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C.J. and Maureen had their hands filled trying to escort Carol to her room, what with her breaking out into singing one ballad after another. First she had started singing country style, then rhythm and blues and then…harder rock. And her drinking hadn't done all that much for her somewhat lacking vocal skills, C.J. thought.

"Carol…we're almost there," Maureen said, "Then you can get a good night's sleep."

The doctor who had clearly come here to relax and kick up her heels just looked at them dreamily and then shook her head at the very idea of bringing it to a halt before midnight.

"I've still got a lot of partying left to do," Carol said, "It's too soon to call it quits."

"You're sloshed Carol…you need to sit down and rest…take a break."

And hopefully fall asleep, C.J. thought. Not that she hadn't imbibed in her share of tequila but not to the same degree as Carol had done. The party had been a lot of fun and the stripper…Ken…had turned out to be quite nice…even hitting on her a bit. Even though she had no intention of taking him up on his offer, it had left her with a heady feeling anyway. She wondered if Matt had returned to the suite after the bachelorette party and whether he would be waiting for her to return or maybe the men's version of cutting loose had turned out to be livelier than its billing and he still remained at large. If not, she could work on her novel having reached a critical turning point in the relationship between her two main characters. She had struggled with whether or not their considerable physical attraction and sparkling chemistry could transfer into a serious relationship, meaning would they perhaps got married? She didn't know if that would work or even if she could write it that way, no that would require some serious thought and maybe some input from her writing group.

Her own forays into engagements not being really all that successful, with Robert being the latest example, the latest on her list. The guy had absolutely no shame whatsoever, even proposing to her again from prison, at least to the point where she might rethink her decision to break it off with him and engage in some bizarre long-distance relationship. She had shaken her head at that correspondence which he had sent from the penal institution he called home before tossing it in the trash. It did leave her wondering why he would even pursue it given that she had betrayed him in a sting that she pulled on him along with Matt and Roy. At one point, when her heart was already sinking in realization that yeah, Matt had been right about him, he had pulled out the gun and she thought…is he going to kill me with it…before he realizes who I am? Or better yet, when he did find out the truth, would he still kill her to keep her silent? She knew that Matt and Roy kept careful watch from behind the one-way mirror but a chill had ran through her at the menacing tone in his voice that had been meant for someone else but her. Oh she really did know how to pick them.

But over time she had gotten over that and now she had come to Maureen's wedding with Matt and was sharing a suite with him. That thought filled her mind as she and Maureen reached Carol's room and Carol helped them somewhat by swiping her card key to open the door. Her room was elegantly decorated and appealing to the eye, both sophisticated and cozy at the same time. Carol walked inside and plopped herself on her bed.

C.J. decided that she would be safe enough there, left to sleep off the effects of the alcohol. She felt a bit lightheaded herself but still could think clearly. Carol however decided that she wasn't really into heading to sleep but continued to speak, occasionally making sense.

"You both have men to keep you happy…what about me…when's it going to be my turn," she rambled.

C.J. looked at her, having had no idea that Carol had been frustrated because she had come to the wedding by herself, meaning without a boyfriend.

"C.J…you at least have Matt…though I can't figure out why you're here putting me to bed and not jumping in with him."

C.J. sighed.

"I'm here to help a friend," she said, "Carol, you really will feel better in the morning…except for the hangover."

Carol threw her a face.

"Oh you are such party poopers," she said, "We could easily go pop in at a few bars, night clubs…if they have any out here in the boondocks."

But when she tried to get up and sank back down again, she stayed there.

"Then on the other hand…maybe you're right."

C.J. and Maureen grew relieved that she had finally begun to see reason and both of them prepared to leave.

"You want to go for a walk?"

C.J. looked up at her friend in surprise especially at the tone in her voice.

"Sure…why not," she said, "I heard the beach is supposed to be nice."

So they headed out towards the winding staircase that took them down to the deserted beach where the moon shone down from overhead and all the stars, so many, the blue velvet of the sky so jam packed with them, they looked like they were touching. C.J. looked up at them and thought yeah, that's what I want to see when I look out at the sky at night, after a long hard day, from the porch or deck. Miles away from any city, especially one like L.A, out in the country somewhere like where she had grown up with Matt.

When life had been much simpler or seemed that way.

They headed down the staircase which proved to be sturdier than it appeared and then they sunk their feet into the cool sand. Some lighting had been installed to light up the area in front of them but all they heard was the sound of the waves crashing against the shore.

"It's so calm and peaceful," Maureen said, "I wish it could always be like that."

C.J. smiled at her knowingly.

"You know that neither of us live that kind of life," she said, "We have to enjoy these moments wherever we can find them."

Maureen smiled.

"True…Now I enjoy what I do, don't get me wrong…but sometimes I really just want to get away from it all."

