“How great,” Rowan intoned, rolling her eyes.
Quinn squeezed her shoulder to offer comfort but remained focused on Masters. “What will happen now?”
“Now there will be a jurisdictional pissing contest to see who gets to levy charges against Phil first,” Masters replied. “A lot of other people are going down because of the drug trade, too. It will be a big mess.”
“Oh, how sad for you,” Rowan drawled.
Masters’ lips quirked at her unhappiness. “I’m sorry if you feel that I lied to you. I had a job to do.”
“I don’t care about that. I care that you knew all of this was going on and yet Elvira still died … and seemingly for no reason.”
“I didn’t know he was going to move on her,” Masters supplied. “I knew he hated and disliked her, but I never thought he would do what he did.”
“Why did he do it?” Quinn asked. He’d been shut out of questioning the night before and was only slightly bitter about it.
“Because he thought Callisto was really dead and reasoned that he could tie Elvira’s death to her disappearance. He’s not the sharpest knife in the drawer. He didn’t think things out clearly.”
“What about Callisto?” Rowan asked. “She won the big award last night. She’s walking on water this morning, lording it over everyone. She knew what Phil was doing and didn’t do anything to stop him.”
“I’m not sure there’s anything I can do to her,” Masters admitted. “She’s not a big enough fish for anyone to care.”
“So she’ll just get away with it?” To Rowan, the thought was almost unbearable.
“I guess it depends on your version of ‘getting away with it,’” Masters replied. “She only got cast in roles because she had dirt on Phil. He’s no longer part of the game. Word will get out that she’s been blackmailing people. Despite what she thinks right now, she’s done in this business. No one will risk casting her.”
That was a small comfort to Rowan. Very small. “I guess that’s it then,” she said. “You’re leaving and going back to your life. Wait … do you have a real life?”
Masters nodded, seemingly amused. “I do. I’m looking forward to a little downtime. This case went on a lot longer than it should’ve because the higher-ups were convinced Phil had an important partner.”
“The person he was supposed to meet in Miami tomorrow?”
Masters nodded. “We’re hoping to arrange it so that meet still goes down, but I’m not sure if it will or not. I’ll have to play it by ear.”
“I hope it does for your sake,” Quinn offered. “You spent a long time undercover to have the case fall apart this late in the game.”
“No matter what, Phil will spend the rest of his life behind bars,” Masters noted. “Also, he’ll be tried for murder in the state of Florida … which still has the death penalty. Things might go really wrong for him yet.”
“I guess we can hope.” Rowan offered up a saccharine smile. “I’m just glad this stupid cruise is over with. Quinn delivered the camera to the winner and everyone else is disembarking as we speak. The ship will be full of normal people again in an hour.”
“Normal people, huh?” Masters didn’t look convinced. “You don’t seem normal to me.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because you were watching Callisto before any of this went down. Did you think I would forget that? You seemed to sense something big was going to happen to her long before it actually did. I want to know how.”
Quinn shifted from one foot to the other, uncomfortable. “Rowan was a fan of Callisto’s. That’s why she was watching her.”
“Not any longer,” Rowan muttered, staring at her feet. “I guess horror movies are out for me after this. That sucks.”
Quinn pursed his lips as he studied her profile. That was the last thing he wanted. “Maybe you can find someone new to follow … like Rebecca Madden. She turned out to be okay after all.”
Rowan brightened. “That’s true.”
Quinn smiled before turning back to Masters. “Do you need anything else before we take our leave?”
“You still haven’t answered my question,” Masters pointed out. “How did you know something was going on with Callisto?”
“We have answered,” Quinn replied, grabbing Rowan’s hand. “It’s not our fault you don’t like what we said.”
Masters wasn’t quite ready to admit defeat. “You’re hiding something.”
“Everyone has secrets.” Quinn signaled Andrew, who stood with his back against the wall several feet down, to approach. “Andrew will handle the prisoner transfer when you’re ready. I think I’m going to call it an early day.”
Masters smirked. “It’s not even noon yet.”
“And yet I have better things to do.” Quinn guided Rowan toward the exit door. “I hope your case comes together like you want.”
“Me, too,” Rowan echoed. “You’re still kind of a butthead, though.”
Masters chuckled. “I wasn’t lying about liking you. You’re funny … and smart … and kind of mysterious. I like a woman with those three qualities.”
“So do I,” Quinn said, tightening his grip on Rowan’s hand. “She’s already spoken for.”
“For now.”
Quinn ignored Masters’ challenging tone as they walked down the hallway, waiting until he was sure Masters was out of earshot to speak. “What do you want to do today? Do you want to go to the mainland and get a nice dinner?”
Rowan immediately started shaking her head, taking Quinn by surprise.
“No?”
“I want to spend the day with you.”
“I wasn’t suggesting you go alone.”
“No, I mean I want to spend the day with you … in private,” Rowan clarified, her cheeks pinking up a bit.
Quinn understood what she was referring to right away – mostly because he was trying to come up with a way to suggest the same thing himself. “Your room or mine?”
“You’re not going to put up an argument? You don’t have an excuse you want to manufacture?”
Quinn barked out a hoarse laugh. “Not even remotely, sweetheart. A day with you sounds like the perfect cap to a bad week. I’m pretty sure this is the remedy for all of our woes.”
“That sounds like a lot of pressure.”
Quinn shrugged. “Something tells me you’ll live up to the hype.”
“Really? Why?”
“Because, in the end, it doesn’t matter in the way we think it matters,” he explained. “All that matters is that it feels right. Does it feel right?”
“Yes.”
“Thank God you said that.” Quinn poked her side. “I would’ve cried if you changed your mind.”
Rowan tilted up her chin. “I’m not going to change my mind. I promise you that.”
“Good. Me either.” He dropped a soft kiss on the corner of her mouth. “I don’t suppose you know who has today in the pool, do you?”
“Sally. She told me.”
“I guess she’s going to be the big winner.”
“No, we’re going to be the big winners.”
“That’s true.”
“We’re going to make her buy us a nice dinner with her winnings, though,” Rowan added, causing Quinn’s smile to widen. “Race you back to my room?”
“You’re on.”
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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.
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Books by Lily Harper Hart
Hardy Brothers Security
Deadly Intentions
Deadly Intuition
Deadly Illusions
Deadly Proposal
Deadly Prospects
Deadly Ever After
Deadly Honeymoon
Deadly Questions
Deadly Addition
Deadly Vacation
Deadly Secrets
Deadly Storm
Deadly Dealings
Deadly Christmas
Deadly Desperados
Deadly Arrival
Deadly Rivalry
Deadly Memories
Deadly Adventure
Deadly Reunion
Deadly Conflicts
Deadly Payback
Deadly Waves
Deadly Forever
A Maddie Graves Mystery
Grave Homecoming
Grave Insight
Grave Delight
Grave Misgivings
Grave Concerns
Grave Discovery
Grave Decisions
Grave Seasons
Grave Holiday
Grave Haunting
An Ivy Morgan Mystery
Wicked Days
Wicked Dreams
Wicked Times
Wicked Places
Wicked Warning
Wicked Fog
Wicked Season
Wicked Winter
A Harper Harlow Mystery
Ghostly Interests
Ghostly Issues
Ghostly Deceits
Ghostly Worries
Ghostly Images
Ghostly Wrecks
A Rowan Gray Mystery
Welcoming Seas
Murky Seas
Stormy Seas (A Rowan Gray Mystery Book 3) Page 20