California Schemin': Book One in the Malibu Mayhem Trilogy Read Online Free PDF Page A

through the door. His face was pale, yet beaded with sweat.
    “Hang in there, Brad,” the woman said.
    “I’m…okay,” the guy panted as he leaned on the woman. “Let’s go back, Danielle. Please.”
    Bess and I watched as a doctor hurried over. She shone what looked like a penlight into his open mouth.
    “I’m Dr. Wainwright,” she said, her brows furrowed with concern. Do you know what happened?”
    I was curious myself. But instead of answeringthe doctor, the two of them exchanged silent glances.
    “Do you have any idea?” Dr. Wainwright asked again.
    “Um…too much sun?” Danielle answered.
    “We’ll see,” Dr. Wainwright said. She helped Brad into a chair. “You’ll need to fill out some forms at the desk while I find an examining room. It shouldn’t take long.”
    The doctor walked past me and Bess.
    “Can too much sun do that?” Bess whispered.
    “Not according to the doctor,” I murmured.
    What struck me as weird was how reluctant they were to answer. As if they had something to hide. As if they—and then I stopped myself. Why couldn’t I turn off my radar? This wasn’t even my business!
    At that moment the door to the emergency room slid open once again. A tall blond woman dressed in a white pantsuit practically marched inside, straight over to Danielle.
    “Danielle, why on earth did you bring Brad here?” the woman demanded in a Scandinavian-sounding accent. “We have perfectly good natural remedies at the retreat to help him.”
    “Sorry, Inge,” she said, and dropped the forms on the desk. “I panicked when Brad almost passed out.”
    Bess and I were stunned when this Inge ladywalked over to Brad and pulled him out of the chair.
    “My car is out front,” Inge said, leaning Brad on Danielle’s shoulder. “Let’s go.”
    “Do you see that?” Bess asked as the three headed toward the door. “She’s taking that poor guy out of the hospital.”
    I couldn’t believe it.
    “Excuse me,” I called to Inge. “The doctor was just going to check him out.”
    Inge barely glanced at me before the door slid shut behind them. Seconds later Dr. Wainwright returned, looking for Brad.
    “They just left,” I said with a shrug. “With some blond woman.”
    “Left?” Dr. Wainwright said. “That’s weird.”
    “That was weird,” Bess agreed as I sat down. “Why were those two so scared of that woman?”
    “I have no idea,” I admitted. “But she did mention something about a retreat. She had some yellow emblem on her pocket, but I couldn’t make out what it was.”
    “Wait a minute—a retreat?” Bess asked, her eyes wide. “What if that creepy Inge works next door to us at Roland’s Renewal Retreat and Spa?”
    “What are the odds of that, Bess?” I asked. “There must be more retreats and spas on Malachite Beach.”
    “I guess.” Bess sighed. Her eyes suddenly lit up asGeorge entered the waiting room, a white bandage wrapped around her ankle.
    “Dr. Viola found shards of glass in my cut,” George said with a grin. “Which means I didn’t step on the needle.”
    “That’s great,” Bess said, giving her cousin a big hug. I giggled as George grimaced. She was about as affectionate as a sumo wrestler in the ring.
    I was just as relieved. But my questions still hadn’t been answered. One: Did the needle really belong to the Casabian sisters? Two: What was it filled with? And three: Were there any more where that came from?
    I knew I’d said we wouldn’t try to find any mysteries while on vacation. But I had a funny feeling a mystery had just found us.

 

SPA SECRETS
     
    “ W hat are Dr. Viola’s orders?” I asked George as we drove back to the house.
    “I got a tetanus shot.” George raised her arm to show a small Band-Aid. “I have to keep my foot dry for a day or two.”
    “There goes swimming and surfing,” said Bess.
    “We’ll be in Malachite Beach for three weeks, Bess,” George said. “At least I didn’t step on that