Page 13 of Tide and Seek (Dr. Maxwell Thornton Murder Mysteries #8)

“I see what you’re saying, but it’s probably coincidence.” I helped myself to another chip, and I dipped it in the spicy red salsa. But I didn’t eat it; instead I just stared at it, watching the red sauce drip down the pale yellow tortilla and back into the little bowl.

“I assume with the body on the beach, my burglary will be put on the back burner. I don’t blame the cops for that, but it is frustrating. Someone broke into my home and it’s upsetting to think they could come back and try again.”

“Let’s hope that’s not the case.”

He glanced up, a line between his dark brows. “Maybe we can try and get some answers.”

“Meaning what?” I frowned.

“Well, we could try talking to Luke.”

I grimaced. “Gonzalez already talked to him.”

“I know, but he said Luke was so high, he couldn’t get anything out of him. Maybe if we drop by his place when we get back from lunch, we’ll get lucky. Maybe he won’t be high for once.”

“What are the odds?” I laughed gruffly. “Plus, after finding that body on the beach, the police will probably be interviewing everyone nearby. We don’t want to interfere with their investigation.”

“No, of course not. I’m merely talking about helping the police in relation to the burglary at my place.

It’s obvious they’re stretched too thin.

While I understand why a murder would take priority over a burglary, I don’t want what happened at my house to be forgotten.

It was a crime, after all, even if nothing was taken.

Somebody broke into my personal space. I don’t like thinking that person or persons is still out there. ”

“I understand. Being the victim of a crime makes you feel like you have a bullseye on your back. But I think maybe we should spend the day inventorying things instead of talking to Luke. That way you can be sure if anything is missing. The insurance company will need that list, don’t forget.”

“I haven’t forgotten.” He leaned back in the booth. “Gonzalez said the security footage showed a guy in a ski mask. That doesn’t sound like it was just kids fooling around, does it?”

“Hard to say. Could be a kid copying what he thinks a crook might do.” I finally ate the chip I’d been holding, wincing at the soggy texture. “But either way, the inventory is important.”

“Okay. Okay. We can do the inventory.” He lifted his uneasy gaze to mine. “But if they come back because they didn’t get what they wanted the first time around, I’m going to be very annoyed.”

“I don’t think they’ll be back.” I tried to sound reassuring, but the truth was I had no idea if the thief might try again. I had no idea why they broke in to begin with. “They can see someone is living there now.”

“Sure, but only temporarily.”

I couldn’t tell if there was regret in his voice or not, but then the conversation ended because Harry returned with a sizzling plate of carne asada, and the busboy arrived to refill our waters and replenish our chips.

“This sure looks good,” I said, cutting into the tender marinated slices of skirt steak.

The meat was charred to perfection at the edges while remaining tender and pink in the center.

The steak was accompanied by caramelized onions and blistered jalapenos that gave off a tempting aroma of mesquite and lime.

“Trust me, it tastes even better than it looks.” Max sliced into the plump, charred poblano peppers stuffed with melted queso Oaxaca.

I took a bite of my food and groaned. “Wow.”

Max smiled, clearly pleased. “It’s delicious, right?”

“It’s fantastic. This isn’t just lunch,” I said, eyeing a forkful of steak. “This is a feast.”

“I knew you’d like it.” He looked more relaxed now that he had half a margarita in him. “Want to try a bite of my chile relleno?”

“Sure.” Affection nudged me because he looked like a kid sharing his favorite video game.

He held out a forkful of his food, and as I took the bite into my mouth, a husky female voice behind me said, “Maxwell Thornton. Is that really you?”

I turned to see a tall, slender woman in a paisley silk blouse and black pencil skirt standing there. Her dark hair was pulled back in a sleek ponytail, and she wore dangling gold hoop earrings.

When she moved closer, her gaze fell on me. She blinked a few times, and then gave me a flirty smile. “Well, hello, I’m Bethany.” She held out a bejeweled hand.

