The Frame

By Alan Refkin

An Italian shipbuilding magnate and a prostitute are found dead beside each other in the bedroom of a luxurious mansion at a famous resort in Bali. A hidden security camera shows the only other person to enter that room was the victim’s ex-wife, the resort manager. When the police discover she volunteered to help room service at the last minute and delivered the food, which the autopsy confirmed contained the poison which killed them, she moves to the top of the suspect list. As if to put a cherry on their case, the police find a bottle of that poison in her purse.

Turning to the only person she believes can help, the accused murderess asks Gunter Wayan, a disgraced former police detective turned private investigator, to take the case. Believing it to be a waste of time, given the pile of evidence against her, he grudgingly accepts. However, as he delves further into the evidence, he finds that perception is not reality.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Sep 13, 2021
• ISBN: 9781663228789

Alan Refkin

Alan Refkin has written fourteen previous works of fiction and is the co-author of four business books on China, for which he received Editor’s Choice Awards for The Wild Wild East and Piercing the Great Wall of Corporate China. In addition to the Mauro Bruno detective series, he’s written the Matt Moretti-Han Li action-adventure thrillers and the Gunter Wayan private investigator novels. He and his wife Kerry live in southwest Florida, where he’s working on his next Mauro Bruno novel.

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Copyright © 2021 Alan Refkin.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, incidents, organizations, and dialogue in this novel are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

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ISBN: 978-1-6632-2877-2 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-6632-2878-9 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2021918657

iUniverse rev. date: 09/10/2021

CONTENTS

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

Author’s Notes

Acknowledgments

About The Author

To my wife, Kerry

Mike and Zoie Smith

CHAPTER 1

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Bali, Indonesia

"E KA, THIS IS Anna ," the message began in a frantic voice that sounded as if the caller was also crying. " I’m in serious trouble, and I don’t know who else to call. Could you come to the Bulgari and bring Wayan? I’ll meet you in the lobby. There’s been a double murder at the resort, and I’m going to be the prime suspect.   Hurry, time is critical. "

We need to get to the Bulgari, Gunter Wayan said to Eka Endah after listening to the message on her phone.

Wayan was a private investigator and a former police detective. He was kicked off the force for taking five thousand dollars from a stack of millions during a drug bust, using the money to pay for medical treatment for his late wife that his insurance company considered experimental. Wayan was five foot, seven inches tall, with short black hair and coffee brown skin. His assistant, Eka Endah, was a five-foot, six-inch tall statuesque brunette with silken hair cascading over her shoulders. She was athletic looking with shapely legs, ample breasts, hazel eyes, and tawny brown skin. Minutes earlier, they’d stepped off a chartered jet from Hong Kong where they’d brought down an illegal money laundering enterprise called The Organization. Assisting them were Major Langit Tamala and Captain Bakti Nabar, special forces officers with the Indonesian military who took vacation leave to help their friends and were now returning to base.

It’s not like Anna to ask for help. She’s one of the most self-reliant people I know, Eka said.

We owe her. If she hadn’t hidden us from Dhani, we’d be dead, Wayan stated, referring to Captain Riko Dhani, a corrupt cop who worked for The Organization and who Tamala killed. Dhani was Wayan’s partner on the police force when they were detectives.

The taxi took forty minutes to get to the Bulgari resort in Uluwatu, a breathtakingly beautiful area whose cliffs overlooked the Indian Ocean. The resort was atop of one of those cliffs. Anna met them in the lobby and ushered them into a golf cart parked on a cobblestone path a short distance away.

Here are room keys to a two-bedroom villa, Anna said, handing them each a plastic key card. You’re my guests for as long as you like. I comped everything; just put your room number on the check and sign it.

Forget about us. What’s going on with you? Eka asked with deep concern.

It’s better if I show you, she said, continuing on a path that meandered until it eventually ended at a row of five mansions that stood majestically overlooking the Indian Ocean. The surrounding area was heavily landscaped with colorful trees, magnificent flowers, and deep green grass. Anna pulled the golf cart into the driveway of the last mansion.

This is as big as my apartment building, Wayan commented.

It’s forty-eight-thousand-square-feet, Anna replied.

This must be a big-ticket to rent.

It is, but there are many people with money, and it’s seldom vacant.

