Christy Barritt - Squeaky Clean 04 - Dirty Deeds by Christy Barritt Page B

across the lobby at a leisurely pace. “I appreciate that. I’ll talk to the concierge.” I said the word in a nasal tone, my best imitation of a French accent. It wasn’t pretty.
    The rain in Spain …
    Sally sells seashells …
    Peter Piper picked …
    I had to work on my speech, not because I spoke Cockney, but because mastering accents could be a great pastime. First, I needed to master the tongue twisters, though.
    Riley’s lip curled. “You don’t have to say concierge with an accent, you know.”
    I nodded. “I know. I just like to.”
    “Then by all means, do.” His smile slipped, and his steps slowed. “Any word on Jackie?”
    “I ran into Clint earlier. He said the plan was still the same. He wants to keep everything low key. They’re intending to drop off the money at Glass Falls in,” I glanced at my watch, “fifty minutes.”
    “I hope it all works out like he wants it to.” Riley let out a long breath.
    “You would have called the police?”
    He shrugged. “It’s hard to know exactly what you’d do until you’re in that situation. I can’t help but think the police would know what they’re doing better than I would. Still, it’s one stressful position I wouldn’t wish on anyone.”
    “I’m surprised the whole gang isn’t more upset by this. It just seems like life keeps going on. Is that weird to you?” When my friend Sierra had gone missing, I’d stopped everything until I knew she was okay.
    “What are we supposed to do? Just sit around all day and wait? Clint has pretty much told us he doesn’t want us around. We can’t tell the police. We have no idea where to search and doing that could just get Jackie killed.”
    I nodded. He sounded just like a lawyer, but he had some good points. “I can’t argue with that.” I stopped walking, unsure where we were even heading. “What now? Do we stay here and wait while they drop off the money?”
    “What else are we supposed to do?” Riley’s crystal blue eyes connected with mine.
    I shrugged, trying to look innocent. “Someone needs to keep their eyes open for the person who picks up the stash. What if they don’t deliver Jackie? What if following them is the only hope for finding Jackie when this whole thing blows up?”
    Riley’s hands went to his hips, and his chin jutted out in thought. “I’m assuming Glass Falls is a pretty public area. I can’t imagine that they’d request somewhere too secluded.”
    “I did a little research.” I treaded carefully, remembering my promise not to get involved.
    “Okay … ” His expression remained neutral. As hard as I tried to read it, I couldn’t.
    Instead, I pulled out a map of the resort and pointed to a little dotted line on the outskirts of the hotel. “There’s another hiking trail that runs above the falls. If we could hike there, Clint wouldn’t see us. We could hang out and see who picks up the bag of money.”
    He squeezed my shoulder. “I know this is hard for you to stay away from, Gabby.”
    I shrugged. “I just don’t want to see this end poorly.”
    Riley stared at me a moment before nodding. “How long does it take to get there?”
    Hope soared in my chest. Maybe Riley understood me better than I thought. “About forty five minutes, if I read the map correctly.”
    “Let me get changed. We can make it in forty.”
     
     
     
     
     
     
     

CHAPTER 11
    As Riley gripped my hand, I realized how grateful I was to have him with me on this search. I liked being independent and all, but there was something comforting about someone having your back.
    I glanced at my watch one more time, wishing I had the chance to admire the scenery around me. Instead, we’d moved quickly to get to the area where we could overlook the falls.
    Only five more minutes, and Clint was supposed to leave the money.
    I saw a railing ahead and figured we were almost there. Thank goodness. My lungs were screaming for air. I hadn’t adjusted to the altitude change yet and my body