Monday, August 20, 2012

Island Surprise


Thanks so much for stopping by. This week's writing prompt is book.

     Claire stopped in the middle of the busy hotel lobby and thought what she needed to do next. She wanted to tell Nancy about the girl’s body that was found, but she was probably in a workshop. She knew Sam was hot on her heels, so she had to keep moving. She didn’t want to see him right now after what she’s just learned. She needed time to cool off. She had a great idea. She ducked into an elevator and headed for her room. Once inside, she threw her bag on the bed and started peeling off her clothes. She was going for a quick dip in the pool, outside of course, after she was in Hawaii, who wants to stay indoors. She put on her tasteful purple one piece halter suit and pulled on a large white tee shirt that was large enough to be a dress as a cover-up. She stepped into her sandals, grabbed a small wrist bag and headed back out the door.

     As she was walking down the hallway to the elevator, she stopped when she Sam’s smooth voice talking to people at the elevator bank.

     “Would you mind signing your book for me, Mr. Stewart? I’m a big fan of yours,” an older woman’s voice asked.

     “Well…” she heard the hesitation in his voice. “Yes, I’d be glad to sign it for you. What’s your name, dear?” 
     Even under the crazy circumstances, Claire wasn’t surprised to hear Sam stopping to give a fan an autograph. And it was perfect timing for her, she turned around and headed for the stairwell at the end of the hall. She ran so he wouldn’t see her. She opened the door, and walked down the emergency stairwell four floors to the main level.

     She was feeling pretty clever, and thought she even handled that situation like a character in one of Sam’s books. She just needed a little time to herself, and she really didn’t like how Sam knew that a body was found and didn’t share it with her right away. She knew it was too good to be true, she was better off leaving their relationship the way it was. Now she was sorry that she cared too much.

     She took off her cover-up, and put it and her wristlet on a lounge chair with a white beach towel from the towel caddy. She walked over to the diving board, her college swim team practice moves kicked in like body memory as she stepped to the end of the diving board, and bounced a few times before diving in. It wasn’t an Olympic worthy dive, but it was mostly vertical with little splash. Her old swim team coach would be pleased, especially since she hadn’t been in a pool in months. Her body adjusted to the water temperature right away, it was refreshing and just what she needed to clear her mind. She resurfaced and swam to the other side of the pool. Claire climbed out of the pool and was surprised when she heard a small round of applause for her pool performance. She looked around and waved a thank you to the onlookers. She walked back to her lounge chair, and was surprised to see Lacy sitting in a white bathing suit sitting next to her. Was this a coincidence or was Lacy tracking her?

     “Wow, I’m impressed, Claire. That was a great dive.” Lacy said looking at Claire behind thick over-sized black sunglasses.

     “Thanks, I did some swimming in college. Diving into a pool helps me to clear my mind.” Claire said while wrapping her towel around herself to dry off.

     “You don’t say.”

     Claire sat in her chair with towel around her. “Yeah, it sort of shakes things up, and then everything settles a bit, just like the water. It’s has such a calming effect.”

     “Are you nervous about anything? I mean are you pitching or anything at this conference?”

     “Well, I’m not pitching to anyone at the conference, but my mind is a bit preoccupied.”

     “Oh, well perhaps you should make another dive, maybe it’ll help.” The sun reflected off Lacy’s glasses and Claire couldn’t see the woman’s eyes if she wanted to.

     “I just saw on the news where a girl’s body was found on the small island next to this one.” She watched for Lacy’s reaction behind the giant shades.

     “What, oh that’s horrible. I can see what you mean, that’s upsetting to me too. Here in paradise and somebody’s murdered.”

     “I didn’t say she was murdered. They don’t know how she died yet.” She watched Lacy carefully. “But they will”

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6 comments:

  1. Looks like someone might have let something slip

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  2. Love the diving reference. Makes your character very real. And,yes, I agree with Lindsay, someone seems to have let something slip. This story keeps getting better and better.

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  3. This is getting exciting. And Jean and Lindsay are right. Looks like someone knows more than they are letting on. Can't wait to see if Lacy makes any other slips.

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  4. A big Oops on the part of Lacy. Can't wait to read more.

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  5. oopsie daisy ... someone let something slip ... liked the post!

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  6. Thanks everyone for stopping by and leaving a comment.

    I'm very busy this week with edits for Love & the Economy, so we may not here from Claire, Sam and the gang for awhile.

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