“Jack, how can you be so cold?” Bethany demanded, appearing in the doorway with a mixed drink. “You saw that poor dead girl.”
“I’m sorry to say it, but in my line of work, I’ve seen dead people before. We all gamble with our lives. Girl like that, she gambled more than most. Hey, are we having dinner here tonight?” he demanded.
“There you go,” Alex laughed. “The last of the great sympathizers.”
“I’m hungry and lonely. Every one of you took off today. I saw the professor this morning, and I was almost desperate enough to have lunch with him.”
“You guys are mean,” Genevieve offered, coming out of the kitchen. Her eyes met Thor’s. “He’s not that bad a guy. He’s an academic, that’s all.”
“Armchair diver,” Alex sniffed. “Can’t cut the mustard himself, so he thinks he’s going to tell us all what to do.”
“Be nice,” Genevieve warned him.
“What about food?” Jack asked, fingering the skull and crossbones in his earlobe.
“We bought lots of food,” Victor said.
“For tomorrow,” Bethany said firmly.
“Let’s go somewhere with upbeat music,” Alex said thoughtfully. He looked around. “Jack is right, you know. I don’t want to say anyone deserved such a fate, but…she was a prostitute.”
“You were right the first time,” Genevieve said firmly. “No one deserves what happened to that girl.”
No. No one deserved it, Thor thought. So what about the runaway who had disappeared, and the almost-supermodel?
And Jay Gonzalez’s wife.
“Thor, what’s up?” Bethany asked, catching his thoughtful look.
He shrugged, forced a smile. “I’m with Alex. Let’s find some good food and good music.”
“All right. Let’s do the Hog’s Breath tonight,” Bethany said. They all stared at her. “Hey, someone has to make decisions around here.”
Thor rose. “Hog’s Breath it is.”
They opted for a table near the lone musician, a guitarist and singer. Thor had seen many talented singers with synthesizers at their sides, but this guy was a cut above. He joked with the crowd between songs. He wasn’t a Conch, he told them, just a wannabe. At the end of his first set, he proved himself to be a decent human being, as well, speaking on a somber note. “Ladies, gentlemen, you are in Key West. And Lord knows, we want you here. We want you to buy lots of booze—and my CD of original songs, of course—but we also want you staying responsibly sober and careful. Know the one you’re with, ladies Take care out there. Help us out. If you see or hear anything helpful to the police, let them know. I want you coming back to see me. And I want you to buy more CDs and eat more Key lime pie. Thank you all.”
Thor rose. He felt Genevieve’s hand on his—he’d made sure that this time he got the seat next to her when they sat down. She was looking at him with a frown and a question. He smiled at her. “I like this guy so I’m buying lots of CDs.”
She gazed at him with a smile. Something in him did a flip. He was falling too deep. Drowning. But he liked it, and couldn’t quite stop himself. “Be right back.”
He found out when he bought the CDs—he picked up three: one for his secretary in the Jacksonville office; one for himself; one for Lizzie and Zach, who he thought would enjoy it—that the singer knew all about the dive. “You’re working with Marshall’s crew, right? And Gen?” There was something soft in his voice when he said her name. “Watch out for her, huh? She’s a Key West treasure, kind of like the sunset.”
When he got back to the table, Bethany was saying, “I really hope they catch this guy. People need to be warned, but our whole economy is tourism.”
“There’s the navy, too,” Victor said without conviction.
Bethany shivered. “Just think. There’s a killer here. He could be right here on the patio listening to the music and having supper, just like us. He could be right next to us when we walk down the street.”
Just as she said the words, Thor looked up to see Jay Gonzalez, in a casual long-sleeved shirt and jeans, walking in.
Could it be…?
No, the guy had let him into the autopsy. He’d arranged for him to access police files.
Cover-up?
All he knew was that he would keep his eye on the man until…when?
There were killers out there who were never caught.
