Ball & Chain(53)

“Yes,” Zane grunted. He crossed his arms, blushing harder.

“How bad was the storm when you went out there?”

Zane exhaled slowly, rubbing at his neck. “It was bad. I’m not surprised a tree took out the boathouse. I mean, it was raining sideways and the wind was howling. It was, um . . . it was beautiful.”

Nick sat motionless, his green eyes on Zane, his face expressionless. Finally, his gaze drifted upward and he seemed to be staring at the ceiling over Zane’s shoulder.

“O’Flaherty?”

“How did that broken watch make it through a storm like that?” Nick asked.

They sat in silence, staring at each other, both stumped by the question. Nick rested his chin in his palm, tapping his lower lip with his finger. “It couldn’t have.”

Zane shook his head. “The pieces would have been washed away for sure. The gears probably inundated.”

“Someone killed him around midnight, then went back after the storm was gone and smashed that watch. Why?”

Zane sat frowning at Nick, trying to come up with a reason why someone would do that. “I’ve got nothing,” he finally admitted.

“We need to look at that watch again.”

Zane nodded. “I’ll go with you as soon we’re done.”

“Yeah.”

Nick shook off the mystery of the broken watch and proceeded to ask Zane a few questions about the party, approaching several things from different angles in an attempt to jog details loose from Zane’s memory. He seemed tired, though, and Zane could see his fingers trembling almost imperceptibly.

Nick was almost done with his questioning when the door burst open and Kelly barged into the room. Nick and Zane both stood.

“Sorry, just be a second,” Kelly said to Zane, and he made a beeline for Nick behind the bar. He grabbed him before Nick could say anything, and kissed him.

Zane’s mouth fell open, and he sat back down hard as he watched. Kelly pulled away from the kiss, leaving Nick wide-eyed and speechless. “Ty told me what you said. Love you, too.” He kissed him one more time for good measure, then turned with a nod to Zane and left the room.

The door shut with a muffled click.

Nick stared at the door as Zane stared at him. When Nick finally glanced at him, still looking stunned, Zane pointed a finger at him and shouted, “I knew it!”





Nick emerged from the game room after half a day of interviews, looking ragged and irritable. Ty felt badly for him.

The wedding party and staff had mostly dispersed, the latter going back to work, the former enjoying what was apparently a rare sunny day on the island. There was a pool in one of the wings Ty hadn’t explored yet, a sulfur spring somewhere on the island, and he’d heard people talking about badminton and croquet. There were rumors of a movie room somewhere, too, and tonight’s big event included a screening of something. Ty had a feeling he’d be skipping that in favor of other endeavors.

Amelia and the other Grady kids had all been carted off to the pool by the grandparents and one very disgruntled Snake Eater. Ty and several of the others were loitering around one of the many lounge areas in the great hall. Zane and Marley King, Emma’s cameraman, were involved in a pretty hefty game of chess. Livi and Emma were playing some sort of game they both had on their iPhones, competing for high scores and alternately trash-talking each other and giggling. Deuce and Kelly had drifted away, their heads bent together in a conversation Ty was pretty sure someone should arrest them for having. Take Deuce’s medical-grade weed and grow it with Kelly’s homemade mountain blend, and they could probably occupy small countries with it.

Two of the Snake Eater bodyguards, a Korean of very few words named Riddle Park and a wiry blond named Solomon Frost who never seemed flustered by anything, had been drawn to the crowd, too. Ty had sat talking with them about their adventures for a while. They were essentially mercenaries, but they were interesting men and they’d led interesting lives. By the time the interviews were all over, Park and Frost were trying to recruit Ty into their company, and they were giving it a pretty good sell.

At one time, Ty would have made a perfect mercenary.

When Nick approached, they all halted their activities and watched him expectantly. Deuce and Kelly wandered back over, and everyone was silent, watching Nick.

“So,” Ty finally said after the silence had grown awkward. “Do we talk about your findings and suspects, or do we talk about the more important matter of you and Kelly banging?”

Nick pointed his notepad at Ty. “And there it is.”

The others laughed, and Kelly came over to wrap his arm around Nick’s waist. Nick pulled him closer to hug him. Ty couldn’t help but grin. He was a little thrown by it, he would admit. And he had decided to deal with the horrifying realization that two of his closest friends were now fucking each other by just not ever accepting the fact that they were. Problem solved. But that aside, Nick and Kelly had always been affectionate with each other, and had always loved each other. This wasn’t so huge a step.