Page 97 of Places I've Never Been

“He’s the only one who had the image, as far as we couldfind out.” Mattie crossed to the closet and tossed a few dresses at the suitcase.

“What’s his full name? Was it any of the ones I sent?” Piper asked.

“The manager called him Mr. Donnelly. He introduced himself as Don so I guess it’s Don Donnelly? Seems mean of his parents.”

Piper made a guttural sound, then cleared her throat. “Dammit. That’s him. The Sniper.”

Mattie tugged another armful of clothes out of the closet and dropped them on the bed. “Why do they call him that?”

“Because he specializes in long-range shots. Remember that naked pool shot of Kate Pierce last year? That was him. So was the one of Alec and Janice Duggar in bed with that prostitute. He’s known for squirming his way into places and getting the shot from so far away nobody knows he’s even there. How the hell did this guy get a job on staff at a resort like that?”

“He came through an agency. Supposedly vetted and background checked.” Mattie added handfuls of underwear to the growing pile on her bed.

“He has a rap sheet in twelve states and three open lawsuits against him for trespassing. There’s no way he passed a background check.”

Mattie made a noncommittal sound and folded a pair of underwear, then placed it neatly in the suitcase.

“What are you doing?” Piper said suspiciously.

“Packing. Thanks for looking into it, but you can drop the search now. I’m coming home.”

“Wait a second. Why are you packing? It’s just one photo, and the shot’s nothing exciting.”

“It’s only one shot right now. That could change any second.”

“Mattie, I can’t see anything but a pile of clothes.”

Mattie shoved the pile to the side, then balanced her phone on top of the lamp so Piper could have a better view. “There could be other photos waiting to go live, and I don’t want to be flying commercial when they hit. You know what that’s like.”

“Did you finish all three songs?”

Mattie folded her sunny yellow dress and shoved it into the suitcase. “No. We would have wrapped up the second in the morning. Probably. But we haven’t started the third.” The thought made her head hurt.

“Wait, you’re leaving before the job’s done?” Piper sounded incredulous.

Mattie didn’t want to know what expression was on Piper’s face, so she busied herself with sorting through clothes. “It’s not like I can stay here forever. This place is expensive, and now it’s been violated.”

“Mattie…”

Mattie gestured with a pair of underwear to the covered window. “There’s no walls anywhere, you know? The whole front of the house is wide open. Which at first I thought was creepy, but then it turned into something exotic and romantic. Now that stupid post is out there and everyone knows where we are, and it’s just too exposed. Even if Donnelly is gone, there are plenty of others with cell phones and cameras to take his place.”

“What about the band? What about Adam?”

She shoved the next dress into the suitcase without folding it first. Tears prickled her eyes again. “What about him? This was just a fling. No big deal.”

“Really?” Piper didn’t sound convinced. “You’re ready to let it all go just like that?”

“Yes.” She nodded for emphasis, then stuffed a handful of underwear into a corner of the suitcase. “I only called to let youknow you can stop looking for Don, and that I’m coming home.”

“Mattie…” Her sister’s pleading voice made her want to cry.

“I should go. Abayomi said there’s a shuttle in two hours to take me to the main island.”

“Martha Lee Bellamy,” Piper snapped. “Stop packing and listen to me.”

Mattie expected to see Piper’s stop-being-so-stupid face, but her sister’s forehead was filled with wrinkles of concern and worry.

Piper never worried about anything.

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