Maybe it was time to hire a skilled genealogist to do whatever could be done to track down the reckless Violeta Landon.

Considering it, Eli pulled out his phone again when it signaled.

He saw his agent's name on the display, took one long, deep inhale.

Here we go, he thought, and answered.

He sat there with his notebook, his tablet, and his phone when Abra walked in.

"I'm done upstairs," she began. "You're clear if you want to go back to work. I've got one more load of laundry in the dryer. I thought I'd get back into the pa.s.sageway. It's taking some time as I have to haul buckets in and out to get the steps really clean. And I thought if I did it naked it would be more fun."

"What?"

"Ah, as I thought, the naked got through the wall. Are you working here? Researching?" she asked, tipping her head to read the t.i.tle of the book he'd set down: Whiskey Beach: A Legacy of Mystery and Madness. "Really?"

"It's mostly c.r.a.p, but it has a few pertinent details. It's got a section on the area, and the Landons during Prohibition, that's pretty interesting. My great-great-grandmother helped run the product to local establishments, hiding the bottles under her skirt to elude authorities, who wouldn't ask her to lift them."

"Clever."

"I've heard that one before so it may be true. The theory on the dowry is the rescued seaman managed to hide it. Then he stole the fair and headstrong Violeta's heart and several pieces of her jewelry. That concluded in a wild chase on a stormy night where he went off the lighthouse cliff, courtesy of Edwin Landon, her dark-hearted brother. The dowry likely went with him, back into the unforgiving sea."

"Where it's secured in Davy Jones's locker?"

"According to this guy, the brigand and the treasure chest were dashed on the rocks, scattering the jewels like sparkling starfish. Or maybe it was jellyfish. Anyway."

"If that were true, I'd still think bits and pieces, at least, would've been recovered. You'd hear about that over the years."

"Not if people who snagged a shiny necklace or whatever kept their mouths shut, which he speculates, and seems very likely. Anyway," he said again.

Abra gave him a curious smile. "Anyway?"

"She liked it."

"Who? The headstrong Violeta?"

"Who? No. My agent. My book. The chapters I sent her. She liked it. Or she's lying to spare my feelings."

"Would she? Lie?"

"No. She liked it."

Abra sat on the coffee table to face him. "Did you think she wouldn't?"

"I wasn't sure."

"Now you are."

"She thinks she can sell it on the five chapters."

"Eli, that's great."

"But she thinks she can make a bigger splash with the whole book."

"How close are you?"

"Nearly finished the first draft. Another couple of weeks there, maybe." Less, he thought, if it kept rolling as it had been. "Then I need to tighten it up. I don't know exactly."

"It's an important and very personal decision, but ... Oh, Eli! You should go for the splash."

He had to grin at the way she bounced on the table. "Yeah, that's what she thinks."

"What about you?"

"The splash. I'd feel easier about having it done before she sends it out. She could be wrong and I'll rack up the new world record for rejections, but I'd have finished it."

She b.u.mped her knee to his. "She could be right and you'll have sold your first novel. Don't make me get a smudge stick to banish negative thoughts and energy."

"Can we just have s.e.x instead?" He grinned at her. "I'm always pretty positive about s.e.x."

"I'll consider it. When are you going to let me read it?"

When he shrugged, she rolled her eyes. "Okay, let's go back to the previous request of some time ago. One scene. Just one scene."

"Yeah, maybe. One scene."

"Yay. You know, we should celebrate."

"Didn't I just suggest s.e.x?"

Laughing, she slapped his leg. "There are other ways to celebrate."

"In that case, we can celebrate when I've finished it."

"Fair enough. I'm heading back to the dungeons."

"I can give you a hand."

"You could, or you could go back to work." She lifted her joined palms, arrowed them down like a diver toward the water. "Poised for the splash."

He smiled at her. "I should probably try for another couple hours. I'm going to lose time tomorrow. The investigator I hired is coming up to meet with me."

"News?" she asked, sitting again.

"I don't know. I read her report. Not much new, but she covered a lot of ground. The Suskinds separated."

"It's difficult to overcome infidelity, especially when it's so public. They have kids, don't they?"