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Fiona smiled back, feeling a warmth spread over her.
Just then, Fiona’s phone buzzed. She took it out to see a message from Mark.
Guilt hit her. She’d been so caught up in this case—and Jake—that she had barely given Mark a second thought.
He said:Hey Fiona, would love to see you again soon! Let’s get dinner again!
She really had enjoyed their date, and had been planning on seeing Mark again soon. She’d been excited for it, even. But she glanced at Jake as he drove beside her. Somehow, texting Mark back right now didn’t feel right, so she put her phone away.
It was strange, but she felt almost like she was doing something wrong by going out with Mark, because part of her knew, now more than ever, that she might not be able to give him her full attention. It wasn’t right to date someone if she had eyes for someone else…
What am I thinking? I don’t have eyes for Jake,she told herself. She liked him, admired him, respected him, and maybe even was attracted to him, a little. But she also knew that he was not interested in her and was still getting over Lauren. It would never happen.
Either way, she suddenly wasn’t as eager to jump into another date with Mark.
She’d make up her mind another time.
***
Later that night, Fiona sat in her apartment with the cold case files in front of her, looking deeper into the report on Julia Rowe’s death. Of course she was exhausted from the case with Jake, but at the same time, she couldn’t just stop looking into this. The thought of getting Jake on board thrilled her, and she wanted to know as much as she could before telling him about all of this.
She knew about the strange bug that had been found on Julia’s flip-flop—the moth caterpillar not typically found in Portland. But when Fiona looked deeper, she realized that it wasn’t the only entomology report.
There was also one attached to the report of Julia’s remains.
Fiona sat up, her eyes widening. She had never seen this before.
It was a report on a rare insect found on Julia’s body—one that was only known to exist in the Caribbean islands. It seemed impossible that it could have made its way here, and Fiona couldn’t help but be intrigued.
She read through the report carefully, noting all of the details about the insect’s size, shape, and coloration. She also noted its behavior and habitat preferences.
Fiona couldn’t believe what she was reading—it seemed like an incredible find. What did this mean for their case? Was there a connection between Julia’s death and this rare bug?
She doubted it was there naturally, and a thought occurred to her.
Maybe Julia had been murdered somewhere else—somewhere very far away—and then left on the beach in Portland.
The thought sent a chill through her. She had to find out more. She vowed to get answers, no matter what it took. And then—she could only hope—she might also solve the mystery of her sister’s disappearance.
