Page 19 of The Summer Inn on Plum Island
“Nice!” Dawn pursed her lips and nodded, impressed. “Lila and Harper are going to be going into the town center to have lunch and look around.”
“Should I get Sam Donovan to drive them there?” Liam asked.
“No, they want to take the bus,” Dawn told him. “Harper is very excited about it as she feels free for the first time in her lifewithout her helicopter parents hovering.” She sighed and shook her head. “My brother and sister-in-law come off being very strict on Harper as they’re so nervous about her going anywhere on her own.”
“Maybe I should call Sam, then,” Liam said.
He didn’t want anything to happen to Harper while she was here or with Lila. It would upset Lila, and he didn’t want a falling-out with a Vanderbilt.
“No!” Dawn shook her head. “My brother said to give Harper her freedom. Which means he has someone following her discreetly.”
“Ah!” Liam suddenly realized why rooms 105 and 106, which were directly below Dawn’s room, were explicitly requested and booked the other day. “That will explain the twobusinessmenin the mini-suites, room 105 and 106, which are directly below yours.”
Dawn’s eyes widened. “Maybe they heard or saw something regarding the theft?”
Something else registered with Liam, and he shuffled through the list of stolen items. “Actually, the man in room 106 has his camera stolen.”
Dawn looked at Liam in surprise. “I wonder if he’s one of my brother Scott’s security details.” She tilted her head to try to see the document Liam was looking at. “What’s the man’s name?”
“Barry Snyder,” Liam told her.
He watched as Dawn pulled out her phone and messaged someone.
“I just messaged my brother to ask him if Barry is one of his men,” Dawn informed Liam. “I bet Scott’s going to call in…” Before she’d finished talking, her phone rang, “A few seconds.” She laughed, pointing to her phone, and excused herself to answer.
Liam watched Dawn walk to the far side of his office as she spoke to her brother. She moved with a natural grace, her dark brown shoulder-length hair flowing around her shoulders. He couldn’t stop the smile that spread across his lips as he watched her. Dawn was breathtakingly beautiful on the outside and inside.
He gave a soft sigh knowing he was head over heels in love with her and had been from the moment he’d met her just over a year ago. When she first arrived at the hotel a few days after the film crew arrived, there was a mix-up with her suite. Unlike the other high-strung guests that had arrived with the film crew, Dawn had taken the mix-up in her stride. She’d laughed about it and hadn’t minded staying in a smaller room until the other guests that had hers left.
Liam made a point of making sure the hotel complimented all her meals, and a month after Dawn was on Plum Island, Liam and Dawn had established a friendship. They’d started going for early morning walks along the beach, lunching at least three times a week, and became each other’s plus one for the many parties thrown by the film crew and Alex Blackwell. Liam had been charmed by Dawn’s quick wit, her incredible imagination, and her huge, soft heart.
Dawn saw the world as food for her imagination. She could take any situation and turn it into a story. Just when he thought Dawn couldn’t enthrall him more, she threw him for a loop when he found out she could speak seven languages and was learning an eighth. Dawn accompanied Liam on a trip to Greece, sponsored by Harriet Joyce’s mother, in order to buy back property for the Joyce family. While Liam could handle the transaction and negotiate with ease, what he couldn’t do was speak the language. Even though most of the people Liam had dealt with in Greece spoke English, because of the nature of the deal, he needed to have someone with him who could pick up on anything said in Greek so as not to miss anything.
Liam’s translator on the trip was Dawn. Not only could she speak the language fluently, but they took an extra day in Athens, and Dawn showed him around, taking Liam to all her favorite spots. While Liam knew he was falling deeper and deeper under Dawn’s spell, he knew he’d fallen completely during that trip. Liam could still see her face light with excitement as she showed him around and explained what she knew about everything they saw.
Dawn and Lila also got along so well. Every time Lila joined them for one of their lunches or walks, Dawn included her in their conversations, which Liam knew had been chosen for just that purpose. He appreciated that about Dawn so much, and Lila adored her. She’d mentioned to Liam on more than one occasion how great Dawn was. At first, Liam had tried to keep his feelings for her at arm’s length and ignore them. They were from two different worlds, and he was worried it would be a problem.
But Dawn wasn’t your average spoiled, rich girl. She was down to earth and never rubbed her money in anyone’s face. Dawn didn’t even wear designer clothes and had been thrilled when Lila told her about a thrift store in Newbury Port. The only thing that Liam could see standing in his way of revealing his feelings for her was that he treasured their friendship, and other than a few moments, Dawn hadn’t given him any hint she felt the same. Then there was the fact that she’d go back to New York when the filming of The Cobble Cove Mystery series was over.
His thoughts were interrupted when Dawn walked back to the desk.
“Barry is one of Scott’s security team, and the other man is Carl Granger,” Dawn told him, putting her phone on Liam’s desk as she sat.
“Oh boy,” Liam said, shaking his head. “Your brother’s not going to be happy when he hears a phantom thief is wandering the halls of the hotel where his daughter is.” He looked at Dawn. “And that one of his security detail was targeted.”
“That’s not your fault,” Dawn pointed out. “As Barry is security, one would presume he’d be able to have stopped the thief as a highly trained person.”
“True,” Liam agreed. “Unless the thief is a ghost.”
“I hope you meant that metaphorically?” Dawn said with a soft laugh. “And that we’re not toying with the idea that the hotel may be haunted after all.”
“To be honest,” Liam said, “it would explain a lot.” He pointed at the reports. “All the guests report the same thing.” He put the documents in front of her. “They put the items down, or they were in a certain place. As far as they know, no one came into the room. They didn’t hear anything, but when they looked for the item, it had vanished.”
“Like my watch and Lila’s locket,” Dawn said, reading the reports. “I saw you were with the police earlier.”
“They left here knowing as much as we do,” Liam told her. “Nothing.” He shook his head. “They’re as baffled as we are. Hotel security has shown us the video surveillance, which, as far as they can see, hasn’t been tampered with. There is nothing out of the ordinary.”
“Okay,” Dawn said with a smile. “Phantom thief it is then.”
