Chapter 12

CHAPTER

TWELVE

"What is the detective talking about?" Adrienne whispered as she watched Detective Kalani exit the restaurant.

Maddie blinked, her head pounding with a sudden headache. The detective's words kept playing over and over again in her mind.

Why in the world was Maddie's name found on a piece of paper in Jared's room? It didn't make sense.

And the way the detective had looked at her . . . panic fluttered in her chest, the feeling growing stronger by the second.

She glanced up and realized Adrienne and Brody were waiting for her response, confusion—and concern—on their faces.

She swallowed hard before saying, "Late last night, I got a text from an unknown number. The message said we needed to talk, that there were things I needed to know, but the sender couldn't type them on the phone."

"Things about what?" Brody shifted forward, all his attention on Maddie.

"I have no idea. I thought maybe it was the wrong number. I texted back asking who it was, but I never got a response." She paused and drew in a shaky breath. "I went to meet this person, and when I got there, I thought I'd been stood up. Then I saw that man in the water and knew I had to help. I wasn't sure if it was the person who'd sent the text or not. But I couldn't just stand there and do nothing."

A cry lodged in Maddie's throat. She quickly took a sip of water to drown it before the sound escaped.

Adrienne placed a hand on Maddie's back. "I can only imagine how stressful this must be for you. But you have an alibi for last night, right? Josh? He should be able to verify that wasn't you arguing with Jared."

That familiar feeling of dread swirled in Maddie's gut, the one she experienced every time she had to explain herself. She wasn't ashamed of her new convictions, but she did hate the judgment she usually received from people.

"Josh and I aren't actually staying in the same room," Maddie explained, keeping any emotion out of her voice. "It's a long story."

She didn't want to get into it now. Didn't want to see the assumptions in their eyes.

Josh wasn't happy about the arrangement.

But three months ago, Maddie had been in a car accident. She'd survived, but her whole life had flashed before her eyes when she was stopped in traffic on a bridge and the car behind her barreled into her.

Her Camry had burst through the guardrail and teetered precariously on the edge of the bridge for what felt like hours.

Rescuers had warned Maddie not to move, had told her that one shift in the weight could send the vehicle toppling.

Her anxiety had skyrocketed, and she'd been certain she would die.

Then the unthinkable happened.

Her car plunged over the edge.

Maddie had watched the water slowly cover her windows as her car sank into the river.

She'd seen news programs that showed her what to do in those types of situations. But at that moment, her mind had gone blank.

That was when she'd cried out to God. She begged that if He saved her, she would change.

A few seconds later, a diver had appeared on the other side of her window.

She'd been rescued.

Afterward, she'd realized just how short life was, and she knew she needed to get herself in order.

She'd found an old Bible that had belonged to her granddad and had begun to read it. All the values she'd grown up with had flooded back to her.

Maddie was tired of living for herself, by her own set of rules. Her personal pursuit of happiness hadn't worked for her so far. When she'd faced death, she'd had an awakening.

She knew she needed to make some changes.

That included not staying overnight with Josh anymore—not until they were married.

Josh hadn't been happy when she'd told him about her new convictions—and, in return, her new boundaries. He'd actually ridiculed her, said she was becoming a religious zealot.

She'd decided to pretend he hadn't said the words.

People in the business world, for the most part, weren't religious. Christianity in particular was a sign of weakness, of a less educated and backward-thinking individual. At least, that had been Maddie's experience while in New York.

She rubbed her chest, trying to ease the tension there. "If Josh hears about this . . ."

"What do you mean?" Brody squinted as he stared at her.

A flash of self-consciousness hit her. She shouldn't have said her thoughts aloud. She hadn't intended to, but the words had slipped out.

"He's obsessed with this whole event going perfectly," Maddie explained. "So when he found out one of his employees died, he wasn't happy. But if he finds out that his fiancée might be a suspect in the man's death . . ."

She let out a long breath as nausea swirled inside her. She didn't even want to think about his reaction.

"Hopefully, he'll be supportive of you and not try to make you feel worse about this whole situation." Brody's voice tightened. "It sounds like you're just an innocent bystander in it all."

"I am innocent. I'd like to think Josh would support me. But I have a bad feeling in my gut."

"If there's anything we can do for you . . ." Adrienne frowned as she peered at Maddie.

"I appreciate that." Maddie paused, her thoughts still muddled. But now a new determination mingled with her confusion. "I don't know this Jared guy, but why would someone want to murder him?"

And why would he have her name handwritten on a scrap of paper in his room? Why would he send her that message? How did he get her phone number?

She had so many questions.

