Beaches in Paradise

by Kathi Daley

  “Wow! It’s really a beautiful day,” Gina said as we had lunch at the Lakeside Bar and Grill. I’d reserved the best table on the patio, tucked into a secluded corner with sand on two sides and the lake on the third. “You’re really very lucky to live here. It must be so nice to be able to enjoy the peace and tranquility of the lake every day.”

  “It is pretty amazing,” I had to admit. “You’re more than welcome to come here and hang out with me anytime you feel the need for a little peace and tranquility of your own.”

  “Actually, I wanted to talk to you about that.” Gina took a sip of her iced tea. It appeared as if she was working up to sharing something big. “I want to start by saying how very much I appreciate all you did to find and rescue me. I owe you my life.”

  “Nonsense. You’re my friend. Of course I was going to look for you. Kyle too. And I know you would have done the same if it had been me who was missing.”

  “Perhaps. But you have a unique ability not only to care deeply about the well-being of others, but also to put action to your caring. Not everyone would put themselves on the line the way you do time and time again. You’re truly a unique and wonderful person.”

  “Aw, Gina.” I leaned forward and hugged her. “Thank you. You’re pretty awesome yourself.”

  Gina smiled but didn’t respond. She looked tired. It must be hard to sleep after going through what she had.

  “Are you doing okay?” I asked.

  Gina sighed. “I’ve been better. I’ve given things a lot of thought in the past few days and I’ve decided to take a leave of absence from the school.”

  I was surprised to hear that. Gina loved teaching.

  “I spoke to Jeremy and he’s offered me a job,” Gina continued. “He wants me to help him with the prototype now that he’s definitely decided to go ahead with his plans. At first I wasn’t sure I wanted to move to DC, but after everything that’s gone on in the past week, I realized a change of scenery is exactly what I need.”

  I frowned. “Are you leaving for good?”

  Gina tilted her head to one side. The sun reflected off her glasses as she angled her head toward the sun. “I don’t know. Maybe. I’m going to keep my house for now and see how it goes in DC. If things work out the way I hope, I may decide to make the move permanent. I guess I’ll just need to take things one day at a time.”

  I sat back in my chair, studying Gina’s face. “I’m going to ask you a question I know is really none of my business. You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to.”

  “Okay.”

  “I know that prior to coming to Paradise Lake you worked in the private sector. Something must have happened to make you leave that behind to take a job in our little high school. Did that have anything to do with Jeremy Titan?”

  Gina hesitated, but I could see she was deciding what to say. Eventually, she began to speak. “Prior to coming to Serenity High School, I not only worked with Jeremy, we were involved. I loved him with all my heart, but at the time it seemed the only thing he could ever truly love was his work. I wanted more, so I left. That was three years ago. Then, last spring, he asked me to help with his new project. I almost turned him down, but the concept intrigued me. I figured that although it was Jeremy’s company behind the project, he was a busy man and I probably wouldn’t even see him. I was wrong. I saw him quite a lot. We kept our relationship professional, but I felt the old magic again and I suspected he did as well. After the first phase of the project was complete, he wanted me to stay, but I turned him down. I didn’t want to make the same mistake with him a second time.”

  “And now?” I asked when Gina paused.

  “When the men who kidnapped me gave up and left me alone to die, I was terrified. Looking death in the face can make you look back on your life. Somehow, the prospect of death demands that you look objectively at the decisions you’ve made, the good and the bad. I realized my biggest mistake was leaving Jeremy rather than sticking around and trying to work it out. I knew at that moment that I wanted a second chance. Jeremy flew out here this past Monday and we spent a few days together. He told me that he wanted a second chance too. We decided we’d take some time to get reacquainted, so I’m just going to DC as an employee, at least in the beginning. It will give us a chance to explore whatever it is that may be between us out of the public eye.”

  “Wow.” I put a hand to my heart. “That’s so romantic.”

