A Sprinkle of Tropical Trouble: A Cozy Mystery (Caesars Creek Mystery Series Book 9) (4 page)

Chapter Seven

Stormi and I held our collective breaths as we heard someone enter into the room. Dresses, shirts and pants hung around our shoulders as we stooped inside the closet. With my hand pressed against my mouth, I listened as the visitor walked slowly through the room. Looking down at the bottom of the closet door there was two inches of space in which light filtered. The figure in the room walked over to the closet. We could see the shadow of the person’s shoes as they stopped in front of the closet door. Stormi and I gripped one another’s hands, hoping against hope this person wouldn’t open the door, but knowing it was likely about to happen. Suddenly the person turned and walked away. We both let out a quiet sigh of relief. Then we heard the bed squeak as someone sat or lied down. Then we heard weeping.

Stormi and I looked at each other. What the heck? I moved silently so I could peer out the slat of the closet door. A figure lied on the bed with his back to me. He continued to cry. Okay, this was getting weirder by the moment. Who was this guy? I could see someone breaking in to steal items, but to sit on a bed and cry. Of course, I was a good one to talk as Stormi and I hid in the closet.

All of a sudden, we heard the angelic voice of Paige outside in the hallway. “Are you two idiots in there?”

The bed squeaked and we heard footsteps as the man left through the balcony door. I tried to get the closet door open fast enough to get a glimpse of him before he climbed off the balcony, but he was gone in a flash.

Paige continued to harp at us through the hotel door. “If you’re in there you better open this door right now or I’m getting hotel security.”

Stormi opened the door. “Cool your jets Momma.”

“What the heck was going on in there?” Paige asked with that tone that said
I told you so
.

“Somebody came in after we did.” I answered, my heart still thumping in my chest.

Paige nodded. “I know! I went outside to see if I could see you dummies and I saw this guy climbing onto Andre’s balcony. I didn’t know if you guys were in there or not, but thought it best to knock on the door in case you were.”

“Thank God you did,” Stormi answered as she took a powder compact from her pocket and dabbed her face.

Paige rolled her eyes and looked at me. “What did he say?”

My mind was still reeling. “What did who say?”

Paige was getting impatient. “The guy in the room!”

“To us…nothing. We were hiding in the closet. He did lie down on the bed and cry.”

Paige scrunched her nose. “Cried? What the donkey doo.”

“Yeah, it was strange,” Stormi said as she snapped her compact closed and put it back in her pocket. “Maybe he knew them…but still that’s odd.”

“As odd as two women scaling the hotel wall to break into a crime scene?” Paige was never going to let us live this down. She had ammo and she wasn’t about to give it up.

“Yes Mother, we’re sorry,” Stormi lamented. “We won’t do it again. But remember, you hacked into a hospital computer. Anyone ever heard of a little thing called HIPAA.”

“Yeah, but I learned my lesson,” Paige said as we headed to the lobby.

“Did you get a good look at him?” I asked.

“His hair was salt and pepper, curly and unkempt. Plus he was rather hunched over when he walked through the balcony door. That’s when I knew I had to get up there.”

“Think you could identify him if you saw him again?” Stormi asked.

“Yeah, I’m sure I could. He doesn’t blend well into a crowd. But I know I haven’t seen him since we’ve been here.”

“He might be trying to keep a low profile,” I said as we entered the lobby.

“Then he better rake a comb over that hair because that’s the first thing I noticed,” Paige answered.

We decided to catch up with the boys and see if the game was over. We vowed not to tell them about our escapade into Andre and Yvette’s room, which was a simple decision to make. It was halftime and the guys were sitting at a table sipping their brews. As we sat down with them, a news report broke into regular programming. The reporter began talking about the deaths of two actors and models, Andre Salazar and Yvette Morris, found drowned in a hotel swimming pool. Seems the couple was married to other people, a Brady Morris and Alaina Salazar but was rumored to be having an affair. We could attest to that.

The news report also mentioned their latest film in which they starred together. It was a horror film, but it flopped almost immediately out of the box office. The director of the film, Scott Davidson was furious with the couple, saying they’d ruined his career with their lackluster performances. Fortunately, our resort wasn’t named in the report.

“They still haven’t said if there was foul play involved,” Paige said.

“The police may not know yet, and even if they did, they may be holding their cards close,” Greg answered. “They won’t leak anything early unless it benefits the investigation.”

“So they weren’t married,” Stormi mused. “I wonder why they said they were?”

“Maybe they wished they were,” I said.

The guys decided to remain at the bar and grill to watch the rest of the game, so Paige, Stormi and I told them we were going to sit by the pool, which had just been reopened, and watch the waves roll in, and then head up to bed.

