Chapter Fifteen
The world outside the SUV blurred into streaks of frost and gray sky as they left the municipal complex. Not quite snow. Not quite rain. The kind of weather that made everything look washed out. Like a memory losing its edges.
JT and Rachel drove ahead of them now with Will behind, keeping a careful watch in the rearview mirror.
Maya was grateful to have Asa seated next to her.
She didn’t know when she’d started measuring safety by proximity to him, but right now—if someone told her she had to get through the next hour without hearing his voice—she wasn’t sure she could.
She pressed her forearm against the cold window and stared out of it.
“Someone erased me. Not just my file. My whole origin story.”
“We’ll find out who,” Asa said, his voice full of conviction.
She looked his way. “You sound so sure.”
“I am,” he said simply. “Because whoever did this left threads behind. They always do. People hide things, but they’re terrible at erasing them.”
Vanessa Warren. Her mother. It hurt to think she’d probably never get to know her. What were her dreams? Had she loved Maya’s father? She’d never get to hear her mother say “I love you” again.
Asa’s fingers closed around hers, warm and firm, grounding her. The SUV hummed around them. Maya stared at their joined hands. She hadn’t held someone’s hand in years. A tremor ran through her—not fear, exactly, but something more dangerous. Hope.
Will’s voice pulled her attention away from the tender moment. “We have a possible lead.”
Asa’s brows shot up. “What’s the name?”
“Troy Malbern.”
“Malbern? Where have I heard that name before?” Asa asked
“He used to own the Hardesty farm before they bought it from him when he was broke,” Will told them.
“According to the Hardesty children, who now own the property jointly since their parents’ deaths, Malbern tried to buy it back, but they didn’t want to sell.
Apparently, he’d show up at the property from time to time.
They’d see him walking around like he still owned the place.
The son told me their father called Raymond to handle it.
He escorted Malbern off the property several times. ”
“So, there was no official report on the incidents?” Asa asked.
“Apparently not.”
“That’s strange,” Maya said. “Does he still live here on the island?”
Will confirmed he did. “On his boat. He’s a fisherman. The guy has a bad temper. Always complaining about some injustice. My officers have had more than one run-in with him through the years.”
Maya stiffened. “You think he was involved?”
“We’re not sure,” Will said, “but it’s possible he knows something.”
Asa squeezed her hand. “This doesn’t mean anything definitive. It’s just a lead.”
Right. A lead. A coincidence that made her stomach coil.
Once they reached the station, Will led them into the briefing room.
The space felt too bright, too sharp after the grayness outside.
He stepped away to speak with one of his officers, then joined them.
“We may have a new piece of the puzzle.” He peeled off his gloves.
“My officer was able to track down the old dispatcher from Raymond Dutton’s years. Margaret Cormier is living in Alaska.”
Rachel blinked. “Is she willing to talk?”
“The officer said she sounded nervous,” Will admitted. “But she agreed to a call. She said she remembers something.”
Asa shifted in his seat beside Maya. “What kind of something?”
Will exhaled. “Something about the night Raymond made his final distress call and something about a woman and child hidden on the Hardesty property.”
The room went silent. Everyone turned toward Maya. Her pulse slammed against her ribs.
Asa leaned closer. He must have sensed her distress.
“Ready?” Will asked Maya.
Maya swallowed hard. “Yes. I’m ready.”
Will put the phone on speaker. A single ring, then a fragile voice lined with age and memory filled the room. “Hello?”
“Ms. Cormier,” Will said. “This is Chief Kelly. Thank you for speaking with us. I have my investigative team with me.”
“Oh . . . oh my.” Paper rustled. “All right. I suppose it’s time someone knew.”
Maya’s breath hitched.
“Ms. Cormier, my officer said you mentioned a woman and child earlier? What can you tell us about them?” Will asked.
The lady on the line went quiet. When she spoke again, her voice crackled like brittle paper.
“I talked to Raymond the day before the distress call came in. He told me he’d hidden a woman and child out at the Hardesty place.
By that time, the family had moved away, even though they still kept the place. ”
Maya’s lungs forgot how to work.
Asa pressed her hand.
“He said it wasn’t safe for them anywhere else, and that I shouldn’t tell anyone what he told me—” Ms. Cormier paused for a long moment. “That the man coming after them was dangerous, and he believed closer than anyone realized.”
