The only thing to disturb the almost total quiet was the sound of the ocean and the distant drone of a generator that supplied the islands electricity.
Carrie wanted a moment to take it all in, but Robert Cochburn seemed in no mood to linger.
Your friends apartment is just over there. He pointed to the pool house. Like the main house, it was white stucco with a red tile roof and a curving staircase that led up to a shady loggia on the second level. Shes on the ground floor.
Thank you for taking the time to come out here with me, Carrie told him. Im not sure I could have found the right island without you. You never said, buthow did Tia know about this place?
She saw one of our newspaper ads, Cochburn said. The same way most of our tenants hear about the apartments.
Carrie nodded. I assumed it was something like that. Well, thanks again for everything.
He smiled. No problem. Glad I could help.
She watched until he disappeared through the gate, then she turned to Tias apartment. Carrie had no idea the kind of reception that was in store for her. Tia was hard to predict. She could be warm and effusive one moment, distant and brooding the next. But Carrie understood better than anyone her friends mood swings.
Bracing herself for Tias possible irritation, Carrie walked up two stone steps and stood in front of a set of French doors that opened onto the courtyard. Shades had been pulled over the panes making it impossible to see inside. She knocked softly at first, but when she got no response, she rapped harder and called out Tias name.
Stepping back from the door, she scanned the other windows, her gaze rising to the loggia. No one was about and the predusk calm that settled over the courtyard seemed ominous, as if the place had been abandoned in a hurry.
Moving back to the door, Carrie knocked again, then tried the latch. It was unlocked, which could mean that if Tia had stepped out for a few minutes, she probably hadnt gone far. Then again, maybe there was no reason to lock doors on Cape Diablo.
Carrie hesitated, not quite sure what to do. She didnt want to intrude on Tias privacy, and yet shed come this far. She couldnt turn around and leave without making sure her friend was all right.
Another thought suddenly occurred to her. Tia had run away from Miami with barely a word to anyone. What if shed already packed up and left Cape Diablo?
Only one way to find out.
Taking a deep breath, Carrie pushed open the door and stepped inside the gloomy apartment.
COCHBURN GLANCED WARILY over his shoulder as he walked up the steps to the old servants quarters located on the south end of the island near the swamp. Hed spotted Nick Draco on the roof of the main house when he and Carrie were in the courtyard so he thought this might be an excellent time to have a look around.
He didnt know why, but he was starting to get nervous about bringing Draco to Cape Diablo. In hindsight, he should have been a little more careful in screening the applicants whod responded to his ad, but there hadnt been that many. And no wonder. Who in their right mind would want to spend a summer working on this godforsaken island?
Nick Draco had seemed the most capable of the lot, and when he hadnt balked over the miniscule wages being offered, Cochburn had hired him on the spot.
But hed been second-guessing his decision ever since. For one thing, the background information Draco had provided on the application seemed a little sketchy, and for another, the guys cold, relentless stare was the most unnerving thing Cochburn had ever experienced.
Draco had the look of a man whod as soon slit your throat as not, and Cochburn was a coward at heart. Always had been. But he also had a vested interest in Cape Diabloand what might be hidden here. According to local legend, Andres had left a fortune buried somewhere on the island. If Draco had come here to look for that money, Cochburn wasnt about to get caught unaware. It wouldnt be the first time a fortune hunter had wormed his way onto the island.
The outbuildings were even more dilapidated than the main house, and as Cochburn crossed the rickety porch, he glanced around in distaste. He supposed some might find the overgrown island quaint and primitive, but he detested coming out here. He preferred the yacht clubs and the exclusive condo communities in Naples.
Cape Diablo was an albatross around his neck, and he couldnt wait to unload it. Unfortunately, because of Andres Santiagos trust, that wasnt going to happen until Alma Garcia was either dead or committed. A missing tenant, however, might go a long way in convincing the authorities that the old girl needed to be institutionalized. EspeciallyGod forbidif evidence of foul play turned up.
With Alma finally out of the way, Cochburn would have free rein of the place. If the money was here, hed find it before he put the place on the market, but in the meantime, he had more pressing worries.
