Chapter 40
CHAPTER 40
SAWYER
T he staging area for the parade was absolute chaos. I couldn’t seem to find anyone in charge to ask where the founders’ float was supposed to be. Was it meant to be up front? At the end? Hell if I knew. I tried to find Roland, since I remembered he was supposed to be part of the volunteer wrangling crew, but there was no sign of him or of Willa anywhere. She wasn’t answering any of my texts—the ones that went through, anyway. I hadn’t even been able to get a phone call out since I’d spoken to Jace, and my nerves were humming with anxiety.
Had she been overwhelmed by the crowds and noise and found somewhere quiet to reset? Had something triggered one of her panic attacks? Had someone gotten to her while she was alone? Or had she simply been dragged into yet another endless meeting over Founders’ Day bullshit? Any of those scenarios felt possible, especially since I hadn’t seen our politically minded mayor.
The parade route itself was less than a mile, so either way, the whole event wouldn’t last that long. After that, Willa would be free to do whatever she wanted. But I didn’t want to wait that long to find her and confirm she was alright. I needed to lay eyes on her. To reassure myself that she was unharmed. Maybe if I made it back to the Brewhouse or the bakery and got on their Wi-Fi, I could get a call to connect.
“Get those costumes distributed correctly! The pirates go on the pirate ship float, not mingling with the mermaids. And who authorized the flamethrower on the dragon float?! That’s a safety hazard. Take it off right now!” The orders came from a harried looking guy who kept glancing at a folded paper in his hand. A checklist maybe?
He was the closest thing I’d seen to someone in charge.
“Hey, man, have you seen Willa Sutter anywhere?”
The man scowled. “Do I look like I’m in charge of her social calendar?”
Tamping down my own irritation, I kept an even tone. “She’s supposed to be riding on the founding families float in the parade.”
“Dude, I haven’t even seen the founding families float yet, let alone the mayor, who’s supposed to be at the head of it. In case you didn’t notice, I’m dealing with total chaos here.”
“What about Roland O’Shea? Have you seen him?”
If possible, the scowl got darker. “He didn’t show for his assigned volunteer duties. That’s part of why we’re in this mess. Said he was on his way back from the cemetery and that whole bullshit wreath laying ceremony. He’ll probably insist he couldn’t get through traffic as his excuse for bailing.” The guy shouted at someone over my shoulder. “The parade steps off in fifteen minutes! I asked for final inspection forty-five minutes ago. Let’s move it, people!”
I didn’t like that all three of them were missing. It might be nothing. The roads were hella congested with all the people who’d showed up for the festival. It was possible they simply hadn’t made it back yet. Or…
That ‘or’ had me shoving through the crowd back to the Brewhouse. That was the last place I’d been able to get decent cell service with so many extra people on the island overwhelming the network. I scanned the faces around me as I moved, looking for anyone familiar. Despite the fact that I knew half the people who lived on this island, it seemed like everyone I saw was a stranger. I’d give just about anything to have my brothers as backup just now. But I was in this on my own.
By the time I made it to the Brewhouse, I was practically running. If possible, the dining room was even more full than when I’d left. I wove my way through the tables toward the equally crammed bar.
A hand shot out to grab my arm as I squeezed past. “Sawyer!”
Gabi yanked me into an empty seat. “Hey. Did you find Willa?”
“No. She hasn’t made it back from the wreath laying ceremony, and she should have by now.”
“Bree filled us in,” Daniel said. “You think somethin’s gone wrong?”
“I don’t know. I hope not. Signal’s been shit all day with all these people. I came back here to try to call her on the Wi-Fi.”
When my phone vibrated in my pocket, I yanked it out so fast I nearly dropped it. But it wasn’t Willa’s name on the screen. It was Dax.
Please let this be answers.
“Dax? Can you hear me?”
“Barely. Where the hell are you? Sounds like a rager of a party.”
I shoved a finger into my other ear to block out some of the background noise. “I’m at a bar. And there’s a parade starting outside any minute. Tell me you’ve got news.”
“I’ve got better than news. I think I’ve tracked down the connection between Dr. Caswell and Hatterwick Island.”
Every muscle in my body tensed. “What is it?”
“Caswell—or I guess technically Caldwell—attended Georgetown University prior to getting recruited into his elite military unit. I cross-referenced school records with locals from the island and only managed to hit on one overlap—a guy who was at Georgetown at the same time as Caswell.”
“Who?”
“An attorney by the name of Roland O’Shea.”
My gut clenched. “Roland O’Shea? Are you absolutely sure?”
“Yeah. You know the guy?”
“He’s been Willa’s family’s attorney for decades.” He’d been in the middle of their business for years. Privy to all the family secrets. He’d been a trusted confidant. One who’d seemed to be on our side from the beginning when her parents had challenged the inheritance. “Is there any definitive proof he and the doctor knew each other?”
“They were on the rowing team together. Sending you a photo.”
The image came through a few moments later. When it finally loaded, I saw Dax had circled two men, with their arms thrown companionably around each other’s shoulders. I recognized one as a younger version of O’Shea. I could only presume the other was Caswell.
“I realize it’s not precisely a smoking gun,” Dax admitted. “There may be some other connection I haven’t found yet, but the fact that they were there at the same time and definitely knew each other seems like too big a coincidence to ignore. I figured you’d want a heads up.”
And O’Shea was also missing. He’d been at the cemetery with Willa, away from most of the crowds. I had a real bad feeling about this.
“Thanks, man. I’ve gotta go.”
“Did I hear you say Roland O’Shea? The family attorney?” Gabi asked.
“Yeah. Looks like he’s connected to the doctor who treated Willa.”
“But he’s done so much for her since her grandfather died. Do you really think he’d hurt her?”
“I don’t know. I hope I’m wrong. But I couldn’t find either of them at the staging area. I’d much rather go in with metaphorical guns blazing and have to make some apologies than risk not taking action at all.”
“Whatcha need us to do?” Daniel asked.
I tried to think it through. If Willa had remembered something incriminating—or even if O’Shea suspected she might have—where would he take her? His office was in the middle of all the festival chaos. His house was inside the village proper, so I didn’t think they’d go there, either. Which left what? Sutter House? No one was up there but Roy. I didn’t see him risking a confrontation with a loyal pit bull. He’d want somewhere private. But private for what? To kill her? To scare her? If he’d had something to do with her ending up under Caswell’s questionable treatment, maybe he’d lean into those same tactics to traumatize her back into forgetting whatever she might have remembered.
Where better to do that than where it had all begun?
Osprey Beach ought to be deserted, with everyone gathered on the south side of the island for the parade and upcoming fireworks.
It was a stretch. I knew it. And if I was wrong, it could lead to a dangerous waste of precious time. But if I was right…
I turned to Daniel. “Do you have a boat?”