Free Heavenly Honeymoon (Zoe Donovan Mysteries Book 15) by Kathi Daley

well, but I was introduced to him on one occasion by a shared acquaintance who later warned me that the man was heavily invested in seedy activities, so I would be best served to avoid him. I was actually surprised Jensen invited him to join us the other evening. He normally reserves invitations on his yacht for his most important guests.”
    “And the shared acquaintance?”
    “A delightful woman named Chandella. She works as some sort of executive assistant to Jensen and has attended quite a few social gatherings as Jensen’s guest when his Della wasn’t available.”
    The conversation paused as the waiter took away our salad plates and replaced them with the main course. I’d ordered baked salmon over arugula.
    “This looks delicious,” I commented. I wanted to say something about the true nature of Chandella’s job, according to Talin, but decided to let it go. “I know the chef who worked the dinner cruise normally works at the steak house near the beach. Do you happen to know who’s responsible for this wonderful creation?”
    “I do.” Charles smiled proudly. “His name is Jimbo. I can introduce you, if you’d like.”
    “I hate to bother him if he’s busy.”
    “Nonsense. Jimbo loves it when people fuss over his food.” Charles waved the waiter over and asked him to request an audience with the chef. The man nodded and headed toward the kitchen.
    I almost spit my wine directly into Charles’s smiling face when the dark-skinned man I’d seen on the yacht walked through the dining room and out onto the patio.

Chapter 6
     
     
    “Are you sure it was the same man?” Ellie asked a couple of hours later. We were sitting on loungers at the pool, watching Scooter and Alex splash around.
    “I’m sure.”
    “But you said he in no way indicated that he recognized you.”
    “Maybe he was just covering. If he killed Ricardo, he wouldn’t want to draw attention to the fact that he was on the yacht the night of the murder.”
    “What does Zak think?” Ellie asked.
    “He said there was no indication the man recognized me. He’s certain I’m remembering the whole thing wrong. Still, he did say he’d try to find out where Jimbo was at the time of the cruise.”
    I waved to Scooter, who was yelling to me to watch him while he did a cannonball into the water. The ensuing splash created quite the frenzy when a huge wave covered a pair of teenage girls who were sunbathing. After explaining to Scooter that cannonballs were best saved for our private pool at home, I returned to Ellie and our conversation.
    “If we have a chance to speak to Sebastian when we go to dinner tonight, let’s find a way to ask him if Jimbo was on the yacht that night. If he was there he must have been in the kitchen.”
    “I thought you said Zak said every single person on board was interviewed when they disembarked,” Ellie reminded me.
    “He did say that.” I found I was growing both irritated and frustrated. “But I also know what I saw. If I imagined the guy with the knife, what are the chances I’d imagine a guy who looked exactly like a real person living on the island?”
    “Maybe you’d seen Jimbo before and your mind filled in the blanks.”
    “That isn’t what happened,” I snapped.
    Ellie looked hurt by my sharp tone.
    “I’m sorry. I don’t know why I’m taking this out on you. You’re just trying to help. I guess I just feel so frustrated that I saw a man everyone keeps telling me I couldn’t have seen. I don’t know how he got on the boat or where he went after I spoke to him in the hall, but I do know what I saw. The thing is, I have absolutely no way to prove Jimbo was on the yacht the night of the murder.”
    Ellie squeezed my hand. “I believe you. I really do. If Jimbo was on the yacht we’ll figure out a way to prove it.”
    “He wasn’t on the yacht.” Zak walked up from behind us while we were talking. He sat down in the lounger next to mine.
    “What do you mean, he wasn’t on the