Page 24 of On The Beach

Okay, so I just needed to find out where they had good scotch on the island and ask around.

"But then he also likes a pint of beer," she continued. "And very partial to tequila. Oh my God, you must think he's analcoholic. But he's not. Now my second husband, he was an alcoholic and?—"

"Lady Augustus? Lady Augustus?" I made a crackling sound with a piece of paper and hung up.

I was getting a sinking feeling that I was on the wrong island. When I'd asked Chief Jenkins when he was letting me out of my cell this morning if he knew of a scientist type who lived in Reef Harbor he'd looked at me like I'd grown horns and then asked me to get out and not get into trouble again.

Mick knew everyone. If he claimed he didn't know anyone who could be one of the greatest scientific minds of our generation, then he didn't. But, of course, they wouldn't run in the same circles, would they? One was a genius, and the last time I'd seen Mick, he'd been chatting with the hotel security guard about betting on the next big lizard race.

I went out of the hotel and walked to the Coral Cove, coming up with a plan. Dr. Nicholas Augustus was a highly-respected scientist, likely drawn to upscale places where he could network with like minds (or enjoy some quiet exclusivity) and drink good Scotch.

"I told you, gal, there isn't no one like that here. Can you see one of those people hangin' out with,"—she waved a hand at Cato who was drinking a pink cocktail with an umbrella in it at eleven in the morning—"the kinda folks who come here?"

"Who serves the best Scotch on the island?" I asked.

"The Tropicana Club," Mick said as he swaggered in. "You clean up nice, Babycakes." He leaned and sniffed me. "Hmm…not a whiff of tequila."

"I'm done with alcohol…for a lifetime," I vowed.

"Yeah, that's what they all say in the morning." Mick took off his sunglasses and set them on the bar counter.Ray-Ban?I knew my accessories, and those were expensive. Mick was an enigma wrapped in a…sexy, sexy body. I licked my lips.

"RiRi, darlin', can I get a double espresso." He sat on abarstool next to Cato and grabbed my hand and pulled. I landed on his lap.

Now, I wasn't the kind of girl who sat on the laps of…well, anyone. I just didn't do that kind of thing.

"You want something, darlin'?" RiRi asked me.

"Same as Mick." I leaned into him because why the hell not. I'd never had a summer or holiday fling, and there was something intoxicating about it. It came with a time limit whether you liked that or not,andthat allowed you to be uninhibited. I felt that I was beingmefor the first time in my life.

The fact that I was a crazy lush wasn't news—but that I was desperate toliveand not just survive was. I'd been feeling the start of burnout at work—the rigor of it, the numerous failures that were part and parcel of working in pharmaceutical research, the endless diseases, the people you couldn't save—because you could never save enough,ever.

My sister said I needed to learn to compartmentalize. That I shouldn't allow people in clinical trials to be more than their patient IDs—but that was not how I was constructed. Anna had not understood why I was chasing down Dr. Augustus.

"Work on something else," she suggested.

"But this can save two lives at least, those that I know of."

"You can't do clinical trials without him signing off on the use of his patent, and he's disappeared. Why waste your time? Start up a new project."

I may have to do that anyway, I thought forlornly because I'd not been able to find the elusive Dr. Augustus, which meant that I couldn't convince him to sign the documents I needed for me to use his patent. I'd also come up with a fantasy that when I met him I'd be able to convince him to come back with me and become part of the team that would use his process to save lives—but that was now becoming moreand more improbable. I'd go home tomorrow, and that was that.

"It's my last day on the island." I sipped my espresso.

Mick's hand on my waist tightened. "Yeah. Wanna do something special?"

I smiled at him. "I need to try real hard to find Dr. Augustus."

RiRi, Cato, and Mick all groaned.

"Give it up, will ya, gal?" RiRi muttered. "He ain't on this island."

"Why do you want him so bad? Mick told us you aren't engaged to him." Cato inquired.

"I…I need him to sign some papers and…I need him to succeed in my job." I finished my espresso and sighed deeply.

"You need him for your job?" Mick asked. There was a hardness in his voice I hadn't heard before.

I nodded. "Yes."

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