CHAPTER 16
“We stayed in touch over the years. I knew he was in between things, so I let him know.”
None of this was adding up for me. “You’re a better person than I am.”
Lisa took a deep breath. One that seemed to calm her. “Holding grudges in Hollywood gets you nowhere. I try to apply that to my life.”
She had a point about grudges. They weren’t useful, but I’m not sure I believed her. “I’m surprised someone like you—with your stuntwoman skills—would enter a small-town barback competition.”
We were passing the coastal dune lake where they’d found my ex-fiancé’s body in January. I was finally to the point that I didn’t burst out in tears every time I passed this spot. I heard someone running behind us and glanced back. It was Rip. He came up even with us and kept running, like he didn’t know who we were. He must be worried about me. A small smile crossed my face.
“Now that’s a fine example of a perfect male specimen,” Lisa said. She turned up her speed a notch. She let out a long sharp whistle.
Rip glanced back and let a slow smile spread across his face. Damn, he was one fine-looking man. It’s a good thing he kept running, or Lisa would know from me leaping on him that we were in a relationship. And like with my house, the less she knew about me, the better I’d feel.
I accidentally-on-purpose crossed in front of her, slowing Lisa down. “Oh, sorry. I was so busy staring, I wasn’t watching where I was going.”
Lisa slowed. “I’m almost to where I parked.” She pointed to the beach access point on the west side of the lake. “How about you?”
“I’m parked by the Sea Glass.” I was a good liar.
“See you later, then.” Lisa walked up the beach and was soon out of sight.
* * *
I turned and headed back toward my house. My legs ached from the run, or the tension of talking to Lisa, as my feet pounded against the sand. My breath was coming out in pants, not only from exhaustion, but from a bit of panic over the situation I found myself in. How was I going to find out more about Lisa? It wasn’t like I could call up Gal Gadot for information. I slowed my pace to a walk. It wasn’t long before Rip showed up by my side. It eased some of the stress I was feeling.
“Thanks for running by,” I said. “I felt safer.” It was unlikely that Lisa would try to harm me out here, but still. I smiled at him. “Lisa was impressed. She said you were a fine male specimen. Not a bad compliment from a woman who worked with stars in Hollywood.”
“Were you impressed? Because that’s all I care about.”
Honestly, if it was possible for a human to actually melt, I would.
“Who was that?” he asked. “And why did you wave me off?”
“It’s Lisa Kelley. She’s in the barback competition, representing Gray’s Tavern over in Grayton Beach. She was Gal Gadot’s stuntwoman for the Wonder Woman movies.”
“Oh, so she does know about impressive men. And she thinks I’m one of them.” He laughed.
I rolled my eyes at him, but she wasn’t wrong. Rip had deep green eyes, curling dark hair, and a sculpted body that came from hard work and the gym. I shook my head at him. “Lisa went that away.” I pointed behind us and took off at a run toward my house.
I heard Rip running behind me and grinned. Moments later, his arm looped around my waist, and he planted a kiss on me that had me clinging to him. Someone on the beach whistled, and another person yelled, “Go for it.”
We broke apart.
Rip stared down at me. “Seriously. You are the only one I want to impress.”
“Lucky me.”
Rip laughed.
“Did I actually say that out loud?” My face warmed. I was probably bright pink.
“I’m the lucky one.”
My heart boomed around in my chest. Words were close to the surface and ready to spill out. My stomach rumbled, breaking the moment.
“Let’s go get some dinner,” Rip said.
* * *
Thirty-five minutes later, we sat outside on a picnic bench, freshly showered and waiting for our food. We’d come to the first place we’d ever eaten together. A food truck right next to the ocean in Emerald Cove. Maria and Arturo made the best Mexican food in the Panhandle. Arturo fished in the morning, and Maria used whatever he caught to whip up tasty delights. By this time of night, the fresh seafood was gone, but Maria could turn any meat into something delicious. We were having Mexican street tacos with steak, fresh pico de gallo, Maria’s homemade special sauce, and a side of Mexican corn. It had been grilled before being sliced off the cob and dressed with queso fresco and some other tasty sauce.
