Chapter 20 #2
I couldn't help but smile. "I will, but you should know that he said the same thing about you."
He tipped his head in acknowledgement. "I guess I can't blame him for that. Until we know what happened, no one is above suspicion."
On that note, he turned and got into his SUV, and after a moment, I slid behind the wheel of my grandmother's car and followed him out of the parking lot. We parted ways at the first intersection, as I headed to the inn, and he went to find his sister.
It felt odd to see him disappear down another road.
But it was for the best. I needed to think for myself.
And I couldn't discount the possibility that both Finn and Tyler had hidden agendas.
I'd kept my own secrets. I couldn't afford to think they didn't have secrets of their own.
The only people I could really trust were Morgan and Tessa, and I owed them both a call.
I called Tessa first. Aside from everything else, I needed to know that she was healing and starting to feel better.
"Hey," Tessa said groggily. "I was just napping."
"That's good. How are you feeling? Are you still in pain?"
"It's not as bad as it was, but it's still there. The bad news is that I was spiking a fever last night, but the antibiotics seemed to have knocked that out."
"A fever? Is there an infection?" I asked with concern.
"Maybe, but the doctor was here a while ago and seemed to think the medication was taking care of that. But he wants to keep me here until Friday."
"That's only two days away."
"I know. And it's fine, because I need to feel a little stronger before I make the trek home. I guess we don't have a car anymore."
"No. We'll have to rent one. Or maybe we should fly. That might be easier on you."
"Probably."
"And we'll have to figure out how to get your roommate another car. I don't know if insurance will pay for anything. I guess I need to call someone."
"I already told my roommate what happened, and she will call her insurance company and find out what to do. I told her that there should be a police report because they responded to the scene."
"There should be, but whether there is or not, I can't say."
"So, is there anything new?"
"Actually, yes. Nathan Carmichael overdosed. He's in the hospital fighting for his life. The story so far is that it was a suicide attempt."
I could hear Tessa's exhale of surprise. "Wow, that's a shocker. When did this happen?"
"This afternoon sometime."
"How did you hear?"
"Finn called Nathan to ask him more questions about Jessica. When he didn't answer his phone, he tried his office, and they told us what happened."
"Why would Nathan want to kill himself?"
"With the timing, I can't help but think it has something to do with Jessica."
"Like what? He said he just found her boat and her ring. He didn't know her."
"Maybe he was lying. Maybe he was involved in something bigger, like her disappearance, maybe her…death."
"I guess that's possible. You mentioned you were with Finn…what were you doing?"
"He took me to his parents' house, and they told me about my father.
They both went to school with my dad. It was interesting to talk to people who knew him when he was a kid.
But they didn't know why he left. They did say my father didn't get along with the sheriff.
That they were fighting over a girl named Lily. "
"That name sounds familiar," Tessa said.
"Yes. It's the girl who allegedly killed herself, drowning off the beach, right below the inn."
"That's a crazy coincidence. Was your father still in Stonecross when that happened?"
"Yes. It was a couple of weeks after my grandfather died. And he left right after that."
"Maybe that's why."
"No idea. Anyway, that's what I was doing with Finn.
And then we started talking about the missing women, and he said he believed we were on to something and that too many in the town, including him, had turned a blind eye to what was happening.
He wants to help us now. He wants to shake things up, too.
And since he's on the inside, he could be valuable. "
"I'm glad he's been helpful. I thought he could be, if we could gain his trust."
"Your instincts were on the money."
"What about Tyler? Has he been helping, too?"
"He's definitely on the Jessica track." I paused. "Is it weird that Tyler went to Cork Harbor today to look for security camera footage on the road where Jessica appeared, which is the same town where Nathan overdosed?"
"That's a pointed question," Tessa replied. "You think Tyler had something to do with it? How? Why?"
"I don't know. Finn suggested it, but I can't imagine…" I rubbed my temples as the endless questions created a pounding in my head. "Finn doesn't trust Tyler, and Tyler doesn't trust Finn."
"And you?"
"I trust you and Morgan. Everyone else has a question mark."
"I'm glad you're not letting anyone get too close," she said. "Are you going to film another podcast tonight?"
"I should, shouldn't I?"
"I spoke to Morgan earlier. She talked to a lawyer friend who offered to draft contracts for our sponsors at a minimal cost. Two of the sponsors want to proceed, and I think we should jump on the opportunity now while the podcast listeners are engaged.
Morgan said the comments are off the charts.
I took a quick peek earlier, and she's right.
But I know you have a lot going on, and I'm sorry the pressure is all on you. "
"It's fine. I can do it. I'm at the inn now," I said as I parked in the lot. "I'm going to see if I can talk to Ellen. After that, I'll film something. I'll text you when I'm going live. Unless you want to join me on your phone?"
"I'm not feeling up to it. The pain makes my head fuzzy at times."
"You should just rest. Don't worry about anything. I'll handle it."
When I entered the inn, there were a couple of people who appeared to be checking in at the front desk with Moira.
The living room was empty, and it looked like the servers were setting up the dining room for happy hour.
I wanted to talk to Ellen before I did anything else, so I decided to see if she was in her apartment.
As I went down the back hallway, I noticed her door was slightly ajar, and I could hear two people speaking. It sounded like Ellen was talking to Ray. I crept a few steps closer to the open door, straining to hear what they were saying.
"Tom will handle it," Ellen said. "There's nothing for us to do. Just get back to work, Ray."
"There will be more questions about Jessica."
"That doesn't matter. We've been careful. As long as everyone keeps quiet, it'll be fine."
"Do you really think everyone is going to keep quiet when your own granddaughter is asking a million questions around town. And she's getting people like Finn to take up her quest."
"I'll handle Cassidy. Don't worry about her."
My heart jumped at the sound of my name, at the cold purpose in her voice.
I whirled around and hurried away before they caught me eavesdropping in the hallway.
I went through the side door and into the garden, taking deep breaths as I tried to calm down, to process what they'd said.
They'd been talking about Jessica, probably about Nathan, and they knew Finn and I had talked to Tom, which meant Tom had called them. But why had he called them?
My stomach churned with a sudden nausea, a terrible fear that my grandmother was right in the middle of whatever was going on. She'd told Ray not to worry about Jessica, that they'd been careful. What the hell did that mean?