The room froze.
“I asked him who the woman and child were,” the dispatcher went on. “How did he know them? He told me the woman was a witness to a case he’d been working on. He said he brought her to Hope Island because she witnessed something terrible.”
“Like what?” Asa asked.
“I’m not sure. He wouldn’t tell me what he was working on, but from what I gathered, it wasn’t a case that took place on Hope Island.
It was out of his jurisdiction and much bigger than anything that happened on the island back then.
” Ms. Cormier hesitated. “When the woman called that night, she told me she needed Raymond there immediately. That he had found them. That’s what she said. ‘He found us.’”
“Where did the call originate from?” Will asked.
“From the Hardesty farmhouse near Chief Dutton’s place.”
A sound escaped Maya’s lips. Not a sob. More like a breath crushed in half.
“Do you know why Raymond wouldn’t have called for backup?” Rachel asked.
“I’m guessing he was worried about a leak. Both Malone and Hale were on call that night. I’m sure they overheard the call. Anyway, the woman told me to tell Raymond about the loose ends in the barn, so I relayed the message.”
Will’s voice sharpened. “Did she say anything else about the person following her?”
“No,” Margaret Cormier whispered. “Just that she’d seen the man’s vehicle parked down the road. A white SUV. She sounded terrified.”
Will jerked back slightly. “White SUV? Are you sure?”
“Yes. Positive.”
“Hang on a second.” Will muted the call and stared at the table, jaw clenched. “Malbern drove an old white SUV back then.”
Maya’s pulse spiked.
“Ms. Cormier,” Will said, returning to the call. “Is there anything else you remember?”
The woman emitted a shaky breath. “Just this. That night, when I radioed Raymond, he said he’d do anything to protect them. Anything.”
Silence followed by a collective exhale of grief, dread, and revelation.
“Thank you,” Will said, his voice low. “You’ve helped more than you know. As I said earlier, we have the young woman who was found in the barn that night with us. We’re trying to help her and Raymond’s son piece together what really happened.”
“Oh, sweet child,” Margaret whispered, her voice directed unmistakably toward Maya.
“I remember you being brought into the station that night. You looked so small and fragile, unable to say a word.” A shaky breath became audible.
“You survived something terrible. Don’t let it steal any more of your life.
” With those words, the call disconnected.
Maya sat frozen long after the speaker went silent.
Raymond had hidden them. Protected them. Died trying to save them.
Her mother had been running from someone trying to silence her, and Maya hadn’t been forgotten. Someone had known. Someone had helped. Her voice came out in a rasp. “I’m sorry, Asa. Your father died because of us.”
Asa swung fully toward her. “No. He died doing the right thing. There’s a difference.”
She shook her head. “If he hadn’t—”
“As long as you’re breathing,” Asa said, firm enough to cut through her panic, “Dad’s death wasn’t wasted. He made a choice.” His hand rose hesitantly to her cheek. He brushed away the tears she didn’t remember shedding. “You were worth saving,” he whispered.
The room around them faded. Team members shifted in their seats. Will slipped his phone into his pocket. JT murmured something to Declan.
None of it mattered.
Only Asa’s hand on her cheek.
His breath close.
The fierce tenderness in his eyes.
“You’re shaking,” he murmured.
“Because everything feels like it’s falling apart.”
“No,” he corrected softly. “It’s falling into place.”
She exhaled, the sound tremulous. “I don’t know how to breathe in all of this.”
“Then breathe with me.”
She did. When she leaned into him—just enough for her forehead to briefly touch his shoulder—he didn’t move away. He held her. Steadied her without asking for anything in return. It wasn’t a declaration. It wasn’t a kiss, but it was more intimate than either.
Will cleared his throat and addressed the room. “We follow up on Malbern. Quietly. No assumptions, no accusations, but we need eyes on him ASAP.”
Rachel nodded.
JT jotted notes.
Declan cracked his knuckles.
Eli muttered something about digging into property taxes.
Maya felt Asa’s gaze on her again. “You okay?” he whispered.
“No, but I’m not alone.”
“That’s progress,” he said with a slow, rough smile.
When she slid her hand back into his under the table, he held on, as if he’d been waiting for her to reach out first.