Chapter 51

CHAPTER

FIFTY-ONE

Maddie started to back away. She'd come here to see what was happening. Now she knew.

Logan was dead.

The paramedics had surrounded the woman. Checked her pulse.

Even they knew there was nothing left to do.

Her throat tightened until a soft cry escaped.

Logan . . . she didn't like the woman, but she didn't want to see her dead.

Who had done this?

Then Josh's image filled her mind.

No . . .

There was no reason for Maddie to stay out here any longer. She knew everything she had come to find out.

As she turned to leave, she practically collided with someone.

She drew in a shaky breath as she looked up.

Detective Kalani.

Dread pooled in her stomach.

"Ms. Waters," he murmured, his gaze glimmering with curiosity. "The two of us just keep running into each other."

The words could have sounded warm. But not coming from Kalani. They only sounded detached and calculated.

She tried to control the tremble going through her, but it felt nearly impossible.

Jared dead. Fowler missing. Logan now dead also.

It was all too much . . .

"I saw the people gathering from my balcony, and I came down to see what was happening. I had no idea it was going to be—" Her voice caught, and she couldn't finish her statement.

Kalani stared at her, not saying anything. Finally, he murmured, "You need to stick around."

Stick around? What did that mean? Was he going to try to frame her for this also? Then she realized she had no alibi, no alibi other than her room key.

Even more dread filled her stomach. How was this happening?

Who had done this to Logan?

What about Fowler? Were there any updates on him?

Her head pounded as she tried to figure out exactly what she should do.

For now, she crossed her arms over her chest and paced away. She would wait here. Just like the detective told her.

But she wouldn't like it.

An hour later, Detective Kalani made his way back toward her.

Maddie had found a lounge chair on the beach, and she sat staring at the waves as she waited.

No one had bothered her—a fact for which she was thankful. Talking to people was the last thing she wanted.

But now it was time to talk to Kalani, who sat on a lounge chair beside her, also facing the water. He didn't say anything a moment.

"What happened to Logan?" Maddie quietly asked.

"The medical examiner will tell us for sure."

"Foul play?" Part of her didn't want to know, to hear the confirmation, even if she already knew the truth.

"It's hard to say without the proper examination. But if I had to guess, I would say yes."

Maddie turned toward the detective, wanting to see his eyes as she asked the next question. "Do you think I did something to her?"

" Did you do something to her?" He remained stone-faced as he asked the question, his expression showing no hints as to what he was thinking, what his pre-drawn conclusions were.

"No. I was in my room all night. Alone."

His face remained placid. "It seems as if this retreat has been rough for the company."

"You can say that again." She almost wanted to chuckle, but she didn't. "You might be able to claim that one incident was just bad luck. But things are piling up so much that it's clear this company and the people in it are being targeted."

"You have no idea why that might be?"

Maddie shook her head, hating how heavy and burdened her actions felt. "No, I don't."

She briefly considered telling him about everything that had happened to her. All the things she'd tried to keep quiet, mostly in an effort to stay out of the spotlight.

She still wasn't sure it was a good idea to share too much. She needed to be careful what she said and consider each of her words.

She swallowed hard. "Maybe I don't have a right to ask this, but are there any updates on Fowler? I can't stop thinking about what might have happened to him."

"Search and rescue is actively looking for him."

Maddie had thought about everything all night, considering possibilities and theories. "This might be a strange question, but could someone have set him up with those emails and made it look as if he was a corporate spy?"

Kalani clicked his tongue. "I suppose it could be a possibility, but it would take someone with a lot of computer expertise to do that. Of course, one of the tech companies that's on the forefront of cutting-edge products is having a retreat here this weekend."

Maddie swallowed hard, unable to deny his words. If that was the criteria, then the suspects were practically limitless.

Bree's image came to mind also. The woman worked in cybersecurity. Had she set up her own boyfriend?

It seemed like a stretch. But with stakes so high, no theory should be eliminated.

Maddie cleared her throat, suddenly desperate to get back to her room. "Is there anything else you need from me?"

Kalani shook his head. "Not unless you have something else to tell me."

"I don't." She paused before adding, "I know Logan was the witness who said she saw two people on the beach when Jared died."

"She was." The detective paused. "And I heard you had an argument with her last night. Heard she was having an affair with your fiancé."

So he did know about that. Maddie had wondered.

Was that the reason he wanted to talk to her?

More anxiety churned inside her.

"That's all true," Maddie told him. "But that doesn't mean I'd kill her. She can have Josh. Or, she could have had him . . ." Her voice trailed as she realized her mistake.

Kalani stared at her, his expression unreadable.

Then the corner of his lip tugged up. "I never thought he was good enough for you."

Maddie's eyes widened. Had she just heard him correctly?

"I thought you hated me." Truly, she had. She'd been certain the detective wanted someone to blame and had his sights set on her.

"I don't hate you." He shrugged. "I'm just doing my job."

Her thoughts raced. Was this some type of ploy so the man could gain her trust? So she would confess to something?

It was hard to know. She'd trusted the wrong people before. She didn't want to do it again.

But maybe she should throw out something instead of hiding everything that had happened to her.

She licked her lips before saying, "I left my engagement ring in my room after Josh and I broke up yesterday. I wasn't thinking. I was too upset. But when I came back, it was gone."

Something flickered in his gaze—maybe curiosity. Maybe assumptions.

She wasn't sure.

"Do you think Josh took it?" he asked.

"He didn't have a key to my place. And . . ." Maddie hesitated, unsure if she should share the rest and open up Pandora's Box.

"Go on."

She let out a shaky breath before saying, "And someone left a hidden camera in one of the AC vents in my room."

Kalani's eyebrows shot up. "What?"

She nodded, still in disbelief herself. The discovery had felt so violating. She didn't want to think about what someone had done with any images they'd captured.

"I found it when I was looking for the ring," she told him.

His eyebrows remained suspended. "And you didn't report this?"

How did she explain that? "I'm trying not to draw any unnecessary attention to myself."

He frowned. "I'm going to send one of my guys to pick that up. That's not okay, Maddie."

"I know."

"Anything else?" he asked one last time as he studied her face.

She considered telling him about the threats she'd received. But then he might dig deep enough to find out about her mugshot also. That was her ultimate fear.

She needed to keep her past in the past.

She'd told him enough, she decided.

For that matter, Maddie prayed she hadn't told him too much.