Beaches in Paradise

by Kathi Daley

  “Why Murphy’s?” I asked, interrupting again. “Wouldn’t your house have been a better place?”

  “It would seem, but Jeremy didn’t want anyone to realize Kline and I had met. Spencer was staying with me by then, so I thought Murphy’s would be a low-profile place to meet. I didn’t know Kline would show up in a full suit in the middle of summer. He really stuck out like a sore thumb.”

  “Yeah, he did,” I said. “Several people mentioned it.”

  “In retrospect, Murphy’s wasn’t the best choice, but by the time I realized it, it was too late.”

  “Then what happened?” I asked, anxious to hear more.

  “Thursday was a busy day. I’d promised to volunteer at the wakeboard competition in the morning and I had a lunch date with Striker. In addition to that, I’d offered to go out to the land where the mall was to be built to take some photos and measurements. And I had a sick friend I wanted to check in on and a dinner date with one of the town councilmen. In the midst of what turned out to be a lot of running around, I spotted a blue sedan following me pretty much everywhere I went.”

  “The blue car followed us as well,” I replied. “After we’d been to your house, trying to find you.”

  “It turns out the blue sedan was Spencer, or the man pretending to be Spencer, and his partner Arnie, although I didn’t realize that at the time.”

  “Did you notify the sheriff?” Kyle asked.

  “No. I mean, no one had done anything illegal. I just had a funny feeling about things, so I didn’t have anything to report. Anyway, back to Thursday of last week.” Gina took a deep breath. “As I mentioned, Striker had asked me if I would attend a meeting he’d set up with council member Doug Conrad. They planned to meet at the Lakeview Restaurant and I was to meet them there after the bake-off, where I was going to buy a cake for my friend. Conrad loved our ideas, and everything was going well until we were ready to leave the marina. Striker and I walked Doug out to his car and he left. Striker walked me to my car and I’d just unlocked the driver’s side door and was preparing to get in when I noticed blood on his shirt.”

  “You didn’t hear a gunshot?” Kyle asked.

  “No, I didn’t hear a thing. The gun must have had a silencer. I had no idea anything was going on until I saw the blood. Striker didn’t even call out. I think he was stunned.”

  “What did you do?” I asked.

  “I ran around to the passenger side of my car and shoved him into the passenger seat, then I ran back around to the driver’s side, started the car, and took off. I didn’t hear anything or see anyone with a gun, so I thought we’d gotten away. I was planning to drive to the hospital, but I noticed the same dark blue sedan behind us. I sped up and it did too. Looking back on things, I should have gone straight to the hospital, but I panicked. Instead of going there, I made a hard right turn onto the highway, trying to lose our tail.”

  “You must have been so scared,” I sympathized.

  “I was. I was convinced whoever was in the blue sedan had shot Striker and they were coming after us to shoot me too. As you already know, things went from bad to worse when I made the decision to try to outrun my tail. I ended up overcorrecting on a sharp curve and ran off the road, hitting a tree. I was pretty sure Striker was already dead. He’d lost a lot of blood and had passed out shortly after we left the marina. Now he was completely unresponsive. I didn’t have time to try to help him, I just ran. I thought I might get away, but one of the men—the passenger, who I later found out was Arnie—had gotten out of the car and followed me. He managed to catch up to me just before I got to the road on the other side of the forest. His buddy, the man I thought was my brother, was waiting with the car. They forced me in and took me to the cabin near the old sawmill.”

  “Why did they take you?”

  “They wanted the mathematical formula for the communication system I’d worked out for Jeremy. They were convinced I had all the pieces, which I didn’t.

  “But why had they been following you around? And why go to all the trouble to place a fake brother in your house? Why not just grab you in the first place?”

  “They knew I was meeting with Kline, but they didn’t know what he looked like or where we’d meet. They’d also picked up a false rumor that Jeremy Titan himself would be in town. Jeremy is well protected and virtually untouchable in DC. I think they’d decided to bide their time and follow me around in the hope of bagging not just me, but perhaps Carter and Jeremy as well.”

  “I guess that makes sense. What happened next?” I asked. “Except for you, the cabin was empty when we found you, so where are they now?”

  “Gone. They received a call at some point on Friday evening and took off. They left me tied to the bed with a head injury and absolutely no food or water. I would have died if you hadn’t found me.”

  I took Gina’s hand in mine. “I’m so sorry you had to go through all that. You must have been terrified.”

  “I was, but somewhere deep inside I knew you’d be looking for me. More than anyone I know, you always make sure the people you care for are all right.”

  Gina’s words touched my heart. I squeezed her hand. “So I guess the only unanswered question is, why did they shoot Bristow?”

  “That’s the odd part. They didn’t. While they held me, I overheard them talking. When Striker was shot, they were just following me, hoping I’d lead them to Kline. They were as shocked as anyone when they realized Striker had been shot. Of course, once I took off, they continued to follow me, as they had been all day. Although they might very well be responsible for Striker’s death, because I would have gone straight to the hospital instead of trying to run if they hadn’t been following me, I’m convinced they weren’t responsible for him being shot in the first place.”

