Heavenly Honeymoon (Zoe Donovan Mysteries Book 15) (9 page)

“I guess we should head back,” Zak said. “Charlie looks like he’s getting tuckered out.”

I looked at my small dog, who did look like he was ready for a nap.

“Yeah. Let’s. I want to talk to Ellie before we turn in. I know she planned to call Levi this evening. I suppose that by now he’s made a definite decision about the job.”

Zak went in to check his e-mails, while I stayed out on the patio to speak with Ellie, who was relaxing with a glass of wine.

“Did you get hold of Levi?” I asked after I poured a glass of wine for myself.

“Yeah. We talked for a long time, actually.”

“And . . . ?” I prepared myself for the worst. I almost hated to even hear the answer.

Ellie looked directly at me. She smiled. “And I think he’s going to pass on the job offer.”

“Really?” I had to admit I was surprised by this. Everything I’d heard up to this point indicated that he wanted to take the job. “What happened?”

Ellie settled in for the explanation. “I told you that he stayed to work out with the team, which it turns out was a wonderful idea.”

“Go on.”

“One of the seniors on the team was on the Ashton Falls High School team four years ago. He told Levi that if it hadn’t been for him, he would never have been able to attend college. I guess he got a free ride on a football scholarship and now has plans to attend medical school when he graduates next spring. According to Levi, the kid was flunking out of school until Levi got hold of him. Levi not only encouraged him to join the football team but made sure he attended his classes and turned in his work. He even lined him up with a tutor. The guy, who now plans to be a neurosurgeon, told Levi that he completely changed his life. He said his only plan when they first met was to drop out and try to get a job in a convenience store.”

“Wow. That’s really awesome. I bet that made Levi feel really good.”

“It did. Levi also told me that the job at the college is very structured and won’t provide him the opportunity to really work with the kids one on one. He would be the assistant to the assistant, and although there’s room for advancement if he does well, he realized that he likes being a big fish in a small pond, where he can make the decisions and enter into personal relationships with the boys he coaches. He’s going to talk to the head coach tomorrow, and then he plans to fly home on Sunday.”

I hugged Ellie. “I’m so happy things worked out this way. For both of us. I don’t know what I would have done if he’d moved away.”

“Yeah. I’ve been pretty much a mess ever since I found out about the job. I love Levi so much, but this situation has given me some things to think about.”

“Like what?” I asked.

“The fact that neither Levi nor I put the other one first in making the decision as to how to proceed makes me wonder if we’re meant to be a couple.”

“He’s coming home,” I pointed out.

“He is. But he’s turning down the job because he realized he prefers the job he has. He didn’t turn it down because of me. And when I thought he was going to take it, I realized I wasn’t willing to move to be with him. I think that says something.”

“You aren’t going to break up with him?”

“No. But I’m going to take the time to really take a good hard look at our relationship. When I wanted children and he didn’t, we let that make a difference. It was only after the conflict was removed, when I found out I couldn’t have children, that we allowed ourselves to move our relationship to the next level. And then he was offered this job, and once again neither of us was willing to sacrifice for the other. I really believe that if we were as committed as we should be, not being together wouldn’t even be an option.”

I hugged Ellie. I had to admit I didn’t think she was wrong. In my heart, I knew I’d follow Zak anywhere.

“Good morning.” I breezed into Toad’s office armed with coffee and doughnuts.

“Are those for me?” Toad’s eyes lit up.

“Yup. I figured you might enjoy a Saturday morning treat.”

Toad accepted the offering but looked at me suspiciously. “What do you want?”

“What makes you think I want anything?”

He held up one of the doughnuts.

“What I want is to speak to Chandella without being tossed in jail,” I admitted.

I explained that we’d learned that Jensen had only invited Ricardo to the dinner that night after Chandella requested that he do so.

“I would be interested in learning why Ricardo wanted to be on the boat in the first place,” I added.

“Yes, that might prove to be useful information.”

“Which is why I think one or both of us should speak to her.”

“Chandella doesn’t like me. I doubt she’ll tell me anything. I guess it would be okay for you to speak to her, as long as you promise to come back to fill me in on the outcome of your discussion.”

“Deal.”

“And as long as you are coming back, bring me a couple more of these doughnuts. Chocolate. It’s not often that I have a chance to sample any of the pastries they make for the resort.”

“They don’t sell these in town?”

“No. The pastry chef works for the resort.” Toad finished off the first of the two I’d brought.

“The bakery at the resort is within walking distance,” I pointed out. “If you like these doughnuts so much, you could just walk over and buy some.”

“I’m not allowed on the resort.”

“What do you mean, you aren’t allowed on the resort? Whyever not?”

“No one from town is allowed on the resort except to work, and even then their movements are monitored.”

I frowned. “What are you talking about?”

