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“So what happened after the Full Moon Party? Why didn’t you just go to the New Zealand embassy for help?”
Alani swallows. “After I saw what the expats did, how easilythey got rid of Lucy’s body, I knew these people were dangerous. I wasn’t sure if they knew I was here, but I couldn’t take any chances. And I knew the police were useless. I could tell from how they handled Jacinta’s death. I considered calling the embassy, but even if they came to investigate, it would be my word against the expats and the police. I didn’t know who to trust. It was better if I just disappeared and waited to report Lucy’s death until I was away from the island. Safe.”
I nod. The girls had littered a trail of lies behind them that would have smeared any truthful story Alani had tried to tell.
“Later that night,” Alani continues, “I snuck back to our room. I tried to get rid of anything that would suggest who we were. I packed up all the stuff I could carry and tossed the rest. I couldn’t find Lucy’s ID though. I knew she’d hidden it somewhere in the room, but I tore that place apart.”
I think of the mess in Lucy’s room when we broke in, the ripped zipper on her backpack, the ID card I’d found wedged between the bed frame and the wall, as if it had fallen down through the crack in the bed without Lucy realizing.
“It’s okay,” I say. “Cass and I found it.”
Alani looks at me for a moment, confused, but keeps going. “I wasn’t sure how far the expats’ influence reached. I thought they may have had people keeping a lookout for me at the ferry. I figured my best bet was to wait awhile until things died down. I couldn’t stay in Lucy’s hotel room, and I couldn’t risk checking into the resort under my name, so I found a dingy apartment in the middle of Kumvit to rent the last few days—near where I saw you this morning. I’ve used up basically all the money Lucy and I brought with us. And now they’ve shut down the ferries, and… I’m stuck.”
I sit there for a minute, taking in the similarity of our predicaments and piecing it all together. Until one thought springs out above all the rest.
Cass is innocent. And I exposed her and this entire island.
I think of how far the Permanents have gone to protect themselves and what they would do to stop us from exposing any more of their secrets. Cass could so easily be caught in the cross fire. I consider calling the American embassy, but as soon as I pull out my phone, it notifies me that I have no connection. I watch Alani do the same. Despite the awful service on the island, I usually manage to get at least one bar. The storm must have knocked out the signal on the entire island.
I check the time, alarmed to see that an hour has passed as I’ve listened to Alani. I look around, noticing that the darkness sifting through the cracks in the canopy is from more than just the storm. Whatever weak sunlight had managed to poke through the clouds earlier is now long gone.
“We need to find Cass,” I decide.
Alani recoils in surprise. “Cass?”
“She’s innocent in all this. She didn’t know about Lucy or Jacinta. By exposing her, I’ve put her in danger.”
Alani’s eyes are full of questions, but I don’t have time to explain.
“Please. I have to make this right,” I say.
I can almost see the thoughts whir through her head. I understand her hesitation. She saw these people murder her friend and cover it up. She’s been hiding from them for days, alone.
“You’ve got me now,” I tell her. “I won’t let anything happen to you.”
Eventually, she gives one short nod. And within seconds, wehave a plan. We’ll find Cass and we’ll hide out at the apartment where Alani’s been staying. We’ll wait until mobile service is back up and running on the island, and then we’ll call the American embassy and get help.
I pull Alani up from the rock, and we begin to run.
After a few minutes, we emerge from the dense jungle cover and back out onto Cass’s street. As soon as we reach the break in the trees, it’s clear the storm is in full force. The wind pummels us from both sides, and the rain beats down furiously, attacking our arms like needles, but I barely feel it. We run past where my motorbike is parked by the edge of the jungle and head straight for Cass’s house. My heart sinks when I see how dark it is, but then I realize the whole street is pitch-black. The power must have gone out on the whole island.
I bang on the door several times, praying Cass is alone, that I won’t need to confront Logan. But there’s no response. No one is here.
“She’s gone,” I say to Alani as we huddle under the narrow cover of Cass’s doorway. “She either left or…”
“They’ve already got to her,” Alani says, finishing my thought.
I try to think logically about where she might go or where they might take her, but my thoughts swarm like insects.
“Should we check the bar?” Alani proposes.
“You mean Frangipani?” I ask. Alani nods. I think there’s little chance they’d be there in this weather, but it’s worth checking. Plus, Frangipani is close enough to Greta’s apartment and in the vicinity of where Neil and Doug live. If we’re right, and she really is in danger, there’s a solid chance she’s in that area. “Let’s go.”
We head back to my motorbike.
Alani climbs on behind me, and I shove my key in the ignition. The ripple of the engine rises above the din of the rain, shaking the seat beneath us.
With each turn, I pray there’s no one else on the road. Between the darkness of the night and the sheets of rain, I can barely see more than a few feet ahead. The rented motorbike that has come to feel so comfortable over the last few weeks now feels dangerous beneath me. The raindrops have merged into a wall of water, and my tires slip over the mud as Alani tightens her grip around my waist.
