Sleuth on Safari Page 16

  “I thought it was for my bad back.”

  “Oh yeah…that too,” she admitted.

  “Oh, I’m sorry for any miscommunication. I’m the only massage therapist on staff today.”

  Geri nodded. “Then take him first. I’ll be waiting by the pool.” She kissed Jack on the cheek. “Enjoy it and please relax. Get out all that tension!”

  I ran back to our room. Charlotte was getting out of the plunge pool.

  “Charlotte, does every country have patient confidentiality laws?”

  “I think so. I don’t know for sure.” She pointed to one of the towels rolled on the patio’s table. “I’d look it up but—”

  “It’s temporary. They’re working on it. It’ll be fixed shortly,” I answered.

  She furrowed her eyes. “That’s exactly what the front desk told me.” She pointed to the towels again.

  “It’s the party line regarding the lack of Wi-Fi.” I threw her a towel. “Anyway, back to my question. Do all medical professionals abide by confidentiality rules?”

  “Well, they should, but not everyone follows the rules.”

  “Do you think someone like a massage therapist has confidentiality rules?”

  “In the US, yes.”

  “So someone could confess a murder to a massage therapist?”

  “I don’t like where this is going. Why are you asking—”

  “Gotta go,” I yelled as I ran back out of the room.

  I walked as if headed to the pool. The massage therapist was coming out of the gym and headed down the path to the cabana. I followed her. If caught, I’d just say I didn’t know where I was going. Made a wrong turn is all. I was just exploring the lovely lodge. How could I know this was the private cabana for massages?

  “Are you ready, sir?” she asked as she entered the cabana.

  Jack must have already been feeling better, and answered, “Better question, are you ready for me?”

  I tried not to gag.

  Like the underwear, this was not something I needed to see. I squatted down along the outside of the cabana. I only needed to hear this.

  “You have a lot of tension in your shoulders.”

  “I have a stressful job.”

  “But you are on vacation, that tension should be gone.”

  “Sometimes it stays.” He sighed. “A lot of the time it stays.”

  I waited and there was nothing more. After a few minutes of silence, I became bored and wondered how long I should stay. I didn’t know how long his massage would be and had no idea if any other staff would come down this way. I got up, stretched my legs, and left. I walked nonchalantly, my excuse ready if anyone asked what I was doing. “Just walking. Just looking.”

  I walked to the pool and sat a few lounge chairs down from Geri. She had her hat over her face and appeared to be sleeping. I did the same. With my sunglasses on, no one would tell if my eyes were open or closed. If I remained still, they’d think I was sleeping.

  About thirty minutes later, Jack returned. “Your turn, Geri.”

  “Did it help?”

  “Help what?” he asked, as he lay down on a lounge.

  “The massage. Did it help? Do you think you’ll sleep better tonight?”

  “I told you, it’s the pills. Those malaria pills are giving me crazy dreams. I feel like I’m running all night.”

  “I think you are. You just keep moving. No wonder you’re tired.”

  “I’m tired because we get a wake-up call at five in the morning.”

  She got up and kissed him on the cheek. “You’re tired because you work too hard.”

  She left for her massage.

  I waited what I thought was an acceptable amount of time and got up to leave. I needed to confirm his story with my medical consultant. Who knew Charlotte would be so helpful on this trip?

  Jack appeared to be sleeping as I passed. But they had probably thought the same of me for the last hour.

  Charlotte was lying on the lounge on the patio, reading a medical book, when I returned.

  “Do malaria pills give people weird dreams?”

  “Oh yes. Vivid dreams are one of the side effects.” She put her sunglasses down. “Are you having them?” She bolted up, eyes wide, and asked, “Do you think that’s why you’re looking into this supposed murder?”

  “What?”

  “With that overactive imagination of yours, I was a little afraid the pills would give you crazy dreams.”

  I plopped down on the other lounge. “No, I haven’t had any but the one with the hyenas chasing me. I didn’t even know that was a side effect.”

