Harbour Falls (A Harbour Falls Mystery #1)(104)

I couldn’t wait any longer to see who was in the picture. Not another minute. I ran back down to the Lexus, wrenched the door open, and sat back down. Pulse racing, mouth dry, I pulled the envelope from my jacket pocket. I flipped it over, tore the flap, pulled out the piece of copy paper, unfolded it…



No no no! It couldn’t be.

But the image before me wasn’t lying. With my mouth agape, I stared and stared. The envelope—now as empty as the one in evidence—fluttered to the floor.

Oh. My. God.



Finally I blinked. But I continued to stare at the image of the Polaroid photo Jimmy had copied. It depicted exactly what he had claimed it would—an image of a blonde woman clearly making out with Chelsea Hannigan. Maybe it had all been part of a bet, but neither party appeared to be just “goofing around.” They both looked like they were into it. Way into it. Well, maybe the blonde more so than Chelsea.

And I knew that blonde. I could deny it all I wanted, but the image showed the truth. The mystery woman was a mystery no longer. The mystery woman had been my best friend in high school. And she was currently missing. Yes, the blonde mystery woman kissing Chelsea Hannigan was none other than Ami Dubois-Hensley. And what did that mean?

Ami had been involved with Chelsea, obviously. Did that mean Ami knew what happened to her? God, had she done something to her? But Ami was missing now as well, so maybe she’d known too much. Maybe someone had silenced Ami. Is that why she’d been trying to protect me? Was she afraid that if I knew what she knew, then I’d be in danger of disappearing too? But what had Ami known?

I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the photo and what it depicted. This was the reason Jimmy was dead. Why was it so imperative that this picture remain undiscovered?

I shoved the photo back into my jacket pocket and started toward the lighthouse.

Adam.

How did he fit into all of this? Had he known who was in the photo all along? Was that the reason he’d downplayed its significance? Or would he be just as surprised as I was to find out who was in this picture with Chelsea?



I couldn’t imagine Adam keeping Ami on as an employee if he’d know about her and his fiancée. Or was his involvement much more insidious? I was sickened as I imagined all the ways Adam could possibly be a part of this. And if he were, then I’d been played thoroughly…and set up perfectly to take the fall.

As I neared the lighthouse, heavy clouds rolled in, eclipsing the sun. I passed the café, but it was dark inside, the sign on the door flipped to display the “closed” side. Weird, it had been open less than an hour ago. Why was it closed now?

I drove until I reached the end of the road, parking the car close to the edge of the sidewalk where it was only a short walk to the top of the steep, uneven steps that trailed precariously down the side of the cliff. I got out of the car, walked the path I’d traveled with Adam weeks ago. When I reached the edge, I looked down. A fog had rolled in over the dark rocks, engulfing the base of the tall, looming lighthouse in the distance.

Here goes nothing, I thought.

Carefully I began the descent, negotiating my way down the slippery, worn steps. A gust of icy November air cut through my thin jacket, making me shiver. The temperature was dropping, the winds picking up in intensity. When I finally reached the base of the steps, I had to fight the urge to turn around and head back to get a heavier coat. But I forged ahead, knowing that Adam was waiting in the lighthouse.

This may be Adam’s surprise, I thought, but I have a surprise of my own. Far from forgetting about everything that had happened over the past several days, as had been the plan, we were going to face it.

That’s right. I had every intention of showing Adam the photo. In fact, I was banking on his reaction to determine just how much he’d known, and possibly kept from me, all this time.

Resolved, and with surprising dexterity, I navigated the slippery, oily-black surfaces of the rocks, closer and closer to the lighthouse. The dark waves crashed all around me, and through a thin veil of fog, I saw a flickering of golden illumination streaming through the small lighthouse windows. Candles, perhaps?



Adam had promised something special. Maybe he’d managed to set up a romantic dinner in the structure. He could have easily instructed Max to make the necessary preparations while he’d been flying back. Maybe that was why I hadn’t seen Max all day?

High tide was coming in, and the waves—now black as a velvet night in the dying light of day—continued to crash over the imposing rocky terrain. It was totally desolate down here. What the hell was I doing? I could be walking right into a trap. What if Adam wasn’t even here yet? But then who was waiting in the lighthouse?

I kept on walking, dismissing those crazy thoughts. I reached the sandy path that snaked to the lighthouse entrance. No matter what, I sought the truth. I’d come too far. I was on the cusp of losing a lot. And if my worst fears were realized, meaning the man I loved was involved in all of this, I’d end up losing it all.

I reached the door, and with that thought, I grabbed the cold metal handle and pushed it open. I took a tentative step into the dim, candlelit interior.

The feeling of unease I’d experienced when I’d first visited the lighthouse returned with a vengeance. Something was dreadfully wrong. Every instinct screamed for me to turn back. But I couldn’t walk away now. Even if it meant sacrificing my own sense of self-preservation, I was going in.