She was escorted out of the house. The door slammed shut, and Federico was left standing alone in the hallway.
I pushed Graf back into the kitchen. Federico had enough on his plate without knowing that members of his cast had witnessed a terrible fight with his daughter.
“Holy shit,” Graf whispered, “that was intense.”
Graf hadn’t heard the entire fight like I had. Several things were troubling me as I sat at the kitchen table. Graf placed a steaming cup of coffee in front of me and then took a chair.
“You look really worried, Sarah Booth.”
I was. Several times Estelle made reference to her mother as if the woman were still alive. She wasn’t-as far as I knew. Carlita Marquez had died of an overdose years back. Or that was the scuttlebutt. “Estelle seems seriously… unbalanced.” The idea of her walking so quietly into my room was upsetting.
“She won’t get back on the property. I’m glad to see Federico hired security.”
“This was Estelle’s mother’s home. She knows it inside and out. Do you think Estelle was making reference to the death of Suzy Dutton when she said that about paying like the last one did?”
“Sarah Booth, don’t borrow trouble.” He picked up my hand and kissed it. “You’re a movie star now. At least for the time being. You’ve taken down your shingle as a private investigator. If Estelle was involved in Suzy’s death, let Sheriff King in California handle it.” He kissed my hand again. “Besides, if I’m not mistaken, Estelle was here in Costa Rica. Hard to kill a woman in Malibu when you’re a continent away.”
“Good point.” And it was. I sipped my coffee. Graf had hit the nail on the head. I wasn’t Sarah Booth Delaney, PI. I was Sarah Booth Delaney, star of Body Heat. One bitter lesson I’d learned in the last few years was that a person has to focus on what she wants. I couldn’t keep one foot in the world of detecting and another in acting. I had made my choice and I owed it to myself and Graf to give it one hundred percent.
Estelle was a disturbed young woman. I could pity her, and her father, but it wasn’t up to me to solve what had happened to Suzy Dutton.
“Let’s take a walk, Sarah Booth. Then we can go into town and have a nice dinner.”
I looked across at the man who was doing everything in his power to make me happy. I’d waited such a long time for this moment. “Sounds perfect, Graf. I’m ravenous.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
It was a good thing Graf and I took a long walk, because when we got to the small restaurant and the delicious meal was placed in front of me, I ate like a politician at the trough. Graf was even amused. He teased me gently, and then ordered a rich and chocolaty dessert that was incredible. The man was spoiling me rotten, and I loved every second of it. No one except my parents had ever treated me with such love.
We were laughing as we walked up the cobbled street outside the café. I was slightly tipsy from wine, and Graf had proposed a skinny-dipping session in the calmer waters of the small cove behind Federico’s mansion. The moon sparkled on the glassy water and silvered the sand.
I was reluctant, but I wasn’t going to say no-until he got naked. Then I intended to snatch up his clothes and run. It was going to be payback for the tickle session earlier in the day. I was buzzed, but I hadn’t forgotten that Graf had one-upped me.
We passed the drive to the mansion, and I glanced toward the house. My heart stopped. The silhouette of a man, backlit by the house lights, made my heart flip. Coleman Peters. I recognized the broad shoulders, the tapered waist. Coleman had come to Costa Rica to find me.
“What’s wrong?” Graf asked. He, too, was slightly inebriated, but not enough that he missed the stricken look that surely touched my face. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
The silhouette walked toward us with that self-confident stride. My heart pounded and my mouth was dry.
“Can I help you?” the man asked in English with a heavy Spanish accent.
I tried to speak but couldn’t. “No,” Graf said. “We’re going down to the beach before we turn in.”
The security guard nodded. “The cove is nice for swimming. Not the ocean. It isn’t safe.”
“Thank you.” Graf lightly grasped my arm and assisted me down the path. “What’s wrong?” he asked.
“I was dizzy for a moment.” I wanted to cry. Every time I thought I was beginning to heal from Coleman, something happened to rip the scab off and reveal the open wound.
It wasn’t fair. Not to me and certainly not to Graf.
“Let’s go skinny-dipping.” I put a challenge into my words. Before he could react, I stepped out of my sandals and I ran toward the beautiful beach of the small cove. I left my sundress and underwear in a trail behind me as I skimmed over grass and then sand, determined to leave behind the hurt and disappointment of Coleman Peters before I hit the cold embrace of the water.
Graf was beside me when I came up for air, sputtering and gasping. The water was cold silk sliding over my body. Graf’s hands, when he grasped my waist, were warm and familiar.
I turned to him and kissed him, blotting out everything except him and the freedom of the water.
“Are you sure, Sarah Booth?” he asked.
My answer was another kiss, one that left no doubt of what I wanted.
In the back of my mind I could hear Jitty. “Girl, you’re jumpin’ out of the fryin’ pan and into the fire.”
I tuned her out. She was another betrayer. She’d abandoned me. It was up to me to craft the life I wanted, and right now I wanted to feel wanted. I needed the intimacy of Graf’s kisses and his embrace.
He lifted me in his arms and carried me to the beach where he made a makeshift pallet of our discarded clothes. Beneath the rising moon, we made love, and I clung to Graf and the magic of his touch.
I awoke in the early hours of the morning, thirsty and with a headache. Beside me, Graf slept peacefully. It took a moment for me to recognize the sounds that had awakened me. Sweetie Pie was pacing the room, going to the door again and again on clickety nails, a soft whine telling me of her need to go out.
Slipping from the bed, I grabbed a gown and slid it over my head. Barefooted, I padded across the room and opened the door. Sweetie Pie bolted forward with a low growl that caught me by surprise. She was after something.
Or someone.
I gave chase. She was ahead of me in the hallway, almost to the stairs, her growl louder, more ferocious.
“Sweetie!” I whispered loudly, hoping to bring her back to me. When she didn’t respond, I had no choice but to follow.
“Sweetie Pie Delaney!” I ran down the stairs just in time to see the hem of a red dress disappearing out the front door that closed on a soft slam. Someone had been in the house. Estelle? Out to cause more mayhem for her father? I grabbed Sweetie’s collar so she couldn’t follow and opened the door.
Outside, moonlight strong enough to cast shadows lit the grounds. There was no sign of anyone on the front lawn or down the drive. My heart raced, but I forced myself to take deep breaths.
“Can I help you?”
The male voice coming from less than five feet away almost made me scream. I swiveled and saw the security guard standing in the shadow of a porch column. “Did you see someone come out the door?”
He shook his head slowly. “No one left the house. I’ve been here all evening.”
“But I saw…” What had I seen? “The door opened and-”
“No, senorita. The door hasn’t opened all evening.”
Still gripping Sweetie’s collar as she tugged against me, I thanked the guard and closed the door.
Around me the house was silent, and I went to the kitchen for some water. The “ghostly visitor” had finished the job of sobering me up, and I sat at the huge kitchen table to think about the last few hours. I didn’t regret the passion I’d shared with Graf, but worry nagged at me. My feelings for him weren’t clear, and the act of making love seemed like a promise I wasn’t certain I could honor.