“Why are you still here?” Gavin Keating asked, entering the kitchen as quietly as a cat approaching a mouse.
Sabrina could see Lucy Detree was as stunned by his entry as she had been. Sabrina had never been a fan of surprises, but the Sergeant’s displeasure at the sudden sight of Gavin was even more apparent as she rose off her stool and casually moved her hand over her right hip, where her gun holster sat. She stood and faced Gavin squarely.
Rather than back off, Gavin scanned Sergeant Detree from the top of her head down over her body to her feet, then smirked. Sabrina was galled at his audacity.
“Detective Hodge said the crime scene had been cleared. So why are you here, Officer? And why are you here, Sabrina? I thought you’d understand your services are no longer needed since you can’t seem to be able to provide the kind of security a villa of this caliber requires,” Gavin said.
“Mr. Keating, simply because a crime scene has been cleared does not mean the crime has been solved. A murder still occurred here, and if we need to return to continue our investigation, I assure you that is exactly what we will do. I hope you will cooperate. Obstruction of justice is a serious crime in the Virgin Islands.” Sergeant Detree crossed her arms in front of her chest.
“I don’t work for you, Gavin. I signed a contract with Sean Keating. Only he can fire me, and I doubt he will.” Sabrina rose from her stool, standing next to Lucy Detree.
“Why would he? Ten Villas is a top-notch management company,” Sergeant Detree said.
“Well then, why don’t you see if you can manage those dirty dishes?” Gavin stormed out of the room.
Sabrina turned to Lucy Detree, who chuckled with her.
“Thanks.”
“Why is Gavin so upset? What’s going on?” Anneka Lund asked, sweeping into the kitchen.
“Why are you here, Mrs. Lund?” Sabrina returned her question with another. She remembered Sergeant Detree ejecting her from Villa Nirvana less than forty-eight hours before. Would she have to do it again?
“Oh relax, Ms. Salter. I’m just here to drop off Gavin with his things. Lisa has his jeep. She’s driving the children to the ferry.”
Sabrina thought she detected resignation in Anneka’s voice.
“Are the children leaving the island?” Sabrina asked.
“Of course. You wouldn’t expect Gavin to let them stay on an island where there’s a murderer, would you?” Anneka said, now sounding more like the exasperating woman Sabrina had encountered before.
“Lisa Keating isn’t leaving St. John, is she?” Sergeant Detree asked warily.
“No, of course not. That dreadful detective made it clear none of us, except the children, can leave. Lisa’s mother had to fly down to rescue them. Those poor children will probably be traumatized for life by this experience,” Anneka said.
Sabrina wondered if the three sisters even knew what had happened at Villa Nirvana. Lisa had been so adept at protecting them. She suspected they might suffer more ill effects from living with a man like their father.
“Mrs. Lund, I know this has been a nightmare for you and your family, but if people would be a little more forthcoming, we’d have a better chance of solving the case,” Sergeant Detree said.
“She’s right, Anneka. We all want this to be over and yet we’ve all hesitated to share information that might be helpful because we don’t want to be involved any more than we already are,” Sabrina added.
Sabrina watched Anneka look from Lucy Detree to her and back. The wheels were turning.
“Well, people can hardly be encouraged to talk freely when they’re spoken to in an accusatory tone by someone who has the authority to arrest them,” Anneka said.
Sergeant Detree motioned to an empty stool at the counter where she and Sabrina had been sitting.
“Come sit and have a conversation with me, Mrs. Lund. I need your help.”
Anneka hesitated and then moved toward the stool.
“Would you like a cold drink, Anneka?” Sabrina asked, reaching into the refrigerator for a couple of cold bottles of water.
Anneka sat on the stool, placing her forehead on the palms of her hand as if she had a throbbing headache.
“I know you told Detective Hodge you couldn’t be sure if it was your signature on the witness line of the document we showed you the other night, but I wonder if you’ve had time to reconsider. It’s no crime to witness a document, so I wouldn’t be concerned you’re going to implicate yourself in anything illegal.”
Anneka sighed.
“How would I know witnessing Elena’s signature would subject me to a police interrogation? I was simply in the kitchen at the same time she was.”
“Here? You were here with Elena?” Sabrina asked, not able to stop herself.
“Yes. Lisa and Gavin had described the villa and how beautifully it had been decorated for the wedding, I just wanted to peek at it myself. I wasn’t invited to the wedding, of course, although I should have been. I am Gavin’s mother and it was his half brother who was getting married.” Anneka started to take a sip of water. “Do you have a glass?”
Sabrina slid off her stool and retrieved a glass from the cabinet for Anneka.
“Mrs. Lund, when were you here?” Sergeant Detree asked.
“It was well after the rehearsal dinner was over when I figured everyone would be in bed. I never heard the fight about the prenup. I just wanted to get a glimpse of the house and flowers.”
Sabrina was surprised to feel a little sorry for Anneka, who sounded lonely and old.
“Where in the house and on the grounds did you go and who did you see? Please, Mrs. Lund. This could be very important.” Sergeant Detree’s voice was gentle but firm.
“I walked around the great room and the pool area and saw all the lovely gardenias. I couldn’t go to any of the bedrooms naturally, so I decided to check out the kitchen. I walked in and found Elena, fully dressed in her bridal gown, barefoot with a bottle of champagne in one hand and a fist full of papers in the other.”
“Did you know Elena?” Sabrina asked, even though she knew she should let Lucy Detree ask the questions. She couldn’t stop herself.
“I ran into her and Gavin once at a restaurant in Monterey and joined them for dinner. They were at a business conference. I was impressed with her. Smart girl, or so I thought,” Anneka said.
“Did something make you change your mind?” Sergeant Detree asked.
“Well, here she was, a little drunk on champagne in her wedding gown and barefoot the night before her wedding, and she wants me to witness her signature on a prenup. She said she was thrilled she didn’t have to go down to the media room to ask Lisa or Heather.”
Heather was in the media room with Lisa? Why hadn’t anyone mentioned that before? Was Heather becoming a bit of a sphinx?
“What did you tell her?” Sabrina asked, although she already was sure she knew the answer.
“Not to sign the damn thing, that’s what I told her. No prenup is ever drafted to benefit the person marrying into wealth. That’s why I didn’t sign one when I married Jack and that’s why I didn’t get shafted in my divorce.” Anneka sounded feisty again.
“What did Elena say?” Sergeant Detree asked.
“That she knew what I was saying was usually true, but in this instance, the prenup was to her benefit. I asked her a few more times if she was sure she wanted to sign it. She kept saying yes, so I witnessed her signature and watched her fold the prenup and place it in a sheet protector. Then, for some unknown reason, she placed it in the refrigerator. It was kind of crazy. I couldn’t wait to get out of there. And then . . .” Anneka shook her head and took a sip of water from her glass.
Sabrina and Sergeant Detree looked at each. Anneka was about to reveal something even weirder.
“And then, what, Mrs. Lund?” Sergeant Detree said, almost cooing.
“And then on my way off the property, I saw a couple sitting on a kayak totally naked, just a few yards off shore.”
“Can you describe them in more detail?” Sabrina asked.
“They were fat.”