Murder in Cuba Read online

  MURDER IN CUBA

  By

  Dianne Harman

  (A Cedar Bay Cozy Mystery - Book 8)

  Copyright © 2015 Dianne Harman

  www.dianneharman.com

  All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book, or portions thereof, in any form without written permission except for the use of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales, is entirely coincidental.

  Website, Interior & Cover design by Vivek Rajan Vivek

  Paperback ISBN: 978-1522869252

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  As always, I thank you my readers, for making my books so popular. I am very indebted to each and every one of you.

  My husband and I were fortunate to be asked by Jack Trout to go with him on a fly fishing trip to Cuba. Yes, there really is a real life Jack Trout and a Carola Trout. Our destination in Cuba was Cayo Largo, a small beautiful island off the south coast of Cuba. We spent a week in Cuba and from what my husband tells me, the fly fishing was spectacular. I passed on the fishing, as I preferred to spend my time looking out at the Caribbean Sea and writing this book. The plot is fiction as are all of the characters with the exception of Jack and Carola. Without them, this book never would have been written. I didn’t even know that Cayo Largo existed. Let me assure you that my husband is not Mike, and I’m not Kelly, however some of the things in the book are based on actual events such as eating 2 ½ pound lobster tails on the beach and watching a dolphin show.

  The idea for the plot began when I saw a door at the local fishing club with three different fish painted on it. Turns out if all three are caught on the same day, the lucky fisherman is eligible to become a member of the Grand Slam Club. My active imagination took it from there. I had a wonderful time writing this book, and the entire Cuban experience was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Jack and Carola are now taking people to Cuba, and you could be one of them! They can be reached through his website at jacktrout.com.

  As always, my thanks to Vivek for the cover of the book, formatting the manuscript, and his pearls of wisdom, and to my husband, Tom, for making my journey through life such a wonderful and rewarding one. Thanks, gentlemen!

  Free Paperbacks

  I'm giving away seven free autographed paperbacks. Find out more at www.dianneharman.com/freepaperback.html

  Table of Contents

  Prologue

  CHAPTER 1

  CHAPTER 2

  CHAPTER 3

  CHAPTER 4

  CHAPTER 5

  CHAPTER 6

  CHAPTER 7

  CHAPTER 8

  CHAPTER 9

  CHAPTER 10

  CHAPTER 11

  CHAPTER 12

  CHAPTER 13

  CHAPTER 14

  CHAPTER 15

  CHAPTER 16

  CHAPTER 17

  CHAPTER 18

  CHAPTER 19

  CHAPTER 20

  CHAPTER 21

  CHAPTER 22

  CHAPTER 23

  CHAPTER 24

  CHAPTER 25

  CHAPTER 26

  Recipes!

  ABOUT DIANNE

  Prologue

  Cuba, the land of classic cars, beautiful beaches, salsa music, and the best cigars in the world. There is only one problem - Americans are not allowed to travel directly to Cuba unless they are part of a group that has a legitimate reason for going to the island, such as being part of a cultural exchange group. Individual Americans can’t travel to Cuba simply to see the sights, sit on a beautiful sand beach, or enjoy the terrific fishing available in Cuba. But the times they are a changing!

  In 2015 the United States resumed diplomatic relations with Cuba some fifty years after an economic embargo on that country had been ordered by President Kennedy. Embassies were established, and a business development frenzy began shortly thereafter. Entrepreneurs of every persuasion saw the abundant opportunities that were on the horizon in Cuba and scrambled to make decisions about how they could be the first in line when Americans were able to once again freely travel to Cuba.

  The recreational fly fishing industry was one industry that quickly saw what the future of a Cuba that was open and accessible to Americans might mean. Cuba had always been the Holy Grail for those who loved to fly fish in the tropical waters of the Caribbean nation for bonefish, permit, tarpon, snook, red snapper, and jack trevali. Cuba is home to hundreds of square miles of shallow saltwater ocean flats where these types of fish are commonly found, and for the past fifty years very few American anglers have had an opportunity to fish those waters.

