A velvety voice tickled my ears next. “No, you told me not to get caught.” It was Sterling. His voice was one of his best assets.
“Same difference. I’m warning you, the women might love you, but I can replace you in a snap.” He clicked his fingers for emphasis.
“Don’t threaten me, Rupert. It won’t end well.” It was silent for a beat and I suspected the men were staring each other down. The tension was thick as honey in the room. “Besides, I already told you, I’ll take care of it.”
“I don’t want to know. Just don’t screw me.” Sweet sugar! What explosive information had I just become privy to?
The men both slipped out the side door and disappeared opposite of the way I had entered. I didn’t wait long to follow suit, and planned on backtracking through Marissa’s dressing room. As soon as I shut Marissa’s door behind me, her front door creaked open and a shadowy figure peered in. I hit the deck for the second time that morning, army crawling the very short distance to hide in the side clothing rack, praying the person hadn’t spotted me. I hugged my knees to my chest and used Marissa’s heavy beaded gowns as cover. The scent of her floral perfume mixed with the lilies on the nearby table was almost too much. I covered my mouth with my hand and took shallow breaths to prevent an allergy attack.
The ominous figure slinked across the room, like a jaguar stalking its prey. If it’s prey were diamonds, that is. Surely, the sparkly necklace the thief pulled from the vanity drawer couldn’t have been real, but it appeared to be of real importance to whoever this was. The thief pocketed the piece and exited out the side door without a backwards glance. I sat baffled for a moment before realizing I needed to skedaddle before I witnessed any other crimes. I waited a minute to make my move. Unlike the other two visitors, I made my exit out the front door and didn’t see another soul until I was back in the lobby. Everyone continued to mingle about and, I swear to goodness gracious, I felt as if I had been transferred to an alternate reality. Thankfully, I was pulled back down to Earth when I spotted a Boston Cream donut across the room. Okay, so maybe my beeline for the exit took a detour, but as soon as I had that donut, I was out of there.
I took inventory in the parking lot. Donut in one hand and my cell phone in the other? Success! Even if it had come with a heavy dose of bizarre.
My pastry was gone by the time I hopped in the driver’s seat of Finn’s truck, and I had no reason to worry about smearing chocolate on the leather. Now that would’ve been a crime. As I drove back to the hotel, I couldn’t stop thinking about what I witnessed. This case intrigued me. How could it not? A murdered TV host, coworkers threatening one another, and a cat burglar on the payroll? I shook my head to clear it, but the curiosity didn’t leave.
“Stay out of it,” I said to myself. “It’s not your business. Let them clear your name, then you need to head home and forget about it. You’re not the police.”
I’m pretty sure I repeated that same phrase all the way to the hotel until I believed it … well, sort of. For the first time in more than twenty-four hours, I was finally able to relax. Finn would be back in about an hour and then we could get this weekend back on track, perhaps with a mid-morning tryst and then some lunch—ocean-side. Or, maybe we’d just stay between the sheets and order room service. I had to admit, option two sounded mighty appealing.
I drew an inviting bubble bath and slipped underneath the suds, letting the water wash away the stress. Of course, as soon as I managed to convince myself to let the case go, I started thinking about it once more. How was Sterling involved? I assumed he was, given what I had overheard him say to Rupert. Maybe I could somehow submit an anonymous tip? Although, how I would tell the police about a private conversation I had overheard, without outing myself, was beyond me.
The knock on the door caught me by surprise. I had planned on greeting Finn in my peach silk romper, and didn’t give it another thought until I opened the door and came face-to-face with the most adorable blond-haired girl I had ever seen. She couldn’t have been more than eighteen.
“Oh. I must have the wrong room. Is Finn Hudson staying here?”
I folded my arms across my chest, realizing the sheerness of my attire. “No, you’ve got the right room.’” I motioned to my outfit, “I actually thought you were him just now.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I just have some paperwork my brother asked me to drop off for him, from the marina.”
“Here, come in and let me throw on something a bit more appropriate.” I held the door open for the girl. She reluctantly looked around but accepted my invitation. “I’ll just be a minute.” I grabbed a pair of denim shorts and a tank top and quickly ducked into the bathroom. When I came back out, the girl was pretty much right where I’d left her. “He should be back any minute, if you want to wait for him,” I said. I looked around for my phone thinking I’d shoot Finn a quick text about his guest.
“Actually, I have to get back to the docks. Would you mind giving this to him?” The girl held out an envelope. “I guess Finn missed a spot. Can you just have him sign it today and drop it back off so we can process everything?”
I had no idea what this girl was talking about, but I was not about to tell her that. “Yeah, absolutely. No problem.”
“Great, thanks so much.” I placed the envelope on the desk and then escorted her out.
I turned and stared at the envelope again, trying to convince myself that it was none of my business, but I failed miserably at that. By the time I walked past it for the third time in less than five seconds, I thought, to hell with it, and lifted the flap to peek inside. I couldn’t tell much by looking at it, so I had to take it out to read it. Now, I’m no lawyer and all, but I sure know a contract when I see one. I reread the first few lines several times until I got the general gist of it. Finn had just signed a very lucrative deal to manage one of the marina’s charter vessels and, judging by the date on the contract, it looked as if he was set to start immediately, in Tampa. As in a six-hour drive from Port Haven! I’m not sure which emotion I felt first. Anger? Betrayal? Or, just plain hurt that Finn hadn’t trusted me enough to tell me about any of this.
