by Mia Dymond
Sheer ecstasy coated her body as their tongues tangled and their lips continued an intimate massage. It wasn’t until he closed his mouth and lifted his lips that she realized she had lost track of position. With her body screaming for more, she realized they now floated in the middle of the pool. She didn’t have to look down to know her feet were no longer on the bottom.
“Scared?”
She paused to consider his question. She should be terrified. And angry. She should be beating on his caveman chest with both fists and demanding he lift her out of the water. But angry and terrified were not the emotions to describe her current state of mind.
She lifted her legs and wrapped them around his waist. “Not at all.”
He squeezed her hips and moved her lower body until she felt the length of him long and hard against her bikini bottoms.
“Damn, that’s nice,” he murmured.
Determined to show him just how nice, she lifted up and then eased back down the length. If it were possible, her swimming suit bottoms slickened.
“Bailey.” He moved one hand from her hip and slid a finger beneath her suit and over her clit. “If you truly want this, tell me.”
“I want you, Ice.”
“I want you too.” He gave the wet flesh a pinch. “But not here.”
“We’re alone.”
“For now. Besides, I have a feeling you’ll draw attention.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Yeah.” He gently eased a finger inside her body. “Because when I get inside your sweet little body, I intend to love you until you scream for me to stop.”
Her inner muscles pulsed around his finger, basking in incredible satisfaction as he continued to rub. She moved her hips in an effort to direct his finger right over the place she wanted it the most and when he found it, her body squeezed him in a chokehold.
“Give it to me,” he demanded in a low whisper.
She rotated her hips one last time, drunk with ecstasy, and just when she felt the surrender, a high-pitched scream pierced the air.
Her eyes widened and she glanced at Ice. “That wasn’t me.”
“No, it wasn’t.” He quickly extracted his hand, grabbed her around the waist, and propelled them both to the side of the pool. “But tell me you were satisfied.”
She grasped the ledge and pulled herself out of the water. “Extremely.”
In one smooth move, he placed his hands on her hips and lifted her out of the water. “Double time.”
Ice climbed out of the pool beside her and then groaned as he glanced at the thick-wedged sandals she now wore on her feet. Damnittohell, didn’t she own anything flat?
“I’ll carry you.”
“Relax, I can keep up.”
“In those?”
She grinned. “I can do amazing things in these shoes.”
Tempted to forget all about the hysterical scream, he grabbed her hand. “C’mon then, put your money where your mouth is.”
They maneuvered around the maze of loungers and out the gate until they finally entered the resort through a side door. He wasn’t totally fluent in Spanish, but the feminine voice that rapidly spoke the long string of what he interpreted as profanity from somewhere nearby was obviously an expert.
“What’s close?”
She pointed to the left. “Laundry room.”
They arrived just in time to be plowed over by a short, plump, dark-skinned woman who was clearly terrorized.
“Whoa.” He reached both hands to steady her and then glanced at Bailey. “Do you know her?”
“Amelia Mercado, the housekeeping supervisor.” Bailey reached to grasp the other woman’s forearm. “Amelia, what’s wrong?”
Immediately, Amelia lifted her arms and moved the air while she uttered a whole new set of Spanish terms.
“Please,” Bailey soothed. “Let us help you.”
“There is a devil on the loose, Miss Bailey! A mean, evil creature!”
“What the hell?” he muttered.
Bailey placed her arm around the woman’s shoulders in a one-handed hug. “A devil?”
“There is a body under the sheets in my linen cart.” Amelia groaned. “Ay, dios mio!”
“Did you call for help?”
The terrified woman nodded. “Mr. Santana is on his way.”
“I am here, Amelia.”
He turned to see Santana rush toward them, Gerard in tow.
“Take her somewhere to relax, Francois.” Santana untangled Amelia from Bailey’s hold and nearly shoved her at the other man. “Did you recognize the victim, Amelia?”
“Si`, it is Senor Knight.”
“We just saw Marcus last night,” Bailey mumbled.
Ice glanced at Santana, who appeared amazingly calm despite the situation. “Did you call the police?”
“They will arrive shortly. Did you see what happened?”
“No,” Bailey answered. “We were in the pool when we heard Amelia’s scream. That’s two bodies in two days, Daniel.”
The manager ran a hand over the top of his head. “Unfortunate circumstances, for sure.”
“Why would someone do this?” Although he knew Bailey attempted to draw information from the other man, he also knew she was genuinely concerned.
“I have absolutely no idea. Marcus has been the model employee and I’m not aware of any personal issues.”
“Do you suppose you should relocate the guests?”
“I don’t want to cause a panic. I’ll wait and see what the police have to say.”
He shifted his weight from one side to the other. Oddly, he agreed with Santana. Like Overton, Marcus Knight was employed by the resort and at this point, it didn’t appear that any of the guests were a target. Although the investigator in him was determined to get to the bottom of things, he’d made a commitment – he was Bailey’s weekend distraction and that’s the role he’d play. Gladly.
“Don’t you think that’s a dangerous liability for the resort?” Bailey pressed.