“Haven’t you noticed the gate you must acess to come and go from the resort?”

“Yes, but I figured it was just to keep track of who came and went. You’re telling me that no one from town is allowed on the resort grounds except if they work there?”

Toad bit into another doughnut. “I believe that is what I just said. Mr. Ewing doesn’t want his rich guests mingling with the villagers. The only way a local can get onto the grounds of the resort is by a separate gate that is guarded at all times. When locals check in for their shift, they are provided with a tracking device that must be turned in at the end of each shift. If you work at the laundry, you had better go to the laundry and nowhere else or you will be fired immediately.”

“That’s insane.”

Toad shrugged. “Have you enjoyed your vacation as much now that you have seen what the lives of the people who wait on you are really like?”

“No,” I admitted. “In fact, I told the maid that she didn’t need to clean up yesterday and I gave her a big tip as well.”

Toad smiled a sort of lopsided smile. “Most of the guests of the resort never leave the grounds. They enjoy the benefits of first-class pampering without having to suffer a guilty conscious. Mr. Ewing works very hard to keep it that way.”

“But you’re law enforcement,” I argued. “I don’t see how Mr. Ewing can keep you out.”

“The resort is private property. I assure you that no one, including me, is allowed onto the resort without either owner approval or a really good reason.”

“I’m so sorry.” I placed my hand on Toad’s arm. “I’ll bring you back a whole bag of doughnuts when I come back, and maybe while you’re eating them you can fill me in on what you know about Park Lee and Captain Jack.”

“Bring a dozen.”

“A dozen it is.”

“Do you know if Candy was working?” Toad asked.

“Candy?”

“Short. About your height. Blond hair that brushes her waist and the bluest eyes you’ve ever seen.”

I pictured the short, chubby blond woman who had served me the doughnuts. She’d had a net over her hair, but I could tell it was long.

“Do you have a crush on her?” I knew I was correct in my assumption when Toad’s chubby face turned bright red.

“If Candy is the woman with the—” I paused. What was the polite way to put it?

“Big nose,” Toad said helpfully. “Yes, that’s her.”

“Then yes, she was working when I was there earlier. Do you want me to say hi for you?”

Toad shook his head frantically. “No, don’t do that. Just find out if she is going to the movie tonight.”

“I will.”

I left Toad’s office and headed back to the resort. I knew Chandella lived and supposedly worked at the resort, so I figured that was where I was most likely to find her. I couldn’t get anyone to tell me where to find her and she wasn’t in the executive offices, so it took longer than I anticipated to track her down. I eventually found her tanning near the pool; based on the dark tone of her skin, I assumed that was where she spent a lot of her time. It was obvious she devoted a lot of time to working on her body. She was gorgeous.

“Chandella?”

She opened one eye and looked at me. “Yes?”

“My name is Zoe. I was wondering if I could speak to you for a moment.”

Chandella sat up. I turned away while she slipped a shirt over her bare breast.

“You are the woman Zak married.”

“I am. Do you know Zak?”

Chandella smiled like the cat who stole the cream. “Yes. We are acquainted. What can I do for you?”

I really wanted to ask how exactly she knew Zak but decided that rational Zoe and not jealous Zoe would do best in this conversation.

“I wanted to ask you about Ricardo Jimenez. I understand you arranged for him to be invited on the dinner cruise the night he was murdered.”

Chandella shrugged. “So?”

“I saw him grab you that morning and pull you into the breezeway. You didn’t look happy to see him.”

“I wasn’t. The guy is a bottom feeder.”

Chandella took a sip of her drink, which looked a lot like a mai tai despite the fact that it was at least two hours until lunch.

“If you didn’t even like the guy why did you agree to talk to Jensen about inviting him on the cruise?”

“Why do you want to know?” she asked.

“At this point I’m afraid I’m still the prime suspect in his murder. I didn’t do it, so I’m trying to figure out who did.”

“I wasn’t even on the boat,” Chandella said.

I took a deep breath. “I realize that. I’m not accusing you of anything. I’m just trying to figure out why he was on the boat.”

Chandella looked me up and down. I waited for her to decide whether to confide in me. I wouldn’t be surprised if she decided not to. She didn’t know me from Adam and had no reason to care about my possible incarceration.

“Ricardo knew I cheated on Jensen,” Chandella eventually shared. “He threatened to tell him if I didn’t get him an invite, so I did. I don’t know why he wanted to be there. He didn’t volunteer the information and I didn’t ask. I don’t know who killed him, but the guy was a lowlife I won’t miss one tiny bit.”

Chandella pulled her shirt over her head and tossed it aside. She laid back down on her stomach, as if to communicate that the discussion was over.

“What do you mean, you cheated on Jensen?” I asked. “He’s married. He’s cheating on Della with you. I’m not sure how you can cheat on him.”

