Death on a Vineyard Beach Read online

  “READING PHILIP R. CRAIG IS ARMCHAIR

  TRAVELING AT ITS FINEST.”

  Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine

  DEATH ON A VINEYARD BEACH

  “THERE’S REAL CRIME HERE, GREED, BETRAYAL

  AND MURDER TIED IN A PLAUSIBLE PUZZLE, but

  Craig’s series owes most of its charm to the Vineyard

  and his intelligent, likable characters.”

  Publishers Weekly

  “JUST THE COMPANION FOR A DAY ON THE

  BEACH OR IN THE BACKYARD HAMMOCK . . .

  Close your eyes and imagine that Robert Parker’s

  Spencer had to enter the witness protection program.

  Now his name is J.W. Jackson, and he is

  summering on Martha’s Vineyard.”

  Mystery News

  “APPEALING… The humanization of the gangster

  family, the peeks behind the Vineyard facades, and the

  beach environment will win those who like their reading

  to be as leisurely as a long summer’s afternoon.”

  Boston Herald

  “ONE OF THE MOST UNDERRATED WRITERS IN

  THE GENRE… Craig is a consummate storyteller.”

  Murder & Mayhem

  Martha’s Vineyard Mysteries by

  Philip R. Craig

  VINEYARD PREY

  MURDER AT A VINEYARD MANSION

  A VINEYARD KILLING

  VINEYARD FEAR

  VINEYARD DECEIT

  DEATH IN VINEYARD WATERS

  VINEYARD ENIGMA

  VINEYARD SHADOWS

  VINEYARD BLUES

  A FATAL VINEYARD SEASON

  A SHOOT ON MARTHA’s VINEYARD

  A DEADLY VINEYARD HOLIDAY

  DEATH ON A VINEYARD BEACH

  A CASE OF VINEYARD POISON

  OFF SEASON

  A BEAUTIFUL PLACE TO DIE

  SCRIBNER

  A Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

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  New York, NY 10020

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  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Copyright © 1996 by Philip R. Craig

  Published by arrangement with Scribner

  Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 95-45861

  ISBN: 0-380-72873-7

  ISBN: 978-1-4391-0508-5 (eBook)

  All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information address Scribner Subsidiary Rights Department, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.

  First Scribner hardcover edition April 2012

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  Printed in the U.S.A.

  For two of the Other Women in my life:

  my agent, Jane Otte, and my editor, Susanne Kirk,

  who forgive my literary trespasses

  but don’t let me get away with them.

  “… On the trees no leaf is seen

  Nor are the meadows growing green,

  Birds build no nest, no song is sung,

  And hapless beasts shall bear no young,

  So is it while the sinful king

  Shall evil on his people bring.

  For Jesus Christ does punish well

  The land wherein the wicked dwell.”

  SONE DE NANSAI, 11.4848-56

  1

  Zee and I got married at noon on July 13, a date artfully chosen by me in the hope that since it was my birthday, one of the four dates I usually remembered—the others being New Year’s Day, Christmas, and the Fourth of July—I had a fighting chance of recollecting my anniversary in the future.

  It was a beautiful Martha’s Vineyard day, with a warm sun in a cloudless sky, and a gentle north wind to keep things comfortable for all of us who had abandoned our summer shorts and had dressed up for the occasion. There were people with regular cameras and video cameras moving around shooting pictures. Apparently we were going to get the whole thing on record.

  We were in our friend John Skye’s yard, between the farmhouse and the barn, and there were more people there than I had thought we knew. My sister and her husband were there, in from Santa Fe; the Muleto family—Zee’s parents and brothers and the brothers’ wives—had all come over from Fall River and New Bedford. And there were island people, friends of Zee’s and friends of mine, including the chief of the Edgartown police and some other cops. It was quite a crowd.

  The justice of the peace performed the ceremony, and a young liberal Catholic priest, ignoring the fact that Zee wasn’t Catholic anymore and I never had been, blessed the whole affair. I had met the justice of the peace, but I’d never seen the priest before. He was the work of Maria, Zee’s very religious mother, who, when unable to convince her daughter to have a church wedding, arranged a compromise and brought in the priest to make things as legit as possible in her God’s eyes. Zee and I had each already had one church wedding, and that seemed enough to Zee, since neither marriage had worked out in spite of the blessings of religion. This time she thought we’d try it without benefit of clergy.

  The food and drink were laid out in abundance, and as soon as they could manage it, people filed by with handshakes and kisses and headed for the bar. I could hardly wait to join them.

  I was in a rented summer tux, and was beginning to feel sweat trickle down my neck. Zee, in something swirling and pale blue, looked as though she’d stepped out of a magazine about brides. On her left ring finger she now wore my grandmother’s engagement ring and a narrow band of matching gold. Once again I wondered why the wedding ring was on the inside of the engagement ring instead of the other way around, which made more sense to me since we’d gotten engaged before we’d gotten married. I decided I’d not ask that question today.

  A young woman came by. “Hi,” she said to me. “I’m Maggie Vanderbeck. Congratulations!” She kissed Zee and went on her way.

