Merciless games, p.14
Merciless Games, page 14
I spun around.
“I’m a private investigator,” I said, glaring at him, making him sit back down. “You were right. We’re not just bakers.”
I scanned the room.
Jason opened his mouth to speak but then seemed to decide against it.
“The owner invited me to this island,” I continued. “It was a call for help. They gave us a ten-thousand-dollar retainer to solve a problem for them and said to stay this weekend with all of you.”
Elliot took a sharp breath in. Sophia gaped.
“I didn’t know what problem they were talking about until Helen Jenkins disappeared.” I paused. “I didn’t realize the seriousness of this issue until someone here tried to squash Katy and me with a rolling boulder.”
I gestured to Tetyana with my chin.
“Tetyana works for me. She’s our security officer, and that’s the reason she brought her gun. She came when she heard Mike’s boat had crashed, leaving us isolated. That’s what we’re here for. To solve whatever this problem is and get us all back safely to the mainland.”
I glowered at everyone.
“So, if any of you have our weapon, you’d better give it back now, or we’re searching all of you.”
Silence.
I turned to Tetyana.
“Continue, please.”
Tetyana advanced on Sophia, who was now standing frozen in place. She patted her down while the others stared in numbed silence.
Once done, Tetyana turned to Elliot.
“You’re next,” she commanded.
I don’t know if it was her demeanor or her knife, or maybe both, but Elliot got up immediately. He stood stock still, arms straight, while Tetyana patted him down.
“This is crazy. This is super crazy,” grumbled Jason as he reluctantly got up next.
“If you have it, we’ll find it,” I said. “As soon as we get our phone back, you can be assured we’ll be calling the authorities.”
One by one, Tetyana went around the table.
Javier was easy, but I was surprised Ratcliffe had agreed without complaining. The knife seemed to have a powerful effect on him. Or maybe it was that he now knew who we were and why we were here.
Ratcliffe was a typical bully. He’d push his weight around and attack anyone weaker than him. That is, until he met his match. Or better than his match, in Tetyana’s case.
I turned to Oliver in the back.
“Did you call the Coast Guard yet?”
He gave me a dazed look and fumbled to put the sandwich tray on the buffet table.
“I… I’ve been so… distracted by everything…” he stammered. “I’ll do it right now.” He stepped out of the dining hall, a worried expression on his face.
Why didn’t he call already? I wondered, frowning. I’d taken it for granted that he already had contacted the authorities. Lunch could have waited. Didn’t he realize how serious this was?
“Katy and I will check your rooms next,” I said to everyone. “Tetyana will stay here with you until we’re done.”
“I did nothing wrong,” said Jason in an angry voice. “You won’t find anything in my room.”
“I didn’t take anything from anyone,” said Elliot. “Let alone a gun.”
“We’ll see about that,” I said, gesturing to Mary to join us.
“If you touch my manuscript,” growled Ratcliffe, “I’ll make you lot pay, you hear me?”
“We have no interest in your book,” I said. “Just our weapon.”
I turned one last time to the table before we left.
“My good friend here has fought the Russian militia with her bare hands. She’s skilled in mixed martial arts and can move at lightning speed. If I were you, I wouldn’t try anything stupid.”
Sophia and Elliot gawked. Ratcliffe glared.
Leaving the door open in case we needed to come back in a hurry, Mary, Katy, and I walked up to the third floor.
With shaking hands, Mary opened each of the guest bedrooms for us.
Katy and I scoured each room, knowing the gun and the phone could be hidden anywhere on this island. It was a process of elimination. We would start here and then move outside.
We’d just finished Ratcliffe’s room when we heard footsteps thumping up the staircase.
I whipped around.
“Mary!” came a shout.
It was Oliver.
He was running toward us, sweat dripping from his forehead. His face was flushed, and he was visibly shaking. His wife stumbled toward him, her face creased with worry.
“Are you okay, honey?”
Oliver leaned against Ratcliffe’s door, trembling, as if trying to find the words.
“What’s going on?” asked Katy.
“What in heaven’s name has happened now?” asked Mary, shaking Oliver by the arm. “Tell me!”
He turned to his wife, then to us.
“It’s our radio.”
“What about it?” I said.
“Someone smashed it.”
“You’ve got to be kidding,” I said, feeling my stomach sink.
Oliver rubbed his face with both hands. He looked like he was barely holding himself together.
“The modem, too. Someone took a hammer to them both. I don’t know how I never heard them. What do we do now?”
This was a strange place and getting stranger with every minute.
“When did that happen?” I asked.
“Was it when we were all down on the shore?” asked Katy.
“If it was, how come we didn’t see them go up?” I asked. “They’d have had to take the gun and phone, push the Sea-Doo out and find a way up.”
“Maybe there’s another way to the top,” said Katy, turning to the couple.
They shook their heads.
“Other than the helicopter pad, the walkway is it,” said Oliver.
Katy turned to me.
“Maybe it’s more than one person doing this,” she said.
