“None. Darla thinks we hit something in the river. The boat’s motor isn’t running. It could have been something mechanical.”
“That water is cold. We have to find whoever went over.”
“I know,” I said. “There’s no one down here.”
“Let’s go back above and see if we can help search the waters.”
When we arrived back on the deck, I saw that the other boats in the flotilla were circling around us. All had high-beam searchlights, which were panning over the water. I noticed Tinkie was talking to a woman who was near hysterics. Cece and I joined her.
“It was awful,” the woman said. “I saw that blond woman standing near the railing. It was like she saw something in the water and leaned over. Then the boat lurched, and someone—I think it was another woman— came out of nowhere, just hurtling along. It looked like she intended to push Clarissa Olson into the river, but maybe she just lost her balance. They both went over the rail.”
“You should go into the cabin and sit down. I’m sure we’re going to find whoever it is,” Tinkie assured her. She pointed the woman in the direction of the cabin door, where at least she would be out of the night and somewhere warm.
Millie joined us. “Clarissa Olson is missing.”
“You’re serious?” I couldn’t help it. Clarissa was like a force of nature. She didn’t have accidents or clumsy moments. And she’d also been afraid someone was out to get her.
“Darla has checked everywhere,” Millie said. “Clarissa isn’t on deck. Unless she was below.”
“Not down there,” I said. “I wish I could do something more.”
“There’s nothing—”
“Kathleen!” Darla’s cry was like a stab in my heart. It was filled with anguish and fear. “I can’t find Kathleen!”
From the side of the boat a man called out. “There’s something in the water. Hey, over here. Bring a life preserver. Hurry! Hurry! She’s sinking!”
Harold grabbed a life preserver off the wall and rushed over to the side, where he flung it out into the river. “Grab hold!” Harold said. “Hold on.” The men began to pull the rope, dragging someone toward the safety of the boat.
When I went to the side and looked over, I saw Clarissa Olson clinging to the life preserver. She was drenched and obviously nearly freezing to death. “Help me,” she said, and her voice was weak.
Before I could stop him, Coleman shucked off his coat and boots and went over the side. He caught her and held her as a small motorboat came over and began hauling both of them into it. Three minutes later, the boat was racing toward the nearest dock, where the red lights of an ambulance spun.
“What about Kathleen?” Tinkie asked softly.
Darla was leaning against the boat, crying hard. “Are we certain she went over the side? Couldn’t there be a mistake?”
Tinkie shook her head. “She’s not on board now. We’ve looked everywhere.”
“Let’s keep looking. I’m not willing to give up.”
We joined the others at the railing, and as the high-beam lights swept across the water, we prayed that we’d find Kathleen bobbing in the river. But two hours later, we had to concede defeat. The boats on the river began to break up as professional search-and-rescue vessels headed downstream in case the current had caught her and transported her from our search area.
Darla was distraught, and Tinkie went to comfort her. She was far better at that than I was. Cece and Millie hung back with me.
“Do you think she’s still alive?” Millie asked.
“I don’t know. If she’s a strong swimmer, she may have made it to shore. If she went to the other side…” Cece was holding out hope.
“Let’s get off this tub and search along the shore,” I said. “I’m sure we can find some good flashlights. Maybe she did swim.”
It was better than abject despair, and we waited mutely as the towboat hauled us slowly to the dock. Once we were on land, we split up to find flashlights. I didn’t know where we were, exactly, and doing a search of a riverbank in unfamiliar terrain in the dark was not going to be easy. But it was better than sitting around doing nothing.
15
Some Columbus residents came down from their homes to the river with heavy-duty lights, blankets, thermoses of coffee, and sandwiches. The town pulled together to search for a missing woman. The residents silently handed out supplies to the searchers, or else brought small motorboats and joined in the search on the water. A breeze on the river whipped the marshy grasses into a low hum as we spread along the shore, looking for any sign of Kathleen. The black night and dark river seemed to have swallowed her whole.
Darla had reluctantly left the search and gone to the hospital to check on Clarissa. The deputies were talking among themselves, but I was too far away to hear an update. I knew better than to ask because they didn’t know me and wouldn’t share information. Besides, I was worried about Coleman. He was plenty self-sufficient—I knew that with all my heart. He’d get dry clothes and either rejoin us here or return to the B and B. The best thing we could do was help with the search.
Cece and I took an area that bordered on marsh. The footing was treacherous, and I couldn’t stop my brain from turning every floating log or pile of debris into a waiting alligator. “Too cold for snakes. Too cold for snakes.” I kept repeating that mantra to myself as I stepped onto soggy patches of ground and moved the beam of my light all around, hoping to see Kathleen on the shore, maybe freezing but alive. In the distance I could hear Tinkie and Oscar. Millie was searching with Harold, and Jaytee was helping Jerry Goode and some other deputies set up a bank of floodlights. His electrical expertise was sorely needed.
“Kathleen!” I called for