Taking out a handkerchief, he mopped the sweat off his brow as he knocked on the door, even though he already knew the carpenter was still up at the villa. Still, he was wary enough of Draco to take precautions.
Throwing another look over his shoulder, Cochburn took out a key and slipped it into the keyhole. When the door refused to budge, he realized that Draco must have changed the lock. Cochburn gave the knob a frustrated rattle, then withdrew the worthless key and walked over to peer into one of the windows.
Looking for something?
Cochburn froze. He hadnt heard so much as a twig snap in warning, and now the deep timbre of Dracos voice sent a chill up his spine. Sweat trickled down his temples and he swore under his breath. He was no damn good at this. He should have sent a professional to investigate Draco. But the fewer people who knew about the islands secrets, the better.
He gave himself a split second to recover before he turned. Whatever nerve hed managed to recover fled at the sight of Nicholas Draco.
The younger man had taken off his shirt in the heat, and the sheen of sweat along sinewy muscles made Cochburn uncomfortably aware of the spare tire around his middle. He hadnt worked out in years, and in a fair fight against Draco, hed be a dead man. In a dirty fighthed still be a dead man.
Draco propped both arms against the newel posts, but the relaxed pose didnt fool Cochburn. His muscles were bunched, as if ready to spring like a cat, and his gazethat relentless starenever left Cochburns face.
You didnt answer my question, he said softly. Are you looking for something?
Cochburn cleared his throat. Yes, as a matter of fact, I was looking for you. I wanted to ask how youre progressing on the repairs.
One brow lifted. Thats funny because I could have sworn you saw me on the roof a few minutes ago.
Cochburn assumed what he hoped was a look of mild surprise. You were on the roof? Sorry I missed you. I guess I was a little preoccupied.
So I noticed.
Cochburn smiled in a knowing way. Shes a real looker, isnt she?
Draco shrugged. If you like blondes. Who is she?
Her name is Carrie Bishop. Actually, shes the other reason I came down here to find you. Shes a friend of one of the tenantsTia Falcon, the brunette who lives in the pool house. Im sure youve seen her around. When Draco didnt respond, Cochburn said hurriedly, Anyway, she seems to think that something may have happened to her friend.
Draco shrugged. If you like blondes. Who is she?
Her name is Carrie Bishop. Actually, shes the other reason I came down here to find you. Shes a friend of one of the tenantsTia Falcon, the brunette who lives in the pool house. Im sure youve seen her around. When Draco didnt respond, Cochburn said hurriedly, Anyway, she seems to think that something may have happened to her friend.
Why?
Cochburn hesitated. Something about a letter she received, I gather.
And what does any of this have to do with me? When Draco placed a foot on the porch, it was all Cochburn could do not to back away. Unfortunately, he had no place to retreat.
He moistened his lips. I wondered if youd seen her latelysay, in the last day or two.
Draco gave him a quizzical look. I thought you were paying me to fix the roof, not keep tabs on your tenants.
Yes, of course. But it did occur to me that your paths might have crossed. Its a small island. Not much in the way of distractions.
Dracos gaze narrowed. What are you getting at, Cochburn?
Sensing he was treading on dangerous ground, Cochburn immediately backpedaled. Nothing. Nothing at all. I just thought Id alert you to the fact that we have company on the island. If Carrie Bishop doesnt find her friend, she may come down here looking for her.
Then maybe youd better pass on a friendly piece of advice.
The edge in Dracos voice chilled Cochburns blood. Whats that?
If possible, the gray eyes went even colder. You go poking your nose in places it doesnt belong, what you might find is trouble.
TIA? ARE YOU IN HERE? Its meCarrie. She paused just inside the door of the apartment to allow her eyes time to adjust to the dimness.
Slowly the room came into focus, and Carrie glanced around with interest. To the right of the French doors was a small sitting room furnished with wicker chairs and gauzy white curtains and to the left was a kitchenette. Straight ahead an arched doorway led to a shadowy hallway and presumably a bedroom and bath.
It was cool inside the apartment, which meant that the stucco walls were thick enough to keep out the heat. And sound, Carrie realized. Inside, she could no longer hear the generator.
