Page 145 of Sunset Beach
“What about becoming an investigator? Like Zee. You never see him sitting at a desk.”
“It’s crossed my mind,” she admitted. “I always liked puzzles. And mysteries.”
“That’s how you got so wrapped up in that missing woman thing?”
“You heard?”
“Yeah. I only pretended to be asleep, to save Brice’s pride. But you don’t actually still believe that Zee or your dad had anything to do with that, right? I mean, Brice flat-out denied it.”
“And I want to believe him. I really do. But he lied to me about it from the beginning, and so did Zee. And the other thing is, which I didn’t bring up with my dad tonight, I actually went and talked to the last woman who ever saw Colleen Boardman Hicks. Her name is Vera Rennick. She worked at a dentist’s office with her. On the day Colleen disappeared, back in 1976, they went shopping and had dinner together. Colleen told her, ‘I’ll see you Monday.’ And then she vanished.”
“Doesn’t mean your dad killed her,” Jonah objected. “Just because they had an affair.”
“Vera Rennick has this true-crime blog now,” Drue said. “I found itonline. When I went to see her, she told me that a few months before Colleen disappeared, she insisted they go to Mastry’s. For lunch. A place women just didn’t go back then. While they were there, Colleen stopped to talk to two uniformed St. Pete police officers, who were sort of flirting with her.”
“And you think it was Brice. And who? Zee?”
“Maybe. I showed her a photo of them. She wasn’t sure. But Dad and Jimmy Zee were best friends even back then. They were in the Marine Corps together in Vietnam, and when they got home, they went through the police academy together,” Drue said. She shook her head, as though trying to shake off the disturbing images that had taken up residence there.
“Maybe you should straight-up ask Zee about it,” Jonah suggested. “Get it all out in the open.”
“Maybe, once all this stuff with Ben is over, I will,” Drue said lightly. “I’m only one woman, you know. I can only solve one mystery at a time.”
They’d turned around at the Gulf Vista, and wandered slowly back in the direction of Coquina Cottage. They paused and Drue frowned at the sight of the blue tarp draped over the roof.
“I’m gonna have to break down and get a new roof,” she said with a sigh. “I got a notice from the city last week. I’m in violation of some stupid building code.”
“The joys of home ownership,” Jonah said. He reached out and turned her toward him. “You know, we were supposed to have a do-over tonight. I had dinner reservations at a fancy restaurant near the Vinoy, and big plans for us.”
“And I’m sorry about that,” she said earnestly. “How can I ever make it up to you?”
He kissed her lightly, and she leaned in and wound her arms around his neck, and the kiss deepened. When they finally parted, she sighed again.
“What’s that?” he asked, looking concerned. “Regret?”
“A little,” she said. “Not about this, just about the way things started with us. And about the time I’ve wasted since then, hating your guts.”
“But lately, my irresistible charm has grown on you, hasn’t it?”
“Don’t push your luck,” she told him.
“Maybe we could continue this conversation inside?” he asked. “Since we’re both too tired to sleep, possibly we could find some other distraction?”
“You’re relentless. You know that?”
“So I’ve been told.”
They picked up their shoes on the edge of the deck and went into the darkened house.
“Hey there.” They heard the click of a light switch, the lamp on the table beside the sofa.
Ben sat in the armchair. He had the revolver, and it was pointed at Drue. “Welcome back.”
He wore a baseball cap with a backward bill and a blue and white polyester bicycle racing jersey, with the wordsTEAM DANGERBOYwritten in script across it.
Drue took a step backward and her breath caught in her chest.
“What do you want?” Jonah asked, his voice menacing.
