“So…what did happen? Why isn’t she here?”
“I don’t know. I thought she was far enough out of the water, so I don’t think the waves could have pulled her back out… I think someone came and moved her.”
“They were quick,” Nigel commented.
“I’m telling you, she was here. Isn’t there a way you can check? It will be dark soon. Can’t you spray something around, see if there are specks of blood in the seaweed or on the sand anywhere? Better yet, take samples. Get more men out here and make certain that the only tracks around came from Jay, Laurie and myself?”
“There could be dozens of tracks around, and it wouldn’t mean anything. The beach is accessible to all the staff and every guest,” Nigel told her.
“Surely there’s something you can do,” Alex said.
“I can see if a body turns up again,” he told her quietly. “Seriously, Alex. The most likely scenario is that the woman wasn’t dead. Maybe she was unconscious but came to while you were up at the lodge. One of you should have stayed here.”
Alex glared at Laurie.
Laurie looked back at her defensively. “Hey, how could I know that a corpse could get up and walk away?”
“A corpse can’t get up and walk away,” Jay interjected impatiently. “Unless the person you saw was not a corpse.”
“We’re going in circles here,” Alex told him.
“This is ridiculous,” he told her. “You pull me out here, make me ruin my good Italian shoes, drag Nigel away from his supper…because you saw someone passed out. Maybe someone in need of help, who you left. Or, more likely, someone playing a joke. A sick joke, yes. But a joke, and you fell for it.”
Alex lifted her hands in exasperation. “All right, fine. There’s nothing I can say or do to make you believe me. Nigel, I’m sorry about your supper. I owe you one. I’m going to take a shower.”
“Wait a minute,” Nigel said. “I’m not ignoring this. I’ll make a check on passengers who took the ferry over today, and, Jay, you check your guest lists. We’ll make sure that everyone is accounted for.”
Alex stood in stony silence.
“Alex, that’s all I can do since there’s no body,” Nigel said patiently. “We’re not New York, D.C., or even Miami. I don’t have a huge forensic department or the manpower to start combing every strand of seaweed, especially since the tide is coming in. Alex, please. I’m not mocking you. It’s just that there is no body.” He turned to Jay. “Get busy on the paperwork, Jay. I’ll handle the ferry records. And, Alex…don’t mention this around, all right?”
She frowned curiously at him. “But—”
“Don’t you dare go alarming the guests with a wild story,” Jay said.
“Actually, I was thinking that if there was a corpse and someone’s hidden it, it might be a very dangerous topic of conversation,” Nigel told her.
“He’s right,” Jay said. He pointed a finger toward Alex. “No mention of this. No mention of it for your own safety.”
“Oh, yeah, right.”
Nigel turned around, looking at the beach. He shook his head and started away.
“Where you going, Nigel?” Jay asked.
“To check on the ferry records,” Nigel called back.
He reached his launch, gave it a shove back to the water and waded around to hop in, then gave them a wave.
Jay stared at Alex and Laurie again. “Not a word, you understand? Not a word. It doesn’t matter if there were a dozen corpses on the beach, Alex, they’re not here now. So keep quiet.”
“Fine. Not a word, Jay,” Alex snapped, walking past him.
“Hey! I’m your boss, remember?” he told her.
She kept walking, Laurie following in her tracks.
“I’m still your boss,” he called after her. “And you owe me a new pair of shoes.”
They were soon out of earshot. “Alex, there really was a corpse, wasn’t there?” Laurie asked. But she sounded uncertain.
“Yes.”
“Perhaps…I mean…couldn’t you have been mistaken?”
“No.” She turned. “I’m going to go take a hot shower and a couple of aspirin. I’ll see you later.”
Laurie nodded, still looking uncertain. “I’m sorry. Jay has a way of twisting things,” Laurie said apologetically.
“I know. Forget it. I’ll see you later.”
She lifted a hand and turned down a slender trail that led through small palms and hibiscus, anxious only to reach her little cottage.
She slid her plastic key from the button pocket of her uniform shorts and inserted it into the lock. The door swung open.
The air was on; the ceiling fan in the whitewashed and rattan-furnished living-room area was whirling away. The coolness struck her pleasantly.