Chapter 27
College Social was in the same building as University Grounds but around the right side off a well-lit alley. Tiny lights
dotted the ceiling of the large porch, and black iron tables and chairs added more seating than the bar’s interior could hold.
Paradise spotted Abby at a table by the door. “There she is.”
Drew opened his door first and waved. Paradise gave him a startled glance and spotted the animation in his face. Wait, wait,
her brother thought her best friend was cute? She swung her gaze back to Abby and saw the same spark of interest. She wore
a green dress that contrasted beautifully with her shoulder-length auburn hair and brown eyes. The ruffled cap sleeves showed
off her shapely arms, and the skirt skimmed her hips and ended just above her knees, showing off her gorgeous legs. Had she
dressed up hoping to see Drew?
When had this mutual attraction started? Maybe at Hez and Savannah’s new house when Paradise had gotten out of the hospital.
She hadn’t seen their first meeting since she’d been inside resting, but there might have been sparks then.
Paradise just noticed her brother was wearing a different shirt than the brown tee from this morning. The blue looked good on him. She hid a smile and glanced at Blake to see if he’d noticed. His wide smile and wink her way confirmed he’d seen it too.
She bounded up the steps and hugged Abby. “I’m so glad you could come.”
Abby glanced at her watch. “I have two hours. What’s this all about?”
“We need to find Warren.” She told her the situation. “I think he banks with you. Do you know anything about him?”
“Not much. He’s quiet. I got the impression he hung out with the wrong crowd when he was younger, then decided to change his
life.” Her smile aimed over Paradise’s shoulder. “Hey, Drew, looks like the party is about to get started with all of us here.”
A group of college students spilled out the door, and Paradise herded her group out of the way. “It sounds raucous in there.
How are we going to tackle this?”
“I’ll handle it,” Drew said. “Abby, you want to come with me? A guy with a beautiful girl on his arm is less intimidating
to the bartender than me barging in asking questions by myself.”
“You bet.” Abby’s smile increased in wattage, and she took the arm Drew offered.
Paradise stuffed down the laughter that wanted to bubble up. She linked her arm with Blake’s. “I hope nothing interferes with
their budding romance. It’s a fabulous turn of events.”
“They both seem interested.” He leaned in so his breath whispered across her ear. “There’s only one beauty here tonight, and
she’s on my arm.”
“I think you’re highly prejudiced.”
“Could be, but it’s still the truth.” He held the door open for her, and she released his arm to step into the bar.
Light brick walls contrasted with dark wood floors and a gleaming mahogany bar.
A mirror reflected the rows of liquor bottles.
Servers carried drinks and bar food through the crowd, and Paradise spotted a tower of onion rings with cocktail sauce.
Music filtered through speakers, but she couldn’t follow the melody with the flow of conversations around her.
She and Blake shouldered through the throng to reach seats at the bar beside Drew and Abby.
Drew nodded to them and turned to the bartender. “I’ve got the tab for the four of us.”
They all ordered sodas, and Drew ordered chips and queso for all of them. Paradise added that tower of onion rings she spotted.
“Food will be up shortly.” The guy grabbed glasses and began to fill them with their drinks.
“Have you seen Warren Gibson around tonight?” Drew asked in a casual tone. “He works with us out at The Sanctuary.”
The guy shot them an interested glance. “You guys work out there? Me and my wife love that place. My son likes the lemurs.”
He slid a Sprite Paradise’s way. “I’ve seen your picture. You’re the new vet in town too.”
“Guilty.” Paradise took a sip of her drink. “Warren helps out in the wild animal clinic. We stopped by his place, and when
he was gone, we thought he might be here.”
“You could ask his girlfriend.” The bartender jerked his head down the row of stools toward a blonde who sipped on a beer.
“She’ll know where he is.”
“Thanks.” Drew lifted his glass of Coke as a toast and took it with him.
Paradise followed with Blake and Abby. Could it really be this easy to find Warren?
