I swallowed, recalling the stream of blood dripping from Courtney’s mouth after I’d punched her.
“It was probably Emma or Gigi, but what if they think it was you?” Beth turned to me as she moved around a large rock.
It was me,I wanted to say, but something in the way Beth was eyeing me made me hold back. Gigi already knew. Would she think I’d left Courtney to die on purpose if I told her and Emma the truth?
“I’m just worried how it might look,” Beth continued. “I say we tell them everything except for you finding Courtney. Then, we’ll get to the van as fast as we can and call for help. Getting a rescue team up here ASAP will be Courtney’s best chance of survival.”
I gazed at the tree line to our left, noting the late afternoon sun had dipped below the treetops.That makes sense,I thought. But just as some tension released from my shoulders, another thought raced through my mind.
“Beth, what if Courtney’s alive and she catches up to us? Or a rescue team finds her, and she tells them I found her before we fought, and I left?”
Beth’s brown eyes searched mine. “Do you really think she could still be alive?”
I envisioned the huge mountain lion, and the size of its teeth when it snarled. How it was crouched—in hunting mode—when it went after Courtney.
“Come on.” Beth tugged at my arm. “We need to keep going if we want a chance to reach the van before dark.”
I pondered Beth’s warning as we kept walking. Was Courtney’s phone still in her backpack or did she have it on her? Was it wrecked by being in the water? If Gigi told the others how I punched Courtneylast night, and if the police found the photo on Courtney’s phone of me holding the dish soap in the locker room—evidence that Courtney could’ve been blackmailing me and that we’d lied about what happened to Emma—how would that look?
I stared at the Sol Duc’s white water rushing past us. Ididleave Courtney to die. I did nothing to save her, not even warn her until it was too late. Then, when Courtney didn’t believe me, I’d run away rather than convince Courtney she was in danger. Would I go to prison if I told the truth?
Gigi’s tall frame emerged from a row of trees up ahead. She waved her arms in the air, making sure we saw her. Beyond her, I spotted Emma perched on a stump with her injured leg extended in front of her.
Gigi jogged toward us. “What happened to you guys? Are you okay?”
“I fell in the river and got caught under a log.” Beth gestured to me. “Palmer saved me.”
Gigi’s hand flew to her mouth. “Oh my—”
“After Palmer nearly got attacked by a cougar,” Beth added.
Gigi gasped, lowering her hand. “What about Courtney?” Her worried gaze darted between me and Beth. “Did you find her?”
Beth looked at me, allowing me to answer.
I shook my head, avoiding Beth’s gaze. “No. We couldn’t find her.”
Chapter Forty-Four
Present: Day Six at Sea
I follow Emma up to the cockpit. Russell is at the helm, wearing the same color of navy polo shirt he’s worn this whole trip, plus sunglasses and a baseball hat.
Russell doesn’t greet us, even though he had to have seen us come on deck. I can’t blame him, considering what I did to his sister. I take a seat on one of the cockpit benches, noting the swells aren’t as high as they were yesterday.
Emma moves to the back of the cockpit and lifts her gaze to assess the sails. Before we came up, Emma had tucked the diary into her sweatshirt. I take a drink from my coffee, which spills onto my pants as the boat tilts, and wait for Emma to ask Russell about the ripped-out pages.
She turns to him. “We need to let out the sails now that the wind has decreased. Here.” She hands me her coffee, which I hold away from my legs while Russell uncoils the line around a winch near the helm and lets out the jib.
As Russell rewraps the line around the winch, Emma goes to the front of the cockpit and lets out the mainsail halyard until the mainsailbubbles out into a taut curve. After securing the line, Emma reclaims her mug from me and takes a drink.
The three of us sit in awkward silence. I throw Russell a sideways glance. He’s looking in my direction, but with his sunglasses on I can’t tell if he’s staring at me.
Either he or Beth drugged Emma.Or Courtney,a voice in my head says before I force the thought from my mind. Russell’s been lying this whole time: first about who he was, then about the note he left in the bathroom. He had to have written it and probably studied Courtney’s handwriting after finding her diary. I watch Emma step around a shroud on the foredeck. Had she drugged herself so no one would suspect her? If Courtney’s diary was all about us, then why would Russell rip pages out of it? It makes more sense that Emma or Beth ripped them out, not wanting the rest of us—or the police—to see what was in there.
I take a sip from my mug and wonder if Russell’s discovered his missing gun yet. I choke on my coffee, remembering leaving his gun under my pillow.
I cough. Russell watches me, his mouth set in a hard line. I should’ve kept his gun on me. Now it’s with Beth. What if she tries to use it? Or what if he knows that I took it? I warily assess his muscular upper body. I would be no match for his strength if he tries to throw me overboard.
