Page 5 of Dead Girl Running

“Ah, yes. Sheri Jean.” Annie sighed softly. “The best way to handle Sheri Jean is to accord her the respect she deserves.”

“As I always do.”

“Her personality is split between her mother and her father, and the two halves are constantly at war. She terrorizes her staff, yet no one makes the guests more comfortable than Sheri Jean.”

“She’s good at her job, but it’s hard to decipher when she’s going to take offense. Most of the time, I don’t know what I said, and I was raised by my aunt and uncle, and my aunt is a delicate flower.”

“Really?” Annie’s eyes gleamed. “So youdohave relatives?”

Mistake.Uncomfortably, Kellen admitted, “My uncle and cousin are deceased. My aunt and I don’t communicate.”

Annie’s kind face grew distressed. “I am sorry. Family can be a blessing and a trial. Like marriage.”

Kellen’s strained smile faded. Why had Annie introduced the topic of marriage into the conversation? Kellen never wanted to talk about marriage.

“When I hired you,” Annie confided, “Leo didn’t trust you.”

Oh. This was about Leo. “I suspected he didn’t trust me when he demanded my records—” birth certificate, undergraduate degree from University of Nevada and business degree from Vanderbilt, honorable discharge from the Army “—be examined to see if they were original and investigated their authenticity.” He had uncovered no deception, of course, but even when he was satisfied, he had continued to watch Kellen like a hawk.

“It was because of that girl. A nice young woman, but misguided.”

Was Annie rambling? “What girl?”

“The girl I hired first. Priscilla Carter.”

Kellen had heard mutterings about Annie’s first attempt to hire an assistant manager. “The one who left without notice?”

“She didn’t have to do that. We had already realized she was unsuited for the job and intended to help her find another position. We’re not without heart!” Annie’s cheeks flushed.

“You’re lovely!” Kellen pressed those cold fingers.

“Leo says I give too much. I don’t think that’s true, but I did hire Priscilla…” Annie stared out the side window at the wide spread of lawn and the ring of rhododendrons that tossed with each gust of the storm. “Priscilla imagined the resort would be her stepping-stone to a life as a rich man’s wife. Leo reprimanded her twice. I should have reprimanded her myself, but I’m a coward. Then she volunteered to take guests on a tour of the property—and left them out there on the cliffs. It’s one thing to make the resort look bad, but she abandoned elderly guests out there. No compassion!” Annie sounded so hurt.

Kellen barely knew what to say. “She sounds like a piece of work.”

“The guests said she fell ill, promised she’d send someone out after them. Sheri Jean didn’t realize the guests had been left until one called. They were worried about Priscilla! We were all worried about her until Leo discovered she had packed her bags, gotten in her car and headed south. She never even contacted us for her final paycheck.”

“I promise I would never do that.” With a fair amount of humor, Kellen added, “I like my paychecks, and anyway, I don’t have a car.”

Annie’s brow knit fretfully. “So I should worry when you buy one?”

“Not even then.”

“Thank heavens. I…I don’t know what I’d do if you disappeared, never to be found, and I hadn’t told…” Annie seemed to drift off.

“Told…?” Annie’s rambling was so unlike her, Kellen was concerned.

“Told him… He’s suffered so much. He’s fretted. He’s searched…”

“Who? Who’s searched? For what?” Kellen leaned forward, her eyes fixed on Annie’s, and in her brain, a new slot lit up, empty of information and hungering to detail this new person.

In a normal tone, Annie asked, “Do you have any final questions?”

“Um, I…I don’t think so. Just, you know, what you were talking about before. Or who you were talking about.”

Annie brushed her hair off her forehead. “I didn’t sleep well last night. So excited. To go to California, to see the family. But I want to make sure you feel comfortable in your role as resort manager.”

Because Annie suddenly seemed to need reassurance, Kellen said, “With Mr. Gilfilen to handle security, with the tight staff and the small guest list, this is a great way to introduce me to handling the job of resort manager.”