I thought I'd use my time talking to Casey. He'd started his shift early today, which meant he should he clocking off soon. If I was lucky, maybe I'd get to spend the time with him.
I collected my board from where I'd dropped it on the sand and carried it to the shed. I had no idea what my next student was going to look like, so I had no idea what size board he would need. I selected a variety I thought would suit an adult male beginner and checked them for wax. With that done, I wandered towards The Lava Pot. Casey was standing on the boardwalk, looking out to the ocean, seemingly lost in thought. Sneaking up behind him, I put my arms around his waist.
He jumped, spinning to see who was hugging him.
"Sam, you gave me a fright," he said, allowing me to pull him close and kissing the top of my head.
"Who did you think it was?"
"Honestly, I was worried it was Lori," he whispered in my ear. "She's been getting a bit touchy-feely lately."
I'd seen her husband Martin sitting under one of the nearby umbrellas, drinking his sorrows away.
I laughed. "She wouldn't grab you, would she?"
"Yes, she would."
I raised an eyebrow to him.
"Let's just leave it at that, shall we?" he said, a huge smile spreading. "What are you up to?"
"I have an hour or so to kill between classes. I was hoping you'd be finished with work and I could spend it with you."
Casey leaned down and gave me a soft, gentle kiss. "That sounds amazing. Can you give me ten minutes though? I finish my shift then."
"Sure can. I'll wait here." I got another kiss before Casey picked up a stack of dirty glasses and made his way back inside.
I watched him go, his long legs covering the ground effortlessly, his gait relaxed, and thought just what a lucky girl I was.
Just as I was feeling quite smug, I heard Martin's voice from behind me.
"Enjoy it, young lady," he said.
I spun to see who he was talking to. It appeared to be me.
"Pardon?"
"Young love. Enjoy it while you can."
"Oh, okay. Thank you?" I said, wondering if that was advice he was giving me.
"It doesn't last. Soon you'll be bickering and fighting, and she just won't look at you the same way she used to."
Was he talking to me or to himself?
"Umm…are you talking about Casey?"
"What?" He seemed to shake himself. "Casey, of course. I was talking about Casey."
"Martin, are you okay?" He didn't look okay. He looked like he should have laid off the gin and tonics five drinks ago.
"I'm fine. Thanks for asking. It's nice someone cares," he almost spat.
Emotion filled his eyes, and I wondered how things with him and Lori were really going.
"How about I get you a glass of water?" I suggested. "It might help you feel better." And sober up, I wanted to add, but I didn't. Instead I entered The Lava Pot and made my way to where the water was kept.
Casey was busy serving a group of corporate men—judging by the clothes they were wearing—at the other end of the bar, and he didn't see me approach. I smiled, admiring him as he casually laughed with the men, remembering what they drank and bringing it to them whenever one of them raised a finger. Casey was born to be a bartender. He had personality, charm, and a very good memory. His movements were fluid, and his laugh was contagious. He also loved what he did. He'd told me it wasn't the alcohol he loved, but the people he served. He loved hearing their stories and just being around the happy atmosphere you found inside a bar. At least in The Lava Pot it was happy. Some of the places he had worked didn't sound like so much fun.
I gave a contented sigh and poured Martin a glass of water, surveying the crowd as I did so. A stunning woman wearing oversized glasses walked in through the open doors, her waist-length blonde hair shimmering as she moved. Prada hugged her body and skimmed her knees as her Christian Louboutins clicked on the wooden floor. She walked with a purpose, her scowl ruining her look of perfection. Dropping her $3,000 handbag (I knew the price, as I'd been admiring it in the window of the resort boutique for quite a while), she tapped her toe as she looked down the bar to Casey.
She must have been having a bad day if she was in that much of a hurry to get a drink. I wondered what her story was.
Casey spotted her, had one last laugh with the men, and quickly made his way along the bar. I always watched his reaction to beautiful women, my self-esteem not really great around those who looked like that. Casey was a flirt. But he was a harmless flirt. I never doubted him. It was just sometimes I doubted myself.