We stood in silence as we digested this thought.
Someone or some people were playing a nasty game and now had our loaded gun on them.
“They’re trying to isolate us from the mainland,” I said, trying to think. “But why?”
“If they wanted to get rid of us all, they would have used the gun already, wouldn’t they?” said Katy. “Or are they waiting for the right time to pick us off, one by one.”
“This has nothing to do with us,” said Oliver in a whisper. “It’s all those writer folk. Someone wants to get them, and Helen Jenkins was first.”
“Oh, my lord, what in heaven’s name is going on?” whispered Mary, her lips trembling.
I looked at the couple huddled next to Ratcliffe’s doorway, arms around each other, looking beyond overwhelmed.
“Oliver, Mary, please tell us the truth. Are you involved in this in any way, shape or form?”
They shook their heads like they couldn’t speak.
“Did the owner’s emails give you any sign of this? Any hints about the guests? Or what would happen here?”
They shook their heads again.
“Do you know where or why Helen Jenkins disappeared? Or who pushed that boulder our way?”
After swallowing a few times, Oliver opened his mouth.
“Please believe me when I say we’re as clueless as you,” he said. “I just want this to stop. We never signed up for missing guests and attempted murder. This is too much.”
I narrowed my eyes.
Do I believe them?
Did Oliver smash his own radio?
“This is a nightmare,” said Mary, “a horrible nightmare.” She turned to her husband, her face flushed pink.
“Why didn’t you get one of those smartphones Leo’s always bugging you about. Why do you have to be so stubborn?”
Oliver looked down at his feet.
“We might as well accept it,” said Katy with a resigned sigh. “We’re completely cut off from the world now.”
Chapter Thirty-four
“Do we have enough provisions?” I asked.
This wasn’t the time to give up. This was the time to formulate a plan.
Oliver nodded feebly.
“How much?” I asked.
“We stocked up for the retreat,” he replied, still looking down. “We have enough food and water for a week for everyone. We have a saltwater purification system too, if it comes to that. Hopefully not.”
“What about power?”
“There’s an electricity generator in the shed out back, and I have enough diesel for a few days.”
“A few days?”
Oliver looked at me, squinting, like he was trying to think. He’d regained some color and I could see he was trying.
Good.
“A week if we use it smartly. We also have two tanks of natural gas in the back. The kitchen stove and the fireplaces in all the rooms run on gas. The electricity is for lights and smaller appliances. We should be fine on that front for a week.”
“Gosh, I hope we’re not stuck here that long,” said Katy, looking devastated at the thought.
“Oh, good lord,” said Mary with a moan. “We’re all going to die here.”
“What about your family?” I asked Mary, trying not to get sucked into worst-case scenario ruminations. Prepare for the worst but expect the best, was my motto now.
“Where are they right now?” I asked.
“In Portland,” replied Oliver. “We have two daughters and a son, and four grandkids.”
“Do you call them often? Won’t they worry when they don’t hear from you?”
“We visit them for the weekend once a month and we spend a week over summer when we have some downtime. They have their hands full with their jobs and the kids. They hardly watch the news, so they probably won’t hear about this for a while.”
“When were you planning to visit them next?” I asked. “Not this weekend, I presume?”
“We were supposed to be working this weekend,” said Mary. “They won’t be expecting us till two weeks from now.”
“So, no,” added Oliver, realizing what I was getting at. “They won’t know about our situation. Not for a while.”
“What about the other guests?” asked Katy. “Won’t their families try to contact them?”
Oliver looked down again and shook his head.
“The owner’s instructions were explicit. No emails, no calls, no disturbances whatsoever till the retreat is over.”
“So, nobody will call in till next week?”
“I’m afraid that's the case.”
That left David and our families back in New York. I’d expect David to lower his guard now Tetyana had come. He wasn’t going to start worrying for another couple of days. We had to find a way to survive until then.
I turned to Katy.
“Let’s finish checking the rooms. Our priority is to find that gun before anyone else does.”
Mary frowned.
“Why did she bring a gun?” she asked, narrowing her eyes. “What was your friend doing coming here with a loaded weapon?”
“Tetyana is my security adviser,” I explained. “When I get hired for private investigations and I need extra help, she’s the one I call.”
“She’s not some Mafia thug, is she?” asked Oliver, a troubled expression on his face.
“No. Her day job is as a martial arts teacher at my fiancée’s dojo in New York,” I said. “She's highly skilled and her goal during our missions is safety first for everyone.”
I stopped, feeling bad for not being fully honest.
If I’d told them how we’d all met or divulged Tetyana’s complete background, I’d frighten them. Right now, I had to figure out how to get everyone back to the mainland safe and alive.
The fewer distractions, the better.
“Think of her like a retired cop,” I added. “If you’re up to no good, she won’t hesitate to hand you over to the authorities. If you’re innocent, she’s on your side. She’s here to back us up.”
Mary took a deep breath in.
“Thank you,” she replied. “Makes me feel a bit better.”
