Death in a Beach Chair

SIX

They got the news at breakfast. The storm had arrived overnight, and the resort staff had rolled down heavy clear plastic tarps to protect the diners from the wind and rain. The view through the plastic was blurred, and the sound of the pounding rain could not be ignored. The resulting ambiance was gloomy. As Susan looked around at the almost empty room, she realized that many vacationers had decided this was the perfect occasion for room service. The Henshaws were having coffee as they waited for Jerry and Kathleen to arrive.

Susan had wondered if this was the perfect opportunity to question Jed about Jerry’s strange conduct and then discarded the idea. They were on vacation; there must be something else to talk about than their friends’ marriage.

“Too bad it’s raining,” Jed said, looking out at the sea. “I was thinking we might take a walk up the beach. Jerry found some sensational sea urchin shells yesterday.”

“Where? There were some shell fragments under the pier, but I didn’t see any intact shells.”

“Back that way.” Jed pointed west past all the cottages and the pier. “You can either wait until low tide and walk around the seawall or you climb over it. Apparently there are miles of pristine beach in that direction. James told me about it while you and Kathleen were kayaking.”

“And Jerry walked up there while we were out?”

“I don’t know when he was there, but he told me about it while we were all sitting around the pool yesterday afternoon. That’s when I thought we might go this morning. I know how you love to collect shells.”

“Yes, but I don’t want to collect them in the rain,” Susan said, as their waitress appeared with a platter of fresh fruit. “How long do you think the storm will last?” she asked her.

“Oh, our weather comes and goes. This will not ruin your vacation. It will have blown out to sea by the afternoon. You’ll see. Oh, here is your friend. I’ll bring her coffee.”

“Bring two coffees,” Jed suggested as Kathleen ducked under the tarp. “Her husband will be close behind.”

Susan wished she could be so sure about that. “Where’s Jerry?” she asked as Kathleen sat down in the chair between them.

“There’s some sort of commotion at the end of the pier. He went out to see what was going on.” She smiled at Susan. “I think he’s beginning to relax. He’s almost his old self this morning.”

“Oh, Kath, that’s great news! Now the weather doesn’t matter so much. Jed was just telling me about the beaches up beyond the last cottage. Jerry told him there were sensational shells up there. We don’t have to let the rain stop us. We can walk up in the rain. Heaven knows, it’s warm enough and we’re not going to melt.”

“All four of us?”

“Sure, why not? We need to get as much exercise as possible. We’re certainly eating enough. Those macadamia nut pancakes on the menu look interesting.”

“I was thinking about the coconut muffins with mango butter,” Kathleen said, picking up the large sheet of paper on which the morning’s offerings were printed. “Or maybe the tarragon omelet with English bangers.”

“I wonder where our waitress has gone,” Jed spoke up. “We ordered coffee for you and Jer, and she said it would be out in just a moment.”

Susan looked around. “She seems to have disappeared.”

Jed, who was in a position to look out toward the sea, frowned. “Is that our waitress running toward the dock?”

Susan turned and looked over her shoulder. “Wow! It looks like the entire staff is heading in that direction. What do you think is going on?”

“We were just passing by on our way here, and your friend was walking back from there.” One of the women from the card-playing group leaned over from a nearby table to explain. “He said that some young boys-they must fish out there no matter what the weather-had found a body.”

“Someone drowned?” Kathleen said, starting to stand up.

“No, now I don’t know about that, but I couldn’t be sure in all this blowing. The sand does make an incredible racket, doesn’t it?”

“But where did you see my husband?” Kathleen asked.

“He was coming in this direction. I can’t imagine where he’s gotten to. It was only a few minutes ago. Oh, look, here he is.”

Jerry Gordon was walking toward them. Raindrops had stained his shirt, and a towel hung around his neck. “I went back to the room to change,” he said, not bothering to greet anyone.

“Jerry… this woman says that you told her that a body has been found.”

Jerry looked at the woman his wife had pointed out before answering. “Yes. That’s what I was told. They found her in the gazebo.”