  Jack Trout, a well-known fly fishing guide from Northern California is invited to Cayo Largo by Bartolo Fishing Adventures, an Italian company that has a contract with the Cuban government granting them the exclusive rights to fish in the protected areas adjacent to that small Cuban island. The company is anxious to have Jack come to Cuba so he can see for himself the world class fly fishing that is available at Cayo Largo. More importantly, Bartolo extended the invitation to Jack in the hopes that he might consider becoming Bartolo’s exclusive representative in the United States. As such, he would be responsible for organizing fly fishing excursions for Americans that want to go fly fishing in Cuba.

  Jack calls his good friend, Beaver County, Oregon, Sheriff Mike Reynolds and asks him what he thinks. Mike tells him he’s being offered the opportunity of a lifetime, and he definitely should go there and see if it's something he'd be interested in doing. Jack tells him he's already accepted Bartolo’s invitation, and he and his wife, Carola, will be traveling there in a month. He asks Mike if he'd be interested in joining them on the trip. Mike quickly replies that he and his wife, Kelly, would be happy to accompany Jack and Carola on their maiden trip to Cuba. He told Jack that Kelly wasn't interested in fishing, and he hoped that would be okay. Jack replied that his wife wasn't either, so he and Mike would do the fishing for them.

  Who knew the fishing trip of a lifetime would result in murder? A murder that appeared to be caused by greed, but was that the reason the well-known English fishing guide was killed? Who killed him? The Englishman who is the head of one of the largest international banks in the world? The American with no visible means of support, but has plenty of money to fish all around the world? One of the Cuban fishing guides that worked at Cayo Largo? Or was it Jack?

  CHAPTER 1

  “Stay here and watch our luggage. I’ll go find the taxi that’s supposed to pick us up and take us to the hotel. Jack, you speak a little Spanish. Give me a hand,” Carola said. Jack Trout and his beautiful dark-haired Chilean wife walked out into the sweltering late afternoon heat at the Havana airport while Mike and Kelly stood enchanted by the scene unfolding in front of them. Neither of them spoke Spanish, and they were experiencing cultural overload with the sights they were seeing. They were tired and sleep-deprived after their long trip from Oregon, but looking forward to the days they would be spending in Cuba.

  Everywhere they looked people were talking excitedly and gesturing. In front of them, just beyond the front doors of the Havana airport, was a never-ending line of classic cars from the 1940's and 1950's. Old Chevrolets, Fords, and Pontiacs that were brightly painted and now being used as taxi cabs vied for cab fares along with the more traditional yellow taxis.

  “Mike, I feel like I'm watching a time warp movie. I can't believe I'm really in Havana, Cuba. I've never known anyone who's been here. I remember my parents talking about it, and how just after I was born it became a Communist country and Americans and American pro
ducts were no longer allowed in the country. I can't wait to try the food. I've read a little about it, and I know they have a lot of fresh seafood,” Kelly said.

  “I know what you mean. I’m so glad we have Jack and Carola to take care of the language barrier. I don't think we would have made the flight from Mexico City to Havana if it hadn’t been for them. It seems like it was one endless line after another. I wouldn’t recommend the drive to Portland, the flight to Mexico City, the zoo that was Immigration, and then that wild taxi ride to our hotel to anyone. Our driver had to have been a kamikaze pilot in another lifetime. I'll be honest. I was very, very happy to meet up with Jack and Carola at the Mexico City hotel this morning and let them take over.”

  “Okay, follow me,” Jack said. “Carola found our taxi driver. He didn't think we would clear Customs and Immigration as fast as we did. He was just getting a sign out of his taxi with our names on it when she spotted him.”

