Page 48 of One of Six

"Wait! Now I remember. Peter was a lawyer too. Richard employed a couple of lawyers."

"Vince worked for his father. Foyle & Son, Attorneys at law.”

"Oh boy! We have Deedee Boyle. She was pregnant, Essex."

He leans over and kisses me. "I know, baby. She's the only one on the list that disappeared and was found. Five days after she went missing. Cause of death: broken neck from a fall. She had several broken bones. It was suspected that she'd been pushed down a flight of stairs. Nothing to prove it happened at home. Her husband accused," his eyes go wide as he meets my gaze, "Richard Lincoln of killing her."

"Is there anything else about her?"

"No, which is odd."

"Not if Richard paid him off," I say with disgust. "I wish I'd never found that list."

"Hey, we can't stop now. If Richard had something to do with their disappearance, maybe we can give their families some closure or something. Maybe the FBI guy can help us. Give him the list and tell him what we've found. He will have more resources to put it all together."

"Do you think we can trust him?"

"He seemed really shocked and upset about your mother. I guess we can. We might need him anyway, so it might be better if we start now."

"Yeah, we?—”

"What the hell!" Ridge suddenly shouts.

I turn to look in his direction and my eyes widen as I see my friend standing on her toes, stretching in nothing but her underwear. She looks hot, which is why Ridge has stopped in his tracks with his fists clenched on either side of him. I glance at Essex and quickly cover his eyes. "Don't look."

"What's going on, Ridge?" Violet drawls. "Never seen a woman in her underwear before?"

"Jailbait," he hisses, "I've never seen anyone rock lacy underwear like you." He looks up and mutters something before staring at Violet. "Please put your clothes back on."

Violet smiles. "I'm too hot in my clothes; besides, these cover more of me than a bikini."

My friend knows exactly how alluring she looks leaning against the side of the boat in her navy bra and panties. They're almost transparent.

"Violet," I say, "Stop teasing, Ridge. Please..."

Essex pulls my hand away. "Nobody looks as good as you in your underwear, baby." He plants a quick kiss on my lips. "Violet, I know you enjoy teasing him, but a man can only take so much."

"Are you saying men are the weaker sex?"

Ridge growls and lunges at Violet. "You're going to get that spanking, I promised you!"

Her eyes widen as she squeals and moves toward her clothes. Ridge grabs her by the waist. "Bea," he shouts, "can Violet swim?"

Oh, dear. "She was on the swim team."

“Traitor!” Violet shouts.

Essex laughs and I grin as I watch them. Ridge pulls down his shorts and kicks them off. He then throws Violet into the ocean and jumps in after her.

"Ridge is in so much trouble." Essex laughs.

"You're right." I snort. "I don't remember what we were talking about."

"Carter. The FBI guy," Essex reminds me. "I'll get in touch with him later and let him know. Not much privacy here... My brothers will be joining us soon."

The words are barely out of his mouth when Atilio, Nico, Boone, and Galen appear. Violet screeches and all four move to look overboard.

"How will your friend react with five Redds in the water with her?"