Thor didn’t realize just how long he’d been staring at Jay until Genevieve nudged him. “Ready?”
“What?”
“We’re all set,” she said, her expression curious.
“The bill?”
Victor cleared his throat. “My turn. I already picked it up.”
“I can expense meals,” Thor reminded him.
“Yeah, but I was starting to feel like a kept woman or something,” Victor said, grinning easily. “And tonight was probably the cheapest opportunity I was going to get. Reasonable place, and we’re minus Lizzie, Zach and Marshall.”
As they left, Jay Gonzalez raised a hand in greeting. Genevieve pulled away from Thor for a moment, walking over to Jay, giving him a hug, exchanging a few words. Thor realized he didn’t like it. He wanted to drag her away from the man. He refrained, forcefully holding himself in check.
As Genevieve started walking back, Jay Gonzalez smiled and waved to him. He found he was forcing a smile in return. It was probably not a good thing to let the local cop know he was considering him as a candidate for the possible serial killer they were seeking. The guy had been good to him, getting him in to see the body, letting him search through police files. He owed him.
Still…
This was getting ridiculous. He was becoming suspicious of everyone.
Maybe that wasn’t so bad. Because the killer had to be someone.
Maybe someone they knew well.
“We’ll see you tomorrow, Jay,” Genevieve called out to him.
“Yeah, see you tomorrow,” Thor repeated.
“You got it,” Jay called back.
Thor kept his smile glued in place. Fine. The guy was welcome to see them all anytime. Welcome to see Genevieve. Just as long as he was with her.
As they left, Genevieve linked her arm with his. “I was thinking of going home tonight,” she said. “You know, to be ready for the barbecue tomorrow and all.”
“Is that an invitation?”
“Yes.”
“Sure.” He turned to her, smiling slightly. “We’re walking with the others toward the resort, you know.”
She laughed softly. “Yes, I am aware of that fact. I just want to make sure Marshall’s boat is back,” she told him gravely.
“Sure.”
When they reached the resort, however, Marshall’s boat wasn’t back.
Genevieve was worried and said so.
“You know Marshall. He had the time off, so he went off somewhere. That’s all,” Victor said. “Hey, we’ll call his cell, okay?”
But Marshall didn’t answer his cell.
“We should put out a missing persons report,” Genevieve said.
Victor groaned. “Honey, he’s a grown man. He hasn’t even been gone twenty-four hours. He knows what he’s doing. He has plenty of fuel capacity. He could’ve headed up to the mainland for all we know.”
“I’m still worried,” Genevieve said.
“Gen…” Victor set his hands on her shoulders. “Marshall is a big strong guy. He’ll be fine. He’s not a pretty blonde like the killer seems to be after. We’ll see him tomorrow. Okay?”
“No,” Genevieve said. Then she sighed. “But I guess there’s no choice.”
“Honey, it’s really okay. Victor is right. We found a dead woman,” Jack reminded her gruffly. “Not a man like Marshall. He can take care of himself. The guy who killed that woman…he likes the ladies, not gorillas like Marshall who can fight back.”
They were all silent for a moment. Then Bethany said, “Victor, I’m on your couch.”
“You can come to the house,” Genev
ieve said. Did she sound a little nervous? Thor wondered, or was he imagining it? And if she was nervous, was it because she’d opted to be alone with him, or because Bethany was going to be alone with Victor?
“With the two of you? No, thanks!” Bethany laughed, then yawned. “Come on, Victor. Let’s go to bed. I’ll just get a few things from my cottage for the morning.”
Victor groaned. “Your cottage isn’t a minute’s walk from mine.”
“I need my toothbrush,” Bethany insisted.
“All right, all right,” Victor grumbled.
“Hey, me having a toothbrush is for your benefit, too.”
“Really? Are we getting that close?” Victor teased.
Bethany stared back at him. Victor laughed. “Don’t worry. It would be gross, like sleeping with my sister.”
