Choppy Seas (A Rowan Gray Mystery Book 5)

by Lily Harper Hart

  Quinn wasn’t sure what to make of the situation. He shifted so he could rest next to Rowan, settling his chin on her shoulder, and made a clucking sound with his tongue. “How did that happen? I thought they couldn’t compete without a coach and they didn’t have any other adults with them to serve in that capacity.”

  “They didn’t have any adults with them,” Rowan agreed. “It turns out a member of our staff is something of a cheerleading fanatic – apparently she wanted to do it professionally at one point and even tried out for the Saints – and she agreed to coach them.”

  “The Saints?” Things clicked into place for Quinn and he barked out a laugh. “You’re talking about Sally.”

  “I am talking about Sally.” Rowan lowered her eyes and smiled as she shook her head. “Apparently she heard enough of the whining that she couldn’t take another second of it. That’s what she said anyway. She came storming into Gabby’s hospital room, told her to hydrate up, and then announced she was taking over. She’s commandeered the aft of the ship for the next two hours so she can make sure the girls have their routine committed to memory with no chance of screw-ups.”

  “Huh.” Quinn stroked his strong jaw. “I certainly didn’t see that coming.”

  “Neither did I. I had no idea she was a cheerleader in a former life.”

  “It kind of makes sense,” Quinn said after a beat. “She’s the happy-go-lucky sort. I bet she looked cute in her little skirts back in the day.”

  Rowan shot Quinn a narrow-eyed look. “What are you getting at?”

  “That you’re the prettiest woman in the world,” Quinn teased, pressing a quick kiss to her cheek. “I’ll never say differently.”

  “Yeah, yeah.” Rowan waved off Quinn’s charming smile. “You’re already one of my favorite people in the world. You don’t have to lay it on so thick.”

  “Have you ever considered I like laying it on so thick?”

  “No.”

  “Fair enough.” Quinn snuggled closer, sliding his arm around Rowan’s waist so he could press her tight. “So, I finished questioning our three suspects. Do you want the lowdown?”

  Did she? Rowan honestly couldn’t decide. “I don’t know,” she said after a beat. “Is it going to depress me?”

  “Maybe a little, but the end is going to make you feel better.”

  “Fine.” She blew out a resigned sigh. “Tell me.”

  “Well, it’s pretty basic. What Leighann told you was all true. Some financial advisor who ran in the same circle they did absconded with their money in 2008 and both Leighann and Claire have been living on credit and savings that this guy didn’t get his hands on. They dragged it out as long as they could, but things were starting to get dire for both of them.”

  “That still doesn’t explain why they thought human trafficking was a good idea,” Rowan grumbled.

  “I don’t know how anyone could ever think that’s a good idea, but I think we’re talking about two of the most narcissistic women to ever set foot on the Earth here so you have to take that into account.”

  “I still hate them both.”

  “I believe that club is large … and about to get larger,” Quinn said. “Anyway, Claire wasn’t lying about keeping records. She gave us access to an online drive with information on a lot of people. I shared the information with the state and feds and they’re already moving. My understanding is they took down a cargo ship with fifty girls on it this morning.”

  Rowan visibly brightened. “Seriously?”

  “Seriously.” Quinn smiled as he impulsively kissed the tip of her nose. “As a side note, Detective Monk – you remember, he was the guy we talked to right before we left port – got in contact with me. One of the guys they took into custody on the ship was the same one we chased away at the bar that night.”

  Rowan bolted to a sitting position, jostling Quinn’s chin in the process. “Leighann and Claire had ties to that guy?”

  Quinn ruefully rubbed his chin with one hand and held up a quelling finger with the other. “Don’t get ahead of yourself,” he warned. “Each person in the system was merely a cog. I don’t think Leighann and Claire knew that guy. As for the nephew Leighann was talking about, he’s been taken into custody and so have half the women in Leighann and Claire’s gated community.”

  “Oh, I bet that was quite the scene.” Rowan rubbed her hands together, the story causing her excitement to grow. “I hope someone got video of it.”

  “We’ll check YouTube tonight.”

  “Good idea.”

  “As for Claire, she’s been nothing but helpful – as has David – and they’re ready to turn over on everyone,” Quinn said. “I honestly think she’s a logical woman and she knew it was over and decided the best thing to do was to cooperate. She hasn’t asked for anything specific yet, which I find fascinating. She’s more angry than anything else. She figures they would’ve gotten away with it if Johnny hadn’t gotten a bug up his butt and tried to grab Kasey to throw off the investigation. She’s still furious about that and maintains he’s to blame for the bulk of it.”

  “She killed Leighann, though,” Rowan pointed out. “It wasn’t an accident. It was in cold blood.”

  “She doesn’t deny that, although she said Leighann was planning to kill you and that was why she felt it necessary to kill Leighann.”

  “Do you believe her?”

  Quinn shrugged. “You tell me. Do you think Leighann was going to really kill you?”

  Rowan searched her heart and then grudgingly nodded. “I guess, but she didn’t have a weapon.”

  “I happen to think so, too,” Quinn admitted. “I don’t like Claire or what she’s done, but I’m not sure she won’t get off on something like manslaughter when it comes to Leighann’s death. As for those two women specifically, all their assets have been frozen and the district attorney is certain that everything will be sold off as compensation for some of the victims.”

  “If you find all the victims.”

  Quinn’s smile slipped. “Yeah. They’re going to look – and they’re going to look hard – but there is no guarantee that law enforcement will find all of them. Unfortunately, some of the girls will probably slip through the cracks.”

  “That doesn’t seem fair.”

  “It doesn’t, but there’s not much we can do about it.”

  “Yeah.” Rowan lowered herself so she could cuddle with Quinn, practically rolling on top of him as she got comfortable. “I spent the bulk of the morning with Gabby.”

