"Because the girl was Kelsey?"
"Yes," she said, meeting my gaze. "I shouldn't have said anything. They're just friends."
"They were more than friends. Carter had feelings for Kelsey."
"Really? Well, that must have been difficult for him, loving a woman who was in love with his brother. He's been a wreck since she disappeared. Now I understand a little better why he was so distraught. That must have been why he took so many pills. He wanted to stop feeling the pain."
"Did you tell Ben about the photos?"
"Yes. I went up to Carter's room with him. He wanted to get the phone and computer, and he mentioned he thought Carter and Kelsey had an especially close friendship, and that's when I showed him the photos. Perhaps I shouldn't have done that."
I saw the worry in her eyes. "Carter's secret is out. You don't need to be concerned."
"It's out? Does that mean Gage knows?"
I nodded. "He does now."
Her gaze filled with concern. "Oh, dear, that's not good. Gage will be even more upset than he already was. And poor Eileen. Her loyalties will be split between her boys. Sean will have his hands full trying to keep everyone together, and it will be even worse if Carter doesn't…" Her voice trailed away. "I know I'm just a housekeeper, and I shouldn't be so invested, but I feel like the Chadwicks are part of my family."
"I'm sure they feel the same way about you. Did Ben say anything else while he was here?"
"He assured me he's going to find Kelsey, and I liked his determination. He's already proving himself to be a better sheriff than his father."
"How so?"
"Ben pays better attention, and he doesn't play favorites. He doesn't care about schmoozing with the rich folks. He's loyal to his friends, to the locals. He has respect for the people who work here year round."
"And that's different from his father?"
"Oh, yes. Tom Ryan always had favorites. If you were his buddy, you could get away with anything. And if you could do something for him, you could get away with even more. The man was on a power trip. He thought he owned this island. I was happy when he finally retired. I think it's going to be better for all of us."
I appreciated her candor. " I hope that's true. Drake thinks that the former sheriff's investigation into Melanie's disappearance was not very thorough."
"I don't know about that. Tom spent a lot of time here asking questions. He must have come over three or four times. It made me nervous that he was putting so much energy into talking to the Chadwicks, especially after Drake accused Gage of lying, but nothing ever came of the sheriff's interviews."
"I didn't realize he'd talked to them more than once."
"I believe he really tried to solve the case. Melanie was a popular kid, so outgoing and friendly. Everyone knew her. Everyone loved her, including Tom. She was a big part of this community. She used to read to my grandkids after school. She helped clean houses for any of the crews that needed an extra hand. She worked in the family restaurant with her sweet mom, Sylvie. Tom wanted to bring her home."
"I wish he'd been able to do that."
"Me, too. I always felt so bad for Sylvie, losing her daughter like that. And Holt, too, of course, but he's a harder man to connect with. There was so much pain on this island during the awful weeks that followed that night. The ones that could leave, left. The ones who couldn't had to deal with months of uncertainty and worry that there was a killer amongst us."
"But there wasn't. Nothing happened."
"Until now."
I shivered at her words.
"I'm sorry," Gloria said quickly, putting up an apologetic hand. "That was thoughtless. I shouldn't have said that."
"It's okay. It's not like I haven't thought it." I paused as Drake returned to the kitchen.
"Sorry about that," he said. "I got a call after I left the bathroom, and I had to take it."
"Everything all right?" I asked.
"Yes. Just my mom checking in. Are you ready to go?"
"I am." As I finished speaking, Gloria's phone rang.
She picked it up from the nearby counter. "It's Mr. Chadwick. Hello?" She gripped her phone tightly as she listened to whatever Sean had to say. I couldn't tell if it was bad or good or something in between. "That's terrible," she said a moment later. "I'm so sorry." She paused. "I understand. Willow just brought some food over to the house. It will be here whenever you get back." She listened for another moment, then said, "I'll be praying for Carter. Please let me know if anything changes."
As she ended the call, she let out a breath. "Poor Carter is in a coma. He's still critical, but there's hope."
"That's good."
"Mr. Chadwick said they'll be back soon. I guess there's no point in staying at the hospital any longer. The doctors said Carter will be unconscious for a while. They asked me to make sure no one came in the house or went into Carter's room. It's probably best if you two leave now."
"Of course. We won't say anything," I assured her. "You can tell them we dropped the food off on the porch."
"Well, I'm sure they wouldn't care that you're here, Willow." Her gaze drifted to Drake, a suspicious gleam coming into her eyes, as if she'd just realized how long Drake had been gone. "You didn't go into Carter's room, did you?"
"No," he said.
"Okay, good." She waved us out of the kitchen, and we hurried down the hall and out the door.
I didn’t say anything to Drake until we were back in the car. "You lied to Gloria."
He gazed back at me unapologetically. "There was no point in telling her the truth. The less she knew, the better."
"Did you find anything?"
"Why don't you drive down the road and then pull over? We don't want to be sitting here when the Chadwicks get home. But I have something to show you."
"You're making me very curious." I backed out of the driveway. "Start talking."
"I'd rather show you than tell you."
"Fine." I drove onto the main highway, going about a half mile, before turning down a road that led to Pope Beach. With the cold weather, there were no beachgoers around. I pulled over to the side of the road and turned to face him. "Well?"
Drake handed me a piece of paper. "This was in the pocket of a pair of jeans that were flung over the chair in Carter's closet."
I took the piece of stationery, my stomach churning as I unfolded the paper and saw the familiar handwriting. The note had been written on stationery from a hotel in New York. I knew Kelsey had been in Manhattan a week prior to returning to Hawk Island.
"Carter," I read aloud. "I'm writing you this letter because I can't email you, I can't text you. Too many people have access to my phone. I know you don't want to hear this, but I have to say it, and you have to believe me this time. I'm going to marry Gage. I'm sorry for hurting you. I've made some bad decisions, but I want to move forward, and I want you to move on as well. We'll always have Paris, but my life is with Gage. Contracts have been signed. There's a lot of money on the table. I know you don't care about money or fame, but it's part of who I am. Gage understands that because it's who he is, too. You're the romantic one, Carter. You have so much more heart than I do. I want to say you made me a better person, but the sad truth is that I made you a worse person. I'm sorry for that. I hope you can forgive me, that we can be friends and in-laws, that we can prevent our terrible secret from ruining the lives of everyone we care about. Please don't fight me on this. I need you to wish me well at my wedding. Can you do that, Carter? It's the last thing I'll ask of you."