“Definitely a possibility. Or for your own protection. Which makes you a sitting duck for an assault.”

She puffed out a sigh of relief.

Adam continued. “We’re going to lay low until we can find the status of Penderghast’s health.”

“You really think he might be dying?” That cheered her immeasurably, and at the same time, she realized she had to find out whether or not anyone on the ship realized that her disappearance was related to his injury.

They did know she was gone, surely?

Adam checked his email and gave a crack of laughter.

“What?” Elle asked.

“I just got a reply from my friend letting me know he found out your mother’s name. It’s—”

“Sofia Neely-Varela,” they said together.

Elle laughed, too, then nudged him aside. “If you’re done, I need to use the computer.”

“What are you going to do?”

“Contact somebody on the Arcturus and find out what’s going on out there.”

64

THE NEXT AFTERNOON, Elle stood with Adam at the top of the cliff and observed as the winch brought up the prow of her great-grandparents’ boat. Retrieving it from its hiding place on the beach and getting it into the wire basket had been nerve-racking. Watching it swing and scrape against the rocks was even more harrowing.

“How was work?” Adam was trying to distract her.

Wasn’t going to happen. “Good. Busy all day. The day tourists are showing up for the festival and shopping, and the tourists who have taken vacant rooms in people’s houses or in bed-and-breakfasts are buying out the shop. Oh, and Justin came in.”

“Justin? The high-school kid? What did he want?”

“To interview me about Bruno’s fall.” She never took her gaze off the prow as it slowly rose toward Adam’s truck. “He was quite disappointed to find out I was nowhere near when it happened.”

“Interview you? Why? Oh...for the Town Blab.”

“That’s right. I believe he sees a profit in writing it up for the newspaper and selling copies to the tourists—and except for glimpses on the restaurant rooftop, no one has seen Clarice or her crew since they returned from the sheriff’s department, so they can’t talk.”

“That kid has a future in reporting.”

“Or harassment. He really didn’t want to hear that I had no intention of talking about what I did see. I had to get in his face to get him out the door.”

“I’ll speak to him.”

She thought about that. “While usually I prefer to handle matters for myself, in this case I’ll say thank you. I suspect your reputation will intimidate him now and in any future incidents. Of which I hope there are none.”

“When is your mother getting here?”

“She lands late tonight. She’ll drive down tomorrow.”

“In time for the festival.”

Elle grinned at him. “If we’re lucky, she’ll see you in action.”