Page 30 of The Summer Request
That was nice. She smiled, brushed away a tear, and prepared for whatever chaos the day would bring.
It began at breakfast.
Val dropped her fork onto her plate with an alarming clang. “Chloe messaged me!”
Michelle looked up from her breakfast tacos. At least they would be guests during this invasion, instead of fake employees. That seemed like a step up.
“She said she was able to disable all of the cameras, but she’s not sure if there’s one in the front she doesn’t have access to.” Val nodded, a pleased look on her face. “She asked that we enter from the beach and take the back stairs.”
All right, so they had to sneak in. Legally, they were still guests, but it was getting murkier.
Michelle took her last bite of food and spoke up. “That’s fine, but can we agree on something? If we don’t find anything at this house, we stop there? Let Justine rest in peace?”
“How can she rest in peace when her husband plotted to murder her and got away with it?” Val shot back, arms crossed.
Lisa downed the rest of her mimosa. “To be fair, I don’t think she cares much now.”
Lisa had a point, and for her to speak up and say anything was significant. She was terribly non-confrontational, and at times it was hard to tell what she even wanted.
The Miami trespass had excited her, but this time she had been much quieter. Michelle guessed her fear of getting in trouble was winning over her need for adventure.
This was all Val’s fight. She slipped her phone into her purse and sat back. “Well, I care. You don’t have to come, but I’d like you to.”
“Do I have to come?” Michelle asked with a wry smile.
“I’m not forcing you to, no.” Val shrugged. “Though I will remind you, dear Michelle, that last time you were the key player in finding out about Lou’s secret family. You are a valued member of this team.”
“What about me?” Lisa asked. “Aren’t I a valued member?”
Val reached over and put her hand on top of Lisa’s. “Of course you are! I want you to be there. I need you to be there, but I’m giving you an easy way out. No hard feelings.”
A small smile crossed Lisa’s face.
Ah, there it was.Thatwas how Lisa felt. She didn’t care either way; she just wanted to be wanted.
“I’m in,” Lisa said, pouring herself a second mimosa. “I’d like to see this place.”
Michelle closed her eyes for a moment. She knew she could go back to the hotel and sit in a cabana by the pool. The white linen curtains would blow in the breeze and she could watch the passersby. She could rent a bicycle and eat churros!
She could do anything other than scrounge around a mansion owned by a man she didn’t believe was a murderer.
She had no real choice, though.
It was going to be a long day.
After breakfast, they followed Chloe’s directions and parked two streets away from the house. The neighborhood was quiet and filled with enormous houses. There were no people outside except the ones working on the landscaping.
They parked, then wove through the expensive cars unnoticed until finding a path that led down to the beach.
Val charged ahead, her mood manic, her eyes wild. “See Michelle? This is turning into a hike, just like you like!”
“Is this a hike?”
Val paused. “No, I guess you’re right. You can’t hike in rich people neighborhoods. They call the cops.”
“Aw man, really?” Lisa was a few yards behind them, struggling to keep up. Her strappy sandals were acting as sand shovels and slowing her down.
Michelle had taken off her flip-flops, choosing to walk closer to the water. The wet sand was much easier to walk on, and she loved the feeling of being kissed by the freezing sea.
