Only because they believed Megan’s story. Finn shook his head, wondering why Megan had confessed to Jason, of all people, instead of him. He hadn’t wanted to believe it, but he could practically hear Megan saying the words. It sounded just like her. She hadn’t been sorry that she’d framed her dead friend. She was sorry that someone knew and was after her.
“She thought one of the staff was, what, a hit man?” he asked.
Jason shook his head. “More like a friend of a friend who wanted justice for Holly and her family. Someone was definitely messing with Megan, from what she told me. I just thought it was Casey trying to get back at her, you know, moving things around in her room, turning the heat way up or way down, leaving windows open when a storm blew in, that sort of thing. Just silly, vindictive things.” He chuckled. “The same things Megan had been doing to Casey.”
Megan, Finn thought with a sigh. She’d been so busy making enemies here that it was hard to know who had wanted her dead. Someone after her because she’d lied about the car accident? Or one of the staff members she’d pushed too far?
“She said someone had stolen her diary, and she was worried they would send it to her parents. Apparently she’d confessed everything in the diary. I didn’t even know she kept one,” Jason said.
Finn only knew because he’d seen it once at her house in California. “She said she’d confessed in the diary about the car wreck? Did she also mention that she’d written down who she thought was stalking her?”
Jason shrugged. “She might have. She wanted me to help find the diary, terrified of who might read it. The night she told me, she was scared and drunk. The next morning she tried to avoid me. I figured she’d found it and regretted opening up to me. When I got the chance, I tried to tell her that I’d keep her secret, but she said she didn’t know what I was talking about.”
“You didn’t keep her secret,” Finn pointed out.
“I did for ten long years. I figure the statute of limitations on secrets is probably up. Anyway, isn’t this reunion about telling the truth?”
“I don’t know. Is it? I thought you were here just for the fun?”
Jason chuckled. “Right.” He turned as Casey walked in. “Morning.”
“Morning,” she said with a nod and headed for the coffee as Jason rose, finished his and, leaving his cup on the table, started toward the door.
“A bunch of us are going into town for breakfast. You’re welcome to join us.” When neither Finn nor Casey responded, Jason simply nodded and left.
DEVLIN HAD AWAKENED to his worst nightmare. He realized in the light of day that things were much worse than he’d realized. He’d been so convinced that he could get the hotel at a cheaper price... He’d bragged at length to the investors that he knew Casey Crenshaw and that she was a pushover. That she wanted to dump the hotel so badly that he’d get them a deal they would be talking about for years.
The memory of how arrogant he’d been made him sick to his stomach, but that wasn’t the worst of it. He needed to call them and give them the bad news, softening the blow by telling them that the person who was making an offer would unload it soon if they wanted to wait.
The investors would squawk. They’d already paid his expenses to come out here on numerous trips where he’d padded his bill. When he got them an amazing deal, he’d figured they wouldn’t mind the huge amount he’d run up.
Now he was screwed. They would be furious. The word would spread, and his career would be ruined. No one would trust him. It was why he hadn’t called them, why he’d hung out around the campfire pouring down Jason’s beer until he couldn’t take any more of Jason or Claude or talk of Megan before going to bed.
Megan was the last thing on his mind. She was dead. Good riddance. Why dig her back up at all? His phone vibrated as a text came in. He looked, even though he already knew it was from one of the investors wanting an update.
He swore and put his phone away. He blamed Casey for this. Clearly she’d fallen for Finn and his good looks and his money. Who would have known that Finnegan James would end up in the Crenshaw Hotel? That Finn had a relationship with Megan? That he’d be here now, acting like he had to protect Casey from the rest of them? It was as if Finn knew that one of them was a killer. It wasn’t something Devlin had forgotten.
He thought about last night when he’d left the campfire. All who had been left around the fire were Claude and Jason, and even Jason was clearly tired of Claude.
“Wait up,” Jason had called as Devlin had left the golden aura of the campfire to wade through the dense darkness of the parking lot toward the hotel.
Devlin had pretended not to hear him. He kept thinking that anything could happen this weekend. Any one of them could die.
The thought had perked him up as he reached the lights of the hotel back entrance. If he were dead, the investors couldn’t destroy his career, his life, his future. He’d pushed open the door, letting it slam, still pretending he hadn’t known Jason was right behind him.
This morning, he knew he had only one chance to save himself. Somehow he had to have this hotel and land. Which meant he had to convince Casey to take his offer. Otherwise, he was a dead man.
CASEY FELT THE tension the moment she walked into the hotel kitchen. Jason had made a quick departure, leaving her alone with Finn. “Was it something I said?” she joked, then saw
