I turned my back to the crowd to hide the mess on my dress until I could muster the energy to battle my way back through the crowd to the ladies’ room to clean myself up. Gripping the railing, I looked out over the beach, rethinking my recent life choices. A small group of partiers danced barefoot in the sand, some grinning, some laughing, some singing along with the music—all happy, it seemed. Several couples walked hand in hand along the shoreline, mere silhouettes against the vast expanse of bay across which a sprinkling of lights dotted the barrier island that stood between Moriches Bay and the mighty Atlantic.
A couple stood in the shadows with the lights from the outdoor dance floor giving off just enough illumination for me to make out an incredibly beautiful woman with generous curves and a ton of blonde waves cascading over tanned shoulders bared by her slinky black halter dress. She wore a stunning pair of black arch killers with rhinestones cascading from the ankle straps. At least, I thought they were rhinestones. Considering the diamonds dripping from her neck and wrists reflecting a dazzling rainbow of sparkles, was it possible the ankle straps were made of real diamonds? Oh, man. What I wouldn’t do for a pair of shoes like that—real diamonds or not.
She stood face-to-face with a dark silhouette, her expression rock hard, mouth firmed into a tight line, grip on her wine glass so tight I was surprised it didn’t shatter.
I dragged my gaze from those magnificent shoes to watch the seeming drama that might unfold. Call me a voyeur, but I couldn’t help myself. Something drew my eye to the familiar—
It hit me like a sucker punch in the gut, and the breath whooshed out of me as I doubled over, clutching the rail, my gaze riveted on the pair. More specifically, the guy currently holding both the woman’s perfectly tanned arms in a firm grip. Detective Dead Meat (at least he would be when I got down there and got my hands on him) spoke rapidly, though I couldn’t make out a word he was saying.
So, I did what any self-respecting woman who’d had her date run out on her the night before would do. I muscled my way through the throng on the deck toward the beach with Gwen and Eli on my heels.
When I reached the beach, I was forced to slow down, or break an ankle trying to navigate the sand in stilettos I now regretted buying. If I’d have just worn shorts and sneakers, I’d already be down there eavesdropping on their conversation. As it was, I had to stop long enough to undo the straps and slip the shoes off before stalking toward them once again.
Before I could reach them, another woman (smart enough to have worn flats with her black slacks and blousy white silk cami) shot past me like she was heading for the clearance rack at Bloomingdale’s, clutching a tall, dark-colored drink in her hand.
Gwen grabbed my arm and yanked me to a stop. “Do you know who that is?”
“Yeah. Jake. My ex—whatever he might have been.”
Unfazed, Gwen kept on staring. “No, I mean the blonde he’s talking to.”
“No idea.” Nor did I care. Jake had refused to take me to Veritas, had warned me to stay away, and had run out on our date last night after a mysterious phone call with a woman named Angelique. And now, there he stood with another woman in his grip. Whatever he was up to—
Gwen stared wide eyed. “That’s Angelique Johansen.”
“Okay. Is that supposed to mean something?” I started forward again, intent on intercepting him. And, what? Confronting him? It’s not like we were dating exclusively, or even dating, really, but he had expressed his interest in furthering our relationship. Or had I misunderstood his intentions? Maybe he just wanted to be friends, and I’d only imagined all the heat sizzling between us.
Eli let out a low whistle. “If that woman’s husband finds her all cozied up in the shadows with another man, they’re both going to get disappeared real fast.”
While I resented him for so casually pointing out their familiarity with one another, what could I say? They had slipped into the shadows along the dunes, a private, intimate moment. For what? To argue? But I wasn’t about to stand there and pour my heartbreak out all over my friends. “What are you talking about?”
“Patrick Johansen,” Gwen answered for him.
Now, that name rang a bell. I just hadn’t made the connection between him and the gorgeous woman Jake was currently clutching. But Eli was right. If the supposed crime boss and owner of Veritas found Jake lingering in the shadows with his wife, Jake would probably wash up somewhere along the New Jersey coastline. In a barrel.
The dark-haired woman who’d fled past me stalked up to Jake and Angelique then stopped abruptly, sloshing some of her drink over the rim. “You have got to be kidding me.”
Jake stepped in front of Angelique just as the woman threw her drink, and the entire contents smacked him in the face. He swiped at the mess with his hands. “Cynthia, please—”
“You two-timing pig. How dare you—”
He held his hands up in front of him as if to ward off another attack. “It’s not what you think? We were just—”
She slapped him across the face—hard.
Ouch, that was going to leave a mark. Not that he didn’t deserve it if he was also dating her. And me.
She whirled on her heel and walked away without another word.
Jake’s gaze followed her until she started past me then caught on mine. His mouth fell open. Brown liquid dripped from his chin.
“Dude…” Eli (my hero) pointed a finger at him. “Looks like you blew it, buddy.”
© Lena Gregory with permission from Gemma Halliday Publishing, 2024
Coffee & Cream Café Mysteries #4
From author Lena Gregory comes a delicious new mystery...
Things have been looking up for Danika Delany's business—her uncle's old fashioned malt shop on eastern Long Island. But for her love life? Not so much. After a disastrous date with Detective Jake Barlow, Danika lets her best friends, Gwen and Eli, talk her into a night out at the hottest new nightclub in town. Only, while there, Dani finds her sort-of boyfriend secreted in the shadows on the beach behind the club with crime boss Patrick Johansen’s wife, Angelique! An upset Dani leaves without giving Jake a chance to explain, but when he doesn’t get in touch the next day, she takes a long walk along the beach to reevaluate her love life. That's where she suddenly stumbles across Angelique’s body buried in the dunes near where she last saw her with Jake. Sure that Jake is innocent—of murder at least—Danika and her friends set out to prove Jake had nothing to do with her murder and stop a killer...before they strike again!
Mystery Culinary | Mystery Cozy [Gemma Halliday Publishing, On Sale: August 28, 2024, e-Book, ISBN: 2940167706699 / eISBN: 9798224357970]
Lena lives in a small town on the south shore of eastern Long Island with her husband and three children.
When she was growing up, she spent many lazy afternoons on the beach, in the yard, anywhere she could find to curl up with a good book. She loves reading as much now as she did then, but she now enjoys the added pleasure of creating her own stories.
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