Quickly swallowing the food in my mouth, I said, “Nice to meet you. I’m Royce.” I shook her hand and her skin was velvety soft against mine. I stifled the desire to cough because her sweet perfume was cloying, and it was awkward when she held my hand a bit too long.

“Is that a Texas drawl I hear?” Her red lips twitched and she finally released my fingers.

“Yes, ma’am.” I found the intensity of her stare uncomfortable. I wasn’t the shy type, but Bethany’s energy was almost aggressive. I suspected she was what some folks called a man-eater.

She returned her gaze to Max. “Aren’t you going to say hello, Maxwell?”

It was clear from Max’s chilled, unfriendly expression he wasn’t happy to see her. Surprisingly, he still made an attempt at politeness, half rising to shake her hand. “How are you, Bethany?”

“Oh, I’m doing fabulously.” She smirked. “Better than you from what I’ve heard. Rumor has it you gave up being a surgeon and ran off to Texas to be a boring ol’ GP. Is that where you found this delightful morsel?” Her gaze once more returned to me.

Her flirting was so heavy-handed, I suspected it was designed to annoy Max. Now why she’d want to annoy him was a mystery to me. “Are you in the medical field as well?” I asked, curious to figure out exactly how she knew Max.

She threw her head back, laughing, which caused the people at nearby tables to glance over. She didn’t seem to notice, but I suspected she wouldn’t have cared if she did. Bethany appeared to be the type who thought the world revolved around her.

“God, no.” She put her red-tipped fingers on my shoulder. “I’m a lawyer.”

“Is that right?”

She pursed her lips. “I represented Maxwell on a case a while back.”

“I see.” I glanced at Max and found his expression borderline hostile.

Red spears painted Max’s high cheekbones and his eyes were dark and resentful. Max didn’t get angry often, but he was angry now. One of his hands that rested on the table was clenched so tight, his knuckles were white.

I was tempted to reach over and squeeze his arm to maybe calm him some, but to be honest, he looked so uptight, I wasn’t confident he wouldn’t shake off my touch. So instead, I sat there wondering why Max looked like he wanted to throw his margarita in her face.

Eyeing Max, she gave a fake pout. “Max, are you still mad at me? You know, I was just doing my job back then.”

His eyes glittered with resentment. “That’s not exactly how I remember things, Bethany. My memory is that you stabbed me in the back first chance you got.”

Her laugh was grating. “Oh, Royce, don’t listen to him. I did everything I could to help clear his name.”

“That’s a lie,” Max snapped. “You tried your best to throw me under the bus.”

Her smile didn’t reach her eyes. “I was just trying to get to the facts of the case, but you were so overly defensive, you took it the wrong way. You were acting so cold and withdrawn after Lucinda died, it was only natural to assume you were guilty about something.”

“I wasn’t guilty,” Max rasped. “I was devastated after losing a patient. Was I supposed to throw a party because it wasn’t my fault? Was it wrong of me to care that one of my patients died?”

She curled her lip. “Well, to be fair, it’s not like you had a rep for caring about your patients.”

“Okay, I think that’s enough,” I said sharply, protectively putting my hand on Max’s shoulder. “You seem like maybe you want to stir up some trouble, Bethany. I’d prefer it if you didn’t.”

She shifted her spiteful gaze to me. “Ooh, he’s protective. How delicious.”

I narrowed my eyes. “How about you mosey along and we’ll go back to enjoying our lunch?” I was tempted to stand just so she wasn’t hovering over me. But the last thing I wanted was to make a huge scene in case it embarrassed Max.

A pink flush crept up her cheeks. “Mosey along? How quaint.” She shot a hostile glance at Max.

“If anyone should be mad, it’s me, Maxwell.

You killed my friend through incompetence, and I know you’re the one who got me fired.

I got too close to the truth, so you lodged a complaint with the hospital against me. ”

Looking indignant, Max rasped, “I didn’t lodge a complaint, although in hindsight I certainly should have.”

“Liar,” she hissed. “You got me fired because I knew you were negligent and a murderer.”

Max’s jaw clenched with anger. “I wasn’t negligent and that was proven.

Lucinda’s death wasn’t my fault. I did nothing wrong.

