Photo Finished

by Dane McCaslin

  "You just couldn't handle it, could you?" Patti screeched.

  Kailani jumped, the group of friends she had been talking to scattering like roaches when a light's turned on.

  "I don't know what you're talking about," Kailani said, trying to move around Patti.

  Not having any of that, Patti reached out, grabbing Kailani's arm, and spun her around to face her. "He was mine. You had Noe. You selfish brat! But that wasn't good enough. You had to have them both."

  "Patti, you've had too much to drink. Let's talk about this tomorrow."

  Patti's voice rose. "I'll talk about it when I want to, you…you…tramp!"

  Kailani wrenched her arm away from Patti. "That's it! I've had enough of you. You're old enough to be our mother. Stay out of my business. And quit trying to sleep with everything that has muscles and a penis!" Kailani's hand flew over her mouth, her chest heaving with the exertion of her argument.

  "Why you…you…I'll have you fired for that!" The shock on Patti's face might be humorous if the whole scene weren't so sad.

  Jimmy moved closer, as if to defuse the situation, but before he got to them, Patti stormed off.

  Kailani looked around, seeing the audience they'd garnered, and turned to run behind the stage. Jimmy caught my eye and nodded in the direction she'd run. We followed close behind, finding Kailani shoving her costume into a duffel bag with more force than necessary.

  She wore black yoga shorts and a pink tank top, and she looked as if she'd had better days.

  "Kailani?"

  Startled, she spun around, a hand to her heart.

  "Autumn. You scared me to death."

  "I'm sorry. Are you ok?"

  "Yeah, sure."

  I wasn't convinced by her answer, but she didn't look like she wanted to talk about what had just happened, so I let it go. Plus, I had questions I needed answers to. I figured I'd start with the easy ones.

  "I wanted to ask you if you took pictures of the night Noe was killed. My camera was stolen the same night. We think the killer took it and that I might have captured something on film, but I don't remember anything."

  "I did take some pictures, but I haven't felt like looking at them." Tears filled her eyes. "That night was so horrible."

  "I understand. I just think if I looked at yours, maybe it might spark something in my mind that would help me to remember what I might have seen."

  She nodded and took out her phone, punching in her security code, finding her pictures, and handing it to me.

  There were several of Kailani and her dancer friends. She was smiling in all of them, but it didn't quite reach her eyes. There was a sadness there and maybe stress too. I scrolled through the pictures and glanced up at her briefly. "You and Noe were fighting that night, right?"

  She nodded again before answering. "I had tried to break things off with Noe. We'd been together for so many years, since high school. His family took me in when my mother died when I was 18. They gave me a place to live, clothes on my back, supported me while I chased my dream of being a hula dancer. I owed them so much."

  "Even marrying a man you didn't love?"

  Kailani's face jerked up, shock all over it.

  "I did love him." Bowing her head in resignation, she said, "But maybe not like I should have. Not like a wife loves a husband. I loved Noe like a friend, my best friend."

  Her words hit home, and I realized that was exactly how I'd loved Finn. He'd been my best friend, and he should have remained in that position. But if I hadn't had that experience, I doubted I'd be where I was today. Everything works out for a reason.

  "I understand," I said, squeezing her shoulder lightly.

  "You have feelings for Phil?" Jimmy had been quiet till then, and his words held no accusation.

  Kailani nodded jerkily. The tears that had been welling in her eyes spilled down her face. "Yes. We'd tried to ignore the feelings. Or at least I had tried to. But then they just kept growing stronger." She sat down on the ground, crossing her legs over one another. "I finally worked up the courage to tell Noe that there was someone else, but he begged me to give us another chance. I felt I owed him that."

  Kailani picked at something on her flip-flop then looked back up at us. I'd forgotten about the pictures in my hand and was fascinated by her story. "Phil was angry. Told me to tell Noe it was over. He wasn't going to wait forever."

  Kailani's tears turned to sobs. "I love him. Like, really love him. So I told Noe the night of the luau, but he wouldn't listen. Phil saw us right before we walked up, and they argued. I was shaken up, but Noe just shrugged it off as if my feelings didn't mean anything. That's when you saw us that night.