Perhaps the biggest was: what did he know that Maddie didn't?

Nothing made sense.

"That's a good question." Brody tilted his head thoughtfully, his gaze appearing equally as curious.

"We're going to make sure this is the very best event Benchmark has ever thrown," Adrienne assured her. "Nothing is going to ruin it. I'm sure everything will be fine. Anyone can see you're not a killer."

"I appreciate that." But Maddie's words sounded lackluster, even to her own ears.

"We won't tell Josh what that detective said," Adrienne continued. "He doesn't need to know, right?"

"There's nothing to really know," Maddie muttered.

Although, if Josh were to find out the detective had questioned her—and maybe even suspected her—from someone other than Maddie, he'd be angry. Really angry.

The detective didn't appear to be looking at other suspects. Maybe he was. But something about the way he spoke with Maddie made her think his mind was made up.

That he was looking only at her.

Maddie swallowed hard as a realization hardened in her gut.

She needed to find out more information before Jared's murder was pinned on her.

She had no other choice.

Brody and Adrienne had wanted to walk Maddie back to her room, but she insisted she would be fine.

She didn't tell them how wobbly her legs felt.

Instead, she thanked them again and said she'd see them tomorrow. Then she started to head back to her room.

It was surprisingly dark outside.

She wasn't sure why that left her feeling spooked. Everything that had happened was messing with her mind.

Her heels tapped against the stone pavers as she cut through the pool area to get to her room.

People still played in the water, and the joyful sound of laughter floated toward her—a sound she couldn't relate to at the moment. It was so carefree and full of happiness.

A footfall sounded behind her, and she turned, expecting to see another resort patron walking behind her.

The path was empty.

A chill crept up her spine.

Was Maddie hearing things?

She picked up her pace.

This was all too much. Especially considering her past . . . Kevin's family had been making threats against her for years. Would they choose this retreat to retaliate? If they knew she was engaged to Josh, would they try to extort money?

This wasn't the first time those questions had fluttered through her mind.

Her throat tightened. She didn't want to think through those possibilities right now. Instead, she forced herself to push the thoughts aside, to not inch back in time.

After being saved on the beach this morning, she'd been given a new lease on life, and while she could learn from the mistakes of her past, she didn't want to dwell on them. Those thoughts always dragged her down and brought waves of anxiety that tried to serve as a constant companion.

As she crossed a small bridge, the noise sounded again—another footfall.

Someone was behind her. She was sure of it.

She glanced over her shoulder, trying to be subtle.

Again, there was no one.

Was this person following her and trying not to be seen?

Goosebumps spread across her arms.

She should have accepted Adrienne and Brody's offer to walk her back to her room.

But she'd never anticipated this.

She glanced at the door leading into her wing of the resort just ahead.

She was almost there. Only twelve feet or so.

Fear made her want to dart inside. Instead, she forced herself to walk. She couldn't afford to draw any attention to herself.

Inside, she decided to take the stairs. The elevator was too risky.

She was huffing by the time she reached her floor.

Now, only a few more turns and then she'd be at her room.

She'd be safe.

Fear crept over her, making her skin crawl.

Maddie didn't see anyone watching her. But she felt unseen eyes.

What if this person tried to kill her like they'd killed Jared?

No . . .

She couldn't let this continue while she was here. She might lose her mind if she did.

Tomorrow, maybe Maddie should talk to Darla Bowman and find out more about Jared. See if she could figure out why the man might have Maddie's name written on a paper in his room. See if she could figure out who Jared might have been arguing with on the beach before his trip into the ocean.

The only way to possibly clear her name was to find answers.

Yes, that was what she would do. She'd use her skills to find the truth.

She continued to hurry toward her room.

Tomorrow. Tomorrow Maddie would find some answers. Tonight it was too late.

As she turned a corner, something jostled behind her—almost as if the person following her had accidentally bumped the table where some plants had been displayed.

Her heart pounded in her ears.

She wasn't losing her mind. Someone was following her.

Self-preservation kicked in, and she took off in a jog. No one else was near to see her, to judge her.

Finally, she reached her room. Her arms shook as she held up her wristband to the lock.

The mechanism turned.

She threw the door open and practically fell inside. Wasting no time, she slammed the door and leaned against it as she tried to get hold of herself.

A paper on the floor caught her eye.

What was that? Correspondence from the hotel?

Maddie knew management slipped notices under the door sometimes if they had a maintenance project coming up or when it was time to check out—which it wasn't.

Still, she hesitated before reaching for it.

Then she opened the folded slip.

Words were typed there.

Someone you know has CRUEL INTENTIONS. I'd be careful.