Chapter 39

CHAPTER

THIRTY-NINE

An hour had passed.

An hour with no sign of Fowler.

Nighty tried to remain calm, but Maddie could see the distress in his gaze.

He'd already hiked to the top of another ridge to make an emergency call. Meanwhile, he left a different guide with them to ensure he didn't lose anyone else.

A nervous whisper traveled through the group. Even Josh appeared apprehensive as his eyes darted around and he ran his hands through his hair.

Where could Fowler have gone? It didn't make any sense to Maddie. The guy was level-headed and cautious. He was one of the only people in the group who'd brought a walking stick with him on the hike, and Bree had said he liked to always be prepared.

He wasn't a risk-taker.

"It's not like him to just leave." Bree sounded frail, on the verge of panic as she stared up at the area where she'd last seen him. "He has no reason to do that. He loves his job. He loves me ."

"You're right." Brody's jaw tightened. "It doesn't make any sense, but maybe there's a logical explanation. Let's just give it some time."

"If he got into an accident of some sort, you would have seen him, right?" Maddie studied Brody, temporarily forgetting her vow not to talk to him. Finding Fowler was more important.

Brody nodded slowly as if thinking through her question. "I would think so. It's not like there's a steep cliff on the other side where he could have fallen. I would have seen him."

"So what could have happened?" Adrienne's voice lilted higher with confusion, and she wrapped her striped, teal towel around her shoulders, pulling it tight. "This doesn't make any sense."

"Let's wait to hear what Nighty says," Brody told them. "He knows this landscape much better than I do."

Brody was right. They shouldn't jump to any conclusions. The best thing was to be patient.

Maybe if Fowler had wandered off, he would find his way back soon.

Ten minutes later, Nighty appeared on top of the ridge, a pensive look still on his face.

That probably meant he didn't have good news, Maddie realized. Her throat tightened with apprehension.

She squeezed Bree's hand, sensing her friend's anxiety.

Nighty came closer before announcing, "I'm sorry, but I didn't see him."

A cry of despair escaped from Bree.

Maddie and Adrienne wrapped their arms around her.

"I know that's not what anyone wants to hear—including me," Nighty continued, appearing like the antithesis of his name. "But we have a great search and rescue team here on the island. They'll find him. They're already on their way."

"What do we do now?" Josh asked. He'd been strangely quiet.

Had he had time to do something to Fowler when they both were up there?

Her heart thudded into her chest at the thought.

She didn't think so, but she couldn't totally rule out the possibility either.

"I need everyone to head back to the dock," Nighty said. "The best thing we can do is to get you all somewhere safe and out of the way. It's supposed to rain soon, and sometimes that can make the creek crossings more treacherous. We need to go now."

"But what about my boyfriend?" Tears rolled down Bree's cheeks. "We can't just leave him out here."

"We're going to do everything we can to find him," Nighty assured her. "Search and rescue is sending up a helicopter to have a better view of the area."

"Where could he be?" Josh stepped closer. "He couldn't have just disappeared. There aren't any roads out here. Only mountains, right?"

Based on the tension stretched across their guide's face, Nighty had at least one idea of what could have gone wrong.

"This probably isn't what happened," Nighty said. "But if your friend wandered another twelve feet up that rocky path, there is a sinkhole. If he accidentally fell through it, the cavern would have spit him out down at the base of the mountain, near another waterfall. But . . ."

"But what?" Bree's voice cracked with tension.

"It's extremely treacherous." Nighty rubbed his jaw as if he were carefully considering what to say. "We can't send people down there unless we know for sure that's where he is. It's too risky."

"I'll go check then. I need to see if he's there." Bree started to rush forward, but Maddie and Adrienne grabbed her arms to hold her back.

The woman was stronger than Maddie assumed, and she had to lock her legs to keep Bree from doing anything stupid.

"I know you want to do everything you can to help him." Nighty held a hand up to stop Bree from going farther. "But the best thing we can do is to leave this to the professionals."

"Then I'll wait here in case he comes back." Bree's voice quivered.

"Then what if something happens to you?" Nighty sounded dead serious. "We don't want another mishap to slow us down and hinder our efforts to find Fowler. Understand?"

Bree slowly nodded as his words seemed to settle on her. If she did something stupid, then it would take even more time to locate Fowler.

The grim reality seemed to set in with the entire group.

"Good. Everyone start back to the kayaks." Nighty pointed to the trail. "Please, be careful and stay together. No more surprises, okay?"

Maddie's own thoughts echoed his.

The trip of a lifetime had turned out to be a total nightmare . . . for more than one person. And it was a nightmare she'd yet to wake up from . . . which could mean there was more to come.

Everyone was notably more somber as they headed back toward the dock.

Especially Bree.

Brody had let her and Adrienne ride in his kayak. He'd towed Bree's now-empty kayak behind them.

Maddie couldn't stop thinking about what Bree must be going through. She wished she could do something to help. But there was nothing she could do but pray, which was definitely important. She kept reminding herself of that fact.

Josh was quiet as they paddled, other than yelling out paddling instructions to Maddie on occasion.

When everyone got back to the dock, they pulled the kayaks ashore and stashed their lifejackets and dry bags.

Two police officers waited for Bree, along with the owner of the tour company.

Bree insisted she could talk to them by herself.

Maddie waited for a signal as to what to do next. She thought Josh might try to talk to her again as they stood there. Instead, he talked to one of his colleagues near the water.

She did a double take as she glanced over at him.

The conversation appeared serious—Josh's eyes were dark and his motions tense.

Based on the dirty look Josh threw Maddie over his shoulder, their talk wasn't about Fowler. Was the conversation about her ?

A few minutes later, Josh walked away from the group. His gaze still looked dark—almost angry.

He didn't join her. Instead, he took another phone call.

"I feel so bad for Bree." Adrienne appeared beside her, pulling Maddie from her thoughts.

"Me too." She glanced at Bree again. She was still talking to the police.

"What a nightmare, right?"

"It almost seems like an understatement at this point."

"You can say that again."

Their bus pulled up, and they all boarded. She sat beside Josh out of obligation.

Neither of them spoke. She wanted to talk, to ask him what was wrong.

But the bus didn't seem like the right place.

Maddie couldn't stop thinking about Fowler. Couldn't stop imagining what might have happened to him. He didn't seem like the type to just go off exploring on his own.

Which meant something had happened.

But was it something accidental? Or had someone done something to Fowler in an effort to sabotage this retreat?

Unease jostled in her gut.

If Maddie could jump on a plane right now and head home, she would.

It was like bad luck lurked around every corner here, simply waiting to pounce.

One of these times, she might not be lucky enough to survive.