“That would be Abby and maybe Brittany.”
“Brittany?”
“Caster. I heard she moved away for college and never came back.”
“We could talk to Abby at the bank. Maybe she’s heard something about Adams.”
Paradise pulled out her phone and called up the Notes app.“Here’s what I know about the musical. It was developed by Andrew Lloyd Webber. The original stars were Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman, who was married to Webber at the time. Steve Barton played Raoul. It opened at the West End in London in 1986 and on Broadway in 1988. I watched all the movies made from the novel. Lloyd wrote the score.”
Blake didn’t know much about the musical, but he tried to follow her details. “Webber went by Lloyd?”
“Yes, why?”
“Not a common name, and I immediately thought of Adams.”
Her eyes went wide. “I always think of him as Mr. Adams. I never called him by his first name. He couldn’t have anything to do with this, could he? And if he did, why would he point to himself?”
“It’s probably nothing.”
“Your suggestion to talk to Abby is great.” She glanced at her watch. “She knows everyone in town, and she might know something about Adams. Lunch break is almost over, and she gets off at six. I’ll be waiting outside the bank to talk to her.”
“You might want to set up a private meeting so she’s not implicated.”
“You’re right. I wouldn’t want her in a bull’s-eye. I’ll call the bank and see if we can meet.”
“Maybe along the picnic area at Mary Ann Nelson Park, there by the bridge.”
She nodded. “There’s a big tree that screens the area from people driving by. And it wouldn’t be out of her way home since she lives down near Pelican Harbor.”
He loved the way light glinted in her eyes when she was excited. Having a direction had given her new purpose. The murky aspects of this ordeal had taken a toll on her.
He touched her chin and lifted her lips to meet his. “I think we have a little time to linger.”
Abby Dillard McClellan still looked like the girl Paradise had learned to ride horses with at the Dillard Ranch. Her curly hair was more auburn than fiery red like her daughter, Quinn’s. Paradise had seen her in passing at the bank, but they hadn’t had a chance to really reconnect. Today that mane of hair was stuffed under a hat, and she wore sunglasses. Abby had suggested an alternate meeting place, a remote road that led to a park near the tea plantation.
“It’s beautiful here. I can’t remember the last time I came out this way.” Live oak trees festooned with moss filtered the sunlight, and birds sang from their branches. Egrets hunted in the tall grass along the ditch. It was peaceful—and empty. “I don’t know how you still look about sixteen. Are you in disguise?”
Abby stuffed a wayward curl back under her hat and glanced around. “I’ll admit I took a few steps to hide my identity. Things have been weird, Paradise, really weird. The things I’ve overheard...” The smile she sent toward Paradise was like sunshine. “But first I want to say I’m so glad you called. I’ve wanted to get together with you since you got back to town. I’ve never forgotten my best friend.”
Paradise winced at the reminder she’d been so self-absorbed she’d neglected her only real friend from her teens. “I’m sorry, Abby. I should have called you to get together sooner. You were a loyal friend when we were in school. Can you forgive me?”
“Of course. You came back with a quest, and I understand.”
“Let me tell you my weird things first.” Paradise ticked off theexcrement left in her car and the scare with the snake. “Someone doesn’t want me here. Have you heard anything?”
Abby removed her sunglasses. “You can’t tell anyone what I’m about to say, Paradise. Lloyd Adams is back in town.”
“I know Adams is here.”
“How do you know?”
“Blake and I saw him on video. He left a gate unlocked in the park, and the action led to Ivy’s death. Maybe he even killed her. He’s a monster.”
Abby swallowed hard. “Adams is part of the attacks going on at the park. It has something to do with rare earth. That’s all I know. I like Blake and Jenna so much, and I couldn’t stand by while someone stole something they don’t know they have.”
Rare earth.Who else knew what treasure was under the land? “How do you know this?”
“I can’t tell you that.”
