I wanted to be with him and comfort him through this. Trying to think how I could be most helpful, I thought through what we might need when we found her, or what the night might bring. She’d probably have to talk to the police. There’d probably be a lot of waiting. I went to her room. It was freshly made up. A few of the animals she’d left behind were sitting on the bed. I could pack a bag with a change of clothes for her. I went and grabbed the beach bag she and I had been using and took a set of clothes and pajamas from her drawer. Then I selected a small, soft, clingy monkey from her animal collection. In the bathroom, I went through her drawer to see if she’d left an old toothbrush. I found a new unopened one and threw that in the bag too. Going back to my room, I dug out my sketchbook and rolled up a few blank pages with two pencils and used one of my hair-ties to secure it and laid that in the bag too.

I could feel the weight of Xavier’s desperation and fear emanating through the entire boat. Taking the bag I’d packed for Dauphine, I headed up to the galley and threw in a bottled water and a granola bar. What if it wasn’t her uncle? What if his appearance was coincidence? What if some sick fucker had taken her? Not for ransom, but for terrible, unthinkable, unfathomable reasons. My stomach heaved, and my heart pounded. It had to be a thousand times worse for Xavier. And what about Madame Pascale, his mother? She’d lost Dauphine on her watch. God, this was agony. Outside the window was open ocean. I couldn’t tell how close we were to picking up the crew and refueling.

This second night in Corsica had been for me. If I hadn’t been here, Xavier would already be heading home. He might even be there already. My skin grew clammy with the thought. Was it my fault?

I slung the bag on my shoulder and left the galley to the sitting room, so I could see if we were almost back to Calvi. We were. This was taking too long. I went to Xavier’s room.

It was quiet and his door was open. Poking my head around the door, I scanned the stateroom, expecting to see him on the phone.

“Xavier?” I called softly.

There was no answer, but I heard a muffled sound. I entered and rounded the bed, rushing to Xavier’s aid.

He was hunched over, rocking, his head hitting the ground. He jerked when my hand touched his bare spine, sucking in a hitched breath.