Heavenly Honeymoon (Zoe Donovan Mysteries Book 15) Read Online Free PDF Page A

conditions.”
    “What conditions?” To be honest, I didn’t really care. I just wanted out of there.
    “You will promise not to leave the island until I indicate that it’s all right for you to do so.”
    “Agreed.”
    “You will promise to check in with one of our detectives twice every day.”
    That sounded easy enough. “Who should I check in with?”
    The man thought about it for a minute. “I believe Toad will be able to adequately serve this need as he’s here most days.”
    “Okay, I’ll check in with Toad twice every day. What’s the third condition?”
    “You must stay away from this investigation.”
    Uh-oh.
    “Your Sheriff Salinger tells me that you like to meddle.”
    “It’s not so much that I meddle; it’s more that I seem to stumble across clues. Really, it’s more a case of them finding me than me finding them.”
    “If you should stumble across a clue you are to come to tell Toad immediately. If I find that you’ve been snooping around without keeping Toad in the loop I’ll put you in jail immediately. Do you understand?”
    “Yes,” I regrettably answered. “I understand.”

Chapter 3
Wednesday, July 29
     
     
    After signing a ridiculous amount of paperwork, I was allowed to return to the guesthouse, where I tossed and turned all night. I finally decided that the only solution to my current dilemma was to figure out who’d actually killed Ricardo Jimenez. I know Talin had warned me to stay out of the investigation, but I had very little confidence in Toad’s ability to solve the case on his own. Talin did say that he’d toss me in jail if he found out I was snooping around without keeping Toad in the loop. To my way of thinking, that simply meant that for the duration of the investigation Toad was going to be my hopefully silent partner.
    Of course I did need to figure out a way to fit investigating into sharing a fun, family-style vacation with the people who meant the most to me. Zak and the kids would be disappointed if I spent all of my time with my new buddy Toad.
    “Good morning, Alex,” I greeted the young girl who had acted as flower girl for our wedding along with Zak’s dog, Bella. “I see you’re writing in your journal.”
    Alex had confided that she’d started a diary after she’d read one written by a young girl who lived decades ago that she’d found in the attic of Zak’s house during Christmas vacation. I’d learned that she was quite serious about anything she committed to doing, and she’d been entering her thoughts in the journal on a daily basis.
    “Yes. I thought I’d take advantage of the quiet. The boys are in the pool.”
    By boys , she meant Zak and Scooter. Charlie had slept in with me and was currently standing by the door, waiting to be taken out.
    “Did you have a nice time last night?” Alex asked as she completed her thought and then closed the journal.
    “We did. The food was delicious and there was a very interesting couple there who were celebrating their fiftieth wedding anniversary.”
    Zak and I had decided not to mention the murder or my arrest until we could figure out how to tell the kids what had occurred without sending them into a panic. We didn’t want them to hear about it from anyone else, however, so we were planning to sit them down and explain things later that afternoon, after Zak had a chance to do some digging.
    “Wow. Fifty years. I hope I find someone who I can be happy with for fifty years. Do you think you’ll still be married to Zak in fifty years?”
    “Absolutely.”
    “I sometimes wonder if my parents will make it that long.” Alex sighed.
    “They seem to have a lot in common.”
    Alex’s parents were archaeologists who traveled the world digging up rare artifacts. They were gone from Alex’s life a lot more often than they were in it, which was one of the reasons I was committed to taking care of her myself. Still, they did seem to share a love for the lifestyle they’d chosen.
    “They have