We all turn to Noah, who seems offended we would have to ask. “My sister? Oh, she could absolutely kill someone. But then she’d look you straight in the eye and tell you why she did it and how much better off the world is for her bravery. Lila might be a killer, in other words, but she’s no liar.”
“Plus, she was there that night, and she’s spent a lot of time on the island.” I think about the Society and Lila’s mom and how she’s been a part of this longer than I have. Some might say I’m keeping my enemies closer, but I just repeat, “Lila is going to help us.”
Noah stumbles a little. “I’m sorry. I cannot get used to hearing my sister’s name and the word help in the same sentence.”
We all watch as Lila pulls the boat up to the pier and lets it coast into position. I know I should say something, to defend Lila or maybe just my own good sense. But it’s no use because Lila’s already staring up at Noah.
“I know that island better than any of you,” she says. “So I’m coming.”
“Perhaps,” Noah counters. “But I know you better than any of them, so excuse me if I’m a little concerned about how much help you might actually be.”
“Noah …” Lila begins, but what follows is a stream of Portuguese so fast I could never hope to follow.
Noah throws his hands in the air and shouts back in Hebrew.
Another Hebrew insult from Lila followed by Noah’s favorite Portuguese swearword.
Lila huffs, offended. But she doesn’t turn and stomp away.
The fight swirls, a cloud of language and flying hands, insults the same in every language.
Finally, Rosie looks at me. “You want me to handle this?” she asks.
“Be my guest,” I say.
What comes next is a sound like nothing I have ever heard before. Part whistle. Part yodel. It pierces the air, a sound so fierce that Megan actually puts her hands over her ears. In the distance, dogs begin to bark. And, on the pier, Noah and his twin finally stand silent.
“Thank you, Rosie.” I give her a smile then turn to the others. “Now, as I was saying, Lila is going to help us.”
“But —” Noah starts, and Lila cuts him off.
“I’m not here for you,” she snaps. A smug smile crosses her face. “I’m here for him.”
When the door to the boat’s small cabin swings open, it seems to happen in slow motion. Even though we’re far from town and took every crazy and overly cautious detour to get here, I’m terrified when I see Alexei step out into the sun.
Dark stubble covers his jaw, and his hair is going in about a dozen different directions. But he’s here. And, most important, he’s safe.
“You made it,” I say. I didn’t realize how worried I was until I see him standing on the deck of the boat, squinting against the glare of the sun as it bounces off the water.
Lila smiles at me. “I told you no one would follow me. We didn’t see a soul.”
Noah smirks at his sister. “Oh. Okay. This makes sense. My murder wouldn’t get her out of bed before ten.”
Lila snaps back in Hebrew and soon the two of them start again. This time, I step between them.
“Enough! Noah, leave your sister alone,” I say in my best Ms. Chancellor voice. “And, Lila, if you don’t want to go to the island, feel free to use your time otherwise. I’m sure there is something your little party-going minions didn’t tell the authorities, for example. If you don’t want to go with us, then go question them. But I’m not going to listen to the two of you argue all day. Do you understand?” I ask. They both stay quiet. “Do you?”
“Yes,” they answer in unison.
“Okay,” I say, turning for the pier. “Let’s go.”
At this time of day it’s easy for the blue water of the Mediterranean to disappear into the blue of the sky, and as we reach the island, I can’t fight the feeling that I’m returning to someplace I’ve never been. It looks so different, here in the light of day. There is no bonfire, no music. Instead of a beach covered with partying teens, there are long scrapes in the sand where things have been dragged ashore. The grass and bushes at the back of the beach have been trampled. It’s like walking into a ghost town, something once so full of life that now stands empty.
Spence died here.
And now I have to find out how.
“What now?” Rosie asks.
“Spread out, I guess,” I say. “We need to find out where he was killed, if we can. Just … look. For something. Anything that doesn’t belong. Anything that might prove … something. Anything that could indicate that there was someone out here that night besides Spence and Alexei.”
“And you,” Noah says. Something in his gaze unsettles me.
“And me,” I say. “Meet back here in two hours?”
Everyone agrees, and slowly we start to spread out down the rocky beach. Lila and Megan start toward the forest. The island feels bigger than it did in the dark, farther from land. Our phones won’t work here, and I know we’re all alone, miles from shore — from civilization. There’s nothing but the sound of the waves lapping on the beach, the wind in the trees. It’s supposed to be paradise. But it feels like something else entirely as I climb a huge stone outcropping and —