Page 22

Signal Flags

Zane

“ M ove.” Sam’s got his captain’s tone out.

“No. Let them be.” Dante sits on a stump next to the zigzag path to the beach. He’s just come back from a short trip to wash dishes. Though I notice he didn’t bring the dishes back with him.

“What happened to us being all in this together?” Sam’s gruff.

“We are. But right now, we’re not. Let them be.” Dante drops his leg, letting Sam make the decision for himself.

It’s not something he makes quickly either. Sam turns and looks back at me. I shrug because Dante’s right. He’s got this weird empathic sense about him. Like he’s a witch or something. Touch wood. And that makes me smirk. Because Dante is frequently touching wood.

“What are you laughing about?” Sam pushes on my shoulder.

“No reason.” I’m back to looking at the code in the planner. It’s not a simple cipher, where numbers equal letters. I’ve got a knackered notebook. One I used on my last boat. I’ve got a dozen pages left, but I’m using them sparingly.

“You’re still at it.” Sam pushes at the planner.

I’ve got the clue box on the counter. I haven’t taken most of the evidence out of the box. Just the planner with its infuriating code. The two halves of the torn paper are in there. The rings are gone. Easton took them a while back. The sticker and the washers from the door are in the box too.

Sam picks up one of the photos. His fingers go over the photo. He holds it up to the light and then back to me. I let him be, going back to the code.

I’m still at it an hour later when Easton comes back.

“Where’s Haley and Green?” Dante asks.

“They’re finishing up the dishes.” Easton flops next to me. “You’re still at it? Honestly, maybe my dad was just scribbling numbers?”

My stomach twists. Because there’s no way. “There’s a pattern to it. I just can’t figure it out.”

“It’s something to do with one of the two companies being sold. Although, the last I knew, Rockwell-Harding had an evaluation of more than six billion. And Rockwell Tire was worth only two and a half billion.” Easton holds the two cards together.

“Only,” Sam says.

“Money is a figment,” Easton retorts. “It’s something my mom used to say. After a point, it doesn’t bring any more happiness. I think that was her point.” Easton places the cards back in the box, the one from the tuxedo reading R. T. To H 3.1B and the other side from the agenda reading R H 5.2b .

I stare at the cards. I’ve tried using them as a key, but Easton’s right.

These aren’t in Rocky’s code—they’re evaluations.

But was Rocky trying to sell his shares to Harding or his family company to Harding or both companies to someone else?

And why didn’t he talk to Easton about it? And why rip the card in half?

It makes sense to sell the company. Neither of his children want it.

He was marrying Candy. I shudder. Why anyone would ever want to marry her is crazy.

She wasn’t going to have any children. Another shudder runs through me at the thought of someone that selfish having children. She would have been a horrible mother.

Now, Haley? She’d be a fantastic mother. My brain takes off on its own. Thinking about Haley getting pregnant makes me long to see her being a mom. But not here. Not now. This is no place to raise a child.

Easton picks up the photo of the girl on the cot. “There’s just something about her.”

“What do you mean?”

“Like, she doesn’t look happy.” Easton swings his legs around toward me.

“She doesn’t look unhappy,” Dante says over his shoulder.

“But where is this?” He shakes the photo.

“What, that’s where you went to school?” Dante says.

“Ha, ha. No, it’s not like Haley’s science building. That’s the thing. Look at the wall.”

“What?” Sam takes the photo from him, shrugs, and hands it to me.

“It’s plaster,” I say. And then I look at the crease by the ceiling. “It’s old. Like, older than America. This has got to be in Europe.”

“It’s a college in Europe, then?” Sam takes it back from me.

Now I’m squinting. “No, I don’t think so. Weird cot and a cross on the wall.”

“She’s got dark hair, high cheekbones, and an olive shade of skin. Or at least I think so. It’s hard to tell with a black-and-white photograph.”

“Are we playing ‘who is she related to?’” Dante picks the photo up, his eyebrows raised.

“Why not?” I turn my notebook to the list of people on the other raft. “While people can have relatives that look like anything, it’s not Cruz. He’s?—”

“A hundred and twenty percent California,” Easton says.

I cock my head at him.

“What? We talked about surfing when I was working out and he was wiping down the side of the boat. He wanted to know what exercise to do to be a better swimmer.”

“Fair, that sounds like something Cruz would do.” I put another negative sign next to his name. I’d already ruled him out, but I’m glad to have someone else do it too.

“Waldo has red hair,” Sam says.

“But he was born in France.” I tap my pen by his name.

“There are a lot of churches in France.”

Sam’s holding the photograph upside down. “What’s this?” He hands it to me. “Look at the bottom of her ankle. She’s got a tattoo.”

“Yeah, it’s like a cartoon. How did we not see it before?” I hand it to Easton.