  "I knew it was over. So, I took a few pictures of our last night together. I had planned to tell Noe once and for all that I was done. I couldn't live a lie. He deserved better. But I never got the chance. I feel so guilty."

  "Why do you feel guilty? You can't help the way you feel?"

  "Because—he died that night knowing I didn't love him."

  My initial suspicions that Kailani might have killed Noe to be with Phil fell away as I watched the grief overtake her. She had really loved him, just not the way he'd wanted her to.

  I bent down, handing the phone to Jimmy, who looked extremely uncomfortable by the displays of emotion. Men.

  "It's ok. He knew you loved him." I patted her back as she let the tears fall.

  Finally, she wiped her face and looked up. "I need to go," she said.

  "Of course. Let me just look through these last few."

  I scrolled through, taking in the laughing Noe, a few of the hula dancers, and then stopped.

  It was a picture of Noe sitting at the table, a bite of sushi held to his mouth. I shivered. That sushi would kill him in the next few moments. But what caught my attention was Derrick and Dax in the background near the edge of the pier. I zoomed in.

  Derrick's face was angry, and Dax looked…frightened. I swiped to the next picture and zoomed in again. Derrick was handing something to Dax. I zoomed even closer. It was a small package wrapped in brown paper. I scrolled to the next picture and saw Dax holding up a clear bag with a white substance in the bottom. The next picture, his hand looked to be shoving the package into his pocket. Zooming in closer, I shivered. Derrick was staring right at the camera, his face mottled red with anger.

  "You said you didn't look at these?" I asked Kailani, showing them to Jimmy.

  "No. Why? Did I capture something?" Kailani asked hopefully.

  "I'm not sure. I need to get these to Detective Ray," Jimmy said. "I'm sending these to my phone." Jimmy punched in his number, attached the pictures to a message, and hit Send.

  "You ready?" he asked me.

  I nodded and turned to Kailani. "Will you be ok?"

  "I'll be fine." She stood to her feet, brushing her backside off with her hands. Jimmy went to hand her back her phone, but I took it before he could. "I'm putting my number in here. Call me if you need anything or want to talk."

  Kailani smiled sadly. "Thanks."

  Jimmy took my hand and walked as quickly as he could to the parking lot, practically dragging me to his car.

  "Wait! I have my car here too, remember?"

  He hesitated then lifted his chin to where it was parked. "Yeah, get your car, and I'll follow you home. I'm going to call Detective Ray on my way there."

  I ran to my car and slid inside.

  Was Derrick dealing drugs? Could he be the killer? Had he seen Kailani take his picture? Was she in danger too? What was Dax involved in?

  CHAPTER TEN

  The ticking of the cooling car engine serenaded the walk to my front door. Jimmy was hot on my heels. He was still on the phone with someone, so I had to wait to bombard him with all my questions.

  "Yes sir. I'll be sure and tell her…Right, I understand, sir…I will. Thanks." Jimmy got off the call and shoved the phone into his pocket.

  "Detective Ray says to tell you hi," he started.

  "He did?"r />
  Jimmy grinned, shaking his head. "Not really. He did say to tell you to stay the hell away from his investigation."

  Rolling my eyes, I plopped onto the couch. "What else did he say?"

  "I sent him the photos. He said it definitely brings up more questions and doesn't help Dax's case at all. He's going to call him in again for questioning."

  Jimmy sat down next to me and leaned his head on the back of the couch.

  "Tired?"

  "Yes. As I'm sure you are too," he said then slid his arm around me and pulled me close.

  I rested my head on his chest, right under his chin. His warm breath tickled the hairs around my face. His other arm came around me, and he held me tight.

  "Do you think Dax is somehow tied to Noe's murder?" I asked, not wanting to ruin the moment, but I had to work through all my questions.

  "I didn't at first, but after those pictures, now I'm not so sure."

  "I'm sorry."

  "Me too, Red. Me too." He sighed. "I tried calling Dax before I called Detective Ray. I'd hoped he could give me some explanation, but I got his voicemail."

