The Murder Suite: Book One - The Audrey Murders (5 page)

Audrey approached the glass door entrance of Suite C and knocked.  She heard music playing inside.

All the suites came with a collection of CDs and a player. She knew the guests loved this added feature.  He had chosen one of her memorable CDs,  “Call Me” by Al Green.  It was perfect!  It must be an omen this is meant to be, she thought as Doug opened the door to welcome her inside.  

He poured her a drink and she followed him outside onto the deck where he had already prepared some cheese and breads and lit the candles on the small round table.  

They took a seat. Audrey asked Doug what his plans are once he leaves tomorrow.  Was he going back to Auckland or was he continuing up north? 

“Thought I might wander further up North towards Cape Reinga” said Doug.   “I might take in a round of golf too. No real plans.”  

Audrey watched as he poured himself another drink and drank it quickly.   He seemed a little nervous she thought. The CD finished and Audrey offered to change the disc.

“Great,” said Doug. “I am going to hop in the tub – wanna join me?” he slurred.               

“Sounds great. Let me refresh your drink.” Audrey reached over to pick up the bottle and accidently knocked his glass over onto the deck.  “Oh dear. I’ll get you a new glass – you get into the tub and I will bring it out to you.” Audrey walked inside. 

She went over to the player and changed the disc.  “Love Scenes” by Diana Krall.  “Nothing at all… I would rather have nothing at all” the soft sexy sounds wafted out into the night air.   She turned up the sound so the could hear it in the hot tub and went over to small wood crafted kitchen to pour Doug a fresh drink. She had brought the bottle of wine with her. 

First she checked that Doug was in the tub and could not see her... He was, and couldn’t.   She walked to her purse sitting on the kitchen table and removed a small vial and poured it into a new wine glass and filled it with wine.  She poured herself another glass, diluted with water, and walked outside.  She handed Doug his glass and watched as he downed half of it in once gulp.  She knew that the “G” had a slightly salty taste and hoped he was drunk enough not to notice. He didn’t. He placed the glass on the side of the spa and asked if Audrey was getting in too. 

“I will in just a minute,” she said.  “But first I thought we might like to lay down on the bed and listen to the music for a while.“

The invitation of “bed” was just what Doug was hoping for.  He lifted his large, naked, frame out of the spa with difficulty and Audrey handed him a fresh towel.  He wrapped it around his waist and made it inside to the super size bed. 

Audrey turned down the music and dimmed the lights. It would take about fifteen minutes for the drug to take its full effect. She handed him the rest of his drink and he swallowed it and placed the empty glass on the side table.    Doug patted the bed beside him.  She looked at him.  Swollen eyes, red faced, large protruding stomach, hairy chest and legs, stubby feet.   She lay down on the bed beside him and waited.

C H A P T E R   1 8

              Constable Driver had noticed Audrey and her male friend leave the restaurant.  He wondered if he was her husband.  He certainly looked like he had one too many and he hoped that she was driving.  He didn’t want to pursue anything tonight. He was enjoying a night off for a change. 

“That’s the lady from the chalets,” said one of the guys.

“She owns the chalets?” asked the Constable. 

“Yes, just up on Wainui Road towards Tauranga Bay,” said the other guy.  “She opened them a couple of years ago. Bloody expensive they are.”  And they went back to their game.

It was late.  Driver had been hanging out watching sport with the guys but needed to get up early in the morning so decided it was time to head off home.  

He left the bar and walked towards his car.  He had parked behind the black Toyota truck. He recognized the truck as having seen it the night before heading up towards Tauranga Bay. He wondered where the driver was, most likely, at the pub.   He started up his car,   turned around and headed back to Kaeo. 

It was another dark night. There was quite a bit of traffic considering it was a Sunday night.  He supposed that the police car caused a lot of attention in such a small town. Kept the locals speed down when he was around.  When he got home he saw his message light blinking.  It was a message from his wife saying goodnight. She sounded tired and overwrought.  He hoped their new life in Kaeo would be a fresh start for her.

