Page 48

“Diana was here for two days before she disappeared. If she really was blackmailing people, who? And—”
Brie leaned forward. “And you think someone here, on the island, killed her?”
I wanted to temper her enthusiasm—though I was just as excited.
“Maybe,” I said cautiously. “But it could have been an accident.”
“You believe that?”
I shook my head.
“Neither do I.”
“What did Diana do on Friday and Saturday? I mean, on Sunday morning she went to St. John. That was, according to the newspaper, confirmed by the St. John police. You said she went to the spa on Friday, right?”
Brie nodded. “And she spent a lot of time lounging on the beach. That’s where I saw her the most. Reading that book.” She paused, clearly thinking about something specific.
“What do you remember?” I asked.
“Nothing,” she said quickly.
It wasn’t nothing. “Brie, don’t hold back. I told you my theory.”
“What if I saw Gino Garmon in a heated conversation with Diana on Saturday night?”
“The night before she disappeared?”
“Yep.”
“Did you hear what they were arguing about?”
“No. It was late, and I was hanging out at the dock. It’s peaceful there, no one’s around, but it’s off-limits to guests after dark. I was sitting on the back of the ferry looking at the stars,and they were on the beach next to the dock. I heard a shout, thought I was busted, but when I looked over, it was Gino and Diana. He was angry. She was laughing. Then she got mad and pushed him. He walked away first. But I couldn’t hear what they were talking about.”
And now Gino was investigating Diana’s death. That seemed like a huge conflict.
“What do you know about CeeCee and Trevor?” I asked.
She shrugged. “I don’t think either of them have been here before. They came in late Friday night.”
“Can you find out if Trevor’s married?”
Brie grinned. “Easy-peasy.” She pulled out her phone, then groaned.
“What’s wrong?”
“Sherry. Shit.” Brie rolled her eyes. “My dad thinks we need to spend girl time together. He just texted me, reminded me I’m supposed to be back in fifteen minutes so we can ‘do something.’ Like what?Talk?I can’t stand her.”
I thought back to my brief encounter earlier today. “She’s kind of possessive about your dad.”
“Right?” Brie said. “You saw it too. I mean, she’s had two husbands, you know. I don’t trust her.”
I had an idea. “I’m going hiking with CeeCee this afternoon. We’re meeting at the bar. I don’t know why I agreed, except I felt kind of bad for her because she’s so friendly and her boyfriend is working all day. Why don’t you and Sherry join us.”
“You wouldn’t mind?”
“You’d be doing me a favor.”
Brie grinned. “She’ll hate it! Perfect.” She typed rapidly on her phone with her thumbs. I was fast, but Brie beat me. “Now she can’t get out of it, because she won’t say no to my dad.” She turned her phone so I could read the messages.