“I’m sorry to hear that. Can you think of any other indicators?”

  “My instincts have really been acting up on me. I can’t seem to quiet them down.”

  “All right,” I said. “Now, suppose your fiancé is cheating on you. Do you have any idea who he might be fooling around with?”

  “It could be someone from his office. He does work with a lot of women. Then again, it might be someone else entirely.”

  “You don’t have anyone particular in mind then?”

  She shook her head. “No. Why?”

  “If you don’t suspect anyone in particular, it just makes for a more difficult investigation. On the flip side, if you were able to zero-in on someone, it would make things easier.”

  “I get it. Unfortunately, no one comes to mind. Sorry.”

  “Stacey, don’t be ridiculous. There’s no need for you to apologize.”

  “Okay.” She began to fidget with her hands. “So, will you take my case?”

  “Before I answer that, there’s something that I need you to know.”

  “What is it?”

  “I want to ask you. Are you prepared for the worst? And I mean, truly prepared?”

  “I think so. Although, as I’ve said before, I really hope that I’m wrong about my fiancé.”

  “Of course. And it would be great if that was the case. On the flip side, there’s also a chance that your worst fears will be confirmed. If that’s the case, it could spell disaster for your relationship. There’s a distinct possibility that I end up digging up some serious dirt during the course of my investigation. If that happens, I need you to be warned.”

  “Honestly, I feel like I’m as prepared as I can be.”

  “All right.”

  “Here’s the thing. Even if I’m not as prepared as I think, I have to know the truth.”

  “I understand. In that case, I just need to get a little more information from you before I can get down to work,” I said.

  Chapter Three

  Talk about a weird morning. Not just by Majestic Cove’s standards. By my personal standards. That was saying a lot. Then again, the life of a private investigator was rarely boring.

  On the flip side, I wouldn’t complain if it quieted down. That was especially true that particular morning. Frankly, if it was up to me, I would have taken an entire week to slowly ease my way back to a normal routine.

  Unfortunately, I didn’t get my wish. Then again, since I ran my own business, I didn’t technically have to take every case that came my way. I had the flexibility to pick and choose if I wanted.

  However, if I was picky and turned down work, I wouldn’t get paid. My bills wouldn’t be too happy with me if that happened.

  That’s why I ended up taking the case. And trust me, that was the only reason. I absolutely hated suspected infidelity cases. Why did I despise those investigations so much? Because they usually ended poorly. More often than not, when a client suspected that their significant other was being unfaithful, they were correct.

  Ironically, despite how much I hated them, those cases happened to be the ones that came across my desk the most frequently. By a wide margin.

  In fact, it seemed like seven out of ten clients that entered my office wanted me to investigate their significant other. That wasn’t all. In large part, the majority of those clients happened to be women. In all my years of investigating, I could count on one hand the number of men who suspected their girlfriend or wife of being unfaithful.

  Much to my chagrin, there were plenty of women in the world that were going through the same thing that Stacey was. I had seen this exact scenario play out hundreds of times before. So, even though I really wanted things to work out better this time, I wasn’t about to hold my breath.

  As Stacey left my office, I knew that I had my hands full. Just like with most suspected infidelity cases, this investigation was going to involve a stakeout. I would set up shop in front of Nick Billingsley’s office and wait for him to make a move. When there was some action to track, I would follow him. In fact, I would practically become his shadow until I got answers.

  It could take quite a while to discover the truth. Then again, it might only take a few hours. There was no way of knowing until I actually began working.

  One thing was quite clear, however. Once my stakeout began, I needed to focus on keeping watch over Nick. I couldn’t drive away to grab some food. Breaks would not be a part of my schedule.

  Whatever food I planned on eating later needed to be already by my side. With that in mind, I headed over to Majestic Cove Bakery. My good friend, Kristina Fowler, owned the place. The bakery sold the best stakeout takeout food in town. Bar none. The sandwiches that Kristina made were absolutely to die for. The pastries were also killer.

  One of the key factors in the taste was that everything was made on-site. From scratch. Plus, she cooked with butter. Talk about delicious.

  I ended up ordering a number of items for the road. While my food was being prepared, I started to stare out the window. My gut was telling me this would be a beast of a case. Like all good investigators, I put a lot of stock in my instincts. They rarely steered me wrong.

  This was one of the rare times when I hoped that I was wrong. A monster of a case was the last thing I needed right then.

  As my head drifted deeper into the clouds, Kristina tried to bring me back down to earth.

  “Are you okay?” she asked.

  I shook my head. “No. Not at all.”

  “Is this about Alicia?” she asked.

  That was a good guess. And if I didn’t already have enough on my plate, I probably would have dug into a conversation about Alicia. But this wasn’t the time or the place for that. In fact, considering that I had a job to do, I couldn’t afford to get caught up thinking about Alicia.

  “No,” I said. “I’m just starting a new case.”

  “Oh, I see.”