  Jack was quite tall and his wife, Carola, was very petite. They made a fascinating looking couple. They'd been married for a number of years, and she handled all of the business aspects of his international fly fishing guide business, so shepherding people around in a foreign country came quite naturally to her. Her bright red sleeveless tank top and short black skirt made her look like one of the locals. Jack smiled fondly at her as the four of them walked over to the taxi.

  “Buenas dias," the smiling taxi driver said. “Welcome to Havana.” He spoke to Carola in Spanish, and they both laughed.

  She turned to Kelly and Mike and said, “Our driver said that's the extent of his English. I'll translate for him on the way to our hotel.” A few minutes later, luggage securely in place, they started off. The drive to their hotel was a collage of brightly colored buildings and foliage, along with seeing one classic car after another. Jack and the driver commented about the old classic cars continuously while Mike put in a word occasionally when he knew the make and year of a particular car. Kelly gazed out the window at the nearby Caribbean Sea which they drove beside for several miles, the beautiful old capitol, and the huge cathedral on the way to their hotel. She felt like she’d come one hundred eighty degrees from the overcast forest greenery of the Oregon coast that was their home in the small town of Cedar Bay.

  A half hour later the driver stopped in front of a beautiful old hotel that looked like it had been built in the early 20th century. As they walked into the hotel Kelly whispered to Mike, “I feel like I've seen this in a movie. It's Art Nouveau at its best. Look at those bronze statues and this marble floor. Wow!”

  Carola stepped up to the reception desk and started checking in for them. A few minutes later she asked the others for their passports and gave them to the reception clerk. She spoke with the clerk, and Kelly and Mike noticed that Jack was grimacing.

  “What's wrong?” Mike asked.

  “Hate to tell you this, but the van is coming to the hotel tomorrow morning to pick us up at 4:00 a.m. Sorry, but there are very few planes that fly to Cayo Largo. We'll sleep when we get there. Here's your room information. Go on up and get settled. Let's meet at the rooftop restaurant in an hour, have one of their special rum drinks called a mojito, get something to eat, and then call it a night. The receptionist said the view from the rooftop at sunset is spectacular. As long as we're here we might as well try it. By the way, since this is my first trip to Cuba, and its sort of an exploratory trip, my feeling is if someone really recommends something, we need to try it. That way I can decide if it's important enough to do for future clients. I’m going to write several articles for fishing magazines, and I can use the information I gather plus any photographs I take in them.”

  CHAPTER 2

  Mike inserted the keycard for room 440 in the lock and stepped inside the room. Kelly followed him and exclaimed, “Mike, I have no idea what this cost, but it’s incredible. I mean, look at the mahogany furniture in the living room. I can't believe we have a living room with a half-bath off of it, and look, here's another room with a big screen TV, a table for doing business...” Kelly stopped mid-sentence as she walked into the bedroom. “I have never stayed in a room this elegant, and look at this master bathroom. It has everything you'd ever need if you forgot to bring something.”

  “I wonder what the nightly rate is on something like this, and Kelly, this is not a room, this is a suite. The company who's looking at becoming partners with Jack arranged for everything. I just paid a flat amount for the two of us to come on the trip, but I agree, this is beyond any hotel room I've ever seen. I really feel like I've stepped back a century or more. And did you see that sweeping staircase when we walked into the lobby? I felt like I was Rhett Butler and you were Scarlett O'Hara. Let's do a little unpacking and then go meet Jack and Carola at the restaurant up on the rooftop.

  “By the way, from now on I'd feel better if you wore your money belt. I'm putting mine on. It’s one thing to hold the carry-ons we had when we were on the plane and last night, but there's no reason to carry all that stuff around with us. What with the cameras, the iPads, the iPhones, and all the other paraphernalia we have in our bags, they're way too heavy. Just put your passport, your credit cards, and your money in your money belt, and we’ll leave everything else here.”

  “Mike, this is only the second time I've been out of the United States, but I've got to tell you how safe I feel with you,” she said to the big burly greying middle-aged man. “I mean, I know I'm fairly tall for a woman, and certainly not a lightweight, but one look at you and with the air of authority you carry, no one is going to try and mess with either of us.”

