Page 22

He pulled me up quickly, as if I weighed nothing, then grabbed my elbow to steady me. “Thank you,” I managed to say.
“I’m Gino Garmon, head of security.”
“Oh. Hi. I’m Mia. Mia Crawford. I just arrived today.” I saw my reflection in his mirrored sunglasses.
He dressed like all the other staff at St. Claire, but then I saw that instead of his name,Securitywas embroidered under the logo.
“It was quite heroic of you to risk your life to save that couple,” he said, motioning to the water.
He sounded like he was mocking me, but I couldn’t tell because his eyes were hidden behind his shades.
“I heard a scream—I was wrong.”
“Too many people don’t pay any attention to others.” Now he didn’t sound insulting, but I was certain he was laughing at me on the inside. “I saw the headline you were reading. We don’t get the St. John paper here. May I?”
He extended his hand, and I reluctantly gave him the paper.
Gino read quickly, and I tried not to stare. Tall?Check.Dark?Check.Handsome?Double-check.Broad shoulders with a tapered waist and well-defined muscles. I swallowed and wished I had another drink.
Gino shook his head and made atsk-tsksound. “Tragic.” He folded the paper and handed it back. “I can assure you, St. Claire is a safe island.”
“Did she disappear here or on St. John?”
“I couldn’t say.”
“But the article said she boarded the ferry, right?”
He smiled. “Curious, aren’t you?”
“When a single woman traveling alone disappears, it makes other single women traveling alone curious as to why.”
“Do you feel unsafe?”
“No, but I’d still like to know if she disappeared from St. Claire or if she disappeared from St. John.”
“The St. John police chief has been keeping me informed. She left St. Claire early Sunday morning, was seen exiting the ferry on St. John, told our captain that she’d hire her own boat for the return trip because she didn’t know how long she’d be. And no one has seen her since. The private taxis have all been questioned, and none brought her back to the island.”
“So shewastraveling alone? The newspaper didn’t say either way, but that’s what I’d gathered.”
“She didn’t check in with another party.”
That was an odd way of phrasing the answer. “Did she meet someone here?”
He wasn’t smiling now. He looked like a stern, no-nonsense cop more than a resort security guard. A bit intimidating. “If I was privy to any information that would assist the police in their investigation, I would have told them, and them alone. St. Claire prides itself on our privacy policy, which means no discussing the lives of our guests—on or off the island.”
I would not be deterred. “What do you think happened?”
“I don’t have enough information to make an educated guess.”
“People don’t just disappear.”
“I’m confident that the police will find out what happened. Do not worry about it, Ms. Crawford. Enjoy your vacation.”
Gino smiled and walked down the beach, greeted each guest he passed, then stopped at the poolside bar. He glanced back at me; I quickly averted my eyes.
No, I wouldn’t worry my pretty little head about it, Mr.Security Chief. He might be eye-candy, but his attitude ruled him off my one-night stand list.
At least Jason the bartender wasn’t a jerk.