Chapter 11
Mrs. Welborn cautiously opened her office door and looked out into the hallway. It had a been a long afternoon and she was looking forward to getting home. Hmm, so far so good no one around.
The concierge locked her office and started walking down the hallway. A few minutes later she crossed another hallway. She was meters from the back exit when she heard footsteps approaching. She looked left and right but found nowhere to hide. She quickened her own steps. Her hand was reaching for the doorknob when she heard the two words she had grown to dread this day.
"Mrs. Welborn!" Mr. Lewis glided over to her.
"Yes, Mr. Lewis?"
"About the arrangements for tomorrow. I just have one more change to request."
"I am very sorry. The draw is done. All arrangements have been finalized." Mrs. Welborn opened the door a crack. "Unless you find someone willing to trade with you, I'm afraid your own arrangements stay as they are. Goodnight, Mr. Lewis."
Making her way to her car she reflected on her hectic afternoon. Thank the stars they will be out of my hair tomorrow. The detectives had swarmed about the hotel questioning the staff, even the cooks, about the murdered man. Fortunately things went smoothly as the staff thought of the playacting they were doing as bits of silly larking. Those detectives really are an odd lot.
Hermione left her room and went downstairs. In the foyer, she was pleased to see John and Emily Moss waiting for her.
"Good morning, Diana." John called out.
"Good morning to you, too." Hermione had to smile at the picnic basket John was toting. It was their trade for sharing the car. She drove while they provided the early morning breakfast and lunch. Clue sharing was implied, of course.
"This is so exciting!" Emily fairly bounced besides her husband.
"Seen anyone else?" Hermione asked in a conspiratorial whisper.
"None. No one at all." the elder woman replied.
The three of them made their way to the parking lot. At six thirty am it was still dark enough to require the streetlamps be lit. Hermione noted happily that the other rental cars were still there. Good, we've got a headstart. Hermione was settling herself into the car when a noise to her left made her turn. It was the unmistakeable growl of a motorcycle.
A lone motorcycle came into view and stopped directly in front of her car. The helmetless rider was dressed in a black leather jacket, dark shirt and pants and black boots. Mr. Wright looked straight at her and revved the engine once. Giving Hermione a smart half salute he turned his cycle and roared out of the parking lot.
The whole event had taken mere minutes but it was precious minutes that she had now lost. Hermione was not pleased. "Damn that man!"
"David certainly has style." Emily noted.
"Yeah, style. Plenty to go around I'm sure." Hermione kicked the car into gear with a savage swipe. They drove off following Mr. Wright. She managed to follow him for a while until they neared some hard curves. She watched amazed as Mr. Wright accelerated to a suicidal rate and disappeared around the bend. Knowing the vehicle accident statistics by heart, Hermione took her time around the twisting turns. That man has a death wish!
"Well, it's close to two hours to Marazian, anyone want their tea now?" John was in the back while Emily acted as Hermione's navigator.
"That would be lovely, dear. How do you take your tea, Diana?"
"Black with light sugar." Hermione gritted her teeth fuming over the audacity of the man. "How is it that it's David now, if you don't mind my asking?"
"Oh, we got to know him when he wanted to trade. He had heard that we had drawn a motorcycle you see." John explained. "He wanted to trade the rental car he drew for the motorcycle."
"That's odd."
"We thought so too." Emily said.
"He said he preferred the extra mobility." said John.
"I overheard him talking to Mrs. Welborn that he wasn't accustomed to driving." Emily supplied.
Hermione mulled over that piece of information. A grown man not wanting or able to drive. Curious. "Obviously you traded the motorcycle but why didn't you take his rental car?"
"We had already traded a ride with you before we talked to him." Emily explained. "But we traded something better with David."
"A favor." John said with some relish. Hermione could imagine the big smile on the American's face. "Anywhere, anytime and for any reason. We can ask him for anything."
His wife finished the explanation. "We overheard Mr. McAdoo and Oswald talking about him. Oswald was being advised to not let anything slip around David. Apparently, David has solved all the mystery events he's ever attended."
"But that ... that means he not guilty!" Hermione had to control her reaction to stop the car right then and there.
"Exactly!" There was a note of triumph in Emily's voice. "That makes five innocent detectives by my count."
"Five?"
"Adam, for obvious reasons, David, John, you and me."
"You don't think I could have done any of the crimes?"
"No."
"What gave me away?"
"You're too eager and driven to solve the case." John said. "Please don't take that badly. It just made you stand out."
"Besides, you don't have any concrete motive that we could deduce. Neither does David, not yet anyway." Emily put in.
"I don't believe it!" Hermione exclaimed. Well, I have been rather distracted of late. But still. "I just don't believe it!"
Had she not been driving, Hermione would have been hitting her forehead on the steering wheel repeatedly. As it was, she just shook her head over and over again. She marvelled at the Mosses' sneakiness. Truly appearances can be deceiving.
