Borrowed Time Read online

  The three of us chatted a little, but were mostly just enjoying the warm water, which was working wonders on my tight muscles. When the jets, which were on a timer, cut off, I could hear the unwelcome sounds of nearby quarreling. I glanced over and saw Scott and Kelly engaged in another heated argument at the side of the pool.

  Roz groaned. “I think I’m ready for those jets to turn on again. What’s Scott done this time?”

  Luna shrugged. “I didn’t see it. Guessing it’s the same thing. Scott’s drinking too much and being obnoxious.”

  This time, though, whatever Scott had said or done seemed to have a ‘final straw’ aspect about it.

  “I’m getting out of here,” said Kelly. “I’m not going to subject myself or the rest of the group to this anymore.”

  Grace shook her head. “Please stay put, Kelly. You shouldn’t be driving a car. None of us should.”

  “Who said I was going to drive?” demanded Kelly, giving Grace an impatient look. “I’m walking. Anybody want to come? There’s a band playing at the club. It’s just a short walk. Live music, booze, and lakefront views.”

  “I’ll go,” said Roz quickly.

  “Sorry, I think I’m starting to wind down,” Felicity demurred. The rest of us shook our heads.

  Scott snorted and Kelly rolled her eyes. She and Roz left on foot around the side of the house toward the road.

  Scott was acting as if he couldn’t possibly care less that Kelly was leaving. “Now the party can really kick off,” he said with a lopsided grin.

  Felicity stood up and said, “Sorry, but I’m going to bow out. Maybe I had too much sun today, but I’m exhausted. I’m going to head upstairs and turn in early. Thanks for everything, Grace.” She turned and left.

  The sudden disappearance of nearly everyone in the party was starting to resemble the Agatha Christie I was reading. And then there were none, for sure.

  Scott looked over at Kyle, who’d been quietly watching everything unfold. He said in a mocking tone, “You look so disapproving, Kyle. What’s wrong?”

  Kyle said coldly, “You know what’s wrong. You’re being rude and thoughtless to the other guests and to Grace, who’s set all this up.”

  Scott turned and looked pointedly at Grace. “Grace isn’t exactly the paragon of virtue she appears to be. Are you, Grace?”

  Grace’s expression was icy as she stared at Scott.

  Scott gave a short laugh. “Besides, it takes two to argue. Why isn’t anybody complaining about Kelly?”

  “Because you’re the one instigating the arguments,” said Kyle.

  Scott shrugged. “Time to go for a swim. Maybe the rest of you should do the same and give yourselves a chance to cool off.” He dove into the water and started swimming laps.

  Grace gave me an apologetic look. “Ann, I’m so sorry. You came here to relax for the weekend and it’s been pretty stressful.”

  I shook my head. “No, I’ve really enjoyed myself. It’s beautiful out here. And you don’t have anything to apologize for—you can’t control what your guests do.”

  “If only she could,” said Kyle glumly.

  Grace smiled at me. “I really appreciate it, Ann.”

  Although I was dying to retreat upstairs myself, I felt like I shouldn’t desert Grace yet. She had put a lot of time into this party and I didn’t want to just abandon her. So Luna and I hung out for an hour or more—listening to music, reading, and hanging out with everyone.

  Then we heard the front door through the open pool door. “Kelly? Roz?” Grace called out.

  Roz came toward us with a sheepish smile. “Just Roz. Kelly was . . . overserved at the club. I just dropped her off back home.”

  Scott gave a dark chuckle and Roz gave him a cold look. She pressed her lips tightly closed as if forcing words back.

  Scott, however, didn’t seem quite as prudent. “Still trying to protect her, Roz? I don’t think anybody else thinks I’m so awful.” He hiccupped at this and weaved unsteadily at the side of the pool.

  “Yeah, because you’re such a catch. Forgetting birthdays, picking fights.” Roz shrugged. She headed to the bar next to the pool and poured herself a large glass of champagne which she drank quickly.

  Luna raised her eyebrows as Roz poured herself another glass and quickly downed it. It made me wince. Champagne hits the bloodstream fast because of the bubbles. And the only hangover I’ve ever had was from a very small amount of it.