  “Appreciate your confidence, sweetheart, but don't think that has much to do with it. I'm always concerned in large urban cities. They tend to attract people who would love to charm a beautiful dark-haired woman like you, and as trusting as you are, you'd probably believe what they said only to find out later the person had taken your passport, money or whatever. I heard a horror story once about a guy whose wife was in a wheelchair. He was maneuvering his wife in her wheelchair down a steel ramp in an airport when a man walked by, reached into his pocket, took his wallet, and then said thanks as he walked away. The guy couldn’t let go of the wheelchair because his wife would have been injured.”

  “That's horrible! I did take your advice, and I left my jewelry at home. I’m not even wearing my wedding ring. For all anyone knows, we're just two people who met and decided to spend the night together.”

  “Well, it might make the next few days very interesting if we pretend were like two strangers meeting in the night,” Mike said with a grin. “I kind of like the idea. Well, beautiful lady I've just met, would you join me on the rooftop for the drink your daughter said we had to try in Cuba, a mojito? And don’t forget she wants us to text her a picture of it.”

  “It would be a pleasure and who knows, I might even get to like you enough that you just might get lucky tonight.”

  “Yeah, as tired as both of us are, in my dreams,” he said, holding the door open for her.

  *****

  They stepped out of the elevator and walked over to the table where Jack and Carola were sitting. Kelly pulled a chair out from the table and exclaimed, “I feel like I'm in a living painting, but I don't think any artist could capture the colors of this sky.”

  “Don't sit down yet, Kelly, the waiter said this was the perfect time to see the view from the cupola. I waited for you. Come on, it's over this way,” Carola said.

  They walked past the small band that was just beginning to play their nightly music and stepped up into the cupola. Large openings in the round room allowed a panoramic view of the city, the Caribbean Sea, the capitol, and the mass of humanity below them.

  “Carola, thank you so much for everything you've done today. Mike and I would never have been able to do this without you, and if we'd tried, we probably would have had nervous breakdowns. And our room is spectacular.”

  Kelly noticed that Carola had a funny look on her face and then she said, “I'm gla
d you like it. Jack was so grateful to Mike for coming with him on this trip that he wanted you to have the special suite, and I couldn't have agreed more.”

  “Wait a minute,” Kelly said, “Are you saying you and Jack don't have the same type of room that we have?”

  “No, we were supposed to stay in the suite because the company Jack’s working with books their clients at this hotel and evidently they arrange to have the person who is in charge of the group stay in the suite. We have a lovely room, and believe me, I'm not complaining. Now we need to get you a mojito, and I’ve already ordered lobster tails for all of us. I saw some at the table next to ours, and they looked spectacular.”

  As they walked down the steps of the cupola Kelly said, “I'm embarrassed you did that for us, but thank you very much. I just wish we were staying longer. That suite definitely does not qualify as a crash pad.”

  Carola laughed. “Maybe that will help you forget the unconscionable hour you're going to have to get up in the morning. The receptionist told me they'll have sweet rolls and coffee for us at 3:30 tomorrow morning.”

  When they returned to the table Mike and Jack were deep in a conversation with an American man who appeared to be in his early forties. “Carola, Kelly, I'd like you to meet Philip Montgomery,” Jack said. “He's going to be staying at the resort where we’ll be for the coming week and fishing with the company we're fishing with, so we'll be seeing a lot of each other for the next week.”

  Kelly and Carola shook hands with Philip as the bartender arrived with the hotel's signature drink which is also one of Cuba's most popular drinks, mojitos served in a tall glass with a stalk of spearmint muddled in it. Made with rum, they’re a staple in Cuba and have recently become very popular in the United States.

  “I don't think that's an authentic mojito. It's been my experience that if it doesn't take the bartender at least fifteen minutes to make the drink, it’s not being prepared correctly,” Philip said arrogantly.