  Gina laughed. “Maybe, but the truth of the matter is, I’m terrified. I don’t think I can stand it if things don’t work out and I’m forced to leave Jeremy behind again.”

  I took Gina’s hand in mine. “It’ll work out. You’re a different person than you were three years ago. You know what you want. And although I’ve never met Jeremy, he sounds like a smart guy. I’m sure he’s learned some lessons along the way as well.”

  Gina wiped a tear from her cheek. “I hope so.”

  I sat back and smiled. “Kyle’s going to be so jealous that you’re moving to DC to work with his hero,” I joked to lighten the mood.

  “Speaking of Kyle, I spoke to Jeremy about him and he wants to meet him. He didn’t want anyone to know he was here earlier in the week, but he wants me to arrange a dinner meeting with Kyle once I get settled in DC. I’d love it if you could come as well.”

  “I’d love that, and Kyle will be over the moon.”

  “He did seem pretty starstruck. Jeremy might be brilliant and rich, but he’s just a regular guy. I think Kyle and Jeremy are going to be great friends, which works out for you and me because that means we can continue to see each other.”

  “That sounds perfect.”

  Gina and I didn’t speak as our food was delivered. I wanted to ask her some questions I had regarding Bristow’s murder, but I hated to bring him into what had turned out to be a perfectly lovely conversation. As it turned out, it was Gina who mentioned him later, as we waited for our dessert.

  “While I’m excited to start a new chapter of my life, I do find Striker Bristow is on my mind,” Gina said. “I can’t help but feel partially responsible for his death. Not that it was my fault he was shot—I think he may have brought that on himself—but if the men who were following me hadn’t been following us, I’m fairly certain I would have gotten him to the hospital in time to save his life.”

  “As much as I didn’t care for him, I’ve been thinking about Bristow’s death as well,” I said. “I hoped Roy and Kate would have made an arrest by now, but it appears they’re stumped. I hate to remind you of something so traumatic, but do you have any idea who might have shot him?”

  Gina crossed her arms on the table in front of her and looked out to the lake.

  I went on softly. “Before we realized your kidnapping was most likely not related to Bristow’s project, Kyle and I came up with four names: Byron Wildman, the man who lives behind the lot where Bristow wanted to build the mall; Clint Buford, who was suing Bristow for an unpaid invoice; Billy Sparks, who was very much against the project and meant to fight it on behalf of the environmental group to which he belonged; and Connie Bristow, his ex-wife. We pretty much eliminated Sparks and Mrs. Bristow. We spoke to Wildman, but never came to a conclusion about him.”

  Gina leaned slightly forward. “I agree Billy Sparks didn’t shoot Striker. We spoke several times and my impression was that he knew how to fight the environmental battle using the legal system. The group he’s a part of has deep pockets, and even if they don’t win the battle, they’d be able to keep the project tied up in court for so long, most developers would give up. Striker was as stubborn as they come and swore he’d fight to the end for his right to do what he wanted with the property, but I’m not so sure he wouldn’t eventually have given up.”

  “And the others?” I asked.

  “I never met Mrs. Bristow, but from things he said, I had the impression he enjoyed feuding with her. I know tha
t sounds strange, but it seemed to me he intentionally yanked her strings because he liked the banter. Now, I have no way of knowing whether she enjoyed playing his little game as much as he enjoyed manipulating her.”

  “I got the impression she wasn’t his biggest fan. She said he made her grovel for the monthly support checks he owed her rather than just giving them to her.”

  “I suppose if I had an ex who made me jump through a bunch of hoops like a trained dog, I might shoot him,” Gina said.

  “It would be tempting. I couldn’t imagine why she would have kidnapped you after shooting Bristow, so Kyle and I pretty much discounted her, but now that I know the two things weren’t related, I think we’ll have to put her back on the list.”

  “You have a list?” Gina asked.

