Page 9 of The Engagement Party

Talk about a conversation curveball.Sierra wondered if she’d blanked out for a second and missed a topic shift. “Are we saying random words? If so, I pickcoffeemaker.”

“No. I mean the garage door is open. It was closed.” Ruthie turned around to the rest of the group. “Did one of you go in there?”

Mitch frowned. “Isn’t the bigger question something like, Why is there a garage on an island?”

“They wouldn’t have been able to get into it, hon. Remember? It’s locked,” Will said as he moved closer to the window and had a turn looking outside.

Ruthie took over the explanation. “When we first got here, we walked around the island. There’s a bunch of outbuildings, like a shed and a boathouse. Another place for storage. We were given keys. I tried to open the garage lock but couldn’t.”

Okay, weird.Sierra didn’t like weirdness because she couldn’t control it.

“Yeah, no key for the garage or the shed.” Will acted unconcerned, as opposed to the rest of the room.

“Is there a caretaker on the premises?” That sounded a bit more Scooby-Doo than Sierra wanted, so she tried again. “Like, a property management person?”

“I picked up the keys before we left New York. We’re supposed to be here alone, but then who opened the garage?” Ruthie asked.

After a few seconds, Cassie’s wary expression morphed into a smile. “This is some sort of puzzle or joke, right? A mystery weekend type of thing.”

Ruthie shook her head. “No.”

“Hold it.” Cassie set her glass down. “Before our imaginations run wild, let’s think of a reasonable explanation. Maybe the lock fell off.”

“That’s not how locks work,” Mitch said as he took a step back from the crowd at the window.

The men started talking over each other while Sierra scanned the yard and the greenhouse, over to the small toolshed and the area surrounding the lap pool, now covered in preparation for winter. Her gaze bounced along the grass and through the trees. Skimmed past the piles of falling vibrant leaves, past the empty gazebo.

One question screamed in her head, so she said it out loud. “If someone else is on the island... where are they? Why would they hide?”

Chapter Eight

Alex

“There’s a reasonable explanation.” Alex made the comment more to ease the panic inching its way up his throat than to convince anyone else. Garage door locks didn’t fly open on their own, but he was determined to pretend they could.

“Clearly it’s a gardener or someone like that. Go out there and check.” The warning in Cassie’s keep-your-shit-together expression suggested he do it now.

“Come on. This must be a joke of some kind. I’ll go with you,” Will said.

“Actually, you can help me.” Cassie issued orders and rallied the troops in her usual no-nonsense style. “You and Ruthie have been around the property. You know the floor plans and general layout.”

Will snorted. “We’ve only been here a day.”

“Still.” Cassie put an arm around Ruthie and the other around Will as she corralled them and guided them in the direction she wanted them to go, which seemed to be toward the staircase to the second floor. “Those three will check the garage while you two fill me in on the rest of the property in case we need to break into groups and do a bigger search.”

Mitch made a strange noise. “Do I get a vote about going to the garage?”

“I was wondering the same thing.” Sierra shifted closer to Mitch until barely a whiff of air separated them. “Honestly, I’m not sure we should split up. This could be dangerous.”

Cassie refused to ruffle. “Or it’s perfectly innocent and no big deal.”

Sierra frowned. “Then why didn’t the person who opened the lock knock on the door and explain why they’re here?”

It sounded like a fair question to Alex.

“Okay, look.” Cassie exhaled before untangling her arms and holding up both hands. “Let’s stay calm and not make this into a thing.”

Alex could count on Cassie to be Cassie in any situation. Nothing shook her. She handled things. She took command and cleaned up messes. Skills she’d been forced to learn because her mother’s untreated depression shoved the responsibility onto Cassie.

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