  Zee said: “Maggie volunteers at the hospital when she’s home from college and isn’t working in her sister’s shop.”

  “One of the Gay Head Vanderbecks?”

  “One of the very same.”

  “Congratulations,” said the chief, who was the last one through the reception line. He kissed Zee and shook my hand.

  “An honest woman, at last,” grinned Zee. “Is it true that you’re going deer hunting in Maine this fall? Word has it that you just got yourself a brand-new 30.06.”

  “Yeah,” said the chief. “I have it zeroed in at a hundred and fifty yards. I plan on venison for Christmas dinner.” He looked down at my wedding ring and then back up into my face. “The smartest thing you’ve done since I’ve known you, J. W. It’s good for a man to be married. It’s the way things are supposed to be.”

  The chief had been married over thirty years, and like most such long-married men couldn’t imagine a better life. Neither could I.

  From the tables c
ame the sound of corks popping. I glanced over and saw John Skye and Manny Fonseca pouring champagne.

  “Come on, you two,” I said, taking Zee’s hand. “I’ll buy you both a drink.”

  The chief glanced at his watch. “One glass, then I got to get to work back downtown.” He allowed himself a smile. “Crime never sleeps, you know. Not even in Edgartown.”

  “Well, maybe it’ll doze until you get back on the beat,” I said.

  We went up to the tables and got glasses. Somebody dragged Zee off to join other people. Around us, the sound of voices filled the air. People seemed happy. I was happy, too.

  “Got the boat ready to go?” asked my sister’s husband, Mike.

  “Ready to roll. You and Margarite will have our house and the cats to yourselves while we’re gone, and you’ll have both trucks, so you can get down the beach and back.”

  “How romantic,” said Margarite. “A sailing honeymoon to Nantucket in your own catboat.”

  “It’ll be romantic as long as the weather holds. If it breezes up or starts to rain while we’re out on the sound, an eighteen-foot catboat won’t be an amorous conveyance.”

  “I’m sure everything will be wonderful,” said my sister, whose own romance was with Mike and the mountains and deserts of northern New Mexico. She squeezed my arm. “Your Zeolinda is about the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. You’re a lucky guy!”

  “I consider it skill,” I said, knowing she was right. “It took time and work, but now I’ve got her in my clutches.”

  “And I’ve got you,” said Zee, coming out of the crowd. “It’s a high price to pay to finally get to go to Nantucket, but I’ve always wanted to see the place and this is the only way I could swing it.”

  The chief had his glass in his hand and was looking around at people in that way that some cops do, even when they’re off duty. I noticed his eyes stop moving and focus toward the driveway, which was lined with cars. I turned and followed his gaze.

  A man was walking casually away. I couldn’t see his face, and wondered who he was. Someone else from the hospital where Zee worked, maybe. Maybe a friend of Zee’s, or the husband or boyfriend of a friend. Was there something familiar about the way he walked? The chief was still looking at him when I turned away.

  On the porch, the band was tuning up. A glass and a half later, they started off with a country-and-western tune, and people began to dance on the lawn. Ties were stripped off and coats were piled up on the porch. Women kicked off their shoes and tossed their hair.

  “Come on, Jefferson,” said Zee, and led me away from the bar. We danced, which is to say she danced and I walked around and kicked up a heel now and then, hoping that I was stepping to the music. I do my best dancing standing still since somehow rhythm doesn’t reach my feet very well. Still, we danced fast, then slow, then alone to the “Tennessee Waltz” while everybody else watched.

  “You and Fred Astaire,” said Zee, nimbly escaping one of my shoes. “You’re a matched pair.”

  “Fred and I are twins,” I said. “People can’t tell us apart.”

  After a while, someone in the crowd said, “Enough of this. A round of applause for the bride and groom, then let’s get dancing ourselves!” The applause came and the lawn filled again with dancers, all of whom were better at the sport than I was.

  John Skye took Zee out of my arms and whirled away with her. I went to a table and ate some pumpernickel with mustard and sliced salmon on it, washed down with champagne.

  Iowa, Walter, and Dick Dirgins, three of the island’s dedicated fishermen, were ahead of me, enjoying the fare.

  “Not a bad party,” said Dick. “You should get married more often.”

  “I’m going to try to make this one last,” I said.

  I looked down the driveway. At the end, under a big oak tree, I could see a man standing. He was leaning lightly against the tree, looking back at the crowd. He had a hand on his chin and was wearing dark glasses, so I couldn’t make out his features. He was wearing a light blue summer suit and a dark tie. He was thick through the shoulders and chest, and long-waisted, but didn’t have much in the way of hips. His hair was black and straight and a bit longer than was fashionable that year. Maybe he saw me looking at him, for something seemed to pass between us. Then he straightened, turned, and walked out of sight beyond the corner of the farmhouse.

  “Jeez, J. W., I never been to such a good party before. I think it’s really good, don’t you?”

  I turned and found Bonzo beaming at me, champagne glass in hand, gentle eyes smiling emptily up at me.

  “It’s my wedding,” I said. “It’s supposed to be really good.”

  “Yeah,” said Bonzo. “You and Zee are gonna be married. That’s good, J. W. You and Zee are good friends.” He nodded approvingly.