  "You can't save someone who doesn't want to be saved, Jimmy."

  "I know." His hard chest rose and fell with each breath. "Want to watch a movie?"

  "Sure," I said, leaning forward to grab the remote off the coffee table. I switched it to an action flick I knew Jimmy would like and curled back up in his embrace.

  I wondered if I should mention the almost kiss. Well, the two almost kisses. But I decided to just watch the movie and not ruin the moment. I was too tired to think about me and Jimmy, much less talk to him about us. I wasn't sure what the change in our relationship meant or even how far Jimmy wanted it to go. But that was a discussion for another time.

  Jimmy's breaths grew even, a soft snore rumbling his chest. I rested my eyes for just a moment, feeling safe and secure in his arms.

  When I awoke, I was really hot, and I couldn't breathe. Something heavy was on top of me, and panic raced through my veins. I opened my eyes and realized that Jimmy was wrapped around me like a drowning man clinging to a life preserver, his hand firmly placed on my butt cheek. Apparently, my subconscious really liked his hand there, because I found mine latched on to his backside as well. And a fine backside it was. I'd seen how firm it looked. Now I knew exactly what it felt like. Although our position stirred all kinds of tingling sensations in my belly, Jimmy was one heavy dude.

  I pushed at his arms, trying to break his grasp, but it was no use. I took a deep breath and mustered a little strength and gave a solid push. Jimmy rolled over just enough to where I could quickly slide out. Carefully moving to the other side of the couch, I was embarrassed by our subconscious groping.

  He slept peacefully, all traces of the stress from the past few days gone. Jimmy was an amazing friend and probably the best man I knew besides my father. Well, my brothers were ok too, when they weren't harassing me. But aside from family, I'd never met anyone more loyal or caring than Jimmy.

  My feelings for him had evolved, and I wanted to think that maybe his feelings for me had changed as well. Was it just a chemical attraction we had going on? Was that what he was acting on? Or was there more? Could there be more?

  Jimmy stretched, revealing a tantalizing view of his abs. My mouth watered as I watched his muscles ripple and then go still.

  "Red?"

  I jerked my gaze up to his and saw a half smile splayed across his face. "Like what you see?"

  Embarrassed at being caught and then the remembrance of where his hand had been earlier, I jumped off the couch.

  "I was just…I mean, I was going to—"

  I stepped by him, but he grabbed my hand. "I'm just going to bed," I said. "You're staying here tonight?"

  Not looking at him, I found a very interesting spot to examine on the wall over his head.

  "I'm staying. At least until we catch this guy."

  He squeezed my hand, and I couldn't help but meet his eyes. The smile was still on his face, as if he knew what he'd done earlier and what I'd done—why I'd moved away from him. Then he turned my hand over to my open palm and placed a gentle kiss there.

  "Night, Red."

  "Night, Jimmy."

  I hurried to my bedroom and flopped onto my bed. Sleep eluded me again, as I lay there wondering what was happening between us.

  * * *

  Brrring. Brrring. Brrring.

  I scrambled for the phone on my nightstand. I must have finally dozed off. It was 1:30 a.m., so I hadn't been asleep long.

  "Hello?"

  "I need to talk to you," a quiet voice said.

  "Who is this?" I asked, sleep fogging my brain.

  "Kailani Chan. I need your help, Autumn."

  I sat up straight in the bed just as a shadow filled the doorway of my room. Jimmy stood there, the light he must have turned on in the living room shining around him.

  "Kailani," I whispered, my hand over the phone. Jimmy came and sat next to me on the bed. "What do you need help with?"

  "I can't tell you over the phone. Meet me at the pool tomorrow at 10:00 a.m."

  I hesitated. If it was important enough for her to call me in the middle of the night, surely she could tell me something.

  "Kailani—"

  "Please, Autumn. I'll tell you everything tomorrow."

  "Ok."

  The phone went silent. She'd already hung up.

  "What did she want?" Jimmy asked, his arms stretched over his head as he yawned.