  As I looked into my friends eyes, I saw something very peculiar. Earlier, when I ordered my food, I had been too busy thinking about this new investigation to notice it. Now that I spotted the somber look in Kristina’s eyes, I couldn’t ignore it.

  “How about you?” I asked. “Is everything all right?”

  “Apparently, everyone is having a stressful time today,” Kristina said.

  “Why? What happened?”

  “William and I broke up.”

  My eyes widened. “No way.”

  Kristina reluctantly nodded. “Unfortunately, it’s the truth.”

  “I can’t believe it.”

  “How do you think I feel? I’m still in shock myself.”

  “I don’t get it. You just started dating a little over a month ago.”

  “I know.”

  “I thought things were going so well too.”

  “They were.”

  “So, what happened?”

  “Last night, he told me that he’s moving.”

  “What?”

  “Crazy, right? I was just as confused as you are.”

  “Where is he going?”

  “Granite Bluffs.”

  I threw out my arms. “Why? What’s so special about there?”

  “I don’t know that anything about that town is particularly special. He just happens to be getting transferred there.”

  “Wow. What a bummer.”

  “For me, at least.”

  “Not for him?”

  “Honestly, he didn’t seem too disappointed to be leaving Majestic Cove.”

  “I wonder why not. I thought he really cared about you.”

  “He does. He actually asked me to come with him.”

  “Are you serious?”

  Kristina nodded.

  “Wow. I guess he really did care about you.”

  “Which made it all the more heartbreaking when I told him I couldn’t go.”

  “You’d think he’d be able to understand why you can’t just pick up and leave your business.”

  “He told me I could always open up a bakery in Granite Bluffs.”

  “Technically, yes. But your family is here. Same with your friends.”

  “That’s what I told him.”

  “Did you try to convince him to stay? To take a different job in Majestic Cove?”

  “I tried. Here’s the thing, though. He doesn’t feel the same way about Majestic Cove that I do. His opinion of this town has really soured recently with all of the crazy things that have been going on.”

  “When it comes to that, I don’t blame him.”

  “Yeah. It has been a wild few months.”

  “Still, you’d think that you’d be able to salvage your relationship. Did you bring up trying to keep things going long distance?”

  “I brought up every possible scenario.”

  “Why didn’t he like the idea of having a long distance relationship?”

  “He told me he’d tried that before. And that it had been disastrous. According to him, he doesn’t want to ever do anything like that again.”

  “So, that’s it then? He just broke things off entirely?”

  Kristina grimaced. “Unfortunately.”

  “I’m so sorry. This is terrible.”

  “I’ll say. Things were going so well. And now I’m going to have to start over from scratch.”

  I took a deep breath. “What an absolute shame.”

  “It sure is.” She lowered her head.

  “I wish there was something I could say to make you feel better.”

  “Unfortunately, there isn’t.”

  “I realize that.”

  Kristina stared out into the distance. “I guess the only silver lining in this whole situation is that we didn’t get too far into things. What if this had happened six months down the road? Or a year from now? By then, I probably would have fallen hard for him.”

  “That would really be devastating.”

  “I know.” She bit the corner of her lip. “Enough about me, though. Tell me about this case you’re working on.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous. You don’t want to hear about that.”

  “That’s where you’re wrong. Right now, I just want to take my mind off of what happened.”

  “Why don’t we talk about something else entirely?”

  Kristina squinted. “Why don’t you want to talk about the case with me? Does your investigation involve relationship problems?”

  “Are you sure you want to hear this?”

  “Yes.”

  “All right. Here we go. I’m investigating some suspected infidelity.”

  Kristina winced. “Love just isn’t having any luck today, is it?”

  “Nope.”

  “That’s terrible.”

  “Yeah. It’s a rough day all around. Why do you think I’m stocking up on pastries?”

  “I certainly hope that your day gets better.”

  “Same with you.”

  “There’s a slim chance of that happening.”

  “I know,” I replied. “But I can still wish you the best.”

  Chapter Four

  A few minutes later, I exited the bakery with my pastries. I didn’t make it very far, though. Just as I began to make my way to the parking lot, I spotted Detective Scott Webster approaching me.

  “Funny running into you here,” he joked.

  “I think it’s even funnier seeing you. I mean, it’s the middle of the day. Shouldn’t you be chasing down criminals?” I asked.

  “What can I say? It’s a slow day on the streets.”

  “That has to be pretty refreshing.”

  “Are you kidding? I’d love it if every day was like this.”

  I chuckled.

  “What’s so funny?” he asked.

  “If every day was like this, you’d be out of a job.”

  “True. But I could find something else to do for a living. And let me tell you, the tradeoff would be worth it if this town was completely safe.”

  I put my hands on my hips. “I have to say. I can’t picture you doing anything else with your life but this.”

  “Let’s be honest. Things just happen to be slow today. I’m sure the peace won’t last,” he said.

  “That sounds more like the Scott that I know.”

