Island of Last Resorts Page 16

  Three six-foot-plus men with automatic weapons and one five-foot-five-inch unarmed woman … yet Creery was afraid?

  With her wrists already bruised, Beth had no choice but to shuffle back to the mansion, praying the entire time for Izzy’s survival.

  Nate paced from window to window until he wore a path in the thick carpet. After several hours alone in his suite, he finally heard the click of a lock and his bedraggled wife staggered into the room.

  ‘Izzy! Where have you been? I’ve been worried sick.’ He tried to take her into his arms, but she shrugged away and slumped down on the ottoman.

  ‘To the other side of this hideous island and back.’ Izzy unzipped and tugged off her boots. ‘Remind me when we get home – if we ever get home – to throw these straight into the trash. Why on earth did I buy such uncomfortable boots?’ She threw the boot across the room.

  Izzy’s face and clothes were dirty and a long scratch ran down her cheek from her brow to her chin. Yet she was rambling about bad footwear? Nate crouched in front of the ottoman and reached for her foot to rub. ‘Take it easy and tell me what happened.’

  She tossed the second boot where the first had landed. ‘After checking out that abandoned barn, Beth and I took the same path that we did on Sunday. We kept stopping to listen, but we didn’t hear anything but birds.’ Izzy focused on the fireplace instead of him. ‘Then we heard someone coming. It was that lady prosecutor. She begged us … to help her get off the island. We said … no way. Then Beth told her we were PIs … she took off running.’ Izzy’s sentences became increasingly fragmented.

  Nate picked up the other foot to rub. ‘Take a deep breath and slow down. Did you follow this woman, Jennifer Jacobs?’

  Exhaling a shaky breath, Izzy nodded. ‘Beth sort of tackled her on the beach. Jennifer was a mess. She was still wearing the same clothes as the day she arrived. Frazier hasn’t given them much to eat either. I hope he’s giving Hunter enough to eat.’ Tears began to stream down Izzy’s face.

  Nate jumped up to get a glass of water. No doubt she was totally dehydrated. ‘Here, drink this nice and slow.’ He thrust the glass into her hand. ‘What happened after Beth tackled Jennifer?’ he asked after she finished.

  Izzy reached for a tissue to blow her nose. ‘Beth convinced her to come back to the house. That it would be safer if we all stuck together. Jennifer knew Bob McDowell was dead. That reporter used to be her boyfriend when she was young and stupid, but not anymore. Now she’s married with a young daughter.’ More tears ran down her dirty cheeks.

  ‘Go on,’ Nate prodded after several seconds of silence. ‘Tell me the rest.’

  ‘Jennifer agreed to come back to the house if we would protect her. So Beth helped her up and we started walking. Then Beth stopped … and slapped her neck … and fell over … just like that.’ The fragmented sentences returned as Izzy’s tears turned to sobs.

  Something tightened in Nate’s chest. ‘Did Beth get shot?’

  She shook her head. ‘No, I don’t think so. Not with a bullet anyway.’

  ‘Did you see blood? Tell me everything you saw, Izzy.’

  ‘I didn’t see any blood, but Beth just lay there on the beach. Then Jennifer took off running and I felt a pinch.’ Izzy reached up to the back of her neck.

  ‘Bend your head down.’ When Nate pulled her hair forward, he found a small red mark similar to the kind made by a vaccination with a hypodermic needle. ‘If you don’t think anyone sneaked up behind you, you and Beth could’ve been shot with a tranquilizing pellet.’

  Izzy shrugged listlessly. ‘Maybe.’

  ‘What happened to Jennifer?’

  She offered another shrug. ‘I don’t know. All I remember is waking up in the sand, but now the sand was wet.’

  He muttered an oath. ‘The tide was coming in. Was Beth still lying in the sand too?’

  ‘No, she was gone. I was all wet and all by myself. So I started walking down the beach and calling Beth’s name.’ Izzy locked eyes with him. ‘That’s when I saw Jennifer on a pile of branches. Dead, I’m sure of it. She was staring at the sky with her eyes open, blood all over the place. That sand was still dry.’ She exhaled as though she’d been holding her breath.

  ‘Jennifer, but no Beth?’

  ‘I already told you – no Beth. There’s something else too. Jennifer swore she had nothing to do with Mrs Frazier’s murder and I believed her. If that sleazy McDowell was part of a conspiracy, he duped Jennifer into this mess.’

