“No. Loggerheads cover the ACE basin,” Revvy said. “We would have to find a substantial nesting area, but I haven’t so far.” He squatted down in the sand, traced a shape of the island, looked up at Nick. “They want to build the house here.” He drew an X as on a treasure map. “But the area is so dense with live oak, palmetto, yaupon holly and shrubbery that we can’t get back in there unless we have some real equipment and a lot more time. I understand your buddy can’t leave us here too long without jeopardizing his career and all that, but I don’t think we can prove anything yet.”

Nick glanced off to the horizon where the sun hung, bloated. “We have maybe an hour or more before dark.”

“Find whatever you can and meet back at the main beach at sunset.” Revvy stood.

Nick rinsed his hands in the ocean, also stood. “No problem. We’ll meet you there.”

As Revvy rounded the corner to the maritime forest, Nick looked at Amy. “Come on, follow me while I get a few more samples.” He began to walk away, then turned around. “If you’re done with your pictures.”

“Not much more I can get without going inside.”

“Then let’s go. We can talk while we walk.”

But they didn’t; silence surrounded them like an old companion, and neither of them wanted to interrupt it. Bird calls, crunching shells and crackling leaves were the only sounds they heard. They followed a path to a dense area of live oak where branches and roots had so blended with each other that she couldn’t tell which branch belonged to which tree.

She touched a mangled limb. “Is this what the rain forest looked like—felt like? So thick?”

It was as close as she’d come to asking where he was in Costa Rica, why he’d stayed. It was closer than she meant to venture into that obscure land of questions.

“Yes and no. It’s completely different, but has the same dense life. You know, I wasn’t in the forest the entire time.”

“Oh?”

“Do you want to hear this?”

She looked up to the thick drape of moss, to the camouflaged island. Yes, now she wanted to hear it. She sat down on a fallen live oak trunk and curled her knees up to her chest.

“Okay, Nick. Tell me.”

“Where did you think I went? What did you think happened to me?” He sat next to her.

“I didn’t know. I went to meet your plane, just like we planned. I stood outside the door and watched every single person walk out. I had a flight attendant double-check the plane. I made her look up the manifest—did you know you were still listed?” She pushed her fingers against her closed eyes. “No. This doesn’t matter. You said you had something to tell me.”