It still needs to be investigated, Alex said, still staring at Jay. His behavior puzzled her. They had no idea who the dead woman might be, where she had come from, or even if there was a murderer loose in paradise, and he seemed so blasé.
Finally he said, Show me.
Lets go.
Len started to follow, but Jay spun on him. Youre on duty. And you, Jay warned Alex, make it look as if were taking a casual stroll.
Jay, honestly, sometimes
Alex, want to cause a panic? Jay demanded.
Sure. Fine. Were taking a casual stroll.
They left the lobby, Alex leading, Jay behind her, Laurie following quickly. They took the path through the flowers, passed the Tiki Hutwhich seemed unusually quiet for the time of dayand around the lagoon area.
Alex, slow down. Were taking a stroll, remember? Jay said.
She looked back, still moving quickly. Jay, were in shorts and youre in an Armani suit, about to get sand in your polished black shoes. How casually can we stroll?
He let out a sound of irritation but argued the point no further.
They reached the pristine sand beach. The temperature was dropping, the sweet breeze still blowing in.
Alex came to a halt. Jay nearly crashed into her back. As if they were a vaudeville act, Laurie collided with him.
What the hell? Jay demanded.
Its gone, Alex breathed.
Whats gone? Jay demanded.
The body.
Laurie was staring toward the thatch of seaweed where the corpse had lain. She, too, seemed incredulous. Itit is gone, she murmured.
Without turning, Alex could feel the way that Jay was looking at her. Like an icy blast against the balmy summer breeze, she could feel his eyes boring into her back.
She didnt turn but ran down the length of the beach, searching the sand and the water, looking for any hint as to where the body had been moved.
What, Alex? Jay shouted. You saw a corpse, but it rolled down the beach to catch the sun better?
She stopped then, whirling around.
Its moved, she said, walking back to where Jay stood.
Your corpse got up and walked?
She exhaled impatiently. Jay, it was here.
Really, Jay, it was, Laurie said, coming to her defense.
They all turned at the sound of a motor. A sheriffs department launch was heading their way. Nigel Thompson, the sheriff himself, had come.
Usually Alex liked Nigel Thompson. He looked just the way she figured an old-time Southern sheriff should look. He was somewhere between fifty and sixty years old; his eyes were pale blue, his hair snow-white. He was tall and heavy, a big man. His appearance was customarily reassuring.
He tended to be a skeptic.
A skeptic when rowdy, underage kids told their stories. A skeptic when adults who should have known better lied about the amount they had been drinking before a boating accident. He was never impolite, never skirted the law, but he was tough, and folks around here knew it.
He cut the motor but drew his launch right up to the beach. Hopping from the craft, he demanded, Wheres this body?
Jay looked from Nigel to Alex.
Well? he asked her.
She lifted her chin, grinding down hard on her teeth. She looked at Nigel. It was right here, she said pointing.
He looked from the sand and seaweed to her. It was there?
I swear to you, it was right there.
He looked at Alex, slowly arching an eyebrow. Alexandra, I was just about to sit down to dinner when the call came in. Tell me this isnt a joke or a summer prank.
Had to have been a prankand Alex fell for it, Jay said. He didnt sound angry with her, but he did sound aggravated.
Im here now, Nigel said, looking at Alex. So tell me what you saw.
A sunbather who thought it was one hell of a joke to fool someone into thinking she was dead, Jay said.
She was dead, Alex said. Nigel, youve known me for years. Do I make things up?
No, missy, you dont, the sheriff acknowledged. But there is no body, he pointed out.
It was here, right here. I got close enough to make sure she wasI touched her. She was dead, Alex asserted with quiet vehemence.
She sure looked dead, Laurie offered.
Alex winced inwardly, aware her friend was trying to help. But her words gave the entire situation an aura of doubt.
She was dead, Alex repeated.
Cause of death? Nigel asked her.
I didnt do an autopsy, she snapped, and then was furious with herself.
There was nothing that suggested a cause of death? Nigel asked patiently.
She shook her head. If she had washed up with a rope around her neck, I didnt see it. Im sorry, Ive dealt with dead dolphins, but I never interned at the morgue, Alex told him. But I know a corpse when I see one.
