06 Suspects and Surprises (5 page)

“He let the balcony do his work for him,” Mary said. She cringed. “Which also gives the killer a clear cover for the murder, because it sure does look like the only possibility is an accident due to a weak railing.”

“Who in the world would go to this much trouble?” Suzie asked with disbelief. “We still don't know how the killer lured Warren out here, or why.”

“No, we don't,” Mary agreed. “But we do suspect that he was lured. So, someone likely waited until he thought we would all be asleep. He wanted this done at a time that no one could possibly stop it, or catch him.”

“If I wasn't awake, it might have taken me even longer to get out there,” Suzie said grimly.

“What about our other guest?” Mary asked. “Do you think we should check on him?”

“I think if he slept through the sirens and the commotion then he deserves a good night’s sleep,” Suzie said with a sigh. “I'll explain everything to him in the morning.”

“It is the morning,” Mary pointed out as she looked out over the water. The colors of the sunrise were spilling out across the calm slate of the water. It seemed as if the waves had hushed in reverence to the transition from night into day.

“It's beautiful,” Suzie said solemnly as Mary came to stand beside her. Even though something horrible had happened just a little while before, the view from Dune House was still too stunning for words.

“Maybe we should try to get a little rest,” Mary suggested.

“Not yet,” Suzie said. “I want to make sure that I've scoured every inch of this balcony first.”

“Okay,” Mary nodded and swept her gaze over the balcony. “There isn't much to see though.”

“We must be missing something,” Suzie said under her breath.

Suzie crouched down and studied the floorboards of the balcony. She could see where there was some scuffing from shoes, but there was no actual damage to the wood. She knew that the balcony was in very good shape. She wasn't sure what she was looking for. She was hoping that there might be some hint of what happened carved into the wood. As she neared the edge of the balcony the only thing she noticed were some pistachio shells. She narrowed her eyes at the sight of them.

“Well, that's a little odd,” Suzie said to herself.

“What is?” Mary asked when she overheard her comment.

“There are pistachio shells over here,” Suzie explained and picked one up. It looked fresh enough to have been tossed in the last few days, but Warren was the only one she had rented that room to, and that was only because of the antiques that she had decorated the room with.

“So, he was snacking?” Mary asked with a frown. “Maybe he had them earlier, but if he had them just before he fell off the balcony I guess that throws a wrench in our theory about him being frightened.”

“It doesn't make sense,” Suzie agreed and dropped the pistachio shell. “I don't know, Mary, maybe we're thinking about this all wrong. What if he knew that there would be someone outside?”

“Like a meeting he had planned with someone?” Mary suggested.

“Sure. Maybe he had set an alarm to wake up at a certain time. He didn't turn the light on, because he didn't want to alert any of us that he was awake. Then he went out on the balcony to wait, with his pistachios,” she shrugged.

“I don't know, if he had a meeting, why would he be on the balcony?” Mary pointed out. “Why wouldn't he have met them downstairs where he could have spoken to them more directly?”

“Who knows,” Suzie sighed. “I don't think this investigation is getting us anywhere.”

“Let's take another look inside,” Mary suggested. “There still might be something we're not thinking about.”

“Okay,” Suzie nodded, but her shoulders had slumped with defeat. She didn't want to admit it out loud but she could see why Jason had found it hard to believe that this death wasn't an accident. Everything about the scene pointed to an accident. Maybe it was just an accident after all and she just didn’t want to admit that they had a faulty railing. Suzie tried to push that thought from her mind, probably because she simply didn’t want to believe it.

Suzie stepped back into the room with Mary just behind her. When she slid the door shut, she noticed a strange spattering of marks on the glass. The morning sunlight filtering through the glass made it very easy to see. They didn't look like fingerprints.

“I wonder what caused this,” Suzie said as she studied the marks. “I know they weren't here before Warren checked in. I did a thorough cleaning.”

“Sometimes you can't get all of the smudges,” Mary pointed out. “Sunlight can be very unforgiving.”

“I guess that you're right,” Suzie nodded. She ducked down to look under the bed again. Then she picked up a few of the pillows to see if there was anything hidden underneath. She found nothing unusual. She picked up the trashcan which only had a few papers in it. One was a receipt from a restaurant on the way to Dune House. Suzie remembered that he had said he ate on the road. Another paper was a scribble of what looked like one of the antique vases that lined the shelving. The last piece of paper was crumpled up. Suzie thought it might be very important. If he had taken the time to wad it up into a ball he probably didn't want anyone easily seeing what was written on it.

“I think we've got something, Mary,” Suzie said. She carefully unfolded the paper.

“Oh yes, you have something all right,” Mary gulped out and cringed at the sight of the used chewing gum that Suzie had unveiled.

