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Coming here had been a very good idea. Jessica glanced at the woman relaxing in the chaise next to hers. Lena looked beautiful and happy. Jessica was glad. She wanted her to enjoy these precious moments. There weren’t many left.
Jessica smiled, closed her eyes. Only a little while longer, and it would be finished.
She had spent her entire life under someone else’s thumb. First her overbearing parents, who insisted she be perfect at every little thing. Just because she was a genius didn’t mean she didn’t want to attend the same parties other kids her age were enjoying. She hadn’t wanted to study and test all the time.
It wasn’t until she was away from them at college that she found hope. Ellen had taken her under her wing and shown her how much of the world could be hers. A frown tugged at Jessica’s face. Except then Ellen had changed. She’d wanted to accomplish great things, and Jessica had been part of her plan. Life returned to all work and no play.
Jessica had hated it. Nothing she did, even marriage, had changed the way she was viewed. Her husband wanted more money, a larger house in a more coveted location. He nagged at her about asking for raises. Hounded her about having kids before her eggs all dried up. She was nothing but a means to an end.
Then Jarrod had entered the picture. Charming. Relaxed. Handsome. He’d started flirting with Jessica right from the beginning. That was when her plan took shape.
Getting involved with him had been the best thing to happen to her. He’d thought he had her fooled and that she knew nothing of his past. But she had known everything. He was the one who had been fooled. Their tight little group had gone after him for what he had done to poor, tragic Nora Duncan.
Jessica smiled to herself. He had chosen the wrong woman to take advantage of when he picked out Nora. Taking down men like Jarrod was Ellen’s one and only hobby. They had dug and dug until they had uncovered all his scams. Though Ellen and the others enjoyed their little side job immensely, they were always very careful to choose only those who deserved to fall the most. No one ever died, of course. Or even went to jail. How boring was that.
But this time had been different. This time Jessica saw an opportunity. Her little affair with Jarrod had shown her there was more to lifethan work and ambition. She’d wanted more. She’d wanted to escape. So she’d made him see how taking a measly little million or two was simply poor form. That would never have been enough for Jessica. She had played him perfectly, and Ellen had hardly suspected a thing.
But there was Lena, Jarrod’s longtime partner.
Jessica cut her a look from the corner of her eye. She was attractive in a plain sort of way. Leading her along had been relatively easy. She’d grown tired of Jarrod and his scams. He’d changed, Lena said. After the Duncan ordeal she’d wanted out. Jessica had shown her how they could escape together. The memories twitched her lips. She’d shown dear, unsuspecting Lena how the good life really looked. She’d wanted it, would do anything for it ... even kill the man in their way.
She’d done it before. But it hadn’t been necessary in this case. Jessica had wanted to do it herself. But she’d made sure the world would believe it was Lena. In fact, Jessica had dug up every single one of Lena’s secrets. Like how she’d escaped to Grand Cayman at nineteen. She’d lived right here in paradise for six years before meeting Jarrod, who had arrived with one of his targets on his arm. Lena had been a waitress with a gorgeous tan and long blonde hair. They’d made the perfect pair. She was smart and could learn any skill. He had the charm and plenty of skills of his own, primarily the sort that made lonely, rich old women want him.
Yes, coming here had been the perfect plan. Lena knew all about the islands, and she had a deeply buried history here. She’d worked as a high-end prostitute for a man named Kenneth Dart. Dart had been quite the scumbag, taking advantage of the women in his stable. Lena had said he treated them like slaves rather than business associates. Not a single one seemed to know what had happened to him when he disappeared. Lena had reveled in telling Jessica all the dirty details. Where she’d hidden his body and the murder weapon she had used. Every little thing.
Lena thought she had once again found in Jessica the kind of female bond she’d had with those women all those years ago. She could come back here and enjoy the good life. She had a new identity. All the money she could ever want. No one from Nashville or any of the other cities where she and Jarrod had worked their scams could touch her in this place. And she had a new friend with the same aspirations.
It was the perfect escape.
Except it was all just an illusion.
Jessica wasn’t sharing with anyone. Jarrod and Lena had been fools to trust her. Jarrod had given Jessica the full PIN when he added J.(Jessica) Grady to the account. He’d wanted to dump Lena, and he and Jessica would get married and live happily ever after.
Like that was ever, ever going to happen.
A shadow suddenly blocked the sun.
Jessica smiled. She turned on her side and watched as Lena’s eyes fluttered open.
A man in a white uniform stood over her. Not the waiter who had been so attentive to their needs.
“Mina Arnette?”
The look of sheer horror on Lena’s face was priceless. Jessica shivered with excitement just watching.
Lena sat up and removed her sunglasses. She glanced at Jessica, who shrugged, then stared up at the man, who was a local police officer.
“I’m afraid you’ve made a mistake,” Lena argued. “My name is Lena Marsh.”
She glanced at Jessica again, and Jessica of course pretended to be agog with shock.
The policeman reached into his pocket and removed a paper. Took his time unfolding it and then turned it around for her to view.
“This is you, is it not?”
How cute, Jessica thought.Not.There was Lena with her formerly long blonde hair, all decked out in whore garb. Pathetic.
“That isn’t you,” Jessica argued, then turned to her pretend friend. “Is it?”
