"Oh, I know. She kept trying to drown us in hot chocolate."
"With marshmallows. It might have made us feel like kids, but it was tasty."
"It was. It's funny the things we remember, isn't it? Random moments that often seemed meaningless, but they stick with us."
I nodded, sensing we were getting a little too personal. I almost liked it better when we were yelling at each other. Oddly, that seemed a little less dangerous. "Are my clothes dry?"
"They need a few more minutes. Why don't you sit down, Willow?"
Since I couldn’t go anywhere without my clothes, I took a seat in the chair while he sat on the futon, setting his coffee on the table in front of him.
"So, why were you at Willie's?" he asked.
"I followed James there. I overheard a conversation between him and Brooklyn that bothered me, so I followed him. He met Carter in the bar, which was good because I had questions for Carter, too."
"Let's start with James. What bothered you about the conversation he had with Brooklyn?" Drake asked, giving me a speculative look.
I hesitated. If I told him, I could get Brooklyn into trouble. James's lie was tied to hers. "Just some stuff," I said vaguely.
Disappointment and annoyance ran through his eyes. "You're always protecting someone, aren't you?"
He had a point. "All right. James and Brooklyn were talking about the night Melanie vanished. It didn't sound like James was with Brooklyn the entire night, the way he said he was."
"And the way she said he was. Why were they even talking about that night?"
"Kelsey's disappearance has brought the memories back for everyone, not just me. I believe the lie festered between them. It might have even led to their breakup years later."
"Interesting. Well, don't worry, Willow. You're not blowing the case wide open. I already figured out that James lied. I just don't know why or where he was."
"James said he was passed out on the beach, and his parents were going to take him out of school if he had another problem with alcohol, so Brooklyn covered for him. He insisted he did not see Melanie that night, so his lie didn't matter."
"But he doesn't remember the entire night, does he?"
"No. How did you figure out he lied?"
"Someone saw his car at ten p.m. in the downtown area. He sped through a stop sign."
"Someone saw him?" I asked in surprise. "I don't understand. Did the sheriff question him about that?"
"No. Or if he did, it wasn't in the file. The information was buried in a witness statement from Mrs. Wiggins, who ran the Corner Market. She rambled on about a lot of irrelevant things, including the fact that teenagers were speeding down her street at all hours of the night. That's when she mentioned a red Audi running the stop sign in front of her store. She'd just locked up around ten. She didn't say it was James, but that was the car he drove, and I doubt there were two of them on the island."
"Have you talked to Ben about it?"
"I was going to speak to him today, but he's been busy looking for Kelsey."
"What about reaching out to Mrs. Wiggins?"
"She passed away three years ago."
"Oh, that's sad." I paused. "So, you think James was in town that night?"
"I do. I don't believe he was passed out on the beach."
"Why would he lie to Brooklyn?"
"Probably the reason any guy lies to his girlfriend. He was with someone else. Or he was doing something he didn't want her to know about."
"Who would he have been with?"
"No idea. Maybe Brooklyn knows. Could you ask her?"
"I don't know that she'd tell me the truth."
"But you did say you would try to help me get answers," he reminded me.
"I will ask her about it. But not right this second. She's really worried about Kelsey. It's not the best time."
Frustration entered his eyes. "It is the best time, Willow. It's past the best time."
He had a point. "All right. I will talk to her tomorrow. I'm sure James will probably tell her I followed him to Willie's anyway." I let out a breath. "I've never liked James, and I like him even less now. But I need your honest opinion—is James someone who would shove me in the sea and hope I died?"
Drake stared back at me. "Was he drunk?"
"He was actually sober tonight. But he was angry with me for eavesdropping, for following him, for threatening to tell Ben about his lie, if he didn't do it himself."
"You told him that?" Drake asked with surprise.
"Yes. It was probably stupid, but I wanted them both to know I was serious. Which brings me to Carter."
"What did he have to say about James's lie?"
"Not much. He didn't think it concerned him. I didn't pressure him for an opinion, because I was more interested in learning about his relationship with Kelsey."
Drake raised a brow. "What kind of relationship are you suggesting?"
"Apparently, Carter and Kelsey got together when they were both in Paris last year. It was a few weeks before she got engaged to Gage. She ended the affair at some point, but Carter is still in love with her. He tried to talk her out of marrying Gage."
Drake sat back on the couch, folding his arms across his chest. "I was not expecting you to say that." He tilted his head, giving me a speculative look. "Does Carter think Kelsey ran away?"
"He's holding onto that hope. Carter begged me not to say anything about their affair. He said it would ruin Kelsey's reputation. I could hurt her if she is just taking time to think."
"They found her shoe on the dock. I don't believe she's just thinking somewhere."
"She might have been in a hurry to get on a boat. Maybe she was running barefoot, and she had the shoe in her hand, and she dropped it."
"Okay. That could have happened," he said carefully.
I saw the doubt in his gaze. "But you don't really think so."
"I told myself a lot of stories about where Melanie might be when she disappeared. I understand why you need the stories. It helps you get through the night."
"I can't let them go," I admitted.
"I understand."
He did understand, probably better than anyone.
"You need to let Ben know about Carter and Kelsey," Drake continued. "Maybe Carter got desperate and stopped her from getting married. Or Gage found out and got angry."
"If that happened, Gage would have just called off the wedding." I felt desperate to believe that. "No one is killing anyone over this affair."
He leaned forward, giving me a hard look. "Don't underestimate anyone. You talked to two men about their secrets and then someone shoved you into the water. You could have drowned tonight. Your silence would have been assured. You need to call Ben. If James and Carter are innocent of everything, that will become clear. But if they're not, and you don't say something…"
"You're right. I don't need to protect them. I don't want to protect them. I just want Kelsey back. But I don't have Ben's number anymore. I deleted everyone's phone number a long time ago. I couldn't look at the names."