Susan wasn’t sure that made sense, and she suddenly realized that she wasn’t going to find out-at least, not now. Now she had more serious problems. Her kayak, no longer floating on the water, was on the way to becoming a submarine.

“Hey! James! Ro! Veronica! Randy! Hey!” She held her paddle across her chest with one hand and waved the other. “Hey! Help!”

The quartet turned at her call and waved back, big smiles on their faces. For a few seconds, Susan wondered if they were glad she was about to sink into the water, if her kayak’s demise was intentional. Then she realized the wind was blowing away from her. They couldn’t hear her. She grabbed both ends of her paddle and raised it in the air above her head. In Maine, this was known among kayakers as a distress signal. Either the same was true in the Caribbean or it was such an unusual thing to do that it couldn’t be ignored, but as she watched, James spun his kayak around and began to paddle toward her.

Susan smiled, relieved, although she knew he wasn’t going to be fast enough. Gently, as though rocking a baby to sleep, her boat sank below the surface. Supported by her life vest, she clutched the paddle and waited for rescue. Looking down, she spied a green parrot fish doing figure eights around her knees. A nearby pencil-thin barracuda, thankfully, didn’t show the same interest.

“Mrs. Henshaw! Are you all right?”

“I’m just fine. Can’t say the same for my kayak,” she added.

“That’s not important. Now we have a problem. How can we get you onto my kayak?”

“It won’t support us both,” Susan protested.

“I can swim by your side.”

“I have a better idea,” Susan said. “Why don’t I just hang on to the back and you can kind of tow me in?”

“That would work, but… are you sure that’s what you want to do?”

“I’m sure. The water is wonderfully warm. If you’re strong enough to paddle back carrying the extra weight…”

“No problem. Let’s make everyone understand what we’re doing and we’ll start out.”

Ro and Veronica appeared with Randy, paddling vigorously, trailing behind. James explained their plan.

“What a horrible thing. You could have drowned!” Ro exclaimed.

Susan, busy trying to figure out how to hang on to the ropes tied to the rear of James’s boat without getting rope burn, just smiled.

“And now Mrs. Henshaw gets a free ride back to Compass Bay. The rest of you will have to paddle for yourself.”

No one said anything more. As the tide was coming in, they easily made it back to shore. As soon as Susan’s feet hit the sandy sea bottom, she dropped the rope and swam. If anyone had asked, she would have described the last half an hour as innocuous.

Apparently Lila didn’t feel that way at all. She was waiting on the beach, towels in hand, ready to help Susan (who didn’t need it) out of the water and up onto the sand.

“Mrs. Henshaw! Are you all right? Should I call a doctor?”

“I’m fine. Absolutely fine,” Susan assured her honestly. “Your kayak is sitting on the bottom of the ocean, but I’m fine.”

“I’m certainly glad to hear that. But why don’t I find Lourdes and she can give you a massage on the house.”

“Well, I…” Susan hated to refuse, but she really had other things to do. “I need to meet Jed,” she lied. “I’ll just go back to my cottage and shower.”

“If you’re sure…” Apparently satisfied, Lila directed her attention elsewhere. “James, you’ll be in my office as soon as the kayaks are secured.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Before he turned back to his task, Susan was surprised to see the expression on his face. He looked afraid.

THIRTY-ONE

Jed was nowhere to be found, and Susan decided that the shower she had used as an excuse to get away by herself was an excellent idea after all. She had learned a lot this morning, but nothing intrigued her as much as Lila’s reaction to the kayaking accident. The woman had been what Susan’s children would have called “off the wall.” Why would a simple accident upset Lila more than a murder or Jerry’s arrest or Kathleen’s assault? Susan was pouring cream rinse into her palm when the answer struck her. It hadn’t been an accident. Someone had tried to kill her. Lila wasn’t seeing what happened as an individual accident, but as the latest event in a line of horrible events. Events that could damage the reputation of Compass Bay.

Her kayak must have been sabotaged! But by whom? Susan scrubbed the salt from her skin and thought. The person who did it must have known that Susan was going to end up with that kayak. And who would have known that? James… No, in fact, James had been up at the kiosk when Ro, Randy, and Veronica picked out their boats. It had to be one of those three people. Or all three? Susan played around with that thought before discarding it. Regarding them as a foursome was fine, but they were four individuals. And she needed to consider each individually. And she shouldn’t, she realized, exclude Burt. Burt may not have gone on the trip, but he certainly was around when the other three were selecting their vessels. He could have made a hole in the remaining kayak while the others were busy putting on their vests and dousing themselves, yet again, with another layer of sunscreen.

But how could she find out? Those who were willing to answer her questions when she asked about Kathleen wouldn’t necessarily answer questions about their friends. On the other hand, anyone overlooking the beach could have seen what was happening. Susan tried to remember if she had noticed anyone nearby.

It was hopeless, she finally decided, flipping off the shower and grabbing a thick towel to wrap around her hair. She was tying her robe’s sash when she heard someone at the door. “Jed? Is that you?”

“No, Mrs. Henshaw. It’s me. Lourdes.”

Susan hurried across the room and opened the door. “Hi.”

“Miss Lila send me here. She think maybe you need massage after your ordeal this morning.”

“How nice, but I told her that I was fine.”

But Lourdes was already inside the cottage. “If you not mind, Mrs. Henshaw, I would like to talk to you. If you do not mind.”

“Of course not. Is something wrong?”

“Yes. Something is very, very wrong. We are all very, very upset.”

“What is it?”

“We worry about James. We all worry about James.”

“Why? He’s just fine. You should have seen the way he paddled his kayak back to land-”

“James is very strong. But that will not keep Lila from firing him.”

“Why would she do that? He seems to be the person who keeps this place running smoothly.”

“Yes. That’s right. James is very, very important at Compass Bay. But Lila is very, very angry at him. Things like today not supposed to happen. Guests are not supposed to be in accidents.”

Susan didn’t know how to respond to that. Apparently it was okay if guests were murdered, assaulted, or kidnapped, but a hole in a kayak was unacceptable. Susan knew she had never been in any danger. The water was warm; she wasn’t terribly far from shore; help was nearby. What was Lila so upset about?

“James is a wonderful man. Many, many people who work here owe much to him. And he has large family that he supports. It is very important that he stay at Compass Bay.”

“Is Lila going to fire him?” Susan asked, appalled.

“Ms. Lila is very, very mad,” Lourdes said again.

“What does he want me to do?”

“Oh, no! You not understand. I ask you for help. Many of us on staff, we ask you for help. James not ask. James not know I am here.”

“You and… the other members of the staff-what do you think I can do to help?”

“If you could, please, go talk to Lila. Tell her that James saved your life. That he did nothing wrong today. That you feel terrible if he be blamed for your unfortunate accident.”

“Look, all of that is true. Well, he probably didn’t save my life. I wasn’t in any real danger,” Susan said. “But why do you think anything I can say will help?”