Chapter 9
CHAPTER 9
***CAMERON***
F or the second day in a row, Cameron grabbed his lunch from the village and took it over to the clubhouse, hoping that work would distract him from the confusing thoughts in his head. He’d been over and over his conversation with Kennedy and concluded that something wasn’t right. He couldn’t pinpoint exactly what was bothering him, but the feeling wouldn’t go away.
Max was coming out of the door when he stepped onto the porch, took one look at him and paused, waiting until he reached him. “I was going to ask how your hike was this morning,” he said. “But I can see from your face that it didn’t go well.”
“The hike was fine, but she was there again,” he said. “I swear, no matter where I go on this island, she’s there.”
“And she would be the woman you were with last night, the one who wasn’t going to come near you again?” Max asked, then sighed when he nodded. “Well then, we’d better go to my office. It really has started again.”
“This has nothing to do with the island, so don’t even go there,” he said, following Max down the hallway. “I just don’t understand how Kennedy can turn up everywhere I am. It’s like she knows ahead of time where I’ll be.”
“Cameron, this isn’t a very big island, you’re bound to run into her,” Max said, opening the door and gesturing to the chair across from his desk. “It’s not like she’s stalking you or something.”
When he didn’t answer right away, Max sighed, “Cameron, that’s a little…well, crazy,” he said. “Why would she be following you around? What possible reason could she have?”
“I know how I sound, but I’ve been thinking about it. She was on the boat that brought me to the island, and she showed up at the beach that first afternoon when I was there,” he said, ticking each incident off on his fingers. “The next day, she was at my sailing lesson, and then the crab boil. This morning, she showed up to the hike. That’s more than coincidence, Max; that’s a pattern.”
Max was quiet for a second. “Maybe, but everyone was at the crab boil, and I know for a fact that most people end up on the beach the first day that they’re here, so I don’t think you can count either of those,” he said. “What exactly do you think this woman is up to?”
“I don’t know, but she was asking a lot of questions about the island and all the rumors today. That’s what made me feel weird,” he said, scowling his face. “She sounded more like a newspaper reporter than a…well, I don’t know…”
“You don’t know…” Max said. “You mean you don’t know what she does for a living.”
“I never thought to ask, it didn’t seem important,” he said, then looked over at Max. “You don’t think…no, that’s ridiculous…what would she want with me?”
“It looks like we have more questions than answers,” Max said, sliding open a drawer next to his desk. “But I might be able to help a little. ”
He pulled out a folder, opened it, and scanned the pages for a second before looking over at Cameron. “Are you sure you want to do this?” Max asked. “This is private information. It’s a bit of a violation of Kennedy’s privacy.”
“I don’t care, the woman is driving me crazy,” he said. “There can’t be anything in there I couldn’t find on the internet.”
“Good point,” Max said. “Okay, it looks like she’s from a small town just outside of Milwaukee. She’s twenty-four years old, never been married, but she didn’t list her occupation.”
“Of course not,” he said. “That didn’t really help much, but it is the same story she told me.”
“Normally, I would have had more information, but she won the trip on a gameshow,” Max said. “I don’t remember exactly which one. The producers contacted me at the last minute. Another sponsor dropped out and they needed something quick.”
“Well, then we could contact them. They have to keep all kinds of information on the contestants. Maybe they can tell us where she works,” he said. “I may just be looking for an excuse not to like her. This might all be my imagination, but I’ll feel better once we know for sure.”
“I’ll see what I can do,” Max said, picking up the phone. “Why don’t you go eat your lunch? I’ll come find you when I find something.”
He picked at his food while answering emails, but his mind wasn’t on the lab, and he found himself watching the clock most of the time, hoping Max didn’t take too long. When his friend came out of his office with an unhappy look on his face, his stomach twisted into knots as a feeling of disappointment washed over him, and he stood up, unable to stay seated to hear the bad news.
“Well, there was no game show, at least I don’t think there was. The number they gave me was a dead end,” Max said. “I searched the internet for any mention of it, but there was nothing. I can’t tell you any more about Kennedy than I already have, but you can bet I’m going to start digging. Your gut feeling might have been right, she’s up to something.”
“Great, I finally find a woman who…well, never mind,” he said, letting out a long sigh, knowing it was for the best anyway. “I’m going to stay away from her now for sure.”
Just then, Stella walked into the clubhouse. “Oh, good, you’re both here,” she said. “I thought I was going to have to go look for you.”
“What’s wrong?” Max asked. “Did someone get hurt?”
“No, it’s nothing like that,” Stella said, then hesitated. “There’s just something that’s been bothering me, and well…I figured it was better to just ask. It’s probably nothing, just normal life stuff…”
“Stella, just spit it out,” Max said. “You’re starting to make me worry.”
“Okay, sorry, I just don’t want you to be mad at me,” she said. “I met a young woman at the crab boil last night. She looked really upset, so I took her aside and gave her some water. She told me that a man she was working with kissed her, that he suddenly seemed like a different person, and she liked it. She kept saying it was going to mess up her career, maybe even her life, so I…well, I told her it was probably the island and it would pass. I know I shouldn’t have talked about it, but well…she seemed so upset, I thought it would help.”
