Paradise Island Page 14

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  THE door opened suddenly and Mrs. Lindstrom stood in the doorway, looking puzzled and annoyed. You want to see me, Roland?" she said coldly. How beautiful she looks, Lauren thought unhappily, as the tall, slim, poised woman wearing a ^ green sheath frock entered the room. "Is it really necessary to go on with this ugliness?" Mrs; Lindstrom asked. "I've got my necklace and you've got the thief." Roland Harvey, who had risen immediately, now went to her side and led her to a chair. "We have not found the thief yet,", he said quietly. "Guilt has to be proved. Be patient with me and I won't keep you long." She shrugged, her mouth sulky, but she sat down. Roland Harvey looked at Nick and gave an almost imperceptible nod. Nick hurriedly left the room, and Lauren wondered where he had gone,as Roland Harvey returned to the desk. Meanwhile Miss Hunter, now fehe was no longer the centre of attraction, had sat down. It all seemed completely unreal to Lauren. It was as if she was watching a film or a scene outof a play. Surely this was not happening to her? She was even more surprised when Natalie came into the room, Nick holding her arm. Natalie looked pale and unhappy and she gave Lauren a quick look before she sat down as Mr. Harvey toldher to. Nick perched on the arm of her chair, one hand on her shoulder. Roland Harvey smiled at her. "Mrs. Natal, I understand you can help us in this matter?" 166

  Natalie bent her head, carefully folding pleatsin her blue silk frock. Her voice was very quiet."Yes, Mr. Harvey, I found the necklace." She looked up suddenly. "But I didn't steal it. I didn't steal it. II found it ... in the conservatory."She looked round the room at every face, her expression defiant, almost as if she expected someone would contradict her. "Natalie," Nick said quietly, "no one isor will accuse you of stealing the necklace. Just tell your story."Natalie seemed to huddle in the chair, her voice unhappy. "I was reading in the conservatory and I heard a child's voice. II recognized Deborah's. I looked round and saw her playing with her doll." "Alone?" Mrs. Lindstrom asked sharply. Natalie nodded. "I couldn't see what she was doing, but it looked as if she was putting something round the doll's neck. Then I heard her say distinctlyyou know the way she can't say her 'r's' because of her missing teeth?well, she said: 'You'll be pwetty one day. All little girls are pwetty, my fwiend says so, but I'll make you pwetty now'." Natalie's laugh was apologetic. "I'm not awfully fond of children and I never know what to talk to them about, so I just sat quietly and went on reading and I forgot all abouther. It was later when I, got up to go that I saw she had gone and that her doll was there, and round its neck was a topaz necklace." Lauren "let out her breath slowly and relaxed. So that was how Natalie got the necklace! "Deborah must have taken the necklace from my jewel box," Mrs. Lindstrom said, her voicehard and angry. "Don't you keep it locked?" Roland Harvey asked. Mrs. Lindstrom looked at him. "Of course I do, 167 butbut I was in a hurry yesterday morning when I went out, and I must have forgotten." Natalie went on, her voice sounding louder as if she was gathering confidence, "I recognized it immediately. I also knew that Mrs. Lindstrom had gone to the yacht for the day, and I thought the simplest thing to do was to keep it, and return it to her myself. I was admiring the necklace when Lauren came in ..." i "So that was where you saw the necklace yesterday, Miss Roubin?" Lauren looked at Roland Harvey and nodded. "Yes." She felt ashamed of herself. How could she ever have thought Natalie would steal the necklace and put it in her room? Yet someone had. Who? Natalie went on: "Actually, I rather wondered why she didn't mention them and ask me .where I got the beautiful stones Then Nick came in and , he said they must be handed in at once. He said if I wasn't careful I could be accused of having stolen them. I'm afraid 1 lost my temper and gave them to him . . ." She leaned back in her chair and looked at Nick. Nick took over. "I was worried, quite frankly. I was afraid that if we were found with them, the truth might be distorted and we'd find ourselves in big trouble. I put the necklace in a box, tied it up and sealed the knots. I gave it to the page, Petrus, to take to the reception desk. I addressed it to Miss Hunter, for I knew all lost ar-ticles had to be handed in to her." He stretched his long legs, leaning against the back of the chair, his hand still on his wife's shoulder. "I watched the page hand the packet to Rod Cay who was on duty at the desk, and I saw him give the packet to Miss Hunter." Miss Hunter seemed to come to life as she jumped to her feet. "That's a lie! He's in league

