Heather Graham - Heather Graham Bundle - The Island / Ghost Walk / Killing Kelly / The Vision

Still, the night was pure misery. Amber was confused, and her father warned her firmly that she wasn’t to make a single move alone. Beth tried to be reassuring, but she had to reiterate her brother’s words to her niece.

On Monday morning she drove Amber to school, glad to see the officer following them all the way.

He didn’t follow her to the club. He was staying downtown, where he would be keeping an eye on the school throughout the day, so Beth was careful as she continued to work. At the club, she noted that the security guard was not alone.

She was nervous, wondering if anyone was inside the club itself or wandering the grounds to keep an eye on things. Midmorning, Commodore Berry came in and sat down gravely. He told her that he’d been contacted by the police and there was going to be at least one officer on duty inside the club or on the property at all times, keeping an eye on things. Since there were known pirates working in the area, he was grateful to have the assistance.

Beth wondered if he blamed her for involving the club. It didn’t seem, however, that he ever realized it had anything to do with her. There were so many exceptional yachts berthed there that he seemed to think that was what made them a potential target.

The rest of the day passed uneventfully. She made calls to confirm arrangements for the Summer Sizzler, contacting delivery services and the florist, and talked to the chef and the staff. She called Eduardo Shea’s office, and he assured her that he had not forgotten, and told her that he would be in with Mauricio and Maria later during the week.

That afternoon a police tech came to inspect her computer. She went down to the cafeteria to allow him time to work on his own. The club was strangely quiet. There was no sign of any of the Masons.

The tech was a nice guy, encouraging in his expertise. He was convinced no one had hacked her computer from the outside. The sabotage had been performed right in her office.

Chilling information. Whoever had given her the warning had been at her desk, in her chair.

She left early to pick up Amber. The policeman followed them home. She waved goodbye a few minutes later, after he had inspected the house and she had locked the door behind him.

She spent the evening practicing scenes with Amber.

That night Ben kept his distance, and she found herself growing angrier with her brother. None of this was her fault, though he was behaving as if it were.

Tuesday was more or less a repeat of Monday. She felt the growing strain of the situation.

Wednesday was better. When she went down to lunch, she was startled to run into Eduardo Shea in the dining room.

“Mr. Shea,” she said happily. “You’re here.”

“Miss Anderson, your party is this Friday night. I told you I would see you here.”

“Yes, of course.”

“Ah, there’s Mauricio.”

A handsome young man with dark hair and arresting green eyes approached, and Eduardo introduced him to Beth. A few minutes later Maria Lopez arrived in a stunning gown. Short, sequined, it fit her to a T.

“Where will the performance be held?” Eduardo asked.

“There will be a dance floor on the patio. It’s being delivered Friday morning,” Beth told them.

“That’s not good,” Eduardo said.

“Oh?”

“They should have more time to practice their number on the actual site,” Eduardo said.

“Oh,” Beth murmured. “I’m…I don’t think we can close off the area until then,” she told them unhappily.

“It will be fine, Eduardo,” Maria said. She smiled at Beth. “But for now, where may we rehearse?”

“The meeting room,” Beth suggested. It was actually part of the dining room, but it could be closed off for committee luncheons and was sometimes rented out to corporations for special functions.

It also had a hardwood floor.

Eduardo wasn’t pleased, but he seemed resigned. Disdainful, but resigned.

Beth managed to get Eduardo to allow her to attend the rehearsal. At first she simply watched the two dances in wonder. It seemed unbelievable that anyone could move their hips as fast as Maria did. On the dance floor, she was ageless. Her face glowed; her elegance was visible in every movement.

“Incredible,” Beth murmured.

“Come on. I’ll teach you,” Eduardo said.

“Oh, no, no,” Beth protested.

But she found herself standing up with him anyway. “It’s all in the timing,” he told her. The music was playing again. Mauricio came up to partner her under Eduardo’s direction, while Maria stepped behind her to show her how to move her hips. She grew flushed and happy as she began to get the timing, so involved that, to her amazement, she forgot the current circumstances of her life.

Forgot that she had first thought of this because she’d wanted to meet Eduardo Shea, suspecting that he might somehow have been involved in the Monocos’ disappearance. To her absolute amazement, she was having fun.

Until Amanda Mason arrived.

Amanda greeted Eduardo with enthusiasm, kissed Mauricio, and did the continental kiss-on-both-cheeks thing with Maria Lopez. At that point Beth excused herself and returned to her office. She was startled when she reached her door to turn around and discover that she had been followed.

By Amanda.

The woman stood there, chin high, hands on her hips—looking much taller than her actual stature—staring at Beth belligerently. “Why do you do that to me all the time?” Amanda demanded.

“Why do I do what?” Beth demanded.

“I walk into a room, and you leave.”

Beth stared at her, stunned. Then she replied honestly, “Let’s see. Maybe because you treat me as if I were a servant or a lesser being of some kind?”

“I do not,” Amanda protested.

“You do, too.”

“If I do, it’s only because of the way you act toward me.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Let’s see. You don’t do anything overt. That nose of yours just goes in the air a little, and you look at me as if I were…the trash of the century.”

Beth could barely believe the conversation.

“Amanda—” She broke off, shaking her head, not at all sure what to say. “Maybe it’s the way you behave.”

“And that would be…?”

“I don’t know! As if the world was your toy, as if men were there for your amusement, whether they’re married, engaged or…taken.”

“You’re jealous.”

“No, Amanda, I’m not jealous.”

She expected anger, some kind of scathing retort. But Amanda just stared at her. “Am I that bad, really?”

Beth sighed. “I don’t know, Amanda. Maybe it’s me, too. I don’t know.”

She didn’t know what she expected then. Certainly not the frown that furrowed Amanda’s brow. “I…I’ll try to be…” She paused, looking for a word. “Better.”

Then she walked down the hallway, and Beth went into her office and sat down, stunned.

KEITH WAITED IN THE Palm Beach deli. At ten o’clock, Laurie Green walked in, just as she had promised. She saw him at the table, and a smile lit her face. “Keith!”

She rushed over and hugged him fiercely. He hugged her back, then disentangled himself carefully. She had lost her parents when the plane had gone down, and she herself had nearly perished in the muck soup of the Everglades. She had experienced agony and grief, but from the beginning, she had been grateful for her own life. Once on the verge of death, her sandy skin and light hair spoke of her health and well-being.

Slightly embarrassed by her show of emotion, he managed to get her seated opposite him. “So everything’s going okay?” he asked.

She nodded. “I graduate from Nova University next spring.”

“That’s great. I’m delighted to hear it.”