  ‘But then again, you usually take the word of another woman, especially if she happens to be a mother.’

  Izzy’s chin snapped up while her eyes flashed. ‘Maybe that’s because there are fewer heartless murderers among women than among men.’

  ‘That’s true.’ Nate lifted his hands in surrender. ‘Go on. I didn’t mean to interrupt you.’

  ‘There’s no more to tell. I backtracked to the same path we took this morning and didn’t see another soul until I reached the house. A group of guards was coming out the door. They said they were on their way to get me. I asked about Beth, and one said I would find out soon enough. Then he escorted me to our room.’ Izzy rose shakily to her feet. ‘That’s all I know, and right now I’m cold and need a long hot shower.’ On her way to the bathroom she halted midway. ‘I’m scared, Nate. Beth brought two guns on the retreat and only turned one in to the butler. She told me not to tell you. She said it would be her ace up the sleeve. I hope that little hidden gun didn’t get her killed.’ With that Izzy closed the bathroom door, and Nate soon heard water running.

  Beth had brought her Ruger .380? He should have remembered Beth’s ankle holster. Never leave home without a security blanket, she always said.

  Nate spent the next thirty minutes staring into the fire and mulling over everything Izzy had told him. The death of the assistant prosecutor didn’t surprise him, but Beth’s disappearance did. Frazier had promised nothing would happen to any Price employee as long as they played the game by his rules. By his rules. Did the fact that Beth kept a hidden weapon break the rules sufficiently to warrant her death? The queasy feeling in his gut compacted into a solid mass.

  ‘Why aren’t you ready for dinner?’ Izzy asked, startling Nate from his woolgathering.

  Izzy was dressed in the same cocktail dress and high heels she’d worn on Saturday night, their first dinner with Frazier. Gone were the dirt, sand and leaves in her tangled hair. Izzy had fixed her hair in a fancy bun and covered the long scratch on her face with plenty of makeup.

  ‘I am ready. What the heck, Isabelle? You got all dressed up to eat supper with a madman and his assistant?’

  ‘You bet I did.’ She pulled a curl in front of each ear. ‘Frazier seems to like me more than Nicki and Beth. I plan to use that to our advantage.’

  ‘And what exactly does that mean?’ Nate ran a hand through his hair.

  She stopped primping and looked at him. ‘The players in Frazier’s game are dropping like flies around us. I don’t want one of your employees to be next. I also want Hunter to get adequate food and water. And Beth too, if she’s still alive,’ Izzy added with a hitch in her voice. ‘You and Michael can’t overpower that many guards. And you can’t fight automatic weapons with butter knives. I plan to charm Frazier into having mercy on us. Now go change out of those baggy sweatpants while I look for my lipstick.’

  ‘I’ll put on jeans, but that’s it.’ Nate stomped into their bedroom, piqued with his wife for no reason. He felt powerless when Izzy cried and sobbed, yet somehow this new assertiveness scared him more. For the first time in their marriage, Nate feared for his wife’s sanity.

  Or maybe she was the only sane member left in the group.

  Five minutes later, Izzy hooked her arm through his elbow and they were escorted down the hallway like royals dining with the Queen.

  Even the butler looked taken aback. ‘Mr and Mrs Nathan Price,’ he announced as he opened the door.

  ‘Ah, Nate and Isabelle,’ crooned Frazie
r, rising from his chair. ‘Since you look so lovely, Isabelle, I’ll forgive your tardiness. Come, sit next to me.’ He pulled out a chair.

  Nate noticed only Nicki and Michael were at the table. No Beth and still no Hunter. And Michael looked like he could kill Frazier with his bare hands.

  Primly, Isabelle smoothed down her dress and fluffed out her napkin. ‘Are we late? I’m so sorry. It took me a long time to walk back from this afternoon’s venture.’

  This afternoon’s venture? Izzy sounded like a tour guide at a living history museum. Nate gritted his teeth.

  ‘Yes, according to my assistant, you and Mrs Preston had quite an afternoon. Compton, bring Mr and Mrs Price some wine. I remember Isabelle enjoyed the chardonnay that we served on Saturday.’ Frazier barked orders at the butler like a drill sergeant. ‘And replace this basket of bread with some fresh dinner rolls.’

  When Compton nodded, Nate’s mouth fell open.

  Maybe my wife isn’t so crazy after all.