“So that’s where everyone is going,” Jed said.

“Actually, it looks as though everyone is coming back here now,” Susan said, watching.

“It’s Lila’s fault. She’s ordering the staff back to work,” the woman they’d been chatting with announced. “She runs a tight ship, I can tell you.”

“Who’s Lila?” Jed asked.

“She manages this place,” Jerry answered. “She introduced herself to us the day we arrived, didn’t she?” he continued to his wife.

“If she did, I don’t remember it,” Kathleen said. “But it does look as though the staff is returning. Thank goodness. Maybe someone will bring us more coffee.”

“And some news about the body,” Susan added quietly. “I hate to think of someone drowning right where we were kayaking yesterday.”

“I told my husband the day we arrived that this place was unsafe. No lifeguards. You’d have to look for quite a while to find a beach without a lifeguard in New Jersey. That’s where I live.”

“Oh, where? We have friends who have a summer house in Avalon,” Susan, ever gregarious, said.

“Avalon is lovely. We have a place in Loveladies, but-”

One of her companions, a heavyset man with what looked like a painful sunburn on his bald head, interrupted her. “We can order now, Ro. Our waitress has returned.”

“We’ll talk later, dear. Such a dreadful thing. A death right at the beginning of your nice vacation.”

Susan turned back to her own party. Jerry and Kathleen were studying their menus intently, but Jed was still looking toward the now thinning crowd on the beach, his coffee cooling before him. “I think I’ll go see what’s happening,” he said. “Order the pancakes with bacon for me, Sue.”

“Don’t you want to try the coconut pancakes with burnt sugar syrup?”

“No, just the regular kind with regular syrup,” her husband answered, getting up and pushing his chair away from the rain that was blowing through a slit in the heavy plastic. “I’ll be right back,” he assured her. Then he pulled the tarp aside and disappeared into the rain.

Susan looked over at Kathleen. “I wonder what that was about.”

“I wonder where our waitress is. I could really use some coffee.” Almost before the words were out of Kathleen’s mouth, their waitress was at their side, coffee in hand.

“Can you take our orders now?” Susan asked.

“I…” She rummaged in her apron pocket. “Oh, I forgot my pad. I’ll be right back.” And before anyone could protest, she was gone.

“Well, at least she left the coffeepot,” Kathleen said, picking it up and filling all their cups.

“You can’t expect the service to be normal when a murdered woman was just discovered close by,” Jerry said, pouring cream into his coffee.

“Who said anything about murder?” Susan asked.

Jerry seemed startled by this question. “I thought everyone knew. She’s dead. There was a fishing line pulled tight around her neck. It couldn’t have been an accident.”

“But-”

Kathleen interrupted before Susan could ask another question. “I don’t understand why you say that. She could have drowned accidentally. She might have become entangled in the fishing line after her death.”

“But she wasn’t found in the water. She was found sprawled on one of the deck chairs. She was wet, but it was from the rain. She was murdered.” And suddenly, without any warning, tears were running down Jerry’s cheeks. “I-I think I’d better go back to our cottage,” he muttered, getting up.

Kathleen didn’t waste a second before following him.

Their waitress reappeared, notebook in hand, to discover Susan sitting alone at the table. “Why don’t you just put the coffees on our bill and we’ll get back to breakfast in a bit,” Susan suggested, standing up. “I think I should find out what’s going on.”

“They’ve taken her away,” their waitress said. Then she moved closer and lowered her voice. “She was a guest, you see. They don’t want to upset other guests. They don’t want everyone to think they might get murdered in their sleep. Not good for business.” She stood up and spoke more loudly. “Of course, maybe you weren’t going to join your husband.”

“Actually, I was.”

“Your husband may’ve gotten the last look before they covered her up. You can’t see her anymore. I told you. They’ve taken her away.”

But Susan had gotten up and was heading for the pier, despite the rain, despite the woman’s protests. Jed was among the least impulsive of men. If he had felt the need to check out the dead woman, there was a reason for his behavior. And she was going to find out what it was.