Page 206 of Kiss Heaven Goodbye

‘Is Miles with you?’

‘No. He’s out sailing with Grace and Alex.’

‘Well find some company. Stay with them.’

As she clicked off, she heard a noise behind her and whirled around.

A smartly dressed man with cocoa-coloured skin and short hair was standing in the doorway.

‘I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you,’ he said and extended a hand. ‘Detective Carlton. You must be Sasha Sinclair. I recognise you from one of my wife’s magazines.’

Her shoulders sank with relief and she clasped a hand to her chest. ‘A detective,’ she said, breathing out. ‘You scared the life out of me. Are you with Miles?’

‘No. A boat has just brought me from George Town. Perhaps we should go downstairs and wait for him?’

‘Good idea. I think he’s in danger.’

‘Danger?’

Sasha wasn’t sure she should tell the police anything until she had spoken to Miles. Then again, what if Michael Marshall was with them? What if he was planning some sort of revenge?

‘Yes, I think there’s a man on this island who might not be who he claims to be.’

She turned around to retrieve her BlackBerry. She didn’t realise that Detective Carlton had come up behind her until she felt an arm around her throat, choking her. She struggled, but he was too strong, his arm pressing into her windpipe. For a split second, the pieces started falling into place. But then it was too late, because a moment later, she had lost consciousness.

77

Miles decided to cut the sailing trip short. Thick grey storm clouds were gathering quickly and both Miles and Grace had spent enough summers in the Exumas to know that when bad weather came, it could be bleak and torrential. As they tied up the boat and walked up to the house, the tall coconut palms had begun swaying from side to side and the once cloudless sky had become dark and brooding.

‘I hope Sasha has managed to get here,’ said Alex, looking towards the house. Where before it had looked idyllic and welcoming, now the dark windows made the place seem cold and unsettling.

Miles tutted. ‘I still can’t understand why she refused to come out from London with you two.’

‘I should think the prospect of an eight-hour flight sitting next to Grace probably put her off,’ said Alex quietly as Grace walked into the house out of earshot. ‘After all that business with her and your dad.’

‘I see your point,’ said Miles as they followed his sister in. It was obvious that no one was in the house; there were no lights or signs of life.

‘Where’s bloody Benny?’ snapped Miles. ‘I need a drink.’

‘The bar’s only over there, Miles,’ said Alex, nodding to the corner of the living room. ‘I think you can manage to unscrew a bottle by yourself.’

‘I’ll do it,’ said Grace, obviously trying to head off a confrontation. She handed them all glasses, then sat down on a high-backed cream sofa.

‘Look, Miles, I know Sasha’s not arrived, but she might not even get here tonight. So I think we should start talking about what we came here to discuss.’

Miles glanced out of the windows at the dark, rolling sea. There was no way a boat would bring Sasha over from the White Sands resort unless it had left already. He shrugged.

‘Fair enough.’

He was just sitting down when his mobile started ringing, a faint, shrill rasp in the distance.

‘Bollocks. Where did I leave my phone?’

‘Sounds like upstairs,’ said Alex. ‘Why don’t you leave it? We need to get started.’

‘Might be the police,’ said Miles, running up to his room and pulling his phone from a pocket of the jacket hanging behind the door.

‘Mr Ashford?’