Chapter 18

CHAPTER

EIGHTEEN

Maddie excused herself from Bree and Fowler, not wanting them to be close as she talked to the detective. She had a feeling he was still hunting for information.

"Aloha," he started as they paced through the lobby beside each other. "I was hoping to run into you."

Maddie continued walking. "Is that right?"

"I received more information from one of our witnesses that I wanted to talk to you about." His voice remained placid and unreadable.

"The witness who saw two people out on the beach the night Jared died?" she clarified.

"Yes. She's the one."

"And?" Maddie could hardly breathe as she waited to hear what the detective would say.

"It turns out she saw one of the two people who'd been on the beach return to the west wing of the resort a few minutes after the argument."

"Okay . . ." Her steps faltered. Where was he going with this?

The detective paused and locked gazes with her. "I understand you're staying in the west wing."

Maddie's eyebrows shot up. "I am. But so are a lot of other people. Was it a woman or a man?"

Kalani offered half a shrug. "The witness isn't sure. It was too dark outside to tell."

She crossed her arms, determined to keep her panic at bay.

Was she making too many assumptions about this investigation? It was driving her crazy that the detective was so difficult to read.

"Why do I feel like you're insinuating I had something to do with this?" she finally asked.

He remained unreadable. "We're trying to figure out what happened. Mr. Kline had some strange bruising on his shoulders, bruising that doesn't fit with him being slammed into the rocks by waves. The marks almost look like hands left them."

Maddie's outrage turned into shock. "So you think someone shoved Mr. Kline's head into a rock and then let the ocean do the rest of the work?"

"That's one of our working theories. The bruising. The conflict he was having with someone right before he died. And the fact your name was written down on a paper in his room . . ."

Her throat tightened as fear tried to strangle her, making it hard to breathe. She reminded herself to keep her composure. "It's like I told you, I have never talked to the man."

Kalani reached into his pocket and pulled out a photo. The image was of two people standing next to each other at baggage claim at the airport.

Maddie was one of them.

The other was . . . a man who looked vaguely familiar with his stout built and dominant double chin.

"Do you recognize the man in this photo?" Detective Kalani studied her, his gaze sharp and piercing.

He was watching for any sign she was lying, wasn't he? Panic fluttered through her as she realized where Detective Kalani was going with this.

She swallowed hard before asking, "Is that Jared?"

He narrowed his eyes. "You're telling me you didn't know what he looked like?"

"I only have a vague idea. It was dark when I tried to pull him out of the ocean."

"Do you remember this conversation?" he asked. "The video this snapshot was taken from shows you talking with him."

"My conversation with that man lasted all of five seconds. We were waiting for our luggage, and I happened to say something about how different it was to be in an open-air airport."

"That's all there was to that conversation?" He cocked his head skeptically.

"Yes, that's all." Her muscles ratcheted tighter.

"But you're verifying that you did talk to Jared?" he continued to press.

"I did talk to him." Maddie swallowed hard, trying not to show her panic. But she knew this looked bad, even if the conversation had been innocuous. "But I didn't know who he was at the time. The conversation we had wasn't significant. We were two strangers passing at the airport and making small talk."

She, however, knew based on the look in Detective Kalani's eyes that he didn't believe her.

But an idea hit her. "Have you checked the resort's keycard entries? You can see who came and went during the night."

His gaze remained unchanged. "We're looking into that."

"Good. Then you'll see it couldn't have been me."

At least in theory that was true.

She couldn't be blamed for Jared's murder. She would do everything in her power to make sure that didn't happen.

Maddie couldn't let panic take hold. She'd been in tough situations before. She would be in them again.

The important thing was to keep a cool head, even when the heat turned up.

She stared Detective Kalani square in the eye, ready to make her case. "I'm innocent."

He didn't break eye contact as he said, "You're not leaving the resort before this retreat is over, are you?"

Her heart pounded in her ears, each beat deafening as the implications of what he was saying washed over her. "No. I'm staying until the end."

"Good. Make sure it stays that way." He gave her a pointed look.

Before she could say anything else, Josh stepped through the front doors and strode toward them. He'd been talking to a couple of colleagues outside.

He paused beside Maddie and planted a quick kiss on her temple. The sweet gesture was a contrast to his earlier sharp words and selfish actions. Was he simply putting on a good show for anyone watching? Most likely.

He looked at the detective, and his brow scrunched. "Everything okay here?"

"Yes, the detective was just asking for some more details about what happened with Jared," Maddie quickly said before Kalani could answer.

"That's still crazy to think about." Josh snaked an arm around her waist. "That could have really turned out so differently."

Her first urge was to stiffen, but she reminded herself to stay loose and not draw any attention.

"But I'm glad it didn't," Josh continued, his voice softening. "I'm glad you're still here."

Yes, he'd had a total mood shift from earlier.

Maddie stole a glance at the detective, wondering what he was thinking. At least he hadn't indicated to Josh that she might be a suspect.

Not yet.

But she was on borrowed time.

The fact remained that if the detective began to dig deep enough into her past, he'd have even more reasons to suspect her as a killer.

Maddie didn't want anyone to know certain things about her history. No one would ever look at her the same way if they found out. They wouldn't even take time to hear her explanation.

"Well, I need to be going." Detective Kalani took a step back and nodded stiffly. "But I'll be seeing the two of you around."

"I need to get going also. I have another meeting." Josh glanced at Maddie. "But I'll see you at the luau later, right?"

"Wouldn't miss it." She forced a smile, trying to remain composed.

Then she watched as Josh walked in one direction and the detective in the other.

She needed to be alone a moment. To sort her thoughts—thoughts that raced wildly out of control.

Her arms trembled as she started back to her room. Don't look anxious. And watch your step. People are looking for any reason to blame you for Jared's death .

Finally, she reached her door, waved her wristband against the lock, and heard a churning sound. She threw the door open and slipped inside.

But as soon as the door closed behind her, a white piece of paper on the floor came into focus.

Another one.

She carefully picked it up, dreading what she might see.

The typed words made her blood grow cold.

I know what you did that summer.