All Dressed in White

57

As Jeff ended his call, Austin signaled a poolside waiter and ordered a scotch. “By the time it gets here, it will be five o’clock. Who am I kidding? I started at lunch. You want anything, buddy?”

Jeff shook his head but said nothing. Once the waiter was gone, Austin said, “I’m sorry, I can’t imagine what you’re going through. I guess most of us suspected Amanda was-you know-but it’s got to be rough to finally know for certain. What was that call? You sounded upset.”

Jeff told Austin he was fine and then quickly changed the subject. “Where’s Nick?” he asked, even though the person he was eager to see was his own wife. Meghan was with Kate at the hotel spa for the afternoon. After that phone call, Jeff was tempted to storm into the spa and demand an explanation. But in light of today’s grilling by Alex Buckley, he knew everyone was suspicious of him. For all he knew, the police had undercover officers at the hotel, watching his every move. The last thing he needed was to lose his temper in public, but he was hurt and confused, and desperate to speak to Meghan. He took a deep breath and tried to remain calm.

Austin said, “Nick’s getting his boat ready. You know him. He takes forever.” Austin and Nick, always competing, Jeff thought.

Jeff looked at his watch. “I doubt you two have time for a cocktail cruise before dinner.” All the college friends were planning a group dinner tonight. After Amanda’s body was found, Kate moved the reservation up to six-thirty. It would be an early, somber evening, not the reunion they’d been expecting. Jeff didn’t even want to go, but Meghan felt bad about leaving Kate to mourn alone.

“Not a cocktail cruise,” Austin corrected. “Nick’s leaving early to woo a billionaire, remember? A client meeting in Boca Raton.”

Right. With everything that was going on, it had slipped Jeff’s mind.

“Speak of the devil,” Austin called out. Nick was headed their way in madras shorts and a Polo shirt, his captain’s hat already donned and a can of beer in his hand. “You finally got that poor excuse for a boat ready to hit the water?”

“You’re just jealous that I got the nicer boat.” Only then did Nick seem to notice Jeff’s pensive mood. “Hey, we’re just trying to keep things light. We’re all sorry about Amanda.”

Jeff nodded.

“Where are the ladies?” Nick asked. “I’ll see Meghan soon enough back home, but I wanted to say good-bye to Kate.”

“They decided to get facials and massages to take their minds off all this,” Jeff said. His eyes drifted to the corridor leading to the spa. No sign of them. Every minute without an explanation about that phone call felt like hours.

“Were you able to say good-bye to Amanda’s family?” Austin asked.

“I just came from Sandra’s. I almost walked away from her room without knocking, but I couldn’t leave without expressing my sympathies.”

Jeff didn’t tell his friends that he had knocked on the same door earlier in the day, only to have Sandra slam it in his face.

Austin asked how the Pierces were holding up.

“Honestly?” Nick said. “Not well. I got the impression they wanted to be left alone. They’ll be having a family dinner tonight to talk about their memories of Amanda.”

Austin held up his scotch and said quietly, “To Amanda.”

“See you boys back in New York,” Nick said. “You hang in there, buddy.”

Nick gave Jeff a comforting pat on the back, and Austin followed suit. Was Jeff being paranoid, or did even his best friends seem to be looking at him differently now?

He needed to talk to Meghan.