Storm Warning (Assassin In Paradise Book 2)

by Jack Stroke

  Amber turned back. “Really? You’d do that?”

  “Sure. Absolutely.” His tone wasn’t anywhere near as confident as his words.

  She shrugged. “Okay. You know I wouldn’t want that, but you do what you have to do.”

  The hurt in the young guy’s eyes was heartbreaking.

  “You wanted me to be honest and treat you like an adult. This is me giving it to you straight. I get you don’t like what I’m saying.” She put a hand on his shoulder. “Be patient. It doesn’t feel like it at seventeen, but life is long. There is plenty of time…”

  He wrenched away and strode off without her. Amber watched him go, not sure if the conversation made her feel any better or worse.

  Amber didn’t see Ben for the remainder of the day, which wasn’t unusual. Wasn’t she supposed to feel better for being honest and not stringing the kid along?

  Fortunately, it was possible to put him to the back of her mind.

  She had other things to concentrate on.

  44

  Amber found Megan in the reception hut. It wasn’t clear what Megan was doing there since, as far as Amber could tell, Megan did next to no work. Although that assessment may have been unfair. Amber was yet to see how things played out when there were any paying guests, let alone when things were busy.

  Or maybe this was just a space where Megan could get away and hide. Steal a few moments of peace.

  “How’s it going?”

  “Another day in paradise.”

  “You okay? You seem a little… down.”

  “I’m peachy, thanks, Amber. Whatever did I do without you here to tell me how I feel?”

  “Well, this will cheer you up. We’re going out tonight.”

  “We are?”

  “Yep. Dinner at the Half.”

  The Half was the closest thing Paradise Cove had to a local pub. Its real name was the Royal Arms, but it was affectionately known as the Half to locals as it was halfway between Paradise Cove and Port Simmons. Amber and Megan had spent many evenings trying to get alcohol there when they were underage. Occasionally succeeding, but mostly failing.

  “And dress up. We’re making a night of it.”

  “I can’t,” Megan protested. “I’ve got —”

  “No, you haven’t. We’re going out tonight, and that’s final.”

  “What did you do, take assertive pills today?”

  “Why? Do you like it?”

  “No. It’s horrible.”

  “Too bad. Be ready at seven. No excuses,” Amber said, striding out.

  Would this work? She would make it work. Drag Megan out by the hair if she had to.

  Vaughan’s boat was docked at its normal berth. No sign of the man himself though.

  “Hey, Vaughan.” She jumped on board and glanced about. “Vaughan, you here?”

  The hatch opened, and a sleepy-looking Vaughan appeared from below wearing just his shorts. He had a lovely, even tan, yet his skin seemed soft despite his many hours spent in the sun.

  “What are you doing?”

  “I need to talk to you,” Amber said.

  “Get off my boat.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “You heard.”

  It was a fiery side to Vaughan Amber had not seen before.

  “Are you serious?”

  “Absolutely. Get off my boat.”

  She flashed a glance towards his cabin. Did he have company? Was that the issue? Had she interrupted something?

  Amber swung her legs over the bow and jumped back to the pier.

  “That’s better.”

  “What’s the problem?”

  “You don’t ever board a person’s boat uninvited. At best, it is the height of rudeness. At worst, it’s an act of piracy.”

  “Really?”

  “Absolutely. What if I just showed up in your cabin uninvited?”

  Fair point. Amber would probably shoot him.

  “Well, then. My apologies. Permission to come aboard, sir?” she said, giving a doff of an invisible hat.

  He thought about it. “No…”

  At least now he was smiling. Or more of a smirk really.

  “What? Were you asleep?”

  “What are you, my mother?”

  “It’s the middle of the day.”

  “So? Maybe I was up early and I went back to bed.”

  “Maybe you’re a lazy bum.”

  He stretched. “No argument there. What do you want, kid?”

  “I want to come aboard your boat. “

  “You should have thought to ask first.”

  She wasn’t in the mood for games. His games at least. “What are you doing tonight?”

  “I haven’t decided yet.”

  “How about dinner at the Half?”

  “What? With you?”

  “Yeah. With me.”

  “I’ll think about it.”

  “I don’t have time for this. See you there at seven.” She strode away. “Oh, and maybe borrow some clothes.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I want you to dress up nice, and I’m not convinced you own anything like that.”

  She left him to whatever he was doing in his cabin.

  This was good. Her plan was coming together nicely.

  45

  Amber got herself dressed up in the early evening. It was important. She had to look the part.

  At seven o’clock she made her way to the owner’s cottage with no idea what she would find. She half expected to discover Megan in her tracksuit pants, knee-deep in a pack of potato chips, grumbling and steadfastly refusing to go anywhere. As such, it was a pleasant surprise to walk in and see Megan had made a real effort. She was dressed in black, makeup done. Amber guessed she didn’t have all that many opportunities to dress up anymore.

  “Wow. Look at you two,” Joan said. “Don’t you both look lovely?”

  “Don’t know why we’re bothering. Waste of time, dressing up to go to the Half.”

  “Oh, shush, Megan. Now, stand together you two, so I can get a photo.”