“Now I’m gross?”
Victor stared at the others. “I can’t win here, can I?” he demanded.
They laughed, but Thor wondered why Genevieve still looked uneasy.
They said their good-nights. Genevieve was quiet as they walked back to her house.
“What is it?” he asked her.
She looked at him, startled. “Nothing—well, other than the fact that the police believe the killer comes from the Keys.”
He shook his head. “Are you worried about Bethany?”
“Of course not! She’ll be with Victor,” she answered too quickly.
“You suspect Victor?” he asked very softly.
“Don’t be silly! I’ve known him my whole life.” She smiled. Her words were both sincere and, somehow, a little uncertain.
He stopped walking.
“If you’re the least bit worried…”
“I’m not,” she insisted. She stared at him, shook her head and smiled. “Really, I’m not. We all know exactly where Bethany is.”
He nodded, and they started walking again. “I wish I knew where Marshall was,” she said softly after a minute.
“Marshall is a big guy. I’m sure he’s fine.”
Again she was silent for a minute. Then she looked at him, and he was certain her worry was just as much for him as for Marshall. “The biggest, most confident, toughest guy in the world can fall…if taken by surprise.”
“Marshall is fine,” he assured her. He believed that, right? So where the hell was the guy?
And just what was he doing?
Thor gritted his teeth silently, forcing an expression of complete calm over his features. He slipped an arm around her shoulders as they walked. “Marshall will show up tomorrow. I promise.”
“He knew about the barbecue, so if he wasn’t planning on coming, he would have said so,” she agreed. “Right?”
Despite her words, she still seemed uneasy. When they reached her house, Thor tried to reassure her again. “Marshall is fine, and so are we.”
She hesitated, then nodded. “Thor, if he doesn’t show up tomorrow, I want to look for him, okay? And we’ll call Jay, too. I can’t help it. I’m worried. Marshall is a social creature. He always hangs around with us.”
“Look,” Thor said softly. “You’re all friends, as close as a pack of siblings—but you don’t date one another. Marshall is a good-looking guy. Maybe he went out on a date, huh?”
She smiled at that. “Yes, that is a possibility.”
“Would you have been so worried if all—” he weighed his words before opting to say “—this wasn’t going on?”
“No,” she admitted.
“All right. Tomorrow, if he doesn’t show for the barbecue, we call the cops, and we look for Marshall. And when we find him, he’ll probably be surprised, and maybe a little pissed, thinking he needs a life, too, and we should have respected that. So let’s give this place a really good once-over—or twice-over, if it makes you happy—and make sure we’re locked in, alone and safe and sound, okay?”
His words seemed to help her. And once they got inside, he did walk through the entire house twice, with her following right behind him.
“Nothing in the closets or under the beds,” he swore. “She’s locked up tight. You’re safe and sound. Except from me,” he teased.
“You still think I’m crazy,” she told him.
He found himself standing in front of her, his hands on her shoulders. “I think you’re beautiful,” he told her softly.
His words were the right ones, and they were true.
He didn’t notice how they made it up the stairs and into the bedroom. It was as if she was instantly in his arms, their clothing melted away rather than taken off, with something like pure, wet, hot, primal fusion taking place. At one point some sense of sanity returned, and he murmured, “I know you’re worried. We don’t have to…we don’t have to…”
Her eyes touched his. A slight smile teased her lips. “I’d crawl into your skin, if I could,” she said, and her lips fell against his again instantly while their flesh burned together and their limbs entwined.
He wasn’t sure how other thoughts managed to stay in his mind as his sexual desire rose with volatile speed to madness. But she was beautiful in so many ways, body, mind and essence. Tall, vital, muscled, competent, proud, unique…lips full and sensual, hips capable of such extraordinary movement…His mouth savored and teased her flesh, his body, heart and head pounded…
It seemed he climaxed in a million ways, that he came to life when he should have been limp, her slightest movement awoke every erotic impulse in his system. Time seemed unending. Then she curled against him. And they slept.