He sauntered up to her, smiling. It was only as she dropped her sunglasses onto the bar top next to her bag and shook her long golden locks that his smile froze.
He knew her, and judging by his reaction, I didn't think he was all that happy to see her walk into his bar.
By her reaction, I figured she was just as surprised to see him. But it was momentary. She replaced it with a dazzling smile. A smile that seemed to take Casey's breath away.
He was clearly standing in front of a woman from his past, and I felt light-headed as I waited to see what would happen.
"Excuse me," a voice said from behind me. I turned to see an elderly man smiling at me. "Would you mind if I got myself a glass of water?"
I realized I'd been blocking his way. "Of course not. Sorry," I muttered to him.
His words jolted Casey, and his eyes flicked to me. His pale complexion turned pink and then red. I thought he was going to speak to me. I thought. Instead I heard the woman speak.
"Casey Dalton," she said. "Fancy seeing you here."
* * *
My hand shook as I placed the glass on the bar, and I wished, just for a moment, that I'd stayed outside with Martin.
Casey glanced at the woman but moved to me.
"Sam," he said, his tone urgent.
"Oh…umm…I just have to take this to Martin. He's…ummm…a bit drunk. I think." My words felt jumbled as they rolled off my tongue.
"Sam, wait. I'm coming. Just give me a minute. Please." He reached across the bar and touched my arm. He felt warm, and my insides tingled. Not sure if that was anxiety or what, but they definitely tingled.
I swallowed the large amount of saliva that seemed to be drowning me and nodded.
Casey turned back to the woman. "Can I get you something?" he asked, his tone clipped.
Okay, here's the thing. My stomach was doing somersaults. Not sure why. Part of me wanted to run and not watch, but another part of me was curious.
The woman flicked her hair over her shoulder and leaned across the bar, ignoring me altogether.
"Well, well, well," she said.
Her strong Australian accent jolted me.
"Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, I had to walk into yours." She laughed, a tinkling sound that made my skin crawl.
"Who would have thought?" replied Casey. "What do you want?" He swallowed hard.
"Now that's not a very nice way to greet me. And you know what I want. I'll have my usual."
"Some people never change," he said, turning to make her drink.
I watched his every movement as he mixed a cocktail and poured it into a glass. He knew her drink well.
As he handed her the glass, she leaned over the bar and took his face in her hands. "Still as gorgeous as ever," she said, licking her lips like she wanted to eat him.
He pulled back out of her grip. "What are you doing here?"
She didn't seem offended by his reaction. In fact, it seemed to amuse her. "I'm on vacation."
"And you just happened to come to Aloha Lagoon?"
"Yes. All of those years Ryan and Travis talked about it, they just made it sound so perfect."
So she was part of that gang.
"And you just happen to show up at the same time Ryan and Travis had the same idea?"
"They're here too? How fun," she trilled, taking a sip of her drink. "Yum. You still make th
e best White Russian I've ever tasted," she said, once again licking her lips seductively.
Casey swallowed hard. "Travis is here. Somewhere. Ryan's dead."
The glass slipped in her fingers. As Casey's words sunk in, her skin paled under her immaculate makeup.
"Pardon? I thought you just said Ryan's dead."
"I did."
"But…he's here in Aloha Lagoon. You just said he was."
She was obviously not up on current affairs.
"He came here, yes. And then he was murdered." Casey's voice was flat, and his eyes looked dull.
"How?" she demanded.
I forgot all about Martin's glass of water I had picked back up, completely enthralled by what I was watching. Some of it spilled and dripped on my leg. I jumped as the cold water touched my skin.
"I have to go, Veronica," Casey said to the woman. "Enjoy your vacation," he said, his tone hard. He walked along the bar, opened the timber gate that separated him from the clientele, and grabbed my hand. Pulling me along behind him, we made our way into the fresh air, Martin's glass of water sloshing as I ran to keep up.
