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O livia loved it when the cold salt water rushed against her feet. Her footprints, side-by-side with Brock’s, left little impressions in the sand, cooled by the night air that swept in to take the place of the summer heat. The roar of the waves was both soothing and forceful at the same time, but it calmed Olivia’s heart into peace instantly. The moon bathed the world in milky white as she nestled her hand into Brock’s, walking beside the shoreline. Her mind was as loud as the waves, still thinking about the case. They hadn’t seen Susanna at Breakers tonight, but there was always a chance to catch her tomorrow morning so they could talk to her before Monday. Olivia hoped she would be out at sunrise again, so they could adjust their plans accordingly if her answer wasn’t what they were both looking for.

“You’re thinking about the case again.”

Olivia released a sigh into the salty air. “You know me too well.”

“I know when you’re thinking about the case.” Brock squeezed her hand to hammer his point home. “You should turn it off.”

“I’m trying.” Olivia laughed a bit.

“This is supposed to be romantic.”

He was right. “Sorry, Brock.” She rolled her eyes. “You know me.”

“I do.” Even in the dim moonlight, she could see the reassuring smile he gave her and heard it in his voice. “I love you.”

“Well…” Olivia could think of a thousand comebacks, but she had been feeling romantic since Mila was talking about her boyfriend, so she chose romance over jokes. “I love you, too.”

Brock dropped her hand and looped an arm around her shoulders. A comfortable silence settled between them, filled up by the sound of their feet in the sand and the waves coming up to bathe their bare feet before retreating back into the ocean. Olivia glanced down, delighted at what she found. “Hey, look.”

She stooped and picked up a perfect seashell, the same type that was printed on anything summer-related. Tablecloths, pictures, towels or beach bags. “Look how perfect this is!”

Cape Fremont didn’t have any laws against picking up seashells as far as she knew, so she claimed her prize and examined it in the moonlight.

“Wow, look at that.” Brock leaned closer and Olivia’s senses heightened at his proximity to her. “I wonder if we could find a sand dollar…”

“Let’s see if we can,” Olivia agreed, eagerly.

She and Brock combed each shallow the wave left behind as it retreated. Doing this with him, walking at a comfortable pace while looking for seashells and sand dollars made her feel like a teenager again. Giddy, in love and taking delight in everything .

All too soon, their hotel came into view. While no one hung around the beach in the early morning, the same couldn’t be said for a Saturday night. There was a bonfire somewhere near the shoreline which Olivia and Brock avoided by going all the way around it. People sat in the beach chairs that lined the shore and the stillness was disrupted by the sound of humans talking. Olivia and Brock gave up on finding the sand dollar and started back until someone sitting by the shoreline all by themselves snagged Olivia’s attention. At first, she thought it was nothing until she noticed the smaller build of the person, how they hugged their knees against their chest and stared – just stared – out into the waves. The wind played with her hair and Olivia had to wonder aloud, “Is that Susanna?”

“I don’t know.” Brock crept a little closer. The girl sat well away from the crowd, by herself, and the curvature of her spine and slump of her shoulders spoke of someone with the weight of the world on their shoulders. When they got close enough, the moonlight made out her features. “That’s her.”

They drew a little bit closer, caution stalking their steps. When they were only inches away from her, Olivia spoke softly. “Susanna?”

She jumped, as if not expecting anyone and snapped around to face them. As she did, rage and shock struck Olivia and she could feel Brock’s body heating with the same. Shadows or not, it was impossible to mistake the bruise that snaked around Susanna’s cheekbone, staining the white skin purple and brown.

“Oh…” Her voice caught and she quickly turned her head, as if hoping they wouldn’t see it. “Hi, guys.” The usual joy in her voice had completely fled.

Olivia was all FBI and care, meaning that both legally and personally, she couldn’t turn a blind eye to something like this. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” Susanna clawed at her hair, trying to use it to cover the bruise but it didn’t do any good .

Brock looked around the beach, they moved a little bit closer. “It’s okay. We’re not here to add to your hurt.”

Susanna bit her lip and for the first time since meeting her, the teenager wavered to lose her composure. “Thanks.”

Olivia crouched next to her. Compassion leaked into her eyes and she reached a hand toward her. “Susanna?”

Susanna looked toward her, the wind blowing her hair into her face. The bruise peered out from the wisps of her windblown blonde hair and Olivia saw nothing but sadness in her eyes, as if her dreams of surfing had been utterly ripped away.

“We noticed what happened earlier,” Olivia spoke, softly. “I can’t help but ask. Are you in an abusive relationship?”

Susanna stiffened at the word abusive but didn’t look away. Instead, the girl looked utterly defeated. “My mom and dad,” Her voice was stained with sorrow. She turned to face the waves and Olivia had to strain her hearing to hear what Susanna was saying. “They aren’t the happiest people.”

Well, that was more than obvious. Olivia took mental notes as she listened.

“They’re hardly ever around and when they are, they’re always angry.” A little bit of reality began to bleed into her words and she sniffed. Olivia was sure she saw a tear move down her face before she ran her hand under her nose and wiped the tear. “I have had the worst childhood with them. They don’t always hit me, but I’m not going to say they haven’t.”

