“Ms. Thomas says the two of you saw the three men who took her and the other two ladies that day,” a local police officer said.

“Yes, sir, we did,” I said.

“Can you describe them?”

“They were three dark-skinned males, probably aged twenty-five to thirty,” I said. “They identified themselves as Mark, Rashaun, and J.J.”

“Last names?”

“They didn’t tell us, and no one asked.”

“Those are all very common first names here on the island. They are likely aliases. Anything else?”

“They had Jamaican accents. The individual named Mark did most of the talking. One of them, not Mark, was bald. All very good-looking, well muscled. Mark was about six-two, two hundred pounds. The bald one was a little shorter, maybe five-eleven or six feet, one hundred and eighty pounds. The third one was the same size as Mark.”

The officer turned to Ryan. “Can you add to any of what Ms. Lee said?”

“I don’t remember their names, but I’m sure Ruby is correct. She has a mind for facts.”

“Can you describe them?”

“Not any more than she did. I agree with her description. The one named Mark seemed to do most of the talking. He wasn’t the bald one.”

The officer nodded, made some notes, and then addressed me again. “Can you tell me what they said?”

“They walked up to us just as the girls said they were looking for some fun. Mark invited them to get on their Jet Skis. They said they were locals and could show them some great sights.” I frowned. “I told them not to go. I really tried to stop them.”

“Yes, Ms. Thomas corroborates that. You have good intuition, Ms. Lee.”

“I’m a police detective myself.” I didn’t have to tell them where my intuition really came from.

“Thank you for trying. Unfortunately, sometimes young women just don’t sense the danger they might be in. This resort is usually quite safe.”

“They said they had day passes,” I said.

“The resort doesn’t offer day passes,” the officer said. “But there was no reason for you to know that.”

My heart sank. I had suspected that. I should have called security. I should have, should have, should have… “I wish I had been more successful stopping them.”

“So do we, ma’am, but don’t blame yourself.”

“Is Ms. Thomas still on the property?” I asked.

“Yes. She has a flight leaving today. A shuttle will be picking her up in an hour or so.”

“Do you think I might be able to talk to her?”

“That’s up to her, ma’am,” the officer said. “She’s really distraught right now.”

I nodded. “I can imagine that she is. I won’t do anything to disturb her further, I assure you.”

“It’s still up to her.”

“Do you know where she is?”

“Probably in her room. We kept security stationed there since she was unable to leave the resort yesterday. I can’t tell you what room she’s in, but I can have the front desk operator connect you. Then it’s her decision.”

“That would be fine. I don’t want to bother her. If she doesn’t want to talk to me, I’ll respect that. But I have to try.”

The officer made a quick call to the front desk and then turned to me. “I’ve set it up. All you need to do is go to the front desk, show your ID, and the operator will connect you to her room. You can use one of the phones behind the desk. If she wants to come out to meet with you, she is certainly welcome to do that.”

“Thank you so much. I appreciate it.” I turned to Ryan. “I guess I’m headed to the front desk.”

“You want me to come along?”

“That’s up to you.”

“Then I’d like to. Besides”—he smiled—“they might have some ibuprofen at the front desk.”

---

“Thank you for agreeing to talk to us,” I said to Shayna.

The three of us sat at a table outside her room in the hotel portion of the resort, a security guard nearby, watching.

“I’m not sure why this is of any interest to you,” Shayna said.

“I’m a police detective in Colorado.”

“But I live in LA.”

“I know that. But this interests me.”

She looked down. “You have no idea how much I wish I’d listened to you yesterday. Both of you.”

I took her hand. “Hey. You got away. You’re safe now.”

She sniffled. “But Juliet and Lisa. The police don’t have a trail. They have nothing.”

“None of this is your fault,” I said, hoping to soothe her but knowing I wasn’t.

How well I knew the guilt that ate at her soul. The same guilt ate at mine. Gina, Talon, Colin Morse, Luke Walker, among many others—all victims of my father. I hadn’t been able to stop him so far. But I would someday.

How I wished I’d been able to stop the three men who had taken Juliet and Lisa.

“The locals think they were taken as slaves,” Shayna said, weeping. “I’m glad I got away, but my God, how can I be glad when my two best friends are missing?”

I had no words of wisdom for her, except to say, “I know exactly how you’re feeling.”

“How would you know?”

“It’s a long story. When we both get back to the States, feel free to call me anytime.” I took a card out of my bag and handed it to her.

“How long have you been a detective?” she asked.

“Only a few months. But I’ve been on the force for eleven years.”

“You’ve seen a lot, then.”

“More than you know.” She was right. I’d seen a lot as an officer of the law. I’d seen more as Theodore Mathias’s daughter.

“Can you talk about what happened?” I asked. “How you escaped? And why?”

She shook her head. “A lot of it is a blur. I wish I could be more help. I’ve already told the local police everything I know.”

“I’m sure you have. I hate to make you relive it, but if you could tell me, maybe I could help.”

“How? You’re a detective in Colorado. You can’t do anything here.”

“Let’s just say I have an interest in this case. I’ve seen these types of things before.”

She swallowed. “All right.” She sighed. “Let me think.”