  ‘That’s very kind of you, sir,’ Nate murmured, keeping his tone as neutral as possible. ‘May I ask where Mrs Preston is tonight? My wife didn’t recall what happened to her.’

  Frazier blinked with confusion. ‘But I thought Isabelle was a witness to the murder of Ms Jacobs. I was counting on her to give a statement to the authorities when they finally reach the island.’ He paused as Compton filled three glasses with wine, skipped Nicki and Michael, and left the room. ‘According to Mr Creery, Beth demanded that ADA Jacobs return to the house with them to face questioning over the death of my wife. There was a struggle between Beth and the ADA. When the ADA broke free and took off running, Beth shouted for Jacobs to halt and pulled her weapon. Then Mrs Price passed out on the beach. When Mr Creery found Beth, she was standing over Jacob’s dead body with an empty gun in her hand.’

  ‘You’re a liar, Creery,’ Michael shouted.

  ‘Kindly control yourself, Mr Preston. I won’t tolerate such outbursts at my table.’

  ‘I’m telling you, Mr Frazier, Beth would never do that.’ A flush rose up Michael’s neck.

  ‘I must take the word of Jonah Creery, a man who has worked for me for years, over the word of Beth Preston, a disgraced Natchez Police detective.’

  ‘And you’re a crazy old man, who will spend the rest of his sick life in jail.’ Michael lunged from his chair and almost reached Frazier before finally being subdued by the guards.

  ‘That outburst will cost you dinner.’ Frazier clucked his tongue. ‘If I didn’t need you tomorrow, I’d throw you in the same hole as Hunter. Take Preston to his room and keep a guard posted all night.’

  ‘But how could she?’ Nate asked, fighting to maintain his own composure as Michael was dragged from the room. ‘Beth surrendered her firearm in the foyer when we all did.’

  ‘Yes, but Beth had a second gun hidden in an ankle holster. I saw the holster myself when the guards brought her back in handcuffs.’

  Beth was still alive. Nate felt the tight muscles in his neck relax.

  ‘Get it through your head, Mr Price, one of your detectives will face charges. Whether Beth was licensed to carry in this state or not, she wasn’t Georgia law enforcement, and thus had no right to take justice into her own hands.’ Frazier sounded more disappointed that Beth broke his rules than that an Atlanta assistant prosecutor was dead. ‘We’ll keep Beth locked up with Mr Galen until the police arrive.’

  ‘You’d better be giving Hunter enough to eat.’ Nicki shook her finger at their host.

  ‘Nicki,’ Izzy admonished. ‘Of course, Mr Frazier will give Hunter and Beth plenty to eat and drink. He has been nothing but a gracious host since we arrived.’ Izzy picked up her glass of wine and sipped.

  ‘Thank you, Isabelle.’ Frazier drank, too, without taking his eyes off Izzy.

  Before Nicki grabbed Izzy by the throat, Nate whispered in his cousin’s ear. ‘Relax and roll with this. Izzy has a plan up her sleeve.’ Nodding, Nicki focused on her lap as though answers could be found in linen napkins.

  ‘As a matter of fact, Mrs Galen, I instructed the cook to deliver Hunter and Beth’s dinners first this evening. Now I wonder what’s keeping our meal.’ Frazier pressed the button on his chair.

  ‘Other than Mr Creery’s eyewitness account, how can you be sure it was Beth’s gun that killed ADA Jacobs?’ Nate didn’t try to hide his skepticism.

  ‘I wouldn’t be so quick to insult my assistant if I were you. As I mentioned, Jonah has been loyal to me for years.’ Frazier motioned to Creery standing sentinel at the door. ‘If you would be so kind, Jonah?’

  After Creery left the room, wax dripped from the candles; the mantel-clock’s ticking became unbearable, and Nate’s shirt stuck to his back until Creery’s return.

  ‘Is this what you wanted, Mr Frazier?’ Holding a plastic bag high in the air, Creery marched triumphantly to his boss, Frazier. Inside the bag, everyone could see the outline of a handgun.

  ‘Yes, thank you, Jonah.’ Frazier inspected the contents and then passed the bag to Nate. ‘Do you recognize this weapon, Mr Price? This gun was found twenty feet from ADA Jacobs’s body. I’m confident the police will match the serial number to a weapon registered to Beth Preston, your employee. According to one of my guards, the gun holds .38-caliber bullets, which would match the three wounds found on Ms Jacobs’s body.’