Although Santana didn’t immediately answer, his dark, narrowed facial expression said it all. Obviously, he didn’t appreciate her lack of confidence.
“No.” His denial was quick and short. “There is no reason to cause undue stress until I speak to the authorities.”
Ice widened his stance, ready to intervene if Santana got anymore cocky. Confident was one thing; threatening was another.
Bailey nodded and smiled at the other man. “Of course, Daniel. You know best.”
“Will you continue your stay?”
“Yes.” She turned on a hundred-watt smile. “We’re having a wonderful time.”
“Excellent. If you wouldn’t mind waiting here to tell law enforcement what you witnessed, I’d be most appreciative.”
“Absolutely.”
Ice braced himself on one hip against the wall and settled in to wait for the boys in blue. He had a gut feeling that the discovery of a second body may cause them to arrive in record time.
While Bailey continued her usual pleasant conversation with Santana, he moved his gaze into the laundry room and noted that the scene appeared relatively clean. No visual signs of blood stains, broken equipment, or violence. Two washing machines and two dryers occupied one wall. A long counter, industrial clothes steamer, and ironing board lined another. A large linen cart sat right in the middle, the fabric liner bulging with the shape of Knight’s body and mounds of white linens heaped on top. The distinct smell of bleach assaulted his nostrils, but experience and lack of evidence told him that nothing other than the sheets and towels had been scrubbed. Although he had no idea as to the condition of the body, he was fairly confident that whatever happened, didn’t happen in that room.
He moved his gaze from the laundry room and back down the hallway in which he currently stood. The long corridor stretched approximately twenty feet before leading into the hotel lobby and the only other thing that occupied space was the house phone at the end. He glanced back at Bailey and Santana, stil
l engaged in conversation, and then pushed himself off the wall.
He placed a hand on Bailey’s shoulder and he cleared his throat to politely interrupt. “You’ve got goosebumps. I’ll go grab a dry towel from the suite.”
“Francois can get one from the towel warmer in the spa,” Santana answered. “I apologize for not noticing earlier.”
Ice stopped him when he moved to leave. “I’ll get it. The police will need to talk to you first.”
He headed to the end of the hallway and casually glanced over one shoulder to assure Santana was distracted before he lifted the handset off the telephone. He punched the appropriate number for an outside line and then another set of numbers he knew by heart before he stretched the cord and rounded the corner.
“It’s me,” he said as Diesel answered the call. “We’ve got another body.”
“Any particulars?”
“Not yet. Hummingbird PD is en route.”
“I’ll give them a call.”
“The body was found in the laundry room. Harvard should probably pull video from there first. I’ll check in as soon as the detectives are finished.”
He returned the handset to the base of the phone and then headed to the Concierge podium to ask for Bailey’s towel. By the time he returned and draped the warm terry cloth over her shoulders, detectives and crime scene technicians crawled all over the area.
“Thanks,” she said as she pulled the towel closed in the front. “I was freezing.”
“You’re welcome. Has anyone talked to you yet?”
She nodded. “They started with me. As soon as I told them that we saw Marcus working on the hot tub last night, several detectives went outside.”
“My guess is that the laundry room wasn’t the place of death.”
“I thought of something else.” She placed a hand on his forearm. “You work with the Hummingbird Police Department all the time. Will they alert Daniel?”
He smirked. Nothing got by this woman. “No, I called Diesel from the phone in the hallway. Our secret is safe for now.”
During the next couple of hours, he gave his statement about the incident while Bailey sat with Amelia in the dining room and provided moral support while she gave hers. By the time they grabbed a late dinner and headed to the suite for the night, he knew two things for certain: Knight had been murdered and, like Overton’s murder, there wasn’t much evidence.
“I need to check in with Diesel and Harvard.” He placed a kiss to the top of her head. “Then we’ll turn in for the night.”
She nodded. “I’m going to jump in the shower.”
Bailey entered the bedroom and unwrapped the towel from around her body, intent on basking in a nice, hot shower. What had begun as an amazing afternoon in the pool with Ice had quickly become a nightmare and her nerves certainly welcomed the massage of the soothing spray.
She released a soft sigh as she dropped the towel to the floor and sat on the edge of the bed. This second death was just as big of a mystery as the first. The general consensus among the detectives was that Marcus had been electrocuted in the hot tub. But why? His job was to resolve maintenance issues timely and efficiently. Accidents happened occasionally, but murder? She knew Marcus well enough to know that he had better judgment than to jump into the water with live electricity so obviously, there had been foul play. Besides, he didn’t hop into the linen cart after death either. Hopefully, Ice would get some answers.
Just about the time she decided to head for the shower, her cell phone rang from the bedside table. She reached for it and smiled at the caller ID.
“Hi, Gracie.”
“Hi, Trista’s here too. We’ve got a three-way connection.”
“Hey, Trista.”
“Hi, Bailes. Everything okay?”
“It is with me, but there was another murder.”
“We heard,” Grace mumbled. “Do the police have any leads?”
“Not that I know of. Ice is talking to Diesel and Harvard now. Do you know anything?”
