“What is it?”
“I’m just thinking through the possible reasons theEndeavor Spirit, orSpecter’s Bounty, is still floating around. It wouldn’t be the only recent abandoned boat. I could list a few.”
“Please don’t. I believe you.”
“Supposedly it was already towed and escaped during a storm. Weather patterns could have sent it out to the high seas and out of reach. Dense fog could keep it hidden. You name it. The Coast Guard patrols a specific region with their goals in mind—capturing drug runners, for instance. With their priorities, their resources are probably stretched thin, and ifSpecter’s Bountydidn’t pose a threat, it would be a low priority.”
“You mentioned the DNR.”
“Yes. If other agencies can’t solve an issue surrounding a vessel, they often reach out to the DNR, but that’s more local—state, county, and harbor kind of local. It doesn’t sound like theSpecter’s Bountyhas stayed local long enough for the DNR to be called in.”
“What’s really bothering you?”
“My overactive imagination, that’s all.”
“Let’s hear it.”
“I was thinking, what if someone doesn’t want it to be found?”
“You mean someone intentionally sabotages the discovery? Or provides false leads? Why?”
“Like I said. Overactive imagination.”
Try, she was more aware of the world in which her mother operated than she was willing to admit.
“At any rate, maybe it’s not considered a big threat,” she said. “And it’s not a pressing concern.”
“Not a pressing concern? People are missing,” he said. If he ever got closure on what happened to his father, it wouldn’t be soon enough—but that mystery would never be solved.
“I know this topic is a reminder of what happened to your father. I’m not sure the authorities—whoever towed the boat to begin with—don’t know what happened to them. We should keep digging.”
“And in the meantime, we have the folklore surrounding a ghost ship warning people about the dangers out in the deep sea. I’d say that authorities could even dismiss any sightings of it, except for Remi’s pictures.” He’d admired her photographs the first time he’d seen them at the Cedar Trails Lodge.
Cressida nodded and turned to stare straight ahead as if dismissing their conversation.
“I should get you back.” On the drive, Braden gave Cressida her space. The same space he needed to process the information they’d learned. Octavia had insisted he see this through, but to what end? What could he and Cressida discover that her father, Alaric, might have also uncovered—something dangerous enough to get him killed? Octavia’s request confused him. She had to know some of the truth, if not most of it, and she had to realize that continuing on this path could put him and Cressida in more danger—and Cressida was already there.
Same as her father.
And Braden was walking a very thin line, keeping what little he knew from Cressida.
Finally, he parked at Cedar Trails Lodge. He was unsure how to inform her he planned to stay at the lodge tonight, or if he even should.
She looked at him. “Thanks for today, Braden. The rental company is bringing me the car tomorrow. A day late, but at least they’re bringing it. So you don’t have to babysit me.”
Her smile seemed forced.
And her words were not what he wanted to hear.
“I need to get a new laptop tomorrow, so I’m going to town,” she added.
“Please be careful. I’m still concerned for your safety. Someone tried to kill you. Aren’t you concerned at all about what you’re digging into?”
“You’re going to let what Sheryl said creep you out?”
Well, it was more than that, and he needed to tell her, but the problem was, he didn’t exactly knowwhathe needed to tell her. Had her father stirred up danger that somehow got him killed? He would contact a friend in law enforcement and see what he could learn about Alaric’s death.
But before he did that ... “Have dinner with me tonight?”
