"Uh, I don't know," Dillon said with a shrug. "He was quiet, tense, angry. He didn't speak to me. He and his brothers mostly stayed together." Dillon paused. "Is Ben looking into Gage?"
"Do you think he should?" I asked.
"I always thought the golden boy had a lot of secrets," Dillon muttered.
"Care to be more specific?"
"Gage was always looking out for himself. If he got into trouble, he made sure he didn't take the blame. Drake knows."
"I'm not a fan of Gage," Drake said. "But I also don't want to focus on him so much we miss something or someone else."
"That's true." Dillon glanced down at his watch. "I gotta go. I have to set up a fortieth birthday party at the Rec Center."
"You still work for Party Planet?" I asked him.
"Yep," he said with a shrug. "It's an easy job. You know me, I like easy." He turned to go, then paused. "After I set up the party, I'm going to join another search group this afternoon, the one heading over to the east shore. Will I see you out there?"
"I'm not sure," I said. "But thanks for doing that, Dillon. I really appreciate it."
"I always liked your sister, and I can't stand the thought of another girl never coming back," he said heavily.
"Me, either."
"Drake, if you want to get a beer sometime after we get Kelsey home, let me know," Dillon added. "It's been too long."
"Sounds good."
As Dillon left, the receptionist told us we could go back to Ben's office.
"Looks like we're not the only ones who want to point Ben in Gage's direction," Drake said as he opened the lobby door, and we walked down the hall.
"Dillon definitely doesn't like Gage. But I also wonder if Dillon has a hidden agenda."
Drake gave me a questioning look. "What do you mean?"
"That drug buy Ben went on the night Melanie disappeared... Is it possible Dillon was with him? He was more of a druggie than Ben."
"Rick told me Ben was alone, but Dillon could have been in the car. I don't know. That's a question for Ben."
"But not today's question," I reminded him. "I don't want to take Ben's focus away from Kelsey. If he thinks he has to cover his ass for something he did ten years ago, he may not do what he needs to do now. Let's stick with the information we have on Carter and Kelsey and how that might impact the case."
"I agree." He knocked on Ben's office door, then pushed it open.
Ben wasn't alone. His father was there, too. That was disappointing. I wanted to talk to Ben alone.
"What's going on?" Ben asked.
"We need to speak to you," I said, adding, "Alone, if that's possible."
Tom Ryan bristled. "Alone? I'm working on this case with Ben. I'm trying to save your sister, Willow. If you know something, you can tell us both."
"Why don't you give us a minute, Dad?" Ben suggested.
The former sheriff's cheeks turned bright red, his eyes gleaming with anger. "I know more about Melanie's case than any of you, and if you think Kelsey's disappearance is tied to Melanie, than you need me in on everything. Unless you have something you want to say about me?" he asked. "Do you want to accuse me of trying to protect someone again, Drake?"
"Are you protecting someone again?" Drake countered.
Tom shook his head. "I never did that. And I've done everything I can to help you and your family, Drake. I even turned over all my files to show you that the department has got nothing to hide, but you're still here stirring the pot. You want to blame the people who are trying to help you." Tom's gaze pivoted toward me. "And you're letting him. He's going to derail the investigation. If anyone needs to leave this room, it's him. The rest of us want to find your sister, not retrace a ten-year-old investigation."
"Dad, stop!" Ben put up his hand. "I need your help to do what we just talked about. Can you do that now? And let me deal with Drake and Willow?"
Tom looked like he wanted to tell Ben to go to hell, but finally he said, "Fine. I'll go. Because I know what's important."
When the door closed behind him, I blew out a breath, then turned back to Ben.
"What do you want to talk to me about?" Ben asked wearily. He had dark shadows under his eyes and looked nothing like the carefree kid I'd grown up with. But then, I might not have really known that carefree kid the way I thought I did.
"I have some information that might impact the investigation."
"Tell me. I could use a lead."
"Carter was having an affair with Kelsey."
Surprise raised his brows and widened his eyes. "Are you sure?"
"Yes."
"How do you know this?"
"Carter told me last night. He admitted that he's in love with Kelsey and that he didn't want her to marry his brother."
"Well, this would have been helpful information to have yesterday."
"I called you last night and left a message."
"You should have left that on the message. But sorry for not calling you back. I've been working nonstop since your sister disappeared. Does Gage know about his brother and Kelsey? If so, he would have a motive to hurt Kelsey. And he was the last one to see her before she vanished."
"I don't want to believe Gage would hurt Kelsey. Carter implied that it was a secret, but you need to talk to both of them," I replied. "I also want you to know that Carter begged me not to come forward with the information. He thought it was an invasion of Kelsey's privacy."
"You made the right decision," Ben said. "And if Carter wanted the wedding to be called off, he also had a motive to get Kelsey away from his brother, which is exactly what happened. Was there anything else?"
I frowned, thinking I would just be adding another distraction. "It can wait."
"No, it can't," Drake said firmly.
"Well, someone tell me," Ben said, his gaze moving between us.
"Someone shoved Willow into the harbor last night," Drake said. "She could have drowned if I hadn't come by at the right moment."
"Damn! You should have called 911, Willow, instead of my personal number. They would have gotten an officer to you immediately."
"I was fine. Drake pulled me out of the water."
"Did you see the person who attacked you?"
"No. They came up behind me. I had gone to look at the location where Kelsey's shoe was found."
He sighed. "You already know we don't have cameras in that location."
"I do, but here's the thing. I had been at Willie's speaking to Carter and James right before I went down to the dock. They were both angry with me for digging into their personal business."
"I get why Carter was angry. But James?" Ben gave me a questioning look.
"That's a story for another time."
"You're here. Get it out," Ben ordered.
"It turns out that James lied about being with Brooklyn the night Melanie disappeared. He said he was passed out on the beach, but there are conflicting stories."