Burned: A Regan Reilly Mystery by Carol Higgins Clark

Author:Carol Higgins Clark [Clark, Carol Higgins]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: thriller, Fiction, General, Mystery & Detective, Mystery fiction, Women Sleuths, Hawaii, Crimes against, Reilly; Regan (Fictitious character), Women private investigators, Women private investigators - Hawaii, Detective and mystery stories; American, Employees, Hotels, Hotels - Employees - Crimes against
ISBN: 9780743242752
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Published: 2005-03-15T03:13:25+00:00

29

O n a black sand beach north of the Kona airport, Jason and Carla walked hand in hand, only letting go of each other to pick up coral shells. They had already filled two shopping bags.

“Will we always be this happy?” Carla asked Jason as they put their shopping bags down, walked to the water’s edge, and let the ocean swirl around their feet.

“Hope so.” He paused. “But the odds are against us.”

Jason laughed as Carla poked him in the ribs. “You’re not very romantic.”

“I was just kidding! And I am romantic. I was waiting for a moonlit night to propose. I should have checked the Farmer’s Almanac, and then I would have known it wasn’t a good idea. My best intentions just got me in trouble.”

Carla kissed him on the cheek. “I still can’t believe I was walking on that beach at the same time Dorinda Dawes was floating around in the water.”

“You gave me a good scare. I wake up at three in the morning, and you’re gone.”

“It was scary on the beach at that hour. Something out there struck me as weird, but I was a little tipsy so I don’t remember what it was. I really want to think of it so I can help that girl Regan.”

“What do you mean weird?” Jason asked.

“Like I saw something strange. Not a murder weapon or anything, but something was out of place.”

“You usually forget nothing, especially what I do wrong.”

Carla laughed. “I know, but we’d been drinking piña coladas by the pool all afternoon and had wine at dinner. And then I grabbed a couple of beers from the mini bar before I went on the beach. I’m surprised you didn’t smell it on my breath.”

“What did you do with the bottles?”

“I threw them into the ocean when I was finished.”

“Litterbug.”

“I made a wish on each one.”

“What did you wish?”

“Well, one wish came true. You finally proposed.”

“What was your second wish?”

“That it doesn’t rain on the big day. Or else my hair will frizz, and I’ll go nuts.”

“Some people say rain brings good luck.”

Carla smiled at him sweetly. “With you I don’t need any more luck. I’m not greedy.”

Jason hugged her. He wouldn’t let himself think too much about the fact that this girl he loved was walking around on the beach when, quite possibly, a murder was being committed-all because it was cloudy and he hadn’t proposed. There’s no question, he thought, that Regan Reilly is asking questions because they don’t think it was a simple drowning. “I think we have enough of these shells to write out the Gettysburg Address,” he finally said. “Let’s get in the car and find a good spot to declare our love for each other to anyone who bothers to read Hawaiian graffiti.”

“Are you kidding? It’s a tourist attraction. Everyone on the highway to and from the airport will read it. And people flying above can look down and see it.”

“Only if you’re flying in a plane six feet off the ground or you happen to own a pair of supersonic spy glasses.

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