Bikinis in Paradise (Tj Jensen Pardise Lake Mysteries) Read Free Page B

were the empty eyes of the woman as she stared at her after she’d dove down to the spot Echo had led her to. Luckily, Tj was a triathlete and an excellent swimmer. The lake claimed more than one victim a year who underestimated the deadly combination of cold water and sheer drop-offs.
    “And you said you recognize the woman?” Dylan asked.
    “Yes. Her name is Tonya Overton. She works for the Tropical Tan Corporation. She was new this year, but Dad and I met her during the planning meeting we had with the administration a few months ago. And she made another trip here to verify photo-shoot locations a couple of weeks ago. She was supposed to accompany the girls to the resort, but she never made it to the bus. Leiani spoke to someone from the Florida office who confirmed that she flew into Reno from Miami today.”
    “So how did she get here if she didn’t come on the bus?” Dylan stated the obvious.
    “I have no idea.”
    “And you said you were looking for a missing model when you found the body?”
    “Yes. One of the girls was met at the bus by a man the other girls describe d as having short blond hair. They headed toward the beach together. I ran into one of my students on the beach, and he said he saw her walking toward the cove with a man fitting the same description.”
    “Could the missing model have been meeting Ms. Overton?” Dylan asked.
    Tj hadn’t considered that , but now that she thought about it, the idea that the two missing women being connected in some way made sense. “I really don’t know. I do know that based on the information provided in the missing model’s file, Kiara Boswell listed Serenity as her hometown. As far as I can remember, she didn’t go through our school system, but she could have been homeschooled. I believe that Tonya is from Miami originally, but she’s been to Serenity on two occasions, so it seems reasonable that she could have met people who live in the area.”
    “ Right now you need to get out of those wet clothes. We’re going to be here a while. I’ve called for the divers, but it could be more than an hour until they arrive. I’ll have Roy drive you and Echo back to the resort. I’ll come by when I’m done here.”
    “Honestly , it’s almost as far up to the road as it is back to the resort along the beach. I’ll just walk so Roy can stay to help you,” Tj offered.
    Dylan held her by the shoulders and looked deep ly into her eyes. “Are you sure you’re okay? Finding the girl under the water like that must have been quite a shock.”
    “I’m fine,” Tj assured him. “This isn’t my first body , you know.”
    Dylan frowned. “Yeah, I guess not. Call me when you get back to the resort so I know you’re okay.”
    “Yes, Dad.” Tj stood on tiptoe to kiss Dylan, who was more than a foot taller than her, on the lips. Tj grinned as Dylan blushed. Kissing the officer who responded to a murder call probably wasn’t proper etiquette, but Tj had endured a long day, and a quick kiss from the man she was growing to care for was just what she needed to get her through the rest of the day.
    Tj took off his shirt and handed it back to Dylan. “You should probably be dressed when the others arrive. The sun will be hitting the beach once I get around the bend, so I’ll be fine.”
    “Are you sure?” Dylan accepted the partially wet shirt.
    “I’m sure. I’ll see you later.”
    Tj called Echo to her side and started back up the rocky path. She wanted to be sure to be good and gone before the divers arrived and brought Tonya to the surface. Tj had seen dead bodies before, but there was something particularity disturbing about seeing the young woman floating in the water with her eyes open and her long hair floating around her like a halo. Whoever killed her had tied one of her legs to an anchor before dumping her.
    Tj had called and spoken to Leiani while she waited for Dylan to arrive. Leiani agreed to go ahead with the orientation without mentioning