Bikinis in Paradise (Tj Jensen Pardise Lake Mysteries) (21 page)

Tj hesitated. Kyle had become one of her closest friends
, but she hated to rehash painful memories. “Let’s just say that we were young, and Hunter’s mother didn’t approve of our relationship. Hunter is very much his own man now, but there was a time when he listened to his mother and tended to abide by her wishes. Who knows, maybe she wasn’t wrong to be concerned that we’d become so serious at such a young age. I visited with one of my
previous students today. She’s only twenty now, but she’s already married with a baby. It reminded me of Jenna, who married Dennis right out of high school. They’re happy and have a wonderful family, but looking back, I’m not sure I was as ready for that back then as Jenna was.”

“And now?” Kyle wondered.

“I wish I knew.”

Kyle decided to hang at the resort while Tj took Annabeth home. They planned to meet up with Hunter and Jenna to watch the swimsuit finals when she returned. As recently as two days ago, Tj hadn’t cared who won, but now she was heavily favoring Chloe. While the other girls were polite, they were also self-absorbed and dismissive. Chloe seemed to have a good heart and was the only one genuinely concerned about what had happened to Tonya and Kiara. And Chloe was humble. She didn’t feel like the title was owed to her. She didn’t even think she would win it. She was simply determined to do her best in the hope of getting the scholarship that she knew could change her life forever.

Annabeth seemed ready to leave when Tj suggested it
, but she hadn’t said a word since they’d left the resort. Tj assumed that Annabeth was tired after the long day, but she seemed contemplative as well.

“Anything on your mind?” Tj asked.

“Not really.” Annabeth rolled down the window and stuck her head out like she’d seen Echo do. She seemed to enjoy the feel of the wind on her face. She closed her eyes and smiled as the wind whipped her hair. After a mile or so, she pulled her head in and leaned back into the seat.

“Is there anything you want to talk about?” Tj tried again.

“I was just thinking about stuff,” Annabeth answered. “Do you think Kiara is dead?”

“No,
” Tj said with more certainty than she felt. “I don’t know where she is or why we haven’t found her, but I promise you that I’ll keep looking until we do.”

Annabeth looked out
of the window. She appeared to be struggling with thoughts Tj could only imagine. It must have been hard to grow up in the environment she had. Tj’s mother hadn’t been in the picture, but she’d always had her father. She didn’t know the entire story, but it didn’t seem like Annabeth’s father had much use for her at all.

“I think about her
, you know,” Annabeth said after a few minutes.

“Kiara?” Tj asked.

“My mom,” Annabeth whispered. “I wonder where she went and whether she’s happy and safe. Sometimes I imagine that she met a man and fell in love. I think about her coming back for me, bringing me to live with her new family. I think about a lot of things, but mostly I just wonder if she ever thinks of me.”

“I’m sure she does. Just because she left doesn’t mean she didn’t love you.”

“That’s what Kiara says, but I wonder.”

“Do you remember anything at all about your mother?” Tj asked.

“No. She left shortly after I was born. Nona told me that she was young and scared and didn’t know any better than to run away. Sometimes I wonder why she didn’t take me with her. I wonder how my life would be if she had.”

“Did Nona tell you anything at all about her?” Tj had to admit she was curious about
the circumstances that had resulted in Annabeth’s birth and subsequent desertion by her mother. Maybe it was because she had been deserted by her own mother when she was three, which had left her with a deep-seated need to understand how such things could happen.

“I know that her name was Katharine and she was very beautiful. She was raised in a very strict settlement from out of the area. Nona says th
at colony was even stricter than ours. When she was sixteen, she came to live with my father. Ten months later, I was born, and by the time I reached my first birthday she was gone.”

“Do you know how your dad met your mom?” Tj wondered.

“I think theirs was an arranged union between their fathers. Things like that happen more often than you think.”

Tj didn’t think it happened all that often in this country
, but she didn’t say as much. Apparently, it was common among the group in which Annabeth had grown up.

“So Kiara would have been around six when your mom left. Did she remember her?” Tj turned off Main Street onto the highway
heading north toward Vengeance.

“She told me she remember
ed small things about her. She remembered that she had a soft voice and a kind heart. She said she had long blond hair that hung past her waist and her smile made you feel welcome. Kiara told me that someday, when she got settled, she’d take me away from Vengeance. She told me that she would help me look for my mom.”

“I’m sure she will.”

“Julie told me that your mother left you when you were young. That she married again and had two more daughters, and now they live with you.”

“Julie i
s right. I was three when my mom left. Unlike you, who haven’t seen your mom since you were a baby, I did see mine from time to time. But, like you, I wondered if she missed me and if she’d realize she’d made a mistake and come back for me one day.”

“But she never did?”

“No, not really. Every now and then she’d visit, but once Ashley was born, she pretty much stopped doing that as well.”

“Julie said your mom and her husband died. I guess your sisters must be orphans now.”

“Actually, they’re not.” Tj wasn’t sure why she was telling Annabeth all of this, except that she seemed vulnerable and it helped to share your feelings with someone who had been though a similar experience. “Ashley and Gracie were born to my mom and her second husband. They got divorced. My mom married for a third time, and that was the man who died in the accident.”

“Their dad didn’t want them?”

“He isn’t really in the picture,” Tj explained. “He has some personal problems, so my mom left guardianship of the girls to me. I know he was notified when my mom died, but he’s never contacted us.”

Annabeth got a serious look on her face. “That’s sad
, but I guess it’s good. I hope my daddy lets me go live with Kiara when we find her.”

“Yeah,” Tj sighed, “me too.”

