on vulnerabilities.
She’d only felt this sensation one other time….
Don’t, Carrie warned herself nervously. It wouldn’t do to make comparisons.
It was just an old house. And something bad had happened there. It was no secret. A whole family had disappeared. Little wonder the place seemed to reek of sorrow and tragedy.
“Which bedroom belonged to the Santiago children?” she asked suddenly.
The question seemed to catch Cochburn off guard. “I beg your pardon?”
“I was just thinking about something Tia wrote in one of her letters. She seems so fascinated by the Santiago family, especially the little girls. I wondered if she might be up there for some reason.”
“Oh, I doubt that.”
Carrie turned at his adamant tone. “Why do you say that?”
He hesitated, then shrugged. “Because if she were up there, she would have seen you by now and come down.”
“I suppose you’re right.”
“I really don’t think there’s cause for worry,” he insisted. “She’s probably gone back to the mainland for a few days.”
“But if that were the case, someone in Everglades City would have seen her,” Carrie said.
“Not necessarily. We only talked to a few people at the marina. The place is full of tourists this time of year. Faces tend to blend together.”
“But surely Trawick would have remembered taking her back to the mainland.”
“Trawick delivers supplies and mail to Cape Diablo, but his isn’t the only boat for hire in the area. She could have made previous arrangements with another driver. Or Carlos may have taken her back. You said she wasn’t expecting you, so it’s very possible that you’ve simply missed her.”
Carrie hated to think that her trip to Cape Diablo had been a waste, mainly because she didn’t know where to go from there. Searching for Tia in the Ten Thousands Islands would be like looking for the proverbial needle in a haystack.
She bit her lip. “I should talk to Carlos. And what about Alma Garcia? She was standing on the balcony when we came up. Maybe she saw Tia leave. Do you think it would be possible for me to talk to her, as well?”
Cochburn frowned as his gaze shot up to the third-story windows. “Alma…isn’t exactly receptive to strangers,” he said doubtfully. “Perhaps it would be better if I go up alone and have a word with her. Meanwhile, why don’t you check with the other tenant? He may know where Tia’s gone off to, and if not, we’ll go find Carlos together.”
Carrie nodded. “What did you say his name is?”
“Ethan Stone. He lives in the apartment above Tia’s.”
Carrie started for the stairs, then turned back when Cochburn called out her name. “Yes?”
He paused, as if preparing to broach a tricky subject. “I don’t want to sound overly dramatic, but I meant it earlier when I said that you shouldn’t go wandering off on your own, even here on the island. Cape Diablo is small, but it’ll be dark soon and the south end is nothing but swamp. It can be pretty treacherous if you don’t know your way around.”
She thought again of the man she’d seen earlier and nodded. “Thanks for the warning. I’ll wait for you before I leave the courtyard.”
“Good. I’ll meet you back here in a few minutes.”
They separated, and as Cochburn headed for the main house, Carrie walked up the stairs to the second-floor apartment and knocked on the door. A fly buzzed past her face and she swatted it away as she knocked a second time. Finally she gave up and headed back down the stairs to the courtyard.
In spite of Cochburn’s warning, she was tempted to strike out on her own to look for Tia. Carrie hated feeling so helpless, but she supposed the attorney was right. It would be dark soon and she didn’t know the terrain. She wouldn’t be of any use to Tia if she got herself lost or injured in the swamp.
Standing at the edge of the pool, she stared into the murky water and wondered what she could do. Was it time to go to the police?
And tell them what, exactly?
It was doubtful they’d treat Tia as a missing person. She’d run away from her wedding to come here to the island of her own free will.
The letter Carrie received had been a bit strange, but certainly nothing the police would construe as evidence. And as for the midnight phone call, Carrie wasn’t even certain it had been Tia’s voice on the other end of the line. The police would probably argue that Carrie had been too quick to jump to conclusions. And they might very well be right. What if she’d launched a wild-goose chase because of nothing more than an overwrought imagination?
Maybe she wanted Tia to be in trouble so that she could ride to the rescue and clear her conscience once and for all.
Okay, enough with the psychoanalyzing, Carrie chided herself. She’d once paid a therapist a fortune to do exactly that….
Her thoughts scattered as she caught sight of something in the pool. The water was so dirty she could barely see through it, but something white gleamed on the bottom.
It was probably nothing more than reflected light, but for a moment it looked as if…
No! It couldn’t be.
But it was.
A body lay on the bottom of the pool. Carrie could just make out the outstretched arms, and her hand flew to her mouth as her heart slammed against her chest in horror.
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