“Gross,” Suzie cringed and wadded the paper back up. “That's it then,” she said with a huff. “There's nothing. There's not even a bag of leftover pistachios around here.”

“We should have a look around down below the balcony, too,” Mary suggested.

“Good idea,” Suzie nodded. She walked back across the room to lock the doors that led to the balcony. She didn't want there to be any chance of anyone else getting hurt. When she turned back to leave the room, she saw the mirror positioned on the bed across from the sliding glass doors. In the mirror she could see the sun rising, the water glistening, and the balcony railing swinging. Her heart skipped a beat as she wondered just for a second if somehow Warren's death really was her fault. As she stared through the mirror she noticed the smudges on the glass door again. She was certain they hadn't been there when Warren checked in. With a shake of her head she left the room. She locked the door behind her.

“Are you okay?” Mary asked when Suzie joined her in the hallway.

“I don't think I will be until we find out what happened,” Suzie admitted. She felt a heavy weight on her shoulders. She knew that she still had a birthday party to plan. Benjamin and Catherine would still be flying in, and they would expect to be able to celebrate with their mother. Suzie had to find a way to juggle everything, and she still wanted it to be a surprise for Mary. As they walked down the stairs to the lobby, Suzie noticed John standing by the front desk. He looked a little uncomfortable. Suzie assumed he had seen some of what happened.

“Sorry for all of the commotion,” Suzie said sadly as she walked over to the desk.

“I'll make some coffee,” Mary offered and headed for the kitchen. Suzie was sure that she was going to need some to get through the rest of the day.

“What happened?” John asked. “I woke up and saw a bunch of police cars driving off. Was there a break-in?”

“Not exactly,” Suzie stared at him for a moment. She had no idea what to tell him. A man had died. She considered it murder, the police considered it an accident, but John was looking at her expectantly as he waited for an explanation. “To be honest we're not exactly sure what happened yet,” Suzie said finally. She expected that John would question her further, but he only nodded.

“Well, I need to head off today, so I just wanted to check-out,” he explained. Suzie pulled up the billing program on the computer.

“Of course. There is nothing outstanding as you paid already for the room and didn’t have any meals.”

“Great,” he nodded and handed her the key.

“Thank you for staying with us, John. I hope that you will consider Dune House as an option for future travel.”

“I will,” he nodded a little. Then he turned and hurried out the door. Suzie watched him leave. She thought he was a little odd, but then she was used to many of her guests being unique.

“Coffee,” Mary said as she walked into the lobby with two cups.

“Excellent,” Suzie said and took the coffee mug from her. “Thank you.”

“Did the other guest leave?” she asked as she leaned against the desk and took a sip of her coffee.

“Yes,” Suzie said with a frown. “I don't think he heard anything that happened, he just saw the police cars as they were leaving.”

“Suzie, I know you don't want to think about it, but news of this death is going to get around Garber really fast,” Mary said hesitantly. “I hate to say it, but we might have to think about how we are going to counter the rumors. It's not going to look too good for Dune House if people are talking about a fatal accident.”

“I know,” Suzie admitted grimly. “I was hoping to prove that it wasn't an accident, but it looks like that will be much harder than I initially thought. All we can do at this point is hope our good reputation will stand up against the gossip.”

“Too bad we haven't even been open a year,” Mary pointed out. “We don't even know everyone in town all that well. Don't you think they will be quick to blame this on us?”

“I'm sure they will be,” Suzie set down her coffee mug. “But we can't control what people say. All we can do is try our best to find out the truth. I can't worry about business when there's a man who has lost his life, with no one looking for his murderer.”

“No one but us,” Mary pointed out. “Maybe I'll try giving Wes a call. I could see if he would check out that car you mentioned. If Jason won't do it, or can't, then maybe Wes will.”

“You wouldn't mind calling him?” Suzie asked. “After the way that he treated you last night?”

“I had a little time to cool down,” Mary admitted. “I really think that maybe I was being a little too sensitive about things.”

“Birthdays can do that to people,” Suzie reminded her. “But I don't think that you were out of line for how you felt. He left you in the middle of dinner, and didn't even bother to drive you home himself. I was so mad that I…” she stopped suddenly.

“That you what?” Mary demanded as she met Suzie's eyes. “Suzie, what did you do?”

“Nothing too serious,” Suzie said with a grimace. “It's not like I egged his car or anything. I just called him to give him a piece of my mind.”

“Suzie, you didn't!” Mary gasped, horrified by the idea.

“Well, no I didn't,” Suzie frowned. “I was sent to voicemail.”

