I blew out a breath as I finished reading. Kelsey hadn't signed the note, but she hadn't needed to. It was obviously from her. And it was clearly a goodbye letter.
"She broke his heart," Drake said.
"How could she think he'd want to go to her wedding and wish her well? Everyone used to say I was the kid who lived in a dreamworld. I think it was Kelsey. She had a vision for herself, and Gage became part of that. She couldn't let him go because she needed him to complete the fantasy. They were going to take that fantasy to a reality TV show. I think the production company was sending someone out here tomorrow to cover the rehearsal dinner and wedding in case they needed the film for later."
"That would have increased her public exposure and her bank account."
"Gage's, too. We need to give this to Ben. I'm surprised he didn't find it when he went into the room."
"I doubt he went looking through Carter's pockets."
"Well, he should have. You did. What kind of investigator is he?"
"I don't know what to think about Ben," he said candidly. "Sometimes, it feels like he wants what I want. Other times, it doesn't."
"I know. I have the same mixed feelings about him." I looked down at the note again, my sister's handwriting making me feel more emotional. "I hope this isn't the last time I'm going to see her handwriting."
"I hope so, too," he said heavily.
"I'm still surprised that Kelsey didn't tell Brooklyn about her affair with Carter. She usually liked to share the juicy details of her life. She wasn't that private. And I know Brooklyn is hurt that she was left in the dark."
"Her affair with Carter had to be private because of Gage."
"I wonder what other secrets are still to be found." I gazed out the window at the road. I could see the parking lot for Pope's Beach a half mile away and the wild waves of the ocean just beyond that. As the sky continued to darken, I felt a cold chill. I could also feel a memory tugging at my mind. It was closer than it had ever been.
But what was it?
"Willow?"
I heard the question in Drake's voice. I put up a hand. "Don't say anything. I might… remember something."
"What?" he asked sharply.
I got out of the car and stood on the road, looking toward the ocean, then back toward the highway. There was nothing much around me, just trees, shadows, dirt, and the crashing sound of the waves.
That sound echoed through my head. I closed my eyes. I could hear the waves even louder now.
I could feel the ground shifting beneath my feet. I was stumbling, running, feeling like I needed to get away, and then I tripped and went down on my knees. Pain shot through me. I felt dizzy, confused. Where was I?
As the past receded from my mind, I opened my eyes again. I could see Drake standing next to the car, but he wasn't moving. He was letting me have the moment. I looked back toward the beach, then closed my eyes once more.
Someone was coming down the road. The headlights were blinding. I tried to move toward the side, but my legs felt too heavy.
The car stopped. The door opened. Someone got out.
I couldn't see his face. The spinning lights made me dizzy.
"Damn," I swore, shaking my head in anger and frustration as I opened my eyes again. I sank to the ground, feeling weak and overwhelmed.
"Willow?" Drake asked as he walked toward me.
As I looked up at him, I had another flash of memory.
A man stood over me. He was so big. Fear ran through me. Was he going to hurt me? How was I going to protect myself? I couldn't even move.
Drake squatted down, and as our eyes met, the connection with the past slipped away.
"Did you remember something?" he asked.
"Yes. I was on this road. I was running toward the ocean. I tripped and fell. Then I heard a car. It was coming right at me. Someone got out—I think it was a man. He seemed big, but I can't remember seeing his face. I can't see his damn face."
Drake put a hand on my shoulder. "It's okay."
"It's not okay. What if I do know what happened to Melanie? If I can't remember, we may never know. And if I could remember, we might be able to save Kelsey. I feel so frustrated. I don't know what to do."
I expected Drake to rail at me in anger and disappointment, but his gaze was steady. "Don't push it."
I was shocked at his answer. "Don't push it? I have to push it. We don't have time to spare. Every second counts."
"Pushing it might just bury the memory deeper in your head. We have a couple of new facts. You were on this road. There's not much around here. So why were you here?"
"I don't know why."
"It's close to the Chadwick house. It's also near to your house. Maybe you got lost trying to get home."
"Someone stopped to help me. But I don't know who, and no one ever came forward saying they'd found me on the side of the road and taken me home."
"Okay, take a breath."
"How can you be so calm, Drake?"
"Because one of us has to be. This is as close as we've ever been to your memories. Don't get angry with yourself. Don't fight your own brain."
"I don't know how to do that."
"Let's focus on details. Do you remember anything about the car?"
"I couldn't see it clearly. The spinning lights were blinding me."
"The lights were spinning? Like the lights on a police car or a fire engine?"
I stared back at him. "Maybe so. But if one of those official vehicles had stopped to help me, wouldn't there be a record of it? Wouldn't they have taken me home? Rung the doorbell? Made sure I got inside, okay?"
"Those are good questions."
"I need answers, not more questions."
"Someone wanted to help you by taking you home, but they didn't want anyone to know they'd done that," Drake mused.
I thought about that, remembering my earlier encounter with Ben's father. "Tom Ryan told me he'd always protected everyone, including me. What if he was the one who stopped? But why would he hide the fact that he helped me get home? Why would he have questioned me as if he knew nothing about my whereabouts the previous night?"
Drake stared back at me. "What if it was Ben? He used to take his dad's cruiser out sometimes. He wasn't supposed to, but he did."
"Oh, my God. You're right. I forgot about that. But he went to meet Rick to buy drugs. He wouldn't have done that in his father's police car, would he? And wasn't his dad working that night?"
"Tom wasn't working. He had dinner with a friend. He got home around eleven."
"Who was the friend?"
"I don't know. There was no investigation into Tom's whereabouts that night, since he was the one running the investigation."
"So, what do we do now? Talk to Ben? Talk to his dad? But if we make one of them nervous about our questions, will they stop looking for Kelsey with every resource that they have?" I was torn between wanting to find out more about that night now that I had remembered something, but also needing law enforcement to stay focused on finding my sister.
Drake's jaw tightened. I could see the indecision in his eyes. He knew Kelsey was the priority, but he was finally getting some insight into the night his sister disappeared, and he didn't want to let that go. "I understand your concern," he said tightly.