Chapter Six

The smell of French fries hit Nicole the minute she walked in. She ignored her grumbling stomach as she scanned the crowded bar.

“Nicole.”

She whirled around.

“Over here.”

Her sister and Siena were in a booth behind the hostess stand. Nicole walked over but didn’t sit down.

“Hey, stranger,” Siena said with a smile.

“You’re just in time,” Kate told her. “We haven’t ordered yet.”

Kate’s hair was up in a loose bun, and she wore her favorite black halter top, despite the cold weather. She took in Nicole’s sweater and jeans with a sigh. “Gee, you really dressed up for us.”

“Give me a break. I just got off work.”

“Speaking of work, Emmet is here,” Siena said. “Along with Owen Breda.”

Nicole turned around. “Where?”

“Over by the dartboard.”

“Look, they’re still doing their Valentine specials,” Kate said, sliding over a little pink menu. “What are you drinking?”

“I don’t know yet. One sec.”

Kate frowned. “Where are you going?”

“I’ll be right back.”

Nicole walked over to the bar area and spotted Owen and Kyle playing darts. Emmet stood nearby beside a high-top table that had a basket of fries and a pitcher of beer in the middle. Nicole’s stomach fluttered as she looked them over. Two cops and a firefighter, all in ripped condition and brimming with masculine confidence. Emmet, Owen, and Kyle were quite a trio, and had been since high school. As usual every woman in the bar had an eye on them.

Emmet glanced up and caught her eye as she walked over, and a rush of warmth went through her.

“Hey, Nicole, perfect,” Kyle said. “You can be on my team. We’re about to start a new game.”

“Sorry, not tonight.” She turned to Emmet. “What happened with the family? I thought you drove up to Houston.”

“We’re meeting tomorrow.”

“Why?”

He looked her over as he picked up his beer. “You just get off work?”

“Yeah. Why tomorrow? I thought they wanted to meet tonight.”

“They called and changed it. Said they prefer to come down here.” He slid the pitcher toward her. “Want a beer?”

“No. Thanks.” She glanced over her shoulder. “I’m meeting up with Siena and Kate.” She turned back to Emmet, and he was watching her closely.

She didn’t know what to make of the fact that he was here tonight. If she’d been leading the case, she’d be at the station house right now, either running leads online or combing through everything that had come in today.

“Relax, Nikki.”

“What’s that mean?”

He set down his glass. “I can see what you’re thinking, and I’m still working. I’m here to see Lainey.”

She frowned. “Who?”

“Lainey Wheaton, Aubrey’s manager.” He nodded toward the bar. “The bartender tells me she’s on her way in.”

“Oh.” Nicole crossed her arms, feeling bad now for thinking he was here wasting time. “You want my help with the interview?”

He smiled slightly. “Think I can handle it. Go hang out with your sister.”

She glanced back at Kate and Siena. They had scheduled this meetup days ago, and Nicole knew they couldn’t wait to hear all about her big date, but she was dreading talking about it.

She turned back to Emmet. “So.” She snagged a fry and dipped it in ketchup. “I’m striking out on teal green pickups.”

“Oh yeah?”

“There are only two registered in the county, and I checked both of them.”

“Maybe the guy’s a tourist.”

“Great. Another dead end.”

Emmet shrugged. “Not necessarily. We could try the hotels, see if they have a record of him.”

“Or he could be staying at a rental. Or here visiting friends.” She blew out a sigh. “I’m frustrated. I was excited about that lead. Green Pickup Guy was our only potential witness.”

“Don’t forget the yoga teacher.”

Owen walked over. “Yeah, how did it go with her? You went to see her at home, right?”

Emmet looked surprised. “You did?”

“I wanted to follow up, see if she remembered anything new.”

“Did she?” Emmet asked.

“Not really.” She popped another fry in her mouth. “Once again, she seemed squirrelly.”

“Squirrelly?” Owen asked.

“Yeah, evasive. I can’t tell whether she’s genuinely flaky or hiding something she knows, for some reason.”

“Why would she?” Emmet asked.

“I don’t know that yet.”

“Well, we’ve got the phone dump working,” Owen said. “Maybe that will give us something useful.”

Emmet glanced over Nicole’s shoulder. “Looks like Lainey’s here.”

Nicole turned and watched a woman stride through the bar. Tall, blond, killer body—she was exactly Emmet’s type. She waved at the bartender and disappeared into the back hallway.

Nicole looked at Emmet. “Sure you don’t need a hand?”

“I’m good.” He took one last sip, then set his beer down and headed to the back of the bar.

“The chief put a rush on it.”

