THIRTY

The honeymooners had not yet left their cottage when Susan walked down to the beach to join Ro, Veronica, and Randy, all three properly outfitted in bright-orange life vests. Burt was there to “say bon voyage”-his words. He said just that and then took off, heading for the bar. Ro stared at his back, a frown on her face, and then turned back to Susan. “I understand you’ve spent the morning asking some of the guests when they last saw your friend.”

“Yes.”

“Well, we’ve been talking about that and we came up with something you might find very interesting,” Veronica said, looking up from the task of tying the strings of her sun hat to her vest.

“What?”

“We saw her at different times, and she was acting rather strangely.” Ro picked up the story. “You see, Burt noticed her first. He always notices gorgeous women, but I’m a very understanding wife. As long as he just looks, I always tell him.”

“When did he see her?” Susan asked, trying to get back to the point.

“Right after you left her in her cottage. She walked out-toward the office-and stopped when she saw that there were people in the gift shop. He said that he got the impression that she didn’t want anyone to see her.”

“And she went back into her cottage.”

“Yes. Burt thought she was looking a little shaky. He thought about asking her if she needed help, but she went inside, and he decided to leave her alone.”

“And I saw her next. At least that’s what we figured out when we were all talking,” Veronica jumped in. “I went back to our cottage to get some sunscreen. Sometimes we can’t find a place to play that is in the shade, especially in the morning-the sun just bounces off the water-and the door to her cottage was open. She was sitting on the bed, rubbing her head. I called out and asked her if she needed a doctor, and she said no, she was absolutely fine.”

“Which makes what happened next so interesting,” Ro added.

“What happened next?”

“First, I should tell you that when I was coming back with my sunscreen the door was closed,” Veronica said. “I assumed your friend was lying down-”

“But she wasn’t even in the cottage!” Ro interrupted. “Randy and I went for a short walk just a few minutes later, and we saw her walking on the road.”

“Outside Compass Bay?”

“Yes, isn’t that strange?”

“And there’s something even stranger,” Veronica said. “We think she saw us and hurried back into the resort.”

“I’m not so sure that she saw us,” Ro added. “I don’t think we can be so sure about that.”

“And why would she have hurried into Compass Bay the back way if she hadn’t been seen?”

“What back way?” Susan demanded.

“Oh, there’s a staff entrance. About a hundred feet down from the regular entrance-no arch or palm trees or anything like that-just a door in the wooden fence that runs between the cottages and the road.”

“I never even realized there was a fence behind the cottages,” Susan said.

“That’s because everything is oriented to the sea. There aren’t even any windows on that side of the cottages,” Ro pointed out.

“There’s a path back there. It’s how the staff moves between cottages. Didn’t you ever realize that you don’t see them walking around much?”

“I never even thought about it, but you’re right. The staff is remarkably unobtrusive, isn’t it?”

“That’s the way we’re told to play it, ladies,” James said, joining them and their conversation. “And gentleman,” he added, seeing Randy.

“You mean there’s a part of Compass Bay that isn’t public?” Susan asked.

“Of course there is!” Ro spoke before James could answer. “There’s the path behind the cottages, and a fairly large laundry room back there, too. And the staff lounge, too. Right, James?”

“You’re a longtime guest, Mrs. Parker. You probably know your way around here better than most of the staff.

“I see you’ve all chosen your kayaks so, as soon as I find Mrs. Henshaw a life vest that fits, we’ll start on our way, if everyone is ready to go.

“Now, I think this jacket will be perfect for you, Mrs. Henshaw. May even be the one you used the last time you were out.”

“It may be. It feels fine,” she added. “James, I was wondering.” She looked over at her companions. “I have a question or two.”

“You know Lila doesn’t like us talking about the guests, and I can’t afford to get in trouble. Maybe…”

“What if we talked later? When we can be alone? I just want to ask a few questions about Kathleen.”

“Later. When we are alone. I want to help you and your friends if I can.”

“That would be great!”

Following James’s directions, the paddlers set out.

“Hey, are we gonna get caught in a thunderstorm?” Randy called out, pointing toward the horizon where dark clouds were forming.

“No. The storm comes tonight. We’ll be home long before any rainfall.”

“Funny how we’ve stopped watching TV or reading the paper or checking out the weather forecast since we’ve been here, isn’t it?” Veronica said, paddling up to Susan.

“You know, that’s true. I guess part of being on vacation is leaving the world behind.”

“Which you haven’t been able to do, unfortunately,” Veronica added.

“No.”

Veronica looked at Ro, Randy, and James. Stronger paddlers, they were about five hundred feet away. “Ro is one of my oldest and best friends, but I don’t always agree with her.”

“Of course not.”

“I think she’s wrong about your friend.”

“Kathleen?”

“Yes. Ro thinks she staged this whole abduction scenario to cast doubt on her husband’s guilt.”

“And you don’t?”

“I don’t want to upset you. So I didn’t say anything before-not even to Ro-but I think she may be suffering from dementia from her concussion and she may have just wandered off.”

“Why do you think that?”

“She looked so distraught when I saw her in her cottage and…”

“And?” Susan prompted.

“And I think I may have seen her leave Compass Bay by the employees’ entrance. I’m not sure. It was getting dark and I just saw something out of the corner of my eye. But I went back to my cottage for a second, and I know I saw someone moving between the Gordons’ cottage and the gift shop. It could have been Mrs. Gordon. The person was tall with long hair.”

Susan pursed her lips. There seemed to be an excessive number of guests at Compass Bay who fit that description. “You could be right. She could be confused and wander off…”

“I was thinking of amnesia.”

“Oh. But she knew who she was after she was attacked-” Susan shut her mouth.

“Attacked? I thought she fell and hit her head on the beach wall.”

“That’s possible, but it’s also possible that she was hit with something. I mean, Kathleen is in good shape and she doesn’t drink excessively or take drugs. Why would she suddenly fall and hit her head on a perfectly smooth sand beach?”

“I never suggested that she had been drinking,” Veronica said. “Why would you think of that?”

“Why else would she fall down like that?” Susan asked, bewildered by Veronica’s hostile response.

“People are always judging. I had thought that with all the problems your friends were having, you might be different. But I guess I was mistaken!” Plunging her paddle in the water with a strength Susan would never have suspected, Veronica skimmed across the surf to rejoin her group.

Susan remembered Veronica and her husband’s strange drink exchange too late to change to a subject that they both might find acceptable. Oh, well. She was now about a quarter of a mile behind her companions. To her left, the breeze off the water bent palm trees toward the silvery sand of deserted beaches. To her right, the water reflected the darkening sky. A pair of pelicans flew overhead. Looking down into the water, Susan saw her own reflection blending with the colorful fish below. It was beautiful. It was quiet. It was a perfect spot to think through everything that had happened in the past few days. Susan began by considering the possible suspects. Allison had made a point of being friendly with everyone who was staying at Compass Bay (except for the honeymooners), so why couldn’t one of them be the killer? Peggy and Frank were from Connecticut. Perhaps they had known Allison. Perhaps Frank’s affair had been with Allison. Peggy claimed to have forgiven, but Susan got the impression that her feelings weren’t exactly under control. What if they had arrived here for their second honeymoon only to discover the woman who destroyed their marriage already in residence? Would Peggy have killed her husband’s lover for revenge? Would Frank have killed his ex-lover for any reason at all?