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

He checked his temper. “Hell, Granger, with your money? I doubt you’re a wannabe anything, either.”

“The wannabe would be me,” Jay said dryly.

“Jay, you’re running a four-star resort, and your vacations are pure adventure,” David assured him.

“Yeah, but I bust my butt for all of them—and I’m still on the fringes. But you know…I spent a lot of time with Danny Fuller. I’m sure he had a dozen treasure maps stored in his head, things he learned over the years, and Alicia had the looks—and the balls. So…”

“Looks like we’re all here looking for Alicia,” Seth said. “And she’s blown us all off.”

“I don’t actually know her,” John Seymore reminded them.

“That’s right—Seymore’s just here to get warm and cuddly with the sea life,” David said.

“And your ex-wife,” Seth commented.

A tense silence suddenly gripped the table.

Then David’s phone rang, as if on cue. “Excuse me, will you?” he said to the others. “Reception is better outside.”

He rose, flipping open the phone as he walked out, then paused in the alleyway outside the little restaurant, shaded by a huge sea grape tree.

“Can you talk?” his caller asked.

“You bet,” David said. “I’ve been hoping to hear from you.”

“I spent some time at the hospital where Danny Fuller died. Seems Alicia was in on an almost daily basis. One of the nurses heard her swearing to Danny again and again that she wasn’t after money, just discovery. And whatever Danny told her, it had to do with dolphins. Apparently the words dolphin and lagoon came up over and over again. And there was one more thing I think you’ll find of interest.” The man on the other end paused.

“What’s that?” David asked after a long silence. Dane Whitelaw didn’t usually hesitate. An ex–specialforces agent, he had opened his own place in Key Largo, where he combined dive charters with a private investigation firm. Sounded a bit strange, but it seemed to work out well enough. He avoided a lot of the big city slush and came up with some truly interesting work, a lot of it to do with boats lost at sea and people who disappeared after heading out for the Caribbean.

Some of them wanted to disappear.

Some of them were forced to do so.

But if he needed information of any kind, David had never met anyone as capable as Dane of finding it out.

Dane was still silent.

“You still there?” David asked.

“Yeah.”

“Well?”

“Apparently, according to the old guy’s night nurse, your ex-wife’s name kept coming up, as well.”

“What?”

“She said the two kept talking about an Alex McCord.”

David digested the information slowly. Finally it was Dane’s turn to ask, “Hey, David, you still there?”

“Yeah, yeah. I need another favor.”

“What’s that?”

“Look into a guy for me. If he’s telling the truth at all, you should be able to dig up some stuff on him.”

“Sure. Who’s the guy?”

“An ex–navy SEAL. John Seymore.”

Jeb had his tie. Alex wasn’t certain what it was going to look like when combined with a dress shirt and a jacket, but it was certainly a comment about the lifestyle he loved. Light blue dolphins leaping against a cobalt background.

Alex had purchased one of the same ties. Reflex action, she decided. The darker color was just like David’s eyes, and she used to buy all kinds of little things just because they might appeal to him.

“Damn,” she murmured as they walked back to the restaurant.

“What?”

“Oh…nothing. I guess I don’t really want to go back in and see our…group.” Nor did she want to pass the alley. She could see David. He was bare chested, wearing deep green trunks and deck shoes, leaning against the wall. He hadn’t noticed them yet, because he was too deeply engrossed in a telephone conversation.

“Our group? Oh, you mean Seth Granger,” Jeb suggested.

She shrugged. “Right. Seth.” Seth was just a pain in the butt, though. Annoying to deal with, but once she was away from him, she forgot all about him.

She really didn’t want to see David. She was furious with herself for having instinctively bought the tie.

“Just walk on by then, Alex. The boat is at the end of the dock. Wait there. I’ll go in and gather up the forces. Hopefully anyone who wandered off shopping is back. And hopefully those who did more drinking than eating won’t be too inebriated.”

She smiled and thanked him, then started down the dock. The sunset was coming in, and she believed with her whole heart that nothing could compare to sunset in the Florida Keys. The colors were magnificent. If there was rain on the horizon, they were darker. On a bright day like today, the night came with a riot of unparalleled pastels.

It was her favorite time of day. Peaceful. Especially when she had a few moments alone, as she did now. The dock was empty. The other boaters docked nearby were either on shore or in their cabins. The evening was hers.

She strolled the length of rustic wood planks and, at the end, stretched and sat, dangling her feet as she appreciated the sky and tried not to think about the corpse she had seen.

Or the husband she had so suddenly reacquired.

“Who’s missing here?”

David had just reentered the restaurant in time to hear Jeb Larson’s question.

“Mr. Granger,” Zach called out helpfully.

“Mr. Denham,” Jeb asked, spotting David. “Have you seen Mr. Granger?”

“Sorry, I went out to make a call. He was at the table when I left.”

Jay Galway came striding in at that moment, a bag bearing the name of a local shop in his hand. He arched an eyebrow at Jeb. “Got a problem?”