  “Yes, vivid dreams as well as more standard prescription side effects like nausea, diarrhea, etc. Didn’t you read it in the pamphlet when you got it from the pharmacy?”

  I looked up at her. She had to be kidding.

  “Of course you didn’t.”

  It didn’t alibi Jack out for the murder, but it might explain his disrupted sleep.

  Sundowners

  The next opportunity I had, I made sure to question Ray. I approached him for a drink, but I really wanted answers. Truthfully, I wanted the drink, and some answers. He handed me a white wine.

  “Beautiful night, isn’t it?” I asked.

  “Always is out here. Far away from the cities.”

  “True,” I answered. Before this trip, I would have never dreamed of living away from a city. Now I understood the appeal. I watched the sun begin to set. The last orange rays streamed out from under the horizon.

  “Was it this beautiful where you used to work?”

  “Yes. It’s beautiful everywhere out here in the bush.”

  “Where did you say you worked again?” I asked him.

  “Tonfi Lodge.”

  I paused, pretending to think. I knew exactly what I was going to ask next but wanted it to appear as if it had just entered my mind. It had popped into my head during the night. Sometime around two in the morning, after waking from another hyena-filled dream. “That place sounds so familiar.” I paused again, for effect. “Wait? Isn’t that where Dr. Higgins said he had stayed?”

  “Who?”

  “Dr. Higgins?” I replied. I didn’t want to say “the dead guy.” But as Ray’s face made no hint of recognition, I thought I was going to be forced to. I lowered my voice. “The guy who died.”

  “Oh, oh, Dr. Higgins.” He lowered his head, as if in prayer.

  I realized how fleeting the guests were in the staffers’ lives. Dr. Higgins, only dead a few days, would forever be remembered as the man who had died on vacation to them. Would I be remembered after the new guests arrived? Doubtful.

  He shook his head. “I don’t know. I don’t remember him saying that.”

  “So you never saw him there?”

  “We had a lot of guests. I may have. I don’t remember him, though.”

  “I think you’d remember him.”

  He laughed. “True.”

  I always remembered the particularly difficult customers. I remembered them by some oddity—their request, their complaint, their look. But I, too, didn’t remember their names.

  “So, you didn’t have any run-ins with him there?”

  He shook his head. “Oh no.”

  I believed him. I think we all would have known if they had a previous run-in together. Dr. Higgins would have let us know that first day. He would have made a scene. He would have refused to have Ray be his tracker. But I also wondered if Dr. Higgins would remember every peon he ever had a confrontation with. I doubted every angry customer would remember me. I needed to confirm it and I had.

  But I still wondered. “Why’d the other lodge ask you to leave?”

  “They had their reasons.” He fiddled with his pocket and I remembered the photo that had fallen out of it.

  “Anything to do with the photo you keep in your pocket?”

  He smiled. “Yes.”

  He took it out and showed it to me. It was a beautiful photo of him, a young woman, and
a baby.

  “Love?” I asked. “They transferred you because of love?”

  “Yes, Robina and I met at the lodge.”

  The baby was beautiful. Her smile was as big as Ray’s.

  “We are lucky. The family is good to us. We just cannot work together. It is alright. They still let us live together.”

  “So you go back to the other lodge every night?”

  “Yes. Sonny drives me over every night and picks me up every morning. I don’t even have a place to sleep at this lodge.”

  My job accomplished, I walked away from Ray, white wine in hand, to observe the sunset.

  I felt I could eliminate him from the suspect pool. I joined my fellow guests, at the edge of the roadway, to toast the beautiful day.

  There were plenty more people to be suspicious of and I was running out of vacation.

  Dinner

  Charlotte and I mingled at the bar before dinner.

  Jack must have been feeling better after the massage because he had returned to his role as Cupid. He said to Charlotte, “Why don’t you go over and have a drink with Zonah?”

  She looked over at him, sitting in the corner, waiting for Sabrina’s and Zaden’s return from their suite. They, with Geri, and of course an escort, had returned to their respective suites before dinner.

