Victoria handed Natalie a champagne flute filled to the brim.

“Why do you say that? It’s okay if Peg gets an investigation wrong. It will build her character in future books.”

“Sure,” Natalie said. “It’s just that . . . the way it happens. I’m not sure we should go in that direction.”

“Of course we should,” Victoria retorted. “It’s the only way Peg Perugo could be fooled. It goes hand in hand with the title I’ve come up with.”

Victoria reached over and touched her glass to Natalie’s.

“Besides, it’s too late to change things now. I’ve already sent the manuscript to New York.”

Another chill ran through Natalie’s body when Victoria smiled at her. It felt like Victoria was daring her to protest. Something told her not to, so she didn’t. Instead, Natalie lifted the champagne and smiled back at her friend.

CHAPTER 80 - Santa Monica, CA Saturday, April 16, 2022

CHAPTER 80

Santa Monica, CA Saturday, April 16, 2022

WALT HAD NOT MADE THE FORMAL MOVE FROM JAMAICA TO CALIFORNIA, but it was inevitable. He visited more and more often, to the point that Avery had given him a key to her place. She was getting used to the Friday afternoons that she came home from the studio to find a rental car in the driveway and Walt making dinner in her kitchen, a glass of wine waiting for her. After spending most of his life on the East Coast, Walt pledged never to spend another winter anywhere the temperature dipped below fifty degrees. He rather enjoyed, he told her over the last year, bouncing between the Caribbean and Southern California.

He was staying for a week this visit, and they were taking advantage of rare downtime Avery had before she would be busy recording the last few episodes of her second full season as host of American Events. After this weekend, they wouldn’t see each other again until Avery headed to Jamaica in July to spend a month during her summer break from AE. She hadn’t seen Christopher since the previous October and was anxious to hear about his adventures at sea. Walt had provided updates over the months, reporting back to Avery every time Christopher returned to Jamaica to restock supplies. Claire-Voyance II was proving to be as formidable a vessel as Avery had predicted, and Christopher was enjoying his new life as Aaron Holland.