Mary sighed with relief. “Suzie, I know that you're only trying to help me, but I really don't want you getting in the middle of this. What is between Wes and me is between Wes and me. Okay?”

Suzie frowned. “I don't know if I can promise that Mary. I just don’t want him to hurt you.”

“I can take care of myself, Suzie,” Mary stated.

“Of course you can,” Suzie blushed. “I just get so angry when someone does something to hurt you, Mary. You mean the world to me, and you're always doing things for others. I just want to see your kindness rewarded, not taken advantage of.”

“I understand, Suzie,” Mary smiled warmly. “But you have to remember, I'm a big girl. I can take care of myself. I would like to be able to handle this on my own. So promise me that you will stay out of it, please?”

Suzie grumbled a little. She stalled by taking a sip of her coffee. The last thing that she wanted to do was agree to what Mary was asking. Suzie wanted to protect Mary if she felt the need to. But Mary continued to stare straight at her, offering her no option to get out of the promise.

“Fine,” Suzie finally agreed reluctantly. “I will stay out of it, unless you say otherwise.”

“Thank you, Suzie,” Mary said. She leaned across the desk and hugged her friend. “I'll go call Wes,” she said as she headed off to her room. Suzie was still in her robe. She knew she needed to get dressed. Her mind was spinning as she walked towards her room. She had no idea how to explain Warren's death, she simply knew that it wasn't an accident. She set her coffee mug down on her bedside table and walked over to her closet to pull out some clothes. While she was dressing she remembered that she was supposed to meet Paul for dinner that night. Once dressed she sat down on the edge of her bed and picked up her phone. If he didn't know about the death yet, he would know soon enough. She wanted him to hear it from her first. She could only hope that he wouldn't share Jason's opinion. He answered on the third ring.

“Hello?” he asked with a bit of heaviness in his voice. Suzie realized it was still quite early and he had likely been sleeping.

“Sorry to wake you,” Suzie said softly.

“Don't be sorry, your voice is the best sound I could wake up to,” Paul said warmly. Suzie smiled a little despite her worry.

“A guest died here early this morning,” Suzie said quickly. There was no easy way to break the news.

“Huh? Wow,” he said. “How did that happen? A medical issue?”

“No,” Suzie frowned. “He was killed.”

“Killed?” Paul nearly roared. “Where are you? Did they catch the killer?”

“I'm at home, at Dune House,” Suzie explained. “No one is even looking for the killer. Jason believes that it was an accident.”

“Maybe you could start from the beginning and explain all of this to me?” Paul asked. “I know you must be upset.”

“I am,” Suzie admitted and began to tear up. “I talked with the man last night, he was very nice. I had no idea that something like this would have happened.”

“How could you know?” Paul asked grimly.

“Early this morning, before the sun came up, I heard a scream. The guest, Warren, had fallen from the balcony on the third floor. I found him on the sand below, he was already gone,” she explained.

“So, it was an accident?” he asked with confusion.

“No,” Suzie said firmly. “There's no way it could have been an accident. The railing was secure, it wouldn't have just given way.”

Paul was silent on the other end of the phone for a moment. “Well, it's not likely,” he agreed. “Did the police find anything to indicate foul play?”

“No,” Suzie sighed. “Mary and I searched the balcony as well. The only thing suspicious was that car I told you about yesterday, remember?”

“I remember,” Paul said gravely. “I wouldn't read too much into that though, Suzie. You know that it could have just been someone having a look.”

“I know that,” Suzie said impatiently. “I also know that there is no way this was an accident.”

“Hey, slow down, Suzie,” Paul said firmly. “You don't have to convince me. I'm on your side, love, if you say it wasn't an accident, it wasn't an accident.”

Suzie smiled with relief at his words. “Thanks Paul, I needed to hear that.”

“I just hope you and Mary are careful. If there is someone on the loose that caused this man to die, then you need to be extra cautious, in case he intends to come back,” Paul pointed out.

“I don't think they'll be back,” Suzie said grimly. “We were all vulnerable last night, but Warren was obviously targeted. There's no reason why someone would go to all the trouble of attacking someone on the third floor unless they intended him to be the victim.”

“I'm sure the police will figure this out,” Paul said carefully.

“They're calling it an accident, Paul, I don't think that they'll even investigate it,” she muttered.

“Jason's a good police officer, Suzie, he'll figure it out,” he assured her. “Do you want me to come over?”

“No, that's okay,” Suzie sighed. “I'm going to do some cleaning around here and prepare some things for the party.”

“You're still having it?” he asked.

“Yes, Benjamin and Catherine already have their plane tickets, and I've already paid for the cake and catering. I don’t want to cancel it now,” she explained.

“Okay,” he agreed. “Does that mean we're still on for tonight?” he asked hopefully.

