“Kelsey? You awake?”

The tap on her door brought her to her feet just as the bedside lamp dimmed and went out. “Yes, I’m up.” Frowning at the sudden gloom, she stuffed the box back into the closet and flung open the bedroom door, hoping she didn’t look guilty.

Justin didn’t seem to notice anything wrong. “The power just went out, and the phones are out, too. We’re in for one hell of a storm, I’m afraid.”

Kelsey followed him downstairs and saw Skip hunched over on the couch, lighting some kerosene lamps. Judging by his rumpled appearance and grumpy expression, Kelsey guessed he had spent the whole night on that very spot.

“Feeling better?” she asked, and he gave her a sullen look. “Coffee?”

Skip groaned and frowned at the couch. “Is this made out of concrete or what?”

“Concrete,” Justin grinned, handing Skip a freshly filled cup. “You’ve been up for an hour already—I thought you’d have all the kinks worked out by now.”

“I’m probably ruined for life.”

“You’re just nursing a broken heart,” Justin said. “These things take time.”

Kelsey patted his knee. “Did anyone get ahold of Donna?”

“Yeah, I called her. And called her. And called her. Last night, and this morning, too, till the damn phones went dead. No answer.”

Kelsey felt the first nagging twinge of worry. “Should we go and check on her?”

“And give her the satisfaction? You must be joking.”

“It’s not unusual,” Justin informed her, “for Donna not to answer when they’ve had a fight.”

“But I’d like to talk to her,” Kelsey insisted.

“Good.” Skip waved his hand. “You talk to her. Tell her what a brat she’s being—”

“Skip—” Kelsey admonished.

“Kelsey—” Skip retorted, “tell her it’s her own fault—”

“Skip, aren’t you even the least bit upset? And what’s this on your neck?”

Skip fingered the wide red welt that encircled his neck, and he frowned. “My chain must have come off last night in the water. Terrific…there goes my key again—damn, it feels like a rope burn. Any of you guys have a spare key?”

Justin fumbled at his pockets, his face blank. “Neale must have borrowed mine—Come on Skip, just admit it. You’re upset about Donna. I’ll just get the jeep and we’ll—”

To Kelsey’s surprise Skip nudged him roughly aside. “Why should I be upset? I can have anything I want, so why should I be upset? She’s the one who should be upset—she deserves it.” He stomped from the room, throwing a last remark. “She deserved exactly what she got.”

Kelsey felt a ripple of fear move up her spine. She looked at Justin, waiting for some explanation, but he only looked as upset as she felt. Without a word he followed Skip into the kitchen, leaving her alone and strangely troubled. Something… something’s not right…

Uneasily Kelsey opened the front door and surveyed the mounting storm. The trees were whipping wildly in the wind—the ocean looked maniacal…bursting on the shore, exploding in a black frenzy that chilled her to the bone. Something…something…