We sat down in the comfy loungers and I was almost lulled to sleep by the crashing waves. As the sun set behind us we sat in silence, enjoying the calm breeze as it filtered through our hair. I’ve always loved the ocean, especially the noise of the waves. However, I also respect that it can be deadly at the same time. I’ll walk along the edge, allowing the water to kiss my feet, but plowing my way into deeper waters doesn’t interest me. I’ve read about enough shark attacks and undertows to know I don’t want to become a statistic. I know the odds are very high for that kind of situation to occur, but there’s an intuition about it I don’t want to push against.

As I laid there with my eyes closed, contemplating the mass of water crashing and banging on the beach below us, I was unexpectedly jolted out of my peaceful existence when Paige grabbed my arm.

“Thanks for the heart attack,” I said clutching my chest. “Can’t a girl get any peace around here?”

Paige leaned over and whispered, “He’s here…the guy in the room.”

I started to turn around when her iron grip tightened on my arm. “Ouch,” I cried.

“Don’t look yet,” she said peering over my shoulder. “Okay…now.”

I looked behind me, saw a strange man mumbling to himself, and knew it had to be the man in the hotel room. Like Paige said, he had curly salt and pepper hair that appeared disheveled. Paige quietly alerted Stormi who was gazing at him too. He didn’t appear to notice us or anything at all really. Deep in thought, he stood near the edge of the pool where the bloodstains were spotted.

“Time to get my hands dirty,” Paige said as she stood up.

“Paige!” I whispered. “What are you doing?”

Paige looked at the mumbling man. “Going to find out what this guy is all about.”

She started off and both Stormi and I jumped up to join her. No way is she getting near this lunatic by herself. Hopefully the three of us could fight him off.

“Sir?” Paige said as she approached him with Stormi and me flanking her on each side. “Are you alright?”

The man looked up startled. I wasn’t sure if three women standing and looking accusing was enough to scare him, but apparently, it did. He ran off as if he’d seen the devil.

“Well, that was odd,” Stormi said placing her hands on her hips.

“What…you don’t think three women with red in their eyes is scary?” Paige asked.

“Wait, look,” I said pointing to a paper lying on the ground. I picked it up. “He dropped this when he ran away.”

It was a brochure for a zip line adventure with a time and price circled.

“Think he might be going there tomorrow?” I asked.

“Even if he isn’t, it would be a fun adventure,” Stormi stated. “Why don’t we get the guys on board and see if we spot him there?”

We agreed it was a good idea and something we’d all wanted to do and what better place to zip line than in the jungles outside of Cancun. The boys agreed to go, but we didn’t tell them about the strange man we encountered.

That night I couldn’t sleep so while Brandon snoozed I got on my laptop to perform a bit of research on the celebrity couple. Seems that the infidelity rumors were true. Andre’s last name was Salazar and most people thought he was in a loveless marriage…that Alaina only stayed with him because of his money. Yvette on the other hand had a prenup with her husband Brady.

I continued reading various articles and then stumbled upon one about their latest movie flop. The director, Scott Davidson, was in a world of hurt as the movie was supposed to be his comeback from the depths of film doldrums. A short video showed reporters asking him about why the film flopped and he blamed his two stars, Andre and Yvette, for the disappointment. It was also reported he was drinking heavily and since the interview he’d been involved in a couple of violent outbursts with reporters.

Hmmm…seems he might have had a motive to kill the very people he deemed ruined his career, but unless he was skulking about the resort, there’d been no mention he was near here. Of course, if this director Scott Davidson wanted to murder two people, I doubt he’d want to be seen. I closed the laptop lid. This mystery was becoming more and more intriguing. I had no idea it would ramp up a notch the next day.

Chapter Eight

The next day we all met and headed out to the zip line in the resort’s shuttle. Stormi, Paige and I looked for the strange man, hoping he’d be on the shuttle with us, but he was nowhere to be seen.

The scenery from the resort to the zip line was filled with tropical beauty. From the tall palm trees to luscious vegetation and exotic pink and orange flowers popping up along the roadway, I almost forgot about the mystery that had surrounded Stormi and Greg’s honeymoon and our vacation. This was the first time Brandon and I had been away together, and we were having an awesome time. I felt so relaxed around Brandon. We had this easygoing banter between us and neither one felt like we had to keep the conversation going. I believe that’s a sign of true companionship, when you don’t have to speak or feel like you must entertain the other person. Just feeling comfortable without the use of words, each in his or her own thoughts. Yes, that’s how I felt with Brandon. Some people might think it boring. Not me. I was ready to be with someone who was comfortable with who I was. Of course, there was nothing boring about the other aspects of my life. The ice cream shoppe and Winchester kept me busy and I was missing both of them. And the mysteries that seem to keep popping up were also in the heart palpitation range. So having a fiancé who made me feel relaxed and that everything was under control…well that was the bees knees.

