The Palm Beach Murders by James Patterson (the read aloud family .TXT) 📕

flinging them off to the side. The wind catches some of the sand and blows it back into their faces. They pout with annoyance.

But then one of the girls—Jana has to really listen to determine the difference in their voices—shrieks loudly.

“Oh, God,” she says.

Even with those two syllables, Jana knows it’s Brooke speaking.

“It’s her.”

Chapter 33

KATE AND THEO

“You sure you don’t want me to drive?” Theo asks.

“Dude,” Kate says, “I’ve driven a Humvee through two hundred heavily armed Taliban guerrillas in Quam. Pretty sure I can follow a huge black limo through the streets of a resort town.”

“Yeah, but he’s a cop. Pretty sure he’ll know if he’s being tailed.”

They’re in a Honda Whatever, some generic import that’s guaranteed not to raise eyebrows because so many tourists rent them here. They waited outside police headquarters on Old Airport Road until Nigel James finally stormed out, looking irritated. Then the cop climbed into an unmarked car and sped away. At that point, Kate took off in pursuit.

Quinn’s list of instructions to Theo and Kate were as simple as Jana and Otto’s:

1. FOLLOW THE COP

2. RECORD THE COP

3. DETAIN THE COP (IF NECESSARY)

Kate is following the cop like a pro. But there isn’t much mystery as to where he’s going. About three minutes ago, Theo intercepted a text transmission from a burner phone to James’s personal cell, asking him to meet at a certain location on the southeast end of the island. At the same exact moment, Otto Hazard observed Hannah Clee holding a cell phone and thumbing an urgent message that said:

UR GONNA HELP US FIX THIS

All transmissions are documented and uploaded to the Stingrays’ servers.

After a frenzied five minutes, James arrives at the given location. The white limo is kind of a dead giveaway; the cop must be fuming at the girls for being so utterly and completely indiscreet.

“Look at him,” Theo says. “That man is not happy.”

“Tell me something I don’t know,” Kate replies. “Come on, let’s get our gear.”

Nigel James smooths out his clothing, checks his personal weapon (a Glock, Kate notes), stuffs it into a jacket pocket, and then shuffles up the beach toward the twins.

As soon as he’s in range, Hannah Clee points at the unmarked grave in the sand, barking orders.

“You need to get this out of the ground right now and dispose of it properly!”

“Take it easy, Ms. Clee,” James says. “I didn’t expect you back here so soon. You know, what you’re doing is not very wise.”

“Oh, really? You want to know what I didn’t expect? A phone call telling me that somebody pulled the body of a girl out of the sand. And that it could be you-know-who.”

James shakes his head. “There have been some private investigators causing trouble on the island. I told you both: you have nothing to worry about. You are under my personal protection. And by extension, that of the entire police force.”

“No,” Hannah says. “That’s not good enough. We need this…thing up out of the ground and, like, shoved into a wood chipper or something. I don’t want any trace of her left behind!”

“You have to be patient. The evidence was planted elsewhere, which will satisfy local investigators, and eventually everyone else.”

“You don’t get it. I’m not satisfied! It should be me you’re worried about!”

James can’t help but chuckle, which unnerves the twins. They look at each other, wondering if they’ve made a deal with a lunatic.

“Ms. Clee…you don’t understand your position.” James removes the Glock from his jacket pocket. “In about five seconds I could be a hero and the two of you could be dead, next to the corpse of your friend. Murder solved. Everyone’s happy.”

“What?!” Brooke exclaims, the first word she’s uttered since the cop arrived. Life has always been a bunch of laughs for her—until this moment. “But we didn’t kill her! It was just an accident. She was crazy drunk and running too fast and then she tripped and fell and hit her head on a rock.”

James smiles. “Oh, is that the story your sister told you?”

There is a look of growing horror on Brooke’s face as she begins to put it together. Oh, no. Her sister murdered Paige.

“Brooke, don’t say another word,” Hannah snaps. “I did what I had to do. To protect you.”

“But…I d-didn’t ask you to do that!” Brooke stammers, still trying to process everything. “This is bad, Hannah. Dad’s going to be so angry!”

“Ladies, ladies…I don’t care who did what. What happens on the island can stay on the island…if we can successfully renegotiate our deal.”

“What do you mean, renegotiate?” Hannah says.

“The heat on this case has intensified. I’m sure you understand, it’s going to take a lot more money to keep this under wraps. I know you both have stellar credit lines, so it’ll only be a matter of discussing payment.”

“We’re not paying you more money,” Hannah says. “That’s unfair!”

James sighs, then points the Glock at Brooke with a two-hand grip, elbows bent, feet shoulder-width apart, just as he was taught in the police academy. This is called the Weaver stance, and it allows you to fire repeatedly and accurately at multiple targets without the muzzle flying all over the place.

“Guess I’m going to be a hero, then.”

Chapter 34

THE STINGRAYS

They were all expecting the gun to make an appearance, mostly as a way to frighten the twins.

But none of them really expected him to actually use it.

The four of them, however, scramble from the surveillance locations the moment James pulls the weapon from his jacket pocket. A few seconds later, his body language is practically screaming, I’m pulling the trigger.

Kate is the first one to make it within range. There’s a loud crack and pop and then Nigel James’s body jerks and twists like a marionette caught up in the wake of a jet engine. Kate holds the Taser steady until the Glock tumbles out of his hands and the cop collapses completely, by which point Otto is on top of him. Jana and Theo run