"Sounds about right."
"Brooklyn said the Connellys were trying to leave this morning, but the ferry isn't running. My mother was furious that they would try to leave in the middle of all this." I saw the cynical glint in his eyes. "Yes, I'm aware of the irony. In fact, I told her we left five days after Melanie disappeared. She said she wanted to protect me. I was in so much pain."
"She just wanted to get the hell away from the problem."
"She did. Anyway, no one is leaving the island any time soon, but that also means that the investigators and additional law enforcement resources my father has lined up cannot get here for another day."
"Maybe the wind will ease by this afternoon."
"I hope so. Listen, Drake. I think I should go in by myself."
"Why?"
"Tom might say more to me if I'm on my own, if it's just me and him. He won't see me as a threat. He might see you as one."
Indecision ran through his gaze, but in the end, he gave a reluctant nod. "All right. If you run into trouble, yell."
"I will."
Drake got back into his car, and I headed up to the porch. When I got to the front door, I was surprised to find it ajar. I could hear a television program coming from inside. I knocked on the door, then pushed it open.
"Tom?" I called out as I stepped into the living room.
The TV in the corner was playing an infomercial. As I came around the side of the couch, I looked toward the fireplace, and my breath stalled in my chest. Tom Ryan was lying on his side, gasping for air as blood streamed from a gash on the back of his head.
"Oh, my God."
"Help," he gasped.
"I'll get you help right now." I ran back to the front door and yelled for Drake. Then I pulled out my phone and called 911 as I returned to the sheriff's side.
Drake came running into the room as I was talking to the dispatcher.
"Shit!" he swore. Drake grabbed a blanket off the back of the couch and pressed it against the sheriff's head, while I finished talking to dispatch.
"They'll be here soon," I told Tom, trying to ignore the amount of blood on the floor. "You'll be okay."
"Should have told you the truth," the sheriff said slowly, each word taking a tremendous amount of effort.
"What truth?" I asked, but then I realized he was looking at Drake.
"It was too late when I got there, Drake," the sheriff said, a plea in his gaze. "You gotta believe me. Couldn't have saved her. Sorry. So sorry."
"You found Melanie?" Drake asked in shock. "Where was she? Who took her?"
The sheriff's eyes rolled back in his head.
"Stay with me," Drake yelled. "Tell me what happened to her. Tell me, dammit." He gave Tom's shoulder a shake. But Tom's eyes were now closed. "Wake up," Drake shouted. "You can't die on me now."
As Drake continued to try to bring Tom back to life, tears filled my eyes and ran down my cheeks. Tom was gone, and whatever he knew had died with him.
Drake looked at me in utter despair. "What else did he say?"
"Nothing. I'm sorry, Drake. He didn't say anything."
"He saw Melanie. He knew what happened to her and he kept it a secret." Drake jumped to his feet. "Why? Why would he do that?"
"I don't know," I whispered, seeing the agony in his eyes.
"And now he's dead," Drake said. "God damn him!"
I got to my feet as the sirens grew louder. A moment later, the door opened and a half-dozen people rushed into the room, including two paramedics, two firefighters, a deputy, and finally Ben.
Ben's face went white when he saw his father. He ran to his dad's side. "No, no," he said, shaking his head in disbelief.
The paramedics checked for breathing, for a pulse. But we all knew the truth.
"He's gone," the paramedic told Ben. "I'm sorry."
Ben ran a hand though his hair as he stared at his father in shock. I couldn't imagine what he was going through. It had just been him and his dad since he was ten.
"Dad," Ben said, his heart in his voice. He fell to his knees, putting his hand on his father's chest as the paramedics moved back to give him a little room. "Why?" he muttered, shaking his head in confusion. "Who would do this to you?"
His question was met with utter silence, the only sound in the room, the tick-tock of a big grandfather clock.
Then Ben suddenly jumped to his feet. His gaze swung to Drake. "What the fuck happened? What did you do to him?" He strode toward Drake as if he were going to deck him.
I grabbed his arm. "Ben, I found him," I said sharply. "He was like this when I got here. I swear to you that's the truth. Drake didn't hurt your dad."
He stared down at me. "I don't understand. What are you doing here, Willow?"
"I came to talk to your father. The front door was open. I walked inside, and he was lying on the floor. There was blood coming from the back of his head. I called 911 immediately. Drake tried to slow the bleeding, but he couldn't."
"Was he alive when you got here?"
"Yes."
"Did he say who did this?"
I shook my head. "No."
"He must have said something."
"Oh, he said something," Drake declared, anger in his voice.
"Drake, don't. This isn't the time," I begged.
He ignored me. "You want to know what he said, Ben? Your father said he was sorry, that he'd made a mistake, that he should have told me the truth."
"The truth about what?" Ben demanded.
"Your father said it was too late when he got there. That he couldn't have saved her. He was sorry. He was talking about Melanie, Ben. All these years, he knew what happened to her, and he covered it up."
Ben stared at Drake in shock. "You're crazy. You didn't hear him right. He didn't know what happened. He looked for Melanie. He looked everywhere for her."
"He didn't have to look. He knew where she was."
"But he didn't kill her," I said, bringing their attention to me. "Tom said he was too late when he arrived. That means he didn't do it. Someone else did. Someone he had to protect."
Ben stared back at me. "Who would that be?"
The words wouldn't come through my tight lips, but Drake didn't have the same problem.
"You, Ben," Drake said. "He was protecting you."
Ben's gaze hardened. "Outside now."
"Fine. We can have this conversation anywhere you want, but the truth will come out," Drake said.
"I'll make sure of that," Ben retorted. "I'll meet you out front. But first, I need to…" He glanced at his father and then at us. "I'll join you in a few minutes."
Chapter Twenty-Five
As we left the house, Drake moved to the corner of the porch, gazing mindlessly at the street, which was crowded with emergency vehicles.
I moved to his side. "Are you all right?" It was a stupid question. Thankfully, Drake didn't appear to have heard it.