Death in a Beach Chair

EIGHTEEN

“How’s Jerry?” Kathleen asked immediately.

“How are you? You look exhausted!” Susan cried.

“Jerry’s just fine. He was just getting ready to take a nap when I left him. I promised I’d be back in an hour or so. The kitchen here is going to pack up a lunch to bring him.”

“So you came back just to pick up lunch?” Kathleen asked, sounding dubious.

“That was an excuse. I came back to give you two a message. And I’d be a lot happier if I had some idea what message I’m supposed to be delivering.”

“What?” Kathleen and Susan asked simultaneously.

“Look, Kathleen, you’ve been there, you know how it is with Jerry. There’s absolutely no privacy and no way to talk without being overheard. The doors and windows are louvered. Anyone could be standing right outside and listening to anything we say. And a guard remained in the room for the entire time I was there, as well.”

“So you couldn’t write each other notes or whisper or anything like that,” Susan guessed.

“Exactly. We kind of stood around together and commented on the weather and stuff until Jerry suggested playing cards.”

“We thought that didn’t sound like you two,” Kathleen explained.

“It isn’t, but once we started, I realized it was a brilliant idea on his part. We played and chatted, trying to sound casual. At first, I didn’t realize what was going on.”

“What was going on?” Kathleen asked.

“A whole lot-at least, that’s what I started thinking on the drive back here. The most important thing is that Jerry kept mentioning you, Kathleen. And in sort of a negative way.”

“What?”

“That’s not what I was trying to say.” Jed ran his hands through his hair and took a deep breath. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that to sound so awful. Jerry kept mentioning you, Kath, and after a while, I realized he was trying to give me a message.”

“What message?” Susan asked.

“What sort of negative things was he saying?” was Kathleen’s question.

“He kept saying things like Kathleen shouldn’t go out in the kayaks here. That it’s too dangerous. And that he didn’t want Kathleen to swim in the ocean. That he thought that might be dangerous, too. Frankly, I thought he was getting a bit paranoid. I said something about you going out kayaking,” Jed explained to his wife. “And Jerry said that was just fine. That Susan was safe kayaking and being in the ocean and Kathleen wasn’t.”

“I swim as well as Susan,” Kathleen protested.

“But I don’t believe Jerry was talking about the ocean. I think he was talking about looking into Allison’s murder. I think he thought that Susan should and you shouldn’t.”

“Why? Does he think I will find out something about him that he doesn’t want me to know?” Kathleen asked bitterly.

“I don’t think that’s what he was saying at all,” Susan protested. “I think he was trying to warn Kathleen.”

“About what?” Kathleen asked.

“I think he wants you to stay put inside the cottage. I think he thinks you might be in danger.”

“Oh, please. I’m not going to fall off a kayak. I’m not going to drown in the ocean. And I sure as shit am not going to sit in my cottage and twiddle my thumbs while Jerry is under arrest on an island in the Caribbean. Period.”

Susan nodded approvingly. “Of course not.

“So what else did Jerry tell you?” she asked, turning her attention to her husband.

“I think-but I’m not sure-that he was trying to tell me something about the cardplayers.”

“What cardplayers?” Kathleen asked.

“Those two couples who are always playing bridge?” Susan guessed.

“I don’t know which couples you mean, but you know how I am about people.”

Susan nodded. She did. He was unobservant. Not in a normal husband “have you worn that dress before? when she’d worn it weekly for over three years” sort of way, but in a “who was sitting next to us last night when that happened” sort of way. It was unlikely that her husband would have noticed two bridge-playing couples in their mid-sixties. “So what did Jerry say about them?”

“He didn’t say anything about them. He just kept talking about playing cards. At first he said maybe we should find a deck and play a game, that it was amazing how you could play cards and think and talk about something else.”

“So?”

“So I called a guard and asked if he could find us a deck of cards. There were two guards right outside Jerry’s door playing cards when I arrived, so I knew there wouldn’t be any trouble finding us a deck.”

“So?”

“Look, even after I had brought the cards and after we started playing, he kept talking about how interesting it is what people say when they’re playing cards. I thought he was trying to make a point-so I would listen to what he was saying. But he kept repeating himself over and over. It finally occurred to me that maybe he was trying to make a point about something back here.”

“And you’re sure he said the important thing is what people talk about when they play cards?” Susan asked.

“I can’t be sure of anything, hon. It’s possible that he was just making sure that I was listening carefully to what he was saying. And if that’s true, all he’s worried about is keeping Kathleen indoors.”

“And since I’m not going to do that, I guess we can ignore the entire thing,” Kathleen said.

“Do you want to come see him when I take back his lunch?” Jed asked her.

Kathleen hesitated. “I love being with him.”

“You know he would love to see you,” Susan said.

“And you might understand what he’s trying to tell you better than I do,” Jed added.

“On the other hand, those people who wrote us notes are expecting to talk to both of us,” Kathleen pointed out.

“That’s true.”

“And it could be important that I talk to them.”

“That’s true, too.”

“Rose certainly wanted to talk to me, as well as you.”

Susan nodded. “So you think you should stay here.”

