Chapter 87

87

These look like emails she's sent to herself, copies of messages she's sent to Caleb," Steed says. "From what I can see, Bea sent Caleb the messages the morning the group arrived on the island." He taps the screen. "Looks like she's found the passport too. She's taken a photo of it, asked him: What's this? " He pauses, still scrolling. "She's also questioning him about emails she's found, written from a different account. Threatening, from the sounds of it. Seems he never replied."

"Any dates on them?"

He moves his finger down the screen. "The first we've got here was sent about eighteen months ago."

Eighteen months ago. The timing can't be a coincidence. "Around the same time the hotel was being built. Not long after Porter Jackson's memorial."

Maya turns to Hana. "Caleb told you his father died, didn't he?"

Hana nods. "Pretty tragic circumstances, apparently. He said the other day that someone had taken father's his money in a scam not long before he died. Reckoned he'd just started to get his life on track when it happened."

Elin absorbs her words, casting her mind back to what Ronan Delaney had told her about Jackson's investment gone wrong, an investment he'd encouraged him to make.

Little pieces start to pull together in her mind and, for the first time, form a coherent narrative—one that would give Caleb a clear motive for dispatching Seth Delaney. And from what they've found, it looks like Bea stumbling on his true identity would give him motive for killing her as well.

Disbelief plays out in Elin's mind as she realizes that this case isn't about the curse at all. Caleb's motivation is something else entirely.

"I think we've got the perfect storm here," she says slowly, moving to the side, out of earshot of Hana and Maya. "What if the SSSI Caleb and his father had planned for the island never came to fruition because Delaney scammed Porter Jackson of his money, money that might have helped his application? Delaney then goes on to build the retreat."

"Bit of a slap in the face."

"Exactly. The Jacksons try to protest the development, but fail, and then shortly afterward, Porter Jackson dies." She looks at Steed. "It would give Caleb a pretty compelling motive."

"Revenge."

She nods. "A far more compelling motive than the curse surrounding Reaper's Rock."

"But what about what we found in the cave, the Creacher kids?" Steed says slowly. "How does that fit?"

"I think it fits perfectly. The cave, I'm sure, was Porter Jackson's work, and for him, the motive of the curse, the reaper, still stands. The anomalies we picked up on between the cases is a result of the fact they were committed by two different people. I think Porter Jackson was obsessed with the rock and killed those teenagers in 2003, and Caleb was simply using that connection to throw us off the scent."

"That makes sense, but the one thing I don't get is why the SSSI matters so much to the Jacksons in the first place."

"Think about what Caleb told Hana about how his father was getting his life back on track just before he died, the threatening emails Seth Delaney was receiving. The message was similar in both; Ronan Delaney had prevented people from getting on with their lives. If it was Caleb Jackson who sent the emails, maybe it refers to this. Perhaps the SSSI was a way of ensuring his father wasn't compelled to kill again. If it became a nature reserve, it would never be inhabited, so no temptation."

"Breaking the spell."

"Exactly. I—" Elin stops as they hear footsteps approach. They turn to find Tom, the water sports instructor, picking his way around the sleeping forms.

"There's something you should know," he says quickly. "I've just seen a man outside, running across the bridge to the islet."

Elin takes a breath. "When?"

"Ten minutes or so ago... I woke up just before, heard a thudding. Thought it was the storm at first, then I remembered that I'd forgotten to put the last rack of boards away. Didn't want them damaging the shack, so I went out to sort it."

"I'm guessing you didn't go out the main doors?"

Sheepishly, Tom shakes his head, points to a room divider halfway across the side wall, sitting parallel to the wall itself. "There's a door, behind there." He pauses. "I was only out there a few minutes when I saw him."

"Not staff?"

"Not sure," Tom replies. "It's only dimly lit... no lights on the bridge itself."

Elin's stomach tightens.

The islet.

Turning to Steed, she drops her voice a notch. "You searched there, didn't you?"

"Pretty thoroughly."

"Any chance you missed something?"

"It's possible. Tree cover's fairly thick in places."

"I want to take another look." Elin looks at him. "I'll go."

He frowns. "Alone?"

"I'll have to, we can't risk leaving the lodge unattended."

"Are you heading out now?"

She nods, adrenaline pulsing through her as she glances outside. "If that's our killer, possibly Caleb, I'm thinking there's a good explanation as to why he's gone out there."

"Farrah."