Deadly Deceit (7 page)

Sometimes I wonder if I will become like the ancient mariner, incurring the wrath of the spirits when he shot the albatross? Will I be doomed to bear the burden of my crimes and wander the seas for eternity? Except that would be no hardship for me.

I’ve been thinking about that a lot lately, trying to pin-point the turning point, the exact moment. But I can’t. I had a simple, happy childhood. I had everything I needed. Since then, I’ve lived my life exactly how I’ve wanted to live it. So when did it happen?

When did I become this person I am now? Still, think of what the Bible says: “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.”

Jess lay in bed, exhausted from travelling, but with her mind so alive she was finding it hard to get to sleep. She’d been up twice to get a drink of water to counteract all the food and alcohol at dinner. Why did she have that coffee after everyone had gone? Now, apart from the sound of waves caressing the shore, all she could hear was the ceiling fan clunking rhythmically above.

Tossing this way and that in the heat, her arms and legs itched like mad from mozzie bites. She’d been counting sheep, even trying to meditate herself to sleep.

Clunk… clunk.

She had to get some sleep, or she’d be fit for nothing in the morning.

Clunk… clunk.

Her eyes felt heavy…

The pavement glowed white in the moonlight as she ran. Only the sound of her ragged breathing cut into the silence of the night. Throat constricted with terror and dizzy with exhaustion, she was running as fast as she could without getting anywhere.
Run!
She screamed at herself.
Run!

She looked over her shoulder. She couldn’t hear any footsteps, but she knew he was there.

Fear flowed through her. She had to get inside where she’d be safe… if only she could get to the door. Why couldn’t she get to the door? Why couldn’t she move?

She could hear her teeth chattering, then another sound…

A familiar sound, carried over from her waking life. If only she could understand it. Was someone crying? A child? But the sound escaped back into the recesses of her dreams, lost or irretrievable in her befuddled mind.

A loud noise crashed in her ears. Jess snapped awake, and looked around at unfamiliar dark shapes and shadows.

Where was she?

Of course!
Everything came flooding back… the Governor’s Residence.

Lying naked, she stared into womblike darkness, listening to the rain lash against the windows. Her hair was sticking to her damp forehead and neck, as little beads of sweat trickled between her breasts.

The latch on her bedroom door clicked.

She gasped and sat up. “Who’s there?”

No reply.

Her heart hammered as she jumped out of bed and went over to the door. She peered out to the landing. No-one there. The house was dark and still. Closing the door, she turned the key in the lock and went over to the window. As she opened the shutters, spray from the hammering rain blew in her face. It was so refreshing, she breathed in deeply to banish the suffocating heat, and looked down into the courtyard. She could see nothing in the dark and rain. It must have been the wind earlier blowing through the house’s old timbers and rattling the latch on her bedroom door. Why was she so jumpy?

She went back over to the bed, then stopped. There was no way she’d be able to go back to sleep without checking the house.

She put on her robe. Barefoot, she went back to the door, and put her ear against it. No sound. She unlocked the door and crept out onto the landing. Total darkness. She listened again. There was no-one there, but she could feel a cool draught of air floating up the staircase. Where was it coming from? Eyes attuned to the darkness, she went down the stairs and followed the draught along the hallway, and into the kitchen, where the back door stood wide open.

What on earth?

She hurried over and peered outside. Through the rain, she saw a light moving around in the distance. It looked like a flashlight. Then it faded and disappeared.

Her feet suddenly felt wet. She bent down and touched the tiled floor. She was standing in a puddle of water.

Her stomach fluttered. Someone must have come in through this door from the rain, and gone out again. Quickly, she slammed the door shut and threw the top and bottom bolts.

Feeling around the walls, she found the light switch and flicked it on. Her eyes watered in the glare, but she could see nothing out of place. None of the cupboards or drawers was open, or ransacked. She went into the dining room and switched on the lights. Same there. In the main reception room, everything was neat and tidy too.