  She hesitated. “Oh, you should go,” I told her. Was I setting my sister up with a murderer? Was that wrong? “We’ll send over some champagne. Our treat.” I looked to Jack, who laughed.

  “Okay, I would like some champagne.”

  Before she walked away, I pulled her close and whispered, “Ask him if he knew Dr. Higgins.”

  “What? I’m not doing your crazy work,” she whispered back.

  “Did you give her some older sister wisdom?” Jack asked.

  “Not exactly.”

  Jack called Advice over and he brought a bottle of champagne, with two flutes, to the couples table.

  I tried to lip read, hoping I’d see her say “Higgins.”

  Jack tapped me on the shoulder. “Stop staring. You’re making Zonah uncomfortable.”

  Jack was right. Zonah did look uncomfortable. I would have thought he would be grinning from ear to ear that the girl he had crushed on when the trip began had sat down at his table.

  The escort returned with his three escorted guests. Jack stood to meet Geri. The rest of the group followed, heading toward the four spread-out tables on the patio.

  “Why don’t we mix things up tonight?” Jack asked as we headed to the tables. “Colin, Hazel, why don’t you sit with us?” They looked at each other and shrugged. They sat at the table Jack pointed to. Geri joined them moments later. “Naomi, why don’t you join Sabrina and Zaden?” I agreed too. It would be a welcome relief from sitting with Charlotte again. “Charlotte, Zonah, over here.” Neither of the two looked thrilled but they obliged. Geri looked happier about the possible love connection than the couple.

  I walked past Charlotte and whispered, “See if you can get him to invite you back to his room. Look for a murder weapon.”

  She smiled and pushed me away toward the Johnson table. They were mid-argument.

  “Can we try again?” Zaden pleaded.

  “We just tried.” She stopped when I sat down. Zaden started to protest and she cut him off. “Stop about your father.”

  “But—”

  “If you continue, there will no dessert.”

  It was not a threat that would have worked on me at that age, but what else could she threaten him with. No internet? The lodge had taken care of that.

  The starters arrived. I dug into the tomato, basil, and cheese tartlet. Zaden picked at his. It may have been too sophisticated for his young palate. I finished mine and eyed his. It seemed rude to ask for it despite wanting it badly. Was it the detective work that made me this hungry?

  The main dish arrived. Grilled ostrich fillet served on roasted, mint potatoes and sautéed vegetables. The tartlet was gone from my mind and I dug in. Zaden pushed the grilled chicken aside and ate the potatoes. He finally perked up when the dessert arrived, an apple tart with vanilla bean ice cream.

  Sonny arrived and took note of the different seating arrangement. He signaled to Sabrina. I looked to Sabrina to explain. “It’s our night to stay at the treehouse.”

  Their room would be free again. I’d have my second shot to snoop around. “Oh that’s awesome!” I said with too much glee.

  “Let’s go, Zaden,” she said as she stood.

  With typical teenager angst, he whined, “But I just got dessert.”

  “Fine, finish the dessert. I’ll go back to the room for our bags.”

  I looked over at Zonah, who was more interested in the apple tart than Charlotte. He’d made no move to leave. “All of you are staying at the treehouse?” I asked Zaden.

  “Yep,” he answered, with ice cream dripping off his chin. In just moments, and three bites, he was almost done with his dessert.

  Full from the delicious starter and main, and fearing the trip would size me out of my wardrobe, which I could not afford to replace, I slid my dessert across to him. He smiled broadly. “Thank you, Naomi.”

  “Just don’t tell your mom.”

  He stopped, his fork hovering over his second dessert. “A family should never have secrets, Naomi. My father says that all the time.”

  “I’m sorry, Zaden. I was just kidding.” I smiled at him, wanting to see the serious expression on his face disappear. A young boy should never look that serious. He smiled back and returned his attention to his dessert.

  Zaden finished his second dessert before Sabrina returned with two bags. “Let’s go, boys.”

