“Mate in three. Takes, takes. Pawn to e-seven. Rook takes on e-seven; check. King to d-six. Rook to e-six; checkmate.”


    We sat around the coffee table in Tamara’s living room. The walls were hung with paintings and a metal chandelier swayed above us. The curtains were thrown back, and light poured in through a dusty window.


    “Wow,” I said. “Good game.”


    We shook hands, and Tamara quietly reset the board. Before she was done, she glanced up at me. “How’s the hotel?”


    “Good.” I took a deep breath and I leaned back into the couch. “Couldn’t believe it’s free.”


    “Free as promised.” Tamara smiled briefly.


    “A staff barged in on me without knocking,” I said, gauging her reaction.


    She continued resetting the board, but said, “Did you find out their name?”


    “No,” I lied. “But if I see him again, I will.”


    “Do that.”


    She sat back and we played a few moves while Gunther set the table.


    “So what happened to your mom?”


    The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.


    Tamara raised her eyes to mine. After a moment she answered. “My mom was looking for her little brother. He went missing when they were kids.”


    “She was?”


    “You didn’t know that?”


    “I thought she was hiring me to do that. Did she find out what happened to him?”


    “I think she was close. These are her notes.” She handed me a red folder. I opened it and spread some of the papers on the table.


    “Wow. New York, LA… This a National park? She went all over the place.”


    “Yeah. She needed to see everything for herself.” Tamara lifted a sheet of paper out of the pile.”


    “What makes you think she was close?”


    “I don’t know. She’s been looking for him all year, flying all over the country. She must have gotten close right?”


    “Maybe. Not necessarily.”


    “She was murdered wasn’t she?” Tamara set her piece down hard.


    I looked up from the chess board. “You think she was murdered in connection with the investigation?”


    She sighed. “I guess I do, yeah.”


    “Where was her last trip?”


    “I wish I knew, because when she came back to this island, that’s when she was murdered. I guess you’ll want to see where it happened?”


    “The train tracks right?”


    “Right over the hotel.”


    “When can I see it?”


    “Soon as we’re done here.”


    The chess board sat between our plates. Between bites, we played a few moves in silence. Tamara stared at the board.


    “Your opening is pretty strong,” she said. A pawn hung from her fingers.


    “I just know the one. By the way, I read the paper this morning. Your mom died of ‘natural causes.’”


    “Check.”


    “Just check?”


    “Mate.”