Murdered in Argentina: A Jack Trout Cozy Mystery by Dianne Harman Page B
Authors: Dianne Harman
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her arm around Lisa, who was softly weeping. The guests and the ranch workers turned toward him.
“This is a tragedy. The police chief has been notified, and he’s on his way here. Santiago tells me it will be impossible to change our reservations and get a flight out of San Martin, as there’s only one flight out per day, and it’s booked months in advance. I believe you told me the same thing, Carola, right?” Jack said looking over at her.
“Yes. To try and hire drivers and arrange for the necessary vehicles would mean delays far longer than waiting for the scheduled flight on Thursday. We have no choice but to stay here. Jack, what about the fishing?”
He looked at the guests and said, “The guides have been hired and will be ready for you in the morning. While I know how tragic this must be for each of you, there really is nothing we can do. It may sound trite, but knowing Ray as I knew him, I honestly think he would want you to continue with your trip. He prepaid for everything before he left the United States, so you might as well take advantage of it.”
“Jack,” Kevin said. “Ray was a wonderful boss. All of us know how important fishing was to him, and I’m going to think of it as kind of like an Irish wake. Where the Irish honor the decedent with some whiskey, I think all of us should pay a final tribute to Ray by catching the biggest trout we can and do it in his honor. What do you say?” he said looking at the other guests.
One by one, they nodded their heads in agreement. “Since that’s been decided, we should go back to bed,” Kevin said. “Morning will come early enough. Hopefully we may know something by then. All we know now is that Ray’s dead, and it looks like he was murdered, although that seems hard to believe.”
“Does that mean someone here at the lodge killed him?” Brad, a middle-aged man with a shock of red hair and freckles asked.
“No, not necessarily,” Santiago said. “We are so remote here that we never even lock our doors. It could have been anyone. Senora Martin, do you know if anything was taken from your room?”
“I simply don’t know. I can’t stand the thought of having to go back in there,” she said in a tremulous voice.
“Everyone, please go back to your rooms, and I’ll see you in the morning,” Jack said. He motioned for Santiago, Lisa, and Carola to step into his and Carola’s room. It became very quiet and the four of them could hear Cayo mewling in his carrier.
“Lisa, do you know if Ray carried much money? Did he have any jewelry or other things of value?” Jack asked.
She took a sip of water from the glass Carola had given her and said, “He mentioned you’d told him to bring about $1,000 in U.S. dollars for each of us to use as spending money. Ray said instead he was going to bring $3,000 for us, and then I could buy whatever I wanted. As far as jewelry, the only things he had were a Rolex watch and a large diamond ring.”
“I’ll go in and see if they’re missing. Santiago, since the police chief is your brother-in-law, would you take Carola and Lisa downstairs and wait for him? I’ll be down shortly.” He began to walk back across the hall and stopped. “Lisa, one more thing. Where did Jack keep his passport?”
“He had a document holder he usually kept in his briefcase. He often worked on business when we flew, and he liked to keep all of his things together. My passport is with his. Look in his briefcase. It should be there.”
Jack had no desire to go into the room where Ray was, but given what Santiago had said about corruption and what he knew from his own personal experience, he didn’t want someone else to find the Rolex, ring, money, and passports. He knew Ray’s body would probably be taken to a funeral home after the police chief came, so he’d better get those things now.
After he entered Ray’s room, he walked over to the bed and saw the Rolex on the nightstand. He put it in his pocket. Jack pulled
“This is a tragedy. The police chief has been notified, and he’s on his way here. Santiago tells me it will be impossible to change our reservations and get a flight out of San Martin, as there’s only one flight out per day, and it’s booked months in advance. I believe you told me the same thing, Carola, right?” Jack said looking over at her.
“Yes. To try and hire drivers and arrange for the necessary vehicles would mean delays far longer than waiting for the scheduled flight on Thursday. We have no choice but to stay here. Jack, what about the fishing?”
He looked at the guests and said, “The guides have been hired and will be ready for you in the morning. While I know how tragic this must be for each of you, there really is nothing we can do. It may sound trite, but knowing Ray as I knew him, I honestly think he would want you to continue with your trip. He prepaid for everything before he left the United States, so you might as well take advantage of it.”
“Jack,” Kevin said. “Ray was a wonderful boss. All of us know how important fishing was to him, and I’m going to think of it as kind of like an Irish wake. Where the Irish honor the decedent with some whiskey, I think all of us should pay a final tribute to Ray by catching the biggest trout we can and do it in his honor. What do you say?” he said looking at the other guests.
One by one, they nodded their heads in agreement. “Since that’s been decided, we should go back to bed,” Kevin said. “Morning will come early enough. Hopefully we may know something by then. All we know now is that Ray’s dead, and it looks like he was murdered, although that seems hard to believe.”
“Does that mean someone here at the lodge killed him?” Brad, a middle-aged man with a shock of red hair and freckles asked.
“No, not necessarily,” Santiago said. “We are so remote here that we never even lock our doors. It could have been anyone. Senora Martin, do you know if anything was taken from your room?”
“I simply don’t know. I can’t stand the thought of having to go back in there,” she said in a tremulous voice.
“Everyone, please go back to your rooms, and I’ll see you in the morning,” Jack said. He motioned for Santiago, Lisa, and Carola to step into his and Carola’s room. It became very quiet and the four of them could hear Cayo mewling in his carrier.
“Lisa, do you know if Ray carried much money? Did he have any jewelry or other things of value?” Jack asked.
She took a sip of water from the glass Carola had given her and said, “He mentioned you’d told him to bring about $1,000 in U.S. dollars for each of us to use as spending money. Ray said instead he was going to bring $3,000 for us, and then I could buy whatever I wanted. As far as jewelry, the only things he had were a Rolex watch and a large diamond ring.”
“I’ll go in and see if they’re missing. Santiago, since the police chief is your brother-in-law, would you take Carola and Lisa downstairs and wait for him? I’ll be down shortly.” He began to walk back across the hall and stopped. “Lisa, one more thing. Where did Jack keep his passport?”
“He had a document holder he usually kept in his briefcase. He often worked on business when we flew, and he liked to keep all of his things together. My passport is with his. Look in his briefcase. It should be there.”
Jack had no desire to go into the room where Ray was, but given what Santiago had said about corruption and what he knew from his own personal experience, he didn’t want someone else to find the Rolex, ring, money, and passports. He knew Ray’s body would probably be taken to a funeral home after the police chief came, so he’d better get those things now.
After he entered Ray’s room, he walked over to the bed and saw the Rolex on the nightstand. He put it in his pocket. Jack pulled
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