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“It’s fine,” she said, laughing as she held up a hand to stem the flow of words. “I know you have a job to do, so just go ahead and do it.”

“Oh, thank you so much, Miss Poole,” said the man, who was skinny, and pale with pretty bad skin. “I hadn’t finished when my buddy gave me the alarm but I guess you were too quick for him.”

“Oh, so that’s what that was, huh? I was wondering why he would be making that strange sound.”

“It’s the sound of the hoopoe. I’ve been trying to teach him. I figured people wouldn’t notice when we used it. It’s the hoopoe’s mating cry,” he added helpfully as he crawled back in and made for the bed. Frowning, Odelia watched as he stepped on top of the bed and started unscrewingwhat looked like an innocent circular ornament from the ceiling.

“Is that… a camera?” she asked.

“Um, yeah. Offers a great view of the bed.”

“Oh, my God,” Odelia muttered.

“See, this is why Clint doesn’t want us in here when you guys are watching. He figures you might get upset when you realize how many cameras are rigged up in here.”

“Well, Clint is right. It is a little upsetting.”

“Fixed,” said the guy, sounding apologetic. “I’ll be out of your hair now, Miss Poole,” he added, and crawled down from the bed again. “Have a nice continuation of your day.”

And with these words, he was gone.

Odelia heaved a deep sigh, then headed to the bathroom to get changed for her jacuzzi date with the other contestants.

Now this was exactly why she didn’t want to become a reality star. She didn’t think she’d enjoy being scrutinized on a daily basis.

Walking out again, this time dressed in a bikini, she walked down the path on her flip-flops and headed for the spa area.

“Wait up!” suddenly spoke a voice behind her. Turning, she perceived it was Joanna, looking flustered.

“Ready for some jacuzzi fun?” asked Odelia.

“Not really,” said Joanna. “I woke up with a headache this morning and had half a mind to stay in bed today.”

“The jacuzzi will do you good,” said Odelia. “It might release some of the tension.”

The soft-spoken redhead fell into step next to her.“Is it true that you knocked out a seducer last night?” she asked, her eyes wide and wondering.

Odelia smiled and nodded.“I found him in my bed, if you can believe it.”

“Oh, I can. I found a seducer in my bed, too. I didn’t try to kill him, though I had a good mind to.”

“Who was it?”

“Antonio, the Italian stallion.”

“He’s very pushy, isn’t he?”

“They’re all pushy,” Joanna lamented.

“I guess it comes with the territory.”

“Don’t they realize that kind of behavior won’t get them anywhere? On the contrary, it’s a real turnoff for most women.”

“Not for everyone,” said Odelia as they passed Jackie’s villa.

“No, I guess not.”

“Listen, I happened to be talking to one of the techies this morning, and he told me you were caught cheating on Arthur.”

Joanna turned to her, looking shocked.“What?”

“Yeah, in Bangkok. He says you slipped out of bed in the middle of the night and went to visit another man in the next room.” It was a long shot, but she felt it might do the trick.

“I did not!” Joanna cried, indignant.

“So you didn’t crawl out of bed in the middle of the night?” asked Odelia pointedly. “Cause this guy swears up and down they filmed you.”

“They were filming us at the hotel?”

“Yeah, I guess they were.”

Joanna didn’t speak for a moment. She seemed to consider this. “Well, if they had caught me, don’t you think they’d have kicked me out of the competition even before it got started?”

“Good point,” Odelia agreed.

Joanna swallowed.“I did sneak out of bed that night, but not to visit another man.” She eyed Odelia keenly. “Promise you won’t tell Arthur?”

“I promise,” said Odelia.

“His thirtieth birthday is coming up, which is a big deal, and I’m organizing a surprise party. I’ve been making arrangements for weeks now. It’s supposed to take place when we get back from Thailand. I just wanted to make some final arrangements before they took away my phone. I’m arranging it with Arthur’s baby sister, and she can be a bit wishy-washy, so I wanted to have everything nailed down before we left.”

“Oh,” said Odelia, strangely elated. She’d quietly hoped Joanna was innocent.

“Arthur doesn’t suspect a thing. It’s going to be a big surprise. I even hired his favorite singer Jimmy Buffett, the Margaritaville guy.”

“That sounds great, Joanna,” said Odelia. “I think he’ll be thrilled.”

“Yeah, I hope so. It’ll be his last birthday before we tie the knot, and thirty is a big deal, right?”

“Oh, sure,” said Odelia. She was relieved Joanna wasn’t involved in some kidnapping ring, but also disappointed she’d lost another promising lead. It meant her only suspect now was Clint Bunda, the guy up top.

They’d arrived at the building where the spa was located and walked in. Tina and Jackie were already in the jacuzzi so they joined them. It would have been fun, having a soak with the contestants, if it hadn’t been for the three guys filming the whole thing.