“Me too,” said Oliver. “I’m glad she came when she did.”
I nodded, but my mind was vacillating for the tenth time that day.
This means Mary and Oliver aren’t playing games, right? Or are they that good at hiding their true motives?
“Camilla was missing from the dining hall,” I said, returning to our task at hand. “Did either of you see her?”
“She came in after her search outside,” said Mary. “She said she was tired from the walk and wanted to have a nap before lunch.”
“Did she go straight to her room?”
“I thought so…I mean…why would she lie about that?”
“Do you have the key to her room?” I asked.
Mary pulled out her master key ring and picked one out.
“Can you show us to her room, please?” I asked.
Katy and I followed Mary as she shuffled to the end of the corridor on the third floor.
She turned to us when she got to Camilla’s door.
“We really shouldn’t be disturbing our guests,” she said. “I’m not sure it’s the proper thing to do.”
“Don’t you think these are exceptional circumstances?” I asked, surprised she’d even debate the issue.
Katy raised her eyebrows. “What if she’s in trouble?”
With a sigh, Mary turned to the door and knocked.
“Ms. Carter?” she called out.
No answer.
“Ms. Carter?”
Nothing.
“Was she alone when she came in, or was she with Sophia and Elliot?” I asked.
“All three came back together. I served them orange juice in the garden behind the kitchen while you and the others were doing your checks.”
“Maybe she went back to the grounds for some reason?” said Oliver, his brow knotted.
I stepped up to the door and put my ear against it. There was no sound coming from inside the room. I tried the knob. The door was locked.
I raised my voice.
“Camilla? Are you in there? Open the door. This is an emergency.”
No answer.
I banged on the door.
Nothing.
I nodded at Mary. She gave me an uncomfortable look.
“We have a strict privacy policy at this resort,” she said. “The owner made us sign it when they took over. I don’t want to get in trouble with—”
“Let me then,” said Katy, stepping up and plucking the key from Mary’s hands.
“I didn’t sign any policy,” she said, as she nudged the woman aside and slipped the key into the keyhole. “If anyone complains, you can tell them I did it.”
With a loud rap on the door, Katy turned the doorknob and pushed it open.
A rush of hot air came from the room.
I reeled back, stunned.
Camilla Carter lay sprawled out on the carpet next to her bed. Around her neck was a yellow polka-dotted scarf, tied so tightly, her face had turned purple.
Even from where we were, I could see Camilla was no longer breathing.
Chapter Thirty-five
Katy and I dashed inside.
Kneeling beside Camilla, I checked the pulse on her wrist. Katy stooped over her from the other side to examine the bruises on her neck.
Camilla’s body still had a pinkish pallor. While her temperature was cooling, she was still warm.
A sliver of saliva dribbled from the side of her mouth, but it was her eyes that startled me the most.
They were wide open and staring out, dead to the world. But I could still see the terror in them.
She must have seen her assailant in her last moments. I wondered if those eyes reflected the horror at what was happening to her or the shock of seeing who was killing her.
Perhaps both, I thought grimly.
After probing for her pulse for a minute, I laid Camilla’s stiffened arm back on the floor and looked up at Katy.
We paused for a moment, staring at her still body.
With her caustic attitude and the flaming dyed hair to go with it, she’d shown more personality than the rest of the group. It was shocking to see her lifeless.
Katy pulled at her shirt collar.
“It’s boiling in here.”
I looked at the gas fireplace. It had been turned on to the highest setting. I lifted my nose in the air and sniffed.
“Katy, is it just me, or do you smell that too?”
“You mean that stinky sm—”
“Ladies!”
We turned around to see Oliver at the threshold, gesturing to us urgently.
“Come out!” he shouted, waving his hands in a frenzy. “Get out of the room!”
Another glance at the fireplace and I saw what I should have spotted before I stepped into this room.
The smell of rotten eggs.
Someone had ripped both the small fire alarm and the carbon monoxide detector out of the wall. They lay discarded on the carpet, their battery compartments emptied, and the double AA batteries sitting next to them.
“Get out! Now!” yelled Oliver.
I jumped up, pulling Katy by the arm. I ran out of the room, dragging her behind me, and Oliver slammed the door shut.
“Downstairs!” he hollered, turning around and sprinting through the corridor.
Mary was scrambling down the steps, a hand covering her nose, with Oliver prodding her from the back now.
Katy and I bolted after them.
Tetyana was standing guard at the dining hall doorway on the second floor. She whipped around when she heard us rumble down.
“What the hell’s going on?” she said.
“Get out!” screamed Oliver, as he streamed past her, pulling Mary along.
I came to a screeching halt near our friend.
“Gas!” I said. “We need to evacuate!”
Without a word, Tetyana spun around and headed into the dining room.
I didn’t wait. I ran after Oliver, vaguely hearing Tetyana holler at the guests like a drill sergeant.
“Find the main valve!” I shouted to Oliver. “Turn it off!”
“This way!” he yelled as he dashed toward the end of the corridor.