They walked inside. Anna led the way into the foyer and through an open set of double doors to their left, which led into the master suite. She didn’t have to tell them what to look for because the naked bodies of an older man and a young woman were in the center of the bed.

Wayan stepped closer and looked at the corpses, keeping his hands in his pockets so that he would not inadvertently touch anything. Since the police aren’t here, can I assume we’re the only ones who know about this? he asked as he continued looking at the bodies.

Anna said that assumption was correct.

Tell us what you know.

I was bringing a tray of chocolate-covered strawberries into the bedroom. I dropped the tray when I saw the bodies. I was in a state of shock for about thirty minutes, trying to figure out what to do. That’s when I called Eka.

Did you touch the bodies?

I put my finger under their noses and on their necks to see if I could detect a breath or pulse. I didn’t feel either.

Did you move the bodies?

No.

Wayan took a deep breath and ran a hand through his hair. Take it from a former detective that not calling the police was a big mistake. Police officers know that finding a body is a traumatic experience. Their training teaches them that anyone who doesn’t call the police or ask for medical assistance has a reason for waiting. Phone them now. Don’t worry about the resort’s reputation.

I wasn’t worried about that; I was concerned that the police would think I killed them.

Why? What am I missing?

The dead man is my ex-husband, and the young woman is a call girl. I know because I arranged for her to come to the mansion.

You arranged a prostitute for the man you divorced? Go slow, tell me about your ex-husband, and explain everything you know about this situation. Let’s start with his name, Wayan said. Is it Bello?

It’s Ercole Mazza.

Was Bello your surname before you married?

Anna nodded that it was.

Where did your ex-husband live? It’s not in Bali since he’s staying at the resort.

He lived in Trieste, Italy. I’m originally from there.

His age?

Sixty-two.

Occupation?

He owned a shipbuilding company. He recently sold it.

Children?

None.

How long were you married?

I married him in 1994 at eighteen. We divorced six years later.

Why?

Because the only bed he didn’t sleep in was mine.

Did you want to keep that streak alive by arranging for him to sleep with another woman? That makes no sense and sounds suspicious because that’s the reason you divorced him, Wayan said disbelievingly. If it looks that way to me, it also will to the police. How do I delicately ask this question?

A threesome? Anna asked. No. That’s disgusting.

Not any more than hiring a prostitute for your ex-husband.

Regardless, I didn’t kill them, and I don’t know how they died.

Wayan looked closely at the bodies. I don’t see blood or a wound. Therefore, I doubt they were shot, stabbed with a knife, or bludgeoned. Since their faces are contorted, I’m betting they were poisoned. The champagne and tin of caviar beside them would be my guess how it was introduced into their bodies.

That’s why the police will think I did it.

Explain that to me.

I was helping the kitchen staff and delivered the champagne and caviar.

Do you help in the kitchen often?

On occasion.

A prostitute in bed with your husband, preparing and delivering one or more items which may have contained the poison, and waiting to call the police. They have enough to arrest you, Wayan conceded.

You need a talented lawyer, Eka added.

Even though everything showing I’m the killer is circumstantial, I don’t believe any lawyer is good enough to win this case at trial. If I were on a jury and listened to what the prosecutor will likely say, I’d vote to convict. That’s why I need you both to find the killer.

Wayan said as he looked closely at Anna. You’re holding something back. Tell us what it is.

I’ve told you everything.

No, you haven’t. I was a detective far too long not to know when someone isn’t giving me the entire story. You’re flinching, backing away with your arms crossed, and glancing past instead of at me. Those are classic signs that someone is dishonest or holding something back. Since I’ll take your word that you didn’t kill anyone, that narrows it down to concealing something from me.

Tell him, Anna, Eka said encouragingly.

The police will eventually find out, Wayan added. I worked with many of the current detectives. They’re exceptionally good at their job. If Eka and I are going to clear you, they can’t learn about something before us.

Anna cleared her throat and looked towards Eka, who came over and held her friend’s hands between hers.

Let’s go back, Wayan said, changing course to ratchet the tension down. Why is your ex-husband here? He could have chosen any number of great hotels in Bali. This wasn’t a coincidence.

Tears started running from Anna’s eyes. This isn’t the first time he’s stayed here. We were reconciling.

