Chapter Five

T he bar had the same kind of tiki style that Breakers did, only much louder and more crowded. Olivia and Brock practically had to call their orders out to the bartender, so they decided to head outside with their drinks once they got them. The noise was starting to pound a headache into Olivia’s skull and the last thing she needed was a migraine their first night here. Outside on the back deck, there was a roaring fire in the stone fire pit and a couple sitting around it.

“Hey, look.” Olivia nodded toward the couple. “Isn’t that Carl and Angela?”

Brock looked over and a smile broke out on his face. “Sure enough.”

Carl and Angela looked up as soon as they heard Brock’s voice and Carl waved at them. “Hey, newlyweds! Out living it up, I see?” Once again, Olivia noted how he took great care to pronounce each word with eloquence, even after what looked like a drink or two.

“Why not?” Brock drew a bit closer, lifting his glass ever so slightly. “We don’t have to punch a clock for the next week, so might as well live it up, huh?”

Brock made the joke as smoothly as a charmer but Olivia had to hide a smile. Little did they know they were getting paid for this. Her mind was already spinning answers to her case, so there never really was a time when she stopped working.

“Do you want to join us?” Angela’s honey-smooth voice invited. “We aren’t going to stay much longer, but we aren’t going in right away. This is the best spot in the bar.”

Olivia and Brock cast a look between them, Olivia being the first to agree. “Well, sure if we’re not intruding.”

“Ah.” Carl waved her off. “New friends are never an intrusion. You’re welcome to join us.”

“Thank you.” Brock echoed Olivia’s response and they settled in beside the couple on the wicker couch that surrounded the fire.

“So how long have you two been together?” Angela pinned Olivia with the question when she’d barely even had time to sit back.

“Oh, we go way back.” Olivia couldn’t lie about that as she took a sip of her drink.

“We worked together for the longest time before we realized, we work together.” Brock topped her answer off.

Laughter circled among the two couples at the cringe-worthy play on words Brock had attempted to make. “Funny how that works, isn’t it?” Carl inquired. He looped an arm around his wife, taking his time. She didn’t move in to cuddle with him but she didn’t seem to mind it, either. Signs that they’d probably been married for a while. “So where are you guys from? ”

“A little town in Virginia, an hour or two outside of DC,” Olivia answered with another sip of her drink. “You probably haven’t heard of it.”

“Oh,” Angela’s perfectly done eyebrows raised. “They have the best autumns there. Carl and I went up there one October just to view the splendor of the falling leaves.”

“It is pretty,” Olivia agreed. “I’m sorry to admit that it’s been a while since I slowed down and looked at it, though.” With her duties in the FBI and all, she was usually running here, running there and lacking time to stop and smell the roses. Something she aspired to change but she knew the chances of that were few.

“So what do you think of the town so far? Quite the difference from ole’ Virginia, isn’t it?” Carl inquired.

“Well, it still has a lot of historical buildings,” Brock shifted his drink from one hand to the other. “Olivia and I were going to take a drive down Main Street and check them out sometime later in the week.”

Way to play that in there. Olivia hid another smile behind a sip. Just two tourists, out looking around. Nothing suspicious whatsoever.

“ So that’s not much different in the town itself, but yes, the coastal portion of it is a bit different.”

“I can’t get used to the palm trees growing here naturally,” Olivia laughed.

“You get used to it after a while.” Angela lifted her own glass before taking a small sip of it. Of course, she and her husband sounded like they traveled everywhere. Palm trees were nothing special to her anymore. While Olivia enjoyed the travel opportunities her job offered her and Brock, she hoped to never get to the point where traveling for pleasure resulted in a lack of appreciation for something different than home.

“Oh? Do you live here?”

Angela shook her head after she drained her glass. “No, but we like to visit here often. We don’t like the busy beaches of Myrtle Beach or Charleston. Too crowded, you know? ”

“That’s exactly why we’re here.” Olivia elbowed Brock in the side. “And it’s a quaint little town.”

“The people here are great. Although maybe a bit too… trusting.” Carl’s mouth creased and he gave a few laughs. “It’s not accurate to think every tourist is as nice as they make themselves out to be.”

“That’s for sure.” Brock agreed as he and Olivia laughed.

“So what do you guys do?” Carl shifted the topic back onto them. Once again, Olivia was glad that they had come up with their story before they were asked these types of questions. “You said you worked together.”

“We’re both in human resources,” Brock added the boredom into his voice. “Exciting, I know.”

“So, let me see if I’ve got this straight,” Angela pointed to Olivia, then Brock, volleying between the two. “Two people who work in the same human resources department got together... How did that go over with HR?”

Laughter circled around the fire again. “Like it or not, some things can’t be helped.” Brock shrugged. “Oh, well.”

An hour or so went by with small talk and laughter with the friendly couple until Carl and Angela both stood up. “We’ll, we’re going to head on out. It was good to see you guys again.” Carl nodded to them. “Congratulations again to the both of you. We’re leaving tomorrow morning, but we wish you all the best in your marriage.”

“Thank you,” Olivia and Brock said at the same time and just like that, they found themselves alone by the fire. They both had about half a drink left and Olivia wanted to savor this time of listening to the crackle of the fire and the ocean waves roaring up onto the shore. She hadn’t wanted to spend all of it with someone else, especially since she wanted to simmer in her thoughts for a while.

“We need a vacation house by the sea.” Brock mused. “Ski lodges are out of the question, so let’s go for something a little more coastal. ”

Olivia chuckled at the memory. “There may not be any murders to solve like at that ski lodge, but there are hurricanes, mind you.”

“Ah, forget it, then.” Brock waved it off. He settled back, gazing into her eyes and a look of admiration came into his own. “Anywhere with you is like a vacation.”

“You’re full of crap.” Olivia rolled her eyes and finished her drink. “This is hardly a vacation and you know it.”

“It’s true, you know.” Brock pressed, leaning back and swinging his arm over the couch where she was. “You make the job more exciting.” He was quiet for a few moments before glancing out at the ocean, nothing but a dark shadow in the nighttime air. “I’m glad we took this one on. We needed it.”

“Yeah,” They did, and the scared teenagers of this town did, too. Olivia already felt more like herself. “We did.”