Page 91 of Beach Reads and Deadly Deeds

Halfway up the mountain, there was a fork. Neither was marked. “Which one?” Brie asked.

It had only taken us fifteen minutes to get to this point, so it was still light enough to see. We could continue south or turn right. The right path was steeper, the southern path narrower. Both looked partly overgrown.

“To the right,” Brie said, answering her own question. “See? Their tracks.”

Their footprints were clear in the damp soil. Parker had been wearing Top-Siders. I could see part of the Sperry logo clearlyin several spots. Amber was wearing Chacos. I recognized the sandal pattern because I had a pair myself.

I was impressed. “Good eyes, Brie.”

“When my dad played ball, he sent me to camp for summer. I learned some cool stuff.”

Though sunset was still two hours away, the farther we went, the darker the trail became. In a few spots, a railing marked a particularly precarious edge. Other sections we navigated through dense bushes. The trail lights weren’t on yet, and we had to pay careful attention so we didn’t venture down an unmarked path. The resort’s outdoor lighting turned on one hour before sunset, and I hoped these did as well. If they didn’t, we’d have to use our cell phone flashlights to find our way back.

“Where does this trail go?” I asked Brie, my voice low partly because of the environment, and partly because I didn’t know how far Amber and Parker were ahead of us.

“There’s a vista point about three quarters of the way up. Then there are three trails. One is usually closed. It goes to the helipad and then Ethan Valentine’s house beyond that. One goes over the mountain, past the lake, and then down to the West Beach—I’ve been there many times, but we usually take a boat back. The path is fine to go down, but it’s really tough coming back up.”

“The third trail?”

“To the Sky Bar.”

I frowned. “This isn’t the way we went up the other night.”

“This is the longer scenic route.”

“The dark and scary route,” I muttered.

“It’s pretty in the morning,” Brie said.

Voices ahead had us stopping. Brie clutched my arm.

At first, we couldn’t make out exactly what they were saying. I motioned for Brie to stay, and I slowly crept down the path, careful where I stepped, hoping to hear. Instead of staying, Brie followed me.

“You’re just making this up as you go along, aren’t you, Amber?” Parker said.

“I’m not making anything up,” Amber snapped. “She wrote in code. It’s an educated guess. Do you have a better idea?”

“Fine, but I swear, Amber, if we don’t find those documents soon, you’re going to pay.”

“Oh, shut up,” she said, her voice fading as they walked away.

I wanted to follow, but the trail both straightened and widened. We might be seen.

“What do you think?” I asked Brie.

“They’re looking for the documents you overheard them talking about earlier.”

“Right, but why would Diana hide documents outdoors? Wouldn’t they get damaged?”

Brie shrugged.

Though I didn’t know what they were looking for, theyhadstolen my book, and I wanted to see what they were doing. We continued up the trail until there was a fork.

“Where’s the path that goes to the West Beach?” I asked.

She pointed. “It’s off-limits at night. Too dangerous.”

“So, which way did they go? They must be going to the Sky Bar, right?” I said. “If they’re looking for papers, they’d be protected from the elements there.” But they must be well hidden if no one on staff found them.

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