* * *
"Okay, what's going on?" I asked. "Who was that?"
"No one you need to be worried about."
I stopped on the timber boardwalk, causing Casey to lose his grip of my hand. Water dripped off my fingers.
"I'm not stupid, Casey. I saw your reaction."
He released a very loud sigh. "She's the woman I told you about."
Well, I guessed that explained his reaction.
I walked to Martin and put the glass onto the table, slightly harder than I'd meant to. He jumped.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you," I said to him, touching his shoulder. "Here's your drink."
He lifted the glass and looked into it. It now had only about an inch of water left in the bottom. Oops.
Casey had stood with his hands on the railings overlooking the sand, his head down, taking some deep breaths.
He looked so shaken, my heart squeezed.
Rachel Wein, the resort assistant manager, walked past, her four-inch heels clicking on the boards. "Casey," she called, stopping. Rachel was pretty and petite, her long chestnut hair loose around her neck.
Casey took one sustaining breath, put on a fake smile, and turned to her.
"Hi, Rachel. How's things?" he asked.
"I'm sorry, but we need to have a chat." Her tone was friendly and sympathetic, but it still didn't sound good.
"Really?"
"Yes. I'm sorry, Casey, but management knows you've been questioned by Detective Ray, and they want details." She shrugged apologetically.
She really was a sweetheart.
"I haven't done anything wrong," he replied.
"I'm sure you haven't. They just want to be kept up to date with your involvement in the investigation. It doesn't look good for the resort if they have a suspected murderer working for them."
Casey's jaw tightened. "I'm not a murderer."
She sighed. "Can we please just go to my office and talk about it?" She looked like she was in a position she didn't want to be in, but I guessed that was why they paid her the big bucks.
Casey nodded. "Now?"
"Yes, please. The sooner the better."
He walked to me, kissing me lightly on the cheek. "We'll catch up tonight, okay?"
It was my turn to nod. Seemed like my break with Casey was dead in the water.
After he left with Rachel, I sat heavily on a chair next to Martin and rubbed my face with my hands. I had so many thoughts zipping around my brain, it was giving me a headache.
"That doesn't look good for him," said Martin unsympathetically, emptying the contents of the glass I gave him. It didn't take long.
"No," I said on a sigh. "But Rachel's known for being fair. She'll be kind to him."
"Maybe she will, but what about management?" Martin sounded annoyed. Bless him.
"You know what I wish?" I said. "I wish I'd never met Ryan. I wish he'd never come to Aloha Lagoon."
Martin nodded. After a minute of silence, he said, "Finding his body must have been hard for you." He appeared to be sobering up slightly.
"Yeah, in more ways than one," I commented, thinking of Casey. "We were having such a good day until then."
"You're a good girl Samantha. It's a shame you're caught up with this."
"Thanks, Martin." Martin and Lori may have had a rocky relationship, but I could only judge him based on the way he treated me. And that was only ever kind. "I just need to find a way to clear Casey's name."
"You think he's innocent?"
"Of course! And I'm going to prove it. We're going back to the forest. We need to find clues as to who really did it. And there are too many questions, Martin."
"Questions?"
"Yes, like is the treasure real?"
Martin sighed loudly. "Don't waste your time looking for it."
"But doesn't it make you curious?"
"Not really. Why would you care about it?"
I didn't know. Maybe I just didn't like mysteries.
"No reason."
"The treasure is a myth. You need to let this go, Samantha."
He was probably right, but I wasn't about to do that. "Well, if nothing else I still want a good look around."
"Why don't you leave that to the police?" His tone was hard, suggesting he didn't like the idea of me delving into this.
"All due respect to Detective Ray, but he works on island time. Casey could be deported before he solves the case."
"There's nothing wrong with island time," chastised Martin.
I sighed. "Sorry. I didn't mean to sound insulting. Island time is great. I'm still adjusting to it. That's all."
