Ball & Chain(42)

“He was murdered,” Stanton said under his breath, covering his mouth with his palm.

There was a shout from the pathway, and when Nick stood to peer past the others, he saw a man guiding one of the golf carts up the path, waving at them frantically as he swerved the cart all over. When he got closer he hopped out and sprinted toward them, leaving the golf cart to roll by itself down the incline. People shouted and hustled for it before it could hit the cliff and sail over the edge, but the driver didn’t notice.

“What the hell,” Ty said.

“They’re gone,” the man blurted as he ran toward them.

“What’s gone, Gillis?” Stanton demanded.

“The boats!” the young man named Gillis gasped out when he finally skidded to a stop in front of Stanton. “All of them. They’re all gone from the dock. Even the rowboats and kayaks. Mackie says the boathouse was hit by a tree and they’re all gone.”

“Gone,” Stanton echoed.

“You can see them, little dots out floating in the water.” The kid was still breathless. He waved his arm around. “The storm set them all afloat. The ones not still floating sank at the docks.”

Stanton’s eyes were wide when he turned back to Nick and the others. Nick felt his stomach drop as the realization sank in. They were trapped on the island with no way to communicate with the outside world, possibly for days. And there could very well be a murderer among them.

He took a deep breath and let it out, grumbling to himself. “I’m going to fucking die in Scotland.”





Zane sat quietly in an office chair through a brief debate over whether the wedding festivities should carry on as planned, or if the guests should be told of the murder and the loss of the island’s launches. Ty and Nick argued first with the Snake Eaters and then with each other over which avenue would be most expedient for keeping everyone safe. Kelly was still with Livi and Amelia, or Zane was sure Kelly would have been able to keep things calmer. As it was, Zane just hung back.

Ty insisted keeping the guests in the dark would, at least for a little while, prevent a mass panic and allow them to try to find a solution in relative peace. Nick was adamant that people in danger deserved to know they were in danger, and steps could be taken to protect them and convince them to cooperate.

Zane felt like he was witnessing the core of why Ty and Nick had always made a good team. They were very yin and yang.

Finally, Nick pointed out that word would get around despite their attempts to keep it quiet because most of the island’s staff had seen the body. “Rumors are always worse than truth, and once they start, we won’t be able to get people to trust us when we try to start sharing truth with them.”

Ty and the Snake Eaters all grunted in unison, but none of them could come up with a counterargument to that.

Someone knocked on the door to the study, and a moment later they opened the door to see Kelly standing there. The bodyguards let him in and locked the door behind him.

“Is it true someone got stabbed in the ear with a broken seashell?” Kelly asked incredulously.

Nick held his hand out to Kelly, eyes on Ty. “See?”

Ty was massaging his temples, nodding. “Okay, you were right.”

“We make an announcement,” Zane said, smiling fondly at Ty.

Stanton didn’t look amused, though. “Agreed. I’ll make a call for all the guests and employees to assemble in the great hall. We can address the situation there. Who is with Amelia?”

“Korean dude who doesn’t talk,” Kelly answered.

“We need to set an investigation in motion in the absence of proper authorities,” one of the Snake Eaters told Stanton. It was the large leader of the private security force, a man named John English. He struck Zane as a little too cocky, but he seemed efficient and mostly sensible.

“How are you going to do that?” Zane asked him. “We have no authority to question these people, or detain them, or search for evidence.”

English shrugged his huge shoulders. “They don’t know that.”

“Which will be handy later on,” Ty added.

Zane grunted, beginning to grow annoyed with the attitude of the Snake Eater crew. It was disturbing to him on several levels how easily Ty fit in with them. He often wondered how close Ty had been to taking the mercenary road. He definitely set foot on it here and there.

Stanton started to pace, chewing on a cigar. “We’ll make it clear it’s an informal inquiry, being performed merely to keep everyone safe. There is a murderer roaming the island, after all, people deserve protection. Anyone who wishes not to participate will be . . . locked in their room for the safety of others.”