Page 46 of Beach Reads and Deadly Deeds

“Life is an adventure to be lived, not a series of repetitive days to survive.”

—Lucy Score, Riley Thorn and the Dead Guy Next Door

I had a bruise on my shin from where the jerk kid kicked me. It blossomed into a dark purple blotch pretty quick.

I didn’t want to go to Gino, but someone needed to know what happened. I considered telling Jason and asking him what to do

about the situation, but I didn’t want to drag him into this.

I headed over to the administrative office and found Tristan and Kalise both working. “Hi, do you have a minute?” I asked.

“Of course,” Kalise said with a smile. “You look very nice this evening.”

“Thank you,” I said. “I had an issue with one of your staff members.” I’d thought through how I wanted to address the situation.

If he was concerned about losing his job, maybe the kid would tell his boss the truth.

Kalise and Tristan exchanged a glance. Then Tristan said, “Please, come to my office. I’m so sorry for any trouble the staff

has caused you.”

Tristan closed the door behind us and motioned for me to sit in a wicker chair across from his desk. I squirmed a bit, remembering

how I’d sneaked in earlier and invaded his privacy.

“I don’t want to get anyone in trouble,” I said, though I didn’t completely mean it—my shin still hurt. “But maybe if you talked to him, you could figure out why he was going through my things.”

Tristan sat in his chair and looked concerned. “A staff member went through your personal items?”

“Yes,” I said. “A young employee—twenty, maybe—with light brown skin and short, dark hair. My height. The first day I was

here, I saw him going through my bag when I was in the water. When I got to shore, he was gone. The next day, I discovered

a page had been torn from the book, and I remembered that a young man had been in my things. Today I saw him and asked him

about it, and he ran from me.”

“You think he took your book?”

The way he said it, I thought he was humoring me, and I realized how absolutely ridiculous I sounded. We were talking about

a twelve-dollar paperback I’d gotten for free, and I was acting as if he were a jewel thief.

“No.” I knew Amber had stolen my book, but maybe she’d hired him? The kid said he , so maybe Parker hired him to tear out the page... the more I thought about it, the more I wished I hadn’t come here.

“Maybe,” I clarified. “But he ran from me, wouldn’t tell me why he went through my bag on the beach.” I stopped short of telling

Tristan his employee had kicked my shin because I didn’t want him to lose his job. I just wanted to know what was going on.

“Is anything else missing?” Tristan asked.

“No. And I don’t want him in trouble, but I’d like to talk to him, get his side of the story.”

“And you don’t know who?”

“He worked this afternoon stocking the bar, and he might have been on the ferry when I first arrived.” Certainly Tristan would

be able to look at employee records and figure out who I had seen.

“Let me see what I can do,” Tristan said. “I can’t promise there will be no disciplinary action. St. Claire takes pride in

our staff, our hospitality, and never should anyone feel unsafe.”

A murdered guest made me feel a lot less safe than a book thief , I thought.

“I just want to talk to him,” I said.

“No promises, but I’ll see if I can identify him and possibly arrange a meeting.”

“I appreciate it.” I thanked him and left.

I really didn’t know what to do. I looked at my watch and realized it was nearly six. I would have to run to the docks to

meet Jason on time.

I started walking briskly when I heard my name.

“Ms. Crawford!”

I turned and saw Henry standing next to one of the shuttles. I approached, and he said with a knowing smile, “Your chariot

awaits.”

He knew. He knew about my date with Jason. I wasn’t keeping it a secret—Brie knew—but I didn’t exactly announce it. And Jason

had kissed me at the bar, and any number of people could have seen. Was I blushing? Yep, I was. Maybe Henry would think I’d

gotten too much sun today.

“Um, thank you,” I said, and climbed in.

He chuckled, and we started down the narrow road to the dock. “Jason is a good man. You’ll have fun tonight.”

My blush deepened as I remembered exactly how good I’d felt when Jason kissed me last night, with all the unspoken promises

behind the kiss. I realized that spending the day looking for clues to Diana’s murder was partly to distract me from my nerves

about tonight. A thrill ran up my spine, and I willed my stomach to settle.

“I missed the cruise last night, and he said he’d take me out.” That sounded stupid. I might as well have worn a neon sign

announcing that I was going to have sex with Jason Mallory tonight.

“Awful what happened on the mountain. It’s all blocked off now.

No one else will get hurt. Mr. Tristan spoke with the contractors—they return next week after equipment is delivered.