C.J. heard the tone in her friend's voice.

"Does that include Rick?"

Maureen looked out towards the ocean and then back at C.J.

"I don't know…I mean I love him…really he's a great guy but this wedding…it's just all a bit much sometimes."

C.J. sighed as she picked her words carefully.

"You know it's not too late…"

But Maureen just shook her head vehemently.

"Oh no way…I mean I would never do that…I really want to get married…really."

C.J. wished she would sound more sure because she clearly had decided to go through with it and if she had second thoughts…maybe she should pull the reins on it a bit to have enough time to breathe…of course then Maureen would have to deal with her mother. And knowing her, that would give anyone second thoughts. C.J. knew that Maureen's mother had never approved of her or even liked her believing C.J. had come from a less than wealthy background. But C.J. refused to be intimidated by her and always responded to Maureen's mother's cutting remarks with civility and poise…well most of the time anyway.

They continued walking towards the edge of the tide coming in onshore unwary that they were being followed by a shadowy figure.

Matt sat back as the cigar smoke wafted around him and he had finished another drink, ready to call it a night. Rick had done well in the poker game but Matt suspected that had more to do with the other players going easy on the groom to be than his own playing skills. But Matt had been wondering throughout the evening how C.J. had been doing at the bachelorette party, even thought about texting her but decided not to interrupt her fun evening out. She had been working hard and needed to relax for a little while. He hadn't realized how much until he had begun reading excerpts of her novel but there were ways to remedy that together.

Jack had headed out a while ago saying he needed to get some fresh air and Matt had almost joined him but had stayed behind. After all, any one of the guests here for the wedding including the party could be suspects on the list he had been creating to try to get to the bottom of who might be threatening the wedding party. Everyone looked like they were having fun and getting along with each other but you just never knew.

"What's your hand look like," Rick asked casually.

Matt shrugged.

"Hasn't been my night," he said, "Though you've hit the winnings pretty hard…had quite a run of luck."

Rick smiled.

"I guess so…after that traffic jam I hit most of today…I was overdue for some."

"I might be turning in soon," Matt said, "Early day tomorrow with the brunch and touch football game."

An odd ritual for a pre-wedding event, he thought but it sounded like fun. He wondered if he would have to dial down his football prowess a bit so the others could keep up but looking at some of them perhaps not. C.J. and the women would be having their spa get together he believed it was called. Aromatherapy, deep tissue massage and seaweed body wraps? Sounded like medieval torture to him, he would stick happily with team sports.

Jack nodded.

"I thought it might be a good way for us to have a little fun before the wedding rehearsal later on."

That made some sense to Matt but he hoped that would leave him some time to spend with C.J. in between trying to do some investigating. Multi-tasking his weekend at the chalet was turning out to be more complicated than it had first appeared.

"Maureen and her bridesmaids are going to be at the spa tomorrow," she said, "including her sister Melissa who's arriving tomorrow morning."

"I think I met her once," Matt said, "She and Maureen were quite competitive I understand."

Rick made a face.

"That's putting it mildly," he said, "They had a falling out for a while when Melissa was working in London."

Matt wondered idly if Melissa's rivalry with her sister extended into the area of possibly trying to upset her wedding but dismissed that thought quickly. Clearly that couldn't be the case but if it was then more information would arise pointing in that direction, surely.

After his next hand, Matt decided he just had to go out and get some fresh air, wondering if the bachelorette party had begun to wind down yet after some boisterous activity. The air had cooled down considerably since he had entered the room hosting the poker game and many guests had clearly chosen to remain indoors. He leaned over the railing looking out towards the open ocean, quite a view from where he stood. Thinking about his earlier discussion with C.J. he had meant it when he said that there had been no need to rush things between the two of them, plenty of other ways to enjoy each other's company. He knew that she had been thinking about their lifelong friendship and wanting to take care in not endangering it by hitting the sheets.

She seemed more reticent than her counterpart in her novel had been when it came to Royal. Oh yeah there had been some initial scenes of dialogue where Carly had made the same point to Royal only a couple of chapters later, that had been tossed out the window quickly enough but then clearly the fictional world differed quite a bit from reality.

The breeze blew gently across his face carrying a hint of sea breeze as he considered going back to the suite, wondering if she would have arrived before he did. Smiling, he decided to tell the others he was cashing in his chips for the night and he would see them tomorrow.

C.J. and Maureen walked by the water's edge, taking off their shoes to feel it curl against their toes. It felt lovely, C.J. thought, chilly but soothing at the same time. She had spent way too much time wearing shoes the past few days. It would be so great if she could just run around barefoot, giving her feet a workout on the beach. She thought about just heading back to the suite hoping that Matt would be there…she probably should have texted him like she had wanted to several times during the party because though she was having fun with her friends, she wanted to have fun with him. Maybe do a little dancing of their own alone. She smiled at the thought of that really looking forward to this relationship thing with him, but she couldn't shake the thought that as least as far as Maureen was concerned, maybe things were moving too quickly with her and Rick.