A string of lights waved in the soft breeze. At any other time, I’d thoroughly enjoy all this, but tonight I was working on a sticky problem. Most of the time after a dinner like this, we’d go dancing somewhere or out to a movie, then always back to my place or Rip’s boat. But Ann was picking me up at six, and even though she and Rip were close—so close that last June, I assumed they were a couple—Ann didn’t want anyone else knowing what we were up to. However, this was Rip, and I wasn’t about to ruin my relationship with him for Ann. I had to figure out a way to honor both of them.
“What?” Rip asked.
I looked up at him, surprised. “What do you mean?”
“You quit eating, but earlier you said you were starving. I know this corn is your favorite, so something must be bothering you.”
“It’s been a rough couple of days.”
Rip hugged me to him and kissed the top of my head. Yes, we were the obnoxious couple who sat side by side instead of across from each other. Especially at places like this, where on one side of the table, you could see the ocean and watch the sunset, and on the other side, you couldn’t.
“It has been,” Rip answered. “How can I help?”
I told him about my conversation with Lisa and about her relationship with Enrique. “Lisa still sounded upset, even though she said she wasn’t.”
“Maybe she came here to rekindle things with him and found out he wasn’t interested.”
I munched on my taco while I thought about that. “Or that he wasn’t only going to be interested in her,” I said when I finished. “From what I saw and what I’ve heard, Enrique wasn’t ready to settle down with one woman.”
Rip looked at me. “Maybe he just hasn’t found the right one.”
Thank heavens I didn’t have any food in my mouth, because I’m pretty sure it would have fallen out and ruined the moment. Car doors slammed behind us, which made me jump. Moment ruined anyway.
“I’m exhausted. I won’t be good company later tonight,” I said as we walked to Rip’s car.
“I don’t care.”
Rip was so understanding. I bet if Greg, the unhappy motorcycle-riding doctor, had a wife this understanding, he wouldn’t be so unhappy. I’m not sure how I got this lucky. “I have to get up early to help out a friend tomorrow morning.”
Rip’s expression was puzzled, until he smoothed out his face and nodded. He knew how to pull a neutral face because of his past as a lawyer. To hide his thoughts. He gave me a light kiss. “No worries.”
He said it, but did he mean it? Was I being more loyal to Ann than Rip? But maybe I was just being me, without regard to loyalty to one person over the other. I said I’d help Ann. I said I’d keep it quiet, so that’s what I was going to do.
* * *
Tuesday morning, we launched from the same place we had the day before. Only the boat we were on today was bigger with fancier equipment.
“The police still have the other boat as part of their investigation,” Ann explained as we puttered off.
“You have more than one boat?” I asked. Or had she borrowed one from someone?
“Lots of people do down here.”
There’d been more than one boat at the dock yesterday. I just didn’t think they were all Ann’s. The only other people I knew who had more than one were Joaquín and Michael. They lived on one, and Joaquín fished with the other.
“Is that your house?” I asked, pointing back at the large house. The Gulf side had tall windows on both floors. The views must be incredible.
“One of them.”
Yeesh. More than one boat, more than one house. Ann had a lifestyle I couldn’t even imagine. “Right. Lots of people down here have more than one.”
Ann laughed. “Not lots, but plenty. Some they use as rentals. Or they have a place at the beach and then a place somewhere quieter.”
I got that. The beaches could be packed at various times of the year, but I also knew you had to have money to do that. A lot of money.
The sun was barely a glimmer on the horizon. But unlike the last time we were out here, there were no clouds in sight.
“Is that the house where the break-in occurred?” I asked.
“It is.” The wind blew her hair back like she was a model facing a fan. “Dex is talking to the people who own the security company. However, so far they haven’t been too forthcoming.”
Talking to. Interesting word choice when she probably meant Dex was interrogating them. “You know Dex can be a little intimidating. Maybe that’s why they aren’t talking.”
She narrowed her eyes for a second. “You could be right. Will you talk to them? You’ve got that wholesome Midwestern nice thing going on.”
