“No. I told you. I called everyone. Besides...what about those?” I pointed to the keys and wallet in her hand, the items I’d given to her within moments of their arrival at the beach. “Anyway, Jack would’ve called me. He doesn’t have family here. His, well, ex-boss is away for the weekend somewhere, and as for other people...” I let the rest of the sentence die, didn’t want to admit Jack hadn’t any close friends in the area, had chosen not to develop those relationships since he’d arrived in town two years prior because he’d been let down by people too often before. Telling them would invite too many questions I couldn’t answer. Things I’d never pressed Jack about because I’d recognized his need to leave history behind, and because we were focusing on a future together, not our separate pasts.

The minutes ticked by, dragging us from Saturday morning to afternoon, and the rain had finally slowed to a steady trickle. At some point, more police vehicles arrived, and Jack’s truck had been searched. When Heron had played the increasingly desperate voice mails I’d left for him on his phone, I turned away, not wanting to hear the terror in my voice.

A while later the local press interviewed me, but I couldn’t remember what the immaculately made-up journalist had asked, or what I’d said. I felt like I’d gone numb from the inside out. The coast guard was alerted, something I became aware of through snippets of conversations overheard on the police radio, and well before Heron or Stevens filled us in. All this time, Sam stayed on the beach with me, dressed in his pajamas, listening, watching, hoping. I didn’t want to leave. If I went home it meant abandoning Jack, but Sam insisted there was nothing we could do, I needed to at least try to get some rest.

“You’ll be the first to know of any developments,” Heron assured me in her calm yet efficient manner, and so I’d reluctantly agreed to Sam driving me back to his place to pick up my car. I declined his offer of going inside his house and him making something to eat. I wasn’t hungry and needed to be alone. I made it half a mile before having to pull over by the side of the road so I could let out the cries of frustration, anger and fear, which had all mixed together into a ball of raw emotion I could no longer contain.