He would never understand what happened then, in the middle of the night. He prided himself on his awareness. He’d started that in the navy, on guard in the Middle East. He’d made it a way of life when diving in foreign ports where safety wasn’t even a suggestion. He usually awoke at the drop of a pin.
Instead, he woke slowly when he felt her shivering, trembling at his side. His mind seemed fogged. He became aware by degrees that he was surrounded by a strange dampness.
It seemed that he could smell the sea.
At last, somehow, he roused himself enough to realize he wasn’t actually holding her, that she was a breath away from him. He wrapped his arms around her, listening then, fighting the mist in his mind.
“Genevieve?”
She didn’t reply. She moved closer. Flesh on flesh so tight she might have crawled into his skin.
“What is it?”
“Nothing,” she whispered.
“What…?”
“A nightmare. But you’re here. Nothing…I’m all right. I’m all right.” The first statement was said with a quiver. The second was stronger.
Her conviction allowed him to draw her tighter. “I’m here,” he said.
“I know,” she murmured. She was silent a minute, close against him. He was amazed to realize how incredible it felt just to sleep beside her.
Just to hold her.
He kissed her forehead, drew her closer.
He was still tired. And sated. And ready for more sleep.
The fog returned. Darkness. Exhaustion. He fought it, waiting for her trembling to cease. And when it did, he gave way to sleep.
He knew when she awoke in the morning. Just as he should have been, he was alert at her first shift, as she slipped from his arms and arose.
She knew he had awakened. She planted a kiss on his lips.
He reached for her, but she slipped away. “It’s late,” she said. “Nearly noon. We’ll have company soon.”
He lay in bed for a few minutes longer, closing his eyes, oddly tired. True, they had spent a lot of the night awake.
But he felt as if he’d been…fighting all night. There was a feeling of exhaustion after sex, but that feeling was good, sated….
Damn, this was strange.
At last he rose himself.
As he did, he paused. There was a hint of something in the air. A teasing scent. He paused a moment; then he knew.
Seawater. The distinctive scent of the ocean.
He gazed at the bed. It was still…damp. He tried to tell himself they’d indulged in some strenuous lovemaking, the kind that couldn’t help but dampen the sheets.
He walked around the bed.
The floor was soaked next to the side where Genevieve had slept. He hunkered down and touched the Persian rug. The scent rose more strongly around him.
Seawater.
11
“This is my uncle, Adam,” Audrey announced, entering Genevieve’s house. “And Uncle Adam…this is everyone.”
They were virtually the last to arrive. Jay Gonzalez had been first, with Bethany and Victor right behind him. Zach and Liz had been next. Then Jack, proud as a peacock as he arrived with a perfectly sized grouper, freshly caught that morning. Alex had arrived just seconds before Audrey and her uncle.
Only Marshall still remained among the missing.
And as for Uncle Adam, Thor was suspicious of him from the start, mainly, he had to admit, because he had arrived with Audrey.
Why Audrey irritated him so much, he couldn’t say. It was just the entire idea of being a medium, a soothsayer, a tarot card reader, whatever.
Uncle Adam was tall, thin, almost gaunt, a man of perhaps sixty-something to seventy years in age. For all that, he was a handsome man with strong features and fascinating gray eyes. He was soft-spoken, polite, interested at every introduction.
Except, Thor thought, the guy stared at him a little too long. Made him feel uncomfortable. He’d never in his life felt he was being read before, but that was the impression Adam gave him. He didn’t like it. He liked it even less when he saw the older man speaking with Genevieve, who was smiling back and chatting, looking at the man as if he were her long lost uncle.
“Hey, want to give me a hand with the grouper?” Jack asked.
“Yeah. Sure.”
He didn’t really want to, of course. He wanted to eavesdrop on whatever was being shared between Audrey, good old Uncle Adam and Genevieve.
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