Deadly Deceit (40 page)

“Jess!” Tom knelt down beside her.

She lay looking up at him, but all she could see was Carrie’s smiling face drawing her down into the deep. She started shivering, uncontrollably.

Tom pulled her into a sitting position and put his arms around her.

“I’m all right,” she choked. “I’m all right.

Two days later

Jess stood on the beach, outside the Governor’s Residence, looking at the sparkling turquoise sea. The sky was deep blue, the tide back to normal, and the sand as white and fine as ever. It was as if the hurricane had never happened. She glanced at Alvita, who stood silently beside her, then turned to look up at the attic. She felt she would for ever see Maggie’s face at that window. “Your mother was a wonderful woman,” she said.

Alvita turned too. “Maggie loved this house. I-I’ll always feel close to her here, despite everything.”

Jess nodded. If only she’d had some idea of what was going on, she might have been able to stop the violence. And save Maggie.

“Don’t blame yourself, Jess,” Alvita said, as if reading her thoughts. “My mother really liked you.”

“And I really liked her.”

Alvita’s dark eyes still looked sad, but she seemed to have a calmness about her today, as if she’d come to terms with her mother’s death. She’s a strong woman, Jess thought, just like Maggie. She’d already been in the office for hours, getting things running again after the hurricane. Work was her therapy. Jess could understand that.

“They are good people here, Jess, so don’t think badly of them. Living in a small, isolated community is never easy. No-one likes to draw attention to themselves, or speak out against powerful leaders. Life would be made impossible.”

Jess knew that from her travels around the world. “You know, Alvita, if you hadn’t left the DMC and found the Police Commissioner when you did, he would never have come up to the lighthouse, and I wouldn’t be standing here now.”

“If only Dexter had found the courage to act sooner.” Alvita sighed. “He didn’t know what Roger was up to at the beginning. Nor did the Governor. They both believed that first sloop was an accident. So did I.”

“I suppose the second sinking set off alarm bells.”

Alvita nodded. “People started whispering, and that’s when Maggie…” Her voice broke. “And that’s when Maggie and I knew.” She waited, then continued firmly. “Roger was a very persuasive man. He charmed people into thinking it was the only way to deal with the migrant problem. And those few people he couldn’t charm, he paid off.”

“Including the Governor.”

“Yes, even my Uncle Clement went along with it. But he was a good man and couldn’t live with himself.” She swallowed. “My aunt would have known the truth. She and Uncle Clement were very close. That’s why she was murdered. Maggie too. Roger knew they were both brave enough to stand up to him and speak out. And he used their murders to send a message to others.”

Jess remembered Carrie’s smiling face as she tried to pull her under, and shivered. “At least it’s finally over.”

“Is it though?” Alvita hesitated. “It’s not the first time sloops from Haiti have been scuppered on these shores.”

Jess stared at her.

Alvita nodded. “I was a baby when my mother waded to shore, with me in her arms, 31 years ago. Maggie believed she’d arrived in America, to join my father.” Alvita pulled an old photograph from her bag. “This is my real father, Pierre. Maggie only gave me this last month. I guess she must have had a premonition about her own death.”

Jess looked at the photo. She could see Maggie in that young woman, standing proudly beside her husband. “What makes you think Maggie had a premonition?”

Alvita poked the sand with her toe. “She practised voodoo as a young woman in Haiti. She had the gift.” Alvita smiled. “Don’t look so shocked, Jess. Voodoo is harmless, even though the rituals might look a bit scary. In July and August every year, Maggie would hold ceremonies on this stretch of beach when the Governor was away.”

So that’s what Jess had seen the other night on the beach. Maggie must have been the robed figure, whom Alvita embraced. “What about all this sacrificing animals?”

Alvita smiled. “They usually sacrifice birds, like chickens, or sometimes goats or sheep. But it’s not about the morbid death of an animal, it’s about offering life-giving energy to the gods. They generally eat the meat afterwards, so it’s not wasted.” She looked at Jess. “In other cultures, people slaughter animals at home or in their villages, rather than in the slaughter houses or butchers you have in your country. It’s a similar thing.”

“So Roger put Brad and Carrie up to stealing those pets, and blaming their disappearance on voodoo. Their owners won’t ever get them back though. They’re gone.”