Drew slid onto the seat next to the woman, who appeared to be about Paradise’s age, and gestured to Paradise, who quickly stepped over to stand by him.
She had seen plenty of false eyelashes that were tastefully done, but this woman’s were at least half an inch long and as thick as curling spider legs. She suppressed a shudder.
The woman turned a lazy glance toward them. “’Elp you?” she slurred.
Her breath blew the stench of beer to Paradise’s nose, but she forced a smile. “Hi, I work with Warren, and I need to ask
him a question. He left work early and isn’t home. Do you happen to know where he is?” Was the woman sober enough to answer?
The woman’s bleary eyes studied Paradise’s face. “The new vet. Better find a new tech. He skipped out. Prob’ly halfway to
Florida by now.”
“Does he know someone in Florida?” Drew asked.
She swore and took another gulp of her beer. “Shot me a text and said he’d be in touch. Suuuure he will. Wish I could meet a good man, just once.” She clutched Drew’s forearm. “You taken, honey?”
“Sorry.” He eased her hand off his arm. “You have any idea where he might be holing up? We really need to talk to him.”
She shrugged. “His aunt has a condo in Perdido Key. Took me there once. Beach Colony Resort.”
“Do you know the condo number?”
She sighed and reached for her purse. After digging in it for what felt an eternity, her hand emerged with a crumpled paper.
“3D,” she announced. “Nice place.”
Drew put it in his phone. “We appreciate your help.” He pulled out a card and pressed it into her hand. “If he contacts you,
would you let me know?”
She glanced at the card. “You’re a cop?”
“I’m Paradise’s brother and I’m just helping her find Warren.” He stood and took a step back.
It felt like a dead end, but Perdido Key wasn’t that far. They could check it out. “Anyone up for a Perdido Key beach stroll?”
“I’m in,” Abby said. “Let me arrange for Quinn to spend the night at her friend’s.” She headed for the exit.
Paradise caught Drew’s expression and tried unsuccessfully to hide her smile. He was too smitten to notice.
The Beach Colony Resort was gated, and they didn’t have a code. Blake tapped his fingers on the steering wheel. “We might
have a problem.”
Paradise glanced ahead at the gate. “Hang back. The oncoming car has its turn signal on. We can slide through behind them.”
She was right. He eased his foot off the accelerator and let the oncoming car turn in front of him. He pulled his truck in
behind it, and sure enough, he was able to tag along with the car ahead. “I knew I brought you along for a reason other than
you’re beautiful and I love you.”
“Hey, we’re back here watching,” Abby said. “Let’s stick to business.”
Her voice held mirth, and when Blake glanced in the rearview mirror, Abby was only inches from Drew’s side, and they were
both laughing. Were they holding hands? Sure looked like it to him.
Blake turned toward the west building. “It appears you’re watching each other, not us.”
Drew and Abby burst into chuckles behind him, and he exchanged an amused glance with Paradise. It was like being a teenager again and going on a double date.
He parked the truck at the end of the lot. “That’s his car.” He pointed out a Toyota Corolla.
They went inside the open-air lobby and the elevator refused to take them to the third floor. “I’ll bet we need a code here
too,” Paradise said. “But it’s only three floors. Let’s find the staircase.”
He’d much rather take a stroll on the beach, but they hadn’t come here for fun. They caught another break when someone exited
the door and held it open for them. They filed up the stairs to the third floor and found the D door. He rang the bell but
no one answered. He tried the door. “It’s not locked.” Entering felt wrong, so he pushed the door open with his foot and peered
inside.
A familiar backpack with a tiger’s face on it lay just inside the foyer. “That’s one of our logo backpacks. He’s here somewhere.”
Blake leaned inside the door. “Warren, you in there?” No one answered, and the place felt empty.
“Let’s try the beach,” Drew said. “I’ll bet the elevators work going down.”
