“Here’s something you can’t do.” Showing off, she accessed Celine’s case in the Harbortown Police Department database and learned that the charges against her had been dropped. “Point for me.”
Jack hadn’t been tracking the story, but apparently Celine had been implicated in a plot to defraud her husband, the Carmichael patriarch. But since her concerns as his wife were demonstrably valid—he’d now been officially diagnosed with dementia—the DA had declined to pursue the charges against her.
The divorce, however, was still on track. Lawyers on both sides were wrangling over details, but there was no doubt Celine’s marriage, and therefore her time on Sea Smoke Island, was coming to an end.
“From the little I can pick up, there’s no way she’s getting anything having to do with Sea Smoke Island,” Tina said, as she munched on the Doritos that he’d acquired from the vending machine at the end of the hall. “She signed a prenup that protected all of his Sea Smoke assets.”
“I just read a glossy profile of her in Town and Country Magazine.” Jack flashed his phone at her. “It hints that she doesn’t really like the island and prefers being in town where there’s more action.”
“That tracks with what I’ve heard about her.” Tina propped her feet on a chair. “I wonder if it made her nervous, being on the island, worrying someone might recognize her as Naomi Martin’s little girl.”
He squinted at the glam photo in the magazine article. Celine sat on an Adirondack chair on the lawn of the inn, her face lifted to the sun, one hand keeping a wide-brimmed straw hat from flying off her head. “There’s no way anyone would recognize her. Hell, I’m not even sure it’s her. We need some confirmation.”
Tina nodded as she popped another chip into her mouth. “That’s why we’re still going to the hospital tomorrow.”
“You think a paranoid schizophrenic is the right person to confirm her identity?”
“He might be. He could be less guarded. We could go back to Bibs and Bobs and show Kate this photo. But she’s very practiced at putting up those guardrails. The only reason she opened up to you is she thought you were a stranger. If we show her this picture, she’ll shut us out. No matter their issues, she’s still Linette’s mother and will automatically protect her.” Tina chewed absently as she contemplated their strategy. “I think we should visit Mark Peterson first, then go back to Bibs and Bobs if we still need to. We can talk to the orderlies there too, find out if his children ever visit.”
He shrugged. “You’re the detective. I’m just the guy playing one on TV.”
She pretended to throw a chip at him, and he ducked. “You’re a lot more than that.”
“That’s right I am.” He flashed his phone at her. “Because I just found out where Celine Carmichael is staying.”
“Ohh, where? Come on, talk sexy to me.” She changed her position so she was on her knees on the chair, eager as a cat awaiting a treat.
He laughed, finding her delightful. “She’s on a cruising yacht, one of those luxury ones with a cook and a staff and who knows what. She’s been posting on Instagram about it. Her selfie game is fire, as they say.”
“Lemme see.” He handed her his phone. She brushed Dorito dust off her fingers and scrolled through the photos on Celine’s grid. “She sure is living it up, considering her settlement isn’t final yet. Is there a sign of a new man in the picture?”
“Not that I’ve seen, but I doubt that yacht is hers. That’s ultra-billionaire territory.”
“Right, I didn’t see any craft like this one in the Carmichaels’ marina. They don’t have that kind of money.” She handed his phone back. “We need to get on that yacht. Maybe Jessie’s being held there.”
He hadn’t even thought about that. The possibility perked him up. There were much worse places to be held prisoner than a luxury yacht. “I can’t really tell where the yacht is anchored, but it does seem to be somewhere in Lightkeeper Bay.”
“Can you see its name anywhere?”
“No. I think she deliberately doesn’t show it. But maybe your tech people could pinpoint the GPS coordinates of each post, and we could get an idea of her route.”
“I’ll see what they can do.” She made a note on her phone and tossed the empty Dorito bag aside. “We can also talk to a maritime expert. There can’t be too many of these super-expensive motor yachts roaming the coast of Maine. I bet someone can narrow it down, or maybe even identify it.” She stretched her arms over her head. “We should get some sleep. Tomorrow’s a big day.”
“And when you say sleep…” He lifted his eyebrows.
“Of course I mean fuck.” With a wide grin, she hopped to her feet and jumped onto the bed. After their hot—in so many ways—shower, she’d pulled on her underwear and a button-down shirt, held closed over her naked torso by three buttons.
He climbed onto the bed and toppled her over backwards. He tackled those last three buttons as if they were a safe he wanted to crack. Opening her shirt all the way, he bent his head to feast on her dark nipples. Within minutes, they were clawing each other, desperate for more. They rolled over, so she was on top and he was sprawled underneath her, her lithe thighs gripped tight around his hips.
“Condoms?” she croaked.
He grabbed one from his wallet on the nightstand and handed it to her. She ripped it open and lifted herself up to reveal his rearing cock. Efficiently, quickly, she rolled it over his erection. When she lowered herself onto him, they both groaned with primal satisfaction.
Then, in the middle of an intensely pleasurable flex of her hips, she paused. “I bet Celine still has contacts at the Lightkeeper Inn. She would know about the marina operations. She could have given the shooter the information he needed about the Devil May Care. Did you notice that there’s a lot of boats turning up in this investigation? I wonder if she has a connection with Benny Clyde?”
He stared at her, his body quivering with tension begging to be released. “Investigating really turns you on, doesn’t it?”
As she let out a deep-bellied laugh, he thrust into her. Oh yeah, he knew down to his bones that it wasn’t just about sex with him and Tina. It was about the captivating energy that vibrated between them—a magnetic force that sprang into being whenever they were together.
