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My throat constricts. “You did?”Does this mean they found her? Is she okay? Is she…not?
“We did. One of the staff spotted him in the dining room during dinner, and we were able to track his card to get his room number. I just finished talking to him. He also allowed us to search his room.”
“And? What did he tell you? Did you find her?”
“Mae was not in the guest’s room, nor were there any signs she had been there, but we did question him about his involvement with her. He was very cooperative.”
“What did you find out?” I demand. He’s withholding information, making me pry it out of him, and I can’t decide if it’s because he’s trying to determine how much to share or because he’s enjoying holding power over me.
“The gentleman told us that he and Mae were acquaintances. To put it frankly, he said they’d been romantically involved.” He’s being so proper now I have to assume the man gave them intimate details of their supposed romance. It’s ridiculous. I don’t want to believe it. Of course he’d say that.
“That’s…absolutely insane. He’s clearly lying.”
“I don’t think so, Miss Hart. He seemed to be very sincere in his concern for her.”
“If they’d dated, I’d know. What is his name?”
“His name is Zach Carter. He lives in Tampa and claims to have spent time with Mae Barlowe—then MaeLeighton—over the course of many summers during their adolescence. He knew her quite well, from what he told me.” I barely register that he has pronounced her maiden name correctly—Lee-ton—despite how often it’s mispronounced asLay-ton, which makes it more likely he actually spoke to someone who knew her.
It doesn’t matter, though. I’m no longer listening. Not really. Instead, my mind short-circuits as soon as he says Zach’s name.
“I know him,” I blurt out.
“Excuse me?”
“Zach Carter. He’s telling the truth. He and Mae…” I pause, recalling the many conversations we’ve had revolving around Zach. He was her ongoing summer relationship every year when they came back to honor Danny’s memory. They knew each other as young kids and grew into awkward teens. She loved him once. He’d been her first kiss. The first boy she ever had sex with. Why hadn’t she told me that was him? Why hadn’t I recognized him from the pictures she’s shared with me? Then again, it’s been years since they saw each other, years since she had any pictures of or with him. “She loved him,” I say softly, meeting his eyes. I don’t want to say out loud what I’m slowly realizing. If there was ever anyone Mae would leave Blake for, it would be Zach.
“I get the feeling that was reciprocated. Is it possible they were carrying on an affair?”
“No,” I say, though I can feel the insincerity seeping into my veins. Truth is, I don’t know. Minutes ago, I would’ve wholeheartedly said no. I would’ve said there was no way Mae would have an affair and not tell me, not confide in me. But now? Now, I’m not sure what to think. How could she have not told me that Zach was on this ship? That Zach was the one she was dancing with? The one she was talking to when I walked away to get us something else to drink. What else was she hiding from me? From Blake?
“Perhaps Zach was interested in resuming their relationship, but Mae turned him down?”
I waver, trying to comprehend everything I’m learning. “Is that what he told you?”
“No. He said he walked her back to the elevator after they left the bar. That he hasn’t seen or heard from her since.”
“Okay, so why are you telling me this? Why not tell Blake?”
“How do you know I haven’t already told this to Blake?”
“I was just there,” I say before I’ve had time to think it through.
Diego’s brows draw down, his mouth opening, then closing quickly.
“I mean, I was just in Blake’s room to check on him. Before I came here. He didn’t mention anything, and you wouldn’t have had time to go there and tell him all of this before you got here.”
“You’re right. I haven’t told him yet.”
“Why?”
He presses his lips together, his eyes darting across my features, reading me.
“Why?” I ask again with more force.
“I’ve already told you one theory. Maybe Zach pursued Mae and she turned him down. Maybe that made him angry and he hurt her in some way… But my other theory is a bit more complicated.”
“Because?”