So youve seen lots of corpses? Jay asked.
Ive seen enough dead mammals, Jay. She looked at Nigel. I swear to you that there was a dead woman here, tangled in seaweed.
He sighed, looking at the sand and the water, then back to her. No drag marks, Alex. She wasnt pulled into the bushes.
She was here, Alex insisted stubbornly.
Alex, Im not saying this is what happened, but isnt it possible that someone was pulling a prank?
No, she said determinedly.
Sowhat did happen? Why isnt she here?
I dont know. I thought she was far enough out of the water, so I dont think the waves could have pulled her back outI think someone came and moved her.
They were quick, Nigel commented.
Im telling you, she was here. Isnt there a way you can check? It will be dark soon. Cant you spray something around, see if there are specks of blood in the seaweed or on the sand anywhere? Better yet, take samples. Get more men out here and make certain that the only tracks around came from Jay, Laurie and myself?
There could be dozens of tracks around, and it wouldnt mean anything. The beach is accessible to all the staff and every guest, Nigel told her.
Surely theres something you can do, Alex said.
I can see if a body turns up again, he told her quietly. Seriously, Alex. The most likely scenario is that the woman wasnt dead. Maybe she was unconscious but came to while you were up at the lodge. One of you should have stayed here.
Alex glared at Laurie.
Laurie looked back at her defensively. Hey, how could I know that a corpse could get up and walk away?
A corpse cant get up and walk away, Jay interjected impatiently. Unless the person you saw was not a corpse.
Were going in circles here, Alex told him.
This is ridiculous, he told her. You pull me out here, make me ruin my good Italian shoes, drag Nigel away from his supperbecause you saw someone passed out. Maybe someone in need of help, who you left. Or, more likely, someone playing a joke. A sick joke, yes. But a joke, and you fell for it.
Alex lifted her hands in exasperation. All right, fine. Theres nothing I can say or do to make you believe me. Nigel, Im sorry about your supper. I owe you one. Im going to take a shower.
Wait a minute, Nigel said. Im not ignoring this. Ill make a check on passengers who took the ferry over today, and, Jay, you check your guest lists. Well make sure that everyone is accounted for.
Wait a minute, Nigel said. Im not ignoring this. Ill make a check on passengers who took the ferry over today, and, Jay, you check your guest lists. Well make sure that everyone is accounted for.
Alex stood in stony silence.
Alex, thats all I can do since theres no body, Nigel said patiently. Were not New York, D.C., or even Miami. I dont have a huge forensic department or the manpower to start combing every strand of seaweed, especially since the tide is coming in. Alex, please. Im not mocking you. Its just that there is no body. He turned to Jay. Get busy on the paperwork, Jay. Ill handle the ferry records. And, Alexdont mention this around, all right?
She frowned curiously at him. But
Dont you dare go alarming the guests with a wild story, Jay said.
Actually, I was thinking that if there was a corpse and someones hidden it, it might be a very dangerous topic of conversation, Nigel told her.
Hes right, Jay said. He pointed a finger toward Alex. No mention of this. No mention of it for your own safety.
Oh, yeah, right.
Nigel turned around, looking at the beach. He shook his head and started away.
Where you going, Nigel? Jay asked.
To check on the ferry records, Nigel called back.
He reached his launch, gave it a shove back to the water and waded around to hop in, then gave them a wave.
Jay stared at Alex and Laurie again. Not a word, you understand? Not a word. It doesnt matter if there were a dozen corpses on the beach, Alex, theyre not here now. So keep quiet.
Fine. Not a word, Jay, Alex snapped, walking past him.
Hey! Im your boss, remember? he told her.
She kept walking, Laurie following in her tracks.
Im still your boss, he called after her. And you owe me a new pair of shoes.
They were soon out of earshot. Alex, there really was a corpse, wasnt there? Laurie asked. But she sounded uncertain.
Yes.
PerhapsI meancouldnt you have been mistaken?
No. She turned. Im going to go take a hot shower and a couple of aspirin. Ill see you later.
Laurie nodded, still looking uncertain. Im sorry. Jay has a way of twisting things, Laurie said apologetically.