  ‘This is a frame-up,’ Nate roared, as guards closed in on both sides. ‘If Beth had emptied the clip at ADA Jacobs, you would have found seven bullet holes in her body, not just three. Beth never misses.’

  ‘Everyone misses occasionally,’ said Frazier, nonplussed. ‘All I know is that Mrs Preston had been instructed to surrender her weapons upon arrival to protect the safety of all my guests, even my so-called suspects. The fact that she didn’t, and because she took her gun with her this morning, tells me Beth had an ulterior motive.’

  ‘What reason would Beth have to kill a former assistant prosecutor, a woman she’d never met before this week?’

  ‘My head of security described Beth’s behavior as survival mode – kill or be killed. She viewed Ms Jacobs as a threat to her safety and the safety of her friends, since either she or Kurt Ensley is a murderer. At any rate, I am not Beth’s judge and jury. We’ll let the authorities sort this out. She will be safely confined until then.’

  Nate slammed down his wine glass hard enough to crack the stem. ‘How can you be certain the police are on their way? Is your phone line suddenly working now?’

  ‘Anything you break you shall pay for, Mr Price,’ Frazier cautioned. He let several tense moments pass before continuing, ‘No, it’s not working. But I get my regular delivery of groceries on Thursday. I don’t know why Captain Burke hasn’t been back with the other couple by now, but I’m sure tomorrow’s tugboat will arrive on schedule. That fearless captain makes deliveries even with ten-foot swells. He will take word back to St Simons that we need the coastguard or the Glynn County Police Department, or whoever has jurisdiction.’

  ‘Since there’s no way off this island, I don’t see why Beth can’t be—’

  ‘Enough, Mr Price!’ Frazier shouted. ‘You’re getting almost as tiresome as Mrs Galen with her butter knives. I assure you your employee is fine, and we have more important matters to discuss.’

  ‘What matters are those?’ Nate asked, clenching down on his back molars.

  At that moment, however, the dining-room door opened and Mrs Norville entered with her son. As they set down a steaming kettle and basket of crackers, Norville seemed surprised to see Frazier.

  ‘What is this?’ Frazier demanded.

  ‘A pot of chili, sir. I thought you’d be dining with the staff, not with these people.’

  Frazier glared at his cook. ‘These people are my guests, Mrs Norville. Immediately bring whatever you prepared for the guards and staff.’

  Norville put her hands on her hips. ‘Who’s gonna eat all this chili?’

  ‘You and your son can eat it. Now go! What were we saying
, Mr Price?’ Frazier’s grip on reality seemed to slip another notch.

  ‘You said we had another matter to discuss.’

  ‘Oh, yes. The untimely death of Ms Jacobs complicates solving my wife’s murder. As part of a plea deal, Mack Fallon agreed to name the person who paid him in exchange for no death penalty. Then the evening before he was to testify, Mack mysteriously overdosed on drugs. Only two suspects had access to Mack’s cell that night – the assistant district attorney and his public defender, namely Jennifer Jacobs and Kurt Ensley. Now one of them is dead and I still don’t know who paid for the hit.’

  Izzy chose that moment to rejoin the conversation. ‘I met ADA Jacobs this afternoon,’ she said. ‘Although Jennifer admitted to having an affair with that disreputable journalist, she insisted she had nothing to do with the break-in at your home. Strange as it sounds, I believe Jennifer was telling the truth.’ Astonishingly, Izzy placed her hand on Frazier’s arm.

  Nate had to look away or he might be tempted to drag Izzy from the room by her hair.

  Frazier refilled their wine glasses from the carafe. ‘Jennifer Jacobs advanced her career by sleeping with people in power. Behavior like hers isn’t something you would be familiar with. Trust me when I say nothing from that woman’s mouth can be trusted.’

  ‘Why do you think either Jacobs or Ensley gave Fallon the drugs?’ Nate asked, trying to distract Frazier from Izzy. ‘One of the guards could’ve supplied the fatal overdose or they could have been hidden on Fallon when he was arrested.’

  ‘It’s possible, I suppose,’ Frazier admitted. ‘But the jail searches prisoners thoroughly at intake and why would a guard pass out free drugs to the prisoners? Doesn’t make sense.’

  ‘Unless this unknown third party paid one of the guards.’

  Frazier scowled at Nate’s logic. ‘For now, let’s stick to what we know: early this morning Jennifer Jacobs and Kurt Ensley were set free on the island. Now Jacobs is dead and none of the guards can find Ensley.’