Henry looked down at his cell phone. The caller ID said Sabrina.
“I have to take this call,” he told David, who was sitting opposite him, looking at the menu and drinking a frozen painkiller.
David nodded, immersed in the menu.
Henry stepped outside the restaurant onto the street so he could hear.
“Where are you? I can barely hear you,” Sabrina said.
“At Sushi Sunday at the Longboard. With David. He’s taking me out for dinner. I chose the restaurant.”
“Oh. Nice.”
“Not necessarily. David hates sushi,” Henry said.
“Henry.”
He recognized that tone his mother used as a warning when he was a kid.
“He said ‘whatever it takes.’ Besides, he wanted to cook for me at his cottage.”
“You’ve never eaten his cooking. Plus, I don’t want to see him other than in a public setting. You understand?” Henry wasn’t even sure if he wanted to see David at all, but with the way he’d become insinuated into the investigation, Henry had to be civil.
“Listen, we’ve got another problem out at Villa Mascarpone, Henry.”
“Shit. Do not tell me if another person has gotten himself murdered. The body count on this island is already too high.” Henry hated how out of control his life was beginning to feel.
“Relax, it’s not that bad. But it is unsettling.” Sabrina explained how the skinny-dippers had gone to Villa Mascarpone, even though it was occupied.
“I get why the Hewitts are upset. I’m a little freaked at this point by these creeps and everything else going on in St. John, aren’t you?” Henry asked.
“Of course, but it’s bigger than that, Henry. The Hewitts wanted me to report it to the cops. Do you know what would happen if Detective Hodge heard that the skinny-dippers trespassed on one of our properties that was occupied? He’d probably shut down all ten of our villas and we would be out of business. Picture explaining that to our villa owners.” Henry could hear the panic in her voice and was reminded that they wouldn’t be part of this mess if he hadn’t been so adamant about adding Villa Nirvana.
“Can you get Billy over to change the lock combinations and keys tonight? Tell him we’ll pay double since it’s Sunday,” Sabrina said, signing off.
Henry made the call to Billy Wiggs, who was more than happy to earn double the money for an easy job, and then returned to the table, where he could see David had started a new painkiller.
“Everything okay?” David asked.
“Just a little business problem. It’s all set. So how did it go with Neil and Cassie?”
“Great. It’s a terrific little plane. Larry kept it in great shape. Neil and I took it out and other than the first landing, which was a little rough, I think I’ve got my mojo back. I felt bad for Cassie. You guys are having a rough week here on St. John. But I’m impressed with how everyone seems to pull together on an island.”
“Yes, we’re a tight community.” Henry closed his menu.
“Cassie asked me if I’d like to buy Larry’s plane.”
“What did you tell her?”
“I said maybe. Then she said she’d give me a deal if I bought the house with it. She wants to go back to Florida, where her kids and grandkids are.”
A shiny-faced server with long legs in short shorts named Kayla appeared at the table to take their order.
Henry ordered a Spicy Island sushi roll.
“Why don’t we just share the Sashimi Sampler Plate?” David asked.
“Why would we do that? You’d love the Island Wings they make here. You hate sushi.” Henry said, not sure if he was more thrown by David’s news that Cassie had offered to sell Larry’s plane and their house or by David ordering sushi.
“Whatever it takes, Henry.” David raised his glass in a toast.