If anyone was negligent, it was you, Bethany.

You had a conflict of interest from the start.

You were sorority sisters with Lucinda, for God’s sake, but you didn’t disclose that.

Your failure to do that opened the hospital up to additional liability.

That’s why you got fired. Not because of me.

Don’t kid yourself. The hospital didn’t fire you to protect me.

They fired you to protect their own ass. ”

She curled her lip. “I don’t believe you. You shouldn’t have come back. You don’t belong here anymore.”

“I’m not back,” Max growled. “This is just a visit. But seeing you has reminded me of why I left in the first place.”

“Always so high and mighty.” She scowled. “One day you’re going to learn your lesson, Maxwell. You’re no better than the rest of us and it’s about time someone taught you that lesson.”

I’d heard enough, and I stood, bumping the table and sloshing the water glasses. “Bethany, you need to go,” I said firmly. “Now.”

She gave me a cold look but then, thankfully, turned to follow the bewildered-looking hostess.

I watched her go, and then I slid back down into the booth. People were staring at us, but there wasn’t much I could do about that. I shifted in my seat and met Max’s tense gaze. “I gather that had to do with Lucinda’s death?”

“Yes.” He grabbed his glass of water and chugged a few big gulps. As he set the glass down, his hand trembled. “Bethany was in-house counsel for the hospital I worked at when Lucinda died.”

“I see,” I murmured. “I take it she didn’t have your back?”

He gave a harsh laugh. “No. Not at all. She tried to sabotage me at every turn. Before I realized she was compromised, I naively thought she was on my side. I thought she was there to protect me. Then I caught wind that she’d tried to steer the internal report to shift blame to me.

She actually attempted to bury the radiology error when it came to light. ”

“Jesus. She did that?”

“She certainly did.” He scowled. “Apparently, not only was she a friend of Lucinda’s, but her father is good friends with the radiologist’s father.”

“That’s despicable,” I grumbled.

“Yes.” He raked a shaky hand through his dark hair, looking flustered.

“She prioritized the hospital’s reputation and her personal ties over the truth.

When I finally realized that all the hospital cared about was protecting themselves, I hired private legal counsel.

That’s probably the only reason I was found innocent of any wrongdoing.

Bethany and the hospital would have happily thrown me to the wolves. ”

“I’m sorry you went through all that, Max.”

He let out a tired sigh. “Thanks. After Lucinda’s death, my confidence was in tatters and my reputation under attack.

My colleagues looked at me with suspicion, and even people I’d considered kind of friends turned their backs on me.

” A muscle worked in his cheek. “I felt alone. Honestly, other than my surgical team, I think James was the only one who believed me when I said I hadn’t made a mistake during the surgery. ”

“It’s good that you had James there by your side.”

He glanced at me. “He was a good friend back then.”

“I’m sure he was.” My smile felt stiff but I made myself add, “He seems like a great guy.”

Some of the tension left Max’s face, and he touched my hand. “I appreciate that you’re not resentful of James. I’m sure it’s awkward for you. I don’t have as much in common with him as I once did, and we’ve definitely grown apart, but he was there when I needed him. I can’t just forget that.”

“No, of course not.”

He truly did look relieved. “You’re good for me, Royce. You’re rational and calm. You’re everything I need in a partner.”

Guilt nudged me because if he could have read my earlier thoughts about James, he wouldn’t have been very pleased with me. “Well, I’m not perfect, but I care about you more than anyone else in the world, Max. I just want you happy.”

His smile held genuine warmth, and he leaned in to kiss me.

I relished the feel of his mouth on mine, and some of my stress drained away.

I was acting like a fool. Max loved me. I knew that with every fiber of my being.

Hell, he’d even suggested we get married.

Sure, he hadn’t mentioned it since, but that was okay. There was no rush.

I needed to stop being a big baby and just enjoy this trip with Max. How lucky was I to have a wonderful, sexy, rich boyfriend who wanted to treat me like a king on vacation? Sure, the trip might have had a rocky start, but everything would probably be smooth sailing from here on out.