Murder in Aruba: An Anna Winters Cozy Mystery (Murder in Paradise Book 5) (2 page)

"How did she manage to poison four people?" Pauline asked flabbergasted. "These were four different people at four different tables. There is no rhyme or reason. You saw her. She only handled three plates and none of them died."

"That is what I don't understand," Anna sighed. "Everything that should be pointing to Cassandra doesn't. What if we're wrong about her? I mean, look at the facts this time. We did everything to set her up and catch her."

"Maybe she is smarter than we give her credit for," Pauline shrugged. "What if she knows we tried to trap her and she managed to sneak by all our means of detection. Maybe she seduced Pierre and managed to occupy him again."

"I wouldn't put it past her," Anna nodded. "We could ask Pierre, but he is so clueless. I don't see him giving her up. She has some kind of power over him that is beyond me."

"He's a man,” Pauline replied.

"In all the other cases, Cassandra had physical interaction with the poisoned item," Anna continued, ignoring her friend. "She placed the cake. She delivered the rum. She handled the ackee. She served the cou cou. It happened each time like clockwork and each victim died one by one. But this time, she didn't hand the flatbread to the victims."

"There has to be something we've missed," Pauline suggested. "Do you think she poisoned the gyro meat that was used? I mean, that would make sense, right?"

Anna shook her head. "One of the victims had the vegetarian option. Another ate the chicken."

"What about the vegetables then?" Pauline offered. "Or perhaps the yogurt dressing."

Again, Anna shook her head. "The vegetables were removed from one flatbread and the meat was doubled. Another had the yogurt dressing on the side and was never touched. It doesn't make sense."

"But somehow, she managed to do it." Pauline paused thoughtfully. "There had to have been a way for her to get the poison in the dishes. Could she have poisoned the drinks of these people?"

"She was waiting for us up to the point we left Mr. Puccio's office," Anna sighed. "There is no way she could have done that. Hopefully, the police will be able to find out what was poisoned. At this point, I can't see it being in the food at all. We'd have more victims or some kind of common thing. It is just baffling."

"Until then, we need to figure out who hired her to kill this time," Pauline said. "We also need to find out what she has over everyone's heads. Right now, she is getting away with murder because no one will reveal her as their accomplice."

"Graham Segal almost did though," Anna reminded her. "But he was so far gone mentally. I was shocked when they uncovered the bacteria infection in the brain. I sometimes wonder if he would have ever considered murder if not for her stepping in and maybe suggesting it."

"We won't ever know, unfortunately," Pauline sighed. "So where do you want to begin?"

"Well, I always find that going for a walk and clearing my head helps." Anna smiled. "Would you care to go for a walk on the beach with me?"

"I'd love to." Pauline paused. "But maybe that isn't such a good idea. I should keep my ears open as I wander the hotel. You go enjoy the beach. You never know. You may even stumble upon a killer or two."

Anna laughed. "Maybe so. Just be careful. If Cassandra figures out we're onto her, there is going to be trouble."

With that, Anna exited her friend's room and entered the hallway. With the exception of some regional photography and paintings, the Grand Palatial Hotel in Aruba was similar to many of the other locations. Red carpeting covered the floors and extravagant windows with breathtaking views filled the hallway. They were warm, open and made for an enjoyable experience.

Walking towards the elevator, Anna noticed the stairwell. She always enjoyed the chance to get some physical exercise in during the day. Pushing the door open, she took the flight of stairs down to the main level. Pushing the door open, she looked over toward the lobby.

Fancy couches were spread out and an older couple were sitting talking. The door had a uniformed officer standing by it, preventing anyone from coming or going through the main entrance. The beach was fenced off at the edge of the hotel property and police officers were standing just outside the fence. There wasn't a chance of anyone leaving the hotel or getting in.

"Do you really feel safe, darling?" A voice from behind her asked.

Anna turned and was startled to see Monica standing there with a smirk on her face.

"How did you get here?" Anna demanded. "Isn't every police office in Barbados looking for you?"

"Oh, sweetheart." Monica shook her head. "The Phantom of Barbados doesn't stay in a place where she can be caught. I am here on business though."

"What kind of business do you have in Aruba?" Anna asked. "What could anyone need from you they can't get from someone on the island?”

"A certain poison," Monica replied with a twinkle in her eye. "I didn't put it together until I looked into the murders you've been solving. As you know, I have had a client ask me to drop off a certain deadly substance at each location. Well, my dear, it turns out that your killer has been buying their poison off the greatest criminal in all of Barbados. I dropped it off months ago,I was told it was for killing cockroaches which are a problem in these warm climates and nothing legal will do the job right. I never knew it was for killing people. Despite my repuation I would not help the killing of innoncent people."

