Epilogue
DANIEL
In the wake of delivering Willa and Sawyer back to Sutter House, Gabi looked about ready to drop.
Her shoulders sagged with exhaustion, and I could see the telltale signs of fatigue creeping in around her eyes.
The adrenaline that had carried her through the day was wearing off.
I wanted to take her straight home, tuck her into bed, and let her rest for the next twelve hours, but I should've known my girl would insist on checking back in at the community center first. Even dead on her feet, she wouldn't abandon her responsibilities.
Patients had thinned out since we'd left, but there were still some lingering cases being handled by the skeleton crew that remained.
The worst of the post-hurricane medical emergencies had been dealt with, leaving mostly minor cuts, bruises, and exhaustion-related issues.
She left me at the door to go touch base with the EMTs and nursing staff still running things, her professional mask sliding back into place as she moved through the organized chaos with practiced efficiency.
I stepped away from the bustle, finding a quiet corner near the supply closets to make the call I'd been putting off.
The scent of antiseptic and bleach hung heavy in the air, mixing with the lingering dampness from the storm.
I pulled out my phone and dialed Hayes, knowing he'd be waiting for an update on today's developments.
"What's the status, LaRue?"
I filled him in on Mickey Doyle's interrogation, keeping my voice low to avoid being overheard by any civilians nearby.
"He folded pretty quick once we had him cornered.
Gave up some names—mostly street-level dealers we already knew about—small fish who've been on our radar for months.
Middle management of the organization seems to be using code names exclusively, so he had nothing but aliases to report.
But reading between the lines, sir, I think there's more happening here than he knows about.
This feels like the tip of the iceberg."
Hayes grunted in agreement on the other end of the line, and I could hear him shuffling papers in the background. "My thoughts exactly. What's your assessment of the situation?"
"My recommendation would be to embed some operatives in Sutter's Ferry long term.
Get eyes on the ground, build relationships with the locals, gather intelligence the old-fashioned way.
" I sucked in a breath and took the shot I'd been planning since the moment Hayes first mentioned this assignment.
"Full disclosure, sir—the woman I'm involved with is here on Hatterwick.
I'm going to be here during my personal time anyway, so I volunteer to be one of those embedded operatives.
I'll understand if you think it's a conflict of interest."
There was a long pause, and I could almost hear the wheels turning in Hayes's head as he weighed the pros and cons. Then he chuckled, a dry sound that held more amusement than I'd expected. "You work fast, LaRue."
"It was a pre-existing relationship, sir. I'm just here to fix what I broke." The admission came easier than I'd thought it would. "I messed up with her before by letting the job take priority. I'm hoping this assignment might give me a chance to prove I've learned from that mistake."
"Well, seems like killing two birds with one stone to me, LaRue. So long as you don't let your personal feelings interfere with the job or compromise the investigation in any way."
"Absolutely not, sir. I can maintain complete professionalism during operations while using my downtime to rebuild my relationship." The relief in my voice was obvious, but I didn't care.
"Good. Any thoughts on who else would suit this kind of long-term operation?"
The question caught me off guard. Hayes asking for my input on personnel decisions wasn't something I'd expected, especially not this early in my posting. "You're asking me, sir?"
"You've shown good instincts throughout this case. Done solid work under pressure. I value your assessment." The praise was matter-of-fact, but it hit me like a physical blow.
The unexpected validation had my chest warming with pride.
I ran through what I knew about our team and the specifics of this investigation.
"Well, sir, with Doyle implicating the commercial fishing industry as a major component of the smuggling operation, we want somebody who can integrate into that sector without raising suspicion.
If I remember correctly from the personnel files, O'Connell is from Hatterwick.
His family runs a small fishing fleet here—the O'Connell Fishing Company.
That might give us a natural in, especially if he can come back under the guise of helping with the family business. "
"Excellent thinking. I'll speak to him about the possibility and keep you informed of our decision." Hayes's approval was clear in his tone. "Anything else I should know about the local situation?"
We hammered out a few more logistics—reporting schedules, communication protocols, and cover story details—before ending the call.
I took a moment to send up a silent prayer of thanks that my gambit had worked and that my work, for once, was bringing me closer to what mattered instead of taking me away from it.
Then, I slipped my phone back into my pocket and went in search of Gabi.
I found her finishing up with one of the EMTs, her professional demeanor intact despite the exhaustion I could see in the set of her shoulders. When she spotted me approaching, she wrapped up her conversation and walked over with a tired but genuine smile.
"Okay, now I can leave," she announced, pulling off the latex gloves she'd been wearing and tossing them in the nearest waste bin.
"Where to?" I asked, though I was pretty sure I already knew the answer.
"The clinic. That's where my car is, and by now they should have the debris cleared enough that I can get out of the parking lot." She rubbed her temples with her fingertips. "Plus, I want to check and make sure everything weathered the storm okay inside."
Despite the fact that I'd been up and moving almost constantly since before dawn, it felt good to move with unhurried purpose for the first time all day.
The walk back to the clinic gave me precious time to gather my thoughts and plan what I wanted to say to her.
The streets of Sutter's Ferry showed the aftermath of the hurricane—broken tree limbs, scattered debris, and the occasional piece of siding that had been torn loose from buildings.
But the community was already rallying, with neighbors helping neighbors clear driveways and check on each other.
Her small sedan still sat beside the back door of the clinic, looking somewhat worse for wear.
It had acquired a few more dings and scratches than it had possessed that morning, courtesy of flying debris, but all things considered, it had survived the hurricane remarkably well.
The clinic itself was still boarded up tight, sheets of plywood covering every window like closed eyes.
With all the medical staff deployed to the community center throughout the day, no one had been around to deal with reopening the building.
Tomorrow, probably. It would be one more step on the long road back to normal.
I had a feeling that both she and the rest of this tight-knit island community were going to need that sense of normalcy in the weeks to come.
Once inside, I helped Gabi check that everything was secure after the storm's passage.
We moved through the building, testing equipment, checking for water damage, and wrestling mattresses back to their proper locations in the patient rooms. The familiar routine seemed to calm her, giving her tired mind something concrete and manageable to focus on.
As we worked together to maneuver the last mattress back into place, it occurred to me that with all the rush to get to Willa after her accident, I hadn't given Gabi the update I could about Mickey's break-in and what it meant for the clinic's safety.
"About Mickey," I said, settling the mattress on the bed frame and turning to face her.
"You should know he was working alone. The break-in wasn't part of any larger operation targeting the clinic.
He got himself in trouble with some dealers over in Manteo, owed them a significant amount of money, and thought stealing prescription medications would solve his problems fast."
Relief washed over her face like sunrise, and I watched her shoulders relax for the first time since I'd told her about the break-in. "So the clinic isn't in any ongoing danger? There's no organized effort to target our drug supplies?"
"No immediate threat, no. Your security protocols are solid, and this was just one desperate guy making bad choices.
" I rocked back on my heels, shoving my hands into my back pockets as I met her dark eyes.
"But that leads me to something else I need to tell you.
Something that's going to affect both of us. "
Her eyebrows drew together, and I could see her preparing for bad news. "What is it?"
"I'm being assigned here to Hatterwick. Part of an ongoing federal task force operation that's going to require a long-term presence on the island." The words came out in a rush, and I watched her face for her reaction.
"I see." Her expression stayed neutral, giving me no clue what she was thinking.
Did she really see? Did she understand what this meant, or was she already building walls to protect herself?
She crossed her arms over her chest, and my stomach dropped. "For how long exactly?"