  “Great. I hope you didn’t actually want to go anywhere, Amber. This’ll take Mum all night.”

  True to Megan’s prediction, Joan had more trouble than she should taking a simple picture with her phone. There were several minutes of false starts and issues and inability to locate and press the correct button.

  “Should I call Ben? Get him to take it?”

  “Quiet, Megan.”

  “Seriously, Mum. We have to go tonight.”

  “Stop being rude. No, it’s just… where’s the thingy?”

  At least Joan’s problems elicited genuine smiles from Amber and Megan. Finally, the photo was taken. Joan handed over her car keys to Amber.

  “You’re driving?” Megan said. “Oh, that’s right. You don’t drink. Remind me why we are bothering to go then?”

  “Ignore her if you can,” Joan told Amber, followed by, “You two have a fantastic time,” giving each of them a big hug goodbye.

  “Crazy old woman,” Megan said as she and Amber got in the little hatchback. “Never seen someone so happy to see two other people go out for dinner.”

  “She’s allowed to be happy,” Amber said, starting the car. She probably would have walked to the Half if it were just her. She couldn’t imagine what Megan’s reaction to such a suggestion would have been. Besides, neither of them were wearing outfits that leant themselves to walking.

  “Goodness, it’ll be strange going to the Half and not getting kicked out for being underage.”

  Megan gave her a funny look.

  “I don’t think I have been there since… Who was that guy who used to work there? Pauly? Don’t think I’ve been there since we were trying to get Pauly to let us in.”

  “Really? It’s just the Half. Better than nothing, I suppose, but not that special.”

  “We used to think it was about the most exciting place in the universe.”

  “Yep. We used to be idiots.”

>   “We were young.”

  “Idiots.”

  The car purred softly.

  “Hey, do you remember me being called ‘Little Miss Fix-it’?”

  “No. Who called you that?”

  “Your Mum, apparently. When I was young.”

  Megan shook her head. “She’s probably just making it up. She does that about me all the time. Makes stuff up and asks if I remember it. Gets agro when I tell her I don’t. I used to think she was just mean, but maybe her age is catching up with her.” She thought about it. “I would have said you were more ‘Little Miss Perfect’ though.”

  “Oh, yeah?”

  “For sure. You could never handle it if things didn’t go exactly right. Exactly the way you wanted them to.”

  “Yes, I could.”

  “No way. Like you used to cry whenever we made home pizza.”

  The comment drew a snort of laughter from Amber. “What? I did not.”

  “You so did.”

  The making of homemade pizza remained remarkably clear in Amber’s mind. A Saturday night ritual. Megan and Amber took over the pizza-cooking duties when they were about twelve. Amber didn’t cry though.

  “You used to cry almost every week. You always wanted all the pizzas to be ready at a certain time, and I used to muck it up, and you’d end up in tears because they weren’t all ready exactly when you had planned.”

  “Now you’re making things up.”

  “I mucked it up every week. At first, it was completely by accident, but then it was fun stuffing them and watching how upset you got.”

  That last part sounded like Megan, even if Amber didn’t recall the rest.

  “I remember throwing the dough around and talking about what our lives were going to be like when we were grown up.”

  Megan grinned. “The grand plan. We were going to have three daughters each, remember?”

  “That’s right. At the same time.”

  “Exactly. So they could grow up together and be best friends.”

  “We came pretty close,” Amber said, prompting a sideways look from Megan. “Well, you’ve got one kid…”

  “An almost adult son.”

  “Yep, and I have no kids at all. We weren’t too far off with our prediction at all.”

  It took a moment, and then Megan laughed in a way Amber remembered but hadn’t seen in a long time.

  “God, what happened to us?” Amber said.

  “Life.”

  It was nice to see Megan so relaxed. Almost like old times. She seemed to get happier the further they got from Paradise by the Bay and Joan.

  A pleasant feeling washed over Amber. This was it. The tipping point. When they looked back on this night down the track, this would be the evening everything changed.

  This would be the night she and Megan firmly got their friendship back on track.

  46

  The smell of stale beer hit them as they strolled into the Half. About a dozen people populated the front bar in groups of two and three. They must have all been from Port Simmons as Amber didn’t recognise anyone.

  Looking at the unfamiliar faces filled her with a funny thought. Had Megan told Ben where they are off to this evening? What if he was here? Be pretty funny if he was, pretending not to be underage. Somehow, Amber didn’t think Megan would find it as amusing.

  By comparison to everyone else, Amber and Megan were distinctly overdressed. That didn’t matter.

  They moved through the front bar to the dining area. Even fewer people in here.

  And at a table at the end of the room, Vaughan.

  Like Megan, Vaughan had taken Amber’s directive seriously. He wore a nice shirt, distinctly lacking in crinkles for once and some black pants. It may not have been a suit and tie or anything, but he had made an effort. He looked good. Really good. Perfect, in fact.

  “Hey, look who’s here…” Amber said, feigning surprise.

  “Hey,” Vaughan said, standing. “You both look amazing.”

  “You don’t look so bad yourself.”

  Amber quickly took a seat, pushing through the apparent awkwardness. “Come on. Sit, sit.” She grabbed the menu. “What’s good here?”

