Poison Candy - Book 2: Behind Closed Doors Series Read online

  To the Reader:

  Bliss Haven is a fictional island, tucked at the edge of the Caribbean waters of the Bahamas. It is made up of five major parishes. Crystal Bay, Governor’s Creek, St. Rose’s Garden, St. George’s Close and St. Elmo’s Valley. The latter two are considered to be the poorest of the five. The island is small with a populace of approximately seven thousand people. It is well-known for its dainty infrastructures – where sensational stories seem to thrive. The books in this series are centered on the Beaufort family and the people with whom they interact.

  POISON CANDY

  (Behind Closed Door Series – Book 2)

  H. H. Fowler

  Kindle Edition

  Copyright© 2014 H.H. Fowler

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  All characters, names, descriptions, and traits are products of the author’s imagination. Similarities of actual people – living or dead are purely coincidental.

  Other Books by H. H. Fowler

  The Church Boyz’ Series

  Rod of the Wicked – Book 1

  When Things Go Wrong – Book 2

  My Last Cry – Book 3

  The Church Gurlz’ Series

  Mother’s Black Book – Book 1

  In the Presence of My Enemy – Book 2

  The Aftermath – Book 3

  Behind Closed Door Series

  Shattered Dreams – Book 1

  Poison Candy – Book 2

  Stand Alone Titles

  Javier

  Jezebel’s Apple

  The Devil Made Me Do It (Short Story)

  Connect with H.H. Fowler on Twitter:

  @fowlerguy1

  Website: www.hhfowler.com

  Blog: www.churchboyz.org

  www.facebook.com/www.churchboyz.org

  Sin is like poison candy. It offers instant gratification but with demonic enhancements attached. It entices and then lures its subjects until their destiny is wasted in the market square of life.

  - Frank Dubbin (Bliss Haven Preacher)

  Chapter One

  It was approaching seven thirty in the evening when Izaiah eased the jeep onto the Beaufort’s driveway – three hours since he’d left the fatal scene of Jorge Bentley’s murder. Asia, Jorge’s love interest, did not waste any time reassessing what she was about to do. She hopped down out of the jeep before Izaiah had the opportunity to assist her. In broad daylight, she had witnessed her future husband being shot to death like a dog in the street. Everything inside of her screamed that her father had something to do with it. And even though Izaiah tried to reason with her, she would not let him convince her otherwise. She was determined to confront her father with her suspicions.

  “Come on, Asia,” Izaiah pleaded. “You are not sure that Jorge was coming from the direction of the estate.”

  “Maybe you are not sure,” Asia spat indignantly. “Jorge wouldn’t have come up to these parts except he had a reason. My father hated Jorge and would have done anything to tear us apart.”

  “So you think your father had Jorge shot? I find that hard to believe.”

  “Well, I don’t! Everyone knows my father is a bully. If he didn’t do it, maybe he got his stupid men to do it. I wish I’d gotten the license plate number of that limo.”

  “If that is the case, then why don’t you let the investigators do their job? You are in no condition to deal with this tonight.”

  “Oh, please, Izaiah, don’t baby me! Jorge was from St. Elmo’s Valley. When those investigators discover that little tidbit about him, his file will be immediately tossed into the slush pile. Better I give them a helping hand, don’t you think? They’ll have no other choice but to give Jorge’s case priority.”

  “I see that you have little faith in the police department…”

  “It is what it is, Izaiah. Welcome to Bliss Haven.”

  Asia climbed up the steps that led to the grand oak doors. With a forceful push, the doors swung open. Asia’s dress was splattered with Jorge’s blood, which only added fuel to her anger. At this time of the evening, the only place her father would be was in his study. She did not knock, but barged in as if she was the superintendent of police. Gregory jumped out of his seat, toppling the remnants of his brandy to the rug.

  “Asia, what the devil has gotten into you? Charging in here as if –”

  Asia got right into her father’s face and demanded, “I’m not asking you if you killed Jorge, because I know you did. Just explain to me how you did it!”

  The question threw Gregory into a tailspin. He stared at Asia’s bloody dress and then stared at Izaiah for an explanation. Asia’s claim could not be true, because Jorge had not too long left the compound – alive and well. Gregory wondered if the brandy was causing him to hallucinate, but Asia’s fiery glare was enough to convince Gregory that he wasn’t hallucinating anything.

  “So, you’re just gonna stand there and pretend like you don’t know what I’m talking about?”

  “I’m not pretending, because I really don’t have a clue to what you’re accusing me of. Now, calm down and tell me what happened to Jorge.”

  “Cut the act, Daddy!” Asia fired back. “How could you be comfortable with yourself, knowing what you’ve done to an innocent man?”

  Whether he’d killed Jorge or not, Gregory didn’t take too well to his children talking to him as if they were upset with him. He pointed at her, putting some authority behind his tone. “Now, you listen to me, young lady. I realize that you are upset, but it’s no excuse for the way you’re behaving. You’re not getting any answers out of me until you sit down and express yourself in a civilized manner.”

