Page 90 of Summers at the Saint
“I’ve never known who my dad is,” Livvy said matter-of-factly. “All I know is my mom got pregnant with me the summer she worked here. Parrish told me, right after we moved in here, that my mom and Mrs. E were best friends back then. They were both lifeguards, and a little boy drowned, but my mom was the only one that got fired. Anyway, whatever happened, I think it’s part of why she hates the Saint, and especially hates the whole Eddings family.”
“Really? You’ve got no clue who your father could be?”
“None. I used to get all sad that I didn’t have a daddy, especially around Father’s Day,” Livvy said, her tone wistful. “But my mom would always say we were doing fine with just the two of us. When I got older, I quit asking questions about him.”
“Seems like, now that you’re an adult, you have a right to that information. It’s half your DNA. Right?”
“At this point, I don’t want to set her off,” Livvy said. She scraped the last bit of ramen from her bowl and set it atop a stack of books on her nightstand.
Felice picked up a novel with an especially lurid-looking cover. “You really like to read all this scary serial murderer shit? Karin Slaughter? Is that the chick’s real name?”
“She’s my favorite. Her books creep me out, but once I start reading, I can’t stop.”
“You think there’s something in those books that can help us figure out who killed our girl Parrish?”
“Parrish died because of something someone at that party gave her. I think we have to look at who was at that party, and figure out why they’d want to kill her.”
“Well, I can’t help much with that, since I wasn’t there. Thank God.”
“But Iwasthere,” Livvy said.
“Do you remember who she was hanging around with that night?”
“There were a whole bunch of people I didn’t know, folks who work in housekeeping, landscape, reservations. The steel drum band guys were definitely there, and I saw Parrish talking to one of them, but then he walked away.”
“When was the last time you saw her that night?”
“I’m not sure. We rode there together with KJ on the golf cart. But then we kind of got separated. I was talking to one of the other servers from the Verandah, and then some of us were standing around the bonfire, drinking, and I honestly lost track of time. When it got time to leave, she wasn’t around. I just figured she hooked up with someone earlier.”
“Okay,” Felice said. “So the who is a big question mark. But what about the why?”
Livvy tapped the blue notebook. “My theory? Parrish figured out there was all kinds of shady stuff going on at the hotel. And whoever killed her was afraid she’d blow their cover. But who?”
“I guess that’s what we gotta find out,” Felice said.
“There’s notes in here that say something about inventory at the pro shop, but it’s literally just scribbles,” Livvy said. “The lady who runs it is a real bitch, but maybe I can do a little snooping around. I’ve also gotta figure out this whole mattress thing.”
“That’s a start,” Felice agreed. “I guess I can look into the liquor and wine situation. Maybe ask a couple of the servers if they’ve noticed anything. And then, I think I’m gonna try to figure out what’s going on with our seafood and meat vendors. Something’s definitely off there. They’re selling us subpar product, at premium prices.”
“Have you mentioned that to Mrs. E?”
“I tried, but it was the day of the Beach Bash and Charlie Burroughs cut me off. Said he’d discuss it with me later. Which he hasn’t.”
Livvy picked up a pen and jotted a note in the bitch book. “Let’s make sure we look into that next.”
“We?” Felice asked.
“Yeah. We’re a team. Right?”
“I guess.”
CHAPTER 45
Crunch. Crackle. Crunch.
Whelan lay very still. It was still dark outside. Where was that noise coming from? It might have been a mouse, but what self- respecting mouse would move into a hovel as small as this?
He rolled onto his side and looked up.
