Page 25 of Dead Girl Running

“The boys and girls?”

“The boys and girls at the resort who spend too much time making beds. The staff who stand around waiting for guests to arrive and have nothing to entertain them until—oh God!—everyone arrives at once, all the crises need to be dealt with now and no one has time to catch their breath. Same shit as in the Army, only without all that messy death.”

They both nodded. Birdie might be maligning “the boys and girls,” but Birdie and Kellen had both been there, in the military, doing the most boring grunt work day after day until the moment the mortars started raining down, the enemy advanced and suddenly there weren’t enough seconds in a minute. Resort work was usually less dramatic, but the atmosphere was comparable.

Birdie grinned at her. “Want me to make up a big lie? Entertain them?”

“Ick.” The idea of speculation gave Kellen the creeps.

“Your husband caught you with your wealthy lover, shot you both and turned the gun on himself. They both died, but you lived, and in your despair, you joined the military.”

Too close for comfort. “The wealthy lover and the husband? That’s so done.”

“You’re right. I could make it juicier.” Before Kellen could tell her no, Birdie drew a quavering breath. “I want people to talk to me again, to meet my eyes and forget my husband died in my arms.”

“I swear I didn’t tell them.”

“You didn’t have to. It was in the news, and inevitable someone would… Anyway, they feel so bad for me all the time they make me remember Daryl even more.”

Damn it. Kellen didn’t want the staff gossiping about her, but if they were going to do it anyway, why not allow Birdie to use her? It couldn’t hurt. Not really. “Well, I always say, if you’re going to tell a lie, tell a big one.”

Birdie grinned, a bright smile that lit her long, thin face and made her beautiful. “Let me work on it. I’ll get all those folks hopping!” She pointed. “The plane just dropped out of the clouds. We’ll be on duty soon.”

The plane came in fast, hit the runway and skidded on the wet asphalt.

Kellen closed her eyes.

In a patient, amused tone, Birdie said, “You’re really afraid of flying, aren’t you?” Kellen’s crew were eternally entertained by her horror of leaving the ground.

“I’m not afraid of flying. I’m afraid of hitting the ground too hard and exploding into flames.” Kellen sneaked a peek as the pilot straightened out the plane. “Also, it makes me want to throw up.”

“You can take Dramamine.”

“How’s that going to help with the impact and the flames?”

The plane came to a halt. The pilot opened the door, lowered the steps and secured the plane while Kellen parked the van as close as possible.

Birdie gathered rain ponchos. Kellen got the first box of hors d’oeuvres, and together they hurried up the stairs. Inside, they found the passengers gathering their belongings.

Birdie did the honors. “Welcome to Yearning Sands Resort. I’m Birdie and this is Kellen.”

Kellen smiled and waved, scanned the faces and completed her roster.

JUSTIN AND JULIA FLORENCE:

NEWLYWEDS. YOUNG. REALLY YOUNG. HIGH SCHOOL?

SHIVERING SHERLOCKS:

SIX FEMALES FROM ALASKA. DEBBIE, CANDY, RITA, NANCY, TAMMY AND PATTY, LATE 60S–EARLY 70S. ANNUALLY VISIT YEARNING SANDS FOR MYSTERY WEEKEND.

NILS BROOKS:

MALE, 30S, 6’, 180 LBS. DARK-RIMMED GLASSES. CUTE. NERDY.

Kellen didn’t recognize anybody and nobody appeared to recognize her. She relaxed a previously unnoticed tension in her shoulders. She’d been thinking too much about Greenleaf, making herself jumpy. Because Xander had told her to, she breathed, and because she was in the hospitality business, she smiled.

Birdie continued, “We’ll be transporting you to the resort. We’ve parked the van at the end of the stairs. As you can imagine, in this weather, our goal is to keep you as dry as possible.”