Page 36 of Light of Day (Sea Smoke Island #1)

Heather drove her mother to the Bloodshot Eyeball so they could survey the damage in the cold light of day.

The place was a mess, but most of the damage was in the kitchen.

Smoke still drifted from the remains of the back wall, where the six-burner range sat.

It was a deformed shell of its former self.

Heather used a stick to pick up one of the burners, which had melted into a distorted figure-eight-ish shape.

All of the power had been disconnected, so the first order of business was to salvage whatever they could from the freezer.

They’d brought a few coolers from home and loaded up frozen berries, bread, rolls, butter and cookie dough until the freezer was empty.

Everything in the fridge was now room temperature, but they transferred everything from there as well.

“I guess we’ll be eating lots of cream for the next couple of weeks,” Heather joked.

“I’m going to bring all this to the Clambake. I don’t know if they’ll take it, since it hasn’t been kept at the proper temperature. The health department might not like it.” Her mother had soot smudges on her face mask, her forehead, and even the bandanna holding her hair back.

“How often do they even come out here?”

Sally shrugged, looking tired. The cleanup was going to be daunting, and Heather mentally revised the amount of time she’d have to spend out here.

“Let’s take a break and get some ice cream,” she suggested. “It’s practically a hazmat site here. We deserve a break.”

They loaded up the coolers and drove them to the Clambake Grill, where all the staff gathered around Sally to extend their sympathies, and even offer to help with the cleanup.

Heather’s heart swelled as she watched. She might have her issues with the island—boy, did she ever—but when it came to rallying to someone’s side in times of trouble, the place came through.

She checked her watch. It was getting close to eleven, which was checkout time at the Lightkeeper Inn. Gabby’s other flash drive was still hidden in room 232. If she arrived just after checkout time, maybe she’d find the room empty. Maybe that drive had some answers.

Her glance landed on a familiar figure leaving the ice cream shop next door. Heidi Ochoa. She was climbing into a golf cart belonging to the inn. Maybe she was headed back that direction.

“Mom.” She reached through the crowd of well-wishers to tap her mother on the shoulder. “I need to go do something. Can you get back home on your own?”

“Of course, honey.” Looking invigorated by all her supporters, her mother shooed her away.

Heather ran down the steps and lunged in front of the golf cart, which came to a lurching halt. “Can I get a ride to the inn?” she asked the shocked Heidi.

“Jeez. Are you trying to give me a heart attack?” Heidi adjusted the pretty paisley scarf that had come loose during the sudden jerk of the cart. “Sure, climb on in, just promise you’ll never do that again. Hitting someone with one of these things is my nightmare.”

Heather got in next to her and held onto the bar while Heidi steered the golf cart toward the east. “This isn’t the best day to visit the inn,” Heidi warned her. “So. Much. Drama.”

“Oh really? What’s going on?”

“Apparently Mr. Carmichael has been having a secret affair. His wife is furious. It’s a whole drama.”

Heather couldn’t drum up too much sympathy for John Carmichael or Celine, who’d been pretty cool to her in the library. “Sorry, that sounds like a mess for everyone. Does it affect you guys too?”

“Everyone’s speculating about who he cheated with. It’s all anyone’s talking about.”

From the smug smirk Heidi tried to hide, Heather figured she probably knew who it was. “And? Who’s your number-one suspect? Oh!” She snapped her fingers. “Is it that gorgeous bartender?”

“Jasmine? Ew, no. She’s like, twenty-two.”

“Since when does a fifty-year age difference matter to the rich and famous?”

Heidi hooted with laughter as they reached the sandbar road.

A brisk wind coming from the east ruffled the ocean on that side of the sandbar, creating a zone of calm in the lee of it.

“I forgot how funny you are. No, I think it’s someone much closer to home.

Someone who’s been at Mr. Carmichael’s side for as long as anyone can remember.

” Heidi dropped her voice to ghost-story level.

“Seriously, if you ask people when Judy started working at the inn, like, no one knows. It’s like she’s a vampire. ”

“Judy the manager? You think she’s having an affair with the big boss?” Heather doubted it, simply because she didn’t fit the profile John Carmichael usually chose—young and glamorous. She’d only seen Judy from across the foyer, but she came across as all business.

“I’ve seen them talking.” Heidi brushed the end of her scarf away from her face; the wind was wreaking havoc with it. “It didn’t look like hotel business, if you know what I mean.”

“Saucy.”

“Oh yeah. You know, Judy has kind of a dominatrix vibe. Some men like that.”

Heather burst out laughing. “Heidi, you sure have changed since I babysat you in high school.”

“Not really. I used to sneak shots from my parents’ liquor cabinet while you were watching TV.”

That got Heather laughing even harder. “I did the same thing after you went to sleep.”