  “I know. How is she feeling?”

  “She’s confused. They had to flush her system. The doctor couldn’t be sure what sort of drugs they gave her so he opted to do a full flush. Once Gabby ate enough food to put me to shame – and I’m not kidding, I’ve never seen anyone eat that much – she was feeling much better and asking questions about the competition.”

  “Which is now Sally’s problem,” Quinn pointed out. “We’ll head out there to cheer them on, but if I never meet another cheerleader after that, I’ll be totally okay.”

  “You and me both.”

  The duo lapsed into amiable silence, comfortable simply to be together. Rowan was the first to break it when something occurred to her. “What about Kasey?”

  “I had a choice with Kasey and decided to take the wussy way out,” Quinn replied, his hand busy as he attacked the kinks on Rowan’s back. “She told the truth – not right away, mind you, but eventually – and she admitted why she stole the sweater. I agreed to let her go if she returned the sweater to Gabby and apologized.”

  “She could’ve saved Gabby sooner. Do you think it was smart to let her off?”

  “She’s not completely off the hook. The police will be waiting to question her when she lands in Florida. She still might face charges.”

  “And yet you let her go to compete. What happens if she runs?”

  “I didn’t tell her the police would be waiting. I simply told her she had to apologize to Gabby, which she readily
agreed to do. In truth, she seems to be in much better spirits now that she knows Leighann is dead. That perked her right up.”

  “She makes me nervous.”

  “She makes me nervous, too. She’ll be the locals’ problem in a few days, though. We just need to make it through the rest of this trip.”

  “Good point.” Rowan burrowed closer. “Speaking of that, I was thinking and I have an idea.”

  “Ooh, I love it when you have ideas.” Quinn brushed his lips over Rowan’s as she angled up her face. “I bet I know what idea you’re entertaining. I already think it’s a good idea. We’ll fake sick and skip the cheerleading competition.”

  Rowan playfully smacked his arm. “We are so not going to do that.”

  Quinn’s smile slipped. “Fine.”

  “We have to be there for Sally.”

  “I said fine.”

  “After that, though, I thought we could go for a private dinner, just the two of us – maybe to some hole-in-the-wall romantic place only locals know about that you’re so good at sniffing out.”

  “I’m warming to this idea.”

  “After that I thought we could take a walk on the beach.”

  “I’m still liking this idea.”

  “And after that I thought we could … .” Rowan leaned forward to whisper a dirty suggestion in his ear but was cut off by the sound of her phone beeping to alert her about an incoming text.

  “Son of a … !” Quinn ground his teeth as he swore under his breath and Rowan giggled as she rolled to grab her phone. “That better be life-or-death stuff,” Quinn warned. “I’ve about had it with interruptions this week.”

  Rowan didn’t immediately answer, instead frowning at her phone. Quinn was instantly alert when he read the shift in her demeanor.

  “What is it, Ro?”

  “Nick.” Rowan barely got out the word as her throat threatened to close. “He’s back in Florida and wants to know when we can meet. He says he’s ready to answer our questions.”

  Quinn didn’t bother to hide his surprise. “Seriously? I thought he might take off and hide so that we never see him again.”

  “I thought the same.”

  Quinn gently pushed Rowan’s hair away from her face so he could study her features. He knew right away what kind of support she needed from him. Even though he was angry, he understood that her needs were more important than his … at least on this front. “We’ll be back in two days, although it will be late. Set up a meeting with him for the third day.”

  Rowan swallowed hard. “Yeah. Okay. Um … that’s a good idea.” Her hands shook as she typed.

  Quinn waited for her to send it before taking the phone and placing it on the nightstand. “Come here.” His hands were soft as they moved up and down her back and resumed their cuddling position. “It’s going to be okay. You’ll have the answers you need in a few days.”

  “Yeah. It’s going to be … fine.”

  Quinn briefly pressed his eyes shut before kissing her forehead. Rowan needed to be distracted … and he was good at distractions. “We can’t do anything for three days. That means we have time to focus on each other.”

  A small smile played at the corners of Rowan’s lips. “What did you have in mind?”

  “I believe you were just about to give me a really filthy suggestion.”

  “How do you know it was filthy?”

  “I have a feeling it’s my lucky day.”

  “I have a feeling it’s going to be that way for both of us.” Rowan lowered her mouth to his. “Do you want me to tell you or show you?”

  “Surprise me.”

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  Acknowledgments

  I’m a romantic at heart. A true romantic. I love the idea of a happy ending, so much so I have trouble writing a sad one. The world is sad enough. I like escaping in fiction. That’s just me. I like sarcasm and snark – but I’m not sure a sad ending is in me. If you’re looking for an edge like that, you’re probably looking in the wrong place. Just FYI.

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  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the author, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review.

  Books by Lily Harper Hart

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  Deadly Ever After

  Deadly Honeymoon

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  Deadly Addition

  Deadly Vacation

  Deadly Secrets

  Deadly Storm

  Deadly Dealings

  Deadly Christmas

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  Deadly Arrival

  Deadly Rivalry

  Deadly Memories

  Deadly Adventure

  Deadly Reunion

  Deadly Conflicts

  Deadly Payback

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  Deadly Forever

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  Grave Homecoming

  Grave Insight

  Grave Delight

  Grave Misgivings

  Grave Concerns

  Grave Discovery

  Grave Decisions

  Grave Seasons

  Grave Holiday

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  Wicked Days

  Wicked Dreams

  Wicked Times

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  Wicked Warning

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  Ghostly Interests

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  Ghostly Tricks

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  A Rowan Gray Mystery

  Welcoming Seas

  Murky Seas

  Stormy Seas

  Sunken Seas

  Choppy Seas

  Crossovers

  Wicked Ghosts