“This is it, up on the left. You can let me out here so no one sees you.”

“Are you sure you want to go back? You can stay at the resort overnight if you want.”

“No, I’ll be okay. I want to see if Aaron is back. I want to ask him about Kiara. Besides, it sounds like Nona is back,” Annabeth commented as Tj pulled to the side of the dirt road leading to the village.

“How do you know?” Tj asked.

“Listen.”

Tj did listen. There was a faint sound of chimes in the background. The
y seemed to be orchestrated into a regular pattern.

“The chimes are instruments Nona plays to calm her soul. If you hear chimes
, you know she’s at home.”

“I’m glad she’s back from wherever she was,” Tj commented. “I feel better about leaving you with her around.”

“I’m by myself all the time,” Annabeth reminded her.

“I know. But now that I know you
’re here by yourself, I worry. Do you have the phone I gave you?”

Annabeth held it up.

“And you know how to use it?”

“If I need to talk to you
, I just push the one. Your number has already been programmed in.”

“That’s right. And if you see that it
’s me calling, you press the green button like we practiced. If anyone else calls, just ignore it. I’m the only one who has your number right now. If you’re in trouble and I don’t answer, you can call 911. The person on the other end will help you. Do you remember how to call 911?”

“Of course, you dial 911.”

“Yeah, I guess that was obvious. Sorry,” Tj apologized. “I’m just feeling uncomfortable about leaving you.”

Annabeth hugged Tj after
she retrieved the girl’s bike from the back of the SUV and handed her the backpack she’d bought her to haul some of the clothes she’d given her to the settlement. “Don’t worry. I’ll be fine. I’m always fine,” Annabeth assured her new friend.

Tj hugged the girl tightly. “If you can get away tomorrow
, come by the resort. I should be there all day.”

“I’ll try.”

“I can’t believe how many people came out for this,” Kyle stated as hundreds of people crowded around the bandstand that had been set up on the beach.

“This is the final event,” Tj explained as they walked past one of the four outdoor bars the resort had set up to handle the large crowd.
“The girls have been trimmed from twenty-five—or twenty-four, given Kiara’s absence—to ten. By the end of the night, they’ll be down to five, who will be showcased tomorrow before the announcement is made. In the world of modeling, this is a big deal. Whoever wins this contest is going to get a lot of money and a jumpstart on their career.”

“I’m
really glad Chloe made the final ten,” Jenna commented as she nibbled on a steak kebab she’d purchased from one of the snack shacks set up on the grassy area behind the beach.

“I’m really nervous for her,” Tj added
as the music began to play, indicating that they were about to start. “To be honest, I really didn’t think she’d get this far. She’s gorgeous and talented, but she’s also sort of shy and a whole lot less flashy then the others. In my experience, flashy usually wins.”

“What happened to the tall blond
e with the surgically enhanced breasts?” Hunter shouted over the noise created as the crowd began to chant for the models to take the stage.

“That description applies to half
of the women in the contest,” Tj pointed out. “Which surgically enhanced blonde were you referring to?”

“The one with the
big hair and outrageous outfits,” Hunter clarified.

“I assume you mean Jazzy. She didn’t make the final cut
, which is surprising considering she was last year’s runner up and a heavy favorite,” Tj said. “Although . . .”

“Although what?” Jenna asked.

Tj leaned in close and lowered her voice in spite of the noise around them. “It seems Jazzy and the CEO of the company’s son have a thing going on. Or at least it seemed they did yesterday, when I happened to overhear a conversation they were having and observe a blatant walk of shame up to her room.”

“You
overheard
a conversation they were having?” Hunter teased.

“Okay, I was spying. But I had good reason to
. I thought either Fenton Ridley or his son, Porter, might have killed Tonya.”

“Why is that?”
Hunter asked as a teen with a corn dog almost ran smack dab into him as he darted in and out of the crowd.

“They both slept with her. Where have you been that you don’t know that?”

“I’ve been here,” Hunter pointed out. “I was here last night, and I don’t recall you mentioning it.”

“Oh
. I guess it didn’t come up.”

“
Do you still think one of the Ridley men is responsible?” Hunter asked.

“Honestly, no. With all the weirdness of this case
, I think there’s more going on than just love, lust, and revenge.”

“You still haven’t found out who the woman in the morgue is?” Jenna asked Hunter.

“Not as of a few hours ago,” he confirmed. “Boggs did come in himself and take a look at the body, so I guess that’s something. They’re trying to match DNA, but no go so far.”

“Oh look
, they’re starting,” Jenna interrupted.

“Ladies and gentlemen
, meet your final ten for the Ms. Tropical Tan spokesmodel competition.”

The crowd went wild
as the ten finalists paraded onto the stage. The MC introduced each one individually, providing her name and the town she represented. Tj cheered as loudly as anyone when Chloe’s name was announced. The evening was going to be the final bikini competition. Each model would walk the runway and then pose for a still shot in a variety of different swimsuits. Some had been chosen by the contestants, others by the company, but no two were the same.

“Chloe really is the prettiest one,” Kyle commented.

“Does someone have a little crush?” Tj teased.

“What? No. Chloe is much too young for me. I guess I
’m rooting for her because she asked for my help with her singing. And,” Kyle added, “she really
is
the prettiest one.”

“Yeah, she is,” Tj agreed.

Tj watched as each contestant was asked a question regarding the reason she wanted to be a Tropical Tan spokesmodel. It was a beautiful night, warm and calm, with a full moon glistening over the glassy lake. Bright lights had been strung through all the trees in the area, adding to the spotlights that illuminated the bandstand and the surrounding area.