Page 98 of Beach Reads and Deadly Deeds

ttyl

The first two were sent thirty minutes ago when Gino pulled me away from the others. The last two were sent only a couple of minutes ago.

I felt bad putting Brie in this situation in the first place, but I was too overwhelmed by the events of the evening—of the last two days—to think about anything but a hot shower. Ireallyneeded to decompress.

The bathroom mirror was not my friend. Caked mud everywhere I could see, leaves in my hair, my dress—the first time I’d worn it—a lost cause, stained and torn. Why hadn’t I changed when Brie and I decided to follow Amber and Parker? I loved this dress.

I turned on the glorious rain shower, stripped off my clothes and, near tears, threw everything in the trash. I stepped under the hot spray and winced when the water hit dozens of small cuts, but I didn’t move until the water ran clear. Slowly washed my body and hair, thinking about what Gino had said and how his subtle threat both scared and angered me.

When I was stuck at the bottom of that damn hole, I’d been ready to turn over everything I had to Gino and Tristan and be done with it. But how could I turn over what I knew of Diana’s book if Gino was the one who killed her? I didn’tknowhe’d killed her. Maybe he was just a jerk. Yet he was pushing so hard on the theory that she’d been killed on St. John, maybe to divert attention away from him? And if I told him about the young teen who had brought Diana back to the island, would he be convinced that Diana had died on St. Claire—or would I put the kid in danger?

He had motive and opportunity, and his behavior was more than a little suspicious. He had purposefully intimidated me, and I couldn’t discount his heated conversation with Amberandthe argument Brie had witnessed between him and Diana. Plus the threat.Especiallythe threat. That he would do anything to find out “what I was up to” could just be macho crap, but it was the way he said it. Hewantedto scare me.

And clearly, I couldn’t trust his goodfriend Juan Diego, the St. John police chief.

Would Tristan listen to me? He had shown nothing but concern for my well-being and that of his staff and guests. My initial fear that he might be inclined to cover up a murder because it would be bad publicity seemed weak. It was more logical that he’d want a quick, quiet resolution to head off bad publicity. I needed to think how to approach him with what I knew.

Then there was Sherry. Where did her bizarre behavior fit in? I understood the insecurity and overprotectiveness toward her boyfriend. Some people are just wired to be possessive. But she’d really overstepped at the spa, then intimidating me on the ferry. She was up to something, but was it dangerous? HadDiana blackmailed her so she hired that creepy guy on St. John to kill her?

While I was stuck about what Ishoulddo, I knew what Ishouldn’tdo, so that was a plus, right?

Food. Sleep. Then maybe a solution would present itself in the morning.

I regretted picking up the damn book in the first place. If I’d never seen Diana’s musings, never suspected blackmail, never followed Amber and Parker up the mountain, I would be naked with Jason Mallory right now.

When I stepped out of the shower, I felt more human. I dried off, lathered my body with lavender-shea body lotion, then brushed out my hair, leaving it wet down my back while I wrapped myself in one of the plush bathrobes.

A brisk knock on my door made me jump.

I held my robe tight against me and looked through the peephole.

Andrew Locke?

I opened the door. “Can I help you?”

“We need to talk about my daughter,” he said. He made a move to come inside, then hesitated and asked, “May I?”

I nodded. He stepped inside and stood in the small sitting area, clearly uncomfortable. I offered an olive branch. “Brie is terrific,” I said. “I like her a lot. We kind of bonded, I guess because we were both raised by our dads.”

I was nervous, so I rambled. I could see why he might be upset that his daughter was hanging out with someone who got her in trouble with resort security.

“I don’t want to make a big deal about this, but I’m very concerned about what happened tonight. My daughter says you were hiking, but she didn’t tell me she was leaving the resort, and I didn’t know where she was. She could have been hurt—you both could have been hurt. I talked to Tristan about the situation. He blames himself and staff for not clearly marking the pit. I don’t blame you. It was an accident, and Brie wasn’t injured. Still, I think you should minimize your time together.”

I blinked, not knowing how to respond. He was chastising me in the nicest way possible, so there really was nothing to say. If he was over-the-top angry, I could easily point out that Brie was an adult and could make her own decisions about who she socialized with. But he was being a dad, and I thought about my own dad and how concerned he had been for my well-being. He would have done the exact same thing as Andrew.

So I nodded in agreement.

“Thank you, Mia.”

I opened the door to let him leave, then said, “I really do enjoy spending time with Brie. This vacation is unusual for me, and I’m here alone. She’s one of the few people who has made an effort to include me. I didn’t mean to overstep.”

“I appreciate that,” he said, then smiled. “Brie is a great kid, isn’t she? I know she’s eighteen and going off to college, but she’s still my little girl. She wasn’t happy that I brought Sherry with us, but I’m hoping that now that we’re getting married, she’ll accept her. Sherry can’t replace her mother, I know that—Brie knows that. It’s a new beginning for both of us.”

Brie’s fears were right—Andrew had proposed to Sherry.

“Congratulations,” I said automatically. “I didn’t know you were engaged.”

“Tonight. It was a bit spontaneous, but I’ve had the ring for a few weeks, and it seemed like the right time. I hope Brie can forge a relationship with Sherry like she did with you.” He held out his hand, and I shook it. “I’m glad you’re okay, Mia.”

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