“Not about that, but we called to give you a warning.”
She frowned. “A warning?”
“Yes.” Grace giggled. “We’re about to crash your romantic get-a-way.”
“Not me,” Trista drawled. “I’m all about privacy.”
“Uh Trista, don’t be so sure.”
“No,” Trista insisted. “I came to Hummingbird Bay for rest and relaxation, not to rain on Bailey’s parade.”
Bailey rolled her eyes. “You two forget that this is not a romantic rendezvous. We’re trying to investigate a murder, well, now two murders.”
“Anyway.” Grace barreled right over her denial. “We’ll be there about eight o’clock tomorrow morning.”
“Not we,” Trista insisted again, “Harvard, Grace, and Diesel.”
Grace cleared her throat. “Apparently, we’ll stay with you and Ice.”
“Sure. I’ll have the Concierge make the arrangements.”
“Really?”
“Of course. Why not?”
“Uh, well,” Grace hedged. “I just figured you and Ice wanted to be alone. I tried to convince Harvard to book – “
“I told you, Gracie, we’re investigating murder.”
“Is that what you call it now?” Trista mumbled.
Bailey laughed. Thank God for these two women. “Did you just call to harass me?”
“Of course not,” Grace answered. “We wanted to make absolutely sure you’re okay.”
She hesitated a brief moment. Her nerves were a bit jumpy and she was frustrated to no end that the suspect was still unknown but honestly, she’d never felt this safe and protected in her life.
“I’m really fine,” she said finally. “I’m in very good hands.”
“Apparently, you’re quite an investigator.”
“Not really. I just have a relationship with these people.”
“Ice says differently.”
Although Grace’s information warmed her, she opted for a change in subject. She was already warm enough.
“Trista, how’s your vacation?”
“Wonderful and mostly relaxing.”
“Mostly?”
“I learned the ins and outs of your security system by locking myself out.”
“Oh, no! Did you call the number on the keypad?”
“Didn’t have time. Those screaming sirens made me a nervous wreck and by the time I messed up the code three times, the police arrived in a matter of minutes.”
She frowned. “No one called me.”
“No, they called Diesel.”
“Oh, good. He was able to get you in and reset the code?”
“After teasing me mercifully, yes.”
Silence crossed the line for several seconds.
“What?” Trista asked finally.
Bailey wasn’t sure she’d heard correctly. “Diesel teased you?”
“Yes, something about being dressed in black made me look like a burglar. Why?”
“Diesel doesn’t tease,” Grace said slowly.
“Well, he did tease me. And, he said black is sexy.” She sighed over the line. “But I returned the favor, I called the police.”
“You what?”
Bailey bit her bottom lip as her friend explained what happened. Trista could protest all she wanted; she was coming to the island.
“We’ll let you go,” Grace told her. “Get some rest and we’ll see you tomorrow.”
She noticed Trista didn’t correct Grace this time. “Ok, see you soon.”
Ice sat on the sofa and pressed the icon on his cell to connect the call to his team, cautiously optimistic that Diesel had encouraging news.
“Our second victim is Marcus Knight, the Maintenance Director,” he said as soon as Diesel answered. “The housekeeper found him in a linen cart in the laundry room this morning. Any word from the investigators?”
“According to the preliminary report from Hummingbird Bay PD, he was believed to have been electrocuted in the h
ot tub and then transported away from the scene. Approximate time of death two o’clock a.m.”
“Anything on film?”
He heard the telltale click of being put on speaker.
“No,” Harvard answered.
Ice scrubbed a hand over his jawbone. “The housekeeper is convinced there’s a devil on the loose and I’m beginning to agree.”
“Anyone have a motive?” Although Diesel asked the question, his tone relayed that he didn’t expect a positive answer.
“According to Santana, no. Model employee without any personal or professional issues.”
“Any link to Overton?”
“Just employment. No personal association on the surface.”
“What’s the mood at the resort?”
“The staff is shaken but the guests don’t appear to be bothered.”
“Not at all?”
“There is some concern, but Santana has kept the details under wraps. He’s dead-set against causing a panic. Does everyone have alibis?”
Harvard chimed in. “All confirmed by video. Santana is at the Guest Services Counter, Green was attending to a malfunction in the card reader system in the spa, and Gerard was glued to the Concierge podium as usual.”
“What about the housekeeper?” Ice knew Amelia had absolutely nothing to do with the crime other than finding the body, but as long as they were checking alibis, they might as well check hers.
“Employed by the resort upon opening, clean as a whistle. She was at home, across the water in Hummingbird Bay and didn’t arrive back at the resort until morning. According to the payroll badging system, she’d only been on duty ten minutes before she found Knight.”
“Unique method of murder. If our guy hadn’t moved the body, the manner of death could’ve easily been ruled as suicide or accidental. Bailey and I saw him working on the exterior of the tub, but his clothing was soaking wet when they found him. The assumption is that he climbed into the water to check something on the inside.”
Harvard confirmed the consensus. “Upon investigation, several wires were found floating on the water.”
“Our perp took time to remove the body but not to clean up after himself.”