  “So if the men who detained you didn’t shoot Bristow, who did?”

  “I have no idea.”

  Chapter 15

  Thursday, August 17

  It had been several days since we’d rescued Gina and life seemed to have returned to normal. Kyle and I never did have our romantic evening together, which was playing heavy on my mind, but my sisters were home and I had responsibilities to attend to. When we finally did take the next step in our relationship, I wanted it to be perfect, not rushed.

  Jeremy Titan had notified the FBI of his situation, and the men responsible for kidnapping Gina had been arrested in Maryland. As we suspected, it appeared that the brains behind the entire operation was Jeremy’s main competitor, Huntington Enterprises. The problem was that Huntington had covered his tracks, and in the end, he got off scot free while one of his thugs was framed for the whole thing.

  We still had no idea who’d shot Bristow and, to be honest, for a while I didn’t care. The only reason I’d become involved was because Gina had been in trouble, but once she was safe, my interest in the whole thing pretty much faded.

  At first.

  And then I ran into Kate at the Antiquery.

  “No need to thank me for finding Gina,” I said in a sarcastic tone of voice that was mean even for me. I hated the fact that Kate seemed to bring out the worst in me, but as hard as I tried, which really wasn’t all that hard, I just couldn’t seem to avoid goading her.

  “I understand that you had help from Stan Griffin, who, as I will remind you, was a professional trained in matters relating to murder investigations.”

  “That is true,” I admitted. Doc, a.k.a Stan Griffin, had helped out, as had Bookman, Grandpa, and Kyle.

  “I am happy that Ms. Roberts was found safe, but I want you to understand without a shadow of a doubt that your success in this one isolated incidence should in no way be perceived as permission to butt your nose in where it doesn’t belong. I have said this before and I will say it again. If you want to run around doing the work of a law enforcement officer, go to the academy and get the training you need. One of
these days your tendency to play cop is going to get you killed, and the last thing I need is your death on my conscious.”

  With that she walked out.

  “Well, I never,” I said to Jenna who was standing nearby.

  “Don’t let her get to you. Gina is safe and the case is closed. Would you like some pie?”

  “No. Thanks for lunch, but I should be going. Is Dennis off this weekend?”

  “The entire three days,” Jenna grinned.

  “Let’s the four of us go out. It’s been forever. I’ll call you tomorrow.”

  After I left the Antiquery I tried to put my altercation with Kate out of my mind, but that seemed like an impossible task. Gina was safe, but Kate and Roy still hadn’t managed to bring Bristow’s killer to justice and I felt the old itch begin to scratch at my consciousness just a bit. I hadn’t meant to become involved in this murder, but almost against my own will, I found myself reviewing the facts Kyle and I had gathered over and over in my mind. I know I’m not a cop and it isn’t my responsibility to solve every murder occurring in Serenity, but I’m a competitive sort and the more someone—namely Kate—tells me not to do something, the more I want to do it.

  We now had a timeline and we knew a lot about what had happened. Gina had volunteered at the wakeboarding completion on the morning Bristow had died. They’d had lunch that afternoon before each had gone their separate ways. Gina had told me that after lunch she’d driven out to the proposed mall site and taken some photos while Bristow caught up on some paperwork in his office. While at the mall site, Gina had walked and made a few notes. According to what we’d been told by Connie Bristow, she’d been at his office trying to collect the money he owed her, while Gina was at the bake-off buying a cake for her friend. After Bristow’s ex-wife left his office he’d gone over to the marina restaurant to meet Doug Conrad to try to ensure his vote for the mall project. After Gina dropped off the cake, she’d driven over to the restaurant to join them.

  When the meeting with the town council member was over, Gina and Bristow had walked Conrad to his car, and then Bristow walked with Gina to her car, where he was shot. According to Gina, the fact that Bristow had been shot had nothing to do with the men who were following and eventually kidnapped her. But the fact that those two unrelated things were going on at the same time seemed unimaginable. And while I’d never been a fan of the dishonest businessman, the events surrounding his death had worked their way under my skin. I wasn’t sure I could let them go.

  I hadn’t mentioned to anyone, including Kyle, that I’d been making a few notes. Now I felt perhaps the time had come to bring him into the loop.

  First, though, I needed to have breakfast with my family and make sure the chores at the resort were covered and the girls were taken care of for the day.

  “Good morning, everyone,” I greeted as I joined my dad and his fiancée Rosalie, Grandpa, and Ashley and Gracie at the breakfast table. Grandpa had made scrambled eggs and sausage with home-baked bread. I was starving. “What does everyone have going on today?”

  “Kristi wants to come over,” Ashley informed me. “We’re going to go swimming and then maybe hang out on the beach.”

  “Sounds fun,” I replied. “Remember, it’s fine to swim in the pool, but no swimming in the lake without an adult to supervise.”

  “I’m going to be in middle school this year,” Ashley complained. “I’m old enough to swim in the lake without a babysitter.”

  Ashley did have a point. She was a good swimmer, as was Kristi, and I’d been allowed to swim in the lake unsupervised when I was in middle school. I glanced at my dad, who looked away. I knew he wanted me to make my own decisions when it came to the girls. I didn’t blame him for not wanting to get into the middle of things. “How about we talk to Jenna to see how she feels about it?”

