“I think we need to go home. It’s time,” Cass said after a long pause. “I can’t stand it here anymore. Every shadow feels like it’s watching me.”
Tosh reached for her hand, giving it a squeeze. “We can all get out of here tonight if you want. I think I need a break from the island as well.”
Zach nodded. “I love this place, but yeah. We need space. The sooner the better. We can hit the early ferry in the morning, or move fast and take the last one tonight.”
Cass let out a shaky breath. “Good. I didn’t want to leave with you guys still here. I’d be a nervous wreck. You’re more than friends—you’re family.”
“We feel the same,” Zach said.
Harmony smiled, though her eyes stayed distant. “We can all run from the island, but problems travel well. It might not be about this place. It might just be about us.”
Tosh frowned. “Are you saying we brought this on ourselves? That it’s our fault?”
“I’m saying that places don’t make monsters,” Harmony said. “Other people make them.”
Cass turned toward her. “What do you think about Janie? Maybe she was the one helping Torie and ran before she got busted. She had to see that Torie was coming apart.”
In all that had happened, they’d all forgotten Janie. And that, more than anything, felt like a mistake the island would punish. Besides, it was shocking since the woman liked to make a splash. She wasn’t forgotten too often.
“I don’t know,” Harmony said after a moment.
A chill settled over the group.
“Well, I know she’s been gone for a week now with nobody hearing a thing and no activity on her social media. And her red dress . . . the one they found snagged in the Gardens? That wasn’t an accident. Was it staged? I don’t know what to think,” Cass said. “She just vanished, and the police have zero leads. Is she a victim . . . or an accomplice?”
“No,” Tosh said. “I don’t want to go down that road. Mary is gone. Janie is gone. I don’t want to think that more than one person was involved. I don’t want to imagine that this might never end.”
Zach frowned deeply. “We might not want to face it, but Cass is right. Mary is gone, and Janie’s missing. With all that’shappened, I don’t know if we’re ever going to feel safe again. It’s messed up. This island has always been my refuge.”
Cass lowered her voice. “Do you think Torie might’ve—”
“No,” Tosh cut in. “Torie really lost it, but there’s no way she killed Janie. They were close. And she was already being watched too closely when Janie disappeared. She told me that she kept seeing a patrol car where it didn’t belong.”
Harmony set her spoon down. She looked at each of them in turn. “Then where is she?”
The question silenced them. The only sound was the lazy hum of a ceiling fan above, its blades slicing the sunlight into slow-moving patterns across the table.
“What if she’s hurt somewhere?” Cass whispered.
“Or she could’ve left,” Zach offered. “Maybe she was scared and took off. Maybe she couldn’t handle it.”
“Or maybe she was run off like she’s been before,” Harmony pointed out. “She’s never been the type to stick around when the going gets tough.”
Tosh continued studying his coffee as if it might hold all the answers. When he finally looked up, his eyes were darker. “I think if she’s gone, it wasn’t by choice. That’s not how things work around here anymore.”
Harmony hid her agreement. Sometimes the island didn’t take people—it removed them. The words were dark, but possibly true.
Cass drew her cardigan tighter around herself. Zach glanced toward the door, as if expecting Janie to walk through at any moment. Harmony sat still, serene, as if she already knew the answers.
Tosh pushed his chair back. “I don’t want to sit here and talk circles anymore. I’m going to see if they need help looking for her and Mary.”
“I’ll go with you,” Cass said, jumping up to stand at his side.
Zach hesitated, then nodded. “I’ll meet you down at the rescue station after I talk to a few people.”
Harmony stayed seated. They all turned to her.
“Aren’t you coming, Harmony?” Tosh asked, brows furrowed.
