Morning came and the sunlight beaming in the window made Timothy start to stir. He stretched his legs out on the sofa and rolled over onto his side. The place was very quiet and he was surprised that Jude wasn't up yet. Could she still be mad at him and holding herself up in the bedroom? If she was, that was on her. He tried to lie there for a bit, enjoying the quietness until the urge to use the bathroom became a priority. There was only one bathroom in the cottage and you had to go through the bedroom to get to it. Figuring he wasn't going to sit there and suffer, he got up from the sofa and walked to the bedroom door. He knocked lightly, incase she was still asleep but didn't hear a sound. It wasn't like her to sleep in. As much as he didn't want to disturb her, the need to go made him open the door and go inside. The room was dark as the shade was drawn. He walked quietly through the room and silently closed the bathroom door. After he finished his business, he walked back out into the bedroom. As he was walking out of the room, he looked back at the bed and noticed Jude wasn't there. Where was she? She must have gone on one of her walks he figured.

He made his way out into the kitchen and put some bread in the toaster. While waiting for his bread to toast, he looked out the window to see if he could find her on the beach. She was no where in sight. Then he remembered what she said the night before, "I am going to find Roarke and make sure he gets me out of here!" Did she really leave, without saying goodbye? He sat down at the kitchen table, lost in his thought. He never heard the bread pop up in the toaster. The idea that she just up and left without saying anything at all angered him. He knew she was upset about the dinner the night before but still. When did she find Roarke to get her off the island?

Looking around the empty room, he didn't want to admit it to himself but he was a bit sad. Being on this remote part of the island alone wasn't appealing. Deciding to get dressed he walked back into the bedroom to put on some clothes. That was odd, sitting on the floor was Jude's suitcase. He walked over to it and lifted it up onto the bed. It was heavy. He opened up her luggage and her belongings were still neatly folded inside. Jude would not leave without her things. She must have gone for a walk. He did feel relieved that she was still on the island with him. When she returned from her walk, he would try to talk to her, to calm her down. He was hoping perhaps she had calmed down enough and saw things differently in the light of day. He grabbed his toast to butter it and ate his breakfast. He then decided to read a bit and wait for Jude to return.

After an hour and a half of reading, Timothy got up and walked outside the cottage. He was looking down the beach to see if he saw anyone who could be Jude. He was becoming annoyed again, not appreciating her games. In the back of his mind, he was starting to worry. What if something happened to her? She did fall down once during a storm and badly sprained her ankle. He started to walk down the beach hoping to run into her. After walking down a mile or so on the beach and still not seeing anyone in sight he became very concerned. He quickened his pace to get back to the cottage and when he got back inside, he went right over to the phone. To his surprise, there was a dial tone and he dialed 0 for the main desk. A woman answered.

"Hello, yes I need to speak to Mr. Roarke and it is an emergency! The person who I arrived on this island with is missing. I don't know where she is, she could be hurt. I don't know I woke up this morning and she was gone. I don't know how long she has been gone, can you please have Mr. Roarke call me right away? Thank you" Timothy said as he hung up the phone.

He went back into the bedroom, looking around to see if there was any sign of where she went. He looked in the closet and drawers but everything was still there, where she left it. Walking back into the bathroom he saw her toothbrush, hair brush, and lipstick. She would never go anywhere without that item so the possibility that she just up and left the island was becoming more unlikely. The phone rang and Timothy quickly jogged over to answer it.

"Yes Mr. Roarke. I don't know where she is but all of her belongings are still here in the cottage. She would not leave without them. What does that have to do with anything? We did have a misunderstanding last night but nothing that would lead to this". Looking at the front door, still holding the phone he said, "No the door looks intact and I also was sleeping out in the living room. I think if someone came in or went out I would have heard them. Alright I will check hold on"

Timothy put the phone receiver down and went back into the bedroom. He pulled up the shade on the window and that is when he noticed the screen was missing. Looking down on the ground he could see the screen was lying against the side of the cottage as if someone put it there. He ran back and picked up the phone receiver.

"The bedroom window is open and the screen has been removed. She wouldn't have crawled out that way. If she wanted to leave she would have went out the front door and have taken at least some of her belongings with her. I didn't hear anything last night but she slept with the bedroom door shut. Ok, I will see you when you arrive." Timothy hung up the phone. He sat down on the sofa as he was waiting for Roarke to arrive. His mind was going a mile a minute.

Looking at the bedroom door again he got back up and went back into that room. He looked around in the bed as it was unmade, another un-Jude-like sign. Jude always straightened up rooms. That was one of the things Timothy liked about her, she was organized and neat. While he was looking through the blankets for any clues, he spotted her necklace lying on the floor. She always wore that, even in the shower. The clasp looked like it was broken and bent, as if it was yanked. Now he was very worried. He wasn't sure what happened to her but it was becoming more apparent that something bad has happen to her.

He heard a car pull up in front of the cottage. Thinking it was Roarke he ran to the front door to open it but standing there was Father James with Cardinal Spellman remaining in the car.