  “We did. I’m not sure what happened to it, but it seems it might be time for a new one. What do you think about Wildman as a suspect?”

  “Personally, I like him for the murder. He’s been very vocal about his hatred for Striker from the beginning, and unlike Billy Sparks, who had a strong nonviolent way to fight him, I don’t think Wildman had a legal option.”

  “Yeah, he did seem sort of rough and tumble. Like the kind of guy who settles things with his fists, rather than in court,” I said.

  “I saw Wildman on the day Striker was shot,” Gina informed me. “Remember, I told you that I’d gone out to the property where Striker hoped to build the mall? While I was taking photos and measurements, Wildman was standing on his side of the fence watching me. He never said a word, but his presence gave me the creeps. I couldn’t wait to get out of there.”

  “How would he know Bristow was going to be at the restaurant?” I asked.

  “I don’t know. And maybe he wasn’t the shooter. But I wouldn’t take him off the list just yet.”

  “The only reason we didn’t consider him a more serious suspect was because he didn’t seem to know Bristow was dead. I suppose he could just be a good actor.” I motioned for our waitress, then asked her to bring me a pen and a piece of paper. As long as we were making a theoretical list, we may as well make a real one. “And Clint Buford?” I asked.

  Gina tapped her fingers on the table. She twisted her lips in thought before answering. “Buford was as mad at Striker as I’ve ever seen a man, but I’m not sure what he had to gain by shooting him. Striker owed him money and he was being a jerk about paying him, but if Buford pursued the matter legally, it seemed to me he would have won. I think Striker would have gone ahead and paid him before it got that far. He liked to play with people, but he wasn’t stupid. I doubt he would have thrown good money after bad by paying to defend a lawsuit he knew he’d probably lose. Wouldn’t Buford be less likely to get his money if Striker was dead?”

  “Kyle said something similar. I guess that’s why we didn’t pursue him as a suspect.” I glanced down at my piece of paper. “So, I have Wildman and Mrs. Bristow. Does anyone else come to mind?”

  “I know Striker had a lot of enemies. There’s one person who stands out in my mind: Glen Yorkshire. He tracked me down last week because he was sure his wife, Isabelle, was having an affair with Striker. He’d asked both of them about it, and they denied it, but he wasn’t pacified. He hoped I’d seen them together, that I had something to give him that would prove they were seeing each other.”

  Glen worked for the IT firm the school used to maintain its computer system, so I had met him on several occasions. He was an intelligent if not slightly awkward man who I knew had been married for a number of years. I supposed it was possible his wife had tired of her husband who seemed to work a lot of hours.

  “Do you think they were?”

  Gina shrugged. “I have no idea. I know Striker had women, but I tried very hard to stay out of that part of his life. I told Yorkshire as much, but I’m not sure he believed me. I only spoke to him the one time and can’t claim to know if he’s capable of murder, but he was smoking hot when we spoke, so I wouldn’t be all that surprised to find out he did it.”

  I added Glen Yorkshire to the list. “Anyone else?”

  “No one else comes to mind right now. I’ll call you if I think of anyone else.”

  I set the piece of paper aside. “When are you going to leave town?”

  “I have a flight on Saturday, but I’ll be back. If it works out and I do decide to stay in DC, I’ll need to have my stuff sent out there.”

  “I’m really going to miss you.”

  Gina leaned forward and hugged me. “I’m going to miss you too. But we’ll see each other.”

  I nodded. “We will. Kyle will definitely want to come to DC to meet Jeremy, and now that I know you’ll be there, I’ll be excited to come as well.”

  “If you think of anything relating to Striker’s murder you want to ask about, feel free to call me. I’ll feel better when this whole thing is wrapped up and put to bed.”

  “Actually, I have two more questions before you go.”

  “Okay.”

  “We found a phone in the water near Rosenberg Island that looked like it might have been yours, but it sounds like you were never there.”

