Page 12 of The Engagement Party

This part of the island angled down a steep embankment toward the open water and a floating dock. Near the causeway around the other side of the house where they first entered the island was the main dock, set on pilings, but the policeman guided his boat here. After a few quick moves with ropes, he tied the boat in place and headed toward them.

“Stay calm,” Alex said. “Let me do the talking.”

Screw that. “I’ve known you about an hour. I’m not going to jail for you.”

“Sierra, please.” He managed to make the request sound more like an order.

They spoke in hushed tones. Words rushed together as they shot comments back and forth.

She didn’t want to get any closer to this screwed-up friends group. “You have ten seconds to explain before I start screaming.”

Alex’s jaw tightened. “We can’t—”

“Nine.”

He looked at Mitch. “Do something.”

She refused to let Alex pull Mitch into whatever this floating horror show was. Not when Mitch stood there, looking so lost. So ready to drop over.

“Don’t act like Mitch controls what I do.” They had a nice life. Boring, maybe. Not as exciting or together as a couple as she wanted, but one without any criminal investigations, and she planned to keep it that way. “Seven, and I’d hurry. This police guy is a fast walker.”

The officer wore a uniform and carried a gun, and both comforted her right now. He might be in his early thirties. His hair touched the top of his collar, which was a bit longer than she was used to on police back home, but his frown looked like his go-to expression. What stuck out was his badge. It flashed in the fading sunlight as he moved closer.

“How did he know to come now?” Alex asked.

“Maybe we got lucky.” Even though Sierra felt anything but at the moment.

Alex plastered on a fake smile and waved to the officer. “Doesn’t matter. I’ll explain after he leaves.”

There’s no way she was agreeing to a scenario where the bloody body stayed locked in with them on an island while the trained guy with the gun left. The officer reached them and nodded hello, but Sierra didn’t respond. Not yet. Once the words started tumbling out they might not stop.

“Good afternoon, folks.” The officer’s gaze wandered over the back end of the wrecked car. Without a word, he stalked in a slow circle around it in the garage, studying every dent and bit of crumpled metal. He stopped his slow surveillance by standing in front of them again. “What’s going on here?”

“We had an accident,” Alex said, sounding fine. Too fine for the circumstances.

“Apparently.” The officer looked ready to say something else then stopped. “Ma’am, are you okay?”

She didn’t have the energy to lie. “No.”

“She’s shaken up because of the car.” Alex shifted until his body partially blocked hers. “Is that why you’re here?”

“Just out on a routine check of the area. Some of the houses on these private islands remain empty for most of the year and that can lead to trouble.” The officer nodded again. “Speaking of which, how exactly did you get the car across the water?”

They didn’t. No one could... and thatno onewas hiding somewhere on the island right now. Not spewing any of that information stole all of her control.

“The tide looked low enough. I thought I could see sand, so I raced over that pseudo bridge of sorts, thinking we’d be fine, but the rock banks on the sides made the drive impossible.” Alex’s smooth voice carried the right mix ofcan you believe itwonder and deference. He sold the wild tale, never giving her or Mitch a chance to contest the facts. “Totally my fault. I smashed up the car and I’m going to have to pay to have it removed. I’ll also reimburse the island’s owners for any damage to the island and path in.”

Why is he lying?Sierra couldn’t figure out if that or the fact he was so good at it scared her more.

The officer put a hand on the partially jimmied trunk. “Do you want me to look—”

“We’re good.” Alex waved the policeman off. Didn’t miss a beat.

Slippery. The word played over and over in Sierra’s head. Mitch’s friend lied like he charmed—with ease. He might have perfected the skills in law school, but she guessed years of practice, both personally and professionally, before and after, explained the level of expertise.

“Look, I’m not going to write a ticket because I figure you have enough trouble ahead of you paying for the removal of the wreck. We’re at high tide. You have about twenty hours before you can move this thing, but don’t delay. There’s an early fall storm rolling in. Expect fog and rain.”

Storm?“Can we leave the island with you now?” She’d been shifting her weight from foot to foot, ready to launch the question.

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