There was no sign of any forced entry, which meant someone must have got in with a key. Perhaps Maggie had forgotten something and come back for it? But she wouldn’t go out and leave the back door wide open, would she? It didn’t make sense.

Jess was in two minds as to what to do. Should she call someone? And say what? That someone had been in the house, but there was no forced entry and nothing apparently missing. Who would she call anyway? She decided to wait until morning.

She climbed the stairs back up to her room. Passing the landing window that overlooked the front entrance, she noticed a light on in the Governor’s Office at the end of the drive. Who was working at that time of night? Perhaps David was trying to clear his desk before leaving in the morning? Yes, she thought, that was likely. It cheered her up to think a colleague was close by.

She went back into her room and flicked on the light. As soon as the darkness and shadows were banished, she felt even better. But that didn’t stop her checking the bathroom, inside the wardrobe and under the bed to make sure no-one was there. This time she locked the door, securely.

Oh God, she suddenly thought. Perhaps David had been in the house? Had he popped his head round her bedroom door and seen her naked? She got up again and slipped on her nightdress. She’d just have to put up with the heat.

She lay back on the bed. The breeze from the ceiling fan chilled her damp skin and made her shiver. She was overwrought with travelling, that’s all. But she was even less sleepy now than before.

Lying there, her eyes cast lazily around the room. As they settled on a chair in the corner, she sat bolt upright again.

A rag doll was sitting on the chair, propped up against the cushion.

Where had that come from? It hadn’t been there earlier. She would definitely have noticed it. Her mind flashed back to what the Chief Justice said at dinner about poppet dolls and bad spirits.
Voodoo?
Her heart quickened again.

She got up and went over to the doll. It was made entirely of black cloth, and plumped up with some kind of stuffing. It had two buttons sewn on for eyes, and two strips of red material for lips, in the shape of a smile. As Jess picked it up, sand sprinkled out of the doll’s black hair. It’s red gingham dress felt wet too.

She put it back on the chair. This was no voodoo doll to stick pins in, this was a child’s toy. Suddenly that sound in the fog of sleep earlier came back to her. Had she heard a real child crying? Or was her memory just playing tricks?

A familiar wave of sadness came over her. She went over to the wardrobe and pulled a framed photo out of her suitcase. Staring at Jack and Amy, she brushed her lips across the glass before standing it on the bedside cabinet. It felt comforting to have them with her, in this strange place.

That was the trouble, she thought. It
was
a strange place, with a strange atmosphere. That, and the shock of the Governor’s accident, was playing with her head. She’d be fine in the morning, she told herself. Nevertheless, she lay tossing and turning for a long time, before slipping back into a restless sleep.

*

When she woke up again, light was streaming through the open shutters. She looked at the clock. 6.10am. Getting up, she went over to the window. Gone was the incessant rain, dark shadows and oppressive heat. In its place was beautiful blue sky and sunshine, and the sound of gentle waves lapping on the beach. Her spirits rose as the fresh morning air blew in her face, dispelling last night’s fears.

Hot and sticky from her disturbed night, she decided to go for a quick swim before breakfast. It was early enough. She put on her swimsuit and beach robe, and went downstairs. Another glance in all the rooms confirmed that there’d been no burglary. It must have been Maggie or David in the house last night after all. She unlocked the kitchen door, and went out into bright morning light.

She walked across the courtyard and garden, and stepped onto the beach. Her bare feet sank into fine sand, which was already hot, but not so hot that she couldn’t walk on it. She scanned the beach both ways as she headed straight towards the sea. No-one around, except in the distance she could see about five or six ponies grazing on a patch of grass adjoining the beach.

The water looked like a turquoise millpond. White, foamy breakers in the distance indicated the reef’s location. Beyond that, dark blue sea stretched into the horizon. She remembered Brad’s words. “Just a few hundred yards offshore, the seabed drops to 7,000 feet.”

She swam out a little way, then stopped and put her feet gingerly on the bottom. Nothing but soft sand. This really was paradise. More confident now, she swam along the shoreline, rather than go out of her depth. Hearing a distant splash, she looked up to see the ponies had gone into the sea, and were swimming and playing like young children. It was surreal. Magical even.

