The lifeguard wasn’t trembling anymore.

He was laughing.

Chapter 9

“I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU’RE giving up.”

“She’s gone, Justin. Why can’t you accept it?”

Kelsey could hear them arguing even before she got to the door. Sighing, she sat down on the porch step and stared out through the trees, to the empty beach visible through the branches. It had been a long, long day, and she felt drained.

“You’re so damn unfeeling. You’re just letting her go.”

“Look, they’ve turned the whole island upside down. They’ve used dogs and nets and boats and helicopters. What do you think, that I’m not upset? That I don’t care? That I don’t lay awake nights trying to think of one more thing we haven’t thought of? You think I don’t worry about Dad? I’m more worried than you’ll ever know, Justin—than you could ever dream! And not just about Beth—”

Kelsey’s mind jostled back to the present. The voices inside the house had gotten louder, and she squirmed uncomfortably, feeling like an eavesdropper but not knowing where else to go.

“About what, then? What’s going on with you anyway?”

“Look…Justin…” Neale’s voice grew calmer, struggling for patience. His silhouette glided by the window. “Look…I know this is hard…the not knowing. And we might never know. I mean…we have to be prepared for that.”

“Beth was such a good swimmer.”

“Okay, Justin, Beth was a great swimmer! Beth could have been the best swimmer in the world—that still doesn’t mean she could have saved herself.”

“Why not? What are you saying?”

The silence stretched out, endless minutes, but Kelsey could feel the pain, the tension.

“I’m saying,” Neale said finally, quietly, “that no one will ever see her alive again.”

“And…there’s nothing else we can do?” Justin faltered.

A pause, then, “Nothing.”

“So…this is it.”

Kelsey leaned over, resting her forehead on her knees. She heard the screen door creak open behind her, heard bare feet, caught the expressionless glance of Neale as he went by without speaking. She watched as he disappeared through the trees, then turned expectantly as Justin came out onto the porch. He stared at her several seconds, then smiled sadly. “You don’t have to stay out here. It’s your house, too.”

“I didn’t want to intrude,” she said, making room for him on the step beside her.

He sat down and offered her the Pepsi he was holding, taking a sip when she shook her head. “No intrusion. I’m just trying to drown my sorrows.” He winced. “Wow…poor choice of words.” Kelsey smiled, but Justin added, “He’s not telling me something.”

“Neale?” She looked up, surprised.

Justin nodded, set the can down in the grass. “There’s something on his mind he’s not saying. Not that we’re all that close, as you’ve probably guessed by now—but I can tell he’s keeping something back.”

“What do you think it is?”

“I think…” Justin cast her a sidelong glance, “it has something to do with the way Beth died.”

Kelsey stared at him, unsure of how much to ask. At last she said, “What could he know about it?”