A prickly sensation skittered up her spine. “What are you trying to say, Logan?”
He was wearing sunglasses, so she couldn’t see his eyes. His mouth, however, turned down at the corners. “I don’t want you to get your hopes up, okay?”
“You don’t think a guy with a tattoo of a snake talking about naked photos is worth getting excited about?”
“Look, none of the people who work here recognized Mike,” Logan pointed out. “I’m just saying Suarez probably won’t, either.”
She picked up the water glass again, found it empty again and set it down. She crossed one leg over the other, although she felt anything but relaxed. “What’s it like to be so pessimistic?”
“I’m not a pessimist,” he insisted. “I’m a realist. And look who’s talking. If anybody’s a cynic, it’s you.”
“Me?” She uncrossed her legs and pointed at her chest. Nobody had ever called her a cynic in her life before now. “I believe Mike is alive!”
“I’m not talking about Mike,” Logan said. “I’m talking about what’s between you and me. You’re the one who thinks it can’t work out.”
He sounded grumpy. Good.
“Because it can’t.” Only three little words, but they were so difficult for Maria to say it felt as if they were wrapped in sandpaper. “I live in Kentucky and you live in New York.”
“Why should we let distance stop us?” He reached across the table and took her hand, sincerity practically pouring off him. Awareness skittered through her, the way it did any time he touched her. “Don’t try to deny there’s something between us. I know you feel it, too.”
If she tugged her hand away, she’d only prove his contention. She almost laughed aloud at the thought that she was attempting to hide her feelings from him. After last night, he already knew how much his touch affected her.
“We’re attracted to each other,” she admitted slowly. “That’s nothing new, though. We’ve always been attracted to each other.”
“It’s more than that.” Logan gave her hand a gentle squeeze. “It would have fizzled out years ago if it was that simple. We can’t just ignore what’s between us.”
“Oh, I see.” She pulled her hand from his. Her voice was heavy with sarcasm. “Since you’ll be here another night, you’re trying to talk your way back into my bed.”
“No.” He actually sounded offended. “That’s not it.”
“You don’t want a repeat of last night?” She felt hurt at the prospect. What was wrong with her?
“Of course I do,” he snapped.
“Aha,” she said, her mood lightening. “I knew it!”
“That’s not all I want.” He blew out a breath. “I think we should give a long-distance relationship a try.”
Something bright flashed inside Maria before her brain processed the operative word. “A try?”
“Yeah, a try,” he said. “I couldn’t get to Kentucky more than one weekend a month, but you could visit me in New York, too. You wouldn’t have to worry about the expense. I’ll pay for the tickets.”
Of course. He made a lot more money than she did. Wasn’t that part of the reason he lived in Manhattan?
“You really think that would work?” Maria asked.
“Lots of couples make it work. Why not us?” he asked. “We could see how it goes.”
Her heart dropped like a boulder rolled off a cliff. “You haven’t changed at all.”
He leaned closer to her. “I don’t know what you mean by that.”
“Of course you don’t,” she retorted.
He waited a few beats in silence. “Are you going to explain it to me?”
“Let me put it this way.” She crossed her arms, inwardly scolding herself for sleeping with him. It had taken her years to get over Logan, and now she’d made herself vulnerable to him again. A stupid move. He’d done nothing to indicate he’d changed. “You’re a look-before-you-leap kind of guy.”
His brows knotted. “And?”
She was formulating a reply about the importance of taking chances when a tall man with dramatic dark coloring strode up to their table. “I heard you two were waiting on me. I’m Alex Suarez, owner of the Daybreak Café.”
“The same Alex Suarez who hired Kayla Fryburger?” Maria asked.
“Yes.” Alex’s teeth flashed. He oozed charm and a certain Latin mystique even though Maria didn’t detect an accent. No wonder Kayla was taken with him. “How do you know about that?”
“She’s consulting with me on the case,” Maria replied. “I’m Maria DiMarco and this is Logan Collier.”
Alex shook hands with them in turn, then directed his attention to Logan. “I heard that you tried the pork sandwich. Our chef is experimenting with a new marinade. What did you think?”
“Delicious,” Logan said.
“Muy bien.” Alex smiled at Logan. He was an equal-opportunity charmer, Maria thought. He nodded at a vacant chair at their table. “Mind if I sit down?”
“Not at all.” Maria had been about to propose it herself.
“I’ll answer whatever questions you have, but I doubt I’ll be much help,” he said. “I’ve already told Kayla everything I know.”
“We’re not here about the Santa Claus statue,” Maria said, surprised by his assumption. “I’m in Key West looking for my brother.” She produced the age progression and handed it to Alex. “I think he was in your restaurant last week. Do you recognize him?”
He lifted his eyes from the likeness. “This isn’t an actual photo of him, is it?”
“He’s been missing for eleven years,” Maria said. “This is what we think he may look like today.”