Max looked over at him, but he was staring at Stella, a weird feeling in his stomach, and didn’t notice. Something about her story was too familiar. “Stella, I’m not mad at you,” Max finally said. “But I didn’t hear a question in all of that.”
“I’m just wondering if this is the first time the island affected someone who wasn’t connected to you, Max,” she finally said. “I mean, it’s never happened before, has it?”
“Not that I know of, but I guess it’s possible,” Max said with a shrug of his shoulders. “Honestly, nothing surprises me anymore.”
“She said it was going to mess up her career?” Cameron asked, the feeling still there. “That’s what Kennedy told me earlier today, that I messed everything up, but she wouldn’t explain.”
“That was the woman’s name, Kennedy,” Stella said, then looked over at Cameron. “Oh my, she was talking about you, wasn’t she?”
***Kennedy***
Kennedy knew that the smart thing to do would be to cancel the hiking trip. Being near Cameron had become almost painful since he’d kissed her, but she still wasn’t ready to give up on the story. She’d been over and over it in her head, and the truth was, she’d done nothing wrong. She’d just been doing her job, working a story. He was the one who’d stepped over the line, and she’d immediately set him straight. Her integrity was still intact, and the story was still viable if she could only figure out what Cameron was up to in that lab of his.
The hike would be her last chance to get what she wanted, then she’d have to back away. There was really no choice, the longer she hung around him, the more likely she was to give into temptation. That could not happen. Even if the story was dead, her feelings for Cameron had grown enough that she knew her heart had become involved, a dangerous place for her to be. Cliff had already done enough damage; another broken heart was more than she could endure, and Cameron would break her heart of that, she was sure.
Her phone buzzing on the desk next to her computer made her jump, and she picked it up, surprised there was enough signal for her to get a call, then groaned when she saw who it was. Switching on the satellite connection, she took a deep breath, then connected with her editor with no idea what she was going to say. She couldn’t tell him the truth. He’d just say I told you so.
“Steve, I was thinking about calling you,” she lied. “I was trying to figure out the time difference. I’m horrible at it.”
“It doesn’t matter what time it is. I haven’t heard from you in days,” Steve said, an edge to his voice. “What’s going on down there?”
“I’m sorry, I keep meaning to email you, but I’m making progress,” she lied again. “I’ve been working on both stories, and I think you’ll be pleased with what I’ve got.”
“Work something up and send it to me asap,” he said. “The big guys upstairs are getting anxious about the money we’re spending. What have you got on that Cameron guy?”
“Well…nothing concrete yet, but I’m hiking with him tomorrow. I’m sure I can nail him down then,” she said, then, hoping to distract Steve, quickly changed direction. “The other story is going even better. I made friends with someone who has direct knowledge of what this island does, and I think it’s more than just making people fall in love. I’m going to have coffee with her tomorrow.”
There was a long silence. “Kennedy, I didn’t send you to the island to get a feel-good piece about love and romance. That kind of stuff doesn’t sell papers,” Steve finally said. “It would be a nice addition to the investigative piece, but it’s not going to be enough to make up for what we spent sending you there. I don’t have to tell you that both of our jobs are on the line here, so you had better not be wrong about Cameron Sullivan. I was worried about this. You promised me that you were sure, but now I’m hearing something else in your voice.”
“Steve, I’ll get the story, I always do,” she said. “You’re just going to have to trust me. I know what I’m doing.”
“You’d better,” Steve said. “I’m not going down for you, Kennedy. Get me something soon, or I’m pulling you back in and taking the cost of the trip out of your salary.”
The line went dead and she sat staring at her phone for a second, then quickly turned off the satellite connection, just in case it was on her dime. “At least he didn’t threaten to fire you,” she said, slamming her computer shut, getting to her feet, and walking over to the mirror on the wall. “You’ve made a big mess of this Kennedy. What are you going to do now?”
Quickly turning away from her reflection, wondering if she was losing her mind, she took several deep breaths, telling herself that she wasn’t beaten yet. She just had to come up with a plan, treat Cameron like any other subject of a story, and stop letting her feelings interfere. If she could do that, she could get the story. Control was the key, she decided while climbing into bed. She had to keep Cameron off balance, sneak in her questions while he was distracted, then she could go in for the kill.
She fell asleep thinking about the moment Cameron revealed all his secrets to her, a smile on her face, her confidence restored, no idea that the reality of what would happen in only a few hours was going to be vastly different than her fantasies. Nor did she know that right outside her cabin, a man was settling down to wait out the night under the shelter of a bush with leaves so big they completely concealed him. Around him, the creatures that roamed freely in the dark kept their distance, frightened by the foul scent of the anger and jealousy that consumed him .
He was still hunched under the bush the next morning when Kennedy came out of the cabin and started down the trail, a backpack slung over her shoulders, another one in her hand. When she was out of sight, the man climbed out, took a couple of seconds to let his cramped muscles relax, then started after her, mumbling under his breath, having his own fantasies about what was going to happen that day. He’d waited a long time to give Kennedy Fisher what she deserved, and his pulse quickened as anticipation flooded his system. After two years of waiting, he would finally have his revenge.