They were still laughing as the golf cart climbed the curving uphill drive that led to the inn.

Despite the chilly conditions, all the Adirondack chairs on the front lawn were filled with guests wearing wool sweaters or puffer jackets.

A badminton game was underway—the breeze playing havoc with the shuttlecock—and the sound of laughter floated across the grass.

“Thanks for the ride and the hot gossip,” Heather told Heidi as she hopped off the golf cart behind the inn. “And for confirming that I was right not to pursue a career in child care. Hey, do you happen to know if Room 232 is changing out today?”

“I can check for you.” Heidi climbed out of the cart and ran her fingers through her hair.

“No need, I’ll just swing by and check myself. I think I lost something in there the last time. My, uh, gym pass might have fallen out of my phone case.”

But there was no need to make up some dumb excuse; Heidi obviously didn’t care. She fluttered a wave in Heather’s direction and hurried inside the hotel.

A housekeeping cart was parked outside Room 232 when Heather reached it. Damn it. Was she ever going to get a chance to sneak in there alone? Maybe she could come up with a story about leaving something in the room.

And then she took a closer look at the woman currently cleaning the room. She sure looked familiar, with that pretty head scarf and glowing dark skin.

“Hi,” she said as she stepped into the room, causing the woman to turn in surprise. “I was here once before. My friend stayed in this room for a few days. Remember, you told me all her bags were gone?”

The woman watched her warily, not revealing whether any of that rang a bell.

“My name is Heather.”

After a moment, the woman said, “I am Safiya,” although she didn’t look any more trusting than before.

But Heather knew Gabby, knew that she always got to know the staff wherever she stayed, because they were often her best sources of information. She’d bet anything that Safiya remembered Gabby, and would want to help her.

“Hi, Safiya. Like I said, Gabby, the one who was staying here a few days ago, is a very close friend of mine.” She pulled out her phone and found her “Gabby x Heather” album. “See?”

As she flipped through the photos, she saw a smile flick across Safiya’s face. “Good friends,” she said softly.

“Best friends. She told me that she’d left something in this room. A flash drive.”

No reaction from the woman. How good was Safiya’s English? Did she know the term “flash drive”? Too bad she didn’t have the other flash drive with her to show her what it looked like, but she’d left it at her mother’s house.

“For computers.” She demonstrated its length with her fingers. “Gabby hid it and wanted me to find it for her. Have you seen anything like that?”

She caught a flash of warning in Safiya’s dark gaze, and turned around to find Judy, the fearsome manager, in the doorway, frowning at the two of them.

With her navy silk scarf and blazer, she gave off mean flight attendant vibes.

Heather was tempted to fasten her seatbelt and immediately locate the closest exit.

“What’s going on here? Heather, what are you doing here?”

“Oh hi, Judy, I…uh…I was just…” Remembering she still held her phone, she waved it at the manager. “I remembered how amazing the view is from this room, and I was hoping I could get a photo. But your superb cleaning staff is being very protective. Is it okay if I just snap a quick shot?”

After a long, frosty pause, Judy nodded. “Very quick. Then please let my staff get back to work.”

“Of course.”

She stepped to the window to frame up a photo. When she turned around again, Judy was gone, and Safiya was already pulling the cart out the door. Catching Heather’s eye, she jerked her head toward the freshly made bed.

And there it was, right there on the sage-green bedspread. The flash drive.

Thank you, Safiya.

Heather snapped it up and closed it inside her fist. If only she had her laptop with her so she could see what was on this thing. Heidi was working at the front desk; maybe she’d allow Heather to check out the thumb drive for a hot second.

Out the window, she caught sight of a sailboat heeling in the wind, its striped sails nearly touching the water.

Beyond it, in the distance, she caught a flash from the lighthouse that gave Lightkeeper Bay its name.

No keeper anymore. Just an automated computer that kept that beam of light sweeping around in a regular pattern all day and all night.

Usually she found the sight of that faraway rock with its classic white lighthouse reassuring—it was such a constant presence, a beacon to sailors, a sentinel against the storms.

But right now, that flash of light felt like a warning. Watch out. Rocks below. Watch your back.

Maybe it was best if she got off this island now that she had both the flash drives.

She’d deliver them to Gabby and they’d put their heads together and figure all of this out for the podcast. She had to make sure she didn’t lose the damn thing, or that no one stole it from her before she could reach Harbortown.

Bending over, she unzipped her right boot and tucked the flash drive inside her sock, maneuvering it so it nestled under the ball of her foot.

Not too uncomfortable. She took a few steps around the room to test it.

No problems whatsoever. Now she just had to get herself down to the east pier and grab the next ferry.

The beam of light from the lighthouse caught her eye again, like a warning sounding from the open ocean. And then it flared bright as the sun, blindingly bright, as something crashed against her head and the light burst into a million stars.