“Plus, we learned a lot last night,” I said after I finished chewing my piece of bagel thirty times like doctors recommended.
“Are you really going to make me drag it from you?” Dane blew out a long breath from between his lips.
I was.
“Like what?” he finally asked.
The more I got him asking questions, the more attached he’d be to the case. At least that’s the way it played out in my mind. “Well, for starters, we know they lock the boat while you’re on tour.”
“What?”
“Yeah, did you miss that part? They lock it so people can’t sneak in, but that means no one sneaking out either. So…” I put a lot of emphasis on my so. “How did William make it to the top of the deck to be found floating in the water at midnight? They don’t let you on the deck until two a.m.”
He ran his thumb over his jawline. “Case solving is not safe. Look at your friend Elenore. She almost died in Savannah.”
“Barely,” I said, waving away his concerns with my hand. She lived and ended up with a hot boyfriend. “Where’s your adventure? The pizzazz?”
Dane stole the next piece of bagel I ripped off right from my fingers, popping it into his mouth. “I guess I forgot to pack it.”
“You are infuriating.” Not only because he stole a chunk of the world’s best bagel but because he didn’t trust me. I thought we were closer than that. “I’m solving this case with or without you.”
He rolled his eyes. “Well, it’s clearly with me since I’m paid to be here.”
“Don’t remind me.”
I wonder how much I’d have to bribe my boss to get a different SEAL assigned to me?
Across the room, my phone rang, jarring us from our standoff.
4
“I can’t believe we’re doing another one of these tours,” Dane said as we joined our group at the waterfront. The sun was just lowering on the horizon as the streetlights slowly turned on.
I laughed. “Which part. The walking tour or the ghosts?”
“Both.”
His deadpan answer caused another burst of laughter from me. I’d forced Dane to attend history walking tours on all our cases. They were a great way to get the feel of a city, absorb the history, and usually learn some information from the locals.
Plus, they were just damn fun.
Dane didn’t agree.
“This one is for business.” We joined the group, keeping to the fringes.
His pursed lips said he didn’t believe me. “That’s what you always say.”
“Yeah, but this time it’s the truth. Wait.” I held up my index finger. “It’s always the truth, but now it’s actual research.”
A skinny man holding a pole with a flag on it approached our group. “Thank you, everyone. We’ll begin our tour in just a moment.”
Dane passed his attention around to each person in the tour group, assessing each of them as if we were standing in a group of killers.
“They’re all here on vacation, Dane. We’re safe,” I said, moving us deeper into the group. I wanted to make friends with the guide.
He moved in behind me. “Just trying to decide which ones are most likely to start trouble. Besides you, of course.”
“Whatever.”
