Swept Away: A Squeaky Clean Honeymoon Novella (Squeaky Clean Mysteries Book 12) (3 page)

“How’s this look?” Riley asked.

“Perfect.”

We stepped into the restaurant. Most of the seven other patrons already seated inside had white hair. Fishnets and stuffed marlins and miniature boat replicas lined the walls. It seemed like the kind of place where everyone knew each other. One man even had his bulldog lying on the floor beside him.

“Just two of you?” A woman appeared out of nowhere, menus already in hand. She wore a pink dress with a white apron, and her white hair was coiffed into a beehive. She was adorable. The name “Erma” was embroidered on her lapel.

“Just two,” Riley said.

“Right this way.” She led us to a table by the window. As I suspected, it was open, allowing the sea breeze to float inside.

As I’d said earlier—this place was perfect.

“Apparently this area is the retirement mecca of the Gulf Coast,” Riley whispered after the waitress left us to look over the menu.

Based on the number of senior citizens I’d already seen in our short stay, I’d agree.

We glanced at the menu and, a moment later, Riley ordered an omelet and I ordered eggs, bacon, and fruit. The waitress brought us coffee and water, asked us where we were from, and then moved on to talk to another table.

Riley leaned back, looking more relaxed than I’d seen him in a long time. “So, there are any number of things we can do while we’re in the area. There are airboat rides and kayaking. There’s swimming in natural springs. Picking oranges. We could even wrestle an alligator.” He wiggled his eyebrows.

I smiled. “Or we could just hang out on the beach. I did notice there was a hot tub on one of the decks.”

His smile mirrored mine. “Or we could do that.”

But I will not—absolutely will not—look into the disappearance of Vivian the Reality Show Star.

I stared out at the water and let my thoughts drift along with the tide.

How had someone known the girls were going to be out on the beach last night? If this was a planned abduction, someone would have had to have known about their impromptu walk. But that was the problem, wasn’t it? No one could have known about it if it was spontaneous.

According to Joey, the whole walk and conversation had been Vivian’s idea. Did she have something to do with her own abduction?

Joey had said she looked terrified, though. Was the woman a great actress? Or had something gone terribly wrong?

“You’re fascinated with what happened last night, aren’t you?”

I snapped back to the present and stared at my handsome husband as he sat across the table from me. He’d caught me. I’d promised to stay out of things, and I needed to honor that.

“You’re the only thing that fascinates me,” I murmured.

He flashed a smile, but I could tell he wasn’t totally convinced of my words as he raised his eyebrows. “That was sweet, but I know you better than that.”

I lifted my hands in mock offense. “No, I am perfectly capable of keeping my nose out of other people’s business and concentrating solely on my relationships for a week.”

“Of course, you are. It’s not your fault these situations always pop up wherever you go.”

“Exactly! It’s not like I seek them out.” Finally—Riley understood. A strange burst of contentment filled my chest.

He raised his coffee mug. “It’s like God himself puts you in the right place at the right time.”

“Yes—exactly!” My thoughts ground to a halt. “Wait—what?”

Riley paused with the cup raised near his chin. “You heard me. Your God-given calling is to be nosy.”

I leaned closer and lowered my voice, trying to sound mockingly sultry. “Wow. You’ve never sounded so attractive.”

He let out an all-out laugh and threw his head back. “I don’t know what to say to that. You always surprise me.”

I reached across the table and grabbed his hand, turning from playful to serious. “I really am thankful for you, Riley. That is sincere.”

He squeezed my hand. “I’m thankful for you too. Life will never be boring with you at my side. I’ve now got sunshine on a cloudy day.” He burst into the song that used those lyrics.

“I’m rubbing off on you! You have no idea how that totally makes me feel like I won a Tony.”

“I’m so proud of you that you’re not getting involved in this mystery, though. I know that takes a lot of fortitude.”

I swallowed back a touch of guilt. If he only knew how much I was struggling inside.

