Inspector Charles gives a shudder, probably at the sight of the knife. In fact, he looks devastated, which strikes me as unusual for a hardened senior police officer.
Detective Donna provides the explanation for her boss's behavior. "The Inspector had to deal with a case almost identical to this, two years ago," she says. "Over on the Main Island. Young woman, knife in the chest. Only it wasn't just a young woman. She was the Inspector's niece. About the same age as your friend here. But she was pregnant."
Inspector Charles nods slowly. "In my mind for months I kept seeing that knife sticking from my niece's body." He shudders again and looks decidedly pale. "I still dream about it."
I turn to Kat in alarm. "Then the murderer could be …"
But Detective Donna cuts me off. "The murderer was arrested on the spot. The boyfriend. He had blood on his hands and clothes, standing there almost paralyzed and still holding the knife when we responded to a 911 call. He admitted to the murder. It happened during an argument about the unborn baby and their future. We had two reliable witnesses. He's safely behind bars and there for life."
Chung, the young police officer, has finished his photography and joins us. He kicks at the ground. "Before my time," he says, "but it's still the talk of the station. There hasn't been a murder since then on the islands – until now."
"A terrible crime." Inspector Charles seems to be recovering from the shock. "It should never have happened to someone so young. Maybe these things happen for no clear reason. A sudden compulsion to wound. Who can explain it?"
I'm not sure if he's referring to Sue or to his murdered niece, and I don't like to ask. He seems too shaken. Of course, all murder is terrible, male or female, young or old, friend or stranger. I'm feeling sick just staring down at Sue's body bobbing gently up and down in the small waves.
Inspector Charles says, "All right, everyone into the house." He's looking at all seven of us.
We go into the living room, and subconsciously sit in the same seats we were sitting in before he arrived.
The Inspector asks, "Okay, someone please tell me how th