“If he’s alive,” Logan added. The caveat shouldn’t have irked Maria, but it did.
“Do you recognize him?” Maria asked Alex.
He studied the paper once more, then handed it back to her. “Can’t say that I do, but we get a lot of traffic. I can’t get around to talk to everybody who comes in.”
“Mike has a tattoo of a serpent on his left forearm,” Maria said.
“Sorry,” Alex said. “That doesn’t ring any bells.”
“He was here last Tuesday right around noon.” Maria decided to try a shot in the dark. “Maybe you could pull the receipts from that day and I could look at them?”
Alex shook his head. “You know I can’t do that. Besides, this isn’t an expensive restaurant. Most people pay in cash.”
Maria swallowed the disappointment that seemed to have become her constant companion. “You’re sure you don’t recognize him?”
“Like I said, a lot of people come through here.” He shrugged, making the gesture seem elegant. “I’m sorry I can’t help you.”
“Why don’t you give him your business card?” Logan suggested. “That way, he can get in touch if he thinks of anything.”
“Yes, please.” Maria got one out and extended it to Alex. She felt her phone vibrate but ignored the call. She’d check voice mail after she finished the conversation.
Alex spent a few moments examining the card before pocketing it. “How long have you been in the P.I. business?”
“Going on five years,” she said.
“Maria was a cop before that,” Logan said. “A good one.”
“Impressive,” Alex said. “You must be a great help to Kayla. What exactly is your role in her case?”
“Like I said, I’m a consultant,” she said.
“So you’re the one who advised her to
set up the surveillance camera?”
“Yes, I am,” Maria said.
“Do you have any notion of how the case is going?” Alex asked. “I’m due to send another email update to the merchants association.”
“Another?” Maria sucked in a breath. “You didn’t email the group about the camera, did you?”
“I sure did,” he said. “Everyone is eager for an update.”
Maria frowned. She’d rather it wasn’t widespread knowledge that there was a camera pointed at the statue. It probably never occured to Kayla that Alex would spread the word.
“So what do you think?” Alex pressed. “Can I expect her to get results?”
He didn’t sound as though he had much confidence in Kayla. “You can expect her to make sure the prankster doesn’t bring more embarrassment to your organization.”
“Yes,” he said, “but is she close to finding out who the prankster is?”
“You should ask Kayla. It’s her case,” Maria said. “But I was under the impression that catching the culprit wasn’t the main objective.”
“Doesn’t mean it wouldn’t be nice.” Alex stood up and made a sweeping gesture that encompassed the empty tables on the patio. The only customers left were Maria and Logan. “As you can see, we’re getting ready to close.”
It was a dismissal if Maria ever heard one.
They said their goodbyes and she and Logan joined the crowd on the street. She waited until they’d walked half a block before asking, “What did you think of Alex Suarez?”
“I thought he was a bit...practiced,” Logan said. “Yeah, that’s the word. Practiced.”
“Blunt, too,” Maria said. In fact, Maria thought Kayla was headed for heartbreak. Alex seemed like a man who had no compunction about going after what he wanted. If he hadn’t made his interest in Kayla clear by now, he wasn’t interested.
“Where to now?” Logan asked.
“I’m not sure.” Maria wished she had a strategy, but her mind was blank. Her phone vibrated again. Whoever had called earlier had probably left a voice mail that had just come through. She dug out her phone and checked the number on the display. It was from a Key West exchange. “Let me see if this is important.”
She called in and tried to listen to the message over the sound of blood rushing in her ears. The quiet voice was familiar but it didn’t belong to Mike. Only then did she realize how much she’d been hoping it was her brother.
“It’s from Repeat,” she told Logan.
She listened carefully, taking mental notes, trying to bank her excitement.
“Well?” Logan asked when she hung up.
“Repeat remembered something else he overheard the guy with the serpent tattoo say,” she told him. “We’ve got somewhere to be tonight.”
* * *
TOURISTS FLOCKED TO THE corner of South and Whitehurst Streets even though neither of the claims printed on the concrete buoy were true. The concierge at Logan’s hotel had told him that the buoy was ninety-four miles from Cuba, not ninety. Neither did it mark the southernmost point in the continental U.S.A. That distinction belonged to Ballast Key, a privately owned island southwest of Key West.
None of that mattered to the throng of people gathered at the tourist attraction to listen to an up-and-coming soul singer belt out some Christmas tunes. Her stage name was Amaryllis. A Key West native, she’d recently been signed to a major record deal after appearing on one of those televised singing talent shows.
“I’m surprised at how many people are here.” Logan kept hold of Maria’s arm, a necessity so they wouldn’t lose each other in the crush. Otherwise, she probably wouldn’t let him touch her.
She’d reacted negatively to his suggestion that they try a long-distance relationship, but he wasn’t ready to give up on the idea. He was smart enough to bide his time, though.
