Chapter 7

When my alarm went off the next morning, I struggled to open my eyes. Even though I had gone to bed exhausted, I couldn’t sleep. It was one of those nights where you felt you were falling asleep, and then two minutes later, your alarm went off. Sitting up, I saw I had texts from Cora and Sally saying they hoped I was having the best time. I was definitely having an interesting time, just not seeing as much of the beach as I, or they, expected.

I sent them both a text that things were great and I was having the best time. Telling them what I was really doing would only make them worry, and that’s the last thing I wanted. Then I sent a text to my son to check in. Cody replied right away, and I teased him about texting while he was in school. He then tried to turn it on me and said that I shouldn’t be texting him in the first place. He cracked me up. I was so lucky to be his mom.

The sun peeked through the curtains, promising another glorious day in paradise, which helped motivate me to get out of bed. I had made plans with Belinda yesterday to meet for breakfast and didn’t want to cancel on her because I was sure she was still struggling to come to grips with everything. Not only did I want to support her but also wanted to see if she knew why Bessie would meet someone at an abandoned building that wasn’t exactly abandoned. I just needed to find a way to bring it up that wasn’t insensitive.

I threw the covers off and got up, hoping a shower would wake me up, and it did. After dressing in a peach-colored sundress with a palm leaf print and slipping on my flip-flops, I headed down to the Beach Café to meet Belinda.

Walking up to the hostess stand, I scanned the restaurant and spotted Belinda at a table, hunched over her phone. “I see the person I’m meeting,” I said to the hostess as I walked by her and headed to Belinda. “Good morning.”

Belinda looked up from her phone, her eyes were red-rimmed with dark circles under them, leading me to believe she hadn’t slept any better than I had. Not that I had expected her to. “Good morning.”

“Can I get you some coffee?” the waitress said, appearing from nowhere as soon as I sat down. It was the same one who had waited on me yesterday.

“I would love some. Your name is Sylvia, right?” I asked.

“Yup. You remember from yesterday?” She seemed happy about that fact. I suppose most people on vacation didn’t take the time to learn the names of the people who were working hard to make their vacation grand.

“How could I forget? You make the best lattes, and that’s what I would like if it’s not too much trouble.”

“Vanilla latte with a splash of hazelnut coming right up. Ma’am, can I get you a refill?” she turned to Belinda.

“Actually, I’ll have what she’s having.”

Sylvia nodded and left to get our drinks. Belinda set her phone down and put her hands in her lap. She had this nervous energy about her, like she didn’t know what to do.

“How are you holding up?”

“Okay, I guess. I never realized how much red tape there was to get a body transported to the United States.”

I hoped that was something I’d never have to find out. “I’m so sorry, Belinda. I just can’t even imagine what you’re going through.”

“At first, I was worried that the investigation would slow things down, but I have a feeling that’s going to be a breeze compared to getting my sister back home.”

“Have you talked to the police? I mean, since yesterday morning. Do they know what happened?” I had hoped I would be able to find a way to bring this up without seeming insensitive, but luckily she did it for me.

“No. I suppose I should reach out to them today. Is it bad that I don’t want to? Of course, I want to know what happened to my sister, but I’m also afraid to know what happened. I don’t need to have unpleasant thoughts associated with her. And does it really matter?”

“I can understand that.” And I did. However, I wouldn’t be able to bear not knowing if it were my sister.

“But then part of me wants to know who could have done this and make them pay,” she said, contradicting herself. “Though it won’t bring her back.”

“It’s hard to say how I would feel in your shoes because I’m not. I think I would want to know though. It would eat away at me if I didn’t. Did your sister know anyone down here?”

Belinda shook her head. “No. And I would know. We were very, very close.”

“What made you guys pick Belize for vacation?”

“That was all Bessie. You see, my husband died last year, and I’ve been in a bit of a funk. She arranged this vacation, booked and paid for it, and didn’t give me an option to back out. Bessie said Phil, that was my husband, wouldn’t want to see me depressed like this. She was right, of course, except now things are even worse. All because she wanted to cheer me up. I feel like this is all my fault.”

Poor Belinda. I had forgotten Bessie told me why she had arranged this vacation. “I’m so sorry about your husband. I can’t imagine going through that and now this. But you can’t for a minute think that this is at all your fault. This could have just as easily happened in California as here.”

“You sound like Bessie,” she said, giving a slight smile.

Sylvia arrived and set down our lattes. “Can I get you anything else right now?” she asked.

“No, thank you,” Belinda said.

“I’m good for now too, thanks. Why do I sound like Bessie?” I asked Belinda after Sylvia walked away.

“She always looked at the bright side of things. Bessie was the most optimistic person I knew. She could be a bit of a mess, which drove me insane, but she was always happy, always positive. I’m going to miss that.”

“What do you mean, she was a bit of a mess?”

“She was one of those people who was never on time, forgetful, her house full of clutter, but you can’t get mad at them because they’re so genuinely sweet and disarming. She also always saw the good in people, which wasn’t one of her best traits. It took forever for her to realize that ex-husband of hers was a lying, cheating louse.”

“Have they been divorced long?”

“Legally, no, but they had been separated for years before their divorce was finalized last year.”

“That’s a lot to deal with. Divorce is painful enough without it dragging on,” I said.

“He had a bunch of legal issues, and she said she didn’t want to pile on by pushing him for the divorce. Like I said, she saw way too much good in people.”

We finally ordered and spent the rest of breakfast with me listening to her reminiscing about Bessie, which was fine by me, since it seemed to lift her spirits a little. We left breakfast with her saying she was going back to her room to rest, and I headed back to my room to meet Javier. He had texted me a few minutes ago, telling me he had some information.

When I got off the elevator and headed to my room, he was standing outside the door, leaning against the wall.

“You could’ve gone in,” I said, and he looked horrified.

“Go into a guest’s room when they’re not there? We don’t do that without an invitation.”

“Consider yourself invited. This is my home away from home for the rest of my stay, so come and go as you please.” I realized I’d only known him for less than forty-eight hours, and Cora and Sally would probably be worried that I gave him unfettered access, but he was a good kid, and I had nothing of value to steal anyway.

He swiped his key, and we walked in. “Can I get you anything?”

“No thanks. I’m full from breakfast, and Sylvia makes the best lattes.”

“That she does.”

“So, what is this news that you have?” I asked.

“I looked at the phone records from Bessie’s hotel room, and she didn’t make any calls except for a couple to one number.”

“Is that legal? To look at someone’s call history? Can it get you fired?” I asked, concerned for him.

He waved his hand to dismiss my concerns. “Legal? I have no idea, but it won’t get me fired. She called someone who is staying here at the hotel. His name is Pete Aiden. He’s an American businessman, and by his records, he has stayed at this hotel three times in the past year. The most interesting part is his address is in California. Just like Bessie’s.”

“Do you think he had something to do with her death?”

“I’m not thinking anything yet except for the fact she talked to him on the phone yesterday morning, a couple of hours before you found her on the beach.”

“We need to talk to this guy,” I said.

Javier grinned. “I was hoping you would say that. I have a plan.”