I’m still clutching my phone when a text arrives. The message is from Eddie, saying that he and Isla have visited the hospital: Hannah Weber’s condition is unchanged. The injured woman isn’t the only one stuck in limbo. I need to find Nina before it’s too late. The receptionist at the Star Castle sounds too cheerful when I make my call.
‘Ms Jackson left earlier this evening. She went out on her own.’
‘Isn’t she back yet?’
‘I don’t think so, sir, but I can check her room.’
‘No need, I’ll do it myself.’
Instinct makes me grab the museum’s record book then hurry outside, ignoring the downpour. I hang onto Shadow’s leash so he can’t bound off into the darkness, but he looks back every few seconds, frustrated by my slow running speed. It’s only when we reach the entrance that his barking goes into overdrive. The dog is a few paces ahead when I chase down the corridor. Shadow reaches Nina’s room first, howling for attention, but there’s no reply when I hammer on the door.
‘Where the hell are you?’
The book drops from my hands as shock takes hold. Nina is missing too, having ignored my advice to stay put. When I look through a narrow window, the hotel grounds are deserted, with lanterns casting their glow on flowerbeds that have been flattened by the relentless downpour. Nina is the killer’s ideal victim: independent, solitary, with no intention of remaining on the islands. Shadow is losing patience now we’ve come to a standstill. He’s whining at full volume, the sound ear-splitting.
‘Shut up, can you? I can’t think straight.’
My hands are shaking when I see that the record book has fallen open on the floor, at the point where I inserted the missing page. Someone must have used a sharp blade to cut the sheet from the ledger, leaving a tiny strip of paper, by the book’s spine. I feel even more certain that there’s a link between the stolen items and the murders, gazing down at the list of donors. This time a familiar name jumps out at me, my brain going into overdrive as I rush back outside.
I’m still not thinking clearly when I unclip Shadow’s leash. He’s free to do as he pleases, but seems determined to stay at my side. My dog races across the grass, as raindrops hit my face like shrapnel, carried by a hard wind. He tracked Nina across five miles to Watermill Cove and now it’s my turn to do the same, before it’s too late.
My breathing’s ragged by the time I reach Church Road. I’m about to head for the Rawles’ home when a light inside the museum catches my eye, and I remember Frank saying that his wife often visits late at night to do a final security check. I rush through the entrance, calling her name, but there’s no reply. The only light comes from behind the counter, illuminating a list of benefactors engraved on a brass plaque. How did I miss the Rawles’ name, right at the bottom of the list?
Someone is moving around downstairs, their footsteps tracking slowly across the parquet. Elaine must be in the storeroom with the door closed, unable to hear me. I pull my phone from my pocket and call Eddie to get him to come to the museum while I wait for her to surface. He’s at the far end of the island, paying house calls to check everyone’s safe. My deputy’s tone is shocked when he hears that Nina is missing: we’re looking for two victims now instead of one. I can hear Isla speaking in the background, her tone brittle as I end the call.
The museum’s lights must operate from a central system because nothing happens when I press a switch by the stairs. I use my phone as a torch to make my way downstairs, but the dog streaks ahead, his night vision more acute than mine. Objects loom towards me; a row of ships’ figureheads ghostly in the dark. The lights flick on suddenly when Elaine Rawle emerges from the storeroom, her eyes glassy with fear.
‘Thank God it’s you,’ she whispers. ‘All that clattering upstairs scared the living daylights out of me.’
‘The door was unlocked. That’s a bad idea with a killer roaming around.’
‘It’s still hard to believe.’ The woman’s voice sounds weaker than before. ‘Did you come here looking for something?’
‘Just your help, when you’ve got your breath back.’
‘It’s okay, I’m feeling calmer already.’
Shadow’s behaviour changes when she approaches. He snaps at her, teeth bared, as she reaches down to stroke him.
‘Ignore him. He’s bad-tempered, but he won’t bite.’
‘There’s nothing to frighten him here.’ Elaine’s gaze is fixed on the Victorian sailing gig that’s been the museum’s pride and joy for decades.
‘What do you know about the families that donated items to the museum years ago, Elaine?’
‘Not a great deal. Why do you ask?’
‘Did you ring anyone about those sailors’ charms?’
She looks apologetic. ‘I’m afraid no one had any information.’
‘You’re lying.’
Her eyes blink rapidly. ‘What do you mean?’
‘I found the missing page from the record book, with Leah’s veil. You can stop pretending.’
Her face distorts with anger. ‘I can’t believe Michael let you open the box. How dare you touch my daughter’s things?’
‘The sailors’ charms are from your family. You donated them to the museum, but regretted it after Leah died, so you cut the page from the ledger and hid it with her veil. Did you make an excuse to visit Michael’s recently, to leave it there?’
Her eyes have glazed over. ‘My grandmother began collecting the charms after her husband was lost at sea.’
‘No wonder Julian Power couldn’t find any record. You hid the jewellery you stole for a whole year.’
Her voice is cold when she speaks again. ‘It was mine by right.’
‘Where are Lily and Nina?’
Elaine starts to back away, but Shadow jumps up at her, jaws snapping. I realise now why Frank Rawle was so keen to get involved in the case.
‘You can’t hide in a place this small, Elaine. It’s time to face what you’ve done.’ Shadow’s barking goes into overdrive.
‘Keep that bloody dog away from me.’
‘Sacrificing those lives didn’t bring your daughter back.’ Tears roll down Elaine’s cheeks, but I don’t care how much she’s suffered. ‘Where’s Frank? I bet he planned all this with you.’
‘He’s at home in bed.’
‘That’s another lie.’ I reach forward to grab her arm.
‘You’re hurting me,’ Elaine’s voice rings out. ‘I didn’t do anything.’
I’m still holding onto her when footsteps shuffle behind me, but my reactions are too slow. Shadow jumps up to defend me, but Elaine delivers a vicious kick to his chest that sends him sprawling. There’s a sudden pain between my shoulders and I’m on my knees, my attacker shoving me to the floor.