Page 96 of Hidden Tide

Willow’s voice comes sharply through the speaker.

“I know that restaurant.”

“How?” I ask.

“The owner buys seafood from the same supplier I use. He came into my kitchen two months ago and asked about Grandpa, and he said he remembered Grandpa always had a beautiful watch. He wondered what had happened to it.”

The room goes still.

“What did you tell him?” Keating asks.

“That I kept it in my office.”

Ben closes his eyes.

That’s how they found it.

“What was the owner’s name?” Marquez asks.

“Elliot Bell.”

Thomas’s cane slips from his hand and strikes the floor.

“Arthur’s son.”

Agent Marquez begins issuing orders into her phone.

Keating signals to two Coast Guard officers.

“I want a federal team at the Blue Lantern. Quiet approach. No sirens.”

Willow makes a frightened sound.

“He knows where we are.”

“How?” I demand.

“I told him about the beach house. We were talking about family recipes, and I said I was spending a few days there with them.”

Keating reaches for his radio.

Before he can speak, gunfire erupts through Ward’s phone.

Willow screams.

“Get down!” a deputy shouts from the other end.

The line fills with breaking glass and shouting.

I grab the phone from Ward.

“Willow!”

No one answers.

“Willow!”

Another shot cracks through the speaker.