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But despite what I’d said to Joe, my gut told me it was relevant. When I returned everything to my file folder an hour later, the paper with James Pries’s murder was included.

I ordered brunch from room service and spent the rest of the day in my suite reading anything I could find about the Greek mafia on the Internet. I learned about the Philadelphia Greek Mob and all the key players. I hunted for any connections to the Sallis name. When I’d exhausted the topic, I ordered room service for dinner. Then I looked again for Amber, hoping for something I might have missed in previous searches.

And then Reeve. I scoured the Web for pictures of him, for articles. I read everything I found, even though I’d read it all before. Then I read it again.

When night fell and my eyes couldn’t stare at a screen another minute, I shut my laptop and peered into the mirror above the desk I’d been working at. “Well,” I said to my red-eyed reflection. “Time to face what you’ve been ignoring for the last twenty-four hours. I fucked up with Reeve.”

I’d told myself that I’d cooped myself up because I had to research. The truth was, I’d wanted to be in my room in case he’d called. I’d convinced myself he’d reach out, that he’d give me a second chance. Hell, to be honest, I wasn’t even sure what I’d done wrong. Too many years had passed since I’d last seduced anyone, and I just didn’t know what I was doing anymore. Didn’t that deserve another shot?

The idea that he might not give me one – that he likely wouldn’t – was unbearable.

I rested my face in my palm and willed the emotions to stay below the surface as I said the words over and over, “I fucked up, Amber. I fucked up.”

It was my imagination, no doubt about it – the words were even direct from a memory, and not new – but I heard her voice clear and soothing in my head. “This is only today. Tomorrow’s going to be something else entirely.”

CHAPTER 5

The next day, I revised my plan. Reeve may have wanted nothing to do with me, but Amber was still missing, and I was still determined to find her. There was less than a week before I had to be back at the studio in Burbank, which meant only a handful of days left at the Palm Springs resort. Though I didn’t know how long she’d stayed, I did know that Amber had spent some time here. Surely someone on the staff had to remember her? The trick was finding the right staff.

Along with my accordion file, I had stuffed a few items I’d worn for different shoots in the room safe including brown tinted contacts and a brunette hairpiece. The wig was professional and nearly impossible to detect, especially when I wore it under a hat, which I paired with a sundress over my swimsuit and headed out. First stop, the pools. Amber had always loved the water, almost as much as I did. She liked to drift and float and dry off by lying in the sun. Then repeat. Reeve’s pool was a lap-only pool except in the mornings when it was reserved only for him. I doubted there was any way he’d have let her splash around during his laps. Also, not only was his early swim time not the best hour for sunning, but Amber usually wasn’t even awake at that time of morning. Lucky for her there were six other pools on the property that were open all day. I decided to start at the one farthest away from my suite and work my way back.

The hotel didn’t provide lifeguards, so I set my sights instead on the towel boys. At pool number one, I sat in the hot tub for fifteen minutes first to make my approach seem ordinary. Standing in front of the attendant dripping wet didn’t hurt either. I was a woman who knew how to use her wiles, after all. My prep was wasted, though. The towel boy there hadn’t worked at the resort long enough to be helpful. I repeated the same routine at the second pool only to find that towel boy was new too. Pool three’s towel boy was a woman who grunted at me when I tried to talk to her. Pool four was the family pool – Amber wouldn’t have been caught dead in a place overrun with children. I went through the routine anyway, in case the towel boys rotated where they worked. Though that one had been there the summer before, he’d been working in housekeeping then.

By number five, I was starting to get frustrated. This was a quieter pool. I dipped my feet in, which calmed me down. Centered me. I was ready to perform when I stood up and made my way to the towel bar.

The attendant was young. Probably early twenties. His eyes were glued to his phone as I came walking up so he didn’t see me at first. “Hi,” I said, dripping in front of the counter.

He didn’t look up. “Need a towel?”

“Yeah.”

He grabbed one off the stack of linens beside him and scooted it across the counter.

“Can I have an extra one, please?”

He glanced up at me. “Uh, sure.” I had his attention now. He pocketed his phone and reached into a bin of unfolded towels behind him. “Here, take one of these. Just came from the dryer.”

He tried to brush my hand as I took it from him, but I didn’t let him. He had to work to get rewards from me.

“Oh, thank you. That’s…” – I held the towel like a cape behind me, making sure the attendant’s eyes were where I wanted them before wrapping it around me – “nice.” Okay, maybe he didn’t have to work that hard.

“Can I get you anything else?” He smiled, completely accommodating now.

I pretended to consider. “Have you worked here long, uh, Eric?” I asked, reading the name on his tag.

“Going on three years.”

“Then maybe you can help me with something else.” I leaned forward over the counter, hoping I appeared flirty instead of eager. “My friend spent some time here last summer. She was my age. Blond. My size. I was wondering if you might remember her. Her name’s Amber.”

He seemed truly disappointed. “I’m sorry. There’s way too many girls that come through here for me to remember —”

“I have a picture.” I fished into the oversized beach bag at my feet and pulled out the Internet photo I’d grabbed from my file before leaving my room that morning. I’d chosen the one taken at the resort. Though I had some original pictures from a long time ago, I wasn’t ready to admit that I’d known Amber in my youth, in case – God, I was paranoid – my questioning somehow got back to Reeve. Besides, the resort shot was more recent, and I thought seeing her in context might be helpful.

The attendant peered at the photo. I watched as his face changed to recognition. Then to concern. He was fidgety when he pushed it back toward me. “Uh, no. Definitely not. I don’t know anything about her.”

He wasn’t a good liar. And why was he lying anyway?

I leaned in a little farther hoping a view of the girls could persuade him to tell the truth. “Are you sure? I know she was here. She was dating the resort owner and —”