Chapter Twenty-Three #2
When she’s gone, Tech puts his head down on the table, seemingly overwhelmed. Jamie claps him on the shoulder, squeezing it to let him know that we’re all here for him. I can’t imagine his disappointment. All this time, we were so close to Gabriel—close to the truth.
Ariel comes back into the room and hands the journal directly to Tech. She sits down, and then, as if she already knows all the words by heart, she begins telling us the story.
“Gabriel wasn’t responsible for Florence Marston’s death,” Ariel says, as if we all agree on that point. “In fact, he was in love with her. And she loved him back. I have her letters. They had planned to run away to Naples together, but then Florence’s fiancé found out.”
“Alessandro Mancini,” I say, and she nods.
“But Gabe and Florence weren’t going to let him stop them,” Ariel continues.
“It was Florence’s idea to stay at the Starline Hotel that night.
Gabe was scheduled to work, and Alex was supposed to be in New York.
The plan was for Gabe to take a boat, the two of them escaping into the night without any explanation, never looking back. ”
“But that didn’t happen,” Tech says.
“No,” Ariel says. “Gabe was going to meet Florence in his staff room at midnight, and then they would leave together. The hotel was quiet as he made his way toward the lobby, excited. Nervous. However, the door to the staff hallway was inexplicably locked. He tried his key, but the door had been jammed. Florence was on the other side, but she wouldn’t answer.
That’s when he noticed a small bit of smoke seeping from underneath.
Terrified, he banged his shoulder into the door, trying to get it open.
Suddenly, Gabriel was struck hard from behind. ”
Smoke? I’m confused. Was there an actual fire at the Starline Hotel? I look at Tech, but he’s listening intently to Ariel’s story.
“When Gabe came to again,” she continues, “his coworker had dragged him to the service entrance. He said there had been a fire in one of the staff rooms, in his room, and that Florence was dead. He told him that two of the guests had accused him starting it… killing Florence in the process.”
“So there was a fire?” I ask out loud. “Because we didn’t…” I stop before continuing. Even here, I’m not sure it’s safe to say that we found the Starline Hotel. That we’ve actually been inside there.
“A small fire,” she allows. “From what Gabe was told, it was in the back of the hotel—localized to just his room.”
“Someone was trying to kill him,” Tech says.
“Or her,” Shawn adds.
Ariel nods at them. “Perhaps both. And in a way, it worked. Neither Gabe nor Florence ever went home again.”
“I still don’t understand,” Jamie says. “How did they get everyone to leave? To stay quiet?”
“It was late at night and the guests smelled the smoke,” Ariel says, like it’s simple.
“They heard that a young, prominent woman was dead. People panicked. And as the owners got those guests safely off the island, it came with a warning. A warning to stay quiet. To walk away. Most weren’t really in a place to argue—after all, the Starline had been keeping their secrets for years.
It was easy to blackmail the Collective.
For the Chasers, well—many didn’t want to get involved.
Call it fear, call it cowardice, call it self-preservation.
Eventually, time passed and people wanted to forget. ”
Jamie looks down at his hands, thinking this over. I’m reminded that in the rooms at the Starline, people’s bags were left behind. It makes sense that they left in the middle of the night, frightened. And I’m not going to judge them for not going back. I don’t know what they went through.
“So what happened to Florence?” Tech asks. “Was it an accident?”
Ariel hums out a sound, noncommittal. “Well, someone started that fire. But… no one saw Alex there that night. And back in Cape Hope, the story had already circulated. The family was told that Florence died in a fire, burned to ashes alongside the Starline Hotel. They blamed Gabriel Mendez, local dock worker. And no one denied it.”
“And he came here,” Tech says. “Far enough to hide, but not too far away from his family.”
“Exactly,” Ariel says. “He kept up on the coverage, but just as quickly as it was mentioned, it was gone. The story. The hotel. The island. You see, shortly after the fire, the town council began passing all sorts of flood controls and water diversions. Hundreds of them.” She nods to accentuate how strange it is.
“By the next year, half the Everglades had been dredged, the water rerouted. And with it… Rum Runner Island disappeared.”
“And that’s why no one found the Starline again,” I say, turning to Tech. “You were right. They changed the waterways.”
He nods, neither of us acknowledging that we’d been there. I turn back to Ariel.
“And no one ever accused Alessandro Mancini of killing his fiancé?” I ask, incredulous. “It’s always the husband, or in this case, the fiancé.”
“Of course not,” Ariel says. “This is the Mancini family we’re talking about.”
“Yeah,” Jamie says, “but back then, they didn’t have a lot money. They had nothing.”
“That’s not entirely true,” Ariel says. “Maybe in polite company, but every adult in Cape Hope knows about the Mancini family. They owned the Starline Hotel, off the books, of course. On paper? They didn’t look like much. But then they got the life insurance policy,” Ariel says, like it’s obvious.
“The what?” Tech asks, and sits up a little straighter. I look at Shawn and she widens her eyes, as if it all suddenly makes sense.