Martin nodded and patted the back of my hand. "You're a sweet girl. Not everyone would have cared enough to get me a drink. Even if it was minute."
"Would you like another one?"
"No. Lori will be home soon." His eyes sharpened as he spoke. "I should be going," he said, standing and only slightly swaying. "Sam, stay out of the forest. It's obviously not a safe place to be."
"Thanks. I'll keep that in mind."
* * *
I waited on the sand for my student to arrive. I had no idea what this man looked like, so I just kept close to the surfboards, my resort polo shirt covering my swimsuit.
Five minutes after the lesson should have started, a guy in his twenties sauntered down to me. He was taller than me, but not what I would describe as tall, and he was okay looking. He had slicked-back blond hair, and his eyes were hidden by his Oakley sunglasses. He was wearing board shorts and sandals, his bare white chest in desperate need of some sunscreen. I blinked in the glare.
"Hi, Samantha!" he called to me. His accent was American, but other than that, I had no idea where he was from, yet a memory of him stirred.
"Hi. Are you my new student?" I put on a smile.
"Sure am. I'm John."
He took my hand I had extended to him and held on to it for slightly longer than necessary, his stare intense. Oh no. I hoped that wasn't why he had asked for a private lesson.
Pulling away from him, I asked, "So John, why did you want me? Brad is an excellent instructor." If a little vain, but I didn't add that.
"Oh well, I saw you one day with a kid, and you had a lot of patience with him. That's what I need. I have seen Brad, but he's too…well you know." He mimed big muscles.
I did know. I nodded. "Okay. Well, we should get started. I grabbed a couple of boards I thought would suit you. Looking at your height, I think you should use the blue one." The blue board also had the best stability. Probably what he needed. "Have you ever surfed before?"
"A couple of times, but I'm not very good."
"If you were, you wouldn't need me," I joked.
"I'm not sure about that. You seem like someone I want to know more about," he said, giving me a sleazy smile. I shuddered.
"Let's get into the water and see how you go."
I pulled my polo shirt over my head and threw it on the sand near the remaining boards. John's mouth hung open slightly as I realized I needed to adjust the bodice of my swimsuit. I wasn't flashing him, but I came close. Bugger.
Ignoring the heat racing up my neck, I grabbed my board and walked to the water's edge with John.
Beginners never looked comfortable holding a board. They weren't overly heavy, but they were awkward. John didn't look uncomfortable. In fact, he looked very at home with it.
I inwardly groaned.
"So John. What do you want to work on today?"
"Maybe just catching the wave. I'm not great at that."
Alright, I'd give him the benefit of the doubt. But if he turned out to be a great surfer, then I was having a serious chat with Juls.
The surf was reasonably flat, so it was actually great for a beginner. We waded out past the breaker, and I watched John fluidly get onto his board.
Following him, we paddled out until I was happy, and then we sat, waiting for the perfect wave. Like I said, the surf was flat—we were going to be there awhile.
"How long have you been in Aloha Lagoon, Sam?" he asked me, salt water dripping down his face, the sun reflecting on it.
"Oh, not long. What about you?"
"Only a couple of days."
"Where are you from?" I asked, checking for the waves.
"Around and about," he replied.
That was a strange answer.
"So what do you recommend to do in Aloha Lagoon?"
"Aloha Lagoon has so much to offer," I told him, suddenly animated. "If you want to do some tours, then I recommend Gabby's Island Adventures. She can organize almost anything for you."
"Anything?" He raised his eyebrow suggestively.
"Pretty much."
"Cool. I'll keep that in mind." He sat thoughtful for a moment. "Have you spent much time in the rain forest?"
His words prickled my skin.
"Not much. Why?"
"Just thought it would be fun to check it out. Hawaii's not all surf, you know."
"Thanks for the tip," I responded sarcastically. I then checked myself. If John was a legitimate student, then I needed to be nice to him.
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