Bikinis in Paradise (Tj Jensen Pardise Lake Mysteries) (5 page)

With her dad
away, the bulk of the responsibility for managing the resort fell to her. Sure, her grandpa helped out, but he had long since retired, so Tj tried to pick up the bulk of the slack. She’d met with all the managers to ensure that everything was in place for the Tropical Tan people. On one hand, the fact that they’d booked the entire resort made life just a bit easier. During the summer, when the campground was open, there were as many as 150 guests at any one time. In comparison, twenty-five models plus ten staff from Tropical Tan made for an easy weekend. Or so it would seem. So far, things hadn’t started off easy at all.

Tj was debating whether or not to pour myself a second glass of wine when the cell phone on the table beside her began to ring.

“Dylan,” Tj responded to the caller ID. “Any news?”

Tj had first met Dylan the previous October
, when he’d responded to the death of Zachary Collins. Originally a detective in Chicago, Dylan had moved to Serenity after his wife was shot and killed in the crossfire when one of the drug dealers he’d arrested had come looking for payback. Tj knew that the transition had been difficult for Dylan. There were times when she believed he’d most likely pack up and leave. But they’d developed a relationship of sorts based on friendship and respect. She didn’t know what the future held for them, but most days of the week she found herself wishing that life would unwind in such a way that they’d see their relationship progress to the next level.

“The coroner puts the cause of death as blunt force trauma to the head
, and it looks like the weapon was a rock, as you thought,” Dylan answered. “The time of death was within sixty minutes of when you arrived. Did you notice anyone in the area?”

“No, no one,” Tj confirmed as she
tucked her feet up under her legs and snuggled Cuervo to her chest. “When I arrived at the top of the trail that overlooks the cove, I looked around. I was trying to decide if it was worth it to make the hike down. I’d pretty much decided to return to the resort when Echo took off down the hill. I’m certain I didn’t see anyone or anything else that might be considered suspicious. Besides, if someone was lurking around, Echo would have gone into full guard-dog mode.”

“Did you notice anyone as you were walking to the cove?
Maybe anyone who seemed like they didn’t belong?”

“No. There were people on the beach
, but once I hit the trail that leads through the forest, I was completely alone. You don’t think the killer watched me find the body, do you? I suppose there could have been someone watching from the top of the hill. If he was far enough away, Echo might not have noticed.” The thought gave Tj chills.

“I think it’s a possibility.
”

“So what’s next?” Tj wondered.

Dylan sighed. A deep, from-the-gut sigh that indicated the degree of his fatigue. “I’m heading to Reno tomorrow to see if I can figure out Tonya’s movements after she got off the plane from Miami. Whatever happened occurred in a short period of time. I’m hoping I can pick something up on the airport security cameras, if nothing else.”

“Is your sister still coming tomorrow?”

“So far,” Dylan confirmed. “I keep waiting for her to call to say she’s changed her mind. When I went to visit her in Chicago last February, things were strained between us. I’m really not sure why she even agreed to the trip, except that Justin was quite adamant, and Allie really wants to make him happy.”

Prior to his wife’s death
, Dylan had helped his sister, Allie, raise her son, and in many ways, he was more like a father to Justin than an uncle. After Dylan’s wife was killed, his sister had decided that spending time with Dylan was too dangerous and forbade the boy from visiting with his uncle. After that impromptu visit last winter, and a lot of negotiation on Dylan’s part, Allie had agreed to come to Paradise Lake for an extended visit once Justin’s school let out for the summer. Tj knew that Dylan hoped to talk his sister and nephew into moving to Serenity so that they could be a family once again.

“I’d like to meet her. Maybe you can bring Allie and Justin out to the resort for dinner tomorrow
,” Tj suggested. “It’s the first day of the bikini competition, and there will be a band as well as other community events.”

“Actually
, I think it might be best if we wait a day or two before I begin to take her around. Let her get comfortable at the house. I want to be sure not to overwhelm her. She’s really had a rough time since Anna died. I think that, in some ways, it affected her more than anyone else.”

“Sure, no problem. Just let me know when you’re ready
to introduce her around. I’m excited to meet her.”

Tj tried not to let the fact that Dylan didn’t want her to meet his sister hurt her feelings
, but she had to admit it did sting a bit. She knew how to be sensitive to the feelings of others. In fact, she was the type of person others sought out when they had a problem or needed an ear to listen or a shoulder to cry on. Of course, Allie didn’t know her, so perhaps Dylan had a point about waiting. She hoped to become good friends with Dylan’s sister and didn’t want to do anything to get off on the wrong foot. The relationship she shared with Dylan was an odd one. He was sweet and thoughtful and oh so handsome, with his shaggy blond hair and deep blue eyes. Tj knew that she could easily love him, possibly even build a life with him, but there were too many skeletons in his closet for him to commit. If Tj were honest with herself, they really didn’t have a relationship beyond friendship. At least not a conventional relationship. There was obviously chemistry between them, and they enjoyed each other’s company, but Dylan had been honest with her from the beginning that he wasn’t in a place in his life at which he was looking for a romantic entanglement. Tj tried to guard her heart and keep a respectable distance between them, but more often than not, she found herself venturing into territory that her mind warned her would only lead to heartache.

“Listen, I’m sorry to be so abrupt,” Dylan apologized. “It’s been a long day. How about I come by for breakfast before I head to Reno tomorrow
? It might be the last time we have a chance to really talk for a few days.”

“I’d love that.”

“It’ll have to be early,” Dylan warned.

“Early is good with me.”

“Seven?”

“See you then.”