  The boys promptly left, leaving Charlotte and I alone at our respective tables. Stubbornness, or laziness, kept us there until we finished our drinks.

  The other table didn’t seem to notice. They seemed to be enjoying their time away from the rest of the younger guests. I just hoped it wouldn’t turn into a key party, like Geri had implied she’d be into. The way Geri looked at Colin, I thought she might be into that. Every time I looked over she was either laughing at something he said or leaning in and eyeing him intently.

  I got up to leave and plot a plan to get into room two while the trio was miles away at the treehouse. Charlotte had our key and I went over to her table. “Can I have the key? I want to go back.”

  “I’ll go with you.” She took the last sip of white wine and stood.

  “How was your date?” I asked after the escort dropped us at our room.

  “Dinner. Please just call it dinner.”

  “That well, huh?”

  “Ugh, I could never date a man with a beard.” She shivered. “It is just disgusting. Food bits getting stuck in all that hair.”

  “Makes him unkissable?” I asked.

  “Ugh,” she replied and shivered again. “I thought it made him more handsome.”

  “The beard?”

  “Yeah. From afar it did. But up close—yikes.”

  “What did you two talk about?” Anytime I looked over, I only saw Charlotte talking. I assumed that was her typical date behavior.

  “He barely spoke. A few grunts here and there to match that caveman-like beard.”

  “Did you find out anything about him or his family?”

  “Not really. He told me where he went to school.”

  “Where?” I asked.

  “I don’t know. Some place I never heard of. I’d be too embarrassed to admit it.”

  “Not like your prestigious university?”

  She missed my mocking tone and answered, “Exactly.” I tried not to laugh at her. She plopped on the couch and sighed. “Men. I thought he was being mysterious. Turns out he’s no great mystery. Just boring.”

  “So dating on safari not working for you?”

  “No, doesn’t matter. It wasn’t on the itinerary anyway.”

  I got us bottled water from the fridge and sat next to her. “More importantly, did he kno
w Dr. Higgins before the trip?”

  “Naomi!” She threw a pillow at me.

  Charlotte got ready for bed and I got ready to head back to the bar. I called for an escort as she left the bathroom, in her pajamas. She grabbed a textbook and crawled into bed.

  A gentle knock at the door. “Should I ask if it’s a hyena?” I asked Charlotte.

  “Just go.”

  I wasn’t surprised to see Jack at the bar, cradling a Castle beer. I wondered where the rest of his group went. I hoped to their own suites.

  “Rookie!” Jack yelled when I sat next to him.

  Advice greeted me with less enthusiasm but with a drink. I preferred his greeting.

  We heard a commotion up toward reception. The three of us looked at each other. Jack got up, beer in hand. I followed him.

  We stood at the end of the bar area and watched Sabrina and Zonah arguing. Sonny was handing Zaden two bags off the Land Cruiser.

  “You think he’s feigning a fight so he can have the suite to himself?” Jack asked.

  I looked to Jack, not understanding.

  “So he can have some time with your sister?” he clarified.

  I shook my head. “Oh, I don’t think so.”

  “Really? Charlotte’s not interested?”

  “Not at all.”

  “That’s good. I think she can do better.”

  He laughed when I replied, “She does too.” We returned our attention to the latest entertainment at the lodge. We were too far away to hear the argument but it was heated. Hands waving. Faces red.

  They stopped when Zaden interrupted. “Secrets! What would Dad say?” he shouted.

  “He’d tell you to shut up!” Zonah yelled back.

  “Do not talk to your brother like that!” She raised her hand as if she were going to slap him but then stopped. “You’ve ruined this vacation already. I don’t want—”

  “I’ve ruined! You’ve ruined this vacation!”

  “Secrets, huh?” Jack whispered to me. “I kind of want to hang out and find out what those secrets are.”

  “But a bigger part of you wants to return to the bar for another beer?”

  “Rookie! You know me so well.” He slapped me on the back. “Poor kid will find out soon enough every family has secrets.”