Page 23 of Vacation Friends

Maddie and Adrienne exchanged a smile, the kind forged by a natural, unexplainable bond.

Maybe this trip wouldn’t be so terrible after all, Maddie mused.

But she still had to figure out if her fiancé was trying to kill her.

Maddie and her new friends continued to talk as they finished their meal.

Maddie discovered she had a lot in common with them. They were each from blue-collar backgrounds, three out of the five of them named pizza as their favorite food, and none of them wanted to grow old in New York City.

They’d also discovered they were all doing at least two excursions together. And, of course, Bree and Maddie both liked emus. Bree even did a great impression of them, mimicking the grumbling sound the animal made.

They’d all had a good laugh at that—except for maybe Fowler, who only rolled his eyes. If Josh had been here, Maddie wouldn’t have been able to cut loose like this. He took himself too seriously.

Maddie had never felt like she fit in with the corporate types. She was a pizza and football kind of girl who liked to let down her hair. These people—Josh’s people—were all about climbing corporate ladders, playing golf, and talking about their portfolios.

At a lull in their conversation, voices from the group sitting on the balcony next to them drifted across the water and caught Maddie’s ear—everyone else’s as well, it seemed. They all leaned closer to hear.

“I still can’t believe Jared is dead,” a woman said.

Maddie thought she recognized the woman’s voice from one of the corporate events she’d taken part in.

“That’s Nancy,” Adrienne whispered. “She’s the head of sales at Benchmark.”

So, yes, Maddie had seen her before.

“Is she saying that man worked for Benchmark?” Adrienne whispered.

“That’s what Josh told me earlier,” Maddie said. “I guess you didn’t recognize him?”

Adrienne and Fowler both shook their heads.

“There are so many people at the office, we can’t possibly know everyone,” Adrienne explained.

That made sense.

“I can’t believe he’s dead either,” the woman with Nancy said. “He hated the water. I can’t figure out why he’d want to go swimming. And why so early? It doesn’t make any sense to me.”

“I know! Besides, he’d never let loose like that. He was a workaholic.”

“I heard one of the police officers talking.” Nancy leaned closer to the woman across the table. “They found Jared’s cell phone, and there was a strange text message on it. They’re trying to track down the person he sent it to.”

Maddie froze. Though she’d suspected he might have sent that text, this could be a confirmation.

But why would Jared have sent her that message?

Maddie didn’t like the unsettled feeling in her stomach. Jared hadn’t been out on the beach for no reason. He hadn’t simply gone on a predawn swim wearing sweatpants and a T-shirt.

So what had happened leading to his death?

CHAPTER

TEN

Ten minutes later, Bree and Fowler stood, saying they needed to turn in for the evening.

Maddie considered whether or not she should wrap up this conversation and return to her room when Adrienne’s phone buzzed.

She glanced at the screen and frowned. “If you’ll excuse me a moment.”

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