“I tried to stop Maggie holding her ceremonies,” Alvita went on, “for fear of what the locals would do if they caught her. Personally, I’ve never taken voodoo seriously. I suppose because my adopted father was a pastor at the Baptist church, and my adopted mother a confirmed Christian too.” She sighed. “I didn’t find out until I was 21 that they weren’t my real parents.”

“Really?”

“That’s when they told me I was Haitian, and that Maggie was my birth mother. They hadn’t told me before – or anyone else come to that – because they knew my life would be difficult if people knew I was Haitian.”

Jess was shocked. “I’m so sorry, Alvita.”

She shook her head. “Don’t be. I saw a lot of Maggie when I was young. She was our cook and housekeeper, and in a way looked after me. I always felt like I had two mothers, so it all made sense when I eventually found out the truth.”

Jess frowned. “You were saying this happened before?”

Alvita nodded. “People talk about it as if it’s just island folklore. They don’t want to believe it, but it was as real back then as it is now. I suppose that’s where Roger got the idea from. The sloops were scuppered on the reef, with people drowned and children taken in exactly the same way. Maggie told me she managed to swim ashore, with me on a plank of wood. She was attacked on the beach, and I was snatched. But my adopted father was out that night trying to stop what was happening. He saved us both. He gave Maggie a domestic job, and adopted me as his own daughter to give me the best life he could.” She looked at Jess.

Jess could imagine what a good man he was. “So when you and Maggie found out it was happening again, you tried to save the children?”

“We realised what Carrie was doing. She kept them in her kindergarten until she could take them overseas to sell. Whenever she was away, I’d go in, rescue a child and take it to Maggie. She’d hide the child upstairs in the attic until she could take it to the Haitian settlement. The Haitians trusted my mother, you see, and would only accept the children from her.”

“And they were safe in the settlement?”

“Yes. But of course Carrie found out what we were doing. But she never dared come to the Residence when the Governor was around.”

Jess shook her head in disbelief at what had gone on. “At least Charles is recovering well in the clinic,” she said. “He was lucky to survive. He’s cut up about his brother though. Feels he should have known what Brad and Carrie were up to.”

“And Rebekah?” Alvita asked. “What will she do now?”

“We’ll have to see what happens when the Chief Justice gets back. He’s on his way now.” She paused. “At the moment Rebekah spends most of her time up at the clinic, looking after Charles. She says she plans to leave the island for good with him when he’s well enough to travel.”

They fell silent for a while, watching the waves lap onto the shore. “This is such a beautiful place,” Jess said.

“Then stay!” Alvita said suddenly. “Help us heal our community and get our lives back on track.”

Jess was taken aback by the new warmth she saw in Alvita’s eyes. London had implored her to stay too, but she had to leave. “I’m really touched you want me to stay, but I have to go home.” She paused. “Sally will help you work with the London team.” She looked at her watch. “They should be arriving in a couple of hours now the airport’s open again. They’ll need all the help you can give them, Alvita.”

“Won’t you change your mind, Jess?”

Jess shook her head. “I can’t.”

Alvita nodded. “I’d better get back to work, then,” she said, briskly.

Jess knew Alvita’s return to business mode was her way of hiding her disappointment. “I’ll see you there later,” Jess said, as she watched her go. At least they understood each other. She guessed she would always be friends with Maggie’s daughter.

Now, she turned and started walking along the beach, away from the house. She needed some time alone to prepare herself for what she had to do next. The sun was fierce on her back as she got further away from the Residence. Suddenly, in the distance, she saw the ponies from her first swim, playing in the surf. As she watched them nuzzling and splashing each other, the horror of the last few days seemed to melt away.

She found some rocks to sit on, and pulled out her mobile. She tapped the code for her voicemail. There was a message she needed to listen to again.

