Marty Ambrose - Mango Bay 02 - Island Intrigue (14 page)

Madame Geri studied it. “It’s a deceiver.”

“A what?”

“A deceiver. Tubing along the shank with side wings.
Yup, it’s a deceiver, all right.”

“I take it a deceiver is a kind of fishing fly,” I said
with some asperity.

She nodded. “A very special kind of fly. It’s made to
appear like live bait to fool larger fish”

“Oh, I get it now. It `deceives’ the fish into thinking
it’s alive.” I turned it over in my palm. “Is it handmade?
I mean, could Tom have made it?”

“Not unless he was a skilled fly maker. This particular one took a lot of time and effort-it’s handcrafted
with real feathers. Most of the men on this island make
flies, but just your basic designs.”

Cautious, I narrowed my eyes. “How do you know
all this?”

“My father was a fisherman”

“Oh.” Who’d’ve thunk it? “So someone might’ve given
him this fly … someone who knew how to make such an
elaborate one?”

“That would be my guess.”

I stroked the white and chartreuse feathers, careful to
avoid the hook. “Who would know how to make a lure
like this?”

She shrugged. “Someone who’s spent a lifetime learning the craft. A master fly builder.”

“Can you contact the spirit world for a name and
telephone number?”

Madame Geri’s eyes narrowed. “It isn’t good karma
to joke about the next world”

“I don’t take this world seriously, so why should I
take the next one as anything more than a joke?”

She smiled. “Life has a lot of lessons for you. Not all
of them are going to be to your liking.” Without another
word, she tottered toward Rusty.

I was left with the deceiver in my palm and not a
snappy comeback in sight. Wouldn’t you know?

Half an hour later, we pulled up to the Seafood Shanty.
I needed food, and I wanted to follow up on Pete’s tip that
I talk to his wife, Nora. If Sally Jo had been having an affair, Nora would know. As a waitress at the Shanty, she
had a pipeline to every dirty little secret on Coral Island
and then some. And I wanted to question Jake Fowler if
he were there.

I accepted the futility of trying to dump Madame
Geri and simply escorted her inside. Marley remained
in the truck again, thank goodness.

“Hey, Mallie, how’s it going?” Nora waved me over
to a small table in the back of the large dining room. The Seafood Shanty boasted a nautical decor, complete
with fishing nets draped across the ceiling and anchors
hanging on the wall behind the bar. The owners had
tried to attract a higher class of tourist clientele by painting FAMILY RESTAURANT on the outside, but the place
was still largely home to fishermen and bikers.

Today it was almost deserted, except for a few fishermen huddled around a table in the back of the room.
Bingo. I spied Jake Fowler’s crew cut and harsh features.

Nora hugged me. She looked great. Her previously
brassy blond hair had grown out to its normal shade of
chestnut, and her skin glowed. When I pulled back, her
gaze moved toward my companion. Her eyes widened.
“Madame Geri, so nice to see you.”

My psychic companion inclined her head.

Nora pulled out a chair for Madame Geri, and she
settled into it, folding her hands with almost regal composure. She was a queen all right-a monarch of mystic mumbo jumbo.

“What can I get for you?” Nora handed us menus.

We each ordered one of the few edible items: a
cheeseburger with fries. I didn’t even have time to request coffee before Nora grabbed the menus, saying,
“I’ll put on a new pot for you”

I smiled in gratitude.

Nora reappeared in no time with our drinks. As she
set a steaming cup of java in front of me, my mood improved tenfold.

“Here’s your coffee, Madame Geri. I brought some
fresh milk and two packets of sugar. I know how you
like yours extra sweet” Nora acted as if she were serving a celebrity. Jeez.

“That’s just fine. Thanks.” Madame Geri stirred in
the milk and sugar, then took a sip and scanned Nora.
“When are you due?”

Nora’s mouth dropped open. “How did you know?
We haven’t told anyone-“

Madame Geri smiled.

“Due? What do you mean?” I looked from one to the
other. “Are you-“

“Pregnant” Nora nodded with a soft curve to her
lips. “Just found out two days ago. I’m due in July.”

Madame Geri touched Nora’s stomach. “You want to
know if it’s a boy or girl?”

“Nope. We want to be surprised.”

“I don’t blame you” She removed her hand. “The
baby’s healthy … that’s the important thing.”

“It sure is.”

I listened with bewilderment. What the heck was
going on?

