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Hidden Tide

Page 91

by Susie McIver

“Cross wants to hurt this family.”

“That doesn’t mean he was lying.”

Thomas’s hands tighten around his cane.

“Your husband came to my boathouse the morning after the argument. He asked me to keep something safe for him.”

“The safe-deposit box,” Nathan says.

“No. A roll of film.”

Ivy’s voice comes through Ward’s phone. “What happened to it?”

“He took it with him when he left.”

“Why didn’t you stop him?” Mom asks.

“He told me he was going to meet a federal agent.”

“Did he give you the agent’s name?”

“No.”

Keating pulls out his notebook. “Where was the meeting supposed to happen?”

“Near Lands End. He said the agent wanted to meet somewhere public with an open view of the water.”

My throat tightens.

Dad loved Lands End. He used to take us along the coastal trail when we were little. Storm and I would run ahead while Willow held Hazel’s hand and Ivy stopped every few feet to take pictures with a disposable camera.

“How did Dad die?” Hazel whispers through the phone.

“I thought he died at sea.”

“Isn’t that what we were told?”

No one answers.

She knows the official story.

We all do.

But tonight, it sounds different.

Thomas looks toward Ward’s phone.

“His car went through a guardrail on the Great Highway shortly after midnight.”

“The police said he lost control in the fog,” Mom says. “They said the road was wet.”

“His brakes failed.”

My skin turns cold.

Storm stares at Thomas. “Brake failure was in the report?”

“Yes.”