Page 115 of Beach Reads and Deadly Deeds

—Lewis Carroll,Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

After my shower, I was relaxing on the patio when Braden called.

“Is everything okay?” I immediately asked, almost jumping out of my recliner.

I could think of a hundred things that might have gone wrong at the office. I began to panic because I hadn’t been watching the news, I hadn’t read even one financial paper since I’d arrived on the island, and my neglect meant I’d let all my clients down.

“Fine,” he said, sounding odd. “Are you okay?”

“You’re calling me on a Friday afternoon. I thought the stock market crashed or something.”

He laughed. “Mia, the world is running surprisingly smoothly right now. No major or minor upheavals in the market. I’ve reviewed all client accounts per your instructions, and there are no issues. I adjusted Mrs. Grossman’s portfolio as you indicated and sent her a revised statement.”

“Thanks,” I said, and relaxed. “I know you’re on top of everything. I just worry.”

“You wouldn’t be you if you didn’t,” he said. “I’m calling because you wanted information.”

“Right.” I’d forgotten. “Sherry Morrison.”

“I emailed you a bunch of stuff, but the gist of it is that she’sin financial hot water. She filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy last year. I pulled the filing and sent it to you, but the basics are she’s being forced to sell her house to pay for her debt. The problem is she doesn’t have much equity—she took out a second mortgage with really bad terms shortly after her husband died. The only reason to accept those terms, in my opinion, was because her credit was shot and she had erratic income. I could run her credit—”

“No, I don’t want to cross a line. I’m doing this for a friend, but I don’t want you or me to get into trouble. You’re sure it’sherChapter 13?”

“Yes. A lot of credit card debt, the two mortgages, and tax liens.”

“Did you find out anything about her employment? She has a business.”

“I don’t think she does much business. She doesn’t advertise. Her website was last updated three years ago. Did you know that she’s been seen on the arm of a bunch of different professional sports players?”

“I know,” I said.

“What’s really going on?” Braden asked.

“I’ll tell you everything when I get home.”

“Are you sure you’re okay? You sound preoccupied.”

“I’m great. I’m relaxing on my own private beach. I have plans this evening I’m really looking forward to.” I might or might not tell him about falling into the pit.

“Well, then, I’ll see you next week.”

I ended the call and realized my trip was half-over. Yet... the resort was giving me three free days for finding a dead body. Depending on how things went with Jason tonight, maybe I should ask to extend my vacation by three days. Considering I had rarely taken time off for the last five years, I knew Stuart wouldn’t care. He’d probably be thrilled.

A flood of anxiety washed over me. Ineededto be in the office next week. I trusted Braden, of course, but I had duties and responsibilities and clients who depended on me. If I told themI would be back from my vacation on Wednesday, I needed to be back from my vacation on Wednesday.

The thought of going back to my office was borderline depressing.

I pushed all that aside and realized that I was hungry. I hadn’t finished the sandwich because I’d been too nervous after Tristan flagged us down. I didn’t know what Jason had planned, but I didn’t want to be hangry when we met up. I headed to the Blue Dahlia for a snack and a second drink to settle my nerves. Not nerves—it was more the thrill of anticipation as I let my mind wander back to that kiss last night.

It was surprisingly quiet as I walked to the bar. No kids playing, only a few people lounging on the beach. The pool was unmoving. Two people sat at the pool bar, and four women in yoga clothes were the only guests at the Blue Dahlia, drinking and eating appetizers from the perpetual buffet.

I made myself a small plate of food and sat at the bar, where Callie was still working, and asked her for another of her delicious spritzers.

I went through the images of Diana’s book on my phone, working through all the angles. There were a lot of reasons to blackmail someone—adultery, stealing from a business partner, some unknown crime, more. Or, as Anja was going through, exposing a long-held secret that would hurt people but wasn’t a crime.

Secrets... Ultimately, blackmail came down to a secret that someone was willing to pay to keep buried. But how long would someone pay? At some point, the truth would get out... unless the blackmailer was confident that Diana was the only one who knew the secret.

I thought about Gino, and then remembered the pictures I took on Tristan’s computer. They were difficult to read because I hadn’t taken the time to zoom and focus, and at first I didn’t see anything of interest. But the last line of the performance review was interesting.