She turned to Owen. “What’s that?”

“The phone records. He called his contact and told him we need those ASAP. The guy said he thinks he’ll have something by tomorrow. Maybe we’ll get a lead on the ex-boyfriend.”

“Let’s hope.” She looked Owen over. He seemed distracted—not his usual laid-back self.

“You okay?” she asked.

“Yeah.”

“Where’s Macey?”

“Los Angeles for a work thing,” he said. “She’s supposed to be out there all week.”

Owen’s girlfriend was a documentary filmmaker, and she traveled a lot for her job. So maybe he was grumpy because he knew he wasn’t getting any for an entire week. Nicole had zero sympathy.

“Hey, how about one-on-one?” Kyle asked her, grabbing a beer glass off the table.

“Sorry,” she said. “We’re about to have dinner.”

“Come back after?”

“Maybe.”

She left them to their drinks and rejoined her sister and Siena in the restaurant.

“So, enough with the stalling,” Kate said as Nicole slid into the booth beside her. “How was your date?”

“It wasn’t.”

Siena’s face fell. “What do you mean?”

“He didn’t show.”

“Get out!” Kate exclaimed. “He stood you up?”

“He texted me after we were supposed to meet and said he had to work.”

“Texted?” Her sister looked appropriately outraged. “Tell me he at least showed up later with some candy and flowers or something.”

“Nope.”

A server stopped at their table with a tray of frozen margaritas.

“We ordered for you,” Siena said as the server set down the drinks.

Nicole reached for her margarita.

“Wait,” Kate said, pulling the glass away. “No distractions yet. Are you telling me it didn’t happen at all? After the dress and the shoes and the freaking pedicure? Did you even see him last night?”

“No.” Nicole grabbed her drink and took a cold sip.

“That sucks,” Siena said.

“Well, did he at least apologize well?”

Nicole shrugged. “It was okay.”

Her sister rolled her eyes.

“Well, this is disappointing,” Siena said. “I was excited to hear about at least one of us having sex last night.”

“I can’t believe he had to work.”

“I can.” Nicole took another tart sip. “That’s what he does. That’s practically all he does. Miranda warned me—the man’s a workaholic.”

“I was so hopeful.” Kate sighed. “What a waste of great shoes.”

“You weren’t wearing them,” Siena said.

“Well, did you at least get a good guilt trip out of it? Maybe he’ll make it up to you.”

Nicole’s stomach twisted at the irony. Last night was supposed to make up for the last time David had canceled. She was beginning to doubt whether he’d been honest with her when he’d said he wanted a relationship in his life. He’d seemed genuine, but his actions didn’t back up his words.

“Think positive,” Siena added. “So he works a lot—at least he has a good job, right? That’s always a plus.”

“Let’s talk about something else,” Nicole said, stirring her drink and looking at Siena. “How was your Saturday night?”

Siena was just out of a relationship and had been trying to meet people.

“Boring,” Siena said. “I watched TV and had takeout for dinner.”

Nicole turned to her sister.

“What are you looking at me for?” Kate asked. “You know I had no plans whatsoever. Well, besides being your wardrobe consultant.”

“Whoa. Hold up,” Siena said. “Who is that?”

“Where?” Kate turned around.

“In the bar with Kyle and Owen.”

Nicole craned her neck, but it was too crowded to see.

Kate stood up. “Oh. Wow. That’s Alex Breda.” She shot Nicole a look and sat down.

Nicole glanced back again and, sure enough, Alex Breda now stood at the table with Owen and Kyle.

“That’s Alex Breda?” Siena asked. “I haven’t seen him in, like, ten years or something. Is he the middle brother?”

“The youngest,” Kate said. “It goes Joel, then Owen, then Alex.”

“Didn’t you see him at Joel and Miranda’s wedding?” Nicole asked Siena.

“No. I was there catering, not mingling with the guests.”

“Anyway, he’s a lawyer in Houston now,” Kate said.

“Was,” Nicole said. “I heard he’s back.”

“Back back?” Kate asked. “You mean he’s back here for good?”

“That’s what I heard. I think he rented an office downtown.”

Siena and Kate stared at her as she took another sip of her drink.

“What?” Nicole asked.

Kate rolled her eyes. “You know what. Alex Breda is amazingly hot, not to mention successful.”

“So?”

“So, you have the perfect in, as usual. You’re friends with his two brothers.”

The server reappeared, this time with a heaping platter of nachos. She set it in the middle of the table and passed out appetizer plates.

“Anything else for y’all?” she asked.

“Thanks, that should do it,” Kate said.

