"You and Jenny?" Rachel echoed. She turned to her brother. "You slept with Jenny?"
I almost laughed at the look of surprise on Rachel's face. "See what I mean, Rachel? Our group is filled with selfish people keeping selfish secrets."
"It was a mistake," James said.
"You make a lot of those," I said, holding his gaze. "Did you push me into the harbor the other night, after we spoke at Willie's?"
"What are you talking about?" he asked, but I could see the truth in his eyes.
I shook my head. "You're not at all convincing, James. You might want to work on some better stories before you talk to Ben. Oh, and you may not be leaving this island as soon as you think you are. Gage isn't the only one who will be questioned."
I ran back to my car, thinking it was probably stupid to threaten James after he most likely had tried to kill me once before. But at heart, I thought he was a coward. Pushing someone into the water whose back was turned was about the level of violence he could handle.
After I pulled out of the drive, I made a quick decision and drove back to the Ryan's house. If Ben had taken Gage to the station, then he wasn't at home. Maybe I could get into the house and look for the diary or some other clue that would tell me who Tom had been protecting.
As I drove, my phone buzzed with calls from Drake, but I ignored them all. I didn't know when I'd feel ready to talk to him again, but it wasn't going to be now.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
The emergency vehicles were gone, but as I drew closer to Tom Ryan's house, I saw movement at the rear of the property. I pulled in behind a truck that was parked in front of the neighbor's house, not wanting to be seen.
I watched for a few minutes. It didn't appear that it was anyone from the sheriff's department. Then I realized it was Dillon in the backyard. He had something in his hand. It looked like a large manila envelope. He made his way to a van parked on the other side of the garage. I saw the logo for Party Planet, the company he'd worked for off and on since he was a teenager.
Dillon was probably pretty upset about Tom's death. He'd grown up in the Ryan house, and I knew that Tom had tried to look out for him over the years. But I couldn't help wondering why he was in the house now and what was in that envelope. I needed to find out.
As Dillon drove his van onto the street, I thought about getting out of the car and flagging him down, but then he flipped on the party lights on the top of the van, and I gasped.
The spinning lights…
I suddenly realized the truth. I hadn't been in a police car the night Melanie died. I'd been in that van.
Had Dillon been the one to rescue me?
I couldn't see his face in my head, but as I wrinkled my nose, I remembered the odd smell in the van. It had been the smell of weed.
And just like that, my memory came back. Dillon had picked me up on the side of the road. He'd driven me home and carried me out to the backyard and set me down on a lounger.
But why hadn't he told me? Everyone had known I was confused about my whereabouts. Why would he have kept that a secret?
As the van reached the end of the block, it turned the corner. I quickly started my car and made a U-turn.
I caught up with the van a few blocks later. A car moved in between us, but I could still see the flashing lights. I didn't know where Dillon was going, but I needed to talk to him, and I needed to know what he'd taken out of Tom's house.
A moment later, Dillon pulled into a fast-food drive-thru. I frowned. So much for me thinking he was acting suspicious, he was just picking up food. Maybe he'd been at the Ryan's house for a completely innocent reason. Although it was still weird considering that the sheriff had been killed there only hours ago, and Dillon hadn't just parked in the driveway.
I pulled into a parking lot across from the fast-food restaurant, wondering what the heck I was doing. But I didn't have a better idea, so I just waited. I'd follow Dillon to wherever he was going and then I'd talk to him.
A few minutes later, he picked up his food and got back on the road. He weaved his way through the city streets, eventually leaving the downtown area behind. When we reached a two-lane road, I slowed down, staying far enough away that hopefully he wouldn't notice I was following him. Not that I probably needed to worry. Dillon had never been a particularly observant guy. In fact, his usual expression was one of surprise and wonder.
Melanie used to say Dillon was a new soul. Everything amazed him. But I had thought it was the weed or whatever other drugs he was putting into his system that made him so awed by life.
Dillon suddenly turned down a narrow road that was barely visible in a thick crush of trees. There was a sign for Gold's Beach two miles ahead and a smattering of cabins tucked into the forest, some edging a rock-heavy stream.
Dillon stopped in front of a cabin about a half mile ahead of me. I turned into a driveway for what I hoped was an unoccupied home and watched as Dillon got out of the van and jogged up to the front door with a bag of food, a milkshake, and a large envelope—the same envelope he'd had in his hand when he'd left Tom's house.
I debated what I wanted to do. I could just go to the house and knock on the door, but something held me back. I was very aware of how isolated this area was. I'd never had reason not to trust Dillon, but I hadn't known him that well. With everything that was going on, I didn't want to be stupid.
If he had been the one to pick me up all those years ago, then Melanie's diary had been in his van, which sent a shiver down my spine. How would he have gotten her diary, unless…
Maybe Dillon was the one Tom Ryan had protected. Dillon had been like a second son to him.
While I was considering that, Dillon jogged out of the house and got in the van again. I ducked down in my car as he drove back toward the main highway.
Why had he left so soon? He'd just picked up food.
My stomach twisted with an uneasy feeling. I could follow Dillon or I could check out the cabin. I knew what was in the fast-food bags, but I was curious about the envelope.
My phone buzzed, startling me with the sound. It was Drake again. I hesitated. I was still furious, but I also wanted to talk to someone, and he was the best choice.
"Hello?"
"You picked up," he said in surprise.
"You've got thirty seconds."
"Gage disappeared from the police station. Ben was talking to him, but he went into his office to take a call and when he came back, Gage was gone. You need to be careful, Willow. I don't know what is happening, but if Gage is guilty, there's no telling what he'll do or who will be his next target."
"It might be you," I said, a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach.
"Or you. We've both been asking uncomfortable questions."
"Okay, I appreciate the heads-up. But it might not be Gage."
"What are you talking about? Where are you, Willow? I know you're angry, but I don't think you should be alone right now. Are you at home?"
"No. I went to Tom's house. I was going to try to get in, but then I saw someone in the backyard. It was Dillon. He had a large envelope in his hand. But that's not the most important thing. When he drove down the street in the Party Planet van, he switched on the spinning lights."