“Virgin strawberry daiquiri for me, please.” I didn’t care how that made me look. Somebody had to stay sober at this beach party.
Stone shot me a questioning look, but kept silent and let Frannie lead him away. I tagged along on their heels, hoping Stone didn’t choose anything too high-powered, since he still seemed a little tipsy from whatever he’d imbibed this morning.
“Of course,” Frannie said. As we approached a huge beach cabana, Frannie barked out drink orders to a guy who was conveniently manning the outdoor bar. We settled into cushy lounge chairs and Frannie shoved her hat up a bit more. Then she burst into tears.
“I hated to miss her funeral,” she wailed.
Stone seemed mildly impressed by this outburst. I observed Frannie closely, trying to ascertain if those tears were real or manufactured. I decided they were fake, because her nose didn’t get the least bit red.
She accepted her piña colada from the cabana guy and took a long drink. Thus fortified, she continued, her voice still slightly tremulous. “I had to go to my cousin’s wedding yesterday. Terrible timing, right? But I was a bridesmaid, and you know how that goes.” She shot me a commiserative look. “You buy the dress, the shoes, the bag, and the poor bride’s counting on you. I had to attend.” She was really pouring it on.
“Of course,” I murmured. It was obvious to me that she’d concocted a relatively simple lie, one we probably couldn’t look into. But why lie? What was she hiding? It had to be something more than guilt over a final fight with Margo.
She rested her manicured hand on Stone’s muscled forearm and seemed to slump into her own thoughts, staring out at a small yacht on the blue-gray water.
Stone, too, had turned more reflective than usual, his eyes closed against the brilliant sunlight. I extended my foot and gave his leg a little nudge with the toe of my Doc Martens, a reminder that we’d come for more than just drinks and lies.
His eyes shot open and he sat up straighter. “Frannie, it was obvious you and Margo had argued before billiards night. Do you think that’s why she left early?”
Frannie wrapped her fingers more tightly around Stone’s arm. “Sure, we’d fought, but so what? We fought all the time. I didn’t run her off, if that’s what you mean.”
“I wasn’t saying that,” he said. “I just wondered what would make her so upset.”
Frannie stayed silent.
Stone took her hand from his arm and held it. I could see her defenses melting. “Is there something you haven’t told the police? You know you can trust me, Fran.”
Frannie leaned in toward Stone—so close, I thought she was going to kiss him. “We fought about a man,” she said.
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