Seaside Secrets (8 page)

“
It's possible,” Dr. Rose replied hesitantly. “Like I said, I didn't find anything unusual in his system, but since it had been three days by the time we found him,” her voice trailed off.

“
Oh my, I didn't know about that,” Suzie said with a deep frown. It was unsettling to think of her uncle being alone in that house for so long. But it made sense to her considering how reclusive her uncle had become. Jason had to feel terrible that he hadn't realized that his father was gone. He had the same experience after his mother passed.

“
Yes,” Dr. Rose said sadly. “Unfortunately, some of the things I could test for might have degraded in his system so much by the time that he was found, that they might not be detected.”

“
So, you're saying there's no way to medically prove if he was killed deliberately,” Suzie said with surprise in her voice. “But everyone around town seems to think that he died of natural causes.”

“
Well,” Dr. Rose closed the file and set it down on the desk beside the microscope she had been looking through. “You'll find in Garber that things work a little differently, Ms. Allen,” she said with a hint of bitterness in her voice. “I've had to be careful not to express my opinions too loudly. But like I said, there is no proof, and so I could technically only rule his death as due to natural causes.”

“
Well, I appreciate your time and your candor,” Suzie said as her heart skipped a beat. She knew now that she was not the only one who suspected her uncle's death had not been due to natural causes. “If you find anything, can you let me know?” she asked.

“
Absolutely,” Dr. Rose agreed. Then she smiled a little. “It's good to know that Jason still has family.”

Suzie smiled in return.
“It's been a pleasure to get to know him.”

As she rode the elevator back up to the lobby of the police station, she just hoped that Jason wasn't going to end up despising her for digging so deeply into something that was a mystery to her, and a tragedy to him.

When she stepped out onto the sidewalk she found Mary waiting for her.

“
I'm so sorry about that, Suzie. Kent was upset about some paper that didn't get signed,” she shrugged and rolled her eyes. “There wasn't much I could do about it from here.”

“
It's okay,” Suzie replied, still a little dazed from what Dr. Rose had revealed. “It looks like uncle Harry might have been poisoned,” she said quietly.

“
Poisoned?” Mary gasped.

“
Shh!” Suzie grabbed her arm and steered her towards the car. “We can't let word get around that we suspect anything. At least not until I have a chance to get to know Mayor Ralley over dinner,” she smirked a little before sliding into the driver's seat.

When Suzie and Mary arrived at the restaurant it was fairly busy. It appeared that most of the dinner crowd were at the tail end of their meal.

“
We're waiting for two more,” Suzie said as the hostess offered to seat them.

“
Oh, they're already here,” the young woman said quickly. “The mayor reserved his table for you,” she added with a dreamy smile. Suzie and Mary exchanged glances before they were led through the restaurant. It was certainly not a five star restaurant, but you wouldn't know it from the people who were dining there. Everyone was dressed in their finest, including Jason and the mayor, both of whom stood up when the two women approached.

“
Welcome,” Thomas said and pulled out Suzie's chair for her. Jason did not miss a beat to do the same for Mary. Suzie tried not to be impressed by their manners, but it was hard not to be. When she sat down across from the two men, she found herself entertaining a terrible thought. If everyone was in Thomas' pocket as so many had said, then was Jason in his pocket, too? Was it possible that her cousin had something to do with his father's passing?

“
What would you like to have to drink, ladies?” Thomas asked as he handed them each a menu. “Jason and I have already ordered ours,” he added.

“
I think I'll have a glass of wine,” Mary said with a smile as the waitress approached.

“
They have a delicious chardonnay here,” Thomas suggested with a flash of his impossibly white teeth.

“
Let's make it two,” Suzie suggested and sat back as the waitress placed drinks on the table for Thomas and Jason.

Suzie had to bite into her bottom lip to keep from gasping when she saw the label on the beer that was placed down in front of Thomas.

“Your favorite, Mr. Mayor,” the waitress smiled.

“
Thank you so much, I have been looking forward to one of these all day,” he sighed as he turned the dark, glass bottle between his palms. “Nothing like a reward after some hard work. I guess you both know all about that,” he chuckled as he looked up at Mary and Suzie.

Suzie forced herself to look away from the bottle of beer. It was the same brand as the six
pack that had been in Harry's refrigerator. The same beer that Jason had insisted his father would never drink. Now that she saw it in the mayor's hand things began to make sense to her. Perhaps the mayor had dropped by Dune House for a visit and had brought a six pack of his favorite beer. Maybe he insisted on Harry taking a few swigs with him. Harry, as fearful as he was of the man, probably would have complied. Could the poison have been in the beer?

But Suzie knew she was getting ahead of herself. She still had no idea why Thomas would want t
o kill Harry over a few photos. It was time to test the waters.

“
Actually, we did have a harrowing incident the other day with the plumbing,” Suzie began to describe finding something wedged in the drain of the sink. “Turns out, it was this,” Suzie said as she fished the cufflink out of her purse and laid it on the table. Jason stared down at it, and then looked slowly up at her. Thomas barely skimmed his gaze over it.

“
Oh, how strange,” he shrugged and sipped his beer.

“
Stranger still,” Suzie said as she nudged the cufflink towards him. “It has your initials on it.”

“
Does it?” Thomas laughed. “I'm sure there are plenty of people with the initials TR.”

“
So, it's not yours?” Suzie asked and raised an eyebrow.

“
Uh, well,” Thomas picked up the cufflink and took a closer look at it. “Now that you mention it, this does look like a cufflink I've worn before. I must have lost it in Dune House years ago.”

“
Years ago?” Suzie asked and tilted her head slightly to the side. “So, you wouldn't have been wearing it recently?”