  “I’m just being honest. And given everything that I know about policing crime, it’s important that I take advantage of this peace while it lasts. In my mind, there’s no better way to do that than with a snack.”

  “You’ve definitely come to the right place for good food.”

  “Speaking of which, what do you have in the bag?”

  “A couple of sandwiches.”

  His eyes widened. “A couple? Is your appetite going crazy on you or something?”

  “No. I’m just about to go on a stakeout.”

  “Oh, I see. You want to be prepared in case you’re stuck in your car for hours.”

  “Exactly.”

  “I’ve been there before.”

  “Probably too many times.”

  “A few too many, actually,” he replied. “I’m not a big fan of stakeouts, that’s for sure.”

  “Neither am I, but I have bills to pay.”

  “Here’s hoping that things go smoothly for you.”

  “I have my fingers crossed. It could be a crazy day.”

  This time, he chuckled.

  I squinted. “Did I say something funny?”

  “It’s just that our roles seem to be reversed today. Usually, I’m running around like crazy. Now, I have plenty of time on my hands.”

  “Which leads me to wonder, what are you going to do next?”

  “Nothing terribly exciting. I’ll probably just head back to the police station until a call comes in.”

  “So, not exactly a day at the beach.”

  “No. Although, those are really hard to come by.”

  “When was the last time you just dipped your toes in the sand?”

  “It’s been a while.”

  “You should do that. When things quiet down for me, that’s what I’m going to do.”

  “That’s not a bad call.”

  “Of course, it isn’t. We should actually go together.”

  “Is that so?”

  “Yeah. It would be like old times.”

  “You mean, when we were back in high school?”

  “Exactly.”

  “That was so long ago.”

  “I know. But it was a blast.”

  He looked out into the distance. “It sure was. A lot has changed since then, though.”

  “True. The beach hasn’t changed, though. It’s just as beautiful as ever.”

  “When I actually get a few days off, maybe I’ll find out. After all, even though it’s a slow work day, I’m still on the clock. I can’t very well take off for the beach when a call could come in at any moment.”

  “I hear you. Well, enjoy your pastries.”

  “I plan to,” he said. “Take care of yourself, all right?”

  I nodded. “Will do.”

  Chapter Five

  My investigation began by parking in front of Nick’s office building. From there, I most likely had some waiting ahead of me. After all, it was the middle of the day. Nick was busy working. I called the receptionist at the marketing agency to make sure of that. According to her, Nick was sitting at his desk.

  Normally, I wouldn’t stakeout in front of a building this early. This time was different. There was a chance that Nick would take a break at some point and sneak out. If that occurred, I wanted to be able to follow him.

  That said, stakeouts were inherently boring. The amount of time that I spent sitting in my car waiting for something interesting to happen was insane. During those quiet moments, my mind had a chance to wander. And it did not hesitate to do so.

  That particular afternoon, I began to think about Scott. My mother was convinced that Scott and I were meant for each other. She wasn’t alone. Kristina also believed that the detective and I should be dating. For a long time, I wasn’t sure about that. I was starting to come around to the idea, though. We did have a lot in common. We also got along really well. In addition, since we were friends, there wouldn’t be that awkward period of getting to know each other.

  Right then, a sense of irony washed over me. There I was, thinking about possibly getting into a relationship while I was on the stakeout that could potentially bring an end to someone else’s relationship.

  It was a weird life, being a private investigator. It made me see the seedier side of things. Not just criminal behavior. But also emotional betrayals. Human beings were capable of doing terrible things. I had witnessed a lot of that awful behavior with my own eyes.

  I tried my best not to let it taint my own personal life, but sometimes it was hard to keep a jaded perspective from creeping in.

  Despite everything I had seen, I still believed that good things were in store for me. Not just professionally, but romantically. I wanted to be in love. Was Scott the right man for me?

  I could have spent the afternoon contemplating the answer to that question, but I was on the clock.

  Rather than continuing to focus on Scott, I decided to look Nick up on social media. Maybe if I went through his profile, something would jump out at me.

  Unfortunately, nothing did.

  The search managed to burn some time, though, which kept boredom from taking hold of me. I knew that I approached cases differently than some other investigators did. A number of private eyes preferred to take action. To be proactive. To make things happen.

  Not me. I liked to hang back. To observe from a distance. Honestly, if I could get away with procuring the information I needed without ever speaking with the subject that I was investigating, that would be ideal.

  Sometimes, things played out exactly that way. Other times, unexpected twists and turns were thrown at me. When that happened, I had to improvise. To make the best of a bad situation.

  I tried my best to plan for the unexpected. That said, there was only so much that I could do. For example, I remember when a subject chased me through a parking lot. That wasn’t the only time I had stared down danger during my career.

  That was why I kept a can of pepper spray in my purse at all times. Thankfully, I hadn’t used it. Yet. Perhaps I would be able to go the rest of my life without spraying anyone in the face. Only time would tell.