“I’d never heard of Amaryllis until Repeat mentioned he’d overheard the guy with the serpent tattoo say he wanted to see her sing.” Maria spoke close to Logan’s ear so he could pick up what she was saying. “Supposedly there’s been a rumor floating around for weeks that she was planning a free concert.”
Half the people on the island must have heard about it. Maria and Logan had walked the few blocks from their hotels to the Southernmost Point—a good thing, for they’d never have found a parking spot. Maria had gotten rid of her rental car, anyway, since most places on the island were accessible by foot.
“People turn out when something’s free,” Logan said.
Amaryllis was already showing off her impressive set of lungs with a soulful rendition of “Silver Bells.” The arrangement was unaccompanied, her strong, clear voice the only instrument that was necessary.
“Her tone is amazing,” Maria said. “She’s gorgeous, too.”
The tall, willowy singer had beautiful mocha skin and hair cut daringly short. She wore a flirty red dress and pranced around on stiletto heels between the concrete buoy and a Christmas tree. A spotlight shone on her, but elsewhere the lighting was poor.
Logan craned his neck to get a better view of the people in the crowd but mostly saw the backs of heads. “It’s too dark and crowded to see whether Mike’s here.”
“Don’t tell me you’re willing to concede he might be?” Maria sounded skeptical.
“I’m trying to keep at open mind,” Logan said. It wasn’t easy. Signs might point to Mike being alive, but Logan still had serious doubts. “Things aren’t adding up, though.”
“What things?”
“The blackmail note, for one,” Logan said. “If the blackmailer’s serious about making Caroline Webb pay, why hasn’t he made a ransom demand?”
“Just because he hasn’t made a demand doesn’t mean he won’t. Now how should we go about this?” Maria surveyed the crowd, her change of subject signaling that the original topic was closed. Logan thought it warranted further discussion, but they were already getting dirty looks for talking while Amaryllis sang.
He bent down so his mouth was close to Maria’s ear again. “It’d be hard to find someone in this throng even if you knew for certain he was here.”
She turned her head to answer him and her mouth brushed his cheek. Her eyes flew to his, awareness in their depths. That’s why we should give a long-distance relationship a shot, he wanted to say.
“We have to try.” She checked her cell phone. “It’s eight-thirty. Let’s meet back at this spot at nine o’clock. I’ll take the right side and you get the left.”
She took off without waiting for a response. Just as well. Logan might have asked if she had any night-vision goggles handy. Doubtless she wouldn’t appreciate that.
He circled behind the audience, searching for men near his own height, as Mike had been on the morning of the terrorist strike. But then Mike had been only eighteen, an age when a lot of boys had more growing to do. Had he lived, Mike might be well over six feet.
The task was all but impossible. The spectators fanned out from the singer, with people standing shoulder to shoulder. Amaryllis had such a powerful voice that even the angels on high might hear her singing.
Logan caught a clear view of her through a break in the crowd. The night was mild, but this close to the ocean there always seemed to be a breeze. Amaryllis raised her arms, and a gust of wind plastered the material of the red dress against her shapely body.
Somebody was taking photographs. It was James Smith, the Key West Sun photographer. Logan and Maria had introduced t
hemselves to him that morning in the parking lot when they were leaving the newspaper. It hadn’t been difficult to figure out James was the photographer Kayla was meeting. Then, like now, he was toting photography equipment.
He was starting to pack up. Logan didn’t blame him. The photographer wouldn’t get a better shot than the one of the singer with her arms uplifted and her dress hugging her curves.
Logan started walking toward James, intending to ask if he’d had a chance to show the age progression to his coworkers.
Their paths were about to intersect when James stopped and with a half hug greeted a tall, dark-haired man. Something about the way the guy carried himself seemed familiar. Logan squinted, making out the long, distinctive nose of Alex Suarez. He was with a woman, a busty brunette with an hourglass figure. Alex had his hand on the small of her back, and he laughed at something she said to James.
The photographer slapped Alex on the arm, nodded at the woman and continued on his original path. Logan intercepted him.
“Hey, James,” he said. “It’s Logan Collier.”
“From this morning in the parking lot,” James said, nodding. He shifted the photography equipment on his shoulder. “I remember you. What can I do for you?”
“I wondered if you got a chance to show any of your coworkers that image of Maria’s brother,” Logan said.
“Yeah, I did show it around. Nobody knew him. Sorry, man.”
“Thanks for checking.” Logan refrained from telling him the results didn’t surprise him. “I’ll pass the information on to Maria.”
“Sure thing.” James raised a hand. “See you around.”
Logan verified on his cell phone that it was nearly nine o’clock and went to meet Maria. He could tell by her expression that she hadn’t made any progress on the case. He shook his head to let her know he hadn’t, either.
“Let’s stay until the end of the concert,” she suggested. “People are packed pretty tight. We might spot something when they start leaving.”
Wish Upon a Christmas Star Page 17
