Page 5 of Off the Hook

“That’s what Waylan said. What I need is my baby girl back.” She choked up, finally showing emotion.

“I’m so very sorry,” I said softly. “When was the last time you spoke to Kylie?”

“She called me yesterday morning.”

I winced. It must hurt horribly knowing you’d unknowingly spoken the last words to your child, on a holiday, no less. “Did she say what her plans were yesterday?”

“She was supposed to go into work at four. She manages the Lorelei, and holidays are high season. That’s why she couldn’t go to Minnesota with Jake.”

“Jake?” I asked as I wrote 4pm on my yellow legal pad and drew a circle around it. Kylie must’ve ended up in the water before that time if she should have been at work by then.

“Her fiancé. They’d just gotten engaged.” Her voice trailed off. “Poor thing. I spoke to him just before you called. He’s a mess.”

I scribbled on the legal pad: JAKE=FIANCE. “I can only imagine. He’s in Minnesota?”

“Yeah, home for the holidays. He didn’t want to leave Kylie but she insisted he go without her. His grandmother hasbeen ill and they thought it might be her last Christmas–same reason we came to Texas to be with Jack’s parents. We were so worried about other family members leaving us that we left Kylie all alone,” she said, her voice escalating with despair. “And now she’s gone.”

“You couldn’t have known,” I tried to console. “Don’t blame yourself.”

“I wish I knew how to stop it,” she said, full of regret. “I just keep thinking if I’d been home she would be alive.”

“That’s the hardest part about losing a loved one,” I said, shifting in my creaky old office chair. “It’s good that you’re with family there in Texas.”

“Thank you,” she sniffled.

“Mrs. Bennett, I wondered if you could help me with something… Kylie’s phone was in her pocket when they found her. Do you happen to know the passcode?”

“Unless she changed it, should be 050717– the day she graduated from the University of Miami.. She said she’d never forget that day after she worked so hard to get there.”

The pride in her voice tugged at my heart strings. My mother had always been my biggest cheerleader. I punched in the numbers and the phone unlocked. “That’s the code. Thank you.” I scrawled the numbers on the yellow paper.

“Another thing I wondered…” I paused, feeling a little guilty for questioning the grieving mother. “Who did Kylie hang out with?” Surely someone who’d lived in Smuggler’s Cove all their life had lots of friends.

“Her best friend, Amber, moved to Atlanta a couple years back. And since then, it seemed like all my girl did was work.She wanted to pay off her student loans so I didn’t have to, and then she met Jake.” She chuckled but it sounded forced. “Those two were fast and furious, engaged after six months. The wedding was set for spring.” Her voice trembled. “They were so happy.”

My heart ached for her. “Thank you. I’ll check her phone now that I can access it. If you think of any friends who might have some information about her movements yesterday, please let me know.”

“Why are you asking about her friends? Do you think her drowning wasn’t an accident?””

“We’re just exploring every possibility and trying to determine exactly what happened to her.” My pen scratched on the pad:TALK TO EMPLOYEES AT LORELEI.

“Thank you,” she replied.

“One last thing,” I said. “Have you notified Kylie’s father? Or would you like me to?”

“Kylie doesn’t have a father,” she said sternly. “Thanks for offering though.”

After we hung up, I scrolled through recent calls on Kylie’s phone. Several missed calls from Lorelei on the day of her death. Nearly every one of the other calls was to or from Jake or Mom. Her mother wasn’t kidding, Kylie really didn’t talk to anyone else. I opened her texts. Jake and her mom were at the top of the list. The last message to Jake was a photo of a floral arrangement in a magazine, sent at 3:19pm, with the message:What do you think about these for the tables?

I got a chill, thinking of her making wedding plans just minutes before her future was erased. Jake’s reply made mesmile.Whatever you think, beautiful. As long as you end up my wife at the end of the day I’ll be the happiest man alive.

The third contact on the list of texts was from someone named Coulter Rodman. He’d texted her at 2:49pm.I want to talk to you in person, Kylie. When can we meet?

She hadn’t replied to that message, or the one before, which was basically the same.

Can we talk about this face to face?

The previous message was sent December 22, two days before Kylie died, in response to her message to him earlier that day.I wanted to let you know, before we make it public… Jake and I are engaged.

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