“What did he say before he left?”
Frankie’s lips twitched as she dumped olives into a garnish container. “He asked me to have a drink with him after my shift.”
My eyebrows shot up. “So he’s sticking around at a place I’m sure harbors painful memories for him in order to have the chance to buy you a drink?”
“I’m pretty sureNolan’sthe one buying the drink. And it’s not a big deal. Dominic’s not my type anyway.”
But I didn’t miss the way her cheek dimpled before she ducked below the bar for another bottle of vodka.
Seemed I wasn’t the only one who had fallen under the charming spell of a Keller brother.
Chapter 28
NOLAN
Someoneislying.
The pristine typeface stared up at me from the blank page that had been slipped under my door this morning. In the two weeks since the gala, Cressida and I had been busy making public appearances. In between managing my image and trying to keep Val from getting spooked about the nosy media, I’d re-upped the investigation into my mother’s death, interviewing more of the staff and comparing notes with Jason.
I dialed Jason and he answered on the first ring because I paid him to do so. “Anything?” I asked in a clipped tone as I swept back into the kitchen.
“Nothing new yet. The latest letter came up blank for DNA, and we’re still combing through the backlogs of security footage.”
“Send it to me. I’ll look myself.”
“If you want,szef, but—”
I hung up and tossed the wad of paper on the counter, then ran my hands through my hair.
I needed a cold shower.
The frigid water blasted over me and with it came clarity. I already knew my pen pal was on resort property, but I didn’t realize how closelythey were keeping tabs on me. An hour ago, when Val had left for her shift, the letter hadn’t been there. But ultimately, my pen pal’s identity didn’t matter—if they were going to tell me what they knew, they would have already. So for some reason, it was important that I untangle this mystery myself.
It wasn’t long before my thoughts turned to Val, as they did almost every ten seconds. But as each day passed, the guilt dug a deep trench in my resolve. Val trusted me, and that made my heart sing—and sink. Between the gala and all the nights since, I’d made a decision. I couldn’t sell Hale’s Peak to Bridgeport Rock Quarry anymore. There had to be another way to pass my probationary year as CEO, and I’d find it.
I hadn’t earned Val’s trust, but now that I had it, I’d do everything in my power to keep it.
With that, I shut off the shower. Less than twenty minutes later, I sat in my office and pulled up the security footage.
My mother came into the frame, her light brown hair covered in a knit cap. Standing in line for the lift, she organized herself with a group of three other riders. Then she ducked out of the frame for a moment and missed getting on with the first group. Instead, she caught the next chair, #44, and took it alone.
And I knew what happened next.
The lift would make it three-quarters of the way to the top, then a gust of wind would take out the loosened bearings and the chair would tumble from the cable, taking my mother with it.
I rewound and watched the footage again, searching every frame for any kind of clue. Anything the police missed. I went back to the part where her upper body ducked out of the frame then hit pause. Zooming in, I enhanced the area around her. And that’s when I saw it.
It was almost too grainy to make out, but I knew what I saw, and it had me questioning my entire investigation—especially every harmless thing I’d noticed at the gala. Those innocuous comments and moments were now blasted in the spotlight of revelation.
Someone is, indeed, lying.
I picked up my phone and dialed. “See me in my office. Now.” I slammed the phone on my desk, my chest heaving.
A few minutes later, my pen pal arrived.
“You wanted to see me, sir?”
I sat up straight in my chair, back to business. “Yes. Sit down.”
