Page 30 of Swan Song

“What was she wearing?”

“Her uniform—a pink polo shirt and white shorts.”

“At what point did you last see Ms. Coyle?” Zara asks.

“After Bull and Leslee renewed their vows, Coco handed out flutes of champagne for a toast.”

“Wait a second,” Zara says. “The Richardsons renewed their vows on the sail?”

“They did,” Busy says. “It was a surprise.”

“So you saw Ms. Coyle handing out the champagne,” Zara says. “What time was that?”

“Maybe seven thirty?” Busy says. “The sun was just setting. We were out by Eel Point, getting ready to turn around, which was a good thing because a minute or two later, Bull got a call that their house was on fire.”

Zara needs to parse this. “So Coco was still on the boat when you all learned the house was on fire?”

“She was on the boat while we were doing the champagne toast,” Busy says. “After the toast, Lamont tacked and we were heading back, and right around that time, we learned about the fire. I can’t say for sure if Coco was still on the boat then. Everyone was agitated; people had their phones out. I don’t remember seeing Coco or not seeing her. I didn’t see anyone go overboard. None of us saw that, obviously, or we would have done something.”

“You said Bull Richardson got a call about the fire. Is that how you learned about it?”

“Yes,” Busy says. “Then an instant later, I got an alert on my phone from the Nantucket Current. The Current reported that a house in Pocomo was ablaze and the Nantucket Fire Department was on the scene.”

“Where was Mrs. Richardson during all of this?” Zara asks.

“I’m not sure,” Busy says. “Leslee wasn’t up front with the rest of us. Bull called out for her, then went looking for her.”

“Was she below deck?”

“Either below deck or somewhere else on the boat. There were a few minutes when I don’t remember seeing Bull or Leslee but then eventually we all saw Leslee crying. Bull told Lamont to lower the sails and motor back as fast as he could.”

“Thank you,” Zara says. “I’d like you to stay, if you don’t mind. You’re the only person who seems to know the Richardsons well.”

“Yes,” Busy says. “I’m the only one who’s stuck by them this summer.”

“Stuck by them?” Zara says. “Did something happen?”

Busy waves a hand. “Oh, you know how people gossip.”

Zara had gone through a divorce from a public figure on Martha’s Vineyard; she definitely knows how island people gossip. “Thank you. Please stand by in case we have further questions.”

Mrs. Richardson’s long white sundress is soaking wet and she’s wailing about the things she’s lost. “All those Urban Electric light fixtures!” she says. “The jukebox, my champagne coupes, the seashell fireplace! My Amalfi lemons!”

Amalfi lemons? Zara thinks.

“Leslee, stop,” Mr. Richardson says. Zara is surprised to hear he has an Australian accent. “Coco is missing. She might have drowned.”

“If she did drown, it would serve her right. She burned our house down!”

Oh, boy. Zara peers through a gap in the hedges at the remains of Triple Eight. She understands why they’re upset—they’ve been left without a toothbrush, without a bathrobe or a change of clothes. The house is a charcoal briquette.

One good thing is that their garage is untouched, and it looks like there’s a living space or a home office above. And they still have this garden, which is one of the most breathtaking outdoor spaces Zara has ever seen, with its lush hydrangeas and rosebushes along manicured cinder paths; the centerpiece of the garden is a mahogany hot tub. On the far side of the hot tub, Zara sees the Chief and his daughter talking to Lamont Oakley, the captain of the boat. She hopes the Chief hasn’t started questioning Lamont without her present. When she said they would partner on this one, she meant it.

Dixon’s talking to two men who met the Richardsons while having dinner at the Languedoc. “Sergeant Dixon?” Zara says, trying to convey a sense of urgency. She looks at the gentlemen. “Would you excuse us a moment?”

“Did they find her?” one of the gentlemen asks. He turns to the group assembled behind him: “I think they found her.”

Zara raises a hand. “Whoa, that’s how rumors get started. The harbormaster has launched the search, and when we know more, we’ll announce it.” She beckons Dixon away from the party guests and nods discreetly in the direction of Lamont, the Chief, and his daughter. “I’ll be questioning the principals alongside Chief Kapenash. Just so things are aboveboard.”

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