Heat Wave

The conversation is confusing me—I’m not sure we’re talking about the same thing. “You’ve lost someone too?”


“No, I mean—I know what happened…” He lowers his voice over this last part, leaning in slightly, as if handling a secret.

“Well I know what happened too,” I tell him. “And he’s a dick. It’s completely his fault if their marriage fell apart.”

He straightens up and frowns. “That’s a bit harsh. How do you figure?”

I look at him blankly. “Uh, because he cheated on her.”

“Juliet?” Daniel asks.

Oh shit. Did he not know that?

“Yeah,” I say slowly. “Logan cheated on Juliet. I don’t know who with. I already asked him if it was that Charlotte chick but he denied it. He did not deny cheating on her though.”

Daniel stares at me for a few moments before tucking a piece of hair behind his ear. “Wow. Okay.”

“What?” I lean forward, pressing my hands on the table. “What?!”

Daniel takes a furtive look around and leans in. “Where did you hear that from?”

“From my own sister.”

He seems to think for a moment, then he straightens up and shrugs, turning his attention back to the bottles behind him. “She was lying,” he says simply.

It takes all of my strength to keep my next words to a whisper. “What the hell are you talking about?”

He exhales loudly and then turns around. “Look. I was there okay? It was my client.”

I can only blink at him, my heart pounding in my head. I feel like I’m about to have an out of body experience.

“Listen, I shouldn’t be the one to tell you this because it’s none of my business, but I thought you knew so you can see I’m in a bit of a predicament.” He looks around as if we’re being bugged and starts wiping down the bar. “Jared Bellamy. That was my client. A hot-shot lawyer from LA. You know, the type that takes on celebrity and high-profile cases. He was here looking to buy a house on the north shore. Says his buddy Ben Stiller loves it here and he had to do the same.” He rolls his eyes. “Anyway, he comes here to the bar and I say I’m also a real estate agent. I give him my card. Juliet comes in and, well, you know what happens when Juliet walks in a room.”

I don’t say anything, I’m too enthralled. I nod at him to keep going.

“So Bellamy, he’s got it hard for her, obviously, and I point out that’s the boss. You know, she and her husband own the hotel. And it’s like he doesn’t care. But whatever, not my problem. The next day, I pick him up and show him around. He hangs out at the bar later. Juliet takes a seat. They’re talking most of the evening. Nothing weird about that, right, because Juliet always liked talking to guests and people. Kind of a politician in that way. But then he’s here every night. Even on the days when I’m not showing him houses. And she’s here too. Like clockwork.”

My throat feels thick as I try to speak. “Did anyone else notice?”

“No,” he says. “But Logan did eventually. One night. It got kind of awkward. Walked on over and gave Bellamy the look like he was going to murder him. I had to make all the introductions and play it off, but Logan knew there was something wrong. And me, I only suspected.” He pauses. “You sure you want to hear the rest?”

“You’ve gone too far to stop,” I whisper.

He takes in a deep breath and leans in closer. “So Bellamy is staying at the Westin Princeville resort. Has his own little hut. I’m supposed to pick him up at four to show him some houses on my day off, but Lucia calls in sick, so I can’t. And I can’t get a hold of him on the phone either, so I decide to drive up there.”

I feel like I’m watching a movie. A terrible movie playing inside my head and the climax is building and building and building. I’m on the edge of my seat, the edge of something that will change everything. If I stop Dan from speaking, I can preserve the world as I know it. If he keeps talking, my world will fall apart. I know this now.

And I let him keep talking.