He seemed to have no answer.
None of us did.
Minutes passed—maybe hours, maybe lifetimes—before Nick reappeared with Manu. Manu was dressed in white sleep pants and an oversized, short sleeved linen shirt in a different shade of white than his pants. His short hair stood up on one end, near his ear, and he wore glasses, water clinging to their lenses.
There was no greeting, no warm wishes for us that evening. Instead, his face was solemn. He approached us carefully with bare feet and watchful eyes, as if we were the threat.
We stared at him. The only sounds were the roaring of the ocean, the thuds of rain hitting the sand, and the whistling of the wind. He took in the scene, his eyes bouncing between each of us, landing on Emily’s body several times. Finally, he spoke, his voice carrying a heavy weight in the night.
“What happened?”
I looked at Andy, holding my breath.
“I found her,” he said. Simple. Straight forward. He found her. But found her where? And why? And how? Those were the answers Manu needed to know…answers we all needed to know.
“Where?” he asked first, his voice completely calm.
Andy looked to the ocean. “She was floating. I—I wasn’t sure it was a person, at first. But I was looking for her… I swam out. She was…she was already gone.” I forced the vision of her floating body out of my mind.
“You brought her back to shore?” Manu asked.
Andy nodded.
“Did you know she had gone swimming?”
Andy shook his head. “She left dinner early, said she was going back to the hut, but when I got there, she wasn’t there. I’ve been walking around looking for her ever since. I thought she was just out for a walk, clearing her head.”
My blood ran cold. Why didn’t he tell us that? Why hadn’t he asked us to help him look for her? Then another, more devastating thought hit me. If he was out looking for her, what had he seen?
“Were you all looking for her?” Manu looked at Nick, who shook his head, wiping rain from his eyes.
“We just found out she was missing.”
“Andy, why didn’t you tell us?” Brad asked. “We would’ve helped you look for her.” He didn’t say it, but the truth hung there in the air. If we’d been able to help look, maybe we could’ve found her in time. Maybe she’d still be alive.
“I wanted to talk to her alone. I knew she was upset, and I thought having you guys find her would just make it worse.” He inhaled a sharp, haggard sob. “I didn’t think she would— I didn’t think—” He gave up trying to speak, putting his head in his palms instead.
“We will have to call the police and tell them what has happened,” Manu said, his voice grim. “But I am afraid the high winds during the incoming storm have taken out the phone lines. I cannot send my men out in a storm like this to get help. There is no choice. We shall have to wait until the storm passes.”
“How long will that be?” Natasha asked.
“We are nearly in the heart of it now,” he said, raising his voice as the wind picked up as if to agree with him. “I hope by morning it will have cleared, but even still, we will have no phones. I will have to send a crew back to the mainland to get help.”
“We have to leave her so the police can collect evidence,” Jaren said.
“We can’t leave her here,” Andy said, gripping her hand. “Not like this.” No. He was right. The thought of leaving her outside in the storm, alone, dead…it was enough to make me start crying again, harder this time. What were we going to do?
“No,” Manu agreed. “We cannot. Any evidence will be washed away by the rain and the ocean. I will have some of the staff take her to the infirmary until the police arrive.” He paused.
“Are we in danger here, Manu?” Megan asked. “Are there…other people on the island? People who could’ve hurt Emily?”
He pressed his lips together, gripping his hands at waist level. “The currents get strong at night. Perhaps Emily did not realize and decided to take a swim. It is a tragedy, but I do not want you to be afraid on my island. You are safe here, as it is only inhabited by my staff, myself, and…well, you all.” The wind howled again, and I stepped forward from its strength. “This was a terrible accident, but I do not believe you are in any danger. Please do not fear.”
His words did little to comfort any of us, I knew, and Andy’s continued sobs supported that theory. Whenever I’d hear him crying, or look over at him, I’d cry harder. What were we going to do? How would he ever survive this? “Andy,” Manu said, practically screaming over the storm and Andy’s cries. “Would you like to come with us to take her to the infirmary? Perhaps you would like to say goodbye to her somewhere a bit more”—lightning struck, interrupting his words—“a bit more peaceful.”
Andy nodded, not moving from her side, and Manu looked at us. “I should think the rest of you would like to get inside, get dry, and warm up. Please return to your huts, if you will.”
I looked at Andy. I didn’t want to leave him, not like that. He shouldn’t be alone.
“Andy, do you want us to stay?” Brad asked, reading my mind.
“Come with us, Andy,” Nick said. “Let’s get inside and dry. There’s nothing you can do by getting sick yourself.”
Andy shook his head. “Please just go,” he cried. “I want to be alone with her.”
Manu took two respectful steps back. “I am going to wake the staff to help.”
Andy nodded, then looked up at Brad, then Megan, then Nick. It was me his eyes landed on when he spoke. There was a darkness there. A fury I didn’t understand. “Just go. I don’t need you