As soon as she left, Siena scooped up a nacho.

Kate elbowed Nicole. “Maybe if things don’t work out with David, you should hit up Alex Breda.”

“Right.”

“Why not?”

“It would be beyond weird. I work with both of his brothers.”

“So what?” Kate said. “What does working with his brothers have to do with anything? It’s not like you work with him every day. I could see how that might be weird.”

Nicole shot her sister a warning look at the not-subtle reference to Emmet. But Nicole would never go there because she didn’t want to be one of Emmet’s casual hookups. Plus, they worked together, and the fallout would be bad, especially for her. She’d spent her whole career trying to get the men in her field to treat her as an equal and take her seriously. The last thing she needed was everyone talking about her sex life. The guys she worked with—hot as they might be—were definitely in the look-but-don’t-touch category.

“You have no idea how good you have it,” Siena said. “You spend your days surrounded by attractive men. If I were you, I’d take advantage of the situation.”

“It’s not that great, trust me.” Nicole picked up a nacho and pinched off a strand of cheese. “They can be annoying as hell. And too many badge bunnies.”

Siena frowned. “Badge bunnies?”

“Women who chase cops,” Kate told her. “It’s a thing.”

Nicole glanced across the bar to where Owen and Alex were now playing darts while Kyle flirted with a pair of women. Emmet was still in the back with Lainey the manager, presumably.

“Well?” Kate asked.

“Well what?” Nicole chomped into her nacho.

“If things fizzle with David, why don’t you make a play for Alex?”

Nicole could see from Kate’s smirk that she was just trying to needle her. And as usual it was working.

“I’m not going to make a play for Alex Breda,” Nicole said. “I’ve got enough guy problems.”

Lainey stepped into the office where Emmet was waiting and dropped her purse on the desk piled with paperwork.

“Sorry about that,” she said, setting her phone down. “Thanks for waiting.”

“No problem.”

She sank into the swivel chair and sighed. “Don’t ever get married.”

Emmet lifted an eyebrow. “Trouble at home?”

“My ex is a deadbeat.”

Emmet and Lainey had gone to Lost Beach High School together. She’d married a real estate developer down from Austin and had two sons, if Emmet remembered correctly.

“How are the boys?” he asked.

“Crazy, as usual.” She picked up a water bottle from the corner of the desk and twisted off the top. “But enough about me. What can I do for you? You’re here about Aubrey.”

Emmet nodded.

She took a gulp of water and plunked the bottle down. “I’m sick about it. I still can’t believe it.”

“What can you tell me about her?”

She slumped back in the chair. “God, she was great. One of my best people.” She shook her head. “Was. That still sounds wrong to me. It hasn’t really sunk in yet.”

“How was she at work?” he asked. “Any issues?”

“None at all. She was on time. Reliable. No drugs, no bullshit.”

“Did she seem depressed ever?”

Lainey shook her head. “Not that I’m aware.”

“What about friends? Was she social?”

Lainey blew out a sigh. “She was friendly. But not overly social, I don’t think.”

“She have a boyfriend, that you know about?”

“Not that I’m aware of, no. I could ask the other servers if they know of anyone.”

“That would be good. Or I could talk to them.”

Lainey’s brow furrowed. “The news brief I read said it was a drug overdose. Is that as in suicide?”

“We’re still investigating.” He watched her expression as she shook her head. “Why?”

“Just... I don’t know. I didn’t get that feeling from her.”

“What feeling?”

“That she’s someone who would do that.” She took a deep breath, blew it out. “She seemed to be doing well. You know she was in recovery, right?”

“Recovery?”

“AA.”

Emmet tried to mask his surprise. “She told you she was an alcoholic?”

“I guessed pretty quick after she started working here. Takes one to know one.”

Emmet kept his expression neutral. He hadn’t known about Lainey either.

“Kind of odd for her to work in a sports bar, don’t you think? I mean, if she’s a recovering alcoholic.”

“Not really. I’ve been doing it for years.” Lainey sat forward and rested her arms on the desk. “I saw her at meetings occasionally. But she seemed to have her shit together, you know? She was a hard worker. Always got here on time. Another thing—she’d asked me for a raise recently.”

“Oh yeah?”

“I gave it to her. This was just last week.” Lainey shook her head. “I didn’t get the sense that she was in any kind of dark place where she might kill herself.”

“Would you say you were close with her?”

“No. But I’ve been running a bar for ten years. You get good at reading people.”

The cell phone on the desk chimed, and Lainey picked it up. She checked the screen and flipped it back over.

Emmet stood up. “I’ll let you get back to work.”

