Second Honeymoon

Chapter 19

THE GOOD NEWS was that I wasn’t dead.

“Now do you want the bad news?” asked Joe Eldridge. “Because I do have some bad news.”

He was standing at the foot of my bed, his expression teetering somewhere between pity and annoyance. Surely the police commissioner didn’t expect to see me again so soon, let alone laid up in the Grace Bay Medical Centre with a couple of cracked ribs and a mild concussion.

“What I really want is some more painkillers,” I said.

I wasn’t kidding, either. My head was pounding. Hell, my whole body was pounding. It hurt just to blink.

As Eldridge explained, the bad news wasn’t that Speedo got away. It was that his real name was Pierre Simone, and that he was a con man and a poker cheat.

But nothing more.

“I wouldn’t let him babysit my kids,” said Eldridge. “But he’s no murderer. He’s not violent.”

“How can you be sure?” I asked.

He folded his arms. “Trust me; I know him.”

In Eldridge’s right hand I noticed a manila envelope, but I wasn’t ready to go there yet. The “trust me” explanation needed more details. This Pierre guy nearly got me killed, after all. So riddle me this, Mr. Commissioner…

“Why would he take off on me?” I asked.

“There’s an arrest warrant on him in the States. Some bounced checks in New York, I believe,” said Eldridge. “You had an American accent and, I presume, a lot of questions for him. He panicked.”

“Panicked?”

“I’m sure you know that Turks and Caicos adheres to the extradition agreement between the United States and Great Britain.”

“Not only do I know it, I’m inclined to put it to good use,” I said, only to watch Eldridge smile. I stared at him. “You think I’m kidding?”

He raised his palms. “No. I’m sorry, it’s not that. No one told you yet, did they?”

“Told me what?”

“You blacked out after your crash. Pierre’s the one who took you onto shore to get help. I guess he felt guilty.”

“Wait. So you have him in custody?”

Eldridge chuckled. “He didn’t feel that guilty,” he said. “He took off as soon as an ambulance was called. But like I said before, he’s not a violent person.”

I was lying there in the bed listening to Eldridge, but it was what I was seeing that proved more telling. The commissioner had the same look that he had when we first met in his office. He knew something I didn’t.

Then it clicked for me.

“Shit. He’s an informant for you, isn’t he?” I asked.

Eldridge nodded. “Pierre’s been very helpful on a few cases over the years. In return, I occasionally look the other way for him. But that’s not why I’m sure he isn’t a suspect,” he said.

With that, he handed me the envelope he’d been holding. My entire investigation was about to change. The trip to Turks and Caicos had just paid off.