Page 26 of Vacation Friends

“Very well then.” He pulled out Josh’s empty seat and slowly lowered himself into it. He carefully placed his wrists on the table and glanced around. Then he turned back to Maddie. “I’ll just jump right in. You said you didn’t know Jared. Is that correct?”

The man’s tone was lackluster, as was his expression. But she had the feeling that behind those dull eyes was someone perceptive and quick.

She already had the feeling that his man didn’t like her. She’d become an expert at picking up on undertones of accusation. She sensed those now.

“That’s right,” she finally answered. “My fiancé is the acting CEO for the company, but I don’t work at Benchmark. I only know a handful of employees.”

“I understand. So you just happened to see Jared in the water this morning?”

“Correct. I went out to get some fresh air. I thought I saw something unusual in the ocean. When I took a closer look, I realized a man was struggling in the surf. He called out in distress, so I tried to help him.”

“And then?”

“And then . . . the waves overtook me.” She glanced at Brody. “Thankfully, a former military guy was nearby because it turned out the rescuer needed a rescuer.”

“And you’re that former military guy?” The detective glanced at Brody.

“Yes, sir. By the grace of God, I was in the right place at the right time.”

Maddie shifted, her gut telling her there was more to this conversation than the detective was letting on. “What’s all this about? Jared’s death was an accident, right?”

His expression remained unreadable. “A few things have come up that we’re looking into.”

“Like what?” The question came out before Maddie could stop it.

She knew it wasn’t any of her business and that it wouldn’t be appropriate for the detective to share. But she felt personally involved in this, even if she wasn’t.

She had, however, nearly lost her life trying to save the man.

Should she tell the detective what he’d said to her as waves pummeled them? At least, what Maddie had thought he said? Something about murder?

Probably.

She rubbed her throat, suddenly anxious. “When I tried to rescue him, he was still lucid. He . . . well, I thought he said something about murder.”

Everyone around her went silent.

Finally, Detective Kalani asked, “Something about murder?”

“It was garbled, and the waves were loud, and my adrenaline was pumping. But he looked at me and muttered the word ‘murder.’ And before you ask, I have no idea why.”

Kalani didn’t react with surprise, like Maddie thought he might. His deadpan expression remained.

Instead, he asked, “What’s your cell phone number, Ms. Waters?”

She rattled it off.

He nodded slowly. “We found Mr. Kline’s phone earlier. Not long before he died, he sent a message to an unknown number. We traced that number back to you.”

The blood drained from her face. It was Jared who’d sent her that message.

“Do you want to rethink what you told me earlier?”

She snapped her attention back to the detective. “What? Why would I do that?”

“Why would a man you don’t know text you a message like that? Maybe it spooked you and . . .”

Maddie shook her head, maybe a little too quickly. “I have no idea why he sent me that message. I didn’t even know it was him for sure until now.”

---