Page 79 of Light of Day
“Hey!” she yelled, scrambling to the edge of the water. “Can you hear me?” Her voice bounced off the walls of the cave and echoed back to her. Did any of the sound actually make it out of this nook in the rocks? She tried again. “Helllooo out there!”
The paddling sound stopped. “Hello?”
The voice was male, confused, and that fact filled her with relief. It wasn’t whoever had put her here. That person wouldn’t be confused; they would be expecting to find her here.
“I’m in here!” she yelled. “Can you help me?”
A shadow drifted across the mouth of the cave. The gap between the rock and the water’s surface was getting smaller; the tide was definitely still coming in.
A head appeared in that gap, someone leaning over the side of the kayak. She couldn’t make out the man’s features, as his head was silhouetted against the only source of light. “Who are you? Are you okay?”
“Not for long,” Heather said. “I need to get out of here. Do you have room in your kayak?”
“No, it’s a single-person kayak. I guess I could tow you, maybe.” He didn’t sound confident about that, and she didn’t like the idea much either, since it would involve getting in the water.
“Do you have your phone with you? Can you call 9-1-1? Wait no, call the constable. Luke Carmichael. Tell him Heather McPhee is trapped in a cave on the east side. He’ll come right away.”
“You’re a friend of Luke’s?”
Heather frowned, taken aback at the question. He sounded as if he knew Luke well. “I am. But he’s the constable so he’d have to rescue me anyway.”
“If you’re counting on Luke, you might be in trouble.”
A shiver shot down Heather’s spine. “What do you mean? Do you know Luke? Who are you?”
“Of course I know Luke.” The venom in that voice…wow.
“Who are you?” she repeated. Her whole body was shivering now, long shudders of fear and cold.
“I bet I know why you’re in here,” he said in a taunting way that didn’t help with her shivers at all.
“Please, tell me. I have no idea why I’m in here. I need to get out.”
“Good luck with that.” His laugh chilled her to the bone.
Then she heard something even more terrifying. The sound of the safety catch being clicked off a gun. The kayak glided closer. She shrank back against the side of the cave.
A low rumble interrupted the moment; the sound of a boat engine coming closer. Heather shouted, “Hey! In here!” just in case they could hear her from inside this cave.
But the noise just bounced around the rock walls. She heard the man chuckle, the safety click back on, then saw the shadow of the kayak glide away from the opening.
The cave brightened now that it was no longer blocking the entrance. The new inrush of light allowed her to see that if she climbed along the rocks to the very edge of the opening, she’d be able to see outside.
But she’d have to do it fast if she wanted a better look at the mystery man in the kayak. She took off her boots and socks. Having grown up climbing on slippery rocks, she felt more comfortable barefoot. Her toes had more flexibility than the sole of a shoe. As long as there weren’t too many barnacles or colonies of mussels, she should be okay.
That long-ago skill came back to her right away.Just like riding a bike, she muttered as she climbed like a monkey over the rocks. Handhold, move, foothold, move. Go for the seaweed-covered valleys between rocks rather than the high points.
When she reached the edge, she wedged one hand into a crevice in the rock overhead and leveraged her body around the gray granite of the cave mouth, until she was basically hugging the rock.
The kayak was already at least a hundred yards away. All she could see was the man’s back and the dark knit beanie he was wearing. He was in excellent shape, judging by the speed of the kayak and his smooth strokes.
Something about him looked familiar, but without seeing his face, she couldn’t identify him. But one thing seemed clear. As long as that guy knew she was here, she wouldn’t be safe.
She had to get out of this cave.
Holding onto the rocks for dear life, she leaned out as far as she could to get an idea of where she was, exactly. Sheer cliffs to her right. The lighthouse barely visible from sea level like this. No other land mass in sight.
The hotel was probably almost directly above and behind her. If she yelled loudly enough, would someone hear her? Or would they think she was a seagull cawing in the wind? Could she swim anywhere from here? Did any of the lobstermen set their traps out here?
