Page 19 of Last Ticket to Paradise

He blinked and shoved his fists in his pockets. That’s what the old man used to call him...still called him. “We have to talk about Jamie.”

She flinched. “And I told you...”

He grabbed her shoulders. “She’s missing. Surely you know that, or you wouldn’t be down here. Now somebody’s threatening you. Don’t you get it? You’re in danger because of her. You’re not too quick for a bookworm.”

Her jaw dropped. “Jamie’s not missing. She went island-hopping with some French guy.”

Georgette had already done her research. He’d expected no less from a librarian-type like her. “That’s one of the stories circulating.”

“What are the others?” Her chest rose and fell.

He led her to a chair on the darkened patio. “The most popular one is that she was sacrificed in a Palarosa ritual.”

Her dark, sculpted brows shot up, and then she burst into laughter. “Please.”

He’d anticipated this response from Ms. Practical, but she didn’t know the island like he did. “I’m not joking, Georgette. The Palarosa sacrifice ritual is a spring rite, held three times a year during each month of spring. A young local woman disappeared two months ago, and your sister disappeared last month. The word among the locals is the gods are angry and must be appeased.”

“Why are the gods angry this year?” She tilted her head. “Did Palumba lose the annual soccer tournament?”

Did she get that sarcastic tongue from dealing with obnoxious bookstore customers? Or was it because she thought she was smarter than everyone else? He clasped his hands in front of him and studied them. “Supposedly, they’re angry about the tourism and development on the island.”

She clapped a hand over her mouth. “Oh, I get it. If the locals really believe the gods are angry about Palumba’s tourism, they’ll stop welcoming tourists. And if they stop welcoming tourists, that’s the end of Palumba Falls.”

A flash of heat claimed his chest. “If tourism leaves Palumba, the island will suffer. It’s not just about Palumba Falls.”

“Why would anyone believe Jamie was sacrificed? Just because this other woman disappeared at the same time the previous month?”

“It’s more than that.” He chewed at a fingernail. How well did Georgette know her sister? “Do you remember the rules of the sacrifice?”

She folded her hands around her knees and stared out toward the ocean. “Yes. The gods want a fallen woman.”

He folded his arms. “The husband of the local woman who disappeared two months ago caught her cheating on him with his best friend.”

Georgette pursed her lips. “Fallen woman number one. And Jamie?”

She didn’t know her sister at all. He sucked in a breath. How did you tell someone her sister was the most...convivial tourist on the island? “It was rumored that Jamie got around.”

“Rumored?”

Her voice was as tight as the expression on her face. Damn, he’d offended her and her refined sensibilities. He shrugged. “I wouldn’t know. This place thrives on gossip. Anyway, when Jamie disappeared at the time of the full moon, just like that other woman, the sacrifice story spread like wildfire.”

Georgette jumped up, nearly knocking over the chair. “That’s all very fascinating, but what does this have to do with me?”

He spread his hands. “You’re Jamie’s sister. Obviously, somebody knows that.” He rushed his next words. “Even though you’re nothing alike, you registered under the name Lawson, and you probably told a few people you’re Jamie’s sister. Maybe somebody’s afraid you’ll start asking questions. If the ritual-sacrifice rumor is true, it’s murder.”

She choked out, “Jamie wasn’t murdered. This is absurd. She went island-hopping with some guy named Jean-Claude, and as soon as she comes back, I’m going to scold her for not keeping our mother informed, and then I’m going to leave this creepy island and this overpriced resort.”

She marched back toward the causeway leading to her room and flung over her shoulder, “And you can start spreadingthatstory around.”

Blinded by tears, Georgette groped for her card key and slid it into the reader, mumbling, “Even though you’re nothing alike.”

How many times had she heard those words in her life?

Georgette toppled face forward on her bed. Could she ever get those voices out of her head? Could she ever live her life as Georgette Lawson, period? Not Georgette Lawson, older, less attractive, more serious sister of Jamie Lawson.

When Jamie left home to travel the world after Dad’s death, Georgette had breathed a sigh of relief. She’d planned to settle down and become Brice’s wife. Her flighty sister could visit once in a while and play the glamorous aunt to her and Brice’s children. Then Jamie returned and seduced Brice right under her nose...claiming it was for her sister’s own good.

When Jamie left after that, Georgette breathed another sigh of relief. She dumped Brice and planned to make some improvements at the bookshop, maybe add a coffeehouse next door, have poetry readings. Then Jamie’s postcards stopped arriving.

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