Another body. That was what he’d been about to say, Rowenna thought. Mary’s body.
“I’m losing my mind,” Brad said. “I can’t stand it. Not knowing where she is, how she is, believing she’s alive—and knowing that every moment nothing is done brings her closer to death.”
Rowenna’s heart went out to him.
“That’s always the hardest part,” Jeremy said. “You know that. The waiting. Think of the hours that we’ve sat around together, scuba gear on, scuba gear off, waiting. Dive here, dive there. And then the next day, try farther over there. Or for the guys working the streets, it’s watch that house, a pedophile lives there. Watch him. And then you go crazy with the boredom of sitting and sitting, and drinking coffee, and trying to stay awake. And then you get your chance. We’re doing everything right, Brad. We stick to the plan, we eliminate everything we can, we follow every clue—and we’ll find her.”
Brad stared at Jeremy and nodded, as if trying to believe.
Just then Eric walked up behind Jeremy and laid a hand on his shoulder. Jeremy turned to look at him, and Brad followed suit. Eric didn’t seem to notice the way Brad’s eyes narrowed at the sight of him.
“I hear he makes devil masks,” Brad whispered to Rowenna.
“Yes, he makes masks. Relax, Brad,” Rowenna whispered back.
“Mr. Flynn,” Eric said, “I’ve heard that you’re an amazing guitarist. The band over there wants you to sit in.”
There was a dead, flat look in Jeremy’s eyes for a moment. He turned to stare at her—as if it were her fault, she thought. Then something in his expression changed, and she was coming to know him so well, she realized, that she actually knew what he was thinking: that it wouldn’t hurt to get tight with the locals.
Even the locals on his list of suspects—or perhaps especially the locals on his list of suspects.
Then he got up and walked over to the band, talked with them for a minute and picked up an extra guitar.
He really could play, Rowenna thought, remembering the times when she had seen him sit in with one of the bands on Bourbon Street in New Orleans.
She had wondered if he would touch a woman with the same knowledge and tenderness as he gave to a guitar.
And now she knew.
“Shit,” Eric said. “He can play.”
“Of course he can play,” Brad said indignantly, then looked at Eric and laughed. “You were hoping he’d make a fool out of himself.”
“No!” Eric protested. “Well, okay…yeah, I was.”
He wandered off, closer to the stage. Rowenna felt Brad staring at her.
“When are we going to find her? Will we find her soon?” he asked intently.
She felt a flow of crimson come to her cheeks. “Brad, I’m not sure what you think I can tell you.”
“I think you know things,” he said. “You told me not to give up hope. You keep saying she’s alive.”
“And I do believe she’s alive.”
“But we have to find her quickly.”
“Yes,” she agreed.
He grabbed her hand. “If there’s anything, anything at all, that you can do, please, I’m begging you, do it.”
“I will, Brad. You know I will.”
His sense of urgency filled her, and she felt dread settle heavy in her heart. Time was of the essence. And the thing was, she had a feeling that there was something she could do. She just didn’t want to do it.
The answer lay in the cemetery. She was sure of it.
Just as the thought came to her, she noticed Adam and Eve entering the restaurant, and for once they weren’t arguing.
Daniel came in by himself behind them, said something to them, and then the three of them sat down at a table together. She was surprised, given that they weren’t great friends, despite having known each other a long time. Daniel had a tendency to air his feeling about “failed Catholics” embracing pagan beliefs as a way to make money.
He looked up and saw her at the bar, waved, then looked around. He seemed surprised to see Jeremy playing with the band, and he drew Adam and Eve’s attention to the musicians.
Eve grinned, then looked over at Rowenna and gave her a thumbs-up sign. A moment later, Daniel spotted Eric and walked over to where the other man was sitting. They chatted for a minute; then Daniel pointed out the table where he was sitting with Adam and Eve. Eric shrugged, and accompanied him back over to join their group.
More people began to file in, some going straight to the bar for a drink, others filling the tables and perusing the dinner menu.
When Rowenna saw Ginny and Dr. MacElroy enter, she nearly fell off her bar stool. It was almost as if people were flocking in just to be together and try to forget the horror that had touched their once-safe little town. She hadn’t seen Dr. MacElroy in a while, so she excused herself to Brad, and walked over to the table Doc and Ginny had just taken.