― Huseyn Raza
Sunset Beach Party
Later that night Ella and I showed up at West Harbour beach for Rosa and Ted's barbecue party.
I brought along two bottles of Yellow Tail cab sav and was genuinely looking forward to spending a pleasant and hopefully productive evening, especially regarding the case I was investigating.
Ella had some misgivings because like me, she genuinely liked Rosa and Ted and felt we were deceiving them, but I assured her that although we could use them as sources, we could still enjoy socializing with them.
It was the ambivalence of police work―the need to remain objective, but it reminded me of how conflicted I felt when interrogating Harold Franklin.
As we approached the beach we could hear subdued sounds of island music drifting toward us on the wind. The starry sky above us was lit by bright night clouds. It was magical.
It felt so peaceful near the water with the night tender and calm. Several yachts were anchored offshore with lights on and glowing softly.
It felt like a night that would be remembered but as we drew close to the fire we could see Ted in earnest conversation with two police constables.
Ella squeezed my arm and whispered. "Looks like trouble―I hope everything's okay."
Rosa spotted us walking down the beach and hurried to meet us.
"Sorry for the police presence," she apologized, "but someone from the yachts complained about noise. I thought we were being respectful of our neighbours."
"But we had a complaint," one of the constables was saying, "and this is a public beach."
I decided to intervene.
"Excuse me officer, I couldn't help but overhear―actually, this part of the beach is private and belongs to the marina."
"And who are you, Sir?" The officer replied haughtily.
A voice behind him issued a terse command. "He's right officer, I'll handle it from here."
The officer stepped aside immediately and he and his partner retreated to their cruiser parked on the beach road.
A man stepped out of the shadows and approached us.
"I'm Sergeant Ross Parrish. You folks are within your rights to be here. I spoke to the owner of the yacht that made the complaint and you should have no more interruptions this evening. Enjoy your party, folks."
I was shocked to finally meet Sarah's undercover partner―he had always stayed in the car and I never had a chance to see him.
He hadn't given any indication he knew who I was, but it was plain he and Sarah were nearby providing security. It begged the question why Sarah herself didn't intervene and I concluded it was because she was probably embarrassed by her impulsive behaviour the previous evening.
"Thanks for helping out, Scott," Ted smiled, "I guess this unplanned drama was our entertainment for the night."
"All's well that ends well," I laughed.
Ted still looked sheepish. "I'm a bit embarrassed though―I try to be on good terms with my neighbours."
A young Asian man interrupted,"Hey Ted, it's not your fault. You know who complained? Brock Ferguson."
Ted's eyes widened."Are you joking, me Jay? What is that guy's problem?"
"It's not his fault," Jay deadpanned, "that he's a loser."
The rest of the partygoers murmured their assent. Brock Ferguson was certainly not popular.
"Hey, everyone," Ted suddenly called out, "this good-looking couple here are our guests. Make sure you meet and introduce yourselves to Scott and Ella. Oh, and take pity on them―Brock Ferguson almost sank their sail boat on the lake today."
A rumble of shock and anger ran through the crowd at hearing about our misadventure, but Ted couldn't have set us up better to hear gossip about Brock's behaviour.
Jay grabbed my hand and shook it. "Pleased to meet you both―I'm Jay Chén and no friend of Brock Ferguson. That man hates Asians and tried to drive me out of business."
"Sorry to hear that Jay―what type of business are you in?"
"I own The Blue Orchid Restaurant in town―best Chinese cuisine in West Harbour."
"We'll have to try it," Ella smiled.
"Your first visit will be on me. I'll let you sample our best dishes. Any enemy of Brock Ferguson's is a friend of mine."
"I can sympathize with that sentiment," I laughed.
The same type of conversation took place with various partygoers throughout the evening.
Ella thoroughly enjoyed herself and looked radiant in her print dress and lightly tanned skin. She seemed to hit it off well with Rosa and the two of them were laughing throughout the evening―hopefully, not about me, I mused, defaulting to my natural insecurities.
On the way home she told me Rosa when tipsy confessed I was 'hot' but she'd never cheat on Ted or flirt with another woman's man.
It was reassuring I was not the type women would laugh about but it also made me feel guilty. I was thinking about Sarah and wondering how she was coping with her impulsive kiss the other night. In a way, I felt responsible because I had been attracted to her and she must have picked up on my signals.
I wanted to compare notes with Ella about what she information she gleaned about Brock but we were both too tired to go through an intensive debriefing so we put it off till the next day.
I wasn't sure if Brock was our guy but based on the evening, I was convinced he was an idiot. Either way, he wasn't the type I'd invite to chat except in the green room with a hot light focussed on his shrivelling cranium.