She kicked out her legs and floated on her back. Her head started to clear, and she thought about what she had to do that day. As soon as she got into the office, she’d phone Miami to find out how the Governor was doing. Then she’d ring the Police Commissioner and ask for a copy of the police report on the car crash to send to London. And all that talk over dinner last night about voodoo and missing pets was weighing on her mind. She’d ask him to do a proper analysis of the bones found at that beach bonfire.

Suddenly something touched the top of her head. Startled, she scrambled to put her feet on the bottom and turned…

A pony!

She panicked as the herd surrounded her. But it turned out they were just curious. One came close enough for her to stroke his nose. He nudged her arm gently again and again. She didn’t understand what he wanted at first. Then she realised, and grabbed hold of his mane. She laughed as he pulled her back to shore and deposited her close to the beach, before swimming back to his friends. They must play this game with the local children, she thought.

That
was the friendliest experience she’d had since arriving on the island.

Reluctantly, she set off back to the Residence. On the way, she stopped to pick up small shells, or to study pieces of driftwood and black seaweed. As the house came closer, she noticed two porthole windows right at the top. Must be an attic above the bedrooms, she thought. Those windows looked like sentries’ eyes, keeping a watch out to sea.

Through the gap in the bushes, she spotted a woman watching her from the Residence garden. Dressed in a navy blue suit, and with her jet black hair tied firmly in a bun, the woman had a confident air about her.

Jess approached her with a smile.

The woman looked her up and down.

Jess knew she must look a sight in her beach robe, with wet hair hanging down, but she held out her hand. “Hello. I’m Jessica Turner.”

The woman averted her eyes and shook Jess’s fingers, limply. “Alvita Pearson.” Her voice was stiff and formal. “I’m responsible for the local staff and administration in the Governor’s Office.”

There was that surname Pearson again, Jess thought.

Heavy footsteps came pounding along the verandah, and they both turned.

“
There
you are, Jess.” David came rushing over. “I’m glad you two have met,” he said, breathlessly. “I’ve written some handover notes for you.” He thrust a brown envelope at Jess. “Sorry to leave you in the lurch like this, but I have to go. I’m booked on the first flight over to Provo.”

“Thanks.” Jess took the envelope. “Is there a police report on the Governor’s accident in here?”

David shook his head.

“Then I’d better call on the Police Commissioner first thing and get a copy for London.”

Alvita intervened. “He usually calls on the Governor at 3pm every Wednesday to report the latest incidents of crime.”

Jess turned to her. “Could you ask him to come this morning instead? We need to talk urgently about the Governor’s accident.”

Alvita shrugged. “He may not want to come at all in the Governor’s absence.”

“Yes he will.” David turned to Alvita. “The Governor’s accident is the most pressing issue. Please ask him to come at 11am.”

Alvita gave a curt nod, and walked away.

“Don’t mind her,” David said to Jess. “She’ll be okay, once she gets used to you.”

Jess shrugged. She was already used to the islanders.

“Anyway, Sally will help you find your way around. She’ll be your eyes and ears in the office too.”

“Sally?” Jess frowned at him. How could she depend on her? “Her behaviour was outrageous last night.
So
rude.”

He looked worried. “I know, but…”

“She has a drink problem.”

He hesitated. “She does drink a lot, but she’s not an alcoholic or anything like that. She’s just temperamental. When she gets upset, like she is about the Governor, she drinks and goes over the top.” He hopped from one foot to the other, anxious to leave. “I’m sure you
can
rely on her, Jess.”

Jess didn’t think she would ever rely on Sally for anything, but she didn’t voice that opinion. David was feeling bad enough about leaving as it was. “Go on. Off you go.” She smiled. “Or you’ll miss that flight.”

He hesitated. “I’m so sorry to dump everything on you.”

“I’ll be fine,” she said. “You just concentrate on seeing your mum.”

He nodded. “Thanks.”

“I hope it goes… as well as can be expected back home.”