Page 143 of Two Kinds of Stranger

‘Oh, don’t worry. I didn’t mind. I saw you that first day. You were so good-looking. And that watch, the Patek Philippe. And the hand-made Italian shoes. I knew you were a catch.’

‘You saw me?’

‘Oh yeah. I knew then you were someone special. I knew you would make a move on me sooner or later. Like I said, I knew you were a good catch. And you confirmed that right after our first date. You saw the bills pinned on my fridge, in my apartment, and you paid them the very next day. All of them. Over a hundred thousand dollars. Normally, it’s like half a dozen dates before my gentlemen do the gentlemanly thing and pay off some of my debts. Then I move apartments and find another wealthy gentleman.’

Logan’s head swam. He felt dizzy. What the hell was she talking about?

‘I own all the companies that issued those debts. Never had a guy pay themall, and never on the first date. That’s why I gave you the money back. It was aconvincer, as we call it in the trade. Something to make you trust me. I knew then you were a big fish, Logan. But I didn’t know you were a killer. . .’

The whiskey glass slipped from his hand, shattered on the deck. His heart was thumping so hard it was deafening.

‘You had something to do with those TikTok murders. I saw you outside of the court. I followed you.’

Logan remembered standing in the crowd of Elly’s supporters, and the sensation of being watched.

‘That gunshot wound on your arm confirmed it. I read the news. I know you tried to kill a witness in that case and the police chased you to the bridge. You’re a dangerous man, Logan.’

‘Grace, wait, you have this all. . .’

He tried to finish his sentence, but his throat dried up. He tried to lean forward, to get to his feet, but. . .

He couldn’t move.

Fear took him.

‘The nerve toxin in the whiskey is fast-acting,’ said Grace. ‘You’re not going to suffer for long. I’ve got your account numbers and passwords. I thought about taking your money in New York. But I knew you’d come after me. And you’d probably find me and kill me. I needed it to be clean. If I’m going to have my biggest take ever, yourmillions, I had to make sure I did it right.’

Logan’s mouth opened, but no words came.

And no air came in either.

His eyes bulged. He couldn’t move his arms, his legs.

It was as if he was encased in cement.

‘It took me a while to figure out you were a killer. I sensed you were dangerous before we’d even met. What you didn’t know is that I’m dangerous too. You remember that story I told you about the melon farmer who went missing, and the whole town went out looking for him? I told you we searched for him and then found out he’d moved to Atlanta and met a stripper. Well, he didn’t move. I buried him deep in his land, Logan. So deep, no one was ever gonna find him. I was blackmailing him, and he decided he didn’t want to pay. So he had to die. Now it’s your turn. You’ll die in the next minute, and then you’ll go for another swim. A long one this time. Right to the bottom of the ocean,’ said Grace.

She stood and, as she walked away, she said, ‘Never trust a stranger, Logan. Didn’t your mother ever tell you that?’

Logan wanted to scream. To fight. To kill.

He could do nothing. His chest would not move. His lungs would not expand.

There was no air. His eyes felt heavy. And there was no longer sight.

Only sound.

The sound of the seawater, dripping from his swim shorts onto the deck.

Drip. . .

Drip. . .

Drip. . .