By the afternoon, Jade’s cell phone had not stopped ringing. Jillian. Tori. Katelyn. Belle did not call because Jillian had called her, asking if she would pick up Jade so the girls could gather at Tori’s house. Knowing they needed to see that she was all right and needing to have their morbid curiosity satisfied, she agreed to meet them.

Tori and Mitch lived in one of the older, brick houses in town, outside the main grid. A big yard with plenty of space for children to play encircled the stately home. She loved the wide front porch, with its porch swing and cool shade. As soon as she and Belle drove up, Jillian rushed down the steps and hugged her.

“I couldn’t believe it when Grant called,” she worried.

“I’m fine, I’m fine,” she assured, as they walked up the front steps. After being enveloped in hugs from Katelyn and Tori, they settled quickly. She knew they wanted to hear about the body, but she wanted to make sure Tori was okay.

Rubbing her tummy, she said, “Honestly, it’s embarrassing. I just had some cramps and, looking back, they probably weren’t as bad as I thought at first. I’m not on bedrest or anything…just told to take it easy for a few days, but Mitch has practically bubble-wrapped me. I can’t move without him fussing.”

Sitting on the porch swing next to her, Jade patted her leg, saying, “I was scared for you, sweetie. We all were.”

Smiling at the group, Tori acknowledged, “Thank you. That means a lot. But enough about me…what happened this morning.”

Jillian, Katelyn, and Belle pulled up their chairs, ready to hang on her every word.

“Ladies, I don’t really know what to tell you. I was walking on the beach, looking for sea glass—”

“Which beach?” Katelyn asked.

“South of town. I was heading toward Lance’s—”

“Lance?” Jillian interrupted, her brows shooting toward her forehead. “Is there something going on? He’s been coming out of his shell and I thought you two might be—”

“I feel sorry for him but I think he’s a little scary sometimes,” Belle added, her soft voice barely heard over the others.

Jade leaned toward Belle and said, “No, no, he’s not scary at all—”

“It doesn’t matter if he’s scary, as long as he’s good with her,” Katelyn interjected.

“Stop it,” Tori laughed, “I want to hear about his morning.”

“Well?” Katelyn prodded, as though she had not halted the story’s progress.

Sipping the lemonade provided, she continued, “I smelled something horrible and saw what I thought might be a dolphin in the surf at the edge of the beach.”

“Oh, my God…I never thought about the smell,” Jillian said, shaking her head.

For a second, Jade’s stomach started to revolt, but she pushed the memory down. She held the tart lemonade glass under her nose, remembering how Ginny had used the citrusy orange scent to quell the nausea. Swallowing deeply, she continued, “Anyway, as soon as I saw it was a human body, I ran to get Lance.”

“That’s romantic,” Belle said, immediately drawing wide-eyed, dropped-jaw attention from the others. Rushing to explain, she said, “I just mean that she had someone she trusted so completely that she would rush to them, knowing they would take care of it.”

Jade smiled at Belle, thinking that she was right—it was nice to have Lance to run to, even in the worst situation.

Katelyn leaned back, her gaze speculative, “Back on track, ladies. So, who was it? Did they have any idea?”

Shrugging, she shook her head. “I don’t know. It was a man, but I don’t even know how they will find out who specifically. It was…uh…not pretty.”

Tori held her hand over her mouth and said, “Ugh…just the thought is enough to make me gag. I don’t know how you didn’t throw up.”

Scrunching her nose, she admitted, “I did. I threw up in the sand and then kept gagging as I was interviewed later at Lance’s.”

“He must have come from one of the big cargo ships on the bay,” Jillian surmised. “No one in town has mentioned anyone missing, but he could be from anywhere on the bay’s coast.”

“Well, someone will report a missing person. You just can’t fall off a boat without being missed,” Tori declared.

* * *

“No one’s reported anyone missing,” Grant said, looking around the table at the other officers. Sam was present, but had gladly agreed to take the extra beach and town patrols while the others worked the murder case.

Scanning the group, Grant made eye contact with everyone, including Colt, Callan, and Lance. They all sat at a large table in the Baytown Police Department workroom.

