The townspeople were out in force today. Great strides had been made in the cleanup over the past week. Paint shone clean and free of the mud and mildew. Alec spoke to several neighbors as he searched for his nephew. No one had seen Zach, and Alec began to wonder if the boy had lied about where he was going today.
The business district, such as it was, ended at the juncture of Oyster Road and Bar Harbor Street. A few residents were on Bar Harbor, but Oyster Road just led to the fish house. “Let’s check the fish house,” he said.
“What’s a fish house?” Libby asked, falling into step beside him.
“It’s where the fishermen gather and sell their day’s catch. Zach likes hanging out there,” he said. “I think he feels close to Dave there. I know I do. My brother was always laughing with the other fishermen in there, swapping fishing stories.”
The low-slung white building was at the end of a pier where rowboats and water jets docked. He stepped over nets and crab pots on the way to the door of the fish house. The scent of fish was strong.
He nodded to the few men outside the door. “Anyone seen Zach?”
“He’s out back helping Rolly unload,” one of the men said.
Skirting the building, Alec continued on down the pier, where he found his nephew lifting crab pots off a friend’s boat.
When Zach saw him, he frowned. “What’s up, Uncle Alec?”
“We need to talk to you. In private.” Alec jerked his thumb back toward the street, away from listening ears. Getting a rumor going was all they needed. Zach was getting enough of a reputation as a troublemaker.
Zach wiped his wet hands on his shorts, then slipped on his flip-flops to follow them. He glanced at Libby, who was studying him. “What? Did I suddenly grow horns?” he demanded.
She looked away. “Sorry. We just need to ask you some questions.”
They reached the road. There was no one in earshot. Alec put his hands in his pockets. “You know Samson is here to look for Nicole?”
Zach glanced back at the fish house with a longing expression. “Yeah. So?”
“He picked up a scent for her.”
That got Zach’s attention. “That’s good, right?”
Alec nodded. “But the scent is on my old boat. According to the dog, Nicole was on there. So we searched and Libby found something.” He glanced at her.
She held out her hand, palm up to expose the ponytail holder. “This is Nicole’s.”
Zach went white. He took a step back, then whirled to walk away, but Alec grabbed his arm. He had a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. “Zach, what did you do?” he whispered.
Zach looked at Alec’s hand on his arm. “I didn’t do anything. You’re always willing to think the worst about me, aren’t you?”
“Then how did that hair thing get on my boat?”
Zach bit his lip. “I was going to talk to you about it.” His face worked. Then his shoulders slumped. “I just take her supplies,” he said. “I didn’t know who she was until I saw her picture in the paper last night. Then I didn’t know what to do about it.”
Libby’s face lit. “She’s alive? Really, Zach?”
He nodded. “I saw her a couple of days ago. Took her some water and food.”
“Where?” Alec asked. He’d figure out what to do about punishing Zach later.
“A little island northwest of here. I have the coordinates.”
“Who put her there?”
He shrugged. “I was taking the old boat out to fish. Two guys stopped me and asked if I was looking to make some money. The older man told me that he’d had to stash his crazy sister on an island until he could get her into the hospital he wanted. Said she’d tried to knife him and to be careful because she was dangerous. I was only supposed to drop off supplies every couple of days, then leave.”
“That sounds like a fishy story,” Alec said.
Zach’s lids flickered and he made a face. “He made it sound plausible. I know now it was stupid for me to believe him, but he gave me all these details and I swallowed his story. And they were paying well.”
“Why didn’t you tell us when you figured out who she was?”
Zach looked down at the ground. “It was just last night. I wanted to tell you, but I was afraid you’d think I had something to do with it.”
“Have they paid you every time you’ve gone?”
Zach shook his head. “They gave me a thousand dollars to buy food and to pay for my services. They told me what to take her too. I just did what they said.”
“I wish you would have trusted me,” Alec said. “Come with us. We have to get her.”
Libby could hardly sit still as the boat skimmed the waves. They were so far out to sea that she couldn’t see land. Where was that island? She prayed that Nicole was holding on to life, that she would be well and whole when Libby found her.
