who knew that some ghosts couldn’t be outrun and some nightmares followed you forever.
“I did my homework, too,” she said, turning the tables on this man who had a way of making her face things she didn’t want to face. “You’re pretty famous for a cop.”
“I never wanted to be famous.” Curt words, a flat tone.
Anahera knew she shouldn’t push it, that some darkness a man was permitted to have, permitted to keep secret, but he’d started this and she was in no mood to cut him any slack. “Most cops don’t have a big shiny medal pinned to their chest by the leader of the country. Most cops don’t face off against a violent drug addict holding five children as hostages and manage to take down the addict without loss of life. You’re a goddamn national hero. So what’re you doing in Golden Cove?”
A storm in his eyes. “Don’t believe everything you hear in the media.”
Silence.
“There’s another thing,” she said into the heavy weight of it. “Miriama’s currently the center of attention of the entire town. How would that fit in with Kyle’s pathology, if he is a psychopath?”
Will leaned forward, bracing his arms on the table in an echo of her position. He nodded slowly. “That’s a good point. Kyle really doesn’t like being anything but the center of attention. If he did this, he miscalculated how many people care about her—maybe in his mind, she’d just be forgotten, shrugged off.”
Shadows grim across his face. “The only way Kyle can take back the spotlight is if he’s the one to find Miriama. If he did something to her, even if it started out as a cruel prank, it’s gone too far. He can’t find her alive now and still get away with it.”
“Jesus.” Anahera shoved a hand through her hair and, instead of reaching for the wine, got up and poured herself a mug of coffee. Bringing over the teakettle, she topped up Will’s mug as well, then put the teakettle on the table between them and retook her seat. “Are we seriously considering the possibility that Miriama is dead?”
“No. Until I see a body, she’s alive. Hurt, perhaps badly, but not dead.” He leaned back in his seat. “And Kyle’s not the only person I have on my radar.”
When he didn’t say anything further, Anahera raised both eyebrows. “You’re not going to go all ‘this is confidential police business’ on me now, are you?”
“You’re a stranger I barely know,” he replied in the mild tone she’d warned him against using on her.
This time, she thought it was deliberate, meant to irritate.
Leaning back in her own chair, she took a sip of coffee before responding in a tone exactly as mild. “Shall I tell you what I heard this afternoon?” Then, as he listened, she went through her list of points. Of how most people had talked about continuing the search, but how she had the feeling everyone thought Miriama was gone. “Kyle said something about her maybe having been taken by the sea. He posed it as a question, kind of hesitant, unsure.”
“That’s what he said to me, too—only he wasn’t uncertain or hesitant.” Will placed his mug on the table. “Interesting, isn’t it?”
The chill yet in her blood, Anahera blew out a quiet breath. “ ‘Interesting’ isn’t the word I’d use.”
“Did anyone mention the three hikers who disappeared fifteen years ago?”
Anahera frowned. “Yes—Tom brought it up, thought we should let you know.” She had to push past her continued dislike of sharing information about her friends to say that. “Nikau figured you must already have the details.” She held Will’s eyes. “Kyle would’ve been way too young back then.”
“I’m not sure if Kyle has ever gotten his hands really dirty, though I think he’s fully capable of it,” was the quietly controlled response. “But we can’t allow him to twist the focus onto himself—he probably said half the things he said to me today for exactly that reason. To manipulate the spotlight.”
“I also met Vincent’s wife.” Anahera replayed those moments inside her mind. “Doesn’t reflect well on me, but I didn’t expect to see her there. I’d just filed her in the ‘rich ladies who do lunch and attend fancy charity events’ category.”
“Why did you have that impression?” Will asked softly, the mildness in his voice replaced by humming interest. “Have you ever met her before?”
Anahera shook her head. “I couldn’t make it to their wedding—that was when the big volcano erupted and grounded flights.” Even