Just then, two older men walked into the restaurant. Both wore Hawaiian shirts and plaid shorts. One was tall and thin, and the other short and rather pudgy. The way they walked and talked together made me think they were old fishing or golfing pals.

“You hear about all the excitement down on the beach last night?” the tall one said to the other as they slid into the booth behind Riley.

I had a bird’s-eye view of their conversation, which secretly thrilled me. It all went back to that God-given calling to be nosy.

“An abduction. Sounds like just the perfect storyline for those Hollywood types who are in town,” the other said. “I knew there was going to be trouble when I heard they were filming here. Do you remember what I said? I said, ‘Mark my words, this will be trouble.’ And it is.”

“You mark every word you say,” his tall companion added, an edge of teasing condescension in his voice.

“Erma, will you get us some coffee and whatever today’s special is?” the short one said. “It’s on me today because Larry says I never pay. I need to prove him wrong.” He paused before adding, “mark my words.”

Larry groaned. “You think you’re so funny.”

“What happened? I heard the police were down there at the Spellman estate.” Erma joined their conversation, holding what appeared to be Riley’s and my food in her hands. Our eggs were getting colder than a corpse by the second, but I really didn’t care.

“It’s some kind of dating show,” Larry said. “One of the girls was snatched by men in a boat with machine guns.”

Machine guns? I’d missed that part of the story when Joey talked to us.

“Apparently, they were wearing gorilla costumes,” the man continued.

Everyone in the restaurant seemed to stop eating in order to listen.

“Gorilla costumes—like the ape?” Erma asked, her eyes widening.

“Yep, like the ape,” Larry said.

Erma shivered. “Scary for that to be happening right on our normally peaceful shores.”

“Apparently, the woman who was snatched was loaded,” someone else said from the other side of the restaurant. “That’s what the tabloids said, at least. That was before she was snatched, ‘course.”

“So they abducted her for her money?” Erma asked, still holding our food hostage.

“That’s my best guess. I’ll get an update from Old Yeller later when he gets back into town.”

I smiled at Riley again. Old Yeller? I imagined an old man with faded blond hair and wrinkled skin.

“We ain’t had this much excitement around here since Minnie Pearl lost her false teeth down the toilet and then called it a robbery to try and get the insurance money,” Larry said.

“It’s ‘we haven’t,’ not ‘we ain’t,” someone corrected. “No one says we ain’t. No one with any culture, at least.”

“Where I’m from, we say whatever we want. We don’t care about culture.”

A senior citizen brawl? This was going to be the most epic vacation ever.

As long as I minded my own business.

Erma finally set our plates on the table, and I ate my cold eggs. However, the conversation around me had been satisfying enough to make up for my less-than-appetizing food.

A
s we’d eaten
our breakfast, the local conversation had turned from the excitement on the beach last night to politics, to what fish were biting, and a mischief maker who had been taking people’s boats on joy rides lately.

It was all fascinating to me. Of course, not as fascinating as Vivian’s abduction. I tried to put that out of my mind as we walked back to the house.

“What do you say we spend some time on the beach?” Riley asked as he unlocked the front door.

“That sounds great.” Some sun, sand, and time with Riley. It was the perfect mix to get my mind off the fiasco taking place at the house beside ours.

As we stepped into the house, I was struck by how beautiful it was. The inside was exquisitely decorated with exotic, imported-looking furniture. The paint colors—all tropical and bright—as well as the finishing touches made the place look exquisite.

I felt as if I’d invaded someone’s dream home—and I was loving every minute of it. It sure did beat the eclectic assortment of furniture in my apartment that I’d collected from yard sales and thrift stores.

I tried to imagine having a second home like this, but it seemed beyond the realm of my reality. I’d grown up poor. Combining my income with Riley’s still seemed weird, especially since I’d only had myself to depend on for so long. Maybe money wouldn’t feel as tight anymore. That remained to be seen.

In front of me, I spotted Joey’s blanket rumpled on the couch. I noted the two coffee mugs we’d used still on the table. In some ways, last night seemed like a bad dream.

But it had really happened.