We headed inside the little building to buy our tickets for the zip line and to our astonishment, there he stood…mumbling man. His hair remained unkempt, but at least he’d changed from jeans and an old t-shirt to blue shorts and a different faded t-shirt. I poked Paige and Stormi and nodded towards him. We hurried the guys so we could be right behind mumbling man in line. We heard him tell one of the guides his name was Hammond Hover. Paige reached into her bag, took out her phone, and started punching. I knew she was searching the guy’s name to see if anything came up. She shook her head, but whispered the only name that came up was from Chicago.

After unloading our valuables in the lockers, we followed Mr. Hover along with a few other people up the hillside with the guides. The guides put harnesses on us and strapped us in. I moved ahead and got behind Hammond, hoping to say a few words to him. I looked over the edge and felt queasy. In all the excitement, I forgot I had a fear of heights. Not even Brandon knew. I was alright in a plane, but put me in a high rise looking out from a balcony or a zip line where I was about to plunge into the unknown…well, let’s just say this girl was ready to toss her cookies. I looked up and over at Hammond who was looking right at me.

“Are you alright?” He asked. “There’s nothing to be afraid of.”

I looked around for Brandon and he was talking with Bruce. “I’m just a little afraid of heights. I guess I didn’t know what I was getting into when I decided to do this.”

I wasn’t lying to the man and he was nice to try to reassure me.

“Watch me,” he said. “I’ll go first and you can see how easy it is.” He tugged on the harness. “I’ve done this before…the harness is good and sturdy. You’ll be fine.”

With that, the guide hooked his harness to the line and he was off, hooting and hollering the entire way. I got in line to go next so I could have time to talk to him alone at the next platform. I was concentrating so hard on following Hammond, I forgot, at least for a moment, about my fear of heights. However, as soon as the guide strapped me in a flood of panic raced through my body. Before I could say stop, the guide pushed me off the platform and I went hurtling through the tops of trees in a downward slope. Although my heart pounded, I was captivated by the untouched beauty of my surroundings. All at once, I could see the platform, Hammond and a guide waiting to grab me. Once the guide unstrapped my harness from the zip line, I let out a collective breath.

“How was it?” Hammond asked with a smile. He didn’t seem as crazy now.

“After the initial jolt of fear, it wasn’t too bad,” I said.

Hammond chuckled. “It gets easier.”

I knew the others would be coming along so it was now or never to say something about Andre and Yvette.

“We’re staying at the Platinum Paradise resort. Did you hear about the people who drowned in the pool?” I knew he knew, but it was the only way I could think of to get him talking about it.

Hammond’s face fell. “Yes I know, I’m staying there as well.”

“Really?” I said knowing full well he was.

“It’s a terrible tragedy. They were beautiful people. I was their biggest fan. I saw all their movies dozens of times.”

He rattled off the names of the movies they were in and even a commercial for some perfume that Yvette advertised. The more he talked about them, the more agitated he became. I didn’t want him to boil over, but I had to ask.

“What do you think happened to them? There are rumors swirling about that there may have been foul play involved.”

Hammond looked me right in the eyes. “Oh, I have no doubt there was foul play involved. They were murdered all right, and the likely suspect is one of the spouses. In fact, I think I might have seen Brady Morris, Yvette’s estranged husband lurking around the resort.”

“Is that so,” I said. Now I wasn’t sure what to think. Was he casting blame to hide his own involvement? He was definitely a super fan, maybe even a stalker. Could it be that he tried to get too close to Yvette, Andre intervened, and in the tussle, both were drowned. I shook my head to clear my thoughts.

Hammond continued his theory. “I know all about Brady and how he knew Yvette was having an affair.”

I was puzzled. “How would you know that?”

Hammond shrugged. “It’s in all the Australian tabloids. Yvette and Andre never really hid their love for one another. Andre’s wife vowed to take him to the cleaners if he tried to divorce her so Andre simply didn’t feel like hiding his feelings anymore and just told the press he had an open marriage. Brady on the other hand wasn’t so lucky. Yvette had him sign a prenup before the wedding. He would be out millions if she divorced him. Since he lived off her paycheck, her leaving the marriage would leave him in ruins.”

I was amazed at how much this man knew about Andre and Yvette’s marriages…and a little creeped out as well. The rest of our group zoomed down to the platform and we continued the zip lining until we reached the bottom. Everyone was hungry by that time and we decided to eat at the little café right next to the zip line ticket office. On a hunch, I invited Hammond to join us. He looked at our group and seemed a little overwhelmed.

“Please come with us,” I said. “I want to express my gratitude. You made my first zip line experience one where I didn’t cry in terror the entire time.”