  Megan and Vaughan exchanged a look. They’d been had. Were being had. Whatever. And they both knew it. Amber was up to something, and yet neither of them was sure exactly what.

  “Come on. Sit. Sit.”

  Reluctantly, they both pulled out their chairs. Either of them could have said something but they didn’t, and once they were seated, Amber knew everything was going to be okay.

  The awkwardness passed quickly, the three of them settling into a pleasant evening. Amber had to prop the conversation up at first, but soon it flowed smoothly, the threesome relaxed and happy. Lots of joking and laughter. Amber didn’t drink of course. That didn’t stop Vaughan and Megan knocking back the beers.

  Soon, the evening was progressing as well as Amber could have hoped. She withdrew, finding joy in observing her two friends. They had chemistry. Vaughan was charming and funny, Megan looked beautiful and was as relaxed and happy as Amber had seen her of late.

  Just after they ordered food, Amber’s phone rang. Screwing up her face, she excused herself and scurried away as if this were the most important phone call in the world. In reality, there was no call. She had merely set the timer on her phone, which made the same noise as if it were ringing.

  Amber stopped by the kitchen and cancelled her dinner order. Five minutes later she hurried back to the table, looking stressed and lying about some emergency she had to attend to for work. She apologised profusely, explaining she had to go, and ran out before Vaughan or Megan had a chance to say a word.

  A warm glow filled Amber as she drove home. Something might happen, or it might not. She had no control over that. She was confident though. She had given Vaughan and Megan the chance to see a different side of one another. And once they’d had a few drinks, who knew?

  The rest was up to them.

  47

  Amber awoke the next morning with a decidedly unsettled feeling attacking her insides. Someone was there. She could sense them. Nothing she could quite put her finger on, but a definite disturbance in the air.

  Something was out of place in her cabin.

  The hairs on her neck prickled. Her head snapped in all directions. No one there.

  She had the urge to grab her gun, even though there was nothing. Taking her breath, she made her relax. It only helped a little.

  Doing her best to fight off any concern, Amber stepped outside.

  A person loitered over by a tree near the road. Watching her cabin. A man. He tried to hide but not before she got a good look at him.

  Grubby.

  Amber immediately regretted stepping out in just her pyjamas. She ducked back in to put on something more appropriate. When she reemerged, Grubby had gone.

  He was halfway back to the bait shop before Amber caught up with him.

  “Grubby, stop.”

  He turned. “Oh, Amber. Hey.”

  “Are you okay? You seem a little… unsettled.”

  Nervous as heck would be more accurate.

  “Nah, I’m good. How ’bout you?”

  “Fine.”

  She waited, but Grubby didn’t go on.

  “Did you want something?”

  “Want something? You’re the one followin’ me.”

  “You were just outside my cabin.”

  “No, I wasn’t.”

  “You were. I saw you.”

  His expression betrayed the calculation going on in his mind. What to say next. Whether to lie or not.

  “Oh, that. Yeah. I needed… to see… Joan.”

  “You weren’t trying to see Joan, Grubby. You were standing outside my cabin.”

  “No… no…”

  “You’re a terrible liar, Grubby. Fine. You wanted to see Joan. About what?”

  He needed thinking music, like from an old game show or something.

  �
��She was interested… in an order I had comin’ in… at me shop.”

  “You work in a bait shop, Grubby.”

  “Yeah, I know that.”

  “What possible order could you have coming in that Joan would be interested in?”

  “Just some, you know, stuff. Look. I gotta go.”

  He hurried away from Amber as fast as he could go. What was that about? Grubby appeared harmless enough. Except what if it was all a front? His behaviour was definitely odd. It most likely wasn’t anything.

  Still, the encounter left Amber unsettled.

  With nothing else to do, Amber decided to go for a quick dip. She changed into her swimsuit and wandered slowly towards Hidden Beach. They were undoubtedly spoiled for choice around here, with the main beach across the road and Hidden Beach east of Paradise by the Bay.

  The sun sparkled off the bright blue water. Amber waded out, the sand going from warm on the beach to delightfully squelchy under her toes as she hit the water. She submerged herself and immediately felt better, not that she had felt that bad. Even if she had felt wonderful, swimming at Hidden Beach almost always made her feel better. She floated on her back, rising and falling slowly in the gentle swell. It was hard to imagine anything in the world more peaceful or perfect. Maybe she would just float here forever.

  Soon she had a similar sensation to the one she had woken with. Somebody was watching her.

  She glanced towards the beach. Thankfully it wasn’t Grubby this time.

  Amber paddled back towards the shore. The figure waited by the edge of the water, hands-on-hips.

  Megan.

  How had the previous night ended? Megan was in a different outfit, so she wasn’t just arriving home now.

  Amber strolled out of the water.

  “Come have a swim, Megan. It’s beautiful in.” She squeezed the water from her hair. “I don’t know how you don’t swim every day.”

  “Give it a rest, Amber. Nobody wants to hear any more of your garbage.”

  Amber froze. The happy, content Megan from last night was nowhere to be seen.

  “You’re a prize idiot, you know that? I should have known you were up to something. Dinner at the Half. What the heck is wrong with you?”