I’m not sure that’s how I wanted anyone to describe me, but it was probably true. Even in Chicago, I’d be the one tourists would come up to and ask directions. I had some friends who tried to teach me to be less friendly, but it just never worked.
“I wouldn’t even know what to ask. All I know about security systems is how to turn one on and off.”
“I’ll prep you.”
“In that case, why not?” I really needed to work on saying no to things. But that Midwestern nice always got in the way.
We rode in silence for a few minutes. Probably both regretting that we’d come up with this cockamamie plan to have me go talk to the security people. The wind blew my hair around. It was too short for a ponytail, but long enough that it was in my face. And I certainly didn’t look like a model.
“What about security cameras? Did you catch anyone on them?” I asked.
Ann shook her head. “I don’t have any. They are too easy to hack, and I like my privacy.”
I could understand that, but was still a little surprised. “It seems like we’re going a different direction this morning,” I said. We were heading due south today.
“I ran more calculations last night, adding in variables that I hadn’t the first go-round.”
“Did you include the storm from the other night?”
Ann nodded. “I did. The problem is the Gulf is so big and, when you take into account all the storms over the past three hundred years, trying to find a treasure is improbable.”
“And yet, we’re out here.”
“I said improbable, not impossible.” Ann grinned at me.
I couldn’t help but smile back. Something about her spirit was captivating. The song from the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disney World started playing in my head. The pirates’ life for me, indeed.
Ann stopped the boat.
“Is this where you’re going to dive?” I asked.
She pulled two pairs of binoculars out of a console. She handed one of them to me.
“This is where we make sure no one is following us.”
We did a silent survey. Water gently hit the boat, making us rock in the small swells. I didn’t spot any boats nearby. There were some nearer the shore and some farther out, but no one close.
“I don’t see anyone,” I said, putting the binoculars down.
Ann did a quick scan of the sky. I shaded my eyes to see what she was searching for and then flashed a questioning look her way.
“Drones,” she said. “But I don’t see any.”
Yikes. Drones. This day just kept getting weirder.
Ann stored the binoculars, then turned the boat east. She turned on a couple of fancy-looking screens. “Normally, people use these to find fish.”
“That doesn’t seem quite fair.”
“It is if that’s how you have to make your living. It’s not only the commercial fishermen like Joaquín who use them, but the charter boats. Nothing worse than a charter boat full of unhappy customers.”
“I get that, but it still seems like it gives the fishermen an unfair advantage.”
“I can also watch for abnormalities that might indicate the wreck.”
That piqued my interest, and I watched the screen with fascination. We saw a lot of fish over the next fifteen minutes, but not much else. Ann slowed the boat down. The sun was warm on my face, and I was regretting not having any sunscreen with me. I freckled and burned all too easily.
“We’re close to the spot that I charted on my computer last night,” Ann said. “Keep an eye out on the screen.”
“There,” I shouted. “What’s that?” I was seeing a rectangular shape. It definitely wasn’t fish or any other sea creature I could think of. It didn’t appear to be moving.
Ann slowed and made a couple of passes over the object. “I’m going in to check it out.” She didn’t sound very excited. “It might be a waste of time, but this is why we’re here.”
Ann got in her gear and jumped off the back of the boat. The motion set us rocking. There was a quiet out here like nothing I’d ever heard or, in this case, didn’t hear. On land, there’s always the background noise of cars or boats or people or birds. Here, it was a bit of wind and a bit of wave. If I wasn’t on edge, it would be delightful.
I grabbed a set of binoculars and did another scan around us. Nope. No boats. No drones as far as I could tell, either. Just me and the boat. It didn’t take long for Ann to resurface, and she had something tucked under one arm. A small box of some sort. What? I put my hand down to her and noticed it was shaking. She grasped it, and I pulled her out of the water.
Ann set the box on the deck. It was a small treasure chest with a humped top. It was about twelve-by-eight, black as night. Ann quickly removed her scuba equipment. We knelt down beside the box. Ann flipped the top open, and we stared down in shock.