Page 12 of Beach Reads and Deadly Deeds

“Things’ll get worse before they get better.”

—Karen M. McManus, One of Us Is Lying

What did one wear to a sunset dinner?

I stood half-naked in the glorious bathroom and took advantage of the complimentary lavender lotion. I pinned my dark blond

hair up and decided to leave it that way—the damp curls fell in a casual but attractive way. Getting fancy didn’t appeal,

since this was an island vacation, so just a touch of makeup to highlight my light brown eyes and I was done.

I had considered not even going to the Sky Bar tonight, but I wanted to find out more about the missing woman. If what Gino

the head of security said about privacy was true, then trying to talk up Trina in the gift shop or Kalise the activities director

wasn’t going to get me anywhere. But several of the guests had been here at the same time as Diana, and they might be chattier

than the staff.

Diana Harden was a curiosity, a mystery to be solved. Like me, she had come to the island alone. We shared an exclusive club.

Even Amber and Parker, who had traveled alone, weren’t actually alone, considering they knew each other.

It wasn’t just Diana’s disappearance, which most likely had a logical explanation, that piqued my interest. But the book.

.. her attitude seemed whimsical, flip, superior, interesting.

She watched and assessed people from a distance— like me.

It was her writing comments in the margins that had me confounded.

Was she a novelist, penning ideas as she thought of them?

That didn’t seem plausible, considering she was writing about real people from the island.

.. Unless, a reporter? A reporter for a gossip rag?

That made sense. Where did the antique store fit in?

Just a convenient bookmark? Or something important?

Her life observations, about betrayal and lies, intrigued me. There was far more to Diana than her Harriet the Spy persona.

I wanted to know why she felt the need to take stock of the people on the island. What compelled her to write down all the

gossip she learned? A treatise to the idea that people didn’t live up to expectations? Or that people were, at their core,

liars, cheats, and scoundrels?

I didn’t believe it, because there were good people I trusted—Jane, Amanda, Braden, my boss. Yet... I’d been burned more

than once. A high school friend who’d betrayed my trust. An internship where my boss had promised me a full-time job...

if I agreed to have sex with him. Assorted boyfriends who’d lied, cheated, or both.

Maybe I understood Diana Harden more than I thought. Maybe I was more like her than I wanted to believe.

I put all those thoughts aside and dressed in one of my new sundresses, a comfortable white mid-calf dress with blue and green

flowers. Took one look, deemed myself presentable, and left.

I chose the most direct route to the lodge, passing the marked trails I’d seen when I first arrived. I wanted to hike all

of them. The hot springs were really hot, the path marked Luz Luna Bahia led to a hidden lagoon, and the Siempre Viva Vista

was a steep climb to the top of the cliffs and promised one of the best views on the island.

Each path was marked with pinpoint white lights wrapped around the trees, and ground lighting to make sure you didn’t tumble

down a slope. If I wasn’t so hungry, I would have made the detour now.

Music at the Blue Dahlia was lively. The rich smell of barbecue had my stomach growling.

The restaurant in the lodge was half-full with diners.

I spotted the Stocktons, Andrew Locke and his girlfriend, Sherry Morrison, and the honeymooners sitting in a booth side-by-side taking pictures of their food.

They didn’t have their faces smashed together—a first. I pictured the wife popping out of the water after giving her husband a blow job, and my face instantly reddened.

I was relieved to see David and Doug at the shuttle, where they introduced me to their friends. Brie the brooding teen was

sitting in the back of the shuttle, ignoring everyone who boarded. Just as Henry, the driver, was about to pull away, Amber

Jones approached. “The Sky Bar?” she asked.

“All aboard,” Henry said.

She glanced at me, then the others, but the only available spots were next to me and in the back with Brie. She chose me,

then pulled out her phone and scrolled. Where was her boyfriend? She couldn’t like me any less, so I decided to chat her up.

“Hi, I’m Mia, from the ferry?”

Her eyes slowly tore themselves from her phone as she looked at me through long fake lashes. “Yes. I remember,” she said flatly.

“Where’s your boyfriend?”

She stared at me with a bored expression. “Boyfriend?”

“I saw you with a guy... I just assumed.”

She didn’t say anything for a long moment. I almost squirmed. “Oh. Parker. Not my boyfriend,” she added with an eye roll.

