“You’ve got to be kidding me!” I threw the scarf back in the box and sat back on my heels, frustrated.
Ethan poked his head out from the kitchen. “What happened?”
“The notebook. What happened to the notebook?” I pulled the box out and checked behind it, hoping maybe the notebook had fallen behind the box and I just hadn’t noticed. Nothing except a dust bunny. I had seen Grandpa toss it in here with my own two eyes. And I somehow doubted it had just walked away on its own.
“What notebook?”
“The notebook Jason Holt was working in the day he was here. The last day he was here. He left it. Grandpa picked it up and put it in the lost and found.”
“But it’s not there now? Are you sure?” Ethan stepped out into the room and crouched down next to me.
“I’m positive. I’m not blind.” I ripped the scarf back out and showed him the box with clearly no notebook. “And his writing partner was just here looking for it.”
“Was it big? Small? Could it have fallen somewhere?”
“It was a Moleskin. Black.” I picked up the bin again and looked underneath. Nada. “Where could it be?”
“I have no idea. Realistically, where could it have gone?” Ethan asked, still way too calm.
I glared at him. “I have no idea, either. People have been in and out of here. What if some weirdo voyeur freak who was stalking Holt’s last alive moments realized it was his and grabbed it? And they’re going to post it all over social media or something?”
“There haven’t been that many people in here that that’s plausible, Mads. And there’s nothing you can do about it now if someone did take it,” Ethan pointed out reasonably. “But I’m thinking that’s not totally likely. I mean, we’re on limited hours and you’re here when people are here, usually, right?”
“Right.” I sat back on my heels. “There haven’t been a lot of people, have there?” Thea Coleman, but Grandpa had barely given her a chance to put her coat on before he threw her out. And she’d been more concerned with JJ than anything else. Aside from her, me, Ethan, Lucas, Val, Grandpa, Damian, Craig, Sergeant Ellory. Who couldn’t take anything without a warrant. Plus, how would he even know about the notebook? Otherwise, we’d had a few random visitors. Or had they been random? Maybe they were voyeurs, or stalkers, or creepers hired by Thea Coleman.
And then I remembered who else had been here. Leopard Man. Wandering the house alone the night Grandpa had been hiding him from the police. I shot up off the floor so fast Ethan nearly fell over.
“Jeez. What?” he asked, pushing himself to his feet.
I glanced around to make sure no one was lurking nearby. Like Grandpa, who had a slick habit of appearing at the most inopportune moments. “Leopard Man,” I stage-whispered, just in case.
“Okay.” Ethan waited. “What about him?”
“What if he took it?”
“Took what?”
“The notebook! Pay attention,” I snapped.
“Why would he take it?”
“I don’t know. Why was he hanging out with Thea Coleman?” Ugh. I hated this. It still felt wrong to think that he could’ve had something to do with Jason Holt’s murder. But everyone was acting so weird right now I wasn’t sure what to think. Not to mention, the mysterious vanishing trailer.
“Maddie. I thought this guy was your friend?”
“I thought so, too,” I said softly.
“Well, what’s making you change your mind?”
“I don’t know.” I dropped my head into my hands, completely frustrated now. “There has to be a reason McConnell wanted that notebook, Ethan. What if it was more than just a plot outline in that thing? Should I call the wife?”
Now he looked troubled. “Mads. You don’t know what was going on with either of those people. I would stay out of it. If you find the notebook, give it to the police. Okay?”
“Sure. Fine.” I pushed myself to my feet and hurried upstairs with my phone, dialing Grandpa as I went. Voicemail. What was he up to? He was investigating this without me. I knew it. And it upset me.
“Grandpa. Remember that notebook you picked up off the floor the other day? Do you know what happened to it? Call me.”
I disconnected and flopped back on my bed, lost in thought, stroking JJ absently. I had to pick this apart and try to get some of these thoughts straight in own brain. Easier said than done, given the swirl of happenings surrounding Jason Holt’s untimely demise on our island. I started making a list in my head, then finally gave up and tapped some bullet points into a blank note on my phone.
• Holt’s soon-to-be-ex-wife. Does she still love him? She seemed to.
• Holt and Dr. Drake having an argument. What’s the connection between them? Was it really random?
• Holt’s career—in a really good place. Books and movies in the works. Here to (theoretically) finish a project?
• Thea Coleman. Mysterious visitor, seems unstable, knows Holt somehow.
I studied my list and pondered my third point. Which project had Jason Holt actually been working on? Did it matter? And if it did, why?