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She nodded. ‘And you thought he might be meeting someone?’
‘That’s right. Did any of the others leave your room at any time?’
‘Not until later.’ She blushed. ‘Ed must have passed out there. I found him on the couch in the morning.’
‘Did Ed ever mention knowing Bud from before?’
Karen looked down at her plate and speared a scallop. ‘No.’ Then she looked back at me and her eyes widened. ‘What are you suggesting? That Ed murdered Bud? You can’t be serious?’
‘I don’t know, Karen. I’m just curious, that’s all.’
‘But why? Why are you interested? Are you a cop?’
‘I’m a private investigator,’ I told her, ‘but I’m not licensed to operate down here.’ I shrugged. ‘It just seemed suspicious to me, that’s all.’
I paused for a moment, then I jumped right in and told her about Schiller’s true identity and the land scam, in which one Edward Bre
When she came back, she looked a lot better. She didn’t wear much make-up, but she had given herself a fresh coat of the basics and looked good as new.
‘I’m sorry for overreacting,’ she said. ‘Honestly, I’d never really considered that Bud’s death could have been deliberate. I suppose I was too busy blaming myself. But Ed…?’
‘I can’t be sure,’ I said. ‘But it doesn’t look good. Are you certain he never left your condo?’
‘He went over to his own unit to pick up some Scotch. I’d run out. But he wasn’t gone for more than ten minutes.’
‘Ten minutes was enough.’
‘What are you going to do?’
‘Tell the authorities, I suppose.’
She nodded slowly. ‘That would be the right thing to do, of course. But poor Ed. I don’t like the thought of him spending the rest of his life in jail. Can’t you just… you know… let it go?’
‘However much of an asshole Bud Schiller was, he didn’t deserve to die like that.’
‘You’re right,’ she whispered. ‘I’d like to go home.’
As I followed Karen’s Honda back to Whispering Palms, I was begi
Once we were inside, she busied herself preparing the drinks, flitting nervously between fridge and cocktail cabinet, chattering brightly away. Ever since we got back, I’d sensed a certain tension between us and I thought it was sexual. When she walked past me to open the sliding glass door to the lanai, I put my hand out and touched her shoulder. She turned, gave me a swift peck on the cheek and said she had to go to the bathroom.
I gazed out at the dark island beyond the lanai, the Christmas lights on the bridge, drink in hand, waiting for her. What did the peck on the cheek mean? Was it promise or consolation? You’re an old fool, Jack Erwin, I told myself. You should stick to your bourbon and blues.
Then I heard a door open behind me. Thinking it was Karen coming back, I turned around.
Ed Bre
Before I had time to react, the front door opened and Gi
Karen came out of the bathroom. She wasn’t carrying any weapon and she looked as if she had been crying. ‘Oh, Jack,’ she said, shaking her head. ‘I’m so sorry.’
‘What are you going to do?’ I asked, trying to sound more confident than I felt. ‘Hit me on the head with the baseball bat then stab me and pretend it was an accident? Just to protect Ed here? Come on, Karen, he’s not worth it.’
‘You don’t understand,’ Karen said. ‘You think you know everything but you don’t. You don’t know anything.’
My breath caught in my throat. ‘What the hell are you talking about?’
Then a strange thing happened. I saw Karen flash a quick, sad glance at Ed, and he just seemed to deflate right before my eyes. His baseball bat dropped to the floor. ‘He’s right, Karen,’ he said. ‘We can’t do this. We’re not killers.’
I looked at Gi
After I got my breath back, I turned to Karen and said, ‘Right, now we’ve got that charade out of the way, will someone tell me what’s going on here?’
‘I’m sorry,’ Ed said for the third time. ‘I don’t know what came over us. We were desperate. I still can’t imagine what made us think we could kill an i
‘I’m sorry I deceived you,’ Karen said. ‘I admit I was trying to find out if you knew anything. After I saw you and the woman from the office looking at the pool yesterday, I thought you might be trouble. So I arranged the puncture.’
Well that makes two of us acting from impure motives, I thought. ‘So you’re all sorry,’ I said. ‘Whoop-a-de-doo-dah. Now would someone tell me why I shouldn’t call the police right now?’
‘We can’t stop you,’ Ed said. ‘We won’t stop you. In a way, it would be a relief.’
I poured three fingers of Karen’s bourbon into my glass and settled down on the sofa beside Gi
‘We all did,’ Ed answered.
I looked at Karen and Gi
Jesus Christ, I thought, it’s Murder on the Orient Express all over again.
‘Gi
‘What I really don’t understand,’ I went on, ‘is why. I know Smith cheated Ed out of his life’s savings, but what did he ever do to you, Karen?’
‘My father,’ she said flatly. ‘Vernon Co
I took a long sip of bourbon and let the fire fill my mouth before swallowing. ‘What about you, Gi
‘My husband. Harvey Pellier. I went back to my maiden name.’
‘What happened?’
Gi
After a few moments of silence, Ed ran his hands through his hair and said he wouldn’t mind a drink. Karen got him a Scotch on the rocks. Then he began. ‘I bumped into Smith about four years ago. Pure chance. Coincidence. I just couldn’t believe it. I suppose, when you think about it, you never know who’s going to be renting from who. Anyway, I saw him, after over fifteen years, and do you know what?’
I shook my head.
‘He didn’t recognize me. I mean, you ought to recognize people whose lives you ruined, don’t you think? Because of him I had a nervous breakdown, I got hooked on the booze, lost job after job. You name it.’ He thumped his chest with his fist. ‘Then, when I began to relive what he’d done to me, I realized the anger was still there. Only now I had the advantage. But I couldn’t kill him. Not alone.’ He glanced at Karen and Gi