  Ashley shrugged. “Okay, but she’ll be fine with it. Kristi and I went swimming in the lake by ourselves when we were camping.”

  “They did,” Gracie said in support of her older sister.

  “If Jenna was okay with you and Kristi swimming in the lake, I guess we can try it. But I want you to stay on the beach to the right of the marina where there are a lot of people around, just in case.”

  “Just in case of what?” Ashley asked.

  “I don’t know. Just in case is a blanket statement adult use. Do we agree?”

  “Sure. That’s the best beach anyway.”

  I turned my attention to my younger sister. “How about you? Do you have plans for the day?”

  “Me and Kari are going to the new Disney movie with her grandma if it’s okay with you.”

  “It’s fine with me. I’ll talk to Jenna about it when I call her.” I looked at my dad. “Are you planning to work in the lodge today?”

  “I am.” Dad still couldn’t get around the way he had before his accident, but he wanted to get back into a normal routine, so he’d set up an office in the lodge where he could sit for most of the day and still be in the center of things. “Rosalie will be busy with the spay-and-neuter clinic today, so I thought I’d have lunch with Noah. We can discuss plans for the ski season.”

  “Ski season? It’s still August,” Ashley said.

  “The snow will be here before you know it,” Dad informed her, though she didn’t look at all thrilled with the idea.

  “You might want to begin making plans for Winter Carnival,” I suggested. “Sterling Snow has been chomping at the bit to begin.”

  “I’ve spoken to him and am in the process of gathering the information he’s looking for,” Dad told me.

  “I don’t know why he’s so worked up, though I suppose Winter Carnival is his biggest moneymaker and Kyle mentioned the town council is looking to up the ante and do something really spectacular this year.”

  “It seems like it’s already pretty special,” Grandpa said.

  “Yeah, I like ice skating and the snowman contest,” Gracie added.

  “And the pageant for winter princess,” Ashley piped in.

  “I agree that what we already have is awesome, but I guess Mammoth realized what a great moneymaker we have with Winter Carnival and is doing their own event this year. Kyle and the rest of the town council just want to make sure we stay ahead of the competition.”

  “I’ve always thought the ice fishing derby should be longer than just one day,” Grandpa voiced his opinion.

  “If anyone has suggestions, now’s the time to make them,” Dad said.

  “I think school should be canceled for the whole week,” Ashley said.

  “I don’t think that’s something the Winter Carnival committee has control over,” I pointed out as I poured myself another cup of coffee.

  I really loved these family meals and would miss them if the girls and I moved out someday.

  “What are you doing today?” Gracie asked me after I sat back down at the table.

  “I’m meeting Gina for lunch and then I thought I’d go visit with Uncle Kyle for a while. It’s been so busy this week, we’ve barely had a minute to catch up.”

  “You just want to play kissy-face.” Gracie giggled.

  “I guess I can’t pull anything over on you,” I admitted.

  “How’s Gina doing?” Rosalie asked.

  I lifted one shoulder. “Okay, I guess. Physically, I think she is, but I have a feeling she’s struggling emotionally. Her ordeal must have been very traumatic. One of the reasons I invited her to lunch today was to check in with her, see how she’s doing.”

  “She might want to talk to someone,” Grandpa said. “Perhaps a counselor. Being held captive and having your free will stripped from you can be terrifying. It can leave you feeling raw and vulnerable.”

  I stabbed the last piece of sausage and popped it into my mouth. “I spoke to Sheila about that. She has a friend who’s a psychotherapist. She tried to talk to h
er about seeing her, but Gina insisted she was totally fine. Gina’s always been a strong person, but now that some time has passed, I wouldn’t be a bit surprised to find things are beginning to hit her. I guess all I can do is be a friend.”

  “Speaking of friends, Doc and Bookman are picking me up in an hour,” Grandpa said as he began clearing dishes.

  “Are you going sailing?” I asked.

  “Yes. Bookman’s thinking about getting a new boat and he managed to arrange for a demo later this morning.”

  “Didn’t Bookman get a new boat a couple of years ago?” I asked.

  “He did, but this would be a new, new boat. We have to drive down to Indulgence for the demo, so we’re having lunch at that new restaurant in the village.”

  “Sounds like fun. Go ahead and get ready. I’ll take care of the dishes,” I offered.

  By the time I’d cleaned up, it was almost time for Helen to come by with Kristi. The plan was for her to drop Kristi off to spend the day with Ashley and pick Gracie up to spend the day with Kari. I was forever grateful to both Jenna and her mother for making sure my girls were entertained. I didn’t know what I’d do without them. Of course, Helen might not be quite as available once she and Bookman were married. They’d decided to have the wedding in November when the resort was closed during the off-season lull. I was excited they wanted to get married at the resort, but worried that hosting such a big event would be hard on Dad. The staff, after all, would be off for their own pre-ski season holiday. But November was three months away, and his recovery had been progressing a lot faster than any of us could have hoped. Besides, Jenna would be in charge of the wedding planning, and if there was anyone who could do the impossible, it was my best friend.