The Beach House by Chloe Young

center of the shopping center, Sullivan caught sight of the Jeep parked in the back of the shopping area. It was definitely the right color. Too bad they were unable to read the license plate on the surveillance cameras outside of the convenience store.
    Sullivan parked his undercover car about ten yards away from the Jeep. He was under some kind of a tree that would give him some shade and hopefully not draw any attention to himself. It was a good thing he had opted to not take the police cruiser. Now this was real, undercover police work. He decided he would wait to see who got into the Jeep, snap a few pictures, and see where this vehicle ends up.
     
    The detective slouched down some in the driver’s seat and made sure his camera was perfectly zoomed in on the vehicle in question. As he began to relax some, he saw two young women approaching the Jeep. They were carting about six bags of groceries. Both women were very attractive and appeared to be doing nothing more than getting food for their vacation.
     
    Sullivan began to snap pictures of the women as they were unloading the cart. As he zoomed in on the brunette, he began to feel as if he had seen her before. Then he realized that she looked like the girl seen on the surveillance tape walking out of the restroom. If that were true, then he would be able to confirm that this vehicle about indeed been the one at the gas station earlier that day when Cliff was murdered.
     
    He would have to get a still shot off of the surveillance tape and compare it to these pictures to be sure this was the same girl.
     
    The blonde got into the driver’s seat and the women took off in the Jeep. Was it really possible that these beautiful girls had murdered an innocent gas station attendant just hours ago? Sullivan wasn’t sure, but if there was anything he knew about this business, it was that you could never rule anything out. With that thought, he slowly pulled onto the road behind the Jeep.
     
    He followed them for a few blocks until the Jeep turned off and pulled in at the beach house. Sullivan was satisfied with his work. He potentially had the vehicle and the murderer. He began to wonder how the murder may have gone down. Did she stab the guy so she could get some free food? Did she murder the guy and then clean herself off in the bathroom?
     
    He knew he had to confirm that this was the same girl and then have his crew check that bathroom from top to bottom for any sign of blood. He would be back to the beach house soon enough once he had some answers.

Chapter 19
     
    Susan and Clint settled themselves down in their hotel room. They had decided to lie down for a while before seeking out some food for dinner. This day had been far more exhausting th an either of them had anticipated.
     
    Clint was hoping that they would be able to get a tire and tank of gas in the morning so that they could be at the beach house in the afternoon. The auto body shop was just a couple of miles away, and it shouldn’t take long to get the job done. The tow truck driver certainly made it difficult to be optimistic though.
     
    Susan snuggled in next to her husband on the bed, closed her eyes, and drifted off to sleep. Clint was not far behind her.
     
    ***
    Kristi and Megan pulled back up at the beach house. Mark met the girls out by the car to carry in the food. Kristi appreciated the fact that Mark was such a gentleman. Megan appreciated that about him too, although she didn’t always trust his motives.
     
    They made their way into the beach house to see that Damon had already fired up the grill. Soon the smell of grilled burgers and hot dogs occupied the patio and house. Megan grabbed the chips, ketchup, pickles, and beers. The four of them enjoyed a good dinner on the patio. It was the first time that the four of them had actually sat down together and had a real conversation without any sort of arguing.
     
    They talked about Damon’s childhood at the beach and about their dreams for