"Good morning Tim. You seem to have a lot of energy this morning. Are you ready to get going?" asked Father James.

Timothy looked at him blankly. He was trying to remember why they were there and where they were going.

"Going? Where are we going?" Timothy asked.

"We are leaving today. Don't you remember? You were going to repent for your indiscretions back home. This was the first step you needed to take to become a candidate for Cardinal. We discussed all this last night" Father James explained.

"I can't leave, not right now. Something happened, Jude is missing. I need to find her."

'But Timothy, the Cardinal is waiting for you in the car. Our plane ride has been booked. If you do not come back with us, than you leave the church with no other choice but to select someone else as a candidate. Is that what you really want?' Father James asked.

At that moment is when Roarkes car pulled up. Mr. Roarke got out of the car, along with two men in uniform who were probably the island police, and walked right up to Timothy. Cardinal Spellman thought something must be going on so he got out of his car and also walked up to Timothy. He heard Roarke ask Timothy to show him the room and asked if he touched anything. All four men walked back inside the cottage leaving Father James and the Cardinal outside looking bewildered.

The policemen looked around the room and paid special attention to the window. One of the men told Roarke he was going to dust the window and screen for finger prints.

"What is going on here?" asked Cardinal Spellman.

"Please sir, if you will remain outside. We have to seal off this room and treat it as a crime scene" Roarke explained to the Cardinal.

"Crime scene? I thought you said there was no crime here on the island Roarke. Didn't you tell us that doors don't need to be locked when we first arrived here? What kind of crime has been committed?" Cardinal Spellman asked.

Timothy answered. "It's Sister Jude. She is missing. I woke up this morning and she was gone. The only sign is the screen is missing from the window. I don't understand any of this" Timothy said looking very worried and out of sorts.

"Well Timothy I am sure she will show up. After all she is on an island surrounded by water. Where could she have gone? Why don't you leave this up to the authorities and let them look for her?" Cardinal Spellman replied.

"You're not serious? How can you say she will just show up? We don't know where she is, if she is hurt, or what happened to her? I can't just leave this up to the authorities and leave the island. Not until she has been found" Timothy said.

"Look Tim, I didn't mean to come off insensitive or uncaring. I too am concerned for Jude's welfare but you don't know this island very well or its people. The authorities here do and they know how to conduct a search. There's little here you can do. We have a plane to catch and some important matters that need to be dealt with for you. Big things are at stake here Tim" the Cardinal remarked.

Timothy knew what the Cardinal was saying. He needed to head back to the United States, specifically New York to meet with the Bishops there. He had to ask for forgiveness for his indiscretions and promise to hold true his vow of celibacy if he wanted the chance to be Cardinal of the state. He also had to distance himself from Jude as the Cardinal felt she was bringing to much temptation into his life. He wasn't sure how he was going to explain that to her and right now he just wanted her found. His window of opportunity was closing but could he just leave with Jude missing? Roarke and the police were on the case and there wasn't much more he could do or tell them. He really didn't hear or see a thing. He wouldn't know where to look. He could call Roarke and get updates and once she was found, fly back to bring her home?

"Tim, it's now or never. We have to leave or will miss the flight" said Father James breaking Timothy's thought process.

"I'm sorry. I can't leave yet. I came over here with Jude and I am not leaving without her. If God has plans for me to be a Cardinal, I will have this opportunity again. I appreciate the offer Cardinal but I need to find her first" Timothy explained.

"Believe it or not Tim, I understand. Keep me informed of the situation and I will notify the Archdiocese. Good luck" Cardinal Spellman said to Timothy while holding out his hand to shake. Timothy shook the Cardinal's hand with a lukewarm feel. He felt a bit sick that they were more concerned about catching their flight off the island than finding one of their own. Roarke approached Timothy.

"Monsignor, can you think of anyone who would want to harm Jude or have something against her?" Roarke asked.

"Not off the top of my head. Who even knew we were out here? I mean, back at the asylum where we work, there were people who were unbalanced but that was why they were institutionalized. You couldn't take them seriously and they are locked up, all the way across the United States. Could it be one of the staff members here or another guest?" Timothy asked Roarke.

"No I doubt that. Every employee goes through an extensive background check before they can live or work here. I am going to check the guest logs and see who has come onto the island within the last week" Roarke said as he walked out of the cottage. Timothy followed him.

"We have photos of our guests. Pictures are taken when they exit the plane. We try not to make it obvious as we take the photos for our own records and don't want anyone asking to purchase their picture or have a do over. We also have files of everyone who works on this island. " Roarke explained.

"Roarke! I would like to see those logs and photos if you don't mind. Maybe I can recognize a face or a name? You never know, assuming that they used their real name if they did come over here somehow?"

Timothy got into the car with Roarke as they headed back to the mainland. Timothy was very nervous and anxious as he was in a strange land with strange people far from home. How could he forgive himself if something happened to Jude, his Jude?