Vacations Can Be Murder: The Second Charlie Parker Mystery Read Free Page A

like. Immediately, I was disappointed to see that all the
upstairs rooms had been converted to shops. I had hoped to see at
least a couple of them decorated authentically as bedrooms and
whatever else their original purposes had been.
    Jewelry, silk clothing and art prints filled
the spaces, obscuring both the views from the windows and the
rooms’ original ambiance. I meandered through the halls for a few
minutes, but soon lost interest. I could have just as well gone to
the mall.
    Downstairs, brightly colored posted caught my
eye. Perhaps my neighbor, Elsa Higgins would enjoy a book on the
aloha state. Since she was minding Rusty for me this week I wanted
to take her something. The woman behind the desk put down the book
she was reading when I walked in. She wore a flowing gauzy creation
of tie dyed cotton. Her face was clear of makeup, and there was a
gentle web of wrinkles at the corners of her eyes. Her light brown
waist-length hair showed ribbons of gray. She wore it pulled back
from her face with tortoise colored plastic combs. Two fresh
plumeria flowers were tucked behind one ear. If this were still the
sixties, I'm sure she would have flashed me a peace sign.
    She let me browse the shelves for a few
minutes before speaking. I found a picture book I thought Elsa
might like.
    "Are you enjoying your stay on the island?"
she asked. Her voice was low and soothing, like she might be
accomplished at leading meditation sessions.
    "So far, I am. It's only my first day here."
I ran my fingers through a stack of bookmarks on display. They were
made of dried flowers pressed between plastic to form tiny
bouquets. "I'm taking a helicopter ride later to get a better view
of the whole place. Paradise Helicopters. Have you heard of
them?"
    "Oh, yes." Something in her face shut down,
and her voice took on a very un-soothing edge.
    "What's the matter?" Visions of a bad safety
record popped into my head.
    She fiddled with a basket of postcard-sized
art prints near the register, rearranging and aligning them. I
stood, waiting, not intending to let her out of the question.
Finally, she looked back up at me. Her answer was not at all what I
expected.
    "The state has let this helicopter tour thing
get way out of hand," she said abruptly. "Those horrid noise
polluters have no business flying over the pristine beauty of this
land. It's a travesty, what they're doing to the land. The state
won't control them, and as a result, they'll end up destroying what
we have here."

    Chapter 2

    The gentle gray eyes had taken on a hard
edge. This was obviously a subject she felt strongly about. I
couldn't imagine how a few helicopters flying around the island
would destroy the land, but clearly I'd walked right into a nest of
local political debate here. I had no intention, however, of
staying in it, especially not on my vacation.
    She looked like she was just warming up,
though, as she reached to take the book I had picked out. I set the
book on the desk, murmured a polite thanks, and turned toward the
door.
    No matter where you go, you can find these
battling factions, each righteously expounding their beliefs. I've
found that there are two sides to every story, and I wasn't about
to get dragged into this one.
    Outside, I took a deep breath. I felt like
such a chicken. I wasn't raised to duck out on a debate. My father
would have politely let the woman go on. My mother would have
joined in the fight, taking a side, any side. But, I just didn't
have the heart for it. I was glad to be out of there. A brisk walk
around the perimeter of the old plantation house helped dissipate
my frustration and I glanced briefly at some of the outbuildings
before returning to my car.
    I found a touristy restaurant in town that
served an excellent grilled chicken sandwich and tangy fresh
pineapple for lunch. My open-air table faced the bay and I breathed
deeply, letting the sea air wash away the last remnants of the shop
woman's negativity. I took my time over lunch and