Chandella answered without so much as lifting her head. “Jensen has a wife and several mistresses. He provides for all of us, and in exchange we’re all expected to be faithful to him. If he found out I was cheating he would cut me off financially and ban me from the resort.”

“So you all know about one another?”

“We do. Can you spray some of that tanning lotion on my back?”

I did as she asked. If I had to guess, any of the men in the area would have been happy to comply if I hadn’t been around.

“And you’re happy with this arrangement?” I asked. I was finding this conversation difficult to stomach.

Chandella opened her eyes and lifted her head from the pillow she was resting on. “Sure. Why not? Jensen is a wealthy man. None of us want for anything. I really can’t see giving up what I have to enter into a monogamous relationship with a man who would expect me to live in squalor. Now, if I could land a rich man like Zak that might be a different story.”

“You stay away from Zak.”

Chandella winked and laid her head back down. “We’ll see.”

I left Chandella and went back to the resort bakery to buy the dozen doughnuts I’d promised Toad, then headed back into town. Zak had texted to inform me that he’d arranged for us to have lunch with Park and Kim at one o’clock. That meant I wouldn’t have a lot of time to drill Toad about the other two suspects, but hopefully, combined with what Zak was able to dig up, it would be enough to help me steer the conversation I hoped to have with the couple while we dined.

“A dozen chocolate doughnuts and a fresh cup of coffee.” I set my offering on Toad’s desk. “And yes, Candy is going to the movie tonight.”

Toad smiled. “Did you track down Chandella?”

“I did. It seems Jimenez had some kind of proof that she’d cheated on Jensen and threatened to tell him about it if she didn’t arrange the invite. Unfortunately, she didn’t know why he wanted to be on the cruise. Personally, I think it might have had something to do with Park Lee.”

Toad shoved half of a doughnut into his mouth. He chewed loudly and swallowed before he replied. “Why do you say that?”

I shared my suspicion that Park had been manipulating things the entire evening. He’d been the one to send me for the knife in the first place. He’d disappeared in order to go to the men’s room after I left to fetch it and hadn’t reappeared until after I found the body. It was his wife who’d discovered me in the hall with the body, and she was the one who had alerted the others.

“Admittedly, I can’t prove anything, which is why I’d hoped you could share with me what you know about him,” I concluded.

“And why would I do that?”

“Because deep in your gut you know I’m innocent?” I tried.

He rolled his eyes.

“Because I’ll bring you another dozen doughnuts tomorrow morning?”

That earned me a smile. Toad shrugged. “Guess it couldn’t hurt. You seem to have figured out pretty much everything we suspect anyway.”

I sat down on the chair on the other side of his desk and waited for Toad to continue. If I knew the man could be bought for a box of doughnuts, I would have started bringing them days ago.

“Okay, what do you know that I haven’t figured out?” I asked.

“Park Lee and Ricardo Jimenez visited the resort during the same span of days two months ago. During that time, they were seen together often. It is not the norm for vendors and guests to mingle; Jensen tries to keep the vendors and guests separate, as he does guests and employees.”

“Go on,” I encouraged when Toad stopped talking.

“You will bring coffee with the doughnuts tomorrow?”

“A whole thermos,” I promised.

“While it is Jimenez’s normal pattern to visit the resort every couple of months, it is not Park Lee’s pattern to make a return visit so soon after he was here. What is even odder is that Jimenez and Park Lee arrived on the same day.”

“When was that?” I asked.

“The Sunday before you arrived on Monday.”

Interesting.

“Is that all?” I asked.

“For now. Bring me the doughnuts tomorrow and I will see if I can remember anything else.”

I could see our conversation was over so I stood up. “We’ll both be at the fund-raiser this evening, so can we count that as my evening check-in?”

Toad considered my request.

“I guess that would be acceptable. And remember, if you stumble over any new information, you are to find me immediately.”

“I will. I promise.”

By the time I got back to the house it was time to get ready for our lunch. Zak filled me in on his morning while I got changed.

“The deposits into the offshore account have all been made in the past four months. Each deposit was for twenty thousand dollars and there were five deposits in all.”

“Wow; that’s a lot of money. Who made the deposits?”

“Park Lee is the only name of the five I recognize. I checked the others against resort records and all five guests have stayed here during the past four months. Likewise, all five stayed in the VIP section. All five men rented sailboats, ate in the VIP dining room, took advantage of spa services, and went parasailing and scuba diving. It also appears that all five men participated in private card games hosted by Jensen. ”

“Toad mentioned that Park and Kim were here two months ago and that the span of days they stayed mirrored the days Ricardo was here. He also told me that while it’s Ricardo’s normal pattern to visit the resort every couple of months, Park usually doesn’t visit so frequently. Can you zip this up for me?”