  with that girl. I took no package from Cay." Nick stood up, his smile mocking. "Shall we call Mr. Cay, sir?" he suggested. Roland Harvey tapped his fingers on the desk and looked at the angry woman and then at Nick."That's not necessary, thank you," he said coldly. "I've already spoken to Cay." Miss Hunter's face went very white and she seemed to collapse in her chair and sat, tense and pale, staring at him. . , "Miss Hunter," Roland went on quietly, "I have a few questions to ask you, and then I think we may consider the inquiry closed. First, whomade the booking for Miss Roubin to fly on the plane to London this morning? Who ordered the car to be waiting for her? Lastly, who informed you of the theft of Mrs. Lindstrom's necklace?"Miss Hunter did not answer. She stared at him, her throat jerking convulsively. Mr'. Harvey turned to Mrs. Lindstrom. "When did you first discover your necklace was missing? Could you give me the exact time?" Mrs. Lindstrom answered immediately. "Of course I can. It was just after ten o'clock last night. I didn't change my jewellery when I cameback fromfrom the yacht, as I was late. I was tired during the evening, so I went up to my room at about ten o'clock. It was when I was putting away my ear-rings that I noticed that the necklace was not there. I would say about ten minutes past ten. I came straight down to tell you and"Roland Harvey smiled. "Thank you, Leila, that was all I needed to know." He turned to Miss Hunter, and Lauren shivered with unexpected sympathy for her as he said: "So it would seem,Miss Hunter, that you are the only person, apart from Mr. and Mrs. Natal, who was aware that the necklace was not in Mrs. Lindstrom's jewel case. This can only be becausein the right pursuance of your dutiesyou opened the package and found the necklace. We can only presume that,for reasons of your own, you hid the necklace in Miss Roubin's suitcase, involved Mr. Dixie very cleverly, and so discovered the necklace." "Why should I do a thing like that?" MissHunter s/voice was thick and guttural, as if she could hardly speak. Her face was scarlet, her hands were gripping the arms of her chair. "It's all lies . . . lies . . . lies!" Her voice rose shrilly to a scream."Unfortunately, it isn't," Roland Harvey said quietly, standing up. "I don't think I need keep any of you here any longer. This is a matter between Miss Hunter and myself." He opened the the door, standing by it silently, as they filed out, Mrs. Lindstrom first, Nick and Natalie together. Lauren looked at the woman in the chair, who had crumpled into a heap and hidden her face in her hands. At the door, Lauren paused, glancing up into Roland Harvey's stern face, "Why should she do a thing like that to me?" she asked softly. She shivered a little at the thought of what might have happened had Roland Harvey been content to take Miss Hunter's wordhad there been no Nick to catch her on the way to the airport, to face Mr. Harvey.Roland Harvey put his hand under her elbow and hurried her out of the room. "We'll talk later," he said quietly, and then closed the door between them. The others had vanished, and Lauren, feeling absurdly alone and still a little sick with shock, hurried to her room. There she stood for a while, gazing out of the wide open windows at the beautiful scene. So much beauty and yet so much ugliness . , . how could Miss Hunter have hated her so much? Why? . Lauren realized suddenly that it was tune lor 170

  the children's class and she hurried to get ready for it. It would stop her thinking . . . Deborah was not at the class, and Lauren worried a little. How was the child? Had she awakened without any memory of her fright? How terrified she must have been of her mother's anger tohave collapsed like that into a tearful, shocked child. Later, sitting on the sands under their palm tree, Lauren worried still more. Something made her turn her head and she saw, walking across the sands towards her with his long easy stride, Roland Harvey. He looked thoughtful, his mouth was stern, and his eyes hidden by his dark glasses.He still wore his light
