Page 46 of Vacation Friends

“Yes, that’s all.” Her muscles ratcheted tighter.

“But you’re verifying that you did talk to Jared?” he continued to press.

“I did talk to him.” Maddie swallowed hard, trying not to show her panic. But she knew this looked bad, even if the conversation had been innocuous. “But I didn’t know who he was at the time. The conversation we had wasn’t significant. We were two strangers passing at the airport and making small talk.”

She, however, knew based on the look in Detective Kalani’s eyes that he didn’t believe her.

But an idea hit her. “Have you checked the resort’s keycard entries? You can see who came and went during the night.”

His gaze remained unchanged. “We’re looking into that.”

“Good. Then you’ll see it couldn’t have been me.”

At least in theory that was true.

She couldn’t be blamed for Jared’s murder. She would do everything in her power to make sure that didn’t happen.

Maddie couldn’t let panic take hold. She’d been in tough situations before. She would be in them again.

The important thing was to keep a cool head, even when the heat turned up.

She stared Detective Kalani square in the eye, ready to make her case. “I’m innocent.”

He didn’t break eye contact as he said, “You’re not leaving the resort before this retreat is over, are you?”

Her heart pounded in her ears, each beat deafening as the implications of what he was saying washed over her. “No. I’m staying until the end.”

“Good. Make sure it stays that way.” He gave her a pointed look.

Before she could say anything else, Josh stepped through the front doors and strode toward them. He’d been talking to a couple of colleagues outside.

He paused beside Maddie and planted a quick kiss on her temple. The sweet gesture was a contrast to his earlier sharp words and selfish actions. Was he simply putting on a good show for anyone watching? Most likely.

He looked at the detective, and his brow scrunched. “Everything okay here?”

“Yes, the detective was just asking for some more details about what happened with Jared,” Maddie quickly said before Kalani could answer.

“That’s still crazy to think about.” Josh snaked an arm around her waist. “That could have really turned out so differently.”

Her first urge was to stiffen, but she reminded herself to stay loose and not draw any attention.

“But I’m glad it didn’t,” Josh continued, his voice softening. “I’m glad you’re still here.”

Yes, he’d had a total mood shift from earlier.

Maddie stole a glance at the detective, wondering what he was thinking. At least he hadn’t indicated to Josh that she might be a suspect.

Not yet.

But she was on borrowed time.

The fact remained that if the detective began to dig deep enough into her past, he’d have even more reasons to suspect her as a killer.

Maddie didn’t want anyone to know certain things about her history. No one would ever look at her the same way if they found out. They wouldn’t even take time to hear her explanation.

“Well, I need to be going.” Detective Kalani took a step back and nodded stiffly. “But I’ll be seeing the two of you around.”

“I need to get going also. I have another meeting.” Josh glanced at Maddie. “But I’ll see you at the luau later, right?”

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