Page 50 of Forbidden Whispers

“I know that seems counterintuitive right now, but maybe relaxing for a little while will help you remember something. Besides, we did promise Jaime that we’d go to her beach party which is happening right now.”

Noah studied her for a moment, then he nodded. “Okay, let’s do it. It’s not like we have any new leads to follow anyway.”

“Okay then,” Maggie said. “Let’s beach party!”

They turned toward the car and Noah reached to open her door for her. They both spotted Boon’s water dish on the floor of the back seat at the same time and exchanged a look.

“Oh man! On top of everything else, I can’t believe we lost Boon, too.” Noah said sadly.

Woof!

They both turned around in surprise to find Boon trotting toward them, his leash trailing on the ground beside him. His tail wagged happily as he came to a halt beside them and dropped a scrap of dark fabric from his mouth onto the ground.

“Uhhh,” Maggie said. “Do you think that’s from...?”

Noah grinned. “Definitely looks like the fabric from Nick’s pants to me. I guess we’ll need to drop off one more piece of evidence at the police station before we join the party.”

Chapter 14

After dropping off the piece of fabric at the police station, Noah drove Maggie home and insisted on waiting while she changed for the beach. With Nick and Johnny still on the loose, he had no intention of leaving her alone for a single second.

Afterward, they drove together to his place so he could change. Then they were on their way.

“They’re at the north end of the beach,” Maggie said, looking up from Jaime’s text on her phone.

After parking, Noah attached Boon’s leash while Maggie gathered their small contribution to the party feast, a container of hummus and pita bread that she’d had on hand.

“I hope this isn’t too lame of an offering,” Maggie fretted.

“I’m sure Jaime will understand,” Noah said with a wry smile as they all walked toward the water. “Especially considering how busy we’ve been playing detective and being attacked again and all.”

“True.” She smiled up at him, her honey-colored eyes twinkling, and his heart jumped in his chest. She looked beautiful in a lacy white beach cover-up over her turquoise bikini, her spiraling curls floating on the soft lake breeze. “It’s not like we’re having a typical run-of-the-mill weekend.”

“We definitely are not.” Noah laughed.

A swath of velvety green grass dotted with wooden picnic tables, charcoal grills, and tall shade trees formed Whispering Pines’ small Village Park. It butted up against a stretch of soft, sandy Lake Michigan shoreline. Noah instantly spotted Jaime among a small cluster of people near one of the picnic tables and they made their way over. The tangy scent of the lake mingled with the aroma of food sizzling on the grill, and Noah’s stomach growled. All the adrenaline of the past few hours must have depleted his energy reserves from breakfast.

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