  Asia didn’t miss a beat. “So, now you want to talk about being civilized? Well, let’s go there, for a minute. From the day I introduced Jorge to you, you plotted to tear us apart. You threatened him, scorned him – did everything in your power to turn me against him. Do you remember several weeks ago how your silly men chased him off the property with guns? I knew it was only a matter of time before the situation would escalate to this point. Jorge was shot down like an animal in the street! Tell me, Daddy, how civilized was that? To have a young man murdered because he simply wanted to marry me –”

  “I’m not playing games with you,” Gregory spat. “Get out of my office until you’ve gotten yourself together.”

  “I’m not going anywhere until you admit that you killed Jorge!”

  Gregory glared at Asia, but directed his words to the youth minister. “Izaiah, take this young lady out of my sight before I say something that I will regret!”

  Asia swung her deadly gaze to Izaiah. “It’s best that you don’t interfere. You put one finger on me and I am done with you.”

  “Do as I say, Izaiah!” Gregory countered. “This young child thinks that she can rule me.”

  Izaiah planted his steps in place to think things through. What should he do in a situation like this? Such intensity could be felt between father and daughter, and he was caught right in the middle of it. If he sided with one, he knew he would make an enemy out of the other. But Gregory was the one who paid his salary as the newly installed youth minister. If he planned on staying in Bliss Haven, Izaiah felt Gregory’s authority should eclipse that of his daughter. Humbly, he approached Asia, and prayed for the right words to fall out of his mouth.

  “Asia, I can’t imagine how all of thi
s is affecting you. I did not know Jorge, but I was there when he was shot down off his bicycle and I continue to express my –”

  Asia cut him off sharply, “Izaiah, please leave. I would like to have a word with my father alone.”

  “Asia…please.”

  “Leave, Izaiah. You should not have gotten involved in this mess anyway.”

  “Too late, I am already involved,” Izaiah said morosely. At times, Asia’s brassiness was more difficult to bear than Gregory’s angry bark. He turned toward the exit.

  “Now wait one minute, Izaiah. Who is in charge here?” Gregory inquired. “Did I not instruct you to take my daughter out of my office? Don’t let her scare you with her churlish remarks!”

  Asia dropped her arms from her breasts and took a casual stroll to one of Gregory’s plush chairs. She plopped down in it and shot Gregory a look of irreverence. “Well, Daddy, you both will have to physically throw me out of here, because I am not leaving until you admit that you had Jorge murdered. By the way, I alluded that much to Detective Richard Shelby and he seemed quite disappointed in you.”

  Asia’s statement knocked the wind out of Gregory’s sails. Richard was a good friend of the family, whom Gregory respected very highly. With a quick flick of the wrist, he dismissed Izaiah and then fell back into his swivel chair. His daughter knew exactly what to say to get his motor running.

  Chapter Two

  Bliss Haven Police Force

  Detective Richard Shelby tapped his pen vigorously against his forehead. He had not too long left the crime scene of Jorge Bentley, where he’d gathered enough information to go full throttle behind the suspects. He thanked Asia Beaufort and her willingness to share her suspicions about her father, but several things kept his anxiousness in check. For starters, there had been a prior incident yesterday involving the mother of Asia Beaufort, who had been found with a dead man lying on top of her.

  He needed to know the details surrounding that, because as farfetched as it seemed, he felt there may be a connection between the two incidences. Two dead bodies and an injured woman in the hospital within two days was not an unusual occurrence for a small island like Bliss Haven, but because of the caliber of persons involved, Richard knew this was no ordinary case. The Beauforts were top pedigree and to have such explosive news erupting from that family could throw the island into a frenzy.

  Richard knew the family quite well; so well, in fact, that he and Gregory had played dominoes on a number of occasions. He had even bought several of Mrs. Beaufort’s paintings. If any part of Asia’s story checked out to be true, the bishop could be in some serious trouble with the law. How heartbreaking it would be for the public to discover that Gregory was responsible for his wife’s injury and the mayhem surrounding it. The Beaufort’s lives would suddenly be put on display for everyone to see and confidential information could start seeping out of the cracks.

  Richard did not want that to happen to his friend, Gregory. Asia meant well and Richard felt sorry for her loss, but maybe Asia got it all wrong. Jorge Bentley was an unknown, one Asia should have not paid any attention to. Richard knew how obstinate Asia could be, defying her father’s wishes with little conviction. If she had any sense of decorum, she would have kept her mouth shut until her suspicions of her father were confirmed. She hadn’t any concrete evidence to substantiate her story. Just a bleary description of a black limo and a heart filled with anger toward her father.

  On the other hand, Jorge had supposedly written a name in the dirt before the last breath left his body. And Richard would have thought it insignificant had he not been a meticulous man. Right in front of Jorge’s body was the unmistakable letters: A-N-W-A-R. Richard snapped a photo of it to analyze it in his quiet time. Was it the name of Jorge’s murderer? Should he categorize the name as a person of interest? Richard wasn’t sure at this point, but it did mean that another ‘fall guy’ could be held responsible for these heinous crimes. Richard did not want to believe that Gregory was culpable of Jorge’s murder, or that of Chazz Brunswick.

  “Are you ready for this?”

