Death in a Beach Chair (19 page)

“That’s entirely possible,” Jerry agreed.

“Allison must have really hated you,” Rose spoke up. “To want to kill your wife and then have the murder blamed on you.”

Jerry looked over at her. “You know, she really must have. And I never had any idea. None at all.”

THIRTY-FOUR

“Well, I’m surprised to find you three alone. I thought you’d be the center of attention after solving the murder.”

Susan, Jed, and Jerry opened their eyes and realized Kathleen was back.

Jerry jumped up to give his wife a warm greeting. “Kath, I can’t tell you how good it is to see you,” he said, embracing her.

She smiled up at him. “It’s good to be back. New York is freezing.”

“Did you see the kids?” he asked.

“No, your dad took them to the movies while I was there. I wanted to look around the house, but I didn’t want to upset them by popping in and then leaving immediately. As far as they know, I’ve been here the entire time.

“Your mother was sweet. Even solved a small mystery for me,” she added, smiling. “Why didn’t you tell me you can’t swim?”

“What? Jerry swims. I’ve seen him in the water at the club hundreds of times,” Susan protested.

“That’s what I said to her,” Kathleen admitted. “But his mother explained that Jerry never learned to swim. Some sort of inner ear problem when he was a kid. We’ve all seen him in the pool at the Field Club—standing in the water helping out the kids. That’s not swimming.”

“Caught,” he admitted. “I’ve always been embarrassed about it. Everyone we know swims.”

“So that’s why you wouldn’t go out in the kayak with Kathleen!” Susan said.

“True. That’s an awfully big ocean to someone who doesn’t really feel comfortable in the water. Sorry to disappoint you,” he added, pulling Kathleen closer to him. “I should have told you before we got here.”

“Jerry, I’m not disappointed. I don’t care if you swim or not. I just didn’t understand your reluctance to do things. If only you had explained.” She sat down on the lounge her husband had just vacated. “So why are you three all alone?”

“If you had been here an hour ago, you would have found us surrounded,” Jed said. “Everyone wanted to know what Susan had discovered and how she did it.”

“So where are they now?”

Susan chuckled. “Lila decided it was time for the Miss Marple hour to come to a close. She announced a complimentary cocktail party for guests. I was abandoned in minutes. They’re all down on the beach gorging on crab canapés and rum punch like there’s no tomorrow.”

“For one of them, that just might be true,” Kathleen said.

“Who?” Jed asked, immediately concerned.

“Randy, Veronica’s husband. They’re an odd couple: She’s drinking big-time, and he’s abstaining but trying to hide it. Susan and I decided she was probably an alcoholic and he was the world’s greatest enabler.”

“And you found out something else?” Susan asked.

“He’s seriously ill and his medication means that he can’t drink. I traveled back from the States with a doctor, a very indiscreet doctor, who is treating Randy down here with medications that haven’t yet been approved for use in the States.”

“That’s sad,” Jerry said.

“Everyone here has their own story,” Susan said. “I’ve been thinking so much about Jerry and June and Allison that I guess I haven’t really gotten to know anyone else.”

“You know what I’ve been wondering? I’ve been wondering how Allison knew what Kathleen looked like,” Jed said.

“My fault,” Jerry admitted. “Like the proud husband and father that I am, I showed Allison photos of my family when we met for lunch in the city. I made everything pretty easy for her, when you think about it.”

“You’re not at fault here,” Susan said. “You have absolutely nothing to feel guilty about.”

“She’s right. You can’t blame yourself for any of this,” Jed added.

“Unless you suspected that Allison had something to do with the accident that killed June and the kids?” Kathleen asked gently.

Jerry looked over at her and frowned. “I had been thinking about that recently. When we met in the city, Allison said something weird. She said that sometimes some people deserved to die. It came at me out of left field, and I began to wonder how much she hated June and the kids.”

“That’s why you had their photos out,” Kathleen guessed.

“Yes, I was looking for a photo of all four of them.”

“Did you find one?” Susan asked.

“Lots, but they didn’t tell me anything. I kept wondering, though—”

“So did I,” Kathleen interrupted. “So yesterday I had some old friends from the department in the city bring up some files. June and the girls were killed in an accident. Your insurance company did everything possible to get out of paying out on those policies. They impounded the car, hoping to find something wrong with it that might limit their liability, but they couldn’t come up with anything. Nothing mechanical and no one had sabotaged the vehicle. It was a terrible tragic accident and that’s all it was.”

Jerry broke the silence that followed her explanation. “You know what? I think crab canapés and rum punch sound like just the thing to cheer us up.”

“And a nice way to begin our very short, but very romantic Caribbean vacation,” Kathleen agreed, getting up and taking his hand.

“You two head on down to the beach,” Jed said. “We’ll join you shortly. Just don’t drink up all the rum,” he called out as they strolled away. “Thank God you figured out who killed Allison,” he said, turning to his wife. “Now we can all relax.”

“Hmm.” Susan reached out and pushed a lock of hair off his forehead. “You know what question we haven’t answered yet?” she asked, smiling at her husband.

“No, what?” He smiled back.

“What is it about the Caribbean that makes everyone feel so sexy?”

COMPASS BAY RUM PUNCH

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

3 tablespoons fresh orange juice

3 tablespoons unsweetened canned pineapple juice

2 teaspoons Mount Gay rum

2 teaspoons amaretto

1 tablespoon Myers’s or other brand dark rum

a splash of grenadine for color

1 maraschino cherry

Combine all ingredients and pour over ice. Drop maraschino cherry in glass and enjoy. Makes one drink.

By Valerie Wolzien

Published by The Random House Publishing Group

Susan Henshaw mysteries:

MURDER AT THE PTA LUNCHEON

THE FORTIETH BIRTHDAY BODY

WE WISH YOU A MERRY MURDER

AN OLD FAITHFUL MURDER

ALL HALLOWS’ EVIL

A STAR-SPANGLED MURDER

A GOOD YEAR FOR A CORPSE

’TIS THE SEASON TO BE MURDERED

REMODELED TO DEATH

ELECTED FOR DEATH

WEDDINGS ARE MURDER

THE STUDENT BODY

DEATH AT A DISCOUNT

AN ANNIVERSARY TO DIE FOR

DEATH IN A BEACH CHAIR

Josie Pigeon mysteries:

SHORE TO DIE

PERMIT FOR MURDER

DECK THE HALLS WITH MURDER

THIS OLD MURDER

MURDER IN THE FORECAST

A FASHIONABLE MURDER

Praise for
Valerie Wolzien
and her novels

“Valerie Wolzien is a consummate crime writer. Her heroines sparkle as they sift through clues and stir up evidence in the darker, deadly side of suburbia.”

—M
ARY
D
AHEIM

“Wit is Wolzien’s strong suit. . . . Her portrayal of small-town life will prompt those of us in similar situations to agree that we too have been there and done that.”

—
The Mystery Review

“Domestic mysteries, with their emphasis on everyday people and everyday events, are very popular and the Susan Henshaw stories are some
of the best in this subgenre.”

—
Romantic Times

A Fawcett Book

Published by The Random House Publishing Group

Copyright © 2004 by Valerie Wolzien

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. Published in the United States by The Random House Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York, and simultaneously in Canada by Random House of Canada Limited, Toronto.

Fawcett is a registered trademark and the Fawcett colophon is a trademark of Random House, Inc.

Death in a Beach Chair
is a work of fiction. Names, places, and incidents are either a product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

www.ballantinebooks.com

ISBN-13: 9-780-34547-2-236

ISBN-10: 0-345-47223-3

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