I know. Forget it. Ill see you later.
She lifted a hand and turned down a slender trail that led through small palms and hibiscus, anxious only to reach her little cottage.
She slid her plastic key from the button pocket of her uniform shorts and inserted it into the lock. The door swung open.
The air was on; the ceiling fan in the whitewashed and rattan-furnished living-room area was whirling away. The coolness struck her pleasantly.
She walked through the living area and into the small kitchen, pausing to pull a wine cooler from the refrigerator. She uncapped it quickly and moved on, anxious to flop down on the sofa out on the porch. She opened the floor-to-ceiling glass doors and went out, actually glad of the wave of warmth outside, tempered by the feel of the night breeze and the hypnotic whirl of another ceiling fan.
But even as she fell into a chair, she tensed, sitting straight up and staring across to the charming white gingerbread railing, too startled by a figure looming in the shadows of coming twilight to scream. Then she took a deep breath of relief when she recognized who it was.
It wasnt just anyone planted on her porch.
It was David.
He was wearing nothing but swim trunks, broad, bronzed shoulders gleaming, arms crossed over his chest as he leaned against the rail. He was very still, and yet, as it had always been with him, it seemed that he emanated energy, as if any moment he would move like a streak of lightning.
Her heart lurched. He was so familiar. How many times had she seen him like this and walked up to him, wherever they were, sliding her fingers down his naked back, sometimes feeling the heat of the sun and sometimes just that of the man? She had loved the way he had turned to her in response and taken her into the curl of his arm.
How many times had it led to so much more? There had been those days when, just in from the water, he had been speaking to a TV camera, holding her as he talked, then had suddenly turned to her, and she had seen a sudden light rise in his eyes. She could remember the way he would move, his attention only for her, as he excused himself, smiled and led her away. By the time they reached a private spot, they would both be breathless, laughing and pulling at the few pieces of clothing they were wearing. He could move with such languid, sinewy power; the tone of his voice could change so easily; the lightest brush of his fingers could evoke a thousand rays of pure sensuality. And she had been so desperately, insanely eager to know them all.
But then, that had been in the days when it had mattered to him that she was with him.
He didnt smile now. His deep blue eyes were grave as he surveyed her. Shed seen him cold and distant like this, as well, the light in his eyes almost predatory.
David, she said dryly, pushing away the past, forcing herself to forget the intimacy and remember only what it had been like once she had determined to pursue her own career and he had begun to travel without her. Days, weeks, even a monthgone. Not even a telephone call, once he was with his true love. The sea.
And those who traveled it with him.
Alex, he responded. Ive been waiting for you.
So it appears. Well, how nice to see you. Here. On my porch. My personal porch, my private space. Gee, this is great. Her tone couldnt have held more acidity.
Thanks. Her welcome hadnt been sincere. Neither was his gratitude. But there was no mistaking the seriousness of his next words.
So, he said, tell me about the body you foundthe one that disappeared from the beach.
Chapter Three
What? she said sharply.
You heard me. Tell me about the body. He uncoiled from his position, coming toward her, taking a chair near hers. He was close, too close, and she instantly felt wary and, despite herself, unnerved. Theyd been apart for a year, and she still felt far too familiar with the rugged planes of his face, the bronzed contours of his hands and fingers, idly folded now before him.
She managed to sit back, eyeing him with dignity and, she hoped, a certain disdain.
What the hell are you doing on my porch? Theres a lobby for guests.
Get off it. You must have been in a panic. And Jay probably behaved like an asshole.
I dont know what youre talking about.
Im trying to help you out.
If you want to help me out, get off the island.
Am I making you uneasy?
You bet, she told him flatly.
That drew a smile to his lips. Missed me, huh?
She sat farther forward, setting her wine cooler on the rattan coffee table, preparing to rise.
I assume you have a room. Why dont you go put some clothes on.
Ah, thats it. Cant take the sight of my naked chest. Its making you hot, huh?
More like leaving me cold, she said icily. Now go away, please.
His smile faded for a moment. Dont worry. I know you want me to leave. I havent forgotten that you had the divorce papers sent to me without a word.