All eyes fell on him.
"Just hear me out. There's a haunted house on Moonstone Island. Talk about mojo. The place has got it.”
"Oh, hell no," Crash said.
"Come on, it would be fun.”
"Nope. I don’t mess with that stuff. Demons from the netherworld. No, thank you."
"It's all nonsense anyway," Dizzy said. "But it's a hell of a publicity angle.”
"Food for thought," Jack said.
The band ran through their set. A couple of lovely groupies spilled into the room and enjoyed the show.
Afterward, Jack treated the guys to dinner at the Dive. It was an upscale seafood restaurant that specialized in the elegant presentation of local fare.
We chowed down on seared scallops, lobster bisque, and poached lobster tail. And that was just to start. The menu had a nice selection to choose from—pan-seared halibut, miso-glazed black cod, Chilean sea bass, king crab legs, and of course surf & turf with a 6-oz filet topped with lobster.
The meal did not disappoint.
I was waiting on dessert when my phone buzzed with a call from an unknown number on Memo. I swiped the screen and answered. “This is Deputy Wild.”
“I got your message,” an alluring voice said.
“Who is this?”
“I’m not saying my name over an open channel.”
“This is encrypted.”
“We have to assume the platform has been compromised. Unlikely, but better safe than sorry.”
It was a reasonable assumption. Who knows who Sebastian gave access to? Maybe he caved.
“I was a little skeptical, so I called the department and checked you out,” she said.
I knew it had to be Madelyn.
"It's always prudent to do your due diligence," I said.
"Well, I don't trust anything that comes out of my brother's mouth."
"He mentioned there was bad blood between you two, but I think his concern is genuine."
"He doesn't care about anybody other than himself."
"You wouldn’t be the first person to express that sentiment.”
"He's using you to get to me.”
"I think he’s concerned for your safety.”
She scoffed. "He needs me.”
"How so?”
"Look, it's terrible what happened to Ava. I've never met her, but I think she's a really sweet girl from what I've seen of her in interviews. But I can tell you, my brother is scared shitless right now.”