tropical suit, so evidently he had no intention of relaxing'and swimming with them. "I knew I'd find you here," he said, and satdown on the hot sand by her side. "Isn't Deborah with you?" Lauren turned to him. "I'm worried about her. I hope she is all right. She was very frightened and upset yesterday. She didn't come to the dancing class, and she hates missing that." Impulsively Lauren went on: "I do hope her mother won't punish her." , He frowned, and she knew that she had said the wrong" thing. "Leila Lindstrom wouldn't punish the child," he said rebukingly. "After all, Deborah had no idea that the necklace was so valuable. It's just like the bead necklaces she makes for' her doll." He frowned again. "Poor little brat. She said nothing to you about it when she was crying?" "Nothing. She couldn't talk properly. She was quite hysterical, sobbing bitterly." She leaned down and traced a pattern in the sand with herfinger, not wanting to look at him. How very quickly he had leaped to Mrs. Lindstrom's defence, 171

  "Lauren," he said gravely, "how can I apologize to you for the unpleasantness Miss Hunter caused?" She wished he would take off his dark glasses so that she could see the colour of his eyes. "She confessed?" she asked. Roland Harvey shrugged. "What else could she do? She became hysterical and almost violent, I had to send for the doctor and he gave her an injection." Neither spoke for a moment, and then he sighed : "How can a woman of her ethics and intelligence behave like that?" "I can't think why she hates me so much," Lauren said sadly. "I don't know what I've ever done to" Roland Harvey smiled. "Look in the mirror and you'll see the answer, Lauren. You have youth, beauty, personalityeverything on your side. She must be in her late forties, is single, frustrated. What I can't get over is how you could possibly believe that I would behave like that." His voice sounded vexed and hurt. "You must have known I wouldn't be unjustpacking you off like aa criminal, forbidding you to speak to anyone." He sounded shocked. "Surely you trusted me?" Lauren looked at him. "You believed I was a thief," she said. He leant forward and took off her sun-glasses and stared into her eyes. "I never believed it for a second," he said quietly. "Yes, you did. Last night." Suddenly, horrifyingly, her voice was trembling. "You looked at meand I knew." She looked away from him, struggling for control. "Youyou said we would continuecontinue the next day, and . . ." "Look at me, Lauren" he said sternly, and stared down into her tear-filled eyes. "I've al-ready told you that last night you were emotion172 ally upset. I knew you would hate crying in front of Mr. Dixie or Miss Hunter." He smiled suddenly, a singularly sweet smile. "You know how you always get tearful if I speak too kindly to you .., I didn't dare say anything lest I upset you. I thought you would know that I trust you." She found herself smiling through her tears. "I don't know why I cry so easily these days," she admitted. "I never-used to." She looked at him shyly. "You didn't doubt me for one moment?" "Of course not," he said impatiently. "I'm a good judge of character." He paused, smiling ruefully, rubbing his hand thoughtfully over his chin. Behind him she could see the glorious vista of the white sands and the blue sea. Voices and laughter drifted through the air. "I wonder if I am," he went on thoughtfully. "I'll confess thatI never liked Nick. I thought he was smooth, facile. Today I've changed my mind. He is a good man. Take Miss HunterI would have staked my oath that she was to be trusted completely. I know my uncle thought a great deal of her. Yet nowto behave like this! It beats me," he said wearily. The slang was so out of keeping with his normal conversation that Lauren looked at him and saw that he meant it She longed to comfort him."Perhaps she's like you said Natalie was," Lauren said nervously. "Mixed-up, jealous. I heard that she always thought your uncle would marry her." Roland Harvey looked startled. He took off his sunglasses and began to rub them with his handkerchief. "I had no idea of that. He wasn't a marrying man. He was a perfectly happy old bachelor. But it's odd you should say that, for his last few letters to me gave me the impression that he was worried about something. I thought it might be the hotel." He frowned. "Maybe she'llbe happier now. Did I tell you I was going to 173 sell the hotel? Who do you think made me the best offer for it?" "I don't know," Lauren admitted. She was always surprised and a little proud when Roland Harvey discussed his affairs with her. He smiled. "You'd never guess. I had a surprise. Miss Hunter, of all people. It seems it has been her ambition to own the Island Hotel, but she must be a very shrewd business woman tohave invested her earnings so well. After