Riley wrapped his arms around me from behind and gently planted a kiss on my neck. He then rested his chin on my shoulder.

“I’m really happy, Gabby,” he murmured.

I leaned back into his embrace, and my insides turned to goo. I kept wanting to pinch myself. “Me too.”

I started singing “Lucky I’m in Love” by Jason Mraz and Colbie Caillat. To my surprise, Riley joined me.

“I’m sensing a karaoke duet in our future.” I giggled.

“Whatever you want, babe. The good news is that we have a lifetime to look forward to being together and taking trips and discovering more adventures.”

“Sounds amazing.” By adventures, I assumed he meant being a crime-fighting duo together. Before I could make a
Hart to Hart
reference, I heard a creak above me. Coming from upstairs.

Riley froze. He’d heard it too.

“Stay here,” he told me, his stiff muscles releasing me from our embrace.

“Riley . . .” My muscles tightened with anticipation. I wanted to believe it was just the house settling. My gut told me it wasn’t, though.

“Promise me,” he said. His gaze left no room for questions.

I finally nodded. “Okay.”

I wasn’t good at sitting back and doing nothing. I didn’t even have my cell phone in case I needed to call the police, nor did I have my gun. Both were upstairs, in the very direction where Riley was headed.

Please, Lord. Protect him. Let it be a bird. A mouse even. I’d take a rat.

But not danger. Not real danger.

I didn’t want to begin my life with Riley only to have it end. I’d struggled with the fear since Riley had come back into my life after an encounter with a serial killer had left him on the brink of death.

I stopped and listened. Silence stretched upstairs. I imagined Riley creeping around, looking for the source of the noise. I prayed no one was lying in wait for him.

Visions of what happened on the beach last night filled my mind. Machine guns. Gorilla costumes. An abduction.

What if we’d arrived here just in time for a nightmare to begin in this town?

Just then I heard a loud “Hey!” followed by footsteps pounding above me. My heart leapt into my throat.

Riley . . .

I started to dart toward the sound, but then I remembered my promise to Riley. It seemed like a horrible start to a marriage to break a promise.

But what if he needs me? I should go. Help him. The urgency of the matter trumps my promise . . . right?

My nails dug into the plaster wall behind me as my mental war raged.

More footsteps sounded, along with a shout.

That did it. I was going.

Just as I pushed myself off the wall, Riley thundered down the stairs.

My heart slowed.

He was okay.

I darted to him. “What happened?”

“There was a man upstairs,” Riley said. “He jumped from the window and disappeared on the beach. I almost jumped down after him, but I didn’t want to break a leg—especially since I wasn’t being threatened. Besides, he was too far ahead of me to catch up.”

“Why would someone be upstairs?”

He shook his head. “I have no idea. But I don’t like this.”

My mind raced, immediately wanting answers. That was just the way my mind worked. “Did you get a look at him?”

Riley shook his head. “He was wearing a black mask. It was hard to tell anything about him at all—not his age, his skin color, or even his hair. I’d guess he was about my height, and he was thin.”

In other words, we basically knew nothing. Had trouble followed us from Virginia? I doubted it. A whole new trouble was stirring here.

“How in the world did he get inside?” I asked, mentally retracing our steps to determine if we’d locked up behind us. I was nearly certain we had. Riley and I lived in the city. You just didn’t leave your doors unlocked there.

“Your guess is as good as mine.”

“We should probably call the police,” I finally said, trying to do the responsible thing and leave this in law enforcement’s capable hands.

“Yeah. I guess we should. We haven’t even been here twenty-four hours, and it looks like we’re going to become acquainted with them on a first-name basis.”

“Sounds about par for the course.”

A secret squeal of delight echoed from somewhere inside my mind.

* * *

T
wenty minutes later
, Old Yeller showed up, and we explained to the town’s police chief what had happened. I only knew who he was because I saw the word “Yeller” on his uniform, but I was desperately curious to know the background on his name.

The man looked nothing like I’d envisioned. He was young, with tanned skin and dark hair. His eyes were shifty, making him seem slightly untrustworthy. His tendency to touch his face and hair made him seem nervous.