After hanging up, Tj poured the second glass of wine she’d been pondering and returned to her place on the sofa. She pulled an afghan over her tan legs, and Cuervo crawled into her lap and began to purr. Prior to Crissy joining the family, Cuervo had been an ornery cat who rarely wanted to be held or petted. With the arrival of another cat, Cuervo must have decided to assert his ownership of Tj; now he rarely left her side.

Tj closed her eyes and tried to focus on the relaxing music. Her life had changed so much in th
e past year. This time a year ago, she’d been a single woman with a fun and uncomplicated boyfriend, living in her own apartment in town. Then her mother died, her sisters had come to live with her, and she’d moved home to the resort. Uncomplicated, she suspected, was something that existed only in her past.

As if
her life wasn’t confusing enough, she decided to call the other complication in her life, ex-boyfriend Hunter Hanson. Hunter had been her boyfriend all through high school and into the first years of college. There’d been a time when she and everyone else in town had believed that the two of them would marry one day. Things had been progressing decisively toward that outcome until Hunter’s mother had intervened, convincing him that if he wanted to be a doctor, he didn’t have time to engage in such a serious relationship. Tj had hoped that their love was strong enough to prevail, but when he came home on a break during their junior year of college with the daughter of one of his mom’s best friends on his arm, she knew it was time to let him go. Still, after a period of anguish and anger, they’d decided to remain friends.

“Well
, if it isn’t Detective Jensen,” Hunter teased when he answered his phone. Tj could picture his light blue eyes dancing with merriment as he spoke. Although he was on his way to being a respected doctor, he had a boyish quality about him that Tj hoped he’d never grow out of.

“I was just thinking about you,
” he added.

“Do you think about me often?” Tj teased in return.

“Always.”

Tj felt her heart skip a beat at the serious tone of Hunter’s reply. She could imagine him running his hand thorough his thick brown hair, which he wore just a tad too long to be considered proper for an important doctor and businessman. When Hunter had first broken up with her, she’d been hurt and had wanted nothing to do with him, but the pain had dulled as the years went by, and they’d managed to settle into a comfortable friendship that at times seemed to border on something more.

“The reason I called,” she
said, willing herself to forget about Hunter’s sexy smile and focus on the task at hand, “is to check on the medical examiner’s report for Tonya Overton.”

“I’m not the medical examiner,” Hunter pointed out.

“No, but you work at the hospital where the medical examiner works, and if I call him directly, he won’t tell me anything because I don’t have authorization. I’d try to get it from Dylan, but he has some personal issues on his mind and I’d prefer not to bother him.”

“So you decided to bother me?”

“Exactly.”

“You know I can’t give you the report,” Hunter reminded her.

“No, but you might accidentally let a few details slip in casual conversation. It’s the end of the day, you’re tired, you don’t mean to say anything, but your inhibitions are affected by the myriad of things I’m sure are marching around in your head. These things happen. No one could really blame you.”

Hunter laughed. “I’m glad you called. Your seriously impaired logic has added an element of humor to what has been a truly horrendous day.”

“I’m glad I could be of assistance. You have seen the report?” Tj clarified.

Tj could hear Hunter rustling paperwork on his desk
“I’m looking at the report that details the preliminary findings,” Hunter informed her. “We won’t have a complete assessment for several days, but it doesn’t seem that anything unusual or shocking has turned up at this point.”

“And does the report you
’ve managed to review confirm that Tonya died from the head wound and that she didn’t drown?”

Hunter hesitated.

“I found the body,” Tj reminded him. “I swam down and looked into her empty eyes. I need to know she didn’t suffer.”

“She didn’t suffer,” Hunter shared. “It looks a
s though she was hit from the side by a blunt object. Her body was placed in the water postmortem. We’ll know more once we’ve completed a full autopsy.”

“I’m glad. I don’t suppose there
’s a good way to die, but the thought of drowning really freaks me out. I can’t imagine struggling to breathe during those last few minutes, knowing all the while that you’re going to die.”

“I’m sorry you had to be the one to find her,” Hunter sympathized. “I’m sure it must have been terrifying.”

“I almost screamed, but then I remembered that I was twenty feet underwater and opening my mouth probably wouldn’t be the best idea, so I swam like crazy to the surface instead. I’m pretty sure I set some kind of personal best as I made it back to shore.”

“Are you going to be okay?” Hunter’s voice was filled with concern.

Tj let out a long breath. “Dylan thinks the killer could still have been in the area when I arrived at the cove. I know this is crazy, but I’ve been worried that he saw me discover the body and might come around to tie up loose ends. Every time I hear a creak or a groan, I jump up and look around. I know it’s crazy to be so jumpy. Echo would hear someone coming long before I heard anything.”

“You think that whoever killed Tonya
might have followed you back to the resort?” Hunter asked.

“I don’t know. Probably not
, but you know how the mind likes to play tricks.”

“I heard your dad took the girls to Disney World,” Hunter
said. “Is anyone there at the house with you?”

“Echo and the cat
s. Grandpa is out with the guys, although I don’t expect him to be late. Besides, there are twenty-four models and a dozen staff members a shout away. I’m sure I’ll be fine, even if there
is
a stalker on the loose.”

“I’m just finishing up at the hospital. How about I come by and let you buy me a drink?”

“A gentleman should pay,” Tj teased.

“You own the bar.”

Tj laughed. “I’d love to have a drink with you, but I don’t really feel like going over to the bar. I have stuff here. Meet me at the house? Have you eaten?”

“Not yet
.”

“Okay
, then how about I call over to the Grill and order some takeout? It should be ready by the time you get here. Any preferences?”

“A steak sounds good.”

“Aren’t you the one who is always lecturing everyone about cutting back on red meat?”

“Okay, then how about salmon
?”