Hammond’s face softened and he agreed to go with us. The girls were giving me looks of
way to go
, while I could tell the guys thought I’d left my brain back on the zip line trail.

Brandon took me aside. “Ummm, and why did we ask this guy to accompany us to lunch?”

I shrugged. “I thought it would be a nice gesture.”

Brandon wasn’t buying it. “You girls have something going on with this guy. Do you think he had something to do with the drowned couple in the pool?”

“He’s very infatuated with them,” I said. “Could be nothing, but I thought maybe Greg might be able to discern his behavior at lunch.”

Brandon nodded. I don’t think he was too pleased that this strange man would be attending our lunch, but he understood the curiosity I had about him and he would go along with it, as long as he was there to protect me. Of course, he didn’t know about the secret escapades Stormi and I had been on, but that would keep.

We settled down at a long table and Hammond sat between Paige and me. I had introduced him to everyone before we entered the restaurant. He seemed a little unsure of himself, which was understandable. He’d just met us and I’m sure felt overwhelmed with such a large group. After placing our orders and being served drinks however, he began talking feverishly about Andre and Yvette. He mentioned every movie they’d been in, even reciting dialogue from the films. He was so enthusiastic it was difficult for anyone else to speak so we all just sat and listened. It was obvious to all of us that Hammond was stalking Yvette and Andre. Suddenly his face fell, as he seemed to remember their deaths.

“I can’t believe the police haven’t looked at the spouses as possible suspects to their murders,” Hammond said with utter distaste. “It’s obvious to me that one of them murdered Yvette and Andre.”

“Why do you think they were murdered?” Greg asked. Yes! I knew Greg and his detective skills would be interested in Hammond’s obsession with the couple.

“I think it’s obvious,” Hammond said with total conviction.

“How is it obvious?” Greg asked as he nonchalantly took a sip of his iced tea. “I’m not disagreeing with you…I just want to see how you came to that conclusion and if it corresponds with mine.”

Hammond straightened in his chair. I could tell he felt like he might have a partner in his way of thinking. “Their spouses were leeches. Always spending their money on fancy cars, jewelry, and Brady Morris had a horrible gambling problem.”

“And you know this how?” Greg continued his inquisition. Hammond had no clue that he was the one under suspicion.

“Oh, everyone knows. It’s very common knowledge in Australia. It’s in the papers and on television. I’m sure that’s why Andre and Yvette came to Cancun to get away from all the gossip. I wouldn’t be surprised if they planned on divorcing their ungrateful spouses and took this trip to get everything planned out.”

Greg nodded. He was cataloging the info and I knew it was suspicious that Hammond seemed to know so much about the couple. But it’s possible that someone like Hammond who may be a loner in life and such a super fan would know almost every nuance of this famous couple.

I was torn. On the one hand, I felt sorry for Hammond. He seemed like a nice enough fellow, albeit a bit odd and obsessed, but maybe that’s all he had in life. I didn’t know much about him, but I perceived that he either he didn’t have any close family or friends or that his idiosyncrasies had driven most of them away. All he had was his fixation on this celebrity couple, and now they were gone. I felt bad for him, but I couldn’t allow my sympathy to cloud my judgment. I didn’t know this man. Although Stormi and I witnessed his sorrow in the couple’s hotel room the other day as he lay in their bed and sobbed, that could’ve also been from regret. Regret that he’d overstepped his boundaries and might have intervened with the couple and it turned into tragedy. I had to be careful.

Hammond continued his rant. “I wouldn’t be surprised if their spouses found out that they planned on divorcing them and worked together to stop them. What better way than to kill them so they could keep all the money.”

Hammond’s eyes filled with tears. I decided we needed a change in subject.

“Tell me Hammond, what kind of work do you do?”

Hammond looked uncomfortable. “Nothing really,” he mumbled. “Oh, I forgot. I have a spa appointment at the resort. I must get going,” he said standing up. “It was nice meeting all of you.” And he was out the door.

Bruce took a bite of his hamburger. “Well, that was odd and I’m not too ashamed to say I’m glad it’s over.”

Brandon agreed. “That was the strangest dude I’ve ever met.”

Stormi stabbed at her salad. “And that’s saying something brother.”

I looked over at Greg who was deep in thought.

“What about the director, Scott Davidson?” Paige interjected. “On the news it said that film he directed them in was a flop and he was angry with the couple. That they had ruined his career. You think he could have anything to do with this?”

“Well if this Davidson guy was as loony tunes as Hammond, it’s a possibility,” Bruce said, wiping his mouth with a napkin.

“Just because he’s a little odd doesn’t make him a murderer,” I said, surprised at my own defense of Hammond.

“Doesn’t help,” Stormi said with her mouthful of lettuce. “And let’s not forget the sobbing incident.”