Page 78 of Trick of Light
“Don’t have to. She’s out.”
“What?” she gasped. Damn, the Carmichael lawyers were good. “Didn’t I tell you this would happen? When did she get out?”
“She just got released on bail. I was surprised too, but her role was minor compared to Carson’s. She might have agreed to testify against him. Luke told me she was out, but he didn’t know all the details. She’s either already at the inn or will be there soon. You will be too, right? I should have known you’d make a detour, but are you headed that way now?”
“Yes, unless you want any help at Tamara’s. Have you found her?”
His tone darkened. “No, she’s not here.”
“What? Where could she be?”
“I don’t know. She was here. I see the slippers she was wearing in the lockup. She might be here in the woods somewhere, reconnecting with the owls and the squirrels.”
Gabby’s worry eased. “That’s probably exactly what she’s doing. I feel bad that I left the place empty for a night after promising her I’d keep an eye on things.”
“That’s okay. You can’t be expected to stay in a place with hidden cameras. I should have warned Tamara about that. I should have told her to go anywhere except home. Damn it.”
He really sounded worried.
“So what’s next? Are you going to look around in the woods?”
“For a bit, yes.” She could tell he was already walking around. “I’ll see if she left any clues behind. I really wish she’d waited until I got back.”
“All right, I’ll head for the inn. Meet you there later?”
“You got it. Keep me posted.”
“Likewise.”
She didn’t want to hang up. She’d never understood those people who lingered on the phone past the natural end of a conversation, but now she did. Just the sound of his voice made her feel safe and seen.
“Be careful at Tamara’s, please,” she said. “I’m starting to think there’s a very slim possibility that Keith Garner somehow survived that plane crash. I wish we had a photo of him, but nothing turned up in my searching.”
“Check the island school archives. They don’t do yearbooks, but they put out an end-of-school newsletter that includes photos of graduating students.”
“Is it online?”
“Is your research only online?”
She laughed. “No, but it’s a lot easier that way. I’ll check. See you soon, hot stuff.”
To get the last word on that, she ended the call. Then, just for the hell of it, she googled Sea Smoke Island school. A location came up, but no digitized archives.
Fine. She could do research IRL too. She wasn’t too online for that. She’d stop by on her way to the inn. Or better yet, hand off that task to Heather.
As she was sending that text to Heather, another came in from Sasha Mackey.
Just a heads up. The police confiscated Marianne’s journal from me. They said it might be evidence.
Who took it? Gabby fired back right way.
His name is Sergeant Boone, but he said he was just executing a search warrant. He didn’t know anything more than that, not even what the case was.
By now Gabby was driving down the gravel road, steering with her elbow as she worked the phone. She googled Boone and Harbortown, and got no results. A telephone call to the Harbortown police headquarters told her the same thing. There was no such officer.
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An air current swirled against Barnaby’s face, created by the silent flap of an owl. Had he disturbed the owl’s nest this deep in the woods?