  Richard swung his feet off the desk and waited for his partner to take a seat in front of him. In features, Karissa Middleton was the quintessential Asian woman. She had recently been transferred from the mainland to the Bliss Haven detective unit. Against Richard’s ordinary-looking face and his mammoth size, Karissa was an extremely lithe and attractive creature. Her ruggedness as an investigator, however, brought balance to her natural feminine poise – or else, she would have been taken advantage of by many of her chauvinistic male counterparts.

  “There are quite a number of persons on the island with the name Anwar,” Karissa announced. “Not so uncommon as we thought. Without a last name, it’s even harder to pin down who it is we’re looking for. However, I was able to taper my list by geographic location.”

  There were only five parishes in Bliss Haven, so Richard assumed the process of deduction would be fairly easy. He shot Karissa a pensive look, which she assumed was a cue to continue.

  “St. Rose’s Garden, St. George’s Close and St. Elmo’s Valley have the least amount of Anwars registered,” she said. “Crystal Bay and Governor’s Creek have three or more. So, big guy, where do you want to throw your first dart?”

  Richard cleared his throat and smiled. He loved the affectionate way Karissa referred to him. “Jorge Bentley was from St. Elmo’s Valley. So we will start there. The others would be a complete waste of our time.”

  Karissa smirked. “I always appreciate your confidence. But whoever this Anwar character is, he has a lot of explaining to do. If a dying man wrote my name in the dirt, I would be terrified.”

  “It does seem like Jorge has made it easy for the investigators to find his killer,” Richard commented. “But –”

  “But you’re thinking about that bit of information Beaufort’s daughter has told us about her father.” Karissa leaned forward with a wicked expression on her face. “Do you think the bishop could be capable of murder?”

  “I don’t know…Gregory doesn’t seem like the type.”

  “Come on, big guy. There is a possible motive. Mr. Beaufort’s wife was found with a handsome dead guy on top of her – in her place of business. Doesn’t that look shady to you? Infidelity could cause a man to snap – no matter the influential tags behind his name.”

  Richard smiled in response. He was not going to luxuriate in theories that could implicate Gregory in any which way. He too had thought the bloody scene at Mrs. Beaufort’s art gallery had looked a bit suggestive, but he brushed it aside as his having consumed too much caffeine. He did not tell Karissa his plans to arrest Anwar as the prime suspect in the Jorge Bentley investigation, even though they had no real proof that Anwar had anything to do with Jorge’s murder. Maybe the circumstantial evidence was enough to scare this Anwar person into a confession. Karissa was under the impression they were simply bringing him in for questioning.

  “I know that look,” Karissa told Richard.

  “What look?”

  “The look that says you’ve already made up your mind about something.”

  “Well,” Richard chuckled as he stood to his feet. “It’s too early for me to tell. However, I do want to find this Anwar person. I feel as if he could be the key to unlock this mystery.”

  “But I think we should also get a statement from Mr. Beaufort and his wife,” Karissa suggested. “It could turn out to be a good lead.”

  Richard hid his annoyance behind an even tone. Karissa had a tendency to push an issue. “The last time I checked, Mrs. Beaufort was in a coma. I will give Mr. Beaufort a call as soon as we get back from St. Elmo’s Valley.”

  “Sweet.” Karissa stood to her feet as well and followed Richard out of his office.

  The gratification of desire is not happiness

  - Daisaku Ikeda

  Chapter Three

  Ms. V held out her hand for Anwar to take a seat in front of her. Her office was in the front section of her
executive suite. As usual her makeup was done to perfection, which made her look nearly ten years younger than her forty-seven years. The revealing red dress she wore reminded Anwar that he was in the presence of a former porn star. She was known for her expertise in the hidden world of sensual entertainment, which she skillfully incorporated into her role as ‘guardian’ over the organization’s assets in the Caribbean hemisphere.

  Rumor had it that she’d slept with over a thousand men and was steadily increasing the number by testing the sexual stamina of all male recruits. In essence, she got to choose the cream of the crop before putting them on display for her wealthy clients. Anwar badly wanted to confirm if the rumors were true, because she had never made an attempt to seduce him. However, Ms. V’s penetrating gaze was enough to make him shrink in his seat. She had this way about her that made people automatically respect her. But despite her sordid past, she was quite a businesswoman. Maybe that was part of the reason why the organization elevated her to such a lofty position.

  She gave Anwar a small smile, never taking her eyes off him. “You wanted to see me?”

  Anwar acknowledged Ms. V’s question with a nod, but it was only to buy the time needed to figure out how he was going to broach the subject of his sexual preferences. His first three weeks into the organization had been sweet, as he was allowed to service only female clients. Now his gigs were starting to be streamlined to meet the needs of perverted, rich, out-of-shape men. So far, he had been able to swindle his way out of such perversion, but Anwar knew that this bit of luck would only hold out for so long. He wouldn’t be surprised if that fat beast had already complained to Ms. V.

  Anwar held her gaze with his hazel brown eyes and said, “Don’t think of me as an ungrateful snob when I say this, but it seems as if my gigs are starting to go in a different direction.”