Tidewater Inn by Colleen Coble Page A

“The lobby is the room to the right.”
    Sand and salt had scoured the wood floors. Libby ran her fingertips along blistered paint on the plaster walls. She could repair it. She went down through the foyer to what would have been a parlor on the right. Ceilings soared to twelve feet. She glanced up and saw that the plaster drooped in places. It needed to be put back in place with plaster washers and screws. Or replastered altogether.
    The reception counter was made of driftwood and marble. The woman behind the counter was in her early thirties. Her dark hair was up in a ponytail that curled down her back. She wore no makeup, and her strikingly beautiful skin didn’t need any help. She smiled when Alec introduced Libby.
    â€œI’m Delilah Carter, Ms. Holladay,” she said. “I’m so sorry about your trouble. If there’s anything I can do to help, just let me know.” She rose with a key in her hand. “Let me show you to your friend’s room.”
    â€œI see Tom outside,” Alec said. “I’ll join you upstairs in a minute.” He walked back the way they’d come.
    Libby fell into step beside Delilah. “Did you get a chance to talk to Nicole?”
    The woman stepped into the foyer and started up the steps, easily six feet wide. “Oh yes. Lovely girl.”
    Libby mounted the steps with her. “Did she tell you why she was here?”
    â€œFor business, so she said.” Delilah inserted the key into the lock and turned it. She opened the door and stepped aside for Libby to enter. At the first sight of her friend’s familiar pink suitcase, Libby’s eyes burned. Nicole’s pajamas were in a heap on the floor. Her clothes spilled from the top of the suitcase. In the bathroom, her makeup littered the sink counter. Libby picked up her friend’s hairbrush and caught a scent of the shampoo Nicole used.
    She swiped fiercely at the moisture on her face. Crying wouldn’t find Nicole.

    Alec intercepted Tom on the porch. “Any news?”
    Tom’s lips flattened. “Not about Nicole.”
    â€œWhat’s that mean?”
    â€œMs. Holladay hasn’t been truthful with us.” Tom took off his hat and wiped his brow with the back of his sleeve. “The reason I can’t view the video of the abduction is because it was wiped off the server. The computer’s IP address was traced. Libby did it.”
    Alec’s gut clenched. Though he’d known her only a few hours, he would have sworn her innocence and concern were genuine. “So there is no proof her story is even true. The cell phone could have been planted. The car could have been left out there by anyone. We know she only came to town today though, right?”
    Tom nodded. “I talked to Earl Franklin and his wife. They met her this morning. But I’m questioning all the charters I know of to make sure she didn’t get here a few days ago to lay out her plan.”
    Alec marshaled all his objectivity. Since when had a pretty face blinded him? “When was Nicole last seen?”
    â€œI was about to question Delilah. No one in town saw her yesterday.”
    â€œWhat about Vanessa? Libby claims she was meeting Nicole.”
    Tom returned his hat to his head. “I haven’t spoken to her yet, but I will. Right now I want to look through Nicole’s room and talk to Delilah.”
    â€œYou haven’t gone through her belongings yet?”
    Tom shook his head. “My first priority was to find her.”
    â€œDelilah just let Libby into the suite.”
    â€œGreat, just great.” Tom jerked open the door and rushed into the house.
    Alec followed. He’d sure botched that one.

    â€œLibby?”
    Libby put the hairbrush back onto the sink when Alec called to her from the bedroom. “In here.”
    When she stepped into the bedroom, she found identical expressions on the faces of the two men in the doorway. Alec was