“Where is it?” Alec asked Zach.
The boy pointed to the horizon, and Libby saw a faint speck that might have been land. They drew closer, and she realized it was a tiny island barely twenty or thirty feet in diameter. How had Nicole survived the hurricane? Libby strained to catch a glimpse of Nicole, but all she saw was a hovel of a building. The place appeared deserted.
“Where is she?” she demanded.
“Maybe in the shack,” Zach said. “Though she’s usually out as soon as she hears the motor.”
Alec took the boat in as close to shore as he could and shut off the engine. Zach tossed the anchor overboard, but by the time it splashed into the water, Libby was already knee-deep in the waves and barreling toward the tiny beach. Bree and Samson were right behind her.
“Nicole!” she shouted.
She rushed to the door of the building and yanked open the door. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust enough to see that the one room held nothing but a few pieces of broken furniture.
“She’s not here!” she told Bree, who came in behind her. “Where could she be?” Zach and Alec entered the building.
Zach glanced around. “Her food and water aren’t here,” he said.
“What does that mean?” Libby asked.
“I brought her a jug of water, peanut butter, canned stuff. None of it is here.”
“Has someone else come after her?” Alec asked.
Zach shrugged. “Beats me.”
“Who were the men who hired you?” Alec asked. “Didn’t you get their names?”
“I didn’t know them. One said his name was Oscar Jacobson. The other never told me his name. All I cared about was that they were paying me cash.”
“Sounds like a fake name,” Alec said.
Bree took Nicole’s clothing out of the paper bag and held it under Samson’s nose. “Search, boy!”
The dog nosed around the shack, his tail wagging. He barked at the bed, then ran to the door and around the side of the shack. “He smells her,” Bree said.
Libby and Bree followed with the men rushing after them. The dog darted around the island with his nose in the air, then went back to the beach and stood with his tail drooping. He whined when Bree reached him.
“She’s not here,” Bree said.
“She couldn’t have gotten off the island without help,” Zach said.
“Look here,” Alec said, staring at marks in the sand. “Looks like a raft or something was dragged here.”
Bree knelt and touched the indentations. “Could she have built a raft and tried to escape that way?”
“She tried that once before and I found it torn apart on the beach,” Zach said. He glanced toward the shack. “Whoa, looks like some of the roof is missing.”
“Might she have used the roof for a raft?” Libby asked.
“It would be foolhardy,” Alec said. “The ocean is treacherous around here. They don’t call it the Graveyard of the Atlantic for no reason. Shoals, rocks—all kinds of things can tear a boat or a raft to pieces in a heartbeat. Would she be foolish enough to try that, Libby?”
She tried not to take offense at his question. “It’s not foolhardy to try to escape kidnappers,” she said. “Who knows when they might come back?” She turned to Bree. “Could Samson help us find her?”
“Maybe. It’s a big ocean out there. He’s lost her scent right now, but we could go out and see if he smells anything.”
“That’s our only option,” Libby said. Her voice broke and she swallowed hard. What if Nicole was already capsized and drowning, crying out for help? The thought sent her rushing to the boat. “Come on! We have to find Nicole.”
The rest of the crew ran after her, and in moments they were cruising the waves again. Bree gave Samson another refresher sniff, and the dog had his nose in the air. He strained at the bow of the boat. Alec crossed back and forth in front of the area where they’d seen the markings in the sand. Then Samson’s tail began to wag. He barked furiously and strained out over the water until Libby thought he might fall in.
“He’s got a scent!” Bree called. “Good boy,” she crooned. His tail drooped as the boat headed west. “Wrong direction,” Bree said. “Try north.”
Alec corrected his course, and the dog’s countenance perked again. Libby went up to sit by her friend.
Bree saw her and squeezed her hand. “We’ll find Nicole.”
“I just hope we’re not too late.”
“I’m praying and I’m sure you are too.”
“I am,” Libby admitted. “Constantly. But I’m so afraid.”
“Put it in God’s hands. He loves Nicole. He’s out there in the big ocean with her.”
The thought comforted Libby. Nicole wasn’t alone. No matter what happened, God held her securely.