She forced a smile onto her face. “Of course. I’m looking forward to it.”
“I don’t think anyone would mind if you wanted to call it a night. I’m already tired. I don’t know how we used to stay out at the clubs until dawn.” Taya yawned. “All that food in my stomach… I could curl up on the couch and go to sleep.”
“You two aren’t being spoilsports, are you?” Eveleigh shouted back at them over her shoulder.
“No, we’re ready to dance the night away.” Taya winked at Beatrice.
They found a small club up a winding staircase on the second level above a tapas restaurant. Trance-style dance music slammed through the door when Bea opened it. They stayed close as they made their way across the club. It was packed with people, and several times, Bea thought she might lose her group as dancers pushed up against her, blocking her path. The music was so loud, she couldn’t hear her own thoughts.
They danced for several hours, and despite her pain, Bea had a good time. She’d forgotten what it felt like to abandon herself to the music, to forget about her responsibilities and let herself get caught up in the moment. When Penny finally said that she’d had enough, they all grabbed a drink of water from the bar and headed back to the boat. Along the way, Penny got her heel caught in between two planks on the boardwalk. It tore off, and she had to remove her shoes so she didn’t have to hobble all the way through the marina.
Bea walked beside her, the cool night air bringing her back to reality and reminding her of all the problems waiting for her at home — the café, Dani’s new boyfriend, Buck’s impending murder trial. There were so many things on her mind, sometimes it was difficult to switch off and simply enjoy the here and now.
“Have you heard anything else about Buck’s trial?”
Penny nodded. “No good news though, I’m afraid.”
“What’s going on?” Taya asked.
“The bail hearing is coming up, and the police think the magistrate will let him out since he has ties to the community.”
“That’s not good,” Eveleigh said. “What if he kills someone else?”
“Like the person who found evidence against him?” Bea added with wide eyes.
Penny patted her arm. “Apparently they weren’t able to break his alibi. Betsy’s sticking to it, even though she all but admitted she lied to you. They say she’s not backing down.”
“That’s so frustrating,” Bea said.
“It seems their case isn’t as rock solid as we’d thought,” Penny added with a shrug. “But all we can do is trust in the system to work the way it’s supposed to.”
“I’m sure this is hard for you,” Eveleigh said sympathetically. “He is your father, after all.”
“Very true,” Penny said. “I’d love nothing more than to be completely and utterly mistaken about him. He seemed so lovely when we met. And now, to think he was the one who killed my grandmother — I hope we’re all wrong.”
“But it doesn’t seem likely, does it?” Taya asked.
“No, it doesn’t.”
As they climbed into the boat to return home, Bea’s mind was troubled. Very soon there might well be a murderer loose on Coral Island. One who most likely knew she’d turned him in and found evidence against him. What would that mean? Was her life in danger?
Seven
TULLE,lace and gold ribbons lay in clumps around the floor of Charmaine’s tiny unit. She tidied a stack of invitations and leaned against the chair behind her with a sigh. Her back was killing her. She pressed both hands to it, leaned one way then the other, doing her best to work out the knots.
She rubbed her eyes with her fingertips. Penny’s wedding was coming together well so far. She hadn’t realised just how much work would be involved when she signed up to plan it, but even with the amount of stress it’d brought into her life, she was still glad she’d taken the chance.
The flower shop had been busier than usual lately. There were weddings on the island every weekend. Charmaine’s schedule was packed with appointments, trips to the markets with Betsy to look at flowers, processing purchase orders, and deliveries. The emotion of wedding preparations always made everything more stressful and heated. It was inevitable that something would go wrong, or a bride would be unhappy over an arrangement, or a particular flower would be unobtainable.
Whenever things went south, it was always Betsy’s job to step in and smooth things over with the client. Charmaine didn’t know how she managed to stay so composed through it all, but she’d already learned a lot about dealing with difficult personalities and crises from her boss.
She’d enjoyed planning Penny’s wedding on top of all her other responsibilities, but it meant that she’d barely stopped in recent days. She needed a break. To get outside and see the sunshine. She wasn’t the type who liked to stay cooped up indoors for too long. Her favourite part of each day was when she left the confines of the flat and headed out for a walk, a ride or a swim.
She loved that she could ride her bike ten minutes to reach an amazing snorkelling location with a brilliantly coloured small coral reef and tropical fish. With golden sands, ever present sunshine—apart from the occasional tropical storm or downpour—and a small-town feel that gave her a sense of satisfaction and belonging she’d never had before, Coral Island was fast becoming her home. Already she was beginning to feel better about her life and the prospects the future held.
When she’d fled Newcastle after her mother’s death, a sense of foreboding had crept into her heart — the prospect of a future alone and eking out a living doing minimum-wage work was all she had to look forward to. She’d wondered many times how she would make it. The years stretched ahead of her, empty and bleak. But now, even though she was still alone, she didn’t feel quite so lonely. When she’d walked down Main Street the day before, she’d had five different people greet her. It warmed her heart to think about it even now. They’d accepted her as one of them.
She dressed in her swimsuit, slipped her helmet onto her head and wheeled the bike down the back staircase. The tyres bumped on each step. Then she climbed aboard, her small bag of snorkelling gear on her back, and pedalled away.