“It’s a lot brighter outside, and it’s awfully small. Easy to miss,” Easton says. “Weird tattoo. Is that a tri-corner hat on a cartoon character?”

“Hey.” Haley and Calvin come around the blind. Calvin’s carrying the tub of dishes. She sits next to me and wraps her arm around my shoulder. “What’s a weird tattoo?”

“The girl on the creepy bed. She’s got a tattoo on her ankle.” Easton hands it to Haley.

“I mean, that’s Sir CC. I suppose it’s weird. But then I’m a Washington Wizards fan.”

I stare at her. But then I realize the other guys are too.

“What, none of you watch basketball?” Her mouth is open, her eyes wide.

“Football,” Sam, Dante, and Calvin say.

“I didn’t have time for anything else but swimming.”

“Football, the real kind.” I cock my head at her.

“Well, that’s Sir CC. He’s the mascot for the Cleveland Cavaliers.” Haley holds it close to her face and then puts it down on the bench. Everyone picks it up again, but hell if I’d know a Sir CC from a Sir Zed.

I read down the list of details I have on each of the guys from the other raft. “Cleveland is in Ohio, and the photo of the other girl is from Pittsburgh, both of which are close to Youngstown and Erie right?” I look up at Calvin.

“Doesn’t mean that he’s the one who did it. But it certainly looks suspicious.”

“Fucker. Mitch. He knew more than his CV led on. But why?”

I lift the ripped index card. “Money.”

“It doesn’t matter.” Calvin glares at the card and picks up the photo.

“Oh, it matters,” Easton growls. “There’s something weird with these photos. Being the owner might not prove he’s guilty, but it feels like he is. If he is, he’s going to pay.”

“And how exactly is he going to pay? In coconuts?” Calvin drops the photo.

“I’d prefer mangos. We don’t have enough of them.” Dante moves between Easton and Calvin. “Better yet, some wagyu beef.”

“When we get home, we’ll give the evidence to the police.” Haley takes the picture and puts it in the box.

Calvin grunts.

“We can get it sorted when we’re back on the mainland.

And until then, I’m going to keep working on the code,” I say and close the agenda.

In less than a month, it will be out of days.

Well, almost—there’s a January page too.

When we found it, I really never imagined we wouldn’t be going home.

We had the ship, and while getting the crank to turn felt difficult, it wasn’t impossible.

“That’s exactly the right thing to do.” Haley kisses me on the side of my cheek. “Now, tomorrow’s Island Festival Day and I have something else I need to make.”

“Can I help you, Little Bird?”

“You know, I think you could. Are you done with whatever you two were working on?” She leans to the right, as if she can see behind the tree to where Sam and I set up a workshop.

I glance up at Sam. “Done enough. But you’ll see it tomorrow.”

“Not now?”

“No, not now. Have some patience, Little Bird.” I grab her around her waist and pull her onto my lap. “How can I help you?”

“Not here. You’re not the only one who likes surprises.” She takes my hand and tugs me away from the other guys. Fuck if I don’t like it. I’d make her anything, just to see that smile on her face.

She grabs a small box from the corner of Dante’s kitchen slab and runs up to the living room platform with a small sack, then comes back again.

“What are we making?”

She holds a finger up to her lips and walks us down the path to the beach. “A little float.”

I’m awake early. There’s no rooster, at least not yet. One of the little chicks is bound to be a bloke. Then we’ll have a built-in alarm clock for sure.

I lift my head. When we were on the boat, I woke up early. But then, so did most of the crew.

I blink, but it’s really early. I’m shocked at how empty the platform is.

Only Calvin’s asleep across from me. Not surprising—he was still up when I went to sleep.

And down the path toward the derelict back where Sam and I made our surprise, I can see the evidence of what he was working on.

There’s a pen made of bamboo and vines, and our chickens are happily scratching away at the dirt.

“Morning, Zane.” Haley pulls me into a hug.

The area around camp is completely transformed. She’s hung garlands around the kitchen area. Leaves of different colors and sizes hang around the camp, waving in the breeze like banners around the pitch for a special game.

“It looks amazing here.”

“Thanks.” She jumps a little.

“You ready?” Sam peers at us from around the base of the treehouse.

“You want to give it to her now?”

He nods. “It looks good.”

There’s a clear spot behind Dante’s counter. “Sure, let’s do it.”

“Do it?” Dante appears out of nowhere. “Count me in.”

Sam groans. “Just cover her eyes and don’t let her peek.”

“But who’s going to cover my eyes?” Dante’s laughing.

“I will.” Haley has her hands on his face, and Dante does the same.

Sam grabs my arm. “Let’s hurry before he starts pulling her clothes off.”

“Right.” I hustle behind Sam and grab the end.