Driver changed into his PJs and robe and sat in the old chair by the fireplace and picked up the book he was reading. “Deception Point” by Dan Brown.   He enjoyed these last few days of alone time.  He didn’t get much of a chance to read when his wife and the boys were around.  He felt guilty with his long working hours so when he came home to the family he liked to spend time with them.   He was looking forward to kayaking with the boys.   You never know Maria might even join them.

At midnight he turned out the lights and fell asleep totally unaware of what was taking place just eight miles down the road. 

C H A P T E R   1 9

Pearl had got up for her weekly walk to the old wooden pier and back.  It was only a couple of miles but it was enough to stretch her old tired bones.  Sometimes a few of the local women would join her.  Nothing arranged. Just whoever was “out and about” at the time.  This morning Pearl had sensed something out of place in the cool breeze and she couldn’t quite put her finger on it.  Everything seemed normal enough.   She saw the pub lady sweeping the cigarette butts off the footpath outside the pub entrance.  She stopped to say hello. 

“Did you hear?” asked Marge. 

“What?” replied Pearl knowing that she right all along.  Something was up.

“They found a black Toyota truck floating in the bay by the pier,” she said. “Constable Driver was here this morning asking if we had seen the driver.   He had checked the plates and apparently it belongs to a Doug Blackmore from Auckland.   He has gone up to the Three Suites to see if Audrey knows anything.  They say he has been staying there.  There was no body, just the truck floating upside down.”  

Pearl didn’t know what to do first.  She wanted to go to the scene down by the pier but presumed the police would have cordoned it off from the public.  Better if she calls her friends and see if they have more information.   Wow.  It must have been the man she saw at the restaurant with Audrey last night.  He looked pretty drunk.  I wonder if he drove off the bank and is at the bottom of the harbor.   She pushed open her wooden gate and rushed inside to the phone.  It was going to be an exciting day.  Not much happened in the sleepy little place… this was something really big.

C H A P T E R   2 0

Driver couldn’t believe it.  He was awoken at dawn to the telephone ringing. It was an emergency.  A black Toyota truck had been seen floating in the Whangaroa harbor by the old pier.  He was in his car with the siren blasting within minutes.  When he arrived at the scene there were just a few locals standing around looking dazed.  One of the locals was an expert scuba diver and had already dived into the water to see if he could find the driver.  

“Nothing, nobody is down there,” he told Driver when he arrived on the scene.  “I don’t know how long the truck has been in the water. Could have been all night,” he said.                 

“It wasn’t there at ten o’clock,” said Driver. “I was parked behind it”. 

He ran the plates and was told the truck was registered to a Doug Blackmore with an address in St Helier’s Bay in Auckland.   He contacted the Auckland police and asked them to enquire at the address if they knew where Mr. Blackmore was. 

In the meantime he arranged for more divers to check the bay for a body.   Maybe the driver wasn’t hurt in the accident and simply walked away.  He may have been worried that he would be arrested for being over the drinking limit and walked home.   He would check with the motels and B & B’s in the area to see if they had a Doug Blackmore registered.  He remembered seeing the black truck heading up towards Tauranga Bay.  When the Kerikeri police crew arrived with the forensics team he excused himself and headed in the direction of the Three Suites.

C H A P T E R   2 1

Audrey awoke to the sound of a siren screaming in the distance.  She had hoped to sleep in this morning but that was not going to happen with all the noise.  She got up and turned on the kettle for a nice cup of tea.  What a perfect day, she thought as she opened up the blinds to let in the early morning sun.  She took her tea outside to her patio and relaxed.  It wasn’t more than twenty-five minutes when she heard more sirens heading off towards Whangaroa harbor.    It seemed to be quite a frenzied response to something. The noise forced her back inside. Changing into a pair of jeans and black short -sleeved top,  she swept her hair in a knot and washed her face in scoops of hot water holding her hands over her cheeks and eyes and enjoying the warmth and relaxation of the familiar morning ritual.  Patting her face dry on a fresh towel she looked in the bathroom mirror.  Her face looked younger today. More relaxed.  She looked happier than she had in months.

