Hurricane Bay by Heather Graham Page B

hurt. You were cool to her. I remember her standing in your office, and you telling Sheila that she had owed it to me to say the marriage wasn’t working, that she shouldn’t have hurt and humiliated me the way she did. She said you were her friend, so you should have understood whatever she had done. And you told her that she was a grown-up and could live the life she wanted, but she needed to start watching out for crushing other people.”
    Kelsey remembered the day well. Larry had just found out about what his wife had gotten up to. He’d blown an important presentation because of it, and she’d been worried about his job.
    And it was true. Sheila had been angry with her, and she’d flounced out of the office. Next time they had made a date—at Sheila’s insistence, because she had wanted to tell her side of the story—Sheila hadn’t shown. The next time Sheila had tried to see her, Kelsey had still been angry herself. She’d come up with an excuse. And that had been it until just about six months ago, when Sheila started e-mailing her, and then the phone calls began.
    â€œSheila is our friend,” Nate said quietly. “But she’s kicked us all in the teeth.”
    They were all silent for a minute.
    â€œSo what are we supposed to do?” Kelsey said.
    â€œYou went to the police, right?” Nate said.
    Kelsey nodded.
    â€œThen we let them handle it. What else are you going to do?”
    â€œTrack her down,” Kelsey said.
    They all continued to stare at her. She let out a sigh of exasperation. “We follow her footsteps, talk to anyone she might have seen.”
    â€œGreat,” Nate said. “That would include the entire populace of the Keys. And let’s not forget Miami.”
    â€œDane has an investigations firm,” Cindy said with impatience. “The smartest thing is to let him handle it.”
    â€œThe problem with Dane is the same problem with you all,” Kelsey said. She didn’t know why she was reluctant to point out to Nate the fact that he had been the one to tell her he was pretty sure Dane and Sheila had been seeing each other as more than friends, and that then the two of them had argued at the bar, and that Sheila had implied she was heading out to Dane’s place the last time he had seen her. “No one seems to be really worried,” she said.
    â€œExcept you,” Larry pointed out.
    â€œAll right, here’s the deal,” Cindy said. “Kelsey, tomorrow morning you come to the gym with me. I swear, it will make you feel better. Then we’ll all go to see Dane. We’ll have that barbecue at his place.”
    â€œHe didn’t exactly invite us for a barbecue tomorrow,” Kelsey said.
    Cindy waved a hand in the air as if being invited was entirely immaterial. “We’ll bring all the stuff. We’ll just show up at Hurricane Bay in the morning with all the fixings. He won’t mind.”
    â€œWait a minute,” Nate said. “What time?”
    â€œI don’t know. Sometime in the morning,” Cindy said.
    â€œMorning is relative. It’s morning now. Closing in on three,” Nate said. “I wasn’t planning on waking up too early.”
    â€œHow about one?” Larry suggested. He yawned. “I’ll sleep, Cindy and Kelsey can go get buff, buy the food, come back, then we all meet here and head over at one.”
    â€œThere. We have a plan,” Cindy said. “Good night. Kelsey. Will nine be too early for you?”
    Kelsey had the feeling the last thing she was going to want to do in the morning was go to the gym.
    â€œSheila came with me sometimes,” Cindy said. “You can ask around and find out if she said anything to anyone.”
    â€œNine, then,” Kelsey agreed.
    â€œNight, guys,” Cindy said. Walking past them, she let herself out.
    â€œI should go, too,” Nate said. He looked at Kelsey.