"Do you know who it is?" Anna asked. "Is it Cassandra?"

"Baby," Monica chuckled. "Do you think I would reveal my clients to you? Besides I have only dealt with an anonymous person through an encrypted website. If I knew who it was I would have stopped them myself by now. I was starting to get suspicious so I put a tiny transmitter on the bottle of poison so I could locate it again and find out who my client was. I was too late but I did find the empty posion bottle next to the hotel's vodka supply so I know the poison is mixed in with the vodka. So I've come back to Aruba and stolen all the poisoned vodka back and replaced it with plain old vodka."

"Why vodka I wonder?" Anna asked.

Monica smiled. "The burn from the liquor helps it go unnoticed in the victim's mouth. It also works as a flavor enhancer in the dish. Just a few drops is lethal. You need to ask your chef to watch for vodka being added to a soup or main course, darling. I am trying to help you out. Despite you throwing me under the bus and exposing my true identity-"

"You pistol whipped me," Anna interrupted.

"Well, you seemed to like it." Monica winked. "Besides, if I wanted you dead. Well, you'd be dead already. You've become one of my favorite play things. I like to taunt you just enough to drive you insane. Especially when you know your hands are tied when it comes to me."

"But you are an accessory to murder," Anna snapped. "You can have charges brought against you for that."

"Well, if you could prove it," Monica laughed. "But who is going to believe you? Plus, my buyer doesn't know who I am. They just leave me money. So, it's really a wash when you think about it. You should stick to making cakes. You do an acceptable job on cakes. Well, except the one that killed someone. I mean, what kind of catering professional kills people?"

"Can you leave now?" Anna asked.

"I'll be back,” Monica laughed. "We are all stuck here for now. So, if you need me I will come to you."

Monica turned and disappeared round the corner. Anna ran over to the corner and looked down the corridor, but she was gone.

Walking towards the beach, Anna wondered why Cassandra was ordering more poison. Had she missed her intended target, Anna realized the stakes had never been higher than they were right now.

As she continued on the path toward the beach, angry whispers caught her attention. Looking across from the bushes, she was surprised to see Henry and Ithica Maynard in a heated debate.

Henry was the best friend of the groom Adonis Angelis. At 35, grey hair was already beginning to streak through his jet-black hair. His brown eyes were deep and enchanting. His wife Ithica was younger than he was. In her early 20s, she was full of life and didn't like having to wait very long. Her hair was bleached blonde and a contrast against her olive skin. Her eyes were a breathtaking ocean blue.

"I hate her," Ithica snapped. "She is the reason Adonis is dead. Why can't you understand that?"

"He was my best friend," Henry sighed. "But we cannot let his death influence the rage we feel."

"He was my cousin," Ithica snarled. "He was my blood. There is no way to overlook what that harlot has done."

"Be reasonable, dear." Henry placed a hand on Ithica's back.

Jerking away from his hand, the woman's eyes filled with rage.

"Don't you dare tell me to reasonable," Ithica hissed. "You would have left me for her if Adonis hadn't stepped in. She is a tramp and the lowest form of human being. I may have forgiven you, but I will never forgive her."

"But we weren't married at the time." Henry held up his hands. "We had gone on one date. I eventually chose you. I still choose you now, despite your current crazy behavior"

"Don't you call me crazy." Ithica slapped Henry across the face, leaving a mark. "You killed Adonis. Didn't you! You've always wanted to be with her and now, this is your chance to make it happen. Fine. Go live in sin with that Jezebel. See if I care!"

"You're a little over the top," Henry sighed. "Let's go get something to eat. Maybe your blood sugar is off."

"Is this all in my mind?" Ithica snarled and threw a piece of paper at Henry.

Looking at it, the color drained from his face.

"This isn't what it looks like," Henry pleaded.

"Oh, do you really think I am that naïve?" Ithica spat.

Pulling her hand back, she hurled the drink she had been holding at Henry. The glass struck him on the side of the head and blood trickled down the side of his face.

"What is wrong with you?" Henry demanded.

Ithica looked at him in horror and bolted towards the hotel. Stunned, Henry looked around and slowly walked towards her and placed a hand on the side of his head. As he walked past a trash can, he dropped the item Ithica had tossed at him.

Waiting until he was out of sight, Anna pulled out the piece of paper that had been crumpled up and tossed in the trash. As she straightened it out, she was startled to see an image of Henry and Anstice in a warm embrace. The picture appeared to show them as younger than they were now. On the back was a note that read,

They wanted to get back together. Love is never strong enough. That is why he died.

Anna felt her stomach drop. She had come to know Cassandra's handwriting over the years and this wasn't her handwriting at all. Which meant there was indeed someone else killing people. This meant that, in addition to proving Cassandra was a killer, she needed to find a second person.