“Being on your feet all day might be a strain during
the pregnancy,” Madame Geri pointed out.

“That’s what Pete and I thought. I got my GED. a
few weeks ago, so I’m going to work in the marina office as a bookkeeper. I always was good with figures.”

“That’s great, Nora” I finally found my voice.

She beamed. “I’ll be back with your order in two
shakes” As she moved away, I noticed a perky lilt to
her step.

“Okay-dish” I placed my palms on the table. “Who
told you about the pregnancy?”

“The baby, of course”

“The baby?” I laughed.

“He spoke to me the minute we arrived. Told me how
happy he will be to have parents like Nora and Pete. I
think he’s very lucky.” She placed a finger to her lips.
“Don’t breathe a word that I let slip it’s a boy.”

My chin dropped to my chest. “I give up. You should
win an Academy Award,” I mumbled, half to myself.

We drank our coffee in silence.

In a short time Nora served our lunches. My mouth
watered at the sight of my charbroiled cheeseburger. The
Seafood Shanty was a tad on the dingy side, but their
burgers were second to none. Madame Geri gave a gracious nod for her similar repast.

“Nora, can you spare us a few minutes?” I settled the
paper towel, which passed for a napkin, on my lap.

“Sure, honey” She set her tray on a nearby empty
table. “We’re hardly going gangbusters today.” She
seated herself between Madame Geri and me.

I took a bite of my cheeseburger and swallowed in
delight. “You probably heard about Tom Crawford.”

Nora’s face stilled and grew serious. “Yeah. What a
cryin’ shame.”

“I talked with Detective Billie this morning and …
well, do you know anyone who might have had a grudge
against Tom?” I poured ketchup over my fries.

Nora’s mouth tightened. “Frank King.”

“Who’s he?” I immediately pulled my notepad out of
my canvas bag.

“A no-good, wife-stealing jerk” Nora’s mouth drew
into a tight line.

I dug out my pen, downing a few fries on the way.
“Could you be more specific?”

“He’s a local fisherman who started hitting on Sally
Jo the moment she and Tom separated. I swear, that man
was like a shark circling its prey … just waiting for the
right moment to make his move. And with Sally Jo being so vulnerable . . ” She waved a hand in disgust.

“Were they having an affair?”

“Can’t say for sure, but if I had to give an opinion, it
would be yes.”

“You think Frank was in love with Sally Jo?” I picked
up my cheeseburger and took a few more bites.

“Dunno. But he sure was taken with her. Always has
been. They were high school sweethearts, but she broke
up with him when she started going out with Tom.”

I paused midbite, remembering Sam’s words: “Lust
might be motivation for murder.”

Nora turned to Madame Geri, who’d been quietly
consuming her lunch, and asked, “What do you think?”

“Unclear. The spirits haven’t passed anything on to me yet.” She glanced at me. “I’ll let you know when they
do”

“Thanks. I, for one, will be waiting with bated breath,”
I said dryly, then turned to Nora. “Where can I find
Frank? I’d like to talk to him.”

“He runs the Fish and Bait Shoppe next to the Trade
Winds Marina. He’s usually there every day”

“Thanks” I reached into my canvas bag and pulled
out the fishing fly. “Hey, since Pete is a fisherman, could
you tell me on the QT if you’ve seen something like this
before?”

“Nice deceiver.” She let out a low whistle of appreciation. “Looks handmade and first rate”

“You know who could’ve made it?”

“Lots of guys on the island make flies.” She touched
the feathers. “But only one person I know has the skill
to make a deceiver like this-Frank King.”

“You don’t say.” I wrapped the fishing fly in a napkin
and placed it back in my canvas bag. “Do you think Tom
would’ve let Frank come aboard his boat under any circumstances?” I offered Nora some French fries, hoping
she wouldn’t ask me to reveal any details about Tom’s
death.

“Sure. They were friends … worked on the shrimp
boats together.” Nora helped herself to a couple of fries.

“What about Jake Fowler? Would Tom have let him
aboard?”

“Jake?” Her eyebrows arched. “No way. They hated
each other.”

“And I take it Tom didn’t know that Frank might’ve
been seeing Sally Jo on the side.”

“You got it.” She nodded with a knowing smile. “Tom
was totally in the dark about that. But you know menthey’re clueless”

“Tell me about it.” I rolled my eyes.

