Sabrina had put fresh linens on all the beds just to give herself the peace of mind that she was, in fact, a competent villa keeper, regardless of Gavin’s unfounded barbs. Now she was in the lower level of Villa Nirvana, where there was absolute quiet as she washed, dried, and folded the sheets and towels she had removed from upstairs. If anyone had ever told her while she was a television meteorologist in Boston that she would find almost as much pleasure in placing order to linens as she had in forecasting blizzards and thunderstorms, she would have called them crazy. But with all that had happened in her life, Sabrina found soothing comfort in repetitive tasks, especially tactile ones. She could smell the fragrance of the lavender detergent. She could feel the softness of the sheets, the warmth of the towels as they came out of the dryer. She could lose herself in contemplation or be almost without thought. Today, she tried to muddle through the case, and its seemingly random collection of facts, to make some sense out of it all. But she was distracted.
Sabrina felt bad that she’d lost her cool with Gavin. Not reacting to someone like him was far better than giving him the satisfaction of knowing he had managed to reach her. “I will permit no man to narrow and degrade my soul by making me hate him,” had always been one of her favorite Booker T. Washington quotes. Sabrina thought she had come very close to letting Gavin degrade her soul today.
The last load of linens was in the dryer. The liquor had been delivered and the bar restocked. She had only the dishwasher to empty and the three shower stalls in the cabana to rinse sand from and then Sabrina was done for the day. Maybe she would let Neil take her out to Zeus for dinner tonight. Or maybe she would cook for him on his boat.
She thought she heard the dryer buzz, and then realized it was her cell phone. It was Neil. Had he also been thinking of her?
“Hi there,” she said, feeling warm and flirty.
“Salty, I’m just giving you a head’s up. The shit has hit the fan.”
“What do you mean?” Sabrina could hear the panic in Neil’s voice.
“Well, Lisa knows Elena wore the necklace she thought Gavin was going to give to her. Heather’s still not admitting she had the necklace. That was bad enough. Then the autopsy results come in and Sean goes ballistic when he hears Elena was either raped or had rough sex before she died,” Neil said.
“Oh no,” Sabrina said. “Where is he?”
“That’s why I’m calling. He ran out of the police station and took off. I wondered if he came out there.”
Sabrina explained that she was in the lower level of Villa Nirvana and didn’t know if anyone else had come, but that Gavin and Paul were there.
“Neil, has Sean shared with you the nature of his physical relationship with Elena?” Sabrina knew she’d better clue Neil in, if he didn’t know.
“Huh? No, why would he? What are you talking about, Salty? Do I know the details of their sex life?” She could hear the exasperation in his voice. He thought she was getting off track.
“Because there weren’t any. They hadn’t had sex. Elena was making them wait until after they were officially married,” Sabrina said.
“So . . . oh damn, I get it. I’d better get Janquar and get out there. That’s where he’s likely to go, isn’t he?” Neil asked.
“That would be my guess. I’ll hold down the fort until you get here.”
“No heroics, Salty. I can save you from the cops, but not from yourself.”
Sabrina thought she heard him mumble, “Love you,” as he hung up.