Page 23 of The Awful Truth

Actually, Mother, pencils do grow on trees. Well, they were made from trees anyway.

Yes, she needed to get out of her parents’ house for good. And when she did, she’d buy an electric pencil sharpener and a box of pencils, and just sharpen them all down to nubs for the hell of it.

She flipped open the paper and held the pencil up to Luka, who narrowed his eyes. “It’s blank.”

“Yes, but not for long.” She made a big show of smoothing out the paper in front of her, then using the side of the pencil to lightly shade it in, starting at the top left corner and working her way down to the other side. Her heart pounded a little, because if nothing showed through, she was about to look like an idiot. Oh God, she was almost halfway and there was still nothing. She stopped and gave Luka a sheepish expression. “I ripped out the page that was right after the one The Director had taken. I thought maybe the words would come through.”

Luka smiled. “Brilliant.”

Shrugging, she said, “Apparently not.”

“Keep going.”

“Here, you do the rest,” she answered, sliding the paper and pencil across to him.

He got to work, his tongue sticking out of the right side of his mouth. Petra watched, hoping that even if nothing was there, that he’d remember she was not only clever, but fun too. Look at us, a proper couple out for dinner, drinking beer and solving a puzzle together. She had a sip from her bottle and stopped herself from shuddering as the bitter liquid assaulted her tongue.

“Ah-hah!” Luka said. “Something’s starting to show!”

Petra watched as he continued to shade in the page, looking delighted. When he finished, he set the pencil down and stared at the sheet, his eyebrows furrowed. “Hmph.”

“What does it say?”

He spun the page to face her.

Winds of Opportunity

Cres - off W. C.

Petra’s face fell and she was about to apologize for getting him excited for nothing, but when she looked at him, he was busy typing something into his phone. “This is a huge lead.”

“It is?”

“Oh yes, this is the name of the vessel,” he said, pointing to the top line. “Tracking a yacht is the easiest thing in the world. Anyone can get the app.” Moving his finger down the page to the word Cres, he added, “And this is where the murder must have taken place. Just off of Cres Island.”

“We don’t know for sure that it was murder. It could have been anything. An accident, a heart attack, an allergic reaction...”

He shook his head. “Then why call The Director?”

Petra considered his question while she had another sip of beer. Yup, still awful. “Well, suppose it was someone so powerful that his death would have some sort of global impact. Or what if he was on the yacht with someone he shouldn’t have been?”

Luka sat back in his chair, his expression changing to one of admiration. “Now you’re thinking like a true crime podcaster.”

He picked up his phone and started typing while Petra sat in her chair, enjoying the moment. Maybe this would be the start of a new profession for her. They could be a married team, making podcasts together all day and making love all night.

Luka’s face spread into a wide grin. “Ha! The yacht must be heading to Mali Losinj.”

“To the police station.”

“Not only that, there’s a coast guard ship and a police boat right beside it.” He picked up his beer and had a long sip. “You were right. This is something, Petra. Something big.”

The waitress arrived with their plates, interrupting the moment between them. Luka picked up his fork and knife. “We have to eat fast. Well, I do, anyway. You can take your time. But I need to get on the road right away.”

“You’re going to Mali Losinj tonight?”

Nodding, he popped a bite of the sausage in his mouth. “Yes, that’s where the story is, so that’s where I need to be.”

“Of course.” Petra smiled even though this wasn’t exactly welcome news. Here she thought they would go back to Luka’s place, and maybe she’d even spend the night, but instead he was going to eat and run. She reminded herself to keep her eye on the bigger prize. Her happily married life with a perky new nose, a perfect jawline, and smaller waist than her sister for once.