Chapter Thirty-One
The next day, I met with the detective. Ned sat by my side, still and stony, listening as I recounted my time on the island for what felt like the hundredth time. As always, I blamed James’s death on an accident, where he’d fallen onto the spear during a fight. But other than that, everything stayed totally truthful. Ned held Cara, bouncing her when she got particularly fussy and holding my hand whenever I began to cry.
The detective asked me questions about the woman’s name—Ms. Sheridan was all I knew—her role in what had happened—I didn’t know exactly, but it felt like she was their leader—and what kind of boat they’d picked me up with and brought me home in. I knew nothing about boats, so he had me describe both boats to him the best that I could, and I did. He told me that, if my person and the woman he was looking for were the same, he would keep me posted on any updates.
We were done within a half hour, him prying information out of me and giving me basically none. We walked to my Toyota Camry and Ned buckled Cara into her car seat before kissing my lips stiffly and heading for his own.
“I’ll see you at dinner,” he called with a wave over his head, already on his phone before I could answer.
I started the car, the emotions fresh and raw all over again as I sat there trying to compose myself. Had Ned not noticed the tears in my eyes when he walked away? Or did he just not care anymore? Had my grief reached the limit he’d set for me? Some days, as he ignored more and more of my pain, that was how it felt.
Two weeks went by without a word, and I assumed that would be the end of it. But then the phone rang, and I recognized the number.
“Hello?” I said before I’d even gotten the phone to my ear.
“We’ve found the island, Katy,” he said, and I could hear the grin in his voice from there.
Adrenaline coursed through me, cold chills lining my arms. I reached for the arm of the sofa, sitting down before I collapsed.
“We found the island,” he repeated. “We’ve found them all.”
“Are…are you sure?” It felt too good to be true. How was it possible?
“I think so. I need you to fly out with me to confirm it’s the place, but I’m almost positive. I’m still waiting on a warrant, but once we get it, we’ll have clearance to go. How does that sound? I know it’ll be tough for you to revisit a place with such terrible memories…”
“How…how did you find it?” I asked through my tears.
“Well, it wasn’t easy. I contacted every bar, hotel, or restaurant nearby where you’d said you were dropped off. All of the ones in that specific area either didn’t have surveillance footage at all or didn’t have any going back that far, but we finally found one a few miles up the coast that did. On the tapes, we saw a boat that matched the description you gave sailing in around the time you were dropped off. It was a long shot, but we took a chance and looked up who it belonged to—a Mr. Roman Bloom. We began looking into him and found out he has—get this—an island deeded to him off the coast of Florida. I did a bit more digging and discovered that Mr. Bloom is not the sole owner, but that he’s co-owner with four other people, one of them being a Mr. Barrett Laguna. Barrett Laguna’s first wife disappeared almost five years to the day from the time you disappeared. She was never found. His second wife, however, a Mrs. Jessica Laguna, is completely absent from social media, but I did manage to pull up a picture of their wedding from Barrett’s Facebook. She matches the sketch you had made almost perfectly.”
The room was spinning and Cara was beginning to fuss, but I couldn’t breathe.
“Katy? Are you there? Did you hear all of that?”
“I’m here… I just…wow. I can’t believe it.”
“Believe it,” he said. “We’re going to get justice for your friends. And for everyone else these people have wronged. And it’s all because of you.”
I smiled through my tears, feeling my heart fill with the first bit of true hope and joy I’d been able to feel in so long.
“So, what’s next?” I asked, sniffling. “What do we do?”
“We wait. I need you to stay by the phone until I get the warrant to search the island, and then I’ll call you with the location for the chopper. Your husband is more than welcome to come with you. You’ll be under police protection the entire time, totally safe, but I understand this won’t be easy and I want you to have whatever support you need.”
“Thank you.”
“Okay, sit tight, Katy. I’ll be in touch soon.” With that, the call ended and I stared at the screen in complete and utter disbelief.
I hadn’t given up, and it had worked.
I was going back.
Please. Please. Please.
Chapter Thirty-Two
A week later, I was in a police helicopter, Detective Armbruster on one side and Ned on the other.
He’d filled me in on the plan. That detectives were tracking down the four co-owners of the island to bring them in for questioning. He told me how the warrant had given them permission to search every bit of the island, that they’d bring in cadaver dogs and search every square inch, not just for my friends, but for anything else nefarious that might be there.
He told me how the man who’d found me, a Tom from Savannah, Georgia, was going to be identifying Jessica as the woman who’d stolen from him and, if I could identify her as well, they believed she could have charges brought