Anna looked at Pauline on stage at the karaoke bar singing her heart and soul out to I Will Always Love You. She was impressed at how powerful her vocals were. It was nice to see her with her hair down and having fun for a change. In her soft, flowing blouse and palazzo pants, she looked so different from her usual business attire.

There may be a cold-blooded killer on the loose, but everyone needed to have some down time. More importantly, Anna was using this as a chance to gain the trust of some of the wedding party in attendance to see what she could learn about the victims and sniff around for some possible suspects at the same time.

The fact that so many people could have fun only 12 hours after several people had died was a surprise to a degree.

When Cassandra pulled up a chair next to her, Anna could almost feel the icy grip of death clinging to her throat. Anna looked at the woman who had a drink ready for her.

"It's a lemon drop martini!" Cassandra replied with a chilling smile.

"So it is like lemon drop candy?" Anna asked. "That sounds tasty. What is in it?"

"A splash of lemon juice, some gardenia and a little vodka," Cassandra laughed. "It's really good."

"Maybe you should have a sip," Anna replied cautiously.

"No, silly." Cassandra laughed and held up a beer. "I'm drinking beer right now. Plus, we are going to duet on Staying Alive here in a minute."

Anna couldn't help but feel the choice was more tongue in cheek and looked at the drink. While she knew Monica had told her she'd given Cassandra plain vodka, she wasn't comfortable drinking the cocktail.

"Well, I can't see any reason to not drink the cocktail," Anna replied. "You know I love you, Cassandra."

Confusion crossed Cassandra's face for a moment. Then she "bumped" the drink, causing it to spill, and turned red. "I am so sorry! That was clumsy of me. Bartender, can you make her a lemon drop martini? I need to wash up."

Anna couldn't help but notice the tears in Cassandra's eyes. It was fortunate that there was an internal conflict going on in the woman's head. But she wondered how much danger she would have been in had Cassandra not spilled the drink at the last minute.

The crowd cheered for Pauline as she walked up to Anna. Next to Pauline, Christos Papadakis sat down. His hair was a striking grey and he had piercing blue eyes that were focused on Pauline.

"Would you like to join us?" Anna laughed.

"What is your name?" Christos demanded, leering at Pauline. "No woman has ever left me so breathless."

"My name is Pauline." She blushed. "You are Christos. Your daughter is Anstice, right?"

"You know me very well." Christos replied and wrapped his arm around Pauline's shoulder. "Perhaps we can get to know each other better?"

Pauline looked incredibly uncomfortable and Anna wanted to step in, but Pauline shot her a look.

"Well, I would like to talk first," Pauline replied. "Talking really helps to warm me up to a man. Would that be okay with you?"

"You can ask me anything," Christos replied as he brushed her hair to the side.

"How did you feel about the wedding?" Pauline asked.

"Well, I wasn't happy about my innocent girl marrying that man." Christos laughed loudly. "But I wasn't going to kill him. His death wouldn't have made me happier and it would have crushed my daughter. I love her more than life itself. So, I wouldn't kill the man she loves no matter how insignificant his life is to me."

"But would Ithica want him dead too?" Anna replied.

Rage crossed Christos face and his eyes bore into Anna. "That was his cousin. She loved him. They were blood. Don't you ever suggest that blood would kill blood. It isn't how our family works. Maybe your family goes around killing each other but ours does not."

"Actually, from my experience, family does kill family," Anna responded casually. "They are usually the ones that have the best motives for murder."

"Well, his murder is not linked to anyone in this family." Christos slammed his fist on the bar. "If you continue to make such accusations, I will make sure your name is destroyed, Anna Winters. Yeah, I know all about your reputation. But I think you are one of the worst armchair detectives out there."

"Now hold on a minute." Anna held her hands up defensively.

Christos ignored her and returned his focus to Pauline. "My precious jewel, can we get out of here? I can order a bottle of champagne brought to the room. One of the best you've ever had. We can then savor the flavor and enjoy some strawberries dipped in chocolate. Would you give me the honor?"

"I don't think I am there yet." Pauline replied. "I do want to know more about you."

"What more could you want to know?" Christos laughed and reached into his wallet. "Here is my ID. That will tell you everything you could ever want to know about me. I hope it gives you enough insight to help make your decision to be with me easier."

Handing the ID to Pauline, Anna tapped him on the shoulder. His head turned and Pauline slipped the ID into her pocket.

"I want to talk more about the murder," Anna continued. "Would you mind? I know perhaps this isn't the most appropriate time. But it is something I think you and I need to discuss. Don't you?"

Christos stood up, towering over her. Rage was on his face. "If you accuse me one more time, I am going to kill you myself. This isn't the time or the place for this. You are a very disgusting and disturbing woman. I don't appreciate any of this."

