Away with the Fishes by Stephanie Siciarz Page B

answer to just about anything was something to eat, and Madison’s callaloo soup still awaited. They would sort everything out over dinner. Of that, May was determined.
    Madison, on the other hand, was in shock. His beloved Rena missing and now this? Accused of doing her in? He had no appetite, but May insisted, so mechanically he raised the spoon to his lips until he had emptied the bowl. While she ranted, he didn’t say a word.
    “Do you believe the stupidity of it? What on earth can those two be thinking? If they expect me to stand for it one minute, they’re in for a surprise. What should we do first?”
    May waited, but still Madison sat unspeaking, too sad and too scared to think straight. May would have to find a solution herself, she realized. With her dainty hands in her apron pockets, she circled the kitchen table, thinking.
    They could hire a lawyer, but how much would it cost? Surely more than they could afford. And why should they waste hard-earned money if Madison had nothing to explain or hide? Even so, May debated with herself, those officers seemed pretty convinced. Once an idea took root on Oh, it was damn near impossible to pull it up and chuck it out.
    “I’ve got it!” May snapped her fingers and beamed at Madison, who tore his gaze from the empty soup bowl in front of him and looked up at his sister.
    “Call your friend Randolph,” she said. “His father will know exactly what to do.”

    May Fuller was not the only islander that night whose digestion would be disrupted by the alleged disappearance of Rena Baker. Before Officers Tullsey and Smart took their discoveries to the Chief of Police, they would first question Raoul Orlean about his role at the bakery the night of the accident. When they knocked at his still-yellow door, he was midway through a portion of pigeon with pineapple. Because Raoul had quite a reputation among Oh’s official ranks, for his position and years of service (not to mention his eccentric investigative techniques), and because Arnold and Joshua, who had already quite possibly bent the rules a bit too far that day, could see the steam rising from his piping hot plate, they kept their questions to Raoul short and sweet. In truth, they hardly questioned him at all, but instead relayed to him the facts as they understood them to be, and waited for him to confirm they had got it right.
    Wasn’t it true that Mr. Orlean was present when Randolph and Jarvis showed up at the bakery with a mangled bike?
    Raoul nodded. Yes, it was.
    Wasn’t it also true that Randolph and Jarvis had no idea to whom the bike belonged or what fate had befallen its rider that night?
    That certainly appeared to be the case, Raoul agreed.
    Hadn’t the boys searched the site of the accident for clues?
    So they said, Raoul answered, adding that the boys had no reason to lie.
    The officers went on to report to Raoul that they had found no clues at the scene of the crime and were wondering if perhaps that was because Randolph and Jarvis had already removed them.
    Raoul shook his head. Doubtful, he argued, that the boys had done any such thing.
    Just one last question, then: Had Mr. Orlean witnessed any tampering of the evidence at the hands of Trevor or Bruce or anyone else present that night?
    Certainly not!
    Good to know, the officers assured him, wanting very much to ask why Raoul, seeing as how he was a government official, hadn’t insisted that Trevor call the Island Police first thing. Thankfully, though, Raoul’s reputation made Arnold and Joshua reluctant to insist.
    As they renewed their apologies for the disruption and, hats in hand, backed toward the door to take their leave, Raoul asked the officers how their investigation was proceeding, for he seemed to gather that they knew nothing new.
    Why, yes, they did, as a matter of fact! Not only had they identified the mashed-up bike’s missing rider, who they presumed must be dead, but they had even come up with a prime