It was going to be a good day.  She might even spend the afternoon in the garden. This morning she had planned to spray all the wasp paper nests that hung on to cactus and flax leaves before it got too hot.  They were bad this year.  Some of the nests were the size of melons.  She would creep up on them.  There were always a couple of guard wasps keeping watch on the outskirts of the leaf.  If she approached too closely they would attack.  She had developed quite a reaction to their stings.  Her arms would swell quickly with the poison.  She always took a couple of anti histamines before carrying out the job but it still wasn’t pleasant if she got stung. The Maoris had told her to put local manuka honey on the sting to stop the swelling.  She must admit it did help.   Audrey felt vindicated in destroying the nests.   She couldn’t have the wasps attacking the guests and she had been stung enough times to feel righteously relieved of any guilt associated with their death.

Just as she was collecting the bug spray and donning her gardening gloves she heard a car coming up the driveway.   The automatic gates had a code written on the keypad – so guests could enter easily.    She hoped it wasn’t someone wanting to stay.   She hadn’t quite finished Suite A yet and Suite C still needed fresh flowers, wine and a welcome note.

She looked up as Constable Driver pulled into the parking spot in front of Suite C.   She watched him get out of the police car.  He looked really agitated. 

“Good morning,” she called to him. “Can I help you?”    

Driver walked towards her and she offered him a seat on her patio. 

“Would you like a cup of tea?” Audrey offered.

“No thanks,” the constable replied as he placed his hat on the table and kept standing.   Audrey placed the bug spray on the table, removed her gloves and looked at the policeman with interest.  

“We have had a bit of an accident down in Whangaroa harbor,” said Driver.  “A black Toyota truck has been found floating in the water by the pier.  It belongs to a Doug Blackmore and we are checking all the local motels to see where he might have been staying.” 

Audrey looked shocked “Doug Blackmore, why he has been staying in Suite C for the past couple of nights.  Nice guy.  Fisherman.  He joined me for dinner last night at the harbor. You were there too.  A bit of a drinker he was.” 

Driver asked, “When was the last time your saw him?”

“I offered to drive him home but he said he preferred to walk. It was a nice night and he wanted to get some fresh air.  I think he had a little too much to drink.”  She said. “I didn’t hear him come back - but I presumed he did as his suite was empty this morning and his truck was gone.   Do you want to have a look at the suite?” she asked. 

“Yes, that would good” Driver replied as he followed her over to the unit.

The suite looked clean. Bed made. No dishes in the kitchen.  Fresh towels had been placed in the Bathroom. 

“I changed the linens this morning,” said Audrey. “ I like to get the laundry done early.”  

Driver walked out onto the deck.  Fresh flowers hung in pots around the deck.  A wooden round table and two chairs sat neatly in the center of the deck.  The hot tub was humming.  Everything looked clean and tidy. 

“I have a new guest arriving this afternoon,” said Audrey.   “This is a popular unit with the view and the hot tub.” 

Driver looked at the now familiar, blonde, older woman who was smiling up at him.               

“Are you sure you wouldn’t like a cup of tea?” she asked again. 

Driver asked her if she knew why he was staying up north.

“Fishing,” said Audrey.  “He said that he had come up here to do some fishing”                

“Do you know what his plans were?” asked Driver.

“He said he was going to head up towards Cape Reinga and even play some golf. He had prepaid his reservation so there was no need for me to check him out this morning.  I presume he left early.  It is a long drive up there and back.”

“Why would he be going into Whangaroa so early in the morning?” asked Driver. “It is not on the way to Cape Reinga.”