She pushed her chair back and stood. “Wish I could help more. I don’t know much about Aubrey’s background. She’d only been here eight months. I’ll talk to the staff, though.”

“Thanks.” He reached for the door. “One more question. You have anyone working here named Sam?”

“Male or female?”

“Male.”

“Nope. We had a Samantha last summer, but she went back to college in the fall.”

Emmet pulled open the door and Lainey came around to stand beside him. “So, you’re still investigating? Does that mean it might not be a suicide?”

“I can’t comment.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Of course you can’t.”

“Sorry.”

“Well, you want my two cents’ worth?” She put her hand on her hip and tipped her head to the side. “I don’t believe Aubrey Lambert took her own life. Maybe she accidentally ODed or something, but I don’t think she intentionally killed herself.”

“No?”

“No. Not that you asked me, but like I said, I’m good at reading people.”

He pulled a card from his wallet and handed it to her. “My mobile’s on the back there. Give me a call if you think of anything I might want to know.”

“Sure.” She tucked the card in her pocket, then folded her arms over her chest, giving him a view of her cleavage.

“Thanks for your time,” he said.

“Of course.”

He stepped away.

“Hey, Emmet.”

He turned back, and she smiled slyly.

“You know, I’m sure single moms are your kryptonite. But you could call me sometime, too. I wouldn’t mind at all.”

He smiled. “Thanks again, Lainey. You take care.”

Nicole put down the margarita glass and picked up her phone.

“I have to take this,” she told Kate, and slid out of the booth.

“Is it David?” she asked.

“It’s Brady.”

Kate rolled her eyes as Nicole connected the call. “Lawson.”

“They finished the car,” the chief said without preamble. “I just got word.”

“Okay.”

“I need you to head up there first thing in the morning and see what they got.”

Nicole wove through the noisy crowd of people. She pushed through the front door, and a gust of wind hit her full force. “All right. Is the whole team going or—”

“I’ve got Emmet doing something else, so it’s you and McDeere. See what all they came up with—prints, blood evidence, whatever they have—and then we’ll circle back for a meeting at oh ten hundred. You got that?”

“Yes, sir.”

“See you tomorrow.”

He clicked off, and Nicole stared down at her phone. Sometimes she wondered what it might be like to work for a large urban department where the police chief didn’t have her programmed into his phone. Maybe she’d actually have a personal life.

A text from Kate appeared on the screen.

We’re getting another round. Want one?

Nicole hesitated. She felt tempted. But she had to drive up to the county crime lab again first thing in the morning.

And, again, she’d probably bump into David.

The door behind her opened, and a trio of girls stumbled out. Nicole didn’t recognize them, so they were probably tourists. She watched them as they made their way on wobbly high heels to the parking lot and got into a waiting Uber.

Not ready to go back inside yet, Nicole walked around to the side deck overlooking the beach. When the weather warmed up, people would gather around TVs out here to drink and watch games. Tonight, though, the deck was cold and empty. Nicole leaned against the wooden railing and gazed up at the moon, thinking about what Cynthia had said.

Must be the full moon. People actin’ crazy.

Nicole looked out at the surf. The waves were up again, same as they had been yesterday, when Aubrey’s body was found. More than twenty-four hours had elapsed, and they still had no real suspects. Not only that, they were bound to have missed key evidence by releasing the crime scene too early.

Because they hadn’t known it was a crime scene.

Nicole gazed down the beach at the distant lighthouse. The lantern room at the top glowed brightly. The light was for decoration—something the chamber of commerce had decided would appeal to tourists. It hadn’t been a working lighthouse in decades, but it attracted visitors, and Lighthouse Point was the most photographed spot on the island.

“Hey.”

She whirled around as Emmet stepped through the door. He looked her over with a frown.

“What are you doing out here? It’s freezing.”

“Nothing.” She turned back toward the beach. “Just taking a phone call.”

“Brady?” He came up to stand beside her and set his beer glass on the railing.

“Yep. He called you, too?”

“Yeah, he’s doling out assignments.”

Emmet leaned back against the rail and folded his arms over his chest. He wore a short-sleeve black T-shirt that left his forearms bare.

She watched him closely. “So, how’d it go?”

His eyebrows arched.

“With the manager,” she said.

“She didn’t have much.” He turned and looked out at the beach. “Except that she doesn’t think Aubrey Lambert killed herself.”

“We already knew that.”

“Yeah.”

Nicole looked at him in the moonlight with his windblown hair. It was so thick, and she always had the urge to run her fingers through it. He gazed out at the waves with a pensive expression, and she knew he was feeling the pressure of the case, even though he didn’t let on.

