Marshmallow S'More Murder (Merry Wrath Mysteries Book 3) by Leslie Langtry Read Free Book Online

with right now—from Riley going missing to a rogue Scout troop. I could figure it all out on my own, right? I made my way to Mom and Dad's pool, hoping it was still full of water.
    The Irish Ambassador's son was named Liam. And he was handling things very well, mainly because he was extremely handsome, and the girls were locked in his thrall. The kid was maybe twenty and had that athletic lifeguard body. Dark auburn hair framed a pair of bright green eyes. His accent was soft…just enough of a brogue that you could still understand him. To be honest, I was kind of hypnotized too.
    "What's going on here?" I whispered to Maria as I pulled up a chaise lounge. All twelve girls were sitting at the edge of the pool while the attractive young man spoke to them in a soft, lyrical voice.
    "He's telling them some folklore story about the water fairies. The girls haven't moved since he started speaking." I noticed that Maria said all of this without taking her eyes off of Liam. He was good.
    I listened for a moment. "Can he spend the rest of the trip with us?"
    Maria's eyes glinted. "I wouldn't mind that at all. But I doubt it."
    I decided to slip Liam a hundred bucks when this was over. Maybe two hundred. He was definitely worth it. I wondered if he knew hypnosis.
    My cell buzzed just as Liam was getting to the good part. I looked at my phone and froze.
    "Maria!" I whispered.
    She looked irritated that she had to take her eyes off of our Irish storyteller. "What is it?"
    I got up and motioned for her to join me. We stepped away from the girls before I told her.
    "It's Riley. He's calling."

CHAPTER FOUR
     
    "Riley?" I asked as Maria and I slipped into the house. I put the phone on speaker and set it to record the call.
    "Wrath…" Riley's voice was choppy, and there was a lot of static. "Help me… can't… much longer…" It was a terrible connection for a local call, which didn't make much sense.
    "Where are you?" I asked. "What do you want me to do?"
    "Ito… Ito…" His voice faded in and out. "They know… Get help… Maria…" The call quality was as rough as if I'd been in the Amazon. How could that be?
    Maria's eyes grew wide. "I'm here, Riley! How can we help you?"
    "Maria? It's… I… You have to…" Riley asked as the call ended abruptly.
    "Do you think they caught him calling?" I asked as I stared at the phone. If they did, they'd know it was me. Did they know I was in DC? Would they try to find me? Were the girls in danger?
    "I know what you're thinking," Maria said.
    Wow. Could she read my mind? Maybe I should have her start working on the girls…starting with Betty. I'd noticed her studying my parents' pool filter system. We'd have to keep an eye on her.
    "Don't panic. I don't think they've made a connection to you or we'd have noticed being followed," Maria said.
    "Maybe I should send the girls home," I replied. "I can't let anything happen to them."
    She shook her head. "I'm sure they'll be fine."
    "What are you talking about?" I asked. "We're using them as cover tomorrow! We'll all be on Japanese soil. There's nothing we can do if they decide to hold us hostage."
    Maria frowned. "And create an international incident? No, they wouldn't risk that."
    "But you found chatter about Riley at the embassy." She was making sense, but in this business, you had to play devil's advocate to see both sides.
    She shook her head. "Japan is an ally. If someone on the inside is responsible for taking Riley, they're working alone. I doubt they have the government's backing."
    Maria was right. The Japanese government was no fan of the yakuza. And kidnapping a bunch of little girls wasn't exactly in its wheelhouse. Besides, holding my troop hostage would only be a nightmare for them in ways they could never imagine.
    I sent the recording of the conversation to her cell. "Is there someone you know who can analyze this?"
    Maria nodded. "I'll send it to Abdul."
    "Cookie Abdul? Why would you send it to him?" Abdul Jones had bought tons of