  “I wasn’t. I don’t know what happened to my phone; I dropped it somewhere along the way. Someone may have found it, or it could be that the phone you found wasn’t mine. I have a pretty popular cover.”

  “I should ask Roy. He’s probably figured out whether the phone was yours or not. After we found you it didn’t seem to matter anymore, so I never did ask. It didn’t work anymore, so I don’t suppose you’d want it back.”

  “I don’t,” Gina confirmed. “You said you had two questions?”

  “The file Kyle found in your online storage. The one with the extra security. Does it relate to the project you were working on?”

  “It does. Let me guess: Kyle is trying to figure out what the number sequences mean.”

  “He was before we found you, but I don’t know if he continued after you were found. I was just curious.”

  “You can tell Kyle the numbers are one piece of a whole that mean nothing in isolation, so he may as well save his time. There isn’t anything there to decrypt.”

  “I will. He probably isn’t working on it anyway, but it crossed my mind. I guess you got everything back we took while trying to find you? We turned it all over to Kate at her insistence.”

  “I got everything back that matters, although I’m missing some birth control pills.”

  I blushed. “Oops. I forgot about those. I stuck them in my bag along with some cream prescribed to Spencer Becker. How did the fake Spencer get hold of the real Spencer’s cream?”

  “I’m not sure. It looks like Fake Spencer was in Paradise Lake on behalf of Colton Huntington. Huntington is both rich and well-connected. I guess he must have found out about Real Spencer somehow and tracked him down. I have no idea how he got his hands on the cream. It might have even been a fake prescription provided to Fake Spencer to convince me that the man who showed up at my door actually was my brother. I guess it worked. At first. I really am not privy to all the details relating to everything that went down last week, nor do I even care at this point. I really just want to forget about the whole thing.”

  “Trust me, I don’t blame you a bit for wanting to just let the Feds figure it out.”

  “One good thing has come out of this mess however. I realized that I did want to get to know my half-brother. I tracked him down and found out he lives in Maryland. We’re going to get together when I get settled in DC.”

  I squeezed Gina’s hand. “I’m so glad. Family is the most important thing there is.”

  Chapter 16

  Later that afternoon, Echo, Pumpkin, and I headed over to Kyle’s. Pumpkin was actually Gracie’s dog, but she wasn’t at home and I knew he’d enjoy taking a walk with Kyle, Trooper, Echo, and me. I was sad that Gina was leaving Paradise Lake, but after th
inking things through I realized that making this move was probably for the best. I hoped things worked out with both Jeremy and her brother. Gina was such a great person, she deserved to be happy.

  “I have news,” I said to Kyle after Echo, Pumpkin, and I had greeted Trooper, who had run out onto the drive.

  “What kind of news?” Kyle asked after delivering a quick peck on my lips.

  “Gina is moving to DC to work with Jeremy Titan. As it turns out, before moving to Paradise Lake, Gina was involved in a romantic relationship with him. Apparently, he wants them to try to work things out.”

  “Lucky Gina. It would be so awesome to work with that man.” Kyle kissed me again before taking my hand and leading me toward the house. “Of course, there’s no one I’d rather work with than you.”

  I laughed. “Nice save, but I’m fine with your bromance with Jeremy Titan. Based on what Gina has told me, he seems like an awesome guy. Gina has invited both of us to DC once she gets settled. She told Jeremy about you and he very much wants to meet you.”

  “Jeremy Titan wants to meet me?”

  “Yup.”

  I could see he was trying not to make too big a deal about it. Kyle was usually so methodical and mature. It was fun to see him on the edge of giving in to the urge to jump up and down with excitement.

  “And Gina told me the numbers you uncovered were part of a whole that mean nothing in isolation, just in case you’re still working on them.”

  Kyle shook his head. “I stopped working on the file the minute Gina was found. Whatever she had saved in her Cybersecurity account is none of my business, and the only reason I invaded her privacy was to try to find her. Did Roy return her computer to her?”