Protector, Lover...Husband?: In the Dark / Sure Bet / Deadly Exposure

“Thanks,” David said.

Jay handed him a cup of black coffee. “For a good-looking son of a bitch, you look like hell this morning,” Jay told him.

“I didn’t sleep well.”

Jay poured himself a cup. “Me neither.”

“Dreaming about corpses?”

Jay didn’t look startled by the question. “There was no corpse,” he said flatly.

“Not when you got there,” David suggested.

Jay shook his head. “I asked Alex not to say anything—since we didn’t have a body.”

“She didn’t.”

“Then?”

“It’s an island, a very small one,” David reminded him.

“I was sure Laurie would have the good sense to keep quiet when I asked her to,” Jay said disgustedly.

“Laurie didn’t talk. Things…get around.”

“So you’re not going to tell me where you got your information?” Jay asked.

“Nope.”

“Like I said, there was no body,” Jay told him. He frowned. “How far do you think it’s gotten around?”

“Who knows?”

Jay groaned. “If the guests start to hear this…”

“I don’t think it’ll get around to the rest of the guests,” David assured him. God, the coffee was good.

“It was Len, wasn’t it? And don’t deny it.”

“Doesn’t matter how I know. And I haven’t said a word to anyone else. I know Alex hasn’t either, and I’d almost guarantee Laurie hasn’t. I do have a question for you. What makes you so convinced Alex was duped?”

Jay looked at him. His surprise seemed real. “There was no body there. And corpses don’t get up and walk.”

“They can be moved.”

“I’m not an idiot. I was looking around just like the sheriff. The sheriff. We didn’t just call security and forget it. We called the sheriff. There was no sign of a body ever having been there or being taken away. There were no footprints and no drag marks.”

“What the hell does that mean? Someone strong enough could throw a woman’s body over his shoulder—and there are palms fronds around by the zillions. Footprints on a beach could easily be erased.”

“There couldn’t have been a body,” Jay said.

David watched him for a few minutes. Jay wasn’t meeting his eyes. Instead he seemed intent on wiping the counter where nothing had spilled.

“You look like you’re afraid there might have been. And worse, you look as if you’re afraid you know who it could have been,” David said softly.

Jay stared at him then. “Don’t be insane! I’d never kill anyone.”

“I didn’t say you would. You know, I asked you before about Alicia Farr. You assured me that she hadn’t checked in to the resort.”

“She hasn’t,” Jay protested.

“She was supposed to be here.”

“She called about a possible reservation, but she never actually booked. I didn’t think she would. It’s not her cup of tea. Anyway, that was it. She called once, made sure I had the dates available that she wanted, then said she’d get back to me. She didn’t. That’s the God’s honest truth. She never called back.”

It sounded as if Jay was sincere, but David couldn’t be certain.

Jay gasped suddenly, staring at David. “I know what you’re thinking! Believe me, there couldn’t have been a corpse. And if there was…it couldn’t have been Alicia. I mean, she didn’t check in. She was never on the island.”

“Well, if there wasn’t a corpse, it couldn’t have been anyone, right? But I should tell you, Alicia was in Miami a week ago, where she rented a boat and said she was heading down to one of the small private islands in the Keys.”

“Do you know how many small private islands there are down here? Maybe she intended to come here but changed her mind. She must have arranged to go somewhere else—maybe a place that belongs to a friend or something.” His eyes narrowed. “Were you…with her? In Miami?”

David shook his head.

“How do you know what she was doing, then?”

“She called me. Then when I called back and couldn’t reach her I had a friend do a trace on her.”

“Alicia is independent. She knows her way around.”

“When she called me, she asked me to meet her here, at Moon Bay. The way she talked, she was excited about seeing Moon Bay. She seemed very specific. When she called you, she didn’t say anything about her reason for coming?”

“I swear, she didn’t tell me anything. She was pleasant and asked about available dates, and that was all,” Jay assured him, then frowned. They could both see Hank Adamson’s deck shoes, then his legs, as he descended into the cabin.

“Mind if I take a look around her?” he asked David.

“Hell no. I’m proud of my girl and delighted to give you a tour. Jay, how about relieving John at the helm, so he can get a good look at the Icarus, too?”

“Sure. I already know my way around,” Jay told Adamson. There was a note of pride in his voice. David watched him thoughtfully as he headed topside.

Jay Galway had been sweating when they talked. A little sheen of perspiration had shown on his upper lip.

So…

Either he was afraid, or he was lying.

Or both.