Page 116 of Beach Reads and Deadly Deeds

Discussed repeated trips to St. Croix. Gino assured me he is no longer gambling.

Gambling would explain a lot. It might explain why he left the police force, if he was taking money from busts and spending it on cards or horses. It would also explain what Diana might have on him. The big question was,howwould Diana know about Gino Garmon? Did someone tell her? Had she researched staff before she arrived? Most of the guests were wealthy, so she might have been in their same circles or read gossip rags or could call friends for dirt. But staff was distinctly different.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw movement near the bar. A staff member came in with supplies. He was of slight build, an older teen. There was something familiar about him—it was the way he moved.

A flash of me treading water after jumping into the ocean that first day... and the person who was going through my things. I’d had a sense it was ahe, someone not too big. Someone who moved like a teenager...

“Hey, you—” I glanced at his chest. He wore a thin jacket, and I couldn’t see his name tag.

He looked at me, eyes wide, and I knew this was the kid who had torn the page from my book.

Then he turned and walked away as if I hadn’t spoken to him.

I glanced around for Callie, but she was talking to the older women. I pursued the kid. He walked briskly through the center of the resort, not running, but with purpose—and the purpose was to avoid talking to me.

“Hey!” I called. No one was at the registration desk, and I didn’t see any staff around to help. The kid entered the spa, and I followed.

He wasn’t in the lobby. I opened the door to the treatment rooms, and he wasn’t in the hall, but I remembered from my massage that there was another exit.

I left and ran around to the back just as he exited the building.

I grabbed his arm. “Stop,” I said in my sternest voice. “Do I need to take you to security?”

Eyes wide, he shook his head rapidly back and forth. “What? I didn’t do anything.”

“You tore a page from my book. Why?”

“Me? No.”

But he averted his eyes, clearly lying. I wasn’t a good liar, but this kid was even worse.

“Yes, you. Someone else stole the book from my room. Or was that you, too? Did you steal the wrong page, so took the entire book?”

“I didn’t! I swear. Please—I’ll lose my job.” His eyes darted left and right as if looking for an escape.

“I won’t tell security if you tell me why you took that page.”

His lip quivered. He genuinely looked terrified. “I can’t. He’ll—look, ma’am, I’m sorry. I don’t have the page. I—I—I gave it to someone. And I—I didn’t take the book. I swear, I didn’t take the book, just the one page.”

“Who did you give it to?”

“I can’t.” Then he kicked me in the shin and ran.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

“Life is an adventure to be lived, not a series of repetitive days to survive.”

—Lucy Score,Riley Thorn and the Dead Guy Next Door

I had a bruise on my shin from where the jerk kid kicked me. It blossomed into a dark purple blotch pretty quick.

I didn’t want to go to Gino, but someone needed to know what happened. I considered telling Jason and asking him what to do about the situation, but I didn’t want to drag him into this.

I headed over to the administrative office and found Tristan and Kalise both working. “Hi, do you have a minute?” I asked.

“Of course,” Kalise said with a smile. “You look very nice this evening.”

“Thank you,” I said. “I had an issue with one of your staff members.” I’d thought through how I wanted to address the situation. If he was concerned about losing his job, maybe the kid would tell his boss the truth.

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