"I'm taking another look at the investigation," Drake said. "I still want answers. You know that."
"You're writing that damn book you mentioned earlier. This is about you, not about her. You want to use your sister's disappearance to make money."
I was surprised by Holt's words, by his anger toward Drake.
"It's about Melanie, Dad," Drake said quietly, seeming to take no offense to his father's accusation. "And now it might also be about another missing woman—Kelsey Kent."
"Don't bring my sister into this," I said. "Don't use Kelsey."
"I'm not using her. I'm not using Melanie, either. I'm just saying that it's even more important than ever that we get answers soon."
"Drake is right," Sylvie interjected. "Come on, Holt, let's go downstairs. I'll make you something to eat." She put her hand on her husband's arm, but he shrugged it away.
"I don't want food," he said. "I don't want…anything." He walked out of the apartment without giving me another look.
Sylvie gave me an apologetic smile. "I hope he didn't say something upsetting to you, Willow. He has been really distracted since he heard about Kelsey. It triggered a lot of bad memories."
"I understand."
"I better check on him," Sylvie said, then left the room.
Drake turned to me. "Are you all right, Willow?"
I was hugging my arms around my body, still shaking from Holt's shocking attack. "Your dad looked like he wanted to kill me."
Drake paled. "He wouldn't have done that."
"I don't think you have any idea what he would have done if you hadn't come in. He wasn't all there. His eyes were glazed. Now I know why Melanie said she was sometimes scared of her father."
"She wasn't scared of him."
"Yes, she was. She always said he would never hurt her. But she'd say that repeatedly, like she was trying to convince herself."
"He never touched her."
"How do you know?" I challenged.
"Because I asked her," he admitted. "A few times. I just wanted to make sure. She swore he had never touched her. My mother said the same thing."
"But you had doubts."
Drake ran a hand through his hair. "I didn't want to have doubts, but I worried about her after I left home. My mom told me my father was hard on her. I didn't realize how hard until you told me last night about him following you and Melanie. That surprised me." Drake paused. "But you just said that Melanie told you he never hurt her, so I have to believe her."
"She did say that, but maybe she wouldn't have told me."
"I think she would have. Or she would have told my mom."
"That's true. Where was your dad the night Melanie disappeared?"
"He took a walk like he did every night after dinner. Usually, he was gone an hour or two, but that night he didn't come back until about ten. He mostly went to the beach nearest our house. The ocean waves would calm him down, so he could sleep."
"Did anyone see him that night?"
"Yes. Our neighbor, Frank Young, was walking his dog on the beach at eight thirty. He spoke to my dad for a few minutes, then they parted ways. Frank told the police that my dad seemed the same as always, not particularly friendly, not particularly talkative. But he wasn't agitated. He didn't look stressed." Drake paused. "My father didn't hurt Melanie. He couldn't."
I could see how much he wanted to believe that, and I wanted to believe it, too, because I knew Melanie had loved her dad, despite their problems.
Drake walked over to the couch and sat down, giving me a weary look. "Damn, I don't know long I can keep doing this."
The man I'd been angry with for so many years suddenly looked broken. There was so much emotion and vulnerability in his eyes that my heart ached for him. What he'd done, whatever he was doing, it was all for Melanie.
I sat on the chair across from him. "Maybe you should stop all this, Drake. It won't bring Melanie back, and clearly, your father doesn't want you to write a book about her."
"It's not about the book. That never has to happen, but I can't stop looking for justice. My sister deserves that. Whoever took her away from us needs to pay. And it's not just about Melanie anymore. It's about Kelsey, too. How did the search go?"
"It was unsuccessful."
"Did Ben ever call you back?"
"No, and I need to talk to him. He needs to know that I was attacked last night, and that Carter and Kelsey had an affair. I should have tried to reach him before now, but when I saw Gage and Carter stomping through the woods for hours on end this morning, it made me wonder how I could think either of them was guilty of something."
"Looking for Kelsey could just be a cover."
"I know. I want to help you, Drake, but I need to talk to Ben first. I'll have a better chance if I just go down to the station than if I try to call him again."
"I'll go with you."
"I don't need you to go with me."
"We'll get farther faster if we work together. Isn't that what you want?"
"What I want is for this nightmare to be over."
He jumped to his feet. "Then let's make that happen."
I was impressed by the renewed energy n his gaze. "You don't stay down for long, do you?"
"No time for that."
Drake had his cocky, confident, relentless fire back, and it made me feel more hopeful. I was going to cling to that feeling as long as I could.
I drove Drake to the station, needing to be in control of at least one thing in my life. When we arrived, we were told Ben was in a meeting, so we waited in the lobby. Drake seemed to get lost in the display case, his gaze focused on the photographs, awards, and mementos displayed there. Those items probably meant more to him than they did to me, since Drake had grown up on the island. I suspected he had a lot of love/hate feelings for his hometown, and for the former sheriff, who was featured extensively in the case.
As the front door opened, I turned to see Dillon come in, wearing ripped jeans and a long-sleeve T-shirt under a navy windbreaker.
"Willow! I've been thinking about you since I heard the bad news. Has Kelsey been found yet?" Dillon asked.
I shook my head. "No. We're waiting to speak to Ben. He's in a meeting."
"I was hoping she was back home by now. I ran into Gage and Carter yesterday down at the beach and joined the search party for as long as I could, but we didn't have any luck."
"Thanks for trying, Dillon."
"I wish I could do more. Kelsey was a cool girl."
I nodded, hating that he'd used past tense. "She'll still be a cool girl when she comes back."
He gave me an apologetic look. "Oh, sorry. I always say the wrong thing."
"You didn't. There is no right thing to say."
Dillon's gaze swung to Drake. "How are you doing, Drake? This has to be rough on you and your family."
"It's triggering a lot of terrible memories," Drake admitted. "How was Gage acting during the search?"