People in the bar began to turn their attention to the man. His face was beet red. Another wedding guest, Demetrius, came up to him and Anna couldn't overlook the man's physique. In his mid 30s, Demetrius was built like an ox and looked like he could crush a person with his bare hands.

"Come on, boss," Demetrius whispered. "Don't let this woman bother you."

"She isn't bothering me." Christos pulled away. "She's talking like a dumb girl would. She thinks she is smart, but she is has no clue about anything."

"Let her go," Demetrius continued. "This isn't worth it. You are drawing attention to yourself, sir."

In a huff, Christos turned to Pauline who was looking at him in horror. Grabbing his wallet, he shoved it in his back pocket and gave her a long look.

"Are you going to come back to my room or are you wasting my time?" Christos demanded. "Because, I don't have time for a tease. Either you are or you are not. Just be up front and honest. No more of the guessing."

"I don't like your temper," Pauline sighed. "So, I don't think I will be joining you tonight."

Christos' face grew dark and Anna felt concerned for her friend. Turning sharply, he took off out of the bar. Demetrius gave a disapproving look to both women and stormed out of the bar behind Christos.

"Boss?" Pauline asked. "What did he mean by boss?"

"That's a very good question, " Anna replied in a hushed tone. "I don't think these people earned their millions in a nice way. I would venture a guess there is some kind of illegal activity going on."

"But let's be realistic for a moment," Pauline replied. "He could be a bodyguard since Christos is worth millions. Right?"

"Could be." Anna agreed. "But we've dealt with people who have had very dark secrets. I would guess he is in the same league as some of those people."

"So, what should we do?" Pauline asked. "Do you want to follow up on who he really is?"

"You have his ID, right?” Anna asked.

"Yes," Pauline nodded. "But I am not sure what it is going to answer for us."

"It will let us know more about him," Anna smiled. "We will have the chance to look into the name and figure out what he really is. I would suspect that if we do a little digging, we'll find out that he isn't this great person after all. In fact, I would venture to say he is a criminal."

"I'll take that bet." Pauline laughed. "So how are you going to use the information we have?"

"Simple," Anna smirked. "I am going to use the internet. As you likely know by now, it can help you to find anything you need to know in just a few minutes. So, we'll take his name and the area in Greece he comes from. Then we will have all we need to know to determine what we are up against."

"It sounds complicated," Pauline sighed. "But I never really got into computers or the internet. It just didn't seem like a big deal to me. I'll admit I do regret it. I'm on the verge of turning 50 and I know other people my age who play games and watch movies online."

"I will be more than happy to help you anytime." Anna hugged her friend. "People like us, we've got to stick together. There are too many crazy people out there and when you have technology on your side, you do stand a better chance."

Pauline smiled. "Thank you for helping me. You really are a good friend. I'd be lost if I didn't have you in my life."

Anna smiled. "Well, if we are going to manage to get anything done, we need to get things going. If you are done with your drink, I think it is time if you are ready to go."

Pauline downed the rest of her drink and gave Anna a big smile. "Let's take care of business then."

Standing up, Anna took Pauline's hand and they walked towards the stairwell. Pushing open the door, Anna started up the stairs when the lights cut out. She paused for a moment.

"Are you there Pauline?" Anna called into the darkness.

"I am here,” Pauline replied. "Maybe come down the steps. I don't think it is safe to climb up them in the dark."

"Aren't there supposed to be emergency lights?" Anna asked. "This seems incredibly dangerous."

"Maybe the generator hasn't turned on yet." Pauline replied. "I can open the door and we can get some light in here, if you want me to."

"Do you think you can move safely?" Anna asked. "I don't want you to do anything that could cause you to be injured. This might only be a short inconvenience."

"Let me see what I can do,” Pauline replied.

Anna waited in silence and heard shuffling around. She was hoping her friend would be able to push open the door and they would be able to leave the stairwell. With everything going on, Anna couldn't help but feel a little spooked about standing in the darkness.

"Pauline, what's taking so long?” Anna called out.

She waited a few moments and could feel her heart beat faster as she grew concerned for her friend. The sound of footsteps echoed in the stairwell.

"Pauline?" She asked nervously.

The footsteps grew louder. She could hear additional movement at the base of the stairs. She knew that whoever was on the stairs, it wasn't Pauline. Anna started carefully and quietly going further up the steps.

"Anna, are you okay?" Pauline asked, her voice strained and distant.

Before she could respond, Anna felt something hard slam against her back and felt herself lose her balance. Falling forward, she hit the ground with a thud. While she could hear Pauline's voice; it sounded like it was getting further away and vanished into the surrounding darkness.