Jess… it’s Simon. Look, I know I’ve been a bloody fool. It’s just that… well, I thought I could deal with this on my own. It turns out I can’t. I was just coming home for medical tests, you see, but those tests… well, those tests have confirmed the worst. It’s cancer, I’m afraid… prostate cancer. I’m going into St Thomas’s for an operation in the morning. I feel terrible telling you like this, in a voicemail, but I haven’t been able to get hold of you. I know about the hurricane. The Office have told me you’re safe. I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you, Jess. Really sorry. It was ridiculous of me to say I was going to LA for work. I should have told you the truth and that I’d booked a ticket for you to come home to the UK with me. I was going to tell you everything at the dinner I’d planned but, as you say, life has a way of being unpredictable and you dropped your bombshell about the Turks and Caicos. You looked so happy to get the job, I didn’t want to spoil it for you. I hope you can forgive me, Jess, and come home… Sorry.

She held her face up to the sun, and closed her eyes. She couldn’t believe Simon had kept something like that from her. What was he thinking? Telling her he was going to LA for work when he was going back to London for tests for prostate cancer, for God’s sake. She was cross, and sad, and worried all at the same time. She’d never have come to the Turks and Caicos if she’d known. She slipped her phone back in her pocket and stared at the silvery sea, shimmering under the hot sun. Its quiet lapping onto the shore soothed her frazzled mind.

Now, when she closed her eyes again, she could see Tom’s face, and his hand outstretched as he grabbed her before she disappeared under the waves. She could feel Tom’s arms around her, bringing her back to life.

*

As she left the Residence, Jess closed the front door behind her, and locked it. She was glad Alvita still loved the place and felt close to Maggie there, but she would never forget the horror of that night. She’d spent the hurricane’s second onslaught at the DMC with Tom, working on monitoring and assessing the damage, drawing up reports and a recovery strategy for when it was all over. After that she’d booked rooms in a local hotel for them both. Her excuse was that she didn’t want to get in the way of forensics in the Residence, and that it had to be cleaned up. But the truth was she didn’t want to spend another night in there after what happened to Maggie.

Now, she was on her way to collect Tom from the police station, where he was saying goodbye to Chuck and the guys, and take him to the airport for his flight home. Approaching the building, she saw him standing outside on the steps. He was bang on time, and with his suitcase packed and ready beside him. As solid as a rock, that was Tom. Always there. What you see is what you get with him.

He waved as she pulled up, threw his case onto the back seat, and jumped in the passenger seat beside her. “The guys are getting ready for the UK police team arriving this afternoon,” he said. “Some forensics officers are coming over from the Cayman Islands later.” He glanced at her. “Best to get outside expertise in these circumstances.”

Jess smiled. “Absolutely. That way there can be no cover up.” She paused. “What’s the mood like in there… since their boss has been suspended pending investigation.”

“Everyone’s sad about old Dexter. They all respect him.” He hesitated. “They don’t think he should take the blame for everything. He didn’t take any bribes. Once he found out the Governor had been paid off, he didn’t know where to turn to for help. He just tried to keep a lid on things. Anyway, they think he deserves some credit for despatching Roger Pearson.” He nodded. “It might have been a whole different story if he hadn’t acted when he did.”

“Don’t I know it!”

He smiled at her. “No-one’s sorry Roger’s gone. Dexter’s a local hero on that score.”

Yes, Jess thought. Big Shot had shown his true colours the very first time she saw him in the Provo airport terminal. Such a huge ego, and such arrogant disregard for anyone else. A true narcissist. The island was going to be better off without him, that’s for sure. But she was sorry about Dexter. She was fond of him. He was a decent man at heart. In many ways, she understood his dilemma when he found out the Governor was implicated.

“Don’t worry, Tom,” she said. “Dexter will get a fair hearing. But he couldn’t just walk back into his Police Commissioner job after everything that’s happened. He should have told me and London everything while he had the chance, before Mrs Pearson and Maggie were murdered. Still, the action he eventually took will be properly taken into account during the investigations. I’ll make sure of that.”

“Glad to hear it, Jess. Anyway, Chuck’s happy. He’s been promoted to Inspector to meet the overseas police and facilitate all their investigations.” He glanced over. “Did you have anything to do with that?”

“I may have suggested he was the best man on the island for the job.”

Tom chuckled. “He asked me to thank you.” He reached up to pull down the sun visor and shield his eyes from the blinding sun. “I’ve invited him to come over to Australia with the guys from Miami when this is all over. It would be good to see him again, and find out how all this works out. I’m going to miss this place.” He glanced over. “And you, Jess.”