  Roz continued: “All the two of you do is torture each other. You need to break it off. I keep telling Kelly that, but she won’t listen, so maybe you need to be the one to do it. You’re making each other totally miserable and that kind of stress can’t be good for your health.”

  “Says Nurse Nancy,” drawled Scott. He poured himself another drink of champagne. “I’ll just have to drown my sorrows. Alcohol is good for relieving stress, too.”

  Roz shook her head. “I’m sorry, Grace, but I’m heading upstairs, too. I’ve got a splitting headache. Brought on by you-know-who.”

  Grace frowned. “Can I get you some ibuprofen or an aspirin?”

  “Thanks, but I brought some with me. I thought I might have a hangover.” She gave a short laugh. “It’s more of a Scott-induced migraine. I’ll be fine, though.”

  I said, “Just the same, though, it’s been a really full day. I think I might turn in early. Luna and I are talking about having an early-morning swim and I’ll sleep through my alarm if I don’t get to bed.”

  Luna quickly added, “Me, too. But it’s been fun today, Grace, really. We appreciate the invitation.”

  Kyle said, “I’m going to hang out for a while down here and catch up with Grace. After I grab myself a beer.”

  “There’s champagne over there,” said Grace.

  Kyle grimaced. “I think I’d better stick with something weaker, but thanks.”

  Luna and I gathered our stuff together and headed upstairs.

  Luna said in a library whisper, “This party has gotten weird. I’ve never seen Scott like this before. Usually he’s pretty easy-going and fun to be with.”

  “That’s hard to imagine right now,” I said dryly.

  “Anyway, it was nice of you to make Grace feel better. I feel bad she’s put a lot of time and money into this party and Scott seems determined to ruin it.”

  I stopped in front of my room and said, “He can’t do that. Besides, he might be fine now that Kelly has left. Most of the conflict was between those two, after all. He’s got to be better tomorrow morning, anyway, after he’s had a good night’s sleep and before he starts drinking for the day. Tomorrow will probably be much smoother.”

  “You’re setting your alarm for tomorrow?” asked Luna.

  “I’ve already set it. I’ll meet you at the pool,” I said.

  After I’d undressed and gotten ready for bed, I could still hear voices and someone had turned on some music. Maybe Roz or Felicity had gone back to the pool. I pulled out the pair of earplugs I always travel with and plugged up my ears. With all the sounds silenced, I quickly fell into a deep sleep until my alarm went off the next morning.

  I got up and put on my suit, then headed downstairs to the pool. Luna hadn’t made it down yet, apparently, so I did a few light stretches in preparation for the swim.

  Then I decided to go ahead and get in the pool and get adjusted to the water temperature, although Grace had assured us it would feel warm. As I walked to the edge of the pool, my blood suddenly ran cold as I saw a body floating face down in the water.

  Chapter Six

  I grabbed a life preserver ring from a hook on the wall and jumped into the pool with it, swimming over to the body. I flipped the body over and saw it was Scott Haynsworth. I treaded water as I held onto both the life preserver and Scott and then swam for the side of the pool. I heard Luna yell out to me and run over to the side of the pool.

  “Help me get him out,” I said, gasping. I shoved Scott up from the water and Luna reached down and pulled him out
at the same time.

  “Is he dead?” asked Luna shakily.

  “Don’t know. Run, get some help,” I said, still breathless.

  I tried to shake Scott awake, saying his name loudly, but there was no response. I also saw his head was bloodied. I tilted his head to the side for any water to drain away, then I turned it to the center. I tried to clear his airway, laying him on his back and tilting his chin and head back. I looked at his chest as I put my head close to his mouth to feel or hear breathing, but there was nothing.

  Luna came back with some of the others and I started mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and chest compressions. After a minute, I tried to feel for a pulse and felt nothing.

  Grace took over at this point, then Kyle, but there were no results.

  “I think he’s gone,” I said quietly.

  Grace, who’d been hovering nearby, sat back on her heels with a defeated expression. “I called 911,” she said dully. “They should be here any moment.”