Callan agreed, “Checked with the Harbor Masters in Baytown, Fort Story, and with Norfolk and Portsmouth, as well as any other Masters all the way to Baltimore.”

Mitch looked at his watch and said, “I’m heading to the medical examiner’s office for the preliminary report before the body’s taken to the North Heron hospital for a more in-depth autopsy.” His gaze shifted to Lance. “You in on this?”

Lance sat for a second, the war battling deep inside ever since Jade had thrown herself into his arms. He knew she was in no danger, but just having her shaking body held by his sparked something, awakening a protective emotion he thought long dead.

Nodding slowly, he said, “Yeah…I want in.”

The others nodded and grinned, clearly glad to have an experienced investigator on their team. Their smiles dropped off at the sound of raised voices from the station lobby.

“You cannot just barge in and expect to—”

“Ms. Score, you know, as Mayor, I can go where I want!”

Mitch sighed heavily, joined by the others, as Corwin Banks came barreling into the workroom. “Corwin,” he greeted with little enthusiasm.

“I just heard that a dead body was found on the beach! Who the hell was it and why is there a dead body on the beach in Baytown?”

Lance watched the blustering mayor’s jowls, reddened and jiggling, as he ranted. He had been around Corwin a couple of times since moving into town, but this was the first time he saw him in action with the police.

“Yes, there was a body found. No, we don’t have an identification yet. Yes, we are actively pursuing identification and cause of death.”

“Cause of death?” Corwin said, stepping back slightly. “Please, tell me he died of natural causes. Some guy just dropped dead of a heart attack or something.”

“We don’t know anything for certain at this time, but we’re treating it as a suspicious death.” Mitch replied.

Lance noted Mitch avoided mentioning the evidence of the victim’s hands being restrained. Probably the best thing to do considering the odd purple shade of the mayor’s face.

Corwin opened and closed his mouth several times, blustering, “Sus…sus…suspicious?”

Another commotion sounded outside the room. “Wait—”

“Get out of my way!”

The town manager, Silas Mills, strode in as well, his scrawny chest puffed out as his narrow-eyed gaze shot around the room. “I just heard. What the hell is going on? We’ve got the Fall Oyster Fest coming up and the last thing we need is bodies dropping from the sky—”

Slamming his hand down on the table, Mitch stood, his patience snapping. “Enough. We are investigating…we have no answers now…we will keep you informed. But until then, you two can do a lot by keeping your mouths shut until we know more.”

Corwin nodded his head, his jowls shaking vigorously once again. Silas’ eyes, already narrowed, became slits as his gaze landed on Lance. “What is he doing here? Why the hell do you have an artist sitting in the police station’s workroom?”

“Because he’s working with us on this investigation and because he found the body.”

He was glad Mitch left out Jade’s name, figuring Silas would find a reason to hound her.

Rearing back, Silas’ sneer made his weasely face even more unattractive. “Him? Working on the case—”

“He’s a former decorated Army criminal investigator and worked Vice in Richland. So yeah, he’s been taken on as a part-time investigator under my jurisdiction, which is allowed by the town’s police code,” Mitch declared in a voice not to be questioned.

Corwin’s eyes lit with renewed interest as he stared at him. “Well, well, that’s all right, isn’t it? Yes, indeed, Mr. Greene, I had no idea. Good, good…this could be good for the town’s reputation to have someone of your caliber—”

“Out, out, out!” came a call from Mildred as she shook her hand at the intruders. “You’ve taken up too much of their valuable time as it is!” She marched into the workroom and grabbed Corwin and Silas by the sleeves, dragging them out with her.

As Corwin hustled out, Silas jerked his arm from her and sneered as he left the room, casting a final threat over his shoulder.

“Well, if he’s so good, then get this case solved before the Oyster Fest!”

The room sat in silence for a moment, before Lance turned to Mitch and asked, “When is the festival?”

“This weekend.”

“Damn, he must watch too much cop TV if he thinks murders get solved that fast.” He dropped his head for a moment before looking back up and saying, “I was going to ask if I can reconsider joining your department, but I think instead, I want to stay, just to shut those two fucks up.”

Laughter from the group eased the tension as he and Mitch left, the medical examiner’s office next on their agenda.