Page 38 of Hidden Tide

“But Jonathan never reached the meeting.”

“No.”

I pictured him alone inside the mountain.

A camera in his hands.

Grandpa’s ring on his finger.

Trying to gather enough evidence to stop August Ross.

“Someone shot him before he could deliver the film.”

Ben squeezed my hand.

“The medical examiner will determine what he can. Let the evidence tell us what happened.”

“You sound like Agent Morales.”

“She’s good at her job.”

“You’ve known her for a few hours.”

“She doesn’t make promises before she has facts. I respect that.”

“So do I.”

Ben smiled.

“What?”

“You hate waiting for facts.”

“That doesn’t mean I don’t respect them.”

“No. It means you intend to find them faster.”

I nudged his shoulder.

He kissed the top of my head.

Outside, the sky began turning gray.

For the first time all night, I let my eyes close.

At six fifteen, we left the beach house.

Lieutenant Harper drove the first Coast Guard vehicle with Mom, Thomas, Nathan, Willow, and Hazel. Storm and Ward rode in the second with Ivy.

Ben and I followed in a third vehicle driven by another officer.

The drive to the Coast Guard station took thirty-seven minutes.

I counted.

We traveled south along the coastal highway while the sun rose over the mountains. The ocean appeared between the trees in flashes of blue and silver.

Blackwater remained north of us.