“Anything on the ex-boyfriend?” she asked.

“She doesn’t know him. No one named Sam works here.”

Nicole sighed and rested her palms on the railing.

Emmet looked at her, and the corner of his mouth ticked up. “Told you you didn’t want to lead this one.”

“You were right.”

His jaw dropped. “I’m right? Did I hear that correctly?”

She ignored the feigned shock. “I’m so damn frustrated, Emmet. All my leads are going nowhere.”

“We’ll be in better shape tomorrow.”

“How do you know?”

“We’ll have the car, the ME’s report. Maybe some leads from the family.” He nudged her with his elbow. “Hang in there.”

She turned around and faced the bar. Through the windows she could see Owen, Alex, and Kyle laughing and playing darts. Emmet’s brother, Calvin, was with them now, too, and she felt like she was in high school all over again, watching all the cool guys hang out together while she pretended not to notice.

She glanced at Emmet, and he was watching her with a look she couldn’t read.

He picked up his beer. “So, what’s up with you and David?”

She bristled. “What do you mean?”

“Seemed like something was wrong earlier.”

She shrugged. “He’s slammed at work. The usual.”

He lifted an eyebrow, and she looked away. She didn’t want to talk about her love life, and especially not with Emmet. She was embarrassed at having yet another date get canceled.

Her phone lit up with another message.

Hello?? Another rita???

She sighed. Nope. I have to be up early, she texted.

Kate responded with a line of sobbing emojis.

“I should get home.” She glanced up at Emmet. “You staying?”

“For a little while. Sure you don’t want to hang out? Calvin’s here,” he added, as if that would change her mind. Emmet had always thought she had a thing for his brother. For a detective, he could be pretty clueless sometimes.

She pushed off the railing. “Yeah, I’m out.”

“I’ll walk you to your car.”

“Why?”

“Because.”

She laughed. “That’s silly.”

He took her elbow and steered her toward the parking lot, leaving his beer glass behind. The wind gusted up again, and she hugged her arms around her body.

“You okay to drive?” he asked.

“I had one margarita.”

“I repeat—”

“I’m fine.”

They crossed the lot to her pickup and she checked the shadows nearby out of habit as she dug her keys from her pocket. She opened the door and slid behind the wheel.

Emmet leaned his palm on the top of the door and looked at her, his hazel eyes serious. “Sure you’re okay?”

“You want to Breathalyze me?”

He stared down at her, and she would have sworn he was tempted. What was his deal?

“I’ll take your word for it.” He stepped back. “Night, Nicole.”

Cassandra double-checked the lock on her front door, then padded barefoot into the kitchen and poured another glass of wine. The last one hadn’t helped. Neither had the steamy bubble bath. She still felt paranoid, and every noise in the building was putting her on edge.

All those months of work she’d done to bring her anxiety down “within normal range”—whatever that meant—and now her nerves were sparking like a live wire.

Wineglass in hand, she checked the lock on the sliding glass door and shifted the curtain to peer out at the patio. The only thing out there was a collection of chipped clay pots filled with withered stems. For what felt like the hundredth time today, she wished she’d opted for a second-floor apartment. But when she’d subleased this unit, it had been the only thing available that was remotely in her budget. Now she wished she’d kept looking.

She returned to the kitchen and switched off the main light, leaving only the light above the sink. The dream catcher caught her eye.

She should have taken it down yesterday, but it had never occurred to her that the police would show up here asking questions.

It should have, though. She should have thought of it. Had Detective Lawson bought her story about the gift shop? It hadn’t been a lie, really. They did sell dream catchers in the shop. But that wasn’t where she’d gotten this one. It had been a gift from Aubrey.

Cassandra stared at the little white feather dangling from the hoop. Aubrey’s smile came back to her, and she felt a sharp pang.

There seems to be a discrepancy.

Cassandra had known from the beginning that this ordeal had the potential to blow up in her face. And now it was. Which was why she’d hesitated before calling 911. She hadn’t wanted to get involved.

She went into her bedroom and set her wineglass on the windowsill, then reached under the mattress for the phone she’d stashed there. She sat on the bed and stared down at it, debating. Finally, she powered it up.

Another minute ticked by as she considered the risks. Finally, she dialed. It rang and rang, and she was about to hang up when Jess answered. The sound of her best friend’s voice put a lump in her throat.

“Hey, it’s me,” Cassandra said.

Silence. Then, “Hold on.”

She heard shuffling. Then Jess’s voice was back, low and urgent. “Where are you? Is everything all right?”

“No.” She took a deep breath. “I think I have a problem.”