“Yes. After all, we’re meeting Peggy and Frank for drinks, right?”

“So you want me to tell Jerry that you can’t come see him because of your full social schedule?” Jed asked.

“No, don’t tell him that. He might worry.”

“These are all guests who want to talk to us about the murder,” Susan explained. “If Jerry doesn’t want Kath to investigate, he won’t be happy to hear about any of it.”

“Do you mind lying to him?” Kathleen asked.

“Yes. And, as Susan will tell you, I’m not really any good at lying.”

“Why don’t you tell Jerry that Kathleen will bring him dinner tonight? That she’s lying down.”

Kathleen obliged by immediately flopping onto the middle of the bed and closing her eyes. “Now it’s not a lie.”

Jed frowned. “I’ll tell Jerry I left Kathleen resting in our cottage. If he asks me what she’s going to do this afternoon-”

“Tell him you have no idea, but you’re sure I’ll be safe.”

“And she will be, Jed,” his wife added. “I won’t leave her side.”

Jed looked from one woman to the other. “I’m not sure that makes me feel a whole lot better. You both be careful.”

“We will be. Don’t worry.”

“I’ll worry,” Jed said. “And I’ll be back as soon as possible.” He glanced down at his watch. “I’d better pick up Jerry’s lunch and get it to him.”

“Why don’t we walk over with you and ask about having a dinner prepared that Kathleen can deliver to him later,” Susan suggested.

“So much for telling Jerry that I left you resting in our cottage,” Jed said, opening the door for the two women.

“You can tell him that you left me in the restaurant. He’ll believe it. He knows that I eat when I get nervous,” Kathleen said.

Jed stopped. “Kathleen, everything’s going to be all right.”

“It will be if I have anything to do about it,” she answered.

He smiled. “I’d place my bet on you two any day of the week. But-”

“-be careful.” Susan finished his sentence for him.

Jed placed an arm around his wife’s shoulders and gave her a quick hug. “You read my mind.”

“Nothing like thirty years of practice,” she said, grinning.

“So thirty years is what it takes,” Kathleen muttered.

Susan and Jed exchanged looks. “Why don’t you go on back to the kitchen alone? You can order Jerry’s dinner and check to see if his lunch is ready at the same time,” Susan suggested to her friend.

“I spoke with a woman named Sissy when I called, so you might look for her,” Jed added.

“Got it. I’ll be back in a few.”

“How’s she holding up?” Jed asked, watching Kathleen walk away.

“I don’t know. We had a long conversation about June. Jerry hadn’t talked much about her, and Kathleen was curious.” They had come to the large coral stone retaining wall, and the Henshaws leaned against it and looked out to sea. “I hadn’t thought about June in years,” she continued, watching as the honeymooning couple horsed around in a two-man kayak.

“Not surprising. Kathleen is a better friend-and probably a better wife-than June ever was.”

Susan’s mouth dropped open, and she looked over at her husband, astonished. “Didn’t you like her?”

“Not really.”

“I can’t believe it. Why didn’t you ever say anything?”

“What good would that have done? Anyway, she was married to Jerry. It didn’t really matter how I felt about her.”

Susan was astounded. “I had no idea!”

“Well, you two were such good friends. I thought saying anything would be inappropriate.”

“But you like Kath.”

“Of course I do. I’m crazy about her. And so is Jerry.”

“Were Jerry and June having problems with their marriage when she died?”

“You’d probably know more about that than I would. Jerry and I don’t talk about our marriages as a rule.”

“June didn’t talk to me like that. We weren’t particularly close.”

It was Jed’s turn to be surprised. “Susan…”

“I don’t think I realized it at the time, Jed…”

“Susan…”

“And I still miss the kids…”

“And maybe you don’t want to talk about this right now. We could be overheard. And considering the situation…”

Susan looked around. The newlyweds had fallen overboard and were enthusiastically dunking each other. A man was sunning himself on a float in the middle of the swimming pool, and half a dozen other guests were lounging on the patio. The bridge players had resumed their tournament, and as Susan watched, Ro became the dummy and got up and walked around to examine her partner’s hand. “Jed, have you ever played cards with Jerry before today?”

“Of course. Sometimes there’s a game going on in the locker room at the club. A bunch of us get together for golf and have to kill time until we can tee off. You know how it is.”

She didn’t, but she nodded anyway.

“Why do you ask?”

“I don’t know. I was just wondering about the two couples that play bridge. Why would they come to a gorgeous place like this and just sit around and play cards? Couldn’t they do that at home?”

“Sure. But at home it’s cold and wet if not actually snowy. Here it’s warm, beautiful, and they can get a tan while they play. Why were you thinking about them?”

“I don’t know. I keep thinking that it’s odd that Jerry would mention card playing to you. Those two couples are the only thing I can think of that he might be talking about.”

“Maybe they saw something.”

“But that’s not what you said. You said that Jerry said to listen to what the cardplayers were saying.”

Jed shrugged. “I have no idea what he was talking about. Guess it’s up to you and Kathleen to figure that one out.”

“Just one of the small mysteries. Maybe if we find an answer to that one, we’ll be a bit closer to finding the murderer.”