I guess this little vacation wasn’t going to reunite Parker and Amber. I mentally patted myself on the back for solving that mystery so fast. I could only hope solving Diana’s disappearance was as easy.

I bit back a smile. I was grown-up Nancy Drew, or Veronica Mars from the reboot, determined to find the truth, wherever it

led. No more cozy mystery book club, solving crime from the security of a library or tea shop. I was in the middle of a real mystery, the Case of the Missing Blonde.

Books weren’t real life. I wanted the adventure to continue beyond the pages—not just learning the truth about Diana Harden

and what happened to her, but figuring out what I was doing with my life, where I was going, who I wanted to be. I was tired

of hiding in the library stacks. I wanted to shape my own story. Which is why I was surprised—almost as much as my boss—that

I hadn’t signed my promotion contract before I left. It was completely out of character. I should have committed; I hadn’t

even asked to be a partner—that would have been a huge swing—but Mr. Cohn had offered it anyway.

It was an honor.

It was final. You couldn’t quit if your name was on the door.

The winding one-lane road up the mountain wasn’t paved, but the gravel and dirt were firmly packed. At first, I couldn’t see

anything through the thick trees, but as we rose in elevation, the resort came into spectacular view below us. The ocean was

calm, the buildings and cabins awash with twilight, the grand lodge growing smaller as we reached the top of the mountain.

Heavenly.

I let everyone disembark first so I could spend another minute in the midst of such beauty.

“Paradise on earth,” Henry said quietly.

“It is,” I agreed. “You’re lucky to work in such an amazing place.”

“I am.”

“There’s no town here. Do you live here all the time?”

He nodded. “The buildings south of the dock? Employee housing.”

I only vaguely remembered them when the ferry docked. My attention had been on Jason, the cute hang gliding fool.

“Not everyone lives here full-time,” Henry said.

“Many live on St. John and commute. Mostly those with families, kids in school. A few people live in the States and work seasonally. Me and my wife, we’re what I think is called empty nesters?

When our youngest went to college, we applied for jobs here.

Millie is head of housekeeping. I do a little of everything.

Management is good. We take one month off a year, paid vacation, and visit our children.

But here, even working is like a vacation. ”

I glanced to the east one more time, with the resort and beach spread out below.

“Look,” he said, and gestured to the west.

I turned around. It was heady to see the ocean on both sides. The sun made the water sparkle like diamonds for as far as I

could see. “Don’t miss the sunset,” he said.

“I won’t.” I thanked Henry and followed the music.

The Sky Bar was a large, partially open building with a reinforced thatched roof, kitchen, and full bar. Tables surrounded

a dance floor, and the DJ played in the corner. White string lighting liberally decorated nearby trees. Benches and lounge

chairs were perched on the edge of the mountain for viewing the sunset. The room glowed orange; the sky a brilliant rainbow

as the sun continued its descent into the water.

More than thirty people were eating appetizers and mingling. Jason was working the bar. I watched his easy moves and comfortable

smile as I grabbed a glass of champagne from a tray.

Doug pulled me into his group. It was fun being around men who were good friends, animated, intelligent, and full of humor.

Maybe a little too much good humor, but they were on vacation.

Brie was standing to one side, and I wondered why she’d come here alone. After a few moments, I excused myself and walked

over to where she watched the sunset.

“Hi,” I said. “Brie, right?”

Brie gave me a sidelong glance. I guess I would, too, if some stranger came up to me and started talking.

“You’re the accountant from the bar.”

How did she know?

“Mia,” I said.

“So, first day here. What do you think?”

“It’s beautiful.” That seemed like an obvious thing to say. “I’ve never been to the Caribbean before.”

“We come every year. Well, since my mom died when I was five.”

“I’m sorry.”

She shrugged. “Yeah. Well.”

I felt a surprising kinship with the teen. My mom had left when I was young, and while that wasn’t the same as dying, I hadn’t

seen my mother since. She sent an annual birthday card, then a card with a hundred dollars for my high school graduation,

but no acknowledgment when I graduated magna cum laude from college. She hadn’t even attended my dad’s funeral. I didn’t love

her or hate her; I had no feelings about the woman who gave birth to me.

“Jason said you’re going to college in the fall.”

Brie rolled her eyes. “Can’t tell him anything.”

I had questions about the missing woman, and Brie had been here for several days. I wondered if she knew anything.