I debated my options. One, I could place the contract back in the envelope, leave it on the desk as if nothing had happened, and wait to see how it played out when Finn arrived. Two, I could rip the stupid paper into a million little pieces. Even though it wouldn’t make the problem go away, it would make me feel better. Three, I could snap a picture of the contract and text it to Finn, along with a couple of unpleasant emoticons. Perhaps a lovely one sporting a middle-finger gesture? Or four, and the one that I was really leaning toward, wait for Finn to arrive then have it out with him. As I paced the room, agitation built inside me, and I realized that I couldn’t just sit there and wait for Finn to come back. My reaction would be nuclear. So, instead of wearing a hole in the carpet, I laced up my running shoes and hoped that a workout would cool my jets.
4
I started running without giving much thought to where I was headed. I was too mad to pay much attention to any landmarks and had zero interest in the scenery. Questions surfed through my mind like a movie reel. What was Finn thinking? Was he even planning to tell me about this? Taking a job in Tampa … and then what? Break up with me? Was this his plan all along?! I had to admit, I didn’t see that one coming. I thought things were good between us, really good, make that great, but I must’ve been mistaken. I had some commitment issues, but we were working through them. I even let Finn leave his toothbrush at my apartment, and I relinquished my top dresser drawer for his spare clothes. Okay, half of my top dresser drawer, but it was something.
I was starting to second-guess myself, heading down a path of self-depreciation, when I realized that I had jogged into a residential area. I probably wouldn’t have even recognized it if I hadn’t almost run straight into a toddler zipping down his driveway on a Big Wheel. The mother and I yelled “sorry” to one another at the same time, and I finally slowed somewhat to catch my
breath. I was huffing and puffing harder than I wanted to admit, unsure of how much of my emotions were to blame. I really should’ve grabbed a water before heading out, but I was out of luck now and, by the looks of the townhouses that surrounded me, there wasn’t a convenience store in sight. I turned around and started walking in the direction I hoped was back toward town, this time keeping an eye out for pedestrians, when wouldn’t you know it, I spotted Claire once more. The redhead appeared to be making a hasty retreat, throwing her designer luggage into the back of a white convertible, jumping in the driver’s seat, and zipping down the driveway, almost taking out a couple of skateboarders in the process. It made my near-crash with the toddler seem minor. Unlike me, Claire didn’t even offer an apology as she burned rubber on the way out.
Claire’s spectacle caused me to forget about Finn for a minute. The young host was skipping town. But why? What did she know about Marissa’s murder or Sterling’s involvement with it? I thought once again about calling the police and making them privy to the information I had garnered this morning, but I held off. I reminded myself that I didn’t want to get too involved and I didn’t need Detective Blackwell, the hawkish officer from the day before, to know that I had been sneaking around on set again. That opened up too many questions that I did not want to answer.
I paved a slow path back to the hotel, taking various side streets and detours until I found the boardwalk and followed it to where we were staying. I spent the time with my thoughts equally split between Marissa’s murder and Finn’s betrayal, both of which left an icky feeling in my stomach that I knew chocolate wouldn’t fix. When I got to the hotel room, I was surprised to discover that Finn wasn’t back yet. I looked at the clock and saw that it was just after 1 P.M. He was about an hour late. I checked my phone as well and was surprised that he hadn’t called or texted either. I chucked the device down on the bed and sulked off to the shower. By the time I got out of the shower and saw that he still was not back, I was downright miffed. I snatched a chocolate bar out of the mini fridge, grabbed my laptop and plopped down on the bed, determined to find the answers to at least some of the questions that plagued me.
I decided to do a little bit of social media stalking to find out more about Claire, maybe even discover where she was running off to. Her Facebook profile was all professional and obviously not managed by her but probably by someone at the network. However, I struck gold when I found an old Instagram profile that she hadn’t deleted.
There were hundreds of photos of her slightly younger self with friends, and most likely her family, on a beach that I knew well, very well. I would bet any money Claire’s family had a vacation home in Port Haven. The striped iconic lighthouse, and the bluffs? Yeah, there was no mistaking the landscape my hometown was so famous for. Not to mention a shot of Sweet Thangs in the background, while she and her girlfriends licked ice cream cones and giggled. The photos might’ve been a few years old, but there were so many of them that it couldn’t have just been a coincidence or a one-time vacation. Her family either had a home there or she was close to someone who did, if all the photos and check-ins were any indication. And with it being only a six-hour drive away, it was easily accessible. I filed that information away in my mind as Finn walked into the room.
I thought I was going to play it cool and give him a chance to explain, but I erupted instead. I crossed the room, grabbed the envelope, and threw it at his chest. “What the hell is this all about?” Finn had never seen this side of me. Wide-eyed, he stared back, fumbling for an excuse.