There was no way she was letting this go. If there were a handful of things that Olivia hated, it was people who hurt kids. Especially one as precious as this one.

“Susanna,” Olivia’s voice was kind, and she hoped that she came across as such. “You can report this to the authorities.”

Susanna shook her head. “No, no.” The same determination that they had come to know and love about her resurfaced in her voice and on her face. “No need. I’m seventeen, I’m getting out of here soon, and I really don’t want to have that rap on my record. ”

Olivia opened her mouth to protest. No one was going to look at Susanna like that “poor, abused girl” if that’s what she was afraid of. Not Susanna. No, they’d be inspired by her. A girl who overcame her rough childhood and achieved her dreams. She hated the thought of Susanna staying in such a situation simply because of what someone else would think. But even as the words were ready to come, Brock steadied her by putting a hand on her shoulder. Olivia shot him a look but Susanna went on and she turned to hear her better.

“I’d rather just get out of here as soon as I can.” The corners of her mouth pulled back in a smile. “I’m going to Hawaii or maybe Florida to pursue my surfing dreams. I’d rather just do that. I have someone who can help me get there, you see.” The usual excitement wasn’t there, but there was a hint of a smile in her voice. “I’ll be eighteen soon. After that, I can figure out my life.”

Soon wasn’t soon enough. A lot could happen between now and then. Hawaii was a long way away, almost a foreign country to a girl like her. But what could they do? If Susanna didn’t want to talk? Besides, she probably thought it would make her situation worse. None of that mattered to Olivia as she tried again.

“Aren’t you worried something may happen to you before you get there? What if you aren’t able to surf because you’re hospitalized or something?” She hated being so blunt, but the truth was what might save her life.

Susanna breathed a laugh and looked back at Olivia and Brock. “Don’t worry about me.” There was way too much confident assurance in her voice. “It’s not that bad, it doesn’t happen every day. I’ll be fine.” She looked back out on the waters again. “I guess that’s why I love riding the waves so much. It gives me control and it makes me feel free. It’s the one place where all this stuff can’t get to me and all that matters is not falling off your surfboard.”

She was ready to move on from the subject whether Olivia was or not. Brock seemed more willing to roll with the change of conversation. “It’s your escape. And a thrilling one at that. You’re going to do great with Hawaii. Do you have a plan on how to succeed there?”

“I have someone to help me.” Susanna smiled. “There’s a ton of surfing competitions down there, especially now. It’s kind of like Hollywood for actors, only it’s surfing, not acting. And when you have someone to get you in,” She smiled. “You go for it, right?”

“Exactly.” Brock smiled. “On that note, do you do any other sports in school?”

Good in, Brock . Olivia didn’t want to stop trying to talk Susanna into getting help, but it looked like she’d have to. She waited to hear her reply, eagerly.

“I play volleyball.” She was starting to loosen up from her sorrow as a smile ignited her face.

“Oh, you do?” Brock’s eyebrows rose in eagerness. “When’s your next game?”

“Monday night.”

Olivia exchanged a look with Brock. Perfect. “Well,” Olivia looked back at Susanna and gave a nonchalant shrug. “You never know. Maybe we’ll stop by and see you.”

Susanna gasped, all of the grief from earlier evaporating. “Really?”

It occurred to Olivia at that moment that she had probably never had anyone in the crowd that she knew. Her parents weren’t around, she said, not around to cheer on their daughter when she won a victory in a volleyball game. She swallowed her rage and nodded. “Of course! After all, if we won’t be around to watch your first surf competition, the least we can do is watch you rock the volleyball court.”

Tears in Susanna’s eyes caught the moonlight. “That would mean the world to me.”

“See you Monday night,” Brock mentioned, turning to go and Olivia began to follow him.

“See you Monday night!” The renewed hope in Susanna’s voice gave Olivia the strength to walk away, rather than stand and plead her case .

“No parent should abuse their child and get away with it,” she bit out as soon as she and Brock were well out of Susanna’s earshot. “I’m going to look into her family dynamic and see what I can do.”

“Olivia.” The solemnity in Brock’s voice bristled her. Of course he was logical and case-focused, but what about Susanna? Olivia could never live with herself if she just walked away. “Remember we’re not here to save Susanna Webster. We’re here to find Ellie Cline and the rest of the teens who have gone missing from this town. We should focus on one thing at a time.”

She had a host of things she wanted to say to him. Her mouth dropped open, ready to tear into him with words, but a movement caught her eye. Out of Breakers, she saw a young teen emerge, and upon closer inspection, she easily picked out the star and moon tattoo on Josh’s neck. All her protests and retorts melted away, even her thoughts of Susanna as she studied him. Josh, once again, looked this way and that, then started to hurry toward the back of the restaurant. What business would he have back there if not to do something suspicious?

Olivia’s hand shot out, steadying Brock even though she was the one who had been unhinged a moment ago. “Did you see that?”

“What?” Brock’s head snapped in the direction of where Olivia was looking.

“It’s that Josh kid again.”

Brock noticed him moments before he disappeared behind the restaurant. There was no need to say anything. Brock and Olivia exchanged a glance before silently falling in line behind Josh’s trail.