all, although she earns a good salary, it's not all that large." "I suppose when you add the percentage of all salaries that she takes, it could add up to quite a bit. After all, you have a very big staff," Lauren said thoughtfully, trying to sound intelligent. Roland Harvey swung round to stare at her. "What did you say?" he demanded. He leant towards her and his hand gripped her arm. "Say that again. A percentage of all salaries?" Startled and, as usual, nervous because of his abrupt change of moods, she told him what Nick had told her. "Renein charge of linen on my floortold me the same. She says that if they dont pay Miss Hunter the percentage she sacks them." Lauren's eyes were wide with dismay. It was so easy to vex this man. Would he accuse her of snooping?"I knew nothing of this," he said sternly. "I'm sure my uncle didn't, either. He would never have condoned it. Why wasn't I told?""No one can talk to you," Lauren pointed out timidly. "As you know. Miss Hunter handles allthe staff and . . . and has the power to dismiss them as well as to engage them." Roland Harvey ran his hand through his hair so that it looked quite ruffled. "I don't understand," he said wearily. "What must a man do to win the confidence of his staff?" He stared at Lauren. "I did my best. I interviewed them all in 174 turn, since you've been here, and not one of them told me of this, or complained about Miss Hunter." "They were scared," Lauren said. "You see, they know you leave everything to her. Theythought if they told you, you would either not believe them, or ask Miss Hunter, and she would deny it. Or you would tell Miss Hunter which of the staff were dissatisfied, and very soon. they would get the sack. As good jobs like these aren't easy to find, Rene said they decided to keep their mouths shut and . . . and . . ." Her words died away beneath the fury of his gaze. "Then why didn't you tell me?" he demanded. "You trusted Miss Hunter. You would have believed her and she would have said I lied. She would have said I was trying to make trouble,that I didn't know what I was talking about, and ..." He sighed and shook his head. "I still can't believe it." "You see?" Lauren said indignantly. "Just what I said. You don't believe me. You always think I'm lying." He turned suddenly and caught her by the shoulders, pulling her towards him, gazing down into her eyes. "I know you're not lying," he said roughly. As he looked at her, his expression changed, and as abruptly as he had seized her, so he released her. He stook up with one of his graceful quick movements. Now his voice was formal. "You must excuse me, I have work to do." She watched him walk away and then made herself relax, thinking again and again what a strange man he was. How quickly he changed. She closed her eyes and shivered as she thought that if Nick had not seen her that morning and stopped her, by now she would be in London,dreary fog-ridden London, facing Miss Cart wright's wrath, her parents' surprise and dismay. How very close to disaster she had been. Roland Harvey would have seen itas Miss Hunter plannedas an admission of guilt; Nick would never have forgiven her. How could she have believed Miss Hunter? Yet at the time she had been so confused and unhappy, and Miss Hunter seemed so convincing.That afternoon at practice, Lauren saw Roland Harvey standing in the doorway. The tall, broadshouldered man seemed to fill the doorway as he stood, immaculate in a light tropical suit, his arms folded, his face grave.They were practising an Apache dance, and Lauren felt nervous as she kept catching glimpses of the brooding figure in the doorway, but at last Nick declared himself satisfied and the orchestra folded their music and put away their instruments, just as Roland walked across the floor towards them. "Have you seen Deborah?" he asked.Lauren hesitated. She must choose her words carefully, for she had angered him that morning by her suggestion that Mrs. Lindstrom might punish the child."No," she said. "I expect she's gone with her mother." Roland frowned. "I doubt it very much," he said dryly. "She was spend
ing the day on the Nimrod with the Brandons, who are not fond of children." He turned away. "She must be all right." -Lauren stared after him unhappily. She wished she could feel as confident. She remembered Deborah's tear-stained, scared little face and her heart seemed to turn over with pain. At the same moment someone came hurrying through the door. Tall, slim, lovely 'in her lime green silk suit, Mrs. Lindstrom's calm had vanished as she almost ran to Lauren, grabbing her arm.