Her gaze moved back to the sitting room. A tiny niche in one wall provided just enough space for an old ebony desk. The surface had been neatly cleared, but the chair had been shoved back and left askew, as if someone had risen abruptly. Carrie frowned when she spotted it.
The misplaced chair was the kind of detail no one else would even have noticed, but she knew her friend too well. Tia was a stickler when it came to her personal space. Everything had to be orderly. Throw rugs positioned precisely. Pillows arranged on the sofa just so. Her tidiness was the one thing she could always control, no matter what.
So what had brought her up from the desk and driven her out of the apartment so quickly that she hadnt taken the time to straighten the chair or lock the door?
Carrie tried to convince herself she was making too much of that chair, but the premonition that had gripped her for days wouldnt let go. Something was wrong. She could feel it.
Had Tias nightmares come back? Had they driven her from her own wedding and brought her here, to the almost complete isolation of Cape Diablo? Had she tried to shut them out by pulling the blinds over the windows and immersing herself in another familys tragedy?
Or was something far more sinister at work here? Had Tia inadvertently stumbled upon the answer to a thirty-year-old mystery?
Carrie turned to search the rest of the apartment. As she made her way down the narrow corridor, she became aware of a smell. Something faint. A lingering odor of decay that turned her stomach and made her heart pound in agitation.
It was only a trace. Shed watched enough crime shows to know that the stench from a dead body would be overpowering so she tried not to panic.
Tia is fine, she told herself over and over. The apartment needed airing out, was all.
But as she stepped into the tiny bedroom, her gaze darted almost fearfully around the small space. Her first reaction to the spotless condition of the room was intense relief.
Thank God, she whispered, realizing that she had been bracing for the worst ever since shed gotten off the boat.
Like the rest of the apartment, the room was immaculate. The bed was made and the floor free of discarded clothing. Tias things were stored in the closet and her suitcase shoved out of the way on the overhead shelf. Everything was in its proper place, just the way she would have left it.
So why did she still feel that terrible sense of doom? Carrie wondered.
Walking over to the French door, she drew back the curtain and stared out at the overgrown garden. She unlatched the door and pulled it open, allowing a fresh breeze into the room. Almost immediately the scent from the hallway faded.
Carrie started to turn away when a movement beyond the garden stopped her. Someone was coming up a path that led back into the mangrove forest, and for a moment, she thought it was Cochburn.
But as the man emerged from the trees, she saw that he was younger and taller than the attorney, with closely cropped hair and a lean, muscular body. He wore faded jeans and a shirt that hung open, revealing a bronzed chest andCarrie would have swornthe handle of a gun protruded from his low-riding waistband.
Nearing the house, he buttoned his shirt as he glanced over his shoulder. There was something oddly covert about his movements, and Carrie remembered her conversation earlier with Cochburn about the unsavory element in the area.
Quickly, she closed the door, then stepped back into the room before the man spotted her. He seemed to be heading directly toward her, but at the last moment, he veered off the path and disappeared back into the trees.
Who was he? Carrie wondered with a shiver. And why did he have a gun?
She watched for a moment longer, but when he didnt appear again, she turned and walked over to examine a framed photograph Tia had left on the dresser.
The picture had been taken at summer camp the year she and Tia turned twelve. They were both beaming with arms thrown over each others shoulders. The two of them had been inseparable back then.
How odd that Tia had kept the photograph all these years and brought it with her to Cape Diablo. Carrie had long since put away everything that reminded her of that summer.
The knot in her chest tightened. It still hurt to see their shining faces in that snapshot and know what the future held for them. She and Tia had been so happy that day. So eager for a summer adventure.
But a week later, their lives had been changed forever. In the blink of an eye, the innocence had been lost, replaced by the kind of horror most people could hardly imagine.
The day of the abduction had started out like so many others that summer. The sun had been out. Carrie could still see the way the light dazzled off the mans wristwatch.
Hed seemed cute and harmless at first. It was only later when shed seen that terrible tattoo on his chest that shed begun to have an inkling of just how evil he really was.
Dont leave me here, Carrie. Please, please dont leave me.
She squeezed her eyes closed as Tias desperate plea echoed through her head, followed by her own hollow promise.
I wont leave you, Tia. I swear I wont.