Even when her heart had been busted, C.J. had always been grateful that the truth whatever it had been about a fiancé had been discovered before they exchanged vows. What would it have been like if she had married Robert not knowing about the trail of bodies and kidnappings in his wake? What would it have been like to discover such an ugly truth about her husband as opposed to her lover? Her lungs sucked in air strongly whenever those unanswered questions bounced around in her mind often from out of nowhere. At least with Matt she knew just about everything about him, since they had practically grown up together. No, there wouldn't be many surprises there and she viewed that as a good thing given her track record.

Maureen turned to her.

"Really I'm being silly; of course I want to marry Jack."

C.J. thought okay, she sounds a little more convincing than she did 15 minutes ago, maybe it's just nerves.

"What would you do if it were you and Matt getting married?"

C.J. looked up quickly caught off guard by Maureen's question. Her and Matt, what was she talking about, at least having fast forwarded further in the future than C.J. had been willing to travel.

"What do you mean…we're not getting married."

Maureen folded her arms.

"Oh come on…he's been interested in you for ages…I thought that once you figured it out and got together, you'd make it official quickly enough."

Clearly that made one of them, C.J. thought.

"Maureen…Houston and I are nowhere near getting married if that ever happens at all," she said, "We're just going out together."

Her friend tilted her head.

"Oh don't be surprised then if he views it differently," she said, "In fact if you last through this weekend without getting engaged…"

C.J. didn't want to hear about it. She still wasn't all that convinced that Matt even thought of her that way and she hadn't allowed herself to entertain any such thoughts about him at least for several years. What she had decided to do was to focus on the here and now and enjoy being with him, at least that's what she told herself. But a part of her constantly strayed outside those boundaries and she couldn't let it. Because after all, Matt had always been a player and could he ever change that part of himself? She didn't want her heart stomped trying to find out.

"I'm not thinking about all that," she said, "Just one day at a time…"

Suddenly a gunshot ripped through the air. Both women looked around but all they saw was darkness outside the lit areas. They were surrounded by brush and trees and anyone could be hiding in or around them.

"What…"

C.J. didn't say anything but pushed Maureen to the sand just as some mysterious figure fired another round in their direction.

"Who's shooting at us?"

C.J. couldn't answer Maureen's question but her heart pounded in her chest and her adrenalin started to rush through her. As long as they stayed down, they might be okay unless…

"Do you hear footsteps?"

Maureen's words didn't stop C.J.'s mind from working but while she listened…just silence. But they were all alone on the beach lying in the sand to avoid flying bullets, obviously at the shooter's mercy.

Matt's body went on alert quickly when he heard the first crackling sound. Had that been what it sounded like? Then another…and he knew someone had fired a gun. Had it been at anyone in particular, he didn't know but it sounded like…it had come from somewhere on the private beach down the staircase. He ran in that direction and whipped down the stairs in nothing flat and widened his eyes at what they could make out through the dimly lit scene in front of him.

"C.J….?"

She saw him and he motioned her to stay down and she had no intention of getting up and getting shot again. Three bullet wounds already and no desire to add to that dubious collection, another struggle for life not to mention another scar to explain to anyone looking at her so she watched as Matt came forward slowly and carefully, looking around for any signs of the shooter. She struggled not to close her eyes or to even leap on her feet to stop him from stepping into danger. But the night remained quiet and finally she got on her feet followed by Maureen just at the time Matt reached them.

"Oh Houston…"

She threw her arms around him, pulling him closer to her and he mirrored her actions himself as they embraced fully both filled with relief along with a tangle of other more complicated emotions.

"Everything's fine…don't know who was shooting…"

She sighed looking at Maureen who's face appeared ashen.

"Why would anybody do this," C.J. asked, "We were just walking on the beach at this really peaceful resort miles away from anyone who would want to hurt us."

Suddenly in the middle of that speech, she picked up some tension coming from both Matt and Maureen and it had to do with what happened. She sensed that clearly enough even though she didn't have her answers.

"Houston…Maureen…is there anything you're not telling me," she said, "Do you know why this happened?"

Maureen bit her lip.

"C.J…"

Matt held up his hand.

"No let me explain…"

C.J.'s face hardened and she folded her arms.

"Please do…I want to hear the reason you have for us getting shot at," she said, "because I have no idea what's going on except that something's going on."

Matt heard the reproach in her voice and knew he deserved it but she would just have to understand, that he kept quiet about it as to not ruin her relaxing weekend with her friends…and with him he had to add to be honest.

But when he looked at her face again, he knew coming clean might not get him out of the doghouse.