Alex laughed. “Maybe, but you’d think…sun, boats, island—fishing. Oh, well.”
“What do you mean, oh well? At least there’s excitement in your life. You’ve got the triangle thing going. Husband, lover.”
“Ex-husband and new acquaintance,” Alex reminded her.
“Ex-husband, new almost-lover. Vying for the same woman. And you know guys. They get into a competition thing. What a setup for jealousy and…”
Her voice trailed off, and she stared wide-eyed at Alex, like a doe in the headlights.
“Oh my God!” Laurie gasped.
She stared at Alex in pure horror. Alex frowned. “What? Come on, Laurie. Believe me, it’s not that serious. You think that they’ll get into some kind of a fight? No, never. In our marriage…David just didn’t notice. Didn’t care. I can’t begin to see him decking someone—and sure as hell not over me.”
“Oh my God,” Laurie breathed again.
“Laurie, it’s all right. Nothing is going to happen between David and John.”
Laurie shook her head vehemently and slowly got to her feet, pointing. “Oh God, Alex. Look!”
For a moment, Alex couldn’t quite shift mental gears. Then she frowned, standing up herself.
“What?” she said to Laurie. She grasped her friend’s shoulders. “Laurie, what in the world is it?”
Laurie pointed. Alex realized that Laurie hadn’t been staring at her at all during the last few moments—she had been staring past her.
She spun around.
And that was when she saw the body on the beach.
Chapter 2
“I’ve read about you,” John Seymore told David. “In the scuba magazines. That article on your work with great whites…wow. I’ve got to admit, I’m astounded to see you here. This place must seem pretty tame to you. It’s great to get to meet you.”
“Thanks,” David said.
Seymore seemed pleasant. He was good-looking, well-muscled probably naturally, since he’d said he hadn’t been out of military service long. Despite his surfer-boy blond hair and easy smile, there was a rough edge about him that betrayed age, maybe, and a hard life. David had a feeling his military stories would be the kind to make the hair rise on the back of the neck. Just as he had a feeling that, no matter how pleasant the guy might seem, he had a backbone of steel.
They’d started talking during the swim, and when Seymore had suggested a quick drink at the Tiki Hut, David had been glad to comply. He was interested in what would bring a man of John Seymore’s expertise to such a charming little tourist haven.
“I know the people here,” David told John. “The guy managing the place, Jay Galway, is a part-time thrill seeker. He’s been on a few of my excursions over the years. I like coming here, but this is the first time I’ve stayed. The cottages are great. A perfect place to chill, with all the comforts of home, but you feel as if you’re off somewhere in the wilds. What about you?”
“I know the water pretty well, but I’ve never had any fun with it. I’ve been out on the West Coast. I left the military…and, I’m afraid, a painful divorce.”
“So you retired from the military,” David said. “Living a life of ease, huh?”
Seymore laughed. “I did pretty well with the military, but not well enough to retire the way I’d like to. But my time is my own. I’m doing consulting work now. Because of my work in the service, I made some good contacts. But I needed a break, so I found this place on the Web. Seemed ideal, and so far, it has been.”
Seymore was leaning on the bar, looking across the lagoon. Everyone was gone, but Seymore was staring as if someone was still there. Someone with features so delicately and perfectly proportioned that she was beautiful when totally drenched, devoid of all makeup, her hair showing touches of its radiant color despite the fact that it was heavy with sea water.
Despite himself, he felt a rise of something he didn’t like. Anger. Jealousy. And an age-old instinct to protect what was his. Except that she wasn’t his anymore.
He had no rights here, and when he had first seen Alex this morning, after the initial shock in her eyes had died away, they had been narrowed and hostile each time they had fallen on him.
He lowered his head for a moment. You were the one who filed the papers, sweetie. Not a word to me, just a legal document.
I didn’t come here because of you, he thought.
Okay, that was a lie. There had been no way he wouldn’t show once Alicia’s message had whetted his curiosity. He had come expecting to find Alicia Farr, even though, after he had returned her call and not heard back, warning signals had sounded in his mind. He wasn’t surprised that she wasn’t here, but he was worried.