“WHEN JANE WENT OVERBOARD AND didn’t come up, the whole boat freaked out,” Alice said.
“Did you know at that time about Jane’s plan?” Fisher asked.
“No. I wish Sharon had told me sooner. I could have killed her. Afterward, she said there was too much commotion, that she couldn’t get me alone, which I suppose was true. Right away, I went into the water with a bunch of other people.”
“Did Kirk dive in?”
“Yeah. When Jane didn’t come up after a few seconds, he didn’t even wait to take off his shirt. He was frantic to find her. We all were.”
“Go on.”
Alice gestured helplessly. “It was awful. We kept looking and there was nothing. You know, even when people drown, they usually float to the surface. We didn’t know what to do. Finally, my dad had me get into my scuba equipment and go to the bottom.”
“Did you see any sign of Jane’s equipment down there?”
“No, nothing. But at that depth, I didn’t make a real thorough check.”
“Why not?”
Alice’s lip quivered. “If I found her on the floor, I knew I’d just be finding her body.”
“And all this time, Kirk was in the water?”
“Yes. He stayed in the whole time. He had a snorkel and face mask.”
“How did he drown?”
Alice had been expecting the question. “I think he got the bends. He was going down too deep, coming up too quickly. The lifeguard who boarded Wild Wind after the patrol boat came up alongside us said that was unlikely, but I don’t think he knew what he was talking about. Unequipped pearl divers in the South Pacific get the bends all the time the same way.”
“Kirk was a strong swimmer?”
“He sure was. He was taking two-minute dives. I’m not kidding.”
“Did you have an eye on him the whole time?”
Alice paused. “Not the whole time.”
Fisher frowned. “I still don’t see how he could have drowned, a kid like that who had grown up beside the ocean.”
“Have you ever had the bends?”
“No. Have you?”
She nodded. “Once. You get nitrogen bubbles in your blood. You feel as if you’re having convulsions. If the bends hit him while he was under, I don’t know what he could have done.”
“Kirk was actually diving to the ocean floor?”
“Almost, yeah.”
“Were you letting him breathe from your tank?”
The question surprised her. “What? No. Why would I do that? We weren’t that close together.”
“But that is something divers sometimes do? They share air?”
Alice appeared doubtful. “When there’s an emergency, yeah.”
“Was anyone else in scuba equipment besides you?”
“No.”
“Didn’t anyone else dive?”
“Yes. But my father only wanted me to go to the bottom.”
“Why just you?”
“I’m not sure. He knows how experienced I am. He might have been afraid of a current in the area. He probably thought that’s what had sucked Jane under.”
“And yet he let you risk your life? His own daughter?”
“My father trusts me.” She lowered her head, rubbed at her mouth.
“You wanted to add something?”
“No. Well, just that currents like that are rare.”
Everything Alice had said made sense. It would completely rewrite the afternoon’s report on Kirk Donner’s drowning. Yet Fisher felt he was missing something vital, something that was staring him right in the face. “When did Sharon tell you the truth?” he asked.
“Not until we were back on shore.”
“Why didn’t you go straight to the police?”
“I didn’t want to be the one to turn Jane in.”
“But weren’t you furious at her?”
“I was—upset. I was relieved that she was alive. But I felt so bad about Kirk. Sharon was throwing a fit.”
“She blamed Jane?”
“Totally. I’ve never seen her so angry.”
“Why didn’t Sharon tell the police the truth?”
“I’m not sure. I think she wanted to talk to Jane first.”
“I’m confused here. You both knew where Jane was. Why didn’t you drive up to the cabin?”
Alice shook her head. “That was the last thing I wanted to do. I didn’t want to be the one who broke it to Jane about Kirk. Sharon’s known her longer, anyway. She said she was going up.”
“And that was the last you saw of Sharon?”
“Yes.”
“What did you do then?”
“I went home.”
“About what time was this?”
“Midafternoon.”
“You stayed home all day? Till tonight when you asked your father to bring you down here to the station?”
“ ‘Yes.”
“What did you do all day?”
“I rested.” Alice hesitated. “I did try to call Jane at the cabin, but only after I didn’t hear from Sharon.”
“Did you speak to her?”
“No. The call wouldn’t go through. I don’t know why.”
“Did you ask the operator for help?”
“No. I’ve never asked the operator for help.”
“Didn’t you begin to worry when neither Sharon nor Jane called you?”
“I started to worry, yeah, but not that they were dead.”
“Did you become friends with Sharon after you met Jane?”
“Yes.”
“Did you like Sharon?”
“Sure.”
“Did she like Kirk?”
“Why do you ask?”
“I never know what might be important. Did she like him? In a romantic way?”
Alice considered a long time. “Maybe.”
Fisher glanced at the clock. Almost three in the morning. The father wouldn’t wait forever. Fisher couldn’t afford to handle Alice gently any longer. They were getting down to the nitty-gritty. Shocking her might help jar her memory. “When Sharon left you, was she mad enough to kill?”
“Sharon couldn’t have killed a fly.”
“Are you sure? She had the motivation. Jane was indirectly responsible for Kirk’s death. No one knew that better than Sharon.”
Alice shook her head. “That’s such a weird idea.”
Fisher leaned forward. “No, it’s not. Only two people in the world knew Jane was still alive: you and Sharon.”
Alice stared at him with her big eyes opened wide. “I didn’t kill her,” she whispered.
Fisher sharpened his voice. “Who did?”
“I don’t know.”
“Why couldn’t it have been Sharon?”
A tear welled up in the corner of her eye. “She wouldn’t have done it. She was a good person.”
“But what about Jane? She was a good person, too.
Why did you say she committed suicide?”
“I didn’t say that!” Alice said, hurt by his change in tone.
“Yes, you did. You said it right at the start.”
She looked to the side, breathing heavily. “No, I said I thought maybe she had killed herself.”
“Why would you think that? How would you know?”
“I don’t know!”
“Then why did you say it?”
“There were radios and TVs at the cabin. Jane must have heard about Kirk.” Alice wiped at her face with her shaking hand. “She must have felt terrible.”
“Terrible enough to set the place on fire and put herself to the worst death imaginable? And you say my ideas are weird? Come on, Alice, where’s Sharon?”
Alice burst out crying. “I don’t know!”