“Like a certain tall, dark, and handsome detective?”
Nora’s eyes sparkled with deliberate intent. “What do
you think, Madame Geri? Would Mallie and Nick Billie make a good couple? Let’s see. Mallie Billie? Nah”

“Nora .. ” I warned. The last thing I needed was the
island’s freelance psychic assessing my love life-or
lack thereof. “How ‘bout the check?” I reached into my
canvas bag for my wallet.

“It’s on the house”

“What?”

“My boss would never let Madame Geri pay for her
own lunch. Her predictions saved him a ton of money
last year when she told him to have the plumbing
checked at his house. Turns out all the pipes were corroded and ready to burst. He would’ve had a lot of water damage if he hadn’t listened to her.” Nora moved off
toward the kitchen.

I glanced at Madame Geri. She nodded, a selfsatisfied expression on her face. This was her territory,
and she knew it. Everybody trusted her. I was still the
outsider, looked upon with suspicion and caution.

Drat her anyway. “I’ll be right back.” I grabbed my
Official Reporter’s Notepad and strolled toward the table in the back. Two grizzled fishermen eyed me; one tapped
Jake on the shoulder and gestured in my direction. Jake
leveled a scowl at me.

I cleared my throat. “Mr. Fowler, could I speak to you
for a few minutes? We met at the elementary sch-“

“I remember,” he interrupted. His dark eyes raked
over me. “Whaddya want?”

“You’ve heard about Tom Crawford’s death?” I assumed my “reporter’s voice”-learned by imitating
television news anchors.

He gave a quick jerk of his head.

“Do you have any comments for the Observer? I
heard that the two of you were once business partners”

His hands balled into fists. “I got nothing to say.”

I swallowed hard, trying to remember my Tae Kwon
Do training in case those large fists came in my direction.
“Were you still angry with him about your bankruptcy?”

“Who told you that?” he demanded.

“Just heard it around.”

His features kindled in anger. “I didn’t hurt him, if
that’s what you’re getting at.”

I met his glance squarely. “I never said that.”

Jake lurched to his feet. “I’m not telling you nothing
else.”

I tensed, my breath catching in my throat. He topped
me by a good six inches and had a beefy build. But I
stood my ground, in spite of my shaking knees. “I’d be
happy to talk to you later-“

“Get outta of my way,” he grated out as he pushed
past me, knocking over a chair.

The other men at the table trooped out silently.

I exhaled, and the tension slowly drained out of my
body, causing my knees to shake in reaction. Somehow
I managed to stumble back to my table, where Madame
Geri and Marley waited.

“That went rather well, don’t you think?” I said.

“Like a lead balloon,” she quipped.

I didn’t dare sit down because I wasn’t sure I could
get back up again. “Let’s hit the road”

I drove back to the Observer office, turned Madame
Geri and Marley over to her son, and dashed off my
story about Kevin’s rescue and his dad’s suspicious death.
Reading it over once, I placed a hard copy on Anita’s
desk. True to form, she immediately attacked it with
her red pen.

So it wasn’t great. I’d made the deadline.

As reaction from the day’s events set in, I suddenly felt
worn out, weary. I needed the comfort of my Airstream
and time to gather my scattered wits. Waving good-bye to
Sandy, I headed for the Twin Palms at Mango Bay.

As I approached my site, I noticed the Wanderlodge
still parked next to me in all its glory. But the rental car
was gone, so I assumed the mystery RV’ers were exploring the island.

Aha. My big chance to snoop around. I hopped out of
my truck and tiptoed toward the front of the gigantic RV. Curtains were drawn around the front windows, but
I tried to peer inside anyway. I couldn’t make out anything. Moving around to the side, I checked the windows
under the awning. One shade was pulled up slightly.

Rubbing my hands with glee, I craned my neck to
bring my eyes level with the open area. Wow. The interior was incredible. A white leather sectional sofa, plush
white carpet throughout, and real wood cabinets with
lights overhead.

Whoever lived in this mammoth vehicle had money
coming out the wazoo.

“Is there a problem, Mallie?”

I whirled around. It was Pop Pop Welch, the Twin
Palms’ wizened maintenance man. “Uh, no. Well …
I’m not sure. I thought I … uh … smelled gas or something.”

“A leak in the line?” He drew closer and sniffed.

“Possibly” I swallowed hard. It sounded lame, even
to me.

“I’ll call Wanda Sue and have it checked out” His
wrinkled hands reached for the two-way radio on his belt.