Page 65 of Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies

Harper looks at me for a long beat and then she says, “Pineapple.”

We don’t say anything else after that.

AMALFI MADE ME DO IT—OUTLINE

Maybe there’s more than one death? The first one is a fake-out that distracts everyone, and then, when Connor does die, everyone will be surprised.

WHY?

Motive #4: The recently cast-off lover? Connor’s a cad. But do you murder a cad for breaking up with you?

Motive #5: The cuckolded man? Connor could easily push him to the brink. He has a way of getting under your skin, needling you. It’s what makes him effective as a detective. And if the other guy thought his old love still had feelings for Connor… If he still had feelings…

WHERE?

Maybe Pompeii?

Something ironic about killing him where so many people died.

TO DO

RESEARCH POMPEII—Is there some historical analogy I can make? Some theme that can be woven in? This should be epic.

TELL AGENT/PUBLISHER—If I write it enough times, will it happen without me doing it?

NB: Holmes died when Moriarty pushed him off a cliff. Lots of cliffs in Amalfi…

CHAPTER 12Kaboom!

Pompeii

After our stop at the pasticceria, where I ate a sinful cannoli with a cream filling that was so rich it could produce an instant heart attack, the coach pulls into an overlook at the Bay of Naples. We file out for ten minutes of photographs, and it’s breathtaking. The red-roofed houses climbing the cliffside, and the water a deep blue that almost matches the sky. In the distance, the Island of Capri is shrouded in a set of misty clouds that makes it look blurry.

The BookFace Ladies ooh and aah, we all take photographs on our phones, and then we are back in the coach. As much as I don’t want to talk to him, I have some questions for Connor, so I ask Isabella if she minds giving us a minute. She exchanges a glance with Connor, then shrugs and takes my seat next to Harper.

“What do you want?” Connor says.

“We need to talk. Tell me more about this pedestrian.”

“Which one?”

“The one you claim pulled you out of traffic and is now dead. Davide something. What happened exactly?”

“I already told you. I was pushed into traffic, and he grabbed me at the last minute and pulled me away from an oncoming bus.”

“Did you talk to him afterward?”

“Briefly. To thank him.”

“Did you ask him if saw anything?”

“He said he didn’t, he just saw me flailing.”

“But the killer wouldn’t know that necessarily, not if he saw you talking.” I think it through. “Did you get his number?”

“Yes, he gave it to me. He said to call him if I ended up going to the police.”

“Which you didn’t do.”