gullible, so vulnerable, such easy prey.
“I’m going to assume you’re not a cop yourself,” she said harshly.
He spun on her. “I’m not a cop. But I do know that you can’t let people get away with threats.”
She turned, reaching for the phone. She wouldn’t call the police, but she would call a cop.Ashley. No. Maybe she was being watched. Ridiculous, she was in her own house, curtains drawn, the lock locked—and Keith inside, with her.
It was doubtful that the thugs who had attacked her had the resources to bug her phone, but even so, she didn’t dial.
They had threatened Amber. That was terrifying.
Did she dare take a chance with her niece’s life? And then there were the events of the day. A skull sitting on her desk and—an entire club full of people convinced she was overreacting to a prank. With her luck, she would get Officer Garth again. She could just imagine the conversation.
“As you know,” she reminded Keith icily, “I already called the cops once today. Just imagine what will happen if I call them again. ‘You’re sure you didn’t imagine there was someone behind you? In front of you? Why can’t you say what they looked like? It must have been a prank.’ Then I could speak in my own defense, ‘Look, my knees are cut up.’ And the friendly cop could tell me, ‘I’m sure you were frightened of a bush, Miss Anderson. You must have fallen and hurt yourself.’”
“Beth, I was there. I saw them.”
“Right. You saw them. You went after them, but they’d disappeared.”
“This whole area is overgrown. There are a million places for someone to hide. But that’s the point. They’re cowards. Someone else showed up, and they ran.”
“I’m not an idiot. But we’re talking about my niece.”
He put his hands on her shoulders. “Beth…”
She wrenched away from his grasp. “Even if the cops come, there won’t be a damn thing they can do. I’ve had it with people doubting me. And my niece is in danger, too.”
“Beth, you’ve been in danger since the day you saw the skull and the girls mentioned it when we were together as a group that night.”
“So you’re suggesting that someone on the island was responsible for the skull being there?”
“If there was a skull,” he said softly.
“Not you, too!”
“Beth, I knew you were hiding something. I searched the area.”
“And you knew what you were looking for?” she demanded.
“No, but I would have noticed a skull.”
Beth stared at him hard, arching a brow.
He sighed. “All right, Beth, I didn’t have a lot of time, I was interrupted almost immediately. But I had known you where you were—I should have found something.” Again, that implication. If it had been there. Then he shook his head, as if aggravated with himself for that admission, rather than her. “Beth, that night, there were people out and about when they should have been sleeping. I had even expected—been awaiting—that. Something was going on there. But…”
She stared at him. “I’ll call my friend Ashley,” she said. “She’s a cop, and she knows I’m not insane, and that I’m not someone who tends to panic easily.”
She hesitated, staring at him, then poured another shot of brandy. No, she didn’t panic easily. But at the moment, she needed more fortification.
She drank down the shot, amazed to realize that she relished the burn when it went down her throat.
She still felt uncertain, with no idea what to do. She believed with her whole heart it was wrong to give in to criminals in any way, but…
They had threatened Amber.
She poured another brandy. Keith walked up behind her, taking the glass from her. She spun on him, eyes filled with fury.
“That isn’t going to help the situation,” he told her.
“Really? And what is?”
“Calling the police.”
She backed away from him. “Let me deal with this.”
“Beth, listen to me—”
“No. And don’t you have something to do, somewhere to go?” she demanded.
She wanted to beg him to stay with her, protect her. But she had a life to live—and obviously so did he. She couldn’t ask him to be her personal bodyguard. That wouldn’t help Amber. She felt furious, trapped and very afraid.
“I can’t stay,” he said in soft frustration, as if to himself.
His words reminded her that he seemed to be playing a million different games. “Excuse me, but I don’t recall asking you to,” she said.
He stared at her hard, then picked up the phone himself. She grabbed it, but his grip was firm. “Stop it. I’m not calling 911.”
“Who are you calling, then?”
He took a deep breath. “Jake Dilessio.”
She dropped his arm and took a step back from him, folding her arms across her chest. “So you do know Jake and Ashley.”
“Yes,” he said flatly.
He dialed. “Jake, it’s Keith. Sorry for the short notice, but can you meet me at Beth’s house?”
Beth narrowed her eyes, watching, listening. Obviously, he knew Jake well. Her sense of betrayal grew.
When he hung up, she stared at him. He stared back. “Want to explain?” she asked.
“You know I’m a diver,” he told her with a shrug. “I’ve been called in to work this area before.”
“With the police?”
“Yes,” he said impatiently.
She shook her head slowly. “That’s all you’re going to say?”
“I’m afraid so.”
“Were you on Calliope Key…looking for a body?” she asked.
“No.”
“Then…?”
“I have to leave when Jake gets here, but I’ll be back.”
She turned and walked away from him. “Don’t bother. I’ve known Jake a while myself. He’s married to one of my best friends. I think I’ll rely on him for whatever help I need.” And leaving him standing there, she headed upstairs.