  "Where is she? You have no right . ," she said angrily. "Leila, what's wrong?" Rpland Harvey said as he hurried to her side. Mrs. Lindstrom's face seemed to crumple. "It's all my fault, Roland. I was so angry with Deborah . . ." She looked round her wildly. "The child must be somewhere." She turned back to him, her face working painfully, her hands outstretched. Roland, Deborah's father was like that. He wou d play practical jokes that weren't funny. He would hide my-jewels or my money and then scold me for being careless, and much, much later hewould return them to me and laugh. I felt I couldn't bear it if Deborah had inherited the habit. She was so strange this morning when I scolded her ... anyhow I'm afraid I lost my temper and spanked her, hard, and then I told her she must stay in her room all day without anything to eat, as a punishment andand I said if she ever stole anything again the police would put her in prison . . ." Roland Harvey had his arm round Mrs. Lindstrom's shoulders, trying to comfort the distraught woman. Nick and Lauren looked at one another unhappily and longed to creep away quiet"And Deborah has gone from her room?" Roland Harvey said gently. "What made you think Lauren had taken her? Mrs. Lindstrom moved away from him, mopping her eyes with a scrap of lace-trimmed linen. "Because she's always with Miss Roubin," she said sulkily. "You've been out all day?" Roland Harvey's voice was still quiet and kind. "Yes. You must remember the Brandon's cousin had asked me to go fishing with him today. I went to Deborah's room as soon as I got back. I 177 had locked the door and left the key on the outside, and someone must have . . ." She glared accusingly at the silent Lauren."Released her," Roland Harvey said. "Perhaps they heard her crying.""Even if they did, they had no right to interfere. She is my child, and I have the right todiscipline her . . ." Mrs. Lindstrom was regaining her composure, obviously stirring up her anger to hide her fear. "But where is she, Roland?" "We'll organize a search," Roland Harvey said crisply. "Go to bed, Leila, and I'll have your dinner sent up to you. Don't worry. The child must be somewhere near." He smiled. "At least we have no buses or trains for her to hide on! We'll soon find her. Whoever released her from the room will come forward as soon as they hear she is missing. Don't worry.""You think she's all right?" Mrs. Lindstrom said.Roland Harvey nodded. "I'm sure she is," he said confidently. "Now go along to your roomand relax and stop worrying. Everything will be all right."Silently they'watched the woman, whose shoulders drooped, walk away to the lift, and then Roland Harvey turned to his companions."Look in your room first, Lauren," he said curtly. "She might be hiding there." He looked atNick. "Go and search the beach ... oh, and look in the patch of flowering shrubs, the one Laurenusually uses. The child can't be far away." Lauren hurried to her room, but there was no sign of Deborah. She felt sick with fear. Where could the child be? How could Mrs. Lindstrom have been so cruel? Why, the child was so young, too young to ...Yet Mr. Harvey, had not seemed to be angry with Leila Lindstrom. His voice had been tender as he comforted her.