“I, um, you see...” He may have even thrown out a curse word or two while he looked around for someone to bail him out. It only got worse. Suffice it to say, he hadn’t planned on telling me about it just yet and was shocked that I found out.
I pointed in his face. “If you think this is going down on your terms, you have another thing coming, buddy.”
“I wasn’t going to tell you.”
“Yeah, I got that. But what I don’t understand is why you’re not even giving me the courtesy of an explanation.”
“Let me finish,” Finn protested, but the words failed to come to him.
“That’s what I thought.”
The hotel room’s phone rang. I ignored it.
“You gonna get that?” Finn asked me.
“Not planning on it,” I said.
Finn marched across the room and snatched up the receiver. I thought it was a coward’s way out, and a chance to buy some time to think of an explanation. I was surprised, however, to hear him apologizing. Apparently, our argument had escalated to the point that fellow guests had called down to the front desk to complain about us. I hadn’t even realized I had been shouting, but that just goes to show you how upset I was. Finn relayed the information from the hotel staff and stared at me, waiting for my next move. I thought about yelling more, and even crying, which was not something I did often. Instead, I threw my hands up and walked out the door. It wasn’t until I was in front of the hotel without my wallet that I fully analyzed my decision. Finn had driven us down here and I wasn’t about to take off with his truck, even if I had had his keys with me at that moment. All I could do was walk and maybe wait for him to leave the room before going back up to gather my things, and come up with a plan.
5
I ended up at the beach, staring at the waves and looking for a moment of serenity. The beach always seemed to calm me. I watched the rolling waves and willed myself not to cry, but it was hard because I was hurt, and angry, and once again disappointed in a man I loved. My first thought was to reach out to my best friend Aria. How we’d become and remained besties for so long was beyond me. Where she ate a mostly plant-based diet and exercised daily (usually several times), I stuck to a fat-packed diet and exercised when the guilt became too much. But she was my girl and I was hers, and there was never any doubt that we had each other’s backs. In fact, if I didn’t care about her so much, I would’ve called her that instant. But I couldn’t do that to her. She was with her new blended family at Disney World, and there was no way I was going to impose on her much-needed family time. Things in that department were still not going smoothly no matter how hard she and Vince tried to make the kids get along. But I had all the confidence in the world they would find a way to make it work. Obviously, Aria had enough drama to deal with. She didn’t need me to add more.
The only other person I could think to call was my dad. I knew he’d have the right words for me, but I wasn’t sure I was ready to hear them yet. I wandered down the coast and found myself climbing the steps of a lifeguard tower that overlooked the frothy shore. The scenery was mesmerizing. In that moment, I promised myself I would always live near the water. I may not know anything about relationships, but I was starting to finally learn a thing or two about myself. I was one with the ocean. I belonged there.
I closed my eyes and listened to the waves, and picked up the conversation of a couple who were just down the way on the opposite side of the tower.
“You know you mean the world to me and honestly, I just can’t imagine my life without you…”
Sweet sugar, you’ve got to be kidding me! Just my luck, I’d found the one spot on this massive beach where a proposal was happening.
“I love you. There’s no other person I want to spend the rest of my life with…”
My mood dropped another notch, deluging me with all sorts of depressing feelings. I could tell when the guy dropped to one knee and opened the box, by the girl’s squeal. Only a second passed before I heard a tearful-but-joyful, “Yes!”
I’d shared a few tears as well by then, for a whole different reason. I thought Finn was “the one” for me. I was sick of thinking I had found the right guy only to have my heart broken. I left the happy couple to celebrate their engagement in private and made my way back down the steps with plans to cut under the tower and back to the boardwalk.
My plans changed abruptly when I spotted the dead body floating face-down in the surf. Make that t
he dead body of a rich man. He had to be rich, given the expensive suit and watch he wore. His jewelry glinted in the sun. My first thought was this was no robbery, seeing that he was still in possession of his valuables. My second thought was there was no way I was calling it in. I debated what to do. I considered leaving the poor fellow and letting someone else deal with it. Heartless? Maybe, but I didn’t want to think what would happen if that detective found out that I had discovered another body. I had a feeling that she didn’t believe much in coincidences.
I started to backtrack and ran right into the happy couple from above. The woman screamed when she saw the body. The dead man’s shoulders lifted ever so slightly with the rolling waves, marking a morbid cadence. It was the type of scene that would’ve freaked me out, a body or two ago. But now? Now I just rolled with it.
The fiancé’s eyes went wide and he pulled his bride-to-be closer to him when he spotted the poor chap, now lying face-down in the sand. He looked from the body to me, shock clearly on his face, seemingly searching my eyes for answers. I just shrugged and blew out a puff of air. So much for pretending that I hadn’t been there.
The investigation of the crime scene had gone about as well as I could have expected. I should have left. I wormed my way out of calling the body in and wanted to hightail it out of there before the police—and most likely, Detective Blackwell—arrived, but I knew she’d eventually find out that I was there. So, I waited. It seemed like the kind of thing an innocent person would do. I tried to explain that to Detective Blackwell when she arrived, but that didn’t work.
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