  I started shivering uncontrollably and Kyle strode to the cabinet in the corner and pulled out towels and one of the robes for me.

  Grace said softly, “What happened, Ann?”

  I said, “I was meeting Luna for our morning swim. I stretched for a few minutes because I was the first one downstairs.”

  Luna winced. “It took me longer to get ready this morning.”

  “Then I thought I’d go ahead and get into the pool and get adjusted to the water temperature. That’s when I saw Scott.” Finally, my shivering had eased up and my teeth had stopped chattering.

  Kyle asked, “He was floating in the pool?”

  I nodded. “Face down.”

  Everyone was quiet for a few moments after hearing this. Scott could have been in the pool most of the night. Who knew how long he’d been floating like that?

  “What happened to his head?” asked Kyle, his voice sounding a little strangled.

  Luna said, “It looks like he was hit.”

  We heard sirens approaching and Grace stood up. “I’ll greet them out front.”

  The EMTs came in first, hurrying over to Scott. After several minutes, it was clear to them that nothing could be done.

  A couple of minutes later, Burton, the Whitby police chief, walked into the pool room. I relaxed when I saw him. He had a very solid, comforting presence. He was a big guy with a receding hairline, a steady gaze, and currently a very concerned expression. One of the EMTs spoke with him for a moment and he nodded and then turned to the rest of us.

  “Hey, everybody,” he said firmly. “I know this has been a shock. But I need you all to move out of this room. I passed through a living room on the way in—maybe wait for me in there?”

  We all numbly nodded and silently filed out. Grace led us into the big living room and turned on the gas fire since my shivering had started up again despite the warmth of the fluffy towel. She walked to the kitchen and returned with a pot of coffee and a tray of cups, sugar, and cream.

  Twenty minutes later, more police officers arrived and a few guys in forensics suits. Burton must have made phone calls to the state police, as well.

  Grace gazed blankly at the different authorities as they walked by. “I can’t believe this is happening,” she murmured.

  Roz reached over and gave her a hug. “He probably just hit his head on the side of the pool when he went in.”

  Grace shook her head. “How would he have been able to do that? Going in head-first?”

  “He was doing some shallow diving for a while,” said Roz.

  I agreed with Grace. From the spot on his head, I couldn’t figure how he’d have gotten that injury in a natural way. It was on the back of his head. Unless Scott was trying to attempt a back dive, there was just no way he could have gotten that cut. And there wasn’t a diving board.

  Kyle said in a low voice, “They’re going to ask us questions. They’ll think one of us was involved.”

  That seemed very likely. We were all silent again. I could definitely see how someone in our group might have wanted to permanently get rid of Scott. He’d behaved badly the entire time he’d been here and had had spats with nearly everyone.

  Roz was still determined to believe it had all been an accident of some kind. “Maybe not. After all, he was drinking a lot. I mean a lot. He could have staggered around the pool and slipped or something, like I said. Let’s wait and see what happens.”

  We were all quiet again. Then I said, “Shouldn’t someone tell Kelly?”

  Grace and Roz froze and then looked at each other.

  Roz said, “This is going to kill her, especially how they ended things. Maybe we should let her just sleep.”

  Grace shook her head. “Ann is right. Kelly should know. I don’t think she’d thank us for keeping her in the dark about Scott’s death.”

  Roz shook her head and then winced as if her head hurt.

  “I’ll do it,” said Grace quietly.

  I was glad someone would, because I had the feeling if the police were going to be questioning us, they were definitely going to want to talk to Kelly. She knew Scott better than anyone—and she’d been arguing with him before his death.

  Burton joined us again, looking grim. “Sorry for the wait, guys. I know this must be a huge shock for you. We are going to need to take statements from everybody. He looked at Grace. “Is this your home?”

  She nodded, looking pale.

  “Is there a quiet spot where we can speak privately with everyone here?” asked Burton.

  She nodded again and stood up, looking a little shaky on her feet. “My study is right off of this room. Will that work?” She led him over to it and Burton pulled another chair inside.

