Another stranger. “Who is he?”
“No idea. Ms. Connor is working with an agency. They’re paying for his lodging at the old Cooper Motel.” She grimaces. “That place is a dangerous dump. No one should be sleeping there.”
The door opens.
“I got you the last one,” a cheerful voice calls out. Hannah.
She hands Maddie a paper bag and strolls straight over to Scott and Christopher, gesturing to Scott to hand him over.
“Is it blueberry?” Maddie pulls out a muffin.
“I had to fight for it.” Hannah winks.
Maddie picks up where she left off about the newcomer. “He’ll stay in the housekeeper’s suite. Ms. Connor left him a key and some instructions so he could get started.”
“Did they give you a name?” I ask.
Maddie shrugs.
“He just moved here from Miami,” Hannah says. She makes a bubble face, and Christopher stretches his little hand toward her, brushing her bright red hair with his fingers. She blows him a kiss.
“Miami. That’s a long way to move for a cleaning job. Any idea why he’s here?” I ask.
Maddie shakes her head. “Nope.”
“I’ll get the scoop when I check in on him later today,” Hannah says.
“Momma…”
“That’s my cue.” I hug Maddie. “Love you.”
Scott gives Maddie a kiss and gathers up the notebooks. We follow him to the car.
“It’s going to be a nice afternoon for a boat ride,” Scott says, pointing at the sky. His crew is doing some routine maintenance on the ship this afternoon. They’re getting things ready to restart the cave dives.
I absentmindedly count the journals as we walk, noting their colors and textures. Meaningless thoughts. Anything to avoid thinking of them lying in the closet with the rest of Nathan’s dusty things.
Despite myself, I need answers. I want to trust Finn, but his reasons for being here are murky at best. I’ll talk to him and see what I can find out before worrying anyone else.
I close the trunk and drive us to the beach.
CHAPTER 7
The Stranger
After cleaning the Driftwood’s tiny one-bedroom cottage, I walk back to the inn to get started on the rooms upstairs. Today’s my first day on this new live-in assignment. When I checked in with my boss this morning, he told me the owner, Maddie Rickter, had offered me a room so I could work and sleep here, and she added a five-hundred-dollar bonus. I make a mental note to pick up something small at the store and thank her as soon as I see her.
Most of the guests have left for the day, but a few men and women are gathered in the living room watching television and talking. Listening to bits and pieces of their conversation, I’ve gathered that they’re a documentary crew here to film Carter’s Drop, an underwater blue hole that lies about thirty miles offshore.
Carter’s Drop.
It fascinates me.
When I first arrived on the Key, I picked up a few brochures at the general store, eager to explore the island. One pamphlet caught my attention right away:Carter’s Drop, the sinkhole that put Maverick Key on the map. It chronicled the two priorexploration attempts and the controversy surrounding the man who discovered it.
Cave explorer and archaeologist Dr. Nathan Carter. Maddie’s brother.
In the brochure photo, he’s wearing scuba gear and a mask, one hand lifted in a casual wave to whoever’s behind the camera. Even through the mask, his smile is unmistakable. Self-assured, carefree. A man comfortable in his own skin.