  It was then that I noticed he wasn't wearing a shirt. For a moment, I wasn't able to speak. I just looked at him in all his male perfection. I'd seen Jimmy shirtless before. We went to the beach countless times. But here in my bedroom in the middle of the night, Jimmy without his shirt was a temptation I wasn't sure I could resist.

  "Earth to Autumn," Jimmy said, waving a hand in front of my face.

  I cleared my throat. "Um, she wants to speak with me tomorrow. She said she needed help."

  "I'll go with you."

  I nodded. If Kailani needed help, I'd need Jimmy to be there. He was the security specialist, after all.

  Jimmy stood, squeezing my hand as he walked through the open door to the living room. He stopped just outside and smiled back at me. "Get some sleep."

  "You too." I lay back down on the bed, hoping to go right back to sleep, but my body refused to cooperate. Instead I puzzled through everything I knew so far, but I didn't feel any closer to figuring out who'd killed Noe and who had my camera than I had been before.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  I'd tossed and turned all night long, and when I'd finally managed to drift off to sleep, I'd dreamed that Jimmy and I were lying on a beach, cuddled up together, watching the sunset. He'd leaned over, his lips hovering a breath away from mine. Then I'd woken up. Hot and tingly. And frustrated. Was it too much to ask to at least kiss him in my dreams? We'd had two near misses, and I couldn't even manage to seal the deal in my head.

  When I finally reached the resort that morning, Juls' peppy tone was almost too much to handle after such a miserable night.

  "Hey, Autumn!"

  I turned and gave her my best fake smile, my face stiff and my lips spread a bit too thin.

  "Hey, Juls," I said, pausing to wait for her to approach. As usual, she was moving at power-walk speed. "I was just heading for the lockers."

  "No worries. I just want to run something by you and see what you think." She rummaged in one of her pockets, extracting her cell and flicking through its screens with her thumb. "Aha! Here it is. Ok, tell me what you think of this idea." She looked up at me, a slight air of mischievousness in her eyes. "I'd love to have a couples' cooking competition and include a few resort employees as well."

  "That sounds fine. I like to cook," I added, not sure where this was going. Too late I caught on as Juls' grin became wider. She couldn't know that Jimmy was staying at my place, could she? It had just been the one night, and he was just protecting me. He was a fr
iend. "Um, maybe you should ask that gal from the front desk, the one who likes to flash her diamond in everyone's face. She's definitely part of a twosome."

  Juls' eyebrows rose until they almost disappeared in her hairline. "Aha. I see. I thought you and Jimmy…" Her voice trailed off as her eyes spotted someone else behind me. "Well, speak of the devil," she murmured.

  "What's up, ladies?"

  I turned to see Jimmy standing too close behind me, and my treacherous heart began pounding loud enough for Juls to hear. From the quick glance she tossed my way, I thought she had.

  "Nothing much," Juls said. "Just running a few of these couples' outings ideas by Autumn. I'm looking for employee couples from the resort to represent us."

  "Awesome. Autumn and I would be glad to volunteer."

  We would? I hardly dared to look up at him, almost afraid of what I'd see in his eyes. Besides, I needed to check the straps on my sandals.

  "Great. I'll put you down." Juls gave a self-satisfied grin. Was she playing matchmaker now? "I'm about to take a few guests to sign up for Gabby's next tour, so I'm out of here." She gave me a pat on the back combined with a slight push. "Oh, I forgot to mention that we also have couples' massages, Autumn. Free for employees as long as they have an opening."

  "That's interesting news, Juls. Thanks." I just barely contained the eye roll. I could have gladly killed her on the spot.

  Jimmy chuckled, and I had the sudden urge to kill him right along with her. With a murder hanging over the resort, I probably shouldn't be making those kinds of jokes.

  "Hey, Juls, before you go. Please tell me you didn't fire Kailani Chan after last night's argument with Patti Stone. She had that coming!"

  Juls turned to face me, and I caught the massive eye roll. "Of course not! We aren't going to fire a fabulous employee after one of Patti Stone's drunken tirades. She'll get over it. Eventually."

  Sighing in relief, I watched Juls speed walk toward the front doors. Jimmy placed his hand at the small of my back and led me out to the pool bar.