Moments later they were on the ground floor, and Drew pointed out the path around the well-lit pool to the beach. Blake followed
the sound of the waves mingling with laughter. He took Paradise’s hand and led the way across the boardwalk to the white sand
dunes shimmering in the moonlight. There weren’t many people here, and none of them were Warren.
“Let’s stroll along the beach and see if he took a walk,” Drew said. “We can check the condo one last time before we leave.
He might be back by then.”
They kicked off their shoes and carried them along the sand with the water foaming around their feet. Paradise paused to run into the water up to her knees. Blake stopped and watched the breeze blow her glorious brown hair around her face. He was a lucky man.
She darted back to him. “It’s beautiful here.”
He kept his gaze on her. “It sure is.”
Amusement lit her amber eyes. She tucked her arm into his. “Let’s catch up with Abby and Drew.”
He fell into step with her and put his arm around her waist. They should come back when the sun was hot and they could stretch
out on the white sand. Which brought up a good question. “Where do you want to go on our honeymoon? With the refuge on good
footing, we can go somewhere fun.”
“I hadn’t thought about it. I’d assumed we’d be at my apartment and plan something later.”
He squeezed her fingers. “I’ll take you anywhere you want to go.”
“Since I’m an Alden, I’ve always wanted to go to England.” She swept her arm toward the water. “But I love the beach.”
“There are beaches in England. I’ve heard Bournemouth Beach’s microclimate makes for warmer water than most. It should be
nice in August. Let’s see what we can find out. And if it’s too cold, we can explore England, then go to the South of France
for a few days.”
“That sounds incredibly exotic.” She stopped. “Maybe a cruise! Let’s check it out.”
He loved seeing her so happy and animated. They started walking after Drew and Abby again. “He just kissed her.”
“He’s moving fast, and Abby’s still raw and hurting from her divorce. I’ll have to get Abby alone and see what she says.”
She stopped and they turned around to walk back toward the complex. The wind picked up and she shivered. “That breeze is a little cool.”
He put his arm around her again, and they picked up the pace to hurry over the boardwalk to the condo. Drew and Abby were
right behind them. As they rounded the pool and got close to the outdoor lobby, he gasped. “Warren just got into the elevator.
He didn’t see us.”
Blake ran toward the stairs and took the steps two at a time. His lungs labored as he pushed himself to go faster. If Warren
got to the condo and locked the door, they’d be shut out. He wouldn’t open it to them—not after trying to elude them all day.
Breathing hard, he crashed through the third-floor door and raced to door D.
It was closing so he stuck his foot inside. “Warren, we need to talk to you.”
The door banged farther open, and Warren backed up with his eyes wide. His red hair dripped water. His gaze darted from Blake
to Paradise right behind him. “What are you doing here? Leave me alone.”
Blake stepped into the condo. “We won’t keep you long. Doris thinks you know something about the murders of Paradise’s parents.
We don’t think you hurt them, but you might know something that would help us find out who did.”
His brown eyes were wild, and he backed away with his hands in front of him. “I can’t tell you anything. Bea is dead, did
you know that? I’ll be next. Look into Ben’s history. The truth is there. Just leave me alone.” He turned and ran to the sliding
door out onto the balcony.
Blake didn’t have time to dwell on the news about Bea but instead went after him.
Warren swung one leg over the railing, then the other.
He began to sidle along the edge of the balcony toward the wall, and Blake knew he planned to try to swing himself over to another condo.
“It’s windy out there, Warren. Come on in and we’ll just talk. ”
Uncertainty twisted Warren’s lips, and he edged back toward Blake. “I realized what they were going to do, and I ran away.
I didn’t want to hurt anyone.” A thunderous roar grew, and a formation of low-flying fighter jets from Pensacola shook the
building. Wind gusted around the balcony and yanked on Warren’s shirt.
Blake darted forward to help steady him, but Warren lost his grip. He stared up into Blake’s eyes as he plummeted toward the
ground.