“
I'm sorry, is there something unfashionable about cufflinks these days?” Thomas asked with a chuckle low in his throat. “I didn't realize that it was such an issue whether I wore them or not.”

“
Oh no, not at all,” Suzie said quickly and flashed him an even, cool smile. “I just thought I'd search for the other one for you, if you'd lost them recently.”

“
Nope, it's been years,” Thomas repeated with certainty. “I'm sure you wouldn't be able to find the other one even if you tried. I spent a lot of time at Dune House when Jason was a boy, didn't I, son?” he asked as he looked over at Jason.

“
Yes, you did,” Jason replied though his gaze was lingering on the cufflink. “Our families were close,” Jason explained to Mary and Suzie. “My mother and Samantha were best friends,” he added in a softer tone. “I still can’t understand why Samantha ran off."

“
Oh well, that's not dinner talk, Jason,” Thomas said sharply. “We don't need to air our family business.”

“
I am family, too,” Suzie spoke up with determination. “And I'd love to hear anything that Jason has to share.”

“
Sometimes I think about her,” Jason admitted as he toyed with the cufflink. “I wonder where she's gone and what life she's living now. Don't you, Thomas?” he asked as he looked over at the man beside him.

“
Jason, it's only been a few weeks. She'll run it out of her system, and I'm sure she'll be back in no time,” Thomas sighed as if he carried the burdens of every person who roamed the earth. “Sometimes being married to a free spirit is hard.”

“
You poor thing,” Mary replied with just enough edge to her words that Suzie could tell she meant it sarcastically. Luckily, before Jason or Thomas could pick up on it the waitress was back with their wines.

“
I understand that you're part of the family, Suzie,” Thomas said after the waitress walked away. “But this isn't just about the Allens. Garber is its own special kind of family. We all know each other, and have known each other for decades. We trust each other. Surely you can appreciate that,” he smiled.

“
I suppose,” Suzie nodded and cast a smile in Mary's direction. “Mary is more like my sister than my friend, so I can understand that family is not just limited to blood.”

“
Exactly,” Thomas smiled. “That's why I was surprised when Jason didn't inherit Dune House. I had hoped that you would be interested in following his wishes, since truly you should have no claim to the property.”

“
Well, from what I understand your only interest in the property is to flatten it,” Suzie reminded Thomas and glanced over at Jason. “Isn't that right, Jason?” she asked. Jason nodded as if he was coming out of a daze.

“
It's what's best for everyone,” he insisted.

“
Don't you have any fond memories of your home, Jason?” Suzie asked in a softer tone.

“
Surely there are some experiences you treasure,” Mary prompted him as well.

“
Sometimes the darker memories outweigh even the most precious memories,” Thomas interrupted in an attempt to change the subject. “Are you ladies ready to order?”

Jason was
still staring wistfully at the cufflink.

“
Actually, I am a little more tired than I expected,” Suzie said as she picked up the cufflink. “How about you, Mary?” she asked as she looked over at her friend.

“
Me, too,” Mary agreed. “Didn't know how tired I was until I sat down.”

“
I think we're going to call it a night,” Suzie said with a slow smile as she looked back at Thomas. “But you two, enjoy your meal,” she added as she stood up from the table. “And as for Dune House, my uncle left it to me, because he trusted me to value it and protect it. Obviously that trust you spoke of doesn't run through every home in Garber,” she turned on her heel and walked away from the table with Mary right behind her. They had almost made it to the car when Jason caught up with them.

“
What was all that about?” he asked sharply.

“
Sorry, Jason, but I don't like that man,” Suzie said as she turned to face him. “I don't trust him.”

Jason frowned as he met her eyes, and then nodded a little.
“Do you still have that cufflink?”

“
Sure,” Suzie opened her hand to reveal it.

“
He said he lost it years ago, but I gave these to him,” Jason said grimly. “I bought them for him right after my mother died, because he was so there for me. But I know for certain that I saw him wearing them about a month ago.”

“
Jason, we know for certain that he was wearing those cufflinks about three weeks ago,” Suzie said and reached into the envelope in her purse. She pulled out the photographs from inside of it. “These are what your father left in the safety deposit box, Jason. I'm afraid that something might have happened to Samantha.”

Jason's eyes widened as he sorted through the
photos. “Are there more?” he asked in a grave tone.

“
Not printed,” Suzie replied. “I have this flash drive that I haven't looked into yet,” she showed him the small drive. “Maybe there are more on here.”

“
Let me have it,” Jason said, and extended his hand. Suzie looked at him with uncertainty. She was sure that the flash drive might have further proof of what really happened to Samantha, and in turn what might have really happened to her uncle. If she gave the flash drive to Jason there was a good chance that he would give it to Thomas.

“
It's okay, Suzie,” Mary said from beside her. “You can trust him.”

Jason looked over at Mary with surprise, and then back to Suzie.
“You can,” he promised her. “I’ll look at it at the police station.”

“
Call me the minute you find anything,” Suzie requested as she pressed the flash drive into the palm of Jason's hand. “And please be careful, Jason. I know that you value Thomas' friendship, but if what I suspect about him is true, he's never been a friend to you.”

“
I will be,” Jason promised her as he tucked the flash drive into his pocket. When he walked back towards the restaurant Suzie wondered if she had made a terrible mistake.

“
How did you know that I could trust him?” she asked Mary as they walked to the car.

“
It's in his eyes,” Mary explained and smiled faintly. “I always knew when my kids were lying. They would get a little shine in their eyes. There wasn't any shine in his, just hurt. He needs to know the truth about Thomas, and about his father. If that flash drive helps him to find it, then no matter what comes of all of this, we will have had a good reason to be here.”

Suzie nodded and unlocked the car doors. The entire drive home however, she couldn't stop thinking about that beer that had been left in the fridge.