Murder at the Miramar (Augusta Burnette Series) by Dane McCaslin Page B

of her mouth where the gag had been pulled mercilessly taut. She looked like a casualty of war or the victim of a car accident, and I was unable to catch my tears in time when they finally let me see her.
    ‘Oh, my God! Ellie, I am so, so sorry.’ I pressed my cheek to her head, careful to keep my touch light, even though I wanted to wrap my arms around her and hug her as tightly as I could.
    ‘’s OK,’ she managed to mumble, not able to open her mouth very wide. To my amazement, she tried to smile.
    Talk about strong – my cousin was one tough cookie. I almost felt sorry for the person who had done this to her; he – or she – had better watch their backs. Ellie Saddler was on their trail.
    ‘We’ve got to stop meeting like this,’ said a familiar voice behind me.
    I straightened up and turned to look into eyes the color of the Pacific Ocean on a sunny day: bright, clear, and blue. For once, though, I didn’t fall under his spell. In fact, something akin to fury, to rage, began to stir in my mind, and the tears of sorrow threatened to become tears of anger. Where had he been when we needed him?
    ‘Detective. How nice to see you.’ It would be difficult to miss the sarcastic undertone of my words, but he seemed oblivious. Maybe they taught all police officers how to grow thick skins in the academy. Either that, or else he had deliberately chosen not to get my drift.
    ‘I need just a minute or two with her then you can come back in, OK?’ His kind words almost undid my resolve to be angry. Before I could experience a total collapse, though, I bolted from the room. I needed to preserve what dignity I still had.
    I could hear the wail of sirens as paramedics pulled in at the Miramar’s front entrance. Even though the first-aid station wasn’t within eyeshot of the resort, I imagined I could see the guests, faces glued to the windows, watching with unabated curiosity. It made me so mad that I almost hoofed it back to the resort to give them all a piece of my mind. I thought better of it, though, since any piece of my mind probably wouldn’t be worth the time or effort. I was still reeling from the viciousness of Ellie’s attack and I found that I was having trouble keeping my thoughts harnessed.
    ‘She’ll be OK, so don’t worry, AJ.’ Detective Baird had managed to walk up behind me without a sound, and naturally I jumped sky high.
    ‘And she gave me a pretty good description of who it was.” He gave a short laugh. ‘She’s pretty spunky. Told me she managed to scare them off by waving Tarot cards at them.’
    Oh sure, I thought cynically. We’ve got some superstitious burglars on the loose. Aloud, I said, ‘You make it sound like she tripped while walking on the beach,’ I took a deep breath, trying to calm my heart that had thrown itself in panic against my ribs. ‘Ellie, in case you hadn’t noticed, was attacked by someone who wasn’t out to make friends, not someone looking for a card reading.’
    ‘I know,’ he replied quietly. He stretched out a hand to touch my shoulder, then seemed to think better of it. I was in full-blown prickle mode and it showed.
    Mercifully, the paramedics’ arrival saved me from making a complete dope of myself. I had enough to worry about without adding ‘village idiot’ to my résumé, especially in front of Detective Baird.
    He gave me one last look then turned to lead them into the first-aid station. I hesitated, wanting to be with Ellie but not wanting to see her in pain. I was a chicken and I knew it, but I also know my limits. If I passed out now, I’d be no good to either one of us, and I was honor-bound and determined to make someone pay.
    Ellie’s departure for the local emergency room left me feeling bereft and awkward, as though I was the new kid on the block and didn’t know quite what to do with my time. Of course, I knew that I probably should have gone straight back to the concierge’s desk, but found I had no desire to be within ten feet