Page 59 of The Bridesmaid

‘Oh.’ Georgia stops a moment to redistribute Silky’s weight. ‘Trinity was like … a scary story from boarding school. Kind of. The older girls would freak out the new boarders with tales about Trinity.’ She catches my confused expression. ‘Trinity was supposed to come in the night and steal your three best things.’

I absorb this. ‘Like a ghost?’ I guess the police had no reason to connect Adrianna’s name for her kidnapper with her time at boarding school.

‘Kind of. The way the older girls spun it, some of the younger ones took it really seriously. Silky in particular. Dri too, though she’d never admit it.’

‘What about you?’

Georgia hesitates, looking at me a fraction too long as if deciding whether I can be trusted. ‘I was never afraid of Trinity,’ she says finally.

Silky moans. Georgia closes her mouth and sets her eyes on the cabanas ahead.

Suddenly, Silky switches back and begins walking toward the opposite end of the beach, forcing us to switch with her.

‘Silky,’ says Georgia, ‘that’s the wrong way.’

‘No,’ Silky lifts her hands and points toward the jungle. ‘That’s the school bell tower. See?’

She’s looking in the direction of a large forbidding fence, pasted with signs that warn DANGER. UNDER CONSTRUCTION. KEEP OUT in both English and Spanish.

I lift my gaze to the tall jungle. Is there a building further back, hidden by leaves and canopy? It’s impossible to see with the sun behind.

‘We don’t use that part anymore,’ says Georgia, physically turning Silky around. ‘Come on, it’s this way.’

But as we turn back along the beach, Silky keeps glancing back, her red-painted lips moving, as though she is deeply disturbed by something.

Chapter Forty-Six

HOLLY

It seems to take forever to half-walk, half-carry Silky down onto the beach. Georgia is tireless, putting one foot ahead of the other on the sinking hot sand, taking Silky’s weight.

We reach the edge of the jetty adjoining the huts. The paradise view of turquoise waters, and deep green island curving back on itself, sparkles in the setting sun.

‘Cabana number three,’ says Georgia, clearly far too distracted to appreciate the location. Silky’s eyes are open now. She is regarding the huts like a marathon runner looks at a finish line. Strands of her black hair are plastered to her face with sweat.

Georgia and I step onto the jetty, and the warm planks squeak beneath our weight. The ocean below is a greenish blue, a few feet deep at most. It teems with fish.

‘Oh shit!’ Silky switches back with a sudden jolt of energy that comes from nowhere, almost knocking me into the water. ‘Shark!’

‘They’re just babies,’ says Georgia, calmly. ‘This shallow part is a nursery. Just keep it together, Silky. You’ve caused us enough problems.’ She sounds exasperated and sad rather than angry.

We reach the rattan door of the hut. Georgia flashes a key card and pushes it open. The shade of the bamboo interior closesaround us, and it takes a moment for my eyes to adjust from the light outside.

It’s stunning, in the way that any wood hut on stilts over water would be stunning, but also basic in a charming way. There’s no TV or fancy features. Just a large double bed with mosquito net waving daintily in the breeze and an open front leading to a ocean-facing deck with a small plunge pool.

The planks beneath my feet show shining slivers of bright ocean. I can hear lapping waves.

‘You should rest,’ I tell Silky, thinking someone should say it. ‘It’s really hot. None of us have eaten. Just … drink some water. Lie down.’

We set Silky down on the bed and let the mosquito net fall. Slowly, she closes her eyes. Georgia gently slips off her shoes.

Through the mesh she looks like sleeping beauty. A long-lost princess from another world, waiting to be woken up.

‘Trinity,’ Silky whispers in her sleep. ‘Why did Adrianna invite her?’

Georgia’s mouth twists. ‘Let’s go,’ she says. ‘She’ll sleep it off.’

We get to the door and I’m overwhelmed with questions. Georgia must realize this, because she stops and turns to me. Her usual serious expression is even more earnest.