Part 15 of 15 – DI Poole of The Sainte-Marie Leeward Caribbean Islands Police Force
The Yacht
Except HER! What's SHE doing here! Ooooo, and in a bikini too! Is she TRYING to kill me? She is STILL a sexy little thing and I wouldn't mind… oh, no, nope, nope, nope, keep your mind on the case, Poole. This can't be a coincidence! She's involved somehow. Now, all I have to do is catch her! And find a spare shirt. Easy! What an exhilarating feeling, being the action hero for once! I could get used to this. AND I got to give Dwayne a sly dig too! Bonus!
The cells
She won't answer my questions! Almost like she knows what I'm going to ask her! She must have criminal connections to know police procedure so intimately. Well, I've got her bang to rights! She won't be going anywhere anytime soon. I'm going to get to the bottom of YOU, missy! I'm going to lay bare all your scandalous little secrets and... I… um… I won't stop until I… I mean… I… oh, damn.
Whew, why is it so hot in that back room? Well, let her talk to her lawyer, I'm going after his Lordship and he's going to start telling me the truth or I'll bring HIM in too! I'm done fooling around!
Salcombe beach
His Lordship dead?! Is it suicide like Lily insists? If so, who warned him? Is it murder? To shut him up? If so, who ordered the hit? Wait a minute! The timing is too suspicious! The cleaner! Her phone call!
The cells
OMG! She's gone! She's tiny and wee but there's nowhere to hide in there so how did she get out? Quick, I have to notify the authorities and… OMFG… what's HE doing here? Of all the times to show up, why does he have to come during a monumental cock-up! Oh, I'm toast, I'm history, I'm disgraced, I'm…
What? Who? HER?! A cop?! And I was a suspect? Well, honestly, how does that work? I only got here 24 hours ago! Use some sense, you two! But… her… a fellow cop… blimey… but… uh oh… I've just thrown a cracking great spanner into her case! Oh, great, look at her frown! Now SHE hates me too! But I have to admit, I feel a very uncharacteristic little thrill. She's a cop! We'll have SO MUCH in common! Maybe when this is all over, I WILL ask her out for drinks. Just, you know, colleague to colleague, compare notes and protocol and...
Ooo, she just smiled at me. Not a very nice smile, pretty stroppy in fact, but I'll take what I can get. After all, a French smile is better than no smile at all! And a woman's smile… aimed at ME… well, that's pretty damn amazing… I just wish… well, it's still pretty damn amazing.
Finding the bullet
Well, I sure impressed the bejabbers out of young Fidel and even Dwayne showed some initiative with that metal detector. I just wish they hadn't mentioned snakes! So now we have proof. It took a team effort and it paid off! TWO guns were used that night and… the officers are smiling at me… like they see ME and not just the suit. What a strange feeling… and what's even stranger… I like it! I'm smiling back! What does it mean? Am I showing weakness by smiling? Am I… oh, my phone…
Yes, yes, my luggage… what about my luggage? Why are you bothering me with inconsequential details when I'm… wait… what? It was never on the plane? But I was SURE it was on the plane. Everyone assumed it was on the plane. Well, that's what happens when things aren't as they seem… when you believe what you're told… when you assume… wait a bloody minute… ? … !...
Oh, oh, OH! My head is going to explode! It's glorious! It's so CLEAR! I've never had a revelation like this before. It's a… a… an epiphany! Yes, an epiphany! Fidel? Thanks for clearing up the ambulance call angle but now I have a job for you! And Dwayne? Let's you and me have a little chat over here.
The Big Reveal
Oh, that was sheer bliss. I've never felt so sure of myself. Everyone was hanging upon my every word and yet I still managed to catch Lily totally unawares! That was great! And, by laying out my logical step-by-step thinking, everyone followed my reasoning and no one argued with me. I carried the day and solved the case! Pity that French agent wasn't here to see it, she might have been blinded by my brilliance and I might have stood a chance to trick her into drinks. Oh, well, it's not as if it was ever likely, French woman are notoriously hard to please and very finicky, or so I'm told. She'd never give me a first glance let alone a second glance.
Pity about Lily though, what a cool mind. If she'd used her talents for good instead of evil she could have gone far in law enforcement. Strange that being held back was her reason for going bad in the first place. What a waste… and now they're down a Sergeant. I wonder what the Commissioner will do? Someone has to run the station when I leave. Oh well, not my problem. Time to pack up and go home!
Beach shack, final visit (he thinks)
It's not such a bad little place, rather like a tree fort, especially with the tree. Well, at least I've cleaned up for the next occupant, not that I'll ever get any tha… AY YI YI YI YI! I almost squished the reptile! Christ, that would never have come off my shoe. Be gone, you little pest. Shoo. Shoo. God, what a look it gave me. I wouldn't want to spend more time with it; I can almost hear it talking!
Station stitch-up
PROBLEM! Oh, my effing Lord, is there EVER a problem! He can't be serious. This has to be a joke. But their faces… their faces are too solemn… too invested. This is REAL! OK, Poole, don't panic. Let's think about this for a minute. Maybe I can roll with the punches. Maybe it's not so bad. Maybe a couple of weeks here will do me some good. I seem to think clearer, there's less distraction, less back-stabbing… but also too much heat and colour and music! Can I do it? Really do it? I'm sure I can. Of course I can. I will. I'm a sworn officer of the law and I can overcome anything…
But, hey, I'm down an officer! Who's going to fill in for… … … … no… no… no… NO… NO!
Beach shack, home at last
… no… no… no… no… Oh, I wish the local wild life would shut up and the ocean would stop crashing and the trees would stop thrashing and my skin would cool down and my mind stop whirling and my hormones… my hormones! Oh, god, my hormones need to be removed! Put in a bottle and hidden in the pantry! This is going to kill me! How am I expected to be in the same room day after day after…
Air! I need air! Maybe if I step outside? No, too much romantic moonlight. Maybe if I sit here? No, it faces the bed, my empty bed. Maybe if I pace and chew my lip… maybe if I try to read… maybe if I scream at the sky… maybe if I run down and drown myself… maybe… maybe…
Oh, bollocks… time for another cold shower.
Call THIS Paradise?!
HAH!
Both THE END… and a FABULOUS BEGINNING