The three of us stood outside on the deck, where a gentle breeze begged to carry our worries away. If only it were that easy. Another officer looked for clues inside. I resisted the urge to tell him about a great new line of products that could enhance his investigation. I trained people on how to use thus said products for my job with Grayson Tech. But it was better if I kept my mouth shut because that decreased the likelihood of me getting involved in this case.

“So you came back from breakfast and heard a sound upstairs?” Old Yeller repeated, glancing from his notepad to Riley and me and then back down again.

“That’s correct.” Riley placed his hands on his hips. “The man was upstairs in one of the bedrooms.”

“Was anything taken?”

“Not that we can tell,” Riley said.

“Maybe you got here early and scared him away,” Yeller said.

“No one was supposed to be staying here,” I added. “He could have assumed the place was empty . . . except our car was out front. It should have been a dead giveaway.”

Had he been watching the house, waiting for us to leave? I shivered at the thought. There were many things I could handle, but being watched creeped me out.

“Maybe we’ll find a clue inside that will tell us who this guy is and what he was up to,” Yeller said.

Something about the way he said it left me with the impression that he was secretly thinking,
But don’t count on it.
He was simply trying to appease us.

I’d glanced upstairs myself before the police arrived and hadn’t seen any overwhelming evidence that would point to who did this or what he was up to. Of course, it was hard to tell much because Mr. Murphy had left his own items here. If something had been taken, it would be hard to ascertain what. My guess was that the intruder hadn’t been here that long when we’d arrived.

I wasn’t ready for this conversation with Chief Yeller to be finished yet. I still had more questions, but I needed to appear unassuming and normal—two words that rarely described me. Standing with my arms crossed and eyes narrowed as if I was about to begin a cross-examination probably wouldn’t do me any favors.

I rested one of my hands against a turquoise Adirondack chair beside me. “Chief, is this in any way tied in with what happened on the beach last night? You know . . . the woman who was abducted.”

“Why would it be?” Yeller scratched his head, leaving a dark lock out of place.

I took a long sip of water from one of the cups I’d filled for all of us earlier. The day was already heating up—in more ways than one. The action also allowed me to measure my words and actions and to hopefully subdue my impatience.

“Well, how often do crimes occur on the island?” I continued.

He shrugged. “Not often.”

“But you’ve had two crimes in less than twenty-four hours and both have occurred within one hundred feet of this house.” Riley narrowed his eyes in thought. “You don’t think there’s a connection?”

The chief blinked. “Well, now that you put it that way . . .”

I decided to play the victim here and brought my voice—and outrage at his seeming incompetence—down a notch. “What’s going on? Should I be frightened? I mean, somehow, this man got into the house, and there are no signs of forced entry. Meanwhile, men with machine guns and gorilla costumes were on the beach.”

“Machine guns and gorilla costumes? You must have been listening to the townspeople shooting the breeze. They always like to exaggerate.”

“Should I be frightened?” I repeated.

Yeller shifted as if uncomfortable. “We’re still trying to figure things out, ma’am. The good news is that the intruder didn’t seem to have malicious intent.”

I leaned closer and lowered my voice. “Can you tell me this, at least: Are random abductions normal for this area? Do you have any idea what happened to that woman last night? Should I be frightened to be on the beach alone?”

He stared at me stoically, like my questions tested his patience. “We don’t know anything yet. We’re still working on it. And this is generally an extremely safe community, so I wouldn’t let this interrupt your vacation plans.”

Riley pulled me closer. “This is not the way we planned on spending our honeymoon.”

Yeller raised his chin. “I understand that, sir. I assure you that we’re working hard to find some answers.”

“I fear this is all connected with that show being filmed next door.” I crossed my arms, fishing for answers. What did Yeller know that I didn’t? What I wouldn’t do to go over there and question everyone myself . . .

“Again, we’re not sure. There’s no evidence at this point that these crimes are connected with the show.” He rubbed his forehead again. “Now, about this break-in at your place . . .”