I almost snort. Antoine isn’t at all big on running into people on vacation. His idea of heaven is a desert island with a hot, willing woman, great food and lots of booze.
“Unfortunately, most guests are keeping to themselves in the rooms or in the bars today.” Manuel’s dark eyes swing upward. “Really unfortunate weather. I’m sorry you arrived in the middle of it.”
“Where are the bars?” I ask quickly. Elizabeth loves to drink. If she can’t go to the beach, she’s likely to hit one of them.
“Let me show you on the map.” A few minutes later, Manuel leaves, having pointed out all the places we can get alcohol on the resort property.
“I’m going to check out the bars,” I say.
“Do you want me to look with you?” Antoine asks.
“No.” I inhale, girding my loins. “I can handle it.”
“Good luck. She seems like such a gentle soul. She’ll listen to you.”
My throat tight, I nod, then take off, grabbing one of the complimentary umbrellas from the coat closet. Although the umbrella’s sizable, it proves worthless in this kind of storm. Bursts of strong wind drive water sideways from all directions, and I’m soaked from chest down within minutes.
Giving up, I fold the umbrella. I’m instantly drenched, but I couldn’t care less.
The resort has five bars, spread around. One of them is a swim-up bar, which is, of course, closed. The other four are busy, but I don’t see Elizabeth in any of them. The bartenders also confirm they haven’t seen her today.
Is she staying in?
The villa comes with a well-stocked bar. It’s possible.
I head back, braving the increasingly fearsome wind. Thunder rumbles in the distance, and I grimace. It’s going to get worse before it gets better.
After almost ten minutes at a brisk pace, I pass the spa. I step in to see if she’s there—just in case—but the receptionist says she’s not. Disappointed and annoyed I can’t locate her, I leave and walk faster. Soon I find myself in front of the entrance to her villa. I ring and wait, but nobody answers.
Is she napping? No. She always struggled to fall asleep. Has she somehow seen me from one of the windows and decided to ignore me? It’s a possibility.
I walk the fence around her villa. It reaches all the way to the beach. All the units have direct access to the beach, but for security, all the fences come with gates that lock automatically.
The sight of her gate propped open causes me to frown. She couldn’t have gone to the beach, not in this horrendous weather. Then I start to wonder…
She has her share of stalkers and sociopaths. One of them sent her a vacuum-sealed puppy not too long ago.
Dread accelerates my heartbeat. I push the gate out of the way and walk inside to the private plunge-pool area. “Elizabeth!”
Nothing.
“Elizabeth!” I call out louder.
Still nothing.
Putting my hands above my eyes, I stick my face against the glass panes on the huge French door leading to her living room and peer inside. I don’t see any sign of her.
I pull out my phone and call Antoine.
“Already done talking?” he says, his voice somewhere between disbelief and sympathy.
“No. I can’t find her anywhere. Already been to all the bars, the spa…her villa. Nobody saw her. Nobody!” I plunge my hand into my hair and clench hard. “The gate to the beach was left open, though.”
“She went to the beach in this weather?” I can practically hear his jaw drop.
“I don’t know.”
“Is she a strong swimmer?”