“Take your time.”

“It was fun, at first. I’d never been on a Jet Ski before. I kept my eyes on the beach. As long as I could see a beach, with people, I felt we were okay. We rode along the coast for a while. Everything seemed fine.”

They were getting the women comfortable. Classic. But I didn’t say this.

She continued, “The guy I was with pointed out each beach. It was hard to hear him with the noise from the Jet Ski, but I made out some of it. It seemed like they were showing us sights, like they said they would.”

“When did you start to feel uncomfortable?”

“We started moving away from the coastline. Away from the beaches. I asked where we were going. The guy—I think I was with J.J., but honestly I’m not sure—said something, but I couldn’t make out his words.”

“I see. And then?”

“We kept going, and when I couldn’t see any land at all, I got really nervous.”

“Is that when you jumped off the Jet Ski?”

“Not yet. I tried to get Juliet’s and Lisa’s attention. But they were laughing and having a great time. They didn’t seem worried at all.”

“But you were.”

“Yes. My father taught me to trust my intuition. He was a cop too. He’s dead now.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Thank you. It was two years ago. I still miss him. He was a great dad.”

“Sounds like he really was. He gave you some good advice.” I patted her forearm. “What happened next?”

“I can’t be sure. But I thought I saw…”

“What?”

“We were still so far away, but I thought I saw a ship in the distance. We seemed to be going toward it.”

“A ship? Or a boat?”

She shook her head. “I can’t be sure. It was so far away, and maybe I was seeing things. At that point I was really freaked out. I didn’t know what to do. I’m a good swimmer. I swam in high school and college, so I made a rash decision. Even though I couldn’t see a coast, I jumped off the Jet Ski into the water and started swimming as fast as I could. I had no idea which direction to go since I couldn’t see any land. All I knew was that I had to get away. I swam so fast because I feared J.J. would come after me.”

“But he didn’t?”

“No.”

“Thank goodness.”

“I can’t be sure how long I was in the water. Once I realized he wasn’t coming after me, I calmed down a little, but I still had no idea where I was, where the coast was. And the waves were strong. I treaded water for a while and then began to swim as best I could, but the waves got to be too much.” She closed her eyes, inhaling. “I swallowed some water. Started to have trouble breathing.” She choked on her words.

“It’s okay. You’re okay. You’re safe now.”

“I know.” She broke into sobs. “I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry. You have every reason to cry. It’s okay.”

She nodded and gulped. “I thought for sure I would drown, actually became resigned to it, and then a motorboat arrived. They dragged me on board. For a second I thought it was the boat that J.J. was heading toward, and I figured I was dead anyway. But it wasn’t. It was four locals, two men and two women. One of them gave me mouth-to-mouth until I coughed up a bunch of water. They calmed me down, told me they were friends. I wasn’t sure if I could trust them at first, but what did I have to lose? They brought me back to the resort.” She shook her head. “They are heroes. I’d be dead if it weren’t for them.”

“Did they tell you their names?”

“Yes. I have it all written down.”

“Did they ask you what had happened?”

“They did, but I wasn’t in any condition to speak at that point. I didn’t get the whole story out until I was back here, talking to security and then the police.”

The security guard walked toward us then. “I’m sorry to cut this short, but the shuttle is at the front of the resort to take Ms. Thomas to the airport.”

I smiled. “I’m sure you’re anxious to be on your way.”

“I am. Very. I never want to come near this island again.” She stood.

“I’ll get your bags, ma’am.” The guard walked into the room and came out with a suitcase and carry-on.

I moved toward Shayna and gave her a hug. “Thanks for talking to me. Please, call me anytime if you need to talk. I’m a great listener.”

“Thank you,” she said through sniffles.

She unclenched from me, and the guard escorted her away.

Ryan came toward me and took my hand.

“You were quiet during all of that,” I said.

“You were doing fine without me.”

I sighed. “I feel so bad for her.”

“I know. But she’ll be okay. She got away.”

I shook my head. “You don’t understand. She’s going to feel guilt. I know what that feels like.”

“And you think I don’t? I was spared the wrath of your father and the others because I got away that day. Because Talon made sure I got away.”

How could I have been so obtuse? Of course Ryan understood. “You’re right. I don’t know what I was thinking. Of course you of all people understand guilt. How do you cope?”

“I just try not to let the guilt eat me alive. I watched it eat Joe alive for the last twenty-five years. He’s only now letting it go, thanks largely to Melanie. Believe me, it affects me. I just don’t let it consume me. I can’t.”

“How do you escape it?”

“Work. Play. All three of us are workaholics, thanks to our father’s indoctrination.”

“Work didn’t keep the guilt away from Jonah.”

“No, it didn’t. Joe has a different personality than I do.”

“He’s prone to depression, like your mother?”

“I think so, yes. Talon too, to a lesser extent.”

“But not you.”

“Not so much. Don’t get me wrong. I feel the guilt. I feel it like an anvil on my chest sometimes. I’ve just learned to focus on other things. Like I said. Work. Play.”

“You’re amazing,” I said. And I meant it. He was whole, and he had every reason in the world not to be.

“You know?” I said. “When I grow up, I want to be just like you.”