Page 58 of Winter’s Fire

The image showed Diana with one of the therapists from the spa. Diana’s name wasn't mentioned, but the beautician’s was—Tani. The name rang a very loud bell.

“We need to talk to this woman.” Logan sat down beside her. “Is there any way—”

“That’s just it.” Lucy brought up her schedule of appointments on the tablet. “She’s the one I told you about. The one who hasn’t worked here long. This is proof that she met Diana. She must remember having this photo taken!”

“Possibly—if she doesn’t have her picture taken with every guest she treats. Are there any more with Diana?”

Lucy swiped through a couple more, then stopped at another featuring a couple of naked strangers. “The background—there. Couldn’t that be her and her boyfriend?”

“It’s possible, they’re the right colouring. Looks like they were arguing, whoever they are.”

Even with the sharpest definition, the couple’s expressions wouldn’t be discernible, but their body language said it all. The woman appeared to be pointing her finger, while both of them were leaning forward, getting in each other’s faces.

“I’ll take Diana’s photo with me,” Lucy said. “If I mention to Tani that I saw her on the website with my friend, she can’t deny it. If only we could print that!”

“Whoa. Hold it right here. A general enquiry is one thing—confrontation’s a different matter entirely. Leave that to me.”

“But it’s a golden opportunity! It might be the best chance we have. If it’s just me, she might be more inclined to open up.”

“Yes, and she could also call an accomplice in, and whatever happened to Diana could happen to you! That’s not happening, Lucy, not on my watch.”

That he was so desperate to protect her was humbling. Then the implication of his words sank into her consciousness. “You do think something bad’s happened to them, don’t you?”

~~*~~

It all boiled down to his gut, and his gut was churning up an industrial-sized portion of suspicion that all was not right in paradise.

A knock at the bungalow door was an unexpected interruption. Logan gestured to Lucy to remain quiet. Uncaring of the fact that he was wearing a towel and nothing else, he went to the door. “Who is it?”

“Please, Master Lucan, it’s Sasha. I’m so sorry to disturb you but I need to speak to Lisa, if I may, Sir?

Lucy was equally puzzled. Logan shrugged, and opened the door to see a clearly distressed Sasha standing there. Her eyes were red, and her clasped hands fidgeted in agitation.

“I think you’d better come in.” He stood back, to allow her to enter.

“Thank you, Master Logan.”

“What is it, Sasha? Are you okay?” Lucy rose from her seat on the sofa, to wrap a comforting arm around the other woman’s shoulders. “Come and sit down. Would you like a drink? Tea? Coffee? Juice? We have a couple of different kinds.”

Sasha cast a nervous look in Logan’s direction.

“It’s all right, you’re among friends here. Where are Jed and Master Dante? Do you need me to find them for you?”

“They’re water-skiing together. If I could just have a glass of water, please—I’ll be fine.”

Logan brought the water, while Lucy led Sasha to the sofa. “I’ll be right back.”

A few minutes later, now fully dressed, he returned to see Lucy sitting beside a quietly sobbing Sasha, rubbing her back and holding her hand to comfort her. Crumpled tissues sat beside the box on the coffee table. His woman looked up at him, her expression troubled.

“I think you’d better hear this, Sir.”

Bearing in mind Lucy’s comment about how intimidating he could be, Logan took a seat on the other sofa and tried to look as non-threatening as possible. “What’s happened, Sasha? Tell me.”

She took another sip of water. Whatever it was, it bothered her so much, her hands were trembling enough to make the surface of the liquid ripple. “When Jed and Master went off for their skiing session, Master gave me permission to do whatever I wanted, so I thought I’d call a friend of mine. She was here a couple of weeks ago with her Dom. It was her first visit, and I wanted to see what she thought, and if she’d enjoyed it.

“She didn’t answer my calls. I tried her mobile phone and her landline, but there was no reply on either, which was odd, because she’s such a homebody. I just had a nagging feeling, so I called a mutual friend, to make sure she was okay, and he hasn’t heard from her either, not since before she left to come here. So I tried her Dom. I don’t know him well, but I have his number for emergencies—he didn’t answer either. She told me once he’s often away on business, though, and I don’t have his mobile number.”

“That doesn’t necessarily mean there’s a problem, Sasha. It could just be that your friend decided to do something like visit family and forgot to take her phone with her.”