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The man glanced around, then lowered his voice. "Haven't you heard?" he whispered.
"Are you talking about that girl who went and drowned herself?" Ariana leaned in, the picture of curiosity.
"Yes," he said, leaning toward her. He clucked his tongue in distaste. "I'm not supposed to tell the guests, but personally, I think our
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clientele should be given all the facts and allowed to make an informed decision."
Ariana nodded seriously, even though inside she was laughing. Little did this guy know he was talking to the very ghost of Lake Page.
He stood up straight again, with an amused smile on his lips. "So. Still want a lake view?"
Ariana slapped a credit card down on the desk. "Book it."
The clerk's eyebrows raised in surprise, but he was also clearly impressed.
Ariana grinned. "Now where can I make a spa appointment?"
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THE BODY
Every morning for two weeks, Ariana sat on her private veranda overlooking the lake as she ate a gorgeous breakfast of fresh fruit and eggs. Every morning she sat, filling a notebook with practiced handwriting, and watched as FBI agents and their crews searched the lake, their dredging boats moving slowly across the placid surface. A few private cruisers launched half a dozen divers every morning as well, and Ariana could only assume these were paid for by her father. She tried not to think of him sitting in his office at the house in Atlanta, receiving the daily three-word reports: No body found.Around noon, when the crews took their lunch break, Ariana would indulge in a spa treatment or a massage. But she would be back on the veranda by midafternoon, watching. Always watching.
She had been a resident of the Philmore for exactly fifteen days when her cell beeped. It had been silent for so long, the sudden noise
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startled her. Only one person had the number. Fingers trembling, she picked up the phone and read the text from Hudson.
3 wks. Figured u'd b busting down my door by now from missing me so much, but nada. Went to BL's but ur not there.Where r u? I need to see u. I'll come to u. Just tell me where you are.--H
Ariana's heart skipped around like a bouncing ball inside her chest. Her fingers itched to text back, but she forced herself to turn off the phone. She could not make contact with Hudson. He was the only person who could threaten her new life. He and Teo, who had not only met Emma Walsh but knew that Briana Leigh was enrolled at Atherton-Pryce. But she had a plan to deal with Teo. A plan she would put into play as soon as she knew she was safe.
She had just placed the phone back in her bag when it happened.
"We found something! A body!" someone yelled through a bullhorn.
Instantly speedboats rushed to the center of the lake from all directions, descending on one of the dredgers. Ariana leaned forward with interest, her heart trying to pound its way free of her body. She tried not to look too intrigued as a diver popped through the surface of the lake. He removed his mouthpiece and his voice carried over the water.
Ariana couldn't help standing up, placing her notebook aside, and going to the railing. She told herself that any normal person staying at the hotel would do the same. Her fingers trembled as she gripped the iron rail.
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The people on the boats were all shouting, conferring, pointing, issuing orders. Ariana forced herself to breathe at a regular pace as she waited. Time stood still. An eternity seemed to pass. And then, finally, the body emerged.
Shaking, Ariana turned and grabbed the binoculars she had purchased at a local hunting and fishing outpost. Holding her breath, she zeroed in on the corpse. The prison garb was tattered and muddy, the sneakers gone. The skin was veiny and the face bloated beyond recognition. The blond hair was matted in muddy tangles all around the gruesome face.
The crew tied the rope from a pulley mechanism around Briana Leigh's body and turned it on. With a groan, the mechanism lifted the corpse from the water. Ariana dry heaved when she saw the way the arms and legs hung limply forward, the head jerking around like a rag doll's. She covered her mouth and looked away, imagining that it was, in fact, her out there. That she had met such a tragic, messy, undignified end. Her parents were going to be devastated. Her mother might never recover.
What did I do? Ariana thought, pressing her eyes closed. What did I do?A motor roared to life below and Ariana swallowed hard. She had to watch this. Had to make sure it all went as planned. When she opened her eyes again, the boat was whisking its way toward the far shore. Several unmarked police cars sat in wait, obviously having been alerted that something had been found. Ariana focused the binoculars on the cars. Her heart caught when Dr. Meloni emerged from
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the back of one of the SUVs. He walked to the edge of the lake and waited.
So this was the person they had brought to identify her body. Kaitlynn's escape had been all over the news for the past two weeks, and there had been talk about shutting down the Brenda T. now that two inmates had busted free in as many months, but Dr. Meloni had never been mentioned as a person of interest. Not once. How he'd managed to sneak under the radar was a mystery to Ariana.
