s here.” Then it sounded like his heart was breaking when he said, “Marie.”
His wife rushed over to him and planted kiss after kiss after kiss all over his face.
“Daddy,” the middle child began, clearly wanting to confirm her mother’s answer, “will you really be all right?”
“Yes, baby,” he said. “Between God and the doctors, I’m good. Did you chat to India and Xavier here? These are the people that believed me right from the start, and have watched over me a lot.”
Marie, overcome with emotion, rushed up to India and Xavier and wrapped them up in a hug. “God bless you both. God bless you.”
India found herself crying, and she saw Xavier wipe away a tear or two.
“Come, come,” Fitzgerald said, beckoning them. He took Xavier’s hand in one of his, and India’s in the other. “Now you listen to me. You’ll always be welcome here. If you want to stay at the hotel, I’ll take you wherever you want for free. Or you can stay with us. Or whatever you want. You two are about the nicest people I’ve ever met. The most kind hearted and honest. I pray all the best for you. I hope you will go on to get married and have a lot of children. One big happy family. And that all your endeavors will be forever blessed. That’s all I can ask for.”
India was choked up, and could barely get the words out. “Tha… thank you, Fitzgerald.” She kissed him on the cheek. “We wish the best…” She looked at Marie, and the three little innocent faces of his girls “…for all your family, too.”
***
It was the last day of their vacation, and Xavier and India decided to lunch at the beautiful open air restaurant for the last time. They’d decided to really splurge and order a massive feast, with plenty of dishes to share between them. A jerk burger was their first choice, and they chose a tropical smoothie, beef patties, curried chicken and rice, callalloo, yam with stewed saltfish, plus the hottest pepper sauce known to man. India liked it more than Xavier, spearing bits of chicken on her fork and dipping it in the bright red sauce. It burned her mouth out but somehow it made her feel more alive than ever. In any case, they’d ordered soursop ice cream to finish, about the coolest, creamiest choice that would soothe a flaming tongue. Xavier had also ordered a plate of what the waiter said was a traditional party treat, prunes stuffed with peanut butter and speared through with toothpicks.
“So, another mystery solved,” Xavier said. “You were brilliant. And how on earth did you get out of that water?”
India felt her heart sinking, then remembered there were no
longer any secrets. Exhilarated, she said, “You know when I disappeared? That lady, Mama Josephine, made some protective thing for me.” It had actually fallen out of her dress in the water, so she couldn’t show him. “And it was like magic, no, it was magic, the way I got pushed out of the sea. Literally, pushed.”
Xavier shook his head, smiling. “It’s still so hard for me to get my head around this. But one day I will, I’m sure. I wonder if I’ll ever be able to do magic, too.”
India shrugged. “I doubt. I think my powers will have been stripped by now.”
“You think?” he said, incredulous. “You mean, you haven’t tried?”
“Nope.” She was too scared to. It would feel too final. “I will. But if you have any questions about the whole thing, just ask any time. I want you to know as much as possible.”
Xavier was eating a beef patty, but he looked into her eyes and put it down. “I do have a question.”
“Shoot.”
“But it’s not about the magic stuff. It’s something else.”
India laughed. “Go ahead, doofus.”
He stuck out his tongue at her in the silly way they did to each other sometimes. “You sure I can ask? Anything at all? I’ve been wanting to ask this for ages.”
“Of course!”
“Well, all right.” Xavier got up, casting a quick glance around, then looking back at her. Then he put his hand in his pocket and went down on one knee. “India Kirby, will you do me the honor of being my wife? Will you marry me?”
India grinned from ear to ear and jumped out of her seat. “Yes! Yes!” He got up and she flung her arms around him and squeezed tight. Once they’d parted, both their eyes wet, Xavier opened the box and slid the ring onto her finger. It was exquisite. India had never liked the idea of a plain diamond ring. This was something else entirely. Ironically, it was perfect for a witch. An enormous square opal, shimmering in the Caribbean light, graced the center. It was surrounded on all sides with a frame of diamonds, and the band was rose gold and thick.
“Oh my goodness,” India said. “It’s perfect.”
Everyone in the restaurant was standing and clapping. Xavier leaned into her and whispered in her ear. “Now, I want to know if I’m marrying a witch or a regular woman.” She could tell he was grinning.
“All right, wait right there,” she said, already hurrying toward a tiny grotto surrounded by trees. That’s where they’d taken their pre lunch drinks, and it was gorgeously private and secluded. She closed her eyes and pictured a long black dress with beautiful lace detailing, and focused her energy in on making the idea materialize. And sure enough, when she opened her eyes, she had it on. And further to that, some fashion forward round black shades had appeared, covering her eyes. She gasped, her heart rate quickening. So her magical powers hadn’t disappeared after all! If anything, they seemed to have become stronger.
Looks like there’s more to this than either of us knew, she heard from Luis. Ready for the next chapter, mami?
By then she was already striding into the restaurant, feeling like a million dollars. She looked at Xavier, her wonderful fiancé, and he winked at her. She sent back to Luis, You bet.
The End
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The India Kirby Witch Mystery Series
Dying to be a Star
Dying to be Married
Dying to Break Free
Dying for a Vacation
