Lavender Beach Read Free

Brent Cody. He’s our chief of police.”
    For the first time Eastlyn noticed the guy, dressed in khaki shirt and dark pants, a typical law enforcement getup, leaning against an official-looking Chevy Tahoe.
    “You’re kidding me, right? You brought a cop with you? What are you gonna do? Use him to muscle me into the car? Arrest me? For what exactly? I’m clean. I’ve been pill-free for six weeks. I haven’t so much as taken an ibuprofen.”
    Nick expected her defiant attitude. He needed to bluff like hell. He hoped it rang true. “There’s an arrest warrant out for you. It’s either pack your things and come with us or that cop is ready to do his duty and escort you to County.”
    Eastlyn narrowed her eyes. “That’s bullshit. I want all of you off the premises or I’ll be the one calling the cops.”
    Nick shifted gears, prepared to play dirty. “Remember that night before you checked into rehab? Remember those pills you bought from the bartender, Durke Pedasco, at Hotshots? Your so-called friend turned you in to an undercover informant for buying a controlled substance. You must’ve suspected something was up, otherwise you wouldn’t have chosen that particular time to duck into rehab.”
    Nick could tell Eastlyn wasn’t buying the story. He could also tell her bravado was starting to falter, so he embellished even more. “Brent Cody over there is happy to cooperate with the Kern County sheriff’s department to let them know you’re...”
    “Available for arrest?”
    “Look, you could face up to a year in County and a thousand dollar fine for buying illegal prescription drugs. It’d be in your best interests to come with us and start over in Pelican Pointe.”
    “And this threat endears you to me how exactly? Nice story, by the way. We both know that’s what it is. Durke Pedasco is no more a drug informant than I am. I’ve known him since we sat beside each other in first grade. He never sold me, or anyone else for that matter, drugs. You’ll have to do a little better than that.”
    Nick started to wonder if this trip had been a waste of time. “Cord and I want to help you. Personally, I want to help the pilot who was responsible for airlifting me to a hospital. Is that so difficult to understand?”
    “Enough that you came all this way from Bird Pointe, California, to give me a bullshit story?” Eastlyn huffed out an angry breath and considered how fed up she was with Bakersfield. Maybe she had reached a dead end here. Maybe it was time to try someplace else. But she’d rather make that decision on her own without being forced into a corner. “You know what I’ll do? Because I really am out of options in this town and because I’d like a trip to the beach on your dime, I’ll go with you under two conditions.”
    “Okay. Let’s hear it.”
    “I want to see some ID from all of you, especially from that guy on the street wearing that phony-looking cop uniform.”
    “Sure. ID is a reasonable request. What’s the other condition?”
    “I get to pack up my things and drive my own car there. I’ll need wheels when I want to head back home to see my family.”
    Nick knew the only family she had left was a brother, and he was stationed overseas. “Okay, but Cord goes in the house with you and watches you gather up your stuff.”
    Cord glanced at Nick, nonplussed. “Hey man, why me?”
    Nick stared at Cord’s taller, bigger, six-foot-four frame and slapped him on the back. “Because, you, my friend, I think she’d have a tougher time taking down.”
     
     
     
     

 

One
     
    Present Day
    Pelican Pointe, California
     
     
    E ven though she’d grown up there, Eastlyn Parker didn’t miss a thing about dry, dusty Bakersfield.
    Living along the coast, she could smell the sea every time she went outside.
    Wherever she looked there was evidence of spring. April lilacs were in bloom. Flowerbeds burst with golden daffodils, red poppies, Shasta daisies, or grape-colored bee balm. Dormant