That provided some relief. But it also created greater worry. What if the two of them came to different conclusions on whether what they’d done was right and how to proceed from here?
Ariana met her gaze in the mirror. “I’m sorry that...” She seemed to have difficulty finishing her sentence. She ended by simply repeating the apology. “I’m sorry.”
Was she contrite for trying to escape the memory that haunted them both by avoiding everyone and everything related to it? That was how Ivy interpreted her words. “Did you come back because of what the police found?” she asked, her voice barely audible.
A pained expression registered on Ariana’s face. “That has to be part of it, because if I could have, I would’ve turned my back on you, Cam, the island, everything, so I could embrace a future with no more guilt or uncertainty.”
Being included on the list of people she was willing to sacrifice stung. “I hope you don’t really mean that,” Ivy said.
Ariana dropped her head in her hand and began to rub her temples. “I need a respite, the chance to forget the past—and what we did.”
“Do you think you’re the only one who’s been struggling because of it?”
“I don’t know. You make it look easier than it’s been for me.”
“From a distance, maybe. You’ve been careful to stay away. But I still live here. I can’t avoid Cam, or the gossip about Emily Hutchins, even if I want to.”
Ariana dropped her hand. “Point taken. Again, I’m sorry. I’m at such a loss, Ivy. I really don’t know what to do. When I think about the way we took matters into our own hands—at sixteen!—and how easily we could’ve been wrong, I worry that we’re denying Emily’s loved ones the justice and closure they deserve.”
Ivy shut off the water. “Then why haven’t you come forward?”
“I almost have—a thousand times. But as soon as I decide it has to be done, I think about Cam and how easy it would be for what I say to send him to prison for the rest of his life, whether he’s guilty or not. The police don’t always get it right. Do you know how many innocent men DNA evidence has been responsible for exonerating in the past ten years?”
“No,” she replied, using a paper towel. “But I would guess too many.”
“And you’d be right. I’ve looked it up. According to the internet, there have been almost four hundred people released from prison thanks to DNA evidence. Twenty-one were on death row! And the police here... I don’t think there’s ever been another homicide on the island, not one that wasn’t related to a domestic dispute or drunken brawl that made the answers clear, quick and easy.”
“But if we don’t trust the justice system, what do we do? Do we keep our mouths shut and hope we got it right? Or tell the police everything we know and hope they’ll do their jobs?”
“That’s the question, isn’t it?”
Ivy tossed the paper towel into the wastebasket. So much for not talking about the past. It was only Ariana’s first night back and already they’d addressed the problem they’d both rather avoid. “Do you think he did it, Ariana?”
Suddenly, inexplicably, tears welled up. “No. If I thought that, I would’ve come forward already.” She started to go, but Ivy reached out to catch her arm.
“Even though they found her body at the lighthouse?” Where the three of them had been partying earlier that night? That was quite a coincidence. When Cam had walked them both to Alice’s house, where they’d stayed the night, he’d claimed he would make his way home from there. But he could’ve gone back. It seemed his parents were off the island more than they were on it. Or they were fighting and out trying to get revenge by hooking up with someone else for the night. They’d left him with minimal supervision for long periods of time. As a matter of fact, he’d needed security and love so badly he used to crawl through Ivy’s window and spend the night on her bedroom floor just so he wouldn’t have to be alone.
“The lighthouse is where almost anyone hoping to hide a body would go,” Ariana replied. “This is an island, Ivy. There aren’t any national parks with acres upon acres of wilderness.”
“Yeah, that’s what I keep telling myself, too.”
They continued to stare at each other in the mirror, as if looking long enough might peel back the layers of false hope and denial and finally lay naked their true thoughts and intents.
A second later Ariana shook her head. “I was hoping, now that I’m older, I’d be able to figure this out. I believed that looking at it with fresh eyes and a less partial heart would make all the difference. But...”
“But?” Ivy echoed.
“Nothing’s changed,” she said, and Ivy followed her out of the bathroom and back to their table.
three
The moment Ariana woke up the following morning, she regretted saying what she did last night about wishing she could be rid of Ivy, Cam and the island. Ivy was the last person she wanted to hurt. She was just so desperate to escape the torture of her own conscience that she was willing to cut anyone out of her life.
But Ivy hadn’t done anything wrong—at least nothing Ariana hadn’t agreed with and done herself.
The sound of pots and pans clanging downstairs in the kitchen signaled that Alice was up. She’d always been an early riser. Ariana used to be one, too, when she was working. But she hadn’t been able to sleep last night. Images of Cam, both from when she’d known him in high school and last night, had swirled in her head, causing strange and unsettling dreams. Ariana had thought with the maturity afforded by two decades of learning and growing, she’d finally be capable of handling what was waiting for her here. Everything had seemed different, more clear-cut when she was in the city.
But now that she was back home and felt so close to it all, she couldn’t seem to maintain the same perspective. The lines began to blur until, once again, she couldn’t decide where they should be drawn.
With a sigh, she grabbed her phone from the nightstand beside her and checked the time. Sure enough. It was barely seven o’clock. She needed another hour of sleep. But instead, she went on the internet and searched for articles related to Emily Hutchins.
Body Found at Lighthouse.
Remains of Girl Discovered in Twenty-Year-Old Cold Case.
Mariners Island has its First Great Mystery.
Is There a Killer on Mariners?
What Happened to Twelve-Year-Old Emily Hutchins?
Those headlines popped up, but Ariana had already seen the attached articles. Excruciating as it was to feel the pain of Emily’s family, she didn’t care to read them again. She was looking for new information, a piece that would shed some light on the truth—instead of raising more questions than it answered.