“You’re telling me. Anyway”—Ryan shook off the memories and pointed south, far into the distance—“look down there, tell me if you can spot it.”

Amy squinted, searching the coast. Her eyes landed upon a thin sliver of beach and beside it a tiny settlement that was barely discernible in the seaside mist.

“I think so. Wait, that’s not—”

“That’s Seabrook.”

“Are you serious?” From this vantage point the town looked comically small, a child’s play set almost—the buildings could have been Lego blocks and the lighthouse a stick of chalk.

“Crazy how tiny it looks.”

“You know something,” he said, staring at the town, “I just realized I don’t even know why you’re here in Seabrook. Are you in town on holiday or something?”

She shook her head. “I’m here with my dad. He had to come down for work. I’m just tagging along.”

“What does he do?”

As Amy mulled over her answer, a strong gust of wind came barreling through, nearly lifting the hat clear off her head.

“He’s a detective with the state police,” she said.

Ryan fell silent.

A detective.

To him, the word almost sounded exotic and conjured up images from movies and comic books, shadowy figures in trench coats and fedoras. But what would a big city detective be doing all the way down here in Seabrook? he wondered. And why hadn’t he heard anything about it? Surely, in a small town where everyone knew each other’s business, where every disturbance, no matter how indiscriminately small, was trotted out in the local paper for all to see, wouldn’t the visit have set a few tongues wagging?

“Obviously I need to start reading the Beacon a little more closely.”

“Huh?”

“Our paper. You know, to get a clue as to why your dad might be here.”

“Oh right.”

“I don’t suppose you know anything, do you?”

“No, sorry, I don’t.”

“Hope it’s nothing serious.”

“Your guess would be as good as mine.” Amy looked again upon the distant town, then grinned. “Hey, maybe it’s got something to do with that lighthouse of yours.”

“Come again?”

“Just kidding.”

“No, tell me, what do you mean?”

“I’m only making a joke, you know, with what happened there last night and all.”

“I’m not following.”

“Oh, sorry, you haven’t heard. Everyone in town was talking about it, and I just assumed you would have known. Probably not, though, if you live all the way out here, huh?”

“Known what, exactly?”

“That it turned on last night.”

“Say that again?”

Amy described everything she had heard from those in town, as well as from her cab driver.

One of Ryan’s eyebrows instantly arched up. “Forgive me, but that’s a little hard to believe.”

“Hey, I’m only the messenger.”

“That’s really what people were saying happened?”

“That’s what I heard.”