Page 28 of Vacation Friends

Does he think she killed Jared?

I resist a smile at the thought.

That turn of events would be so poetic. It would fit right into my plan.

In some ways, Jared may have helped me. Thank you, Jared.

Unfortunately for those around me, I’m not done yet. I have more lessons to teach.

I’m going to need to keep my eye on Maddie.

Four days. Four days until my grand finale—if I can wait that long.

I nearly salivate at the thought of it.

This is going to be one incredibly fun vacation.

I’m going to show everyone that paradise didn’t exist.

CHAPTER

TWELVE

“What is the detective talking about?” Adrienne whispered as she watched Detective Kalani exit the restaurant.

Maddie blinked, her head pounding with a sudden headache. The detective’s words kept playing over and over again in her mind.

Why in the world was Maddie’s name found on a piece of paper in Jared’s room? It didn’t make sense.

And the way the detective had looked at her . . . panic fluttered in her chest, the feeling growing stronger by the second.

She glanced up and realized Adrienne and Brody were waiting for her response, confusion—and concern—on their faces.

She swallowed hard before saying, “Late last night, I got a text from an unknown number. The message said we needed to talk, that there were things I needed to know, but the sender couldn’t type them on the phone.”

“Things about what?” Brody shifted forward, all his attention on Maddie.

“I have no idea. I thought maybe it was the wrong number. I texted back asking who it was, but I never got a response.” She paused and drew in a shaky breath. “I went to meet this person, and when I got there, I thought I’d been stood up. Then I saw that man in the water and knew I had to help. I wasn’t sure if it was the person who’d sent the text or not. But I couldn’t just stand there and do nothing.”

A cry lodged in Maddie’s throat. She quickly took a sip of water to drown it before the sound escaped.

Adrienne placed a hand on Maddie’s back. “I can only imagine how stressful this must be for you. But you have an alibi for last night, right? Josh? He should be able to verify that wasn’t you arguing with Jared.”

That familiar feeling of dread swirled in Maddie’s gut, the one she experienced every time she had to explain herself. She wasn’t ashamed of her new convictions, but she did hate the judgment she usually received from people.

“Josh and I aren’t actually staying in the same room,” Maddie explained, keeping any emotion out of her voice. “It’s a long story.”

She didn’t want to get into it now. Didn’t want to see the assumptions in their eyes.

Josh wasn’t happy about the arrangement.

But three months ago, Maddie had been in a car accident. She’d survived, but her whole life had flashed before her eyes when she was stopped in traffic on a bridge and the car behind her barreled into her.

Her Camry had burst through the guardrail and teetered precariously on the edge of the bridge for what felt like hours.

Rescuers had warned Maddie not to move, had told her that one shift in the weight could send the vehicle toppling.

Her anxiety had skyrocketed, and she’d been certain she would die.

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