Deadly in High Heels Read Online Free PDF Page A

"Yeah, I pretty much run this place. The only times I'm not here are Wednesdays and Fridays. I teach surfing those days." He gave us a lopsided smile as he set three full glasses on the bar.
    I took a grateful sip of mine, enjoying the bubbly sensation on my tongue from the refreshing mixture.
    "Hey, if any of you feel like catching some waves on your vacay, give me a ping." Dirk slid his card across the smooth top of the bar toward me. It had a picture of Dirk giving a hang loose sign with his pinky and thumb, the words "surfing with Dirk" below it next to a cell number and Twitter handle.
    "Thanks," I said slipping the card into my purse, "but we're actually here with the pageant. So I'm not sure how much downtime we'll have."
    Dirk's face suddenly transformed from jovial to solemn. "Oh, man, I heard about that pageant girl. What a bummer, right?"
    "Total bummer," Dana agreed, taking a sip of her smoothie.
    "One of her friends said she saw the girl heading this way last night…?" Marco fished.
    Dirk nodded. "Yeah, that police dude asked me the same question earlier. She was the blonde chick, right? Super long hair?"
    I nodded. "Jennifer Oliver. She was competing as Miss Montana in the pageant."
    "So she was here having a drink last night?" Dana asked. I could see disappointment marring her features, tiny lines she'd yet to give over to Botox forming along her forehead.
    But Dirk shook his head, his blond hair whipping back and forth. "No way, man, not drinking here. I know those girls got curfew going on. I see any them down here, and I'm supposed to report right back to Laforge. He left me a good tip for that—you know what I mean?" Dirk grinned.
    "But you did see her?" I asked.
    He nodded. "Oh, yeah. Like I told Cop Dude, I saw her, but she wasn't drinking here. She was down the beach. There." Dirk pointed to a spot about a hundred yards down the white sand. Currently it was occupied by a pair of little boys making sand castles with plastic buckets.
    "What was she doing?" I asked
    Dirk shrugged. "I didn't ask. I was slammed with the duck people."
    I gave him a blank look, wondering just how reliable of a witness the bartender was. "Duck people?"
    "The insurance group," Dirk clarified. "You know, they've got that duck in all of their ads? He's, like, totally funny, dude. Anyway, their annual convention is sharing the hotel with you pageant peeps this week."
    Ah. I had noticed a large number of men in suits roaming the lobby of the hotel.
    "Anyway," Dirk went on, "like I told the cops, those duck dudes can totally drink. I was slammed last night. Besides, I've learned to keep my questions to myself. Most people checking in here go with the what-happens-on-the-island-stays-on-the-island motto, you know what I mean, chicas?"
    Unfortunately what had happened on the island to Miss Montana was definitely not staying on the island.
    "Was she with anyone?" Marco asked. "When you saw her on the beach?"
    Good question. I sipped at my mimosa again as I watched him answer.
    Dirk's head bobbed up and down, his bangs jumping on his forehead. "Yup, totally."
    "Who?" Marco and I asked in unison.
    Dirk shrugged. "Search me, man. There's zero light down there after sunset. All I could see from here were two figures."
    "But you're certain that one of them was Miss Montana?" I asked.
    "Oh, yeah. I saw her walking from the resort. I got a good look as she passed by, because we had fire dancers on the stage. Totally lit up the bar, you know?"
    "But you didn't see her companion walk by?"
    He shook his head. "Sorry, like I said I was slammed. It was just dumb luck I happened to look up when the dead girl was walking by."
    "Could you tell if the figure you saw was a man or woman?" Dana asked, clearly still wanting to think the best of her contestant.
    Dirk paused for a moment, sucking in his cheeks and staring off into space. "No, sorry. It was too dark to see. I kinda got the impression it was a dude, just by how close together they were