  He looked over at me. “Ann, could I speak with you first?”

  I followed him to the study, which looked more like a mini-library. There were books lining the walls from floor to ceiling. Ordinarily, my first instinct would have been to peruse the shelves. Grace had a mahogany desk in the space and a Persian rug. I sat down in a leather armchair.

  Burton sighed. “So what’s going on here? Can you sketch it all out for me so I have some direction with my questions with everyone? What’s the set-up?”

  “Grace Armstrong, who just helped you set up the room, is the hostess. This is a sort of housewarming party for her . . . she wanted to introduce friends to her new home and relax.”

  Burton nodded. “And you’re friends with her.”

  I shook my head. “Actually, I just met her. She was open to meeting new people and wanted Luna to have someone to hang out with, I think.”

  Burton frowned. “So Luna is friends with Grace.”

  “I wouldn’t say they were the type of friends who actually hung out together. Luna knows Grace from when she grew up here. Luna’s here mainly because her cousin Roz is friends with Grace and the rest of the guests.”

  Burton started taking notes.

  I continued. “So the rest of the guests knew each other when they were in school together. It sounds like they were pretty close back then, but Grace moved away and just recently came back to Whitby.”

  “With a good deal of money,” muttered Burton with a glance around the well-appointed study. “And the victim?”

  “Is he a victim, then? He was definitely murdered? We wondered if maybe he’d tried diving in and hit his head, was knocked unconscious, and then drowned.”

  Burton shook his head. “That explanation could have worked if we hadn’t spotted the bloody champagne bottle. Sadly, someone thought to wipe it clean of fingerprints.”

  I stared at him. “So he was murdered, then.”

  “Any ideas why?”

  I nodded slowly. “His name is Scott Haynsworth. Unfortunately, he was a pretty difficult guest this weekend.”

  “In what way?”

  “First off, he and his girlfriend were squabbling the whole time. Her name is Kelly and she left the party last night because she’d had enough. Scott was drinking too much and generally being obnoxiou
s. Running his mouth and flirting with someone else,” I said.

  Burton’s brows knit together. “Flirting with who?”

  I almost smiled, but carefully kept my mouth from turning up at the corners. I knew Burton had a warm spot for Luna and hoped it wasn’t her. He never seemed to be able to make too much progress with her, though, and she appeared to have no idea that he was interested in her at all.

  “Felicity. I think her name is Felicity Patton. She works at one of the big banks.”

  “In Whitby?” Burton’s eyebrows flew up his wide forehead.

  “No, she works remotely and flies a lot.”

  Burton carefully added more notes to his notebook. “And was she receptive to his flirting?”

  “Not at all. She was basically avoiding him the whole time. But then, she’s also friends with Kelly and wouldn’t have wanted to make her upset,” I said.

  “Who else was he at odds with?”

  I thought about this for a moment. “Well, Kyle wasn’t happy with him and Kyle is supposed to be one of his best friends. They were partners in Scott’s business a long time ago and that partnership apparently dissolved at some point. But the reason I thought Kyle was upset with Scott was because Scott was flirting with Felicity. It seemed really obvious to me that Kyle held a torch for Felicity. Maybe even since they were in school together.”

  Burton jotted down more notes and then smiled at me. “You’ve been very observant during this crazy house party. Didn’t you drink at all?”

  I chuckled. “Sure, I did. Just not as much as everybody else did.”

  “Well, judging from all the hungover looking faces in there, they more than made up for the amount you didn’t drink. Anybody else? Who am I missing? It sounds like the guy riled everybody in the house up.”

  I said, “Well, there’s Roz and Grace.”

  Burton nodded. “You said Roz was a relative of Luna’s?”

  “Her cousin. And she was upset with both Kelly and Scott, but mostly Scott. It seemed like she was sick of the whole relationship between the two of them. She was frustrated that Kelly was dating this guy who seemed very toxic for her. They apparently had this on-again, off-again relationship and Roz was ready for it to be off again for good. She was fussing at Scott for his bad behavior most of the time—just looking out for Kelly.”