The police, and the prosecutor getting this case, will believe that’s a convenient story concocted by a guilty party since the only person who can corroborate it is dead. Even if they go along with it, the prosecutor might spin it to the jury that the reconciliation fell flat, and you got jealous of the prostitute and poisoned them. They might also say that you were only reconciling to get his money and was afraid that the bimbo in his bed was going to get it instead of you.

I don’t care about Ercole’s money. He wrote me a big check when we divorced.

How big?

Twenty-five million dollars.

Wayan looked as if someone slapped him in the face. Eka registered her surprise when her mouth opened slightly, and her eyes widened.

You’ve worked at this resort for a long time, Eka said. Why, if you don’t need the money?

I’ve worked at the resort for seventeen years, but that was by choice and not necessity. After my divorce settlement, my attorney’s law firm presented me with an opportunity from one of their branded apparel clients who wanted to license their name to a world-class Asian resort which the licensee would build.

You designed and built this resort, Eka said, her voice showing surprise that her friend hadn’t told her any of what she’d just heard.

I did.

How much of it do you own?

All of it.

The rumor is that a Saudi prince or Japanese billionaire owns it.

I started those rumors.

Does anyone besides us know about your ownership?

My attorneys and accountants. Technically, the resort is owned by an offshore corporation that I own.

How much is this resort worth? Wayan asked.

The most recent appraisal for insurance purposes puts the replacement cost at sixty million dollars.

And you don’t want the staff to know because …? Wayan asked, his voice trailing off to show it was a question.

My relationship with them would change from being an employee and part of the family to one of owner-employee. I like the current dynamic.

Why don’t you live in one of these mansions? Come to think of it, where do you live?

In the cliffside villa next to the one in which you and Eka are staying. I intended to move into this mansion with Ercole once we reconciled. We spoke about adopting children and felt this would be the perfect home.

You said he sold his shipbuilding company in Italy. I assume he received a pile of cash.

He didn’t receive the cash; his foundation did. Ercole transferred the company’s shares into it before the transaction closed. It gave him tax advantages. I’m on the board of the foundation, but I don’t want to get into that now.

Not a suitable answer for someone trying to help you. Do you control the foundation now that he’s dead?

Yes, although there’s another board member. I have three of the five votes.

That will look extraordinarily bad to the police.

I’m aware.

For the moment, keep the foundation and the sale of the company to yourself. If the police ask you about either, answer honestly. What about the prostitute?

She frequents the bar. In the past, I’ve asked her and others in her profession to leave if I believe they’re soliciting or annoying our guests. If they’re here to have a drink, they’re welcome to stay. This lady, Anna said, pointing to the dead prostitute, respected my rules, and I got to know her.

And you asked her to have sex with your husband?

No. As Ercole and I discussed reconciling, I came up with a plan to be with him at night and not arouse suspicion from the staff that we were involved. A single man staying in one of these mansions, a trek from the main part of the resort and its amenities, warrants attention. After all, he didn’t need the space and could get the same view from a cliffside villa at a fraction of the price.

You had him stay here so no one would notice you were coming and leaving, Eka said.

Precisely. I let word get around that he was sleeping with a prostitute, although she slept in one of the guest bedrooms while Ercole and I occupied the master suite. She would leave in the late morning, ensuring that the groundkeepers and others saw her. Word got around. I paid her well to eat and watch TV.

But she isn’t in the guest bedroom. She and your ex-husband are both naked and in bed together. The police will find it difficult to believe your version of why she’s here, Wayan said.

I can’t explain it, but I know he wouldn’t cheat on me again. Please, I need you both to find who framed me and give the police the proof to convict who did it, she implored.

There was a knock on the door. When Anna opened it, a five-foot, ten-inch-tall man with soft brown skin and an extended stomach, showing he had a good twenty-five pounds of unwanted weight, stood before her. Behind him were two uniformed officers.

Ms. Anna Bello? the overweight person asked.

Yes.

I’m detective Suton Persik. He removed the creds from his inside jacket pocket and showed them to her. Someone called the station and reported that a double homicide occurred here. Do you know anything about that? he asked, pushing the door open without waiting for a response.

CHAPTER 2

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"H ELLO,