Lady Renville clattered up the steps to the roof. Her husband turned at hearing her approach. The sun was just starting to brighten the horizon. Small shafts of light illuminated the island.
"Mr. McAdoo said the first batch just left." said Lady Renville.
"No one is fooling around are they?" Sir Anthony pulled back her chair for her. A continental breakfast was spread out on the small table.
"My, this will be more exciting than the first day! I can't wait." Lady Renville poured their tea.
"We're ready for them. Let them do their worse."
At seven thirty am, the rest of the detectives rushed into the parking lot like marathon runners lunging across the finish line. There were only two rental cars left. Bruce Maclemore and Cynthia McFadden shared one car while the last remaining car was appropriated by Ian Timmons, alone.
Mr. Lewis ascended into the waiting local bus munching on toast and hugging a thermos of tea. It's not how you get there but what you do when you do get there.
The rest of the detectives had drawn motorcycles. Surprisingly, Amanda Danforth was the first to leave maneuvering her Yamaha motorcycle expertly through the gates. Jack Ironside took his time stowing his camera on his Honda motorcycle. Beside him, Michael Levinson settled into the sidecar.
"Mr. McAdoo!" Timmons yelled.
McAdoo walked briskly over. "What's the matter, Mr. Timmons?"
"That is the matter!" Timmons pointed to the deflated front tire on his car. "This is sabotage pure and simple! What are you going to do about it?!"
"As I see it, you have two options - the bus or the spare motorcycle. Mr. Levinson declined it. It's not very fast I'm afraid. Which will it be?"
Anger radiating in every stride, Timmons stalked over to an old model cycle standing off to the side. He was strapping on his helmet as Ironside and Levinson swept by him. Ironside grinned the entire time. The two were followed closely by the rental car driven by Maclemore. The bus carrying Lewis, McAdoo and Oswald came out next. Timmons was the last straggler a few minutes behind.
The mobile phone rang once more. Sir Anthony put his toast down and answered the call. He spoke a few minutes with someone then hung up the phone. "That was Mrs. Welborn. They're all off, my dear."
"Wonderful!" Lady Renville was quite giddy.
"I had my doubts about all this but really it has turned out smashingly."
"So, can we go to the next event?"
"Absolutely, as you wish. Rather curious to see how it feels to be on the other side of things."
Michael Levinson looked on at the Maclemore car disappearing off into the distance. He looked behind and saw the bus gaining on them. They had lost track of Ms. Danforth. Timmons was probably behind the bus. His helmet itched fiercely but he did not dare take it off just yet. In fact, he dared not move much. Even a quick glance at the passing pavement underneath the sidecar was enough to trigger his vertigo and incipient motion sickness.
To take his mind off his churning stomach he asked Ironside a question that had been bothering him for a while. "Hey, Ironside! Did you have anything to do with Timmons' car problem?"
Ironside looked at him. "What if I did?"
"Well, if you did, I was going to buy you a drink later."
"Make it two. I have a feeling it's going to be worth it after today."
Cynthia McFadden counted off her list. "Timmons, Ironside, Lewis, Danforth and Levinson came out with us, Bruce."
"So, Ms. Stevens, the Mosses and Wright left ahead of us." Bruce said.
"Question is how much head start do they have?"
"Won't matter, Cynthia." At Cynthia's questioning look. "Remember, the first ferry starts out at 10:30am. Even if they got there earlier they still have to wait for the ferry."
"Right! And low tide isn't until about noon anyway so no one can cross that way." Cynthia rummaged through the small bag at her feet. She opened a thermos and poured tea into a styrofoam cup. "Tea, Bruce?"
"A cupper would be lovely." He turned on the morning news and reclined back to enjoy his tea and the company he was keeping.
Hermione was quickly learning that the Mosses were full of surprises. Not only were they some of the most observant muggles she had ever met, they were also some of the shrewdest.
"By the way, Diana, no need to rush." John began.
"We've arranged for a charter from the Marazian Sailing Club to get us on to the island." Emily continued.
Hermione was aghast. "We're not windsurfing?"
"Lord, no. You'd never get me on one of those little things."
"Just a small sailboat that will drop us off at the harbor by the shops." John said.
Hermione fairly squealed in delight. "We can climb up and wait for the castle to open at 10:30 while the others are still just boarding the regular ferry at Marazian. What a head start!"
"That was the plan!" Emily's smile was almost equal to Hermione's. "Plus, we can explore the outside of the castle while we're waiting."
Severus careened through the curves and into the straightaway as if the flames of hell were licking at his heels. He glanced at his rearview mirror and did not see his erstwhile follower. I have to give her points for tactical strategy. Who would ever have thought that Black daring me to learn to ride a motorcycle would ever pay dividends?
He returned his mind to the matter at hand - getting to the Chymorvah Hotel before anyone else. He had to talk to Mr. Martin. He increased his speed and concentrated on the winding road. He was close to the answers. He could feel it