  Bonzo had once been a promising lad, they tell me, but some time in the past he’d gotten some bad acid that had touched his brain. Now he worked with a broom and bar rag in the Fireside Bar in Oak Bluffs, and lived with his widowed schoolteacher mother, who adored him and treated him like the little child that he would always be.

  “Are you having a good time, Bonzo?”

  “I sure am. Look, I got champagne. I don’t get that much. Usually all I get is a beer. This champagne is good.” He smiled his sweet smile.

  “I’m glad you and your mom could come and help us celebrate. I wouldn’t have wanted to get married without having you as our guests. And Zee feels the same way.”

  “Say,” said Bonzo, sidling nearer and beginning to blush. “Do you think it might, maybe, be okay if I have a dance with Zee? Would that be okay, do you think? I mean, I never hardly dance, but today is special. What do you think? Do you think she’d let me have a dance?”

  “Wait right here,” I said, and walked out and found Zee and John. I told them what Bonzo had said.

  “Allow me,” said John. He took Zee’s arm and led her to Bonzo.

  Zee smiled her dazzling smile at Bonzo, and Bonzo stared at her with awe.

  “I’d love to dance with you, Bonzo,” she said. “Let’s go.”

  John and I stood and watched them.

  “Well, I’ll be damned,” said John a moment later. “Will you look at that.”

  I looked and felt myself grinning, for Bonzo—kind, mindless Bonzo—was a beautiful dancer. He and Zee seemed to be floating over the lawn, swirling and striding, riding the air. Zee’s long, blue-black hair glinted in the sun, and her skirt swirled as they stepped and spun to the music.

  I glanced down and saw Bonzo’s mother beside me. She was looking with wonder and joy at her son.

  “He’s terrific,” I said. “I had no idea he could dance like that.”

  “Yes. He’s beautiful,” she nodded. “Very beautiful. Look at them!”

  Others were looking, too, and soon everyone else stopped dancing and watched Bonzo and Zee weave and spin over the lawn. When the song ended, Bonzo listened to the applause and grinned and ducked his head, and led Zee back to me.

  “You were a lovely pair,” smiled Bonzo’s mother. “Just lovely.”

  Bonzo shook Zee’s hand, and smiled shyly. “Thanks, Zee. That was fun for me. I hope it was fun for you, too.”

  “It was a lot of fun, Bonzo.”

  “Maybe someday we’ll all go to another wedding, and there’ll be music again, and you and me can dance another time. What do you think? Would that be okay?”

  “That will certainly be okay, Bonzo. Thank you for dancing with me. You’re a fine dancer.”

  He nodded solemnly. “Dancing is good, you know. It makes you feel good when you do it, not quite like you feel good doing other things like, maybe, fishing or listening to the birds, but real good.” He nodded his head. “Yeah, it’s good, all right.”

  The justice of the peace came up to Bonzo. “Hey,” she said. “You can really trip the light fantastic! How about dancing with me?”

  She and Bonzo went off together as the next tune began. And when that dance w
as done, another woman asked to dance with Bonzo. And after that, another. He danced with Maggie Vanderbeck. Bonzo danced and danced.

  We all had more champagne. The band took a break and joined the guests at the bar and food tables. Then we danced some more, and partied until mid-afternoon. Then people began to fade away. By four o’clock, my sister and Mike and Zee’s family were helping John and Mattie Skye and their twin daughters clean up the wreckage.

  “We’ll help,” said Zee.

  “No, you won’t,” said Mattie slapping at her hands. “Time for you two to be off.”

  And off we went, trailing good-byes as we drove out of the yard. We went to my house—our house now—and got out of our wedding duds and into our summer clothes: shorts, tee-shirts, and Tevas. We fed Oliver Underfoot and Velero the last cat food meals they’d get from us for a while, then I called a taxi and had it take us down to Collins Beach where I keep my dinghy chained to the bulwarks so the summer yachtsmen won’t steal it. We rowed out around the Reading Room dock and fetched the Shirley J., which was swinging on her stake halfway between the Reading Room and the yacht club.

  I had provisioned the boat the day before, but also found an iced half-case of champagne, along with some caviar, in a Styrofoam container in the cockpit. A welcome gift from some anonymous donor.

  The wind was still gentle from the north, so we raised the big sail and reached out against the incoming tide, through the narrows where the On Time ferry links Chappaquiddick and Edgartown. Clear of the lighthouse, the wind seemed fresher.

  Boats were coming in for the night, and among them I saw the Lucky Lil, the nice conch boat that had once been the pride, joy, and livelihood of Jimmy Souza, but now belonged mostly to Albert Enos, but also partly to me, since Albert had needed a couple thou more to swing the deal, and I, at that moment, had a couple of thou to loan.

  For being sharp, Albert had shortly afterward gotten a black eye from Jimmy’s angry son, Fred, who, already mad about his father’s decline, figured that sodden Jimmy had been suckered once more.

  But the sale had stood, and where once Jimmy had been captain, and his testy son had worked as his sometime crew, now Albert was captain and red-nosed Jimmy was his crew.