He sighed before plastering a smile on his face. Maddie knew the difference between the real one and the one he wore as part of the job. This was the my-tolerance-is-running-low smile.

He nodded in her direction. “Yes, Mary.”

“There she is.”

He frowned. “Excuse me?”

“You wanted us to watch out for this woman.” Mary shook the flyer in the air, then pointed at the doorway into the dining room. “I did and she’s right there.”

Almost every head in the room turned.

Daria stood there in black pants and a slim-fitting lightweight down jacket. She now wore her black hair in a bob. The style flattered her face. Made her look younger than thirty-five. She’d been young when she met Ned. He strung her along as a girlfriend for years, insisting he couldn’t marry until his multimillion-dollar company was more stable.

The brighter skin and lightness around her suggested she might be happier now.

That only made Maddie more confused about how and why Daria found her way to Whitaker.

Once she had all their attention, Daria smiled. “Hello, everyone.”

“You’re this lady.” Mary pointed at the flyer.

“Yes.” Daria stared at Ben. “I think you’re looking for me.”

Chapter 28

The uproar in the room took another fifteen minutes to calm down. People fired questions at Daria. Someone offered to tie her up so Ben could interrogate her. Daria stood there, taking it all in, with her gaze locked on Maddie. Connor noticed because it was hard not to notice. He also managed not to frisk the woman for weapons, though he was tempted.

Sylvia had cleared the dining room and shut the large double door entry. Connor couldn’t remember ever seeing the doors shut since he got to the island . . . which now felt like years ago.

Connor and Maddie lingered because there was no way they were missing the explanation after trying to reason this situation out for days. Sylvia waited behind the bar.

Jenna, the wild card in all of this, insisted on staying. Ben couldn’t exactly say no to his boss, so he didn’t try. But he did take the lead in questioning Daria after he conducted a brisk pat down.

She sat in a chair at a table by herself. Every now and then her gaze would wander around the room, taking in every photograph on the wall and person hovering around her.

Ben waited until the people cleared out and the room slipped into silence to pull out a chair and sit across from their newest guest. “Daria Jones.”

“Before you ask, it’s my real name.”

He hadn’t tied her to the chair. The questioning struck Connor as informal, which was likely the right answer. It matched the island vibe and she could shut down if prodded. They needed her talking.

Maddie didn’t wait for more. She jumped right in. “Why are you here?”