“Yes,” Ariel says, looking around. “Florence had a massive life insurance policy, paid out to her new fiancé as part of their prenup. It was worth about ten million at the time.”
“Holy shit,” I murmur. “That’s a lot of money. Was that standard?”
“For her family, yes,” Ariel says. “But to be paid to the fiancé—unusual. And Gabe thought maybe that was too much of a coincidence. He always thought Alex was guilty, but whether he started that fire to stop Florence from leaving him or to collect the money, we just don’t know.
Either way, he got paid. He used that insurance money to help fund the Augustus Resort along with Florence’s parents.
He became head of the city council. Alex Mancini is still intimidating the people of Cape Hope. Some things never change.”
“They’re buying up all the property,” I tell her. “They’re about to take our house and our business, too. They even have politicians on their side.”
“In their pocket,” she says to clarify. “They got those people elected, and over the years, they’ve only gotten stronger.
Many of my friends from Cape Hope left because of the threats of financial ruin.
It runs deep,” she adds. “And it’s not just threats.
Not after what happened to my friend Gina Tamayo.
She tried to write a story to pique public interest, get more exposure for the case. ”
“I read that piece,” Jamie says. “It was one of the only stories out there.”
“Because she was killed shortly after. An accident, of course,” she adds sarcastically.
“Her motorcycle wiped out near the bridge. No mention of the tire marks that pushed her off the road. The quick cremation. It was murder.” She shakes her head.
“Even now, I’m not sure if I’m doing the right thing telling you about this.
I’m not worried about me, but I am worried about what could happen if you move forward with this information.
I can’t protect you, Tech,” she tells him.
“Any of you. I’m not sure the truth can protect you either. ”
“So what do we do?” I ask her, disheartened.
“They killed someone else—a friend of mine. I think it’s possible Mancini had him killed and left him in the marsh.
And they’ve already started covering it up.
There’s a chance they’ll need another scapegoat, and I’m scared it’s going to be one of us.
How do we stop them? How do we fight back? ”
She presses her lips together sadly. “I wish I knew the answer. But now”—she motions to the journal—“now you know the truth about Gabriel. At least I gave him that in the end.”
Ariel’s phone vibrates and she glances down at it. “I’m sorry,” she says distractedly. “It’s my boyfriend, and… he doesn’t know about any of this, not even who Gabe really was.” She shrugs. “I’m sorry, but—”
“We’ll go,” Tech says, standing up. He holds the journal close to him. “But thank you for this, Ariel. By the way… Grandma says dinner is at four on Sunday, if you want to join us. I hope you will. It’s time for the family to get back together.”
The offer seems to hit Ariel in the heart. Her eyes well up before she sniffles and looks away. When the moment passes, she comes over to give us each a hug goodbye. She pauses at Jamie, tilting his head to look at his black eye.
“You look like hell, kid,” she tells him. “Now, stay out of trouble.” Then she gives him a big squeeze.
Ariel waits in the doorway as we leave, and I hear the soft click of the door behind us once we’re on the street.
We head toward the dock, but none of us says anything at first.
It’s funny how life can be a mix of relief and hopelessness. We’ve nearly solved this entire mystery, and yet justice seems further away than ever. We have no proof about what happened to Florence, and even if we did, it doesn’t seem like anyone in Cape Hope would listen to us.
I understand why Gabriel left town. He didn’t stand a chance. The question I have now is how Felix got mixed up in all this. Because the prime suspect… is his own uncle, Alessandro Mancini.
As we approach the dock, my mind is reeling. I step in front of the group and hold up my hands to stop them. Tech keeps the journal clutched to his chest.
“We need to make a plan,” I say. “There has to be someone in Cape Hope we can trust. Someone who can help us get the last pieces of this puzzle.”
“I can’t believe I’m going to say this,” Shawn says on an exhale, “but what about Sheriff Castillo?”
I don’t answer right away, and my hesitance scares me. He is my uncle. I’ve known him my whole life. But right now… I don’t think I can trust him. Watching me, Shawn nods as if she can read my answer without me having to say it out loud.
“The only person I trust right now is my mother,” Tech says, shaking his head. “It seems that everyone else in Cape Hope has an agenda. We’ll have to—”
He stops talking, staring over my shoulder toward the dock. We all turn and see movement next to Jamie’s boat. It’s after ten p.m. No one on this quiet island would be out walking around.
Two figures appear, loitering like they’re waiting for us. The taller man crosses his arms over his chest. I shift on my feet, shocked that I recognize them.
“Those are the detectives,” I say, my heart racing. “They’re the ones who asked me if Ellis was back in Cape Hope.” I spin to look at Tech. “What if they found him?”
He smiles fast, a flash of hope. Ellis would be someone we can trust.
“Detectives?” Jamie repeats darkly, stepping forward. “No, those are the guys from earlier—my father’s associates. Those are the assholes who tried to kill me!”
I turn to Jamie, my eyes wide. I look back at the men, seeing they are waiting to meet us next to the water.
My heart deflates as my earlier hope turns to fear.