Suzie thought about it for a moment. She wasn't sure if she could enjoy a dinner date with all of this on her mind. But it would be her last chance to see Paul before he shipped out. She didn't want to miss out on that.

“Yes,” she finally said.

“Good,” he said with relief. “I can't imagine launching without getting to spend a little time with you first. I'll pick you up around five?”

“Perfect,” Suzie replied. She just hoped that she would be in a better mood by then. After hanging up the phone she took a moment to sit on the side of the bed. What had happened was a lot to process. How to deal with it, was even more difficult. She wasn't sure how she could just go on about her day. Sure, there were things to do for the party, and there were things to do to defend Dune House against potential lawsuits, but all she could think of was Warren sprawled across the sand. Her mind was stuck on how that could have happened.

She could have kicked herself for not questioning John, the guest who had just checked out, more thoroughly. Maybe he had noticed something, maybe he had heard something that could have given her a clue. Suzie doubted it, but it still would have been better if she had asked. She knew that Jason would be handling notifying the next of kin, but she wondered if anyone had notified Louis yet. She walked towards the kitchen. Mary was leaning against the counter, staring aimlessly at a bagel that had popped up out of the toaster.

“Did you talk to Wes?” Suzie asked as she plucked the bagel out of the toaster. “Butter or cream cheese?” she asked.

“Jelly,” Mary replied, still in a bit of a daze.

“Jelly, are you sure?” Suzie asked with surprise. “You never want jelly on your bagel.”

“I'm trying out something new,” Mary explained and then blinked a few times. “Yes, I spoke with Wes,” she added.

“How did that go?” Suzie asked and cast a sidelong glance in her direction.

“Well, let's just say that he was very apologetic,” Mary replied with a grimace. “I just don't think he realized how rude it was to run out on me like that. Of course he didn't really explain why he took off.”

“At least he is aware of the error of his ways,” Suzie pointed out. She spread a healthy helping of grape jelly across each side of the toasted bagel.

“Yes, that's true,” Mary nodded. “When I told him what happened, he was pretty upset.”

“Did he believe you when you told him that it wasn't an accident?” Suzie asked. “That's the important question.”

“I don't know to be honest,” Mary sighed. “I kept insisting that the railing was sound, and he kept insisting that if it wasn't, the fault should be placed on the company that we hired to update the balconies.”

“So, he just talked around it,” Suzie asked with a grim frown. “I didn't expect much different from him.”

“Well, it doesn't matter what he, or Jason thinks, we know the truth, Suzie,” Mary said firmly.

“Here’s your bagel,” Suzie said and handed her the plate. “Did you mention the car that I saw to Wes?”

“Thank you,” Mary said with a warm smile. “I did mention it to him. He said that he would look into it, but just a color and description isn't much to go on.”

“Great,” Suzie sighed. “Well, at least he is going to look into it. I think I'm going to call Louis and see if anyone has contacted him about this.”

“About what?” Louis said from the front door. Suzie realized she had left the exterior door open when she came back inside.

“Louis,” Suzie said, her heart pounding faster.

“Is Warren up yet?” he asked. “I was going to take him to breakfast. No offense against your cooking, Mary, I just thought it would be a courteous thing to do.”

Mary grimaced and set down her plate. “I don't think that is going to be possible, Louis,” she said gingerly.

Suzie braced herself. She walked towards Louis, who looked a little confused. “Unfortunately, Louis, Warren died early this morning,” she said matter-of-factly. She believed in ripping the band-aid off quickly, especially when it came to news like this.

“What?” Louis' eyes widened. “Are you playing some kind of prank on me?”

“No, Louis,” Mary said in a soothing tone. “We're telling you the truth. Warren died early this morning, his body is at the medical examiner's office.”

“What? Why?” Louis asked and grasped the kitchen counter to hold himself up. He had gone very pale. “How did this happen?” he demanded.

“He fell from the balcony,” Suzie explained haltingly. “Well, we believe he was killed, the police believe it was an accident.”

“If I had known that it wasn't safe here…” Louis gasped out.

“Louis, please,” Mary said. “You know how careful we have been with restorations. We didn't cause this to happen.”

“You said you think he was killed, why do you think that?” Louis asked desperately.

“Because I don't believe that the railing could have given way that easily,” Suzie said with confidence. “What happened is a tragedy, but I do not believe that it was an accident.”

“Does it matter?” Louis asked in a whisper. “Whether he was killed or it was an accident, he's gone. Because of me.”

“It's certainly not because of you,” Mary said swiftly. “You couldn't have known any of this would happen.”

“But he never would have been here if it wasn't to evaluate my book,” Louis pointed out tearfully.