They’ll investigate what happened, but they think that the orange fencing wasn’t installed properly—the men they hired draped it between the trees and didn’t stake it down.

There was rain Monday morning, the day before you arrived, and some heavy winds.

” He shook his head. “I’m glad you weren’t seriously hurt. ”

I hadn’t thought that it had been intentionally removed because there was no way that anyone would have known Brie and I would

be walking along that path at the top of the mountain. But I was still relieved that they’d figured out it was shoddy work.

“I think Jason feels sorry for me that I spent my birthday in a muddy pit,” I said, trying to make light of the situation.

“Oh, no,” Henry said as if I had been serious. “I’ve never seen Jason excited like this. He’s giddy. And if I’m honest, I

know a bit about what he has planned.”

My heart raced. “What?”

“It’s a surprise,” he said with a grin.

“I don’t like surprises.”

“You will like this one.”

Did everyone on the island know I was going out with Jason tonight?

“Don’t look so nervous,” he said with a chuckle. “You’ll have fun, I promise. I can’t remember the last time Jason had a date

on or off island, and he’s pulling out all the stops.”

I had nothing to say to that—I didn’t know what I could say. This whole week had taken on a surreal feeling. It was like watching myself eat, drink, and be merry without really being

a part of the island life.

Henry stopped at the dock.

“There’s no boat,” I said.

“The ferry left ten minutes ago with our day workers returning to St. John.”

“But then why did Jason ask me to meet him here?”

“There’s more than one boat on the island,” he said.

I heard a motor before I saw it. But it wasn’t a boat that pulled up onto the shore; it was a Jet Ski.

“No.” I didn’t realize I had spoken out loud until I heard my voice.

Henry laughed and waved at Jason, then headed back to the resort, leaving me there. With Jason and a Jet Ski.

Jason jogged up the beach and took my hand. “Ready?”

“No. Not at all.” I needed an excuse. I looked down at my clothes. “I’m wearing a dress.”

“You have a bikini underneath, right?”

I nodded.

“I listen, Mia. You don’t like helicopters, small planes, hot air balloons, or hang gliding. Got it. The Jet Ski stays firmly

on top of the water. It’s gassed up. You will love it, I promise.”

It terrified me. Jason’s ear-to-ear grin was contagious, though. He was excited, and that made me a little (very tiny bit)

excited too.

I slowly said, “Oh-kay.”

He opened a metal box on the edge of the deck and handed me a life vest. I held it awkwardly.

“You’ve never put one on?”

“Never had the need to.”

He laughed, took it from me. “Take off your dress.”

I blinked and pictured us lying naked in the sand.

“What?” My voice sounded like a croak.

“I have a dry box. It’ll be safe and sound in there.”

Skeptical, I took off my bag, then my dress. I was wearing a neon-pink bikini and suddenly felt self-conscious. But Jason

put my dress over his shoulder and then put the life vest on me like a dinner jacket. He expertly buckled me up in the front,

testing each strap. He was standing very close, and when I looked at him, he kissed me. “Smile, Mia.”

I did. A small one. Then he tickled me, and I burst out laughing. “Stop!”

He gave me one last poke, then kissed me quick. He grabbed my bag with his left hand, and my hand with his right. We walked

down the beach to the Jet Ski.

“Aren’t we having dinner?” I hadn’t finished my snack plate. I’d be hungry before dark.

“We are.”

I looked around. Henry was already gone, and I didn’t hear or see anyone else.

He glanced at me. “You don’t like giving up control, do you?”

“No,” I admitted. “I like having a plan.”

“Which is a great character trait for a financial planner. But tonight, trust me, okay?”

“I do.” It was true. While it scared me to leave the evening completely in Jason’s hands, it was also exciting.

Jason opened the seat and put in my dress and bag, then closed and secured it. He climbed onto the front of the Jet Ski, motioned

for me to sit on the back. “Hold on,” he said as he started the motor.

I let my hands rest lightly on his hips.

“Tighter,” he said. Then we were moving fast. “I won’t let you fall, but you need to hold on.”

I clung to him to avoid being thrown off the back.

“Jason!” I screamed.

I couldn’t hear him, but we were so close, my body vibrated with his laughter. He drove fast out of the small bay and headed

out to sea.

I closed my eyes and clutched Jason, scared to death that I would be thrown off and drown. I could swim and I had a life vest,

but when you were moving at a hundred miles an hour (okay, probably closer to twenty, but it felt like a hundred), your life

flashed in front of your eyes.