“That really doesn’t sound like Allison,” Susan said.

“Perhaps not, but there aren’t many men who didn’t look up when she walked by in one of those tiny bikinis she wore.”

“No, I guess not.” Susan thought for a moment. “Not counting last night, when did you last see Allison?”

Ro frowned. “You should remember that I didn’t identify Allison as one of the people I saw last night. In fact, if anyone asks, I wouldn’t be able to tell them if your friend’s companion last night was male or female.”

“That’s interesting,” Susan said, noting that this could be the most important thing she had heard so far. “But what I’m wondering is when you last saw her here-just walking around or whatever.”

“That’s easy. We had lunch together yesterday. And she was sitting at the bar having a rum punch last night when Burt and I went in before dinner.”

“Was she alone?”

“Yes, but I must tell you that I got the impression that she was waiting for someone.”

“What did she do that gave you that impression?”

“She was looking over her shoulder at everyone who came in. She seemed rather nervous.”

“Do you know who she was meeting?” Susan asked.

“No, we left before anyone joined her, I’m afraid. But I think we can rule out your friend. After all, they had just spent the afternoon together,” Ro added before Susan could ask another question.

ELEVEN

There were questions Susan wanted to ask immediately, but she had to wait until the drinks Ro had ordered were served. An obsequious young man, apparently familiar with the Parkers’ requirements, placed a tray on the trunk and poured deep amber liquid into ice-filled glasses, dropped in lemon slices, and passed one to each woman. Susan, realizing she was thirsty, took a large gulp immediately. And gasped: There may have been a touch of the tea she was expecting, but most of the glass was filled with sweetened dark rum. “Oh, wow!” she muttered.

“Don’t worry, dear. They always use artificial sweetener,” Ro assured her.

“And what else?” Susan asked, realizing that her eyes were watering.

“Mount Gay rum and spring water,” the waiter answered, picking up the empty tray and preparing to depart. “Anything else?”

“We’re fine now,” Ro said, raising her own glass and sipping. “Excellent, as usual. Thank you,” she dismissed him. “Now where were we?” she asked Susan when they were alone again.

“You had just told me that Allison and Jerry spent yesterday afternoon together.”

“Oh, he didn’t admit that to you?”

“It wasn’t a question of admitting anything to anyone,” Susan answered, annoyed. “I never asked him what he was doing yesterday. I haven’t even spoken to Jerry about Allison… or about her murder.”

“The police did take him off rather abruptly, didn’t they?”

“I’m sure they’ll discover that they’ve made a mistake and he’ll be back here soon,” Susan stated flatly.

Ro didn’t seem convinced. “Perhaps you’re right. But I certainly would feel much better if I could tell the police that someone else was out on the beach last night, someone else who had a reason to kill Allison.”

Susan stood up so quickly that she spilled her drink. “Jerry Gordon had absolutely no reason to kill Allison. She was his sister-in-law. They were family. The police have made a terrible mistake.”

“She was his sister-in-law? She didn’t tell me that!”

Susan realized that she was giving away as much information as she was getting. “What exactly did she tell you about herself?”

“Well, let me think. She mentioned her career, that she was an illustrator who did mainly freelance work. But when I asked about it-and it sounded very interesting-she said she was on vacation and didn’t want to think about work.”

“Did you think that was odd?”

“Not at all. She wouldn’t be the first person to try to forget problems back at the office while on vacation. Why, there was a famous senator here a few years ago and he absolutely refused to talk politics.”

Susan didn’t think that was exactly the same thing, but she didn’t mention it. “So what did Allison talk about?”

“Oh, the places she had visited on other vacations, things she had done, books she had read. She didn’t speak a whole lot about what you could call her personal life. Which must be why I didn’t know she was anyone’s sister-in-law.”

“But she must have mentioned some people. After all, she told you that I had investigated murders, right? She wouldn’t have talked about me and no one else.”

Ro took another sip of her drink before answering. “But you were different than other people. Your name came up because we were talking about murder.”

“Not exactly a topic you expect to come up on vacation, is it?” Susan heard the coldness in her own voice. She was beginning to suspect that Ro was lying.

“Not unless you’re a big reader of mystery novels. In fact, it was the books we were reading that drew Allison and me together. She was just finishing up a book by Carolyn Hart, and I was just starting the latest by Kate Grilley. We agreed to switch when we were done. The gift shop’s collection of mysteries leaves a lot to be desired.”

“So you started talking about real murders after discussing favorite authors?” Susan asked, thinking it an unlikely segue.

“Yes. You see, some of the authors I like best write series mysteries and their characters are always stumbling on dead bodies-sometimes two or three times a year! I mentioned the fact that you had to suspend your disbelief to read them, and that’s when she mentioned knowing a real person who had had this very experience!”

“Oh. Did she mention me by name?”

“Well, not when we were first talking, but then you and your party checked in and she said something about you being the woman she had described earlier in the week.”

Susan realized this might be more than a little important. “Did she seem surprised to see me? Surprised that I was here?”

“Oh, dear, I know what you’re getting at. If your presence wasn’t a surprise, it would seem that she and Mr. Gordon had communicated sometime before their arrival, wouldn’t it?”

“I don’t know about that. There might be other explanations.”

Ro beamed. “That’s why you’re such an excellent detective. I must admit I can’t think of a single other explanation for why Allison wouldn’t have been surprised to see you.”

“Perhaps Allison was in the office and just happened to see our name on some sort of list of future bookings,” Susan improvised.

“Yes! That would explain it, wouldn’t it? We should remember that in case anyone asks, don’t you think?”

“I suppose, but frankly, I can’t imagine why anyone would ask us anything.”

“Not only is the man arrested your friend, but you knew the deceased-and this is a very small resort. Word gets around.” Ro drained her glass so quickly that Susan would have worried about her sobriety if she didn’t have other things on her mind.

“You’re not the only person who knows about Allison’s connections to us, are you?”

Ro smiled. “I’m not here alone, you know. And I may have mentioned the things Allison told me to my husband or one or two of my friends. And, of course, Allison may have spoken about these things to other guests or staff.”

There was nothing Susan could do about that now. “You said you saw Jerry with Allison during the day yesterday. What were they doing?”

“I can’t tell you that. I saw them come back to the resort together. A taxi pulled up outside the restaurant and they got out. Most of the taxis drive right into Compass Bay’s courtyard. Theirs didn’t. I suspect they were trying to hide.”

Susan didn’t like anything she was hearing. “Isn’t it possible that the driver didn’t realize that he could drive into the courtyard?”

“Oh, my dear, you don’t know this island. A job driving a taxi is coveted. Absolutely coveted. The men here have very few employment opportunities that could be said to be macho. Taxi driver is one of them.”