"Are you sure?" She asked with enthusiasm.
"Miss Castle, try not to read that much into this. It might not be what we're hoping for."
"I know what you told me, but you said you found footprints, the burnt out firepit and the piece of the raft from his plane."
"That's true I did. I think that the next trip should be to some of the outlying islands, there are seven more to search. Will there be a problem for me moving forward?"
"Now that I have this small shred of proof, money will not be an issue." Alexis said.
"Miss Castle, money is the least of our problems. Right now, time is. The furthest island from Samoa is just over 1300 nautical miles away. The trip to search each island will take about two weeks. But it's been three years since he was lost. I don't want to be the voice of reason here, but you should hope for the best but at least expect the worst. A lot can happen in three years."
Alexis wanted to call Kate and her grandmother and tell them what she found out. But she rethought that. Kate had finally started to live her life once again alone as it was and maybe a small part of her resented her pulling away from them.
"Mr. Bilack please get back to me as soon as you can with what you find after every search. There is a lot riding on what you find out there."
"Miss Castle, I plan on being gone for the next two weeks. When I return I'll call you with what I have found."
"Thank you Mr. Bilack."
"Take care, Miss Castle.
The phone line goes dead and Joseph hangs the receiver up. A voice startles him and he looks to see his wife giving him a look.
"So Joseph you're going to go back out, aren't you?"
"Talia you know if there's a chance, any chance at all that he's out there and I can do something to find him I will do it. People are depending on me to get this done."
"Joseph I'm not doubting your dedication to the job you have to do. What I am doubting is your dedication to your family. Your son and daughter haven't seen you in over four days. And now you say it's going to be two more weeks before you get back after you search these islands?"
He needed to think quickly and maybe he could appease her.
"All right how about if we make a deal? I promise that I will give you and the children the whole day tomorrow to do anything you want. I mean anything. If you want to go to the aquarium we can do that. If you want to go and spend the day at the beach we can do that too. But the next day after our time together I will have to go. Myself and Fetu will be scouring all the islands North of Nikumaroro Island."
"Okay, Joseph I will agree to this deal on one condition."
"And what would that would be Talia?" He said with a devilish grin.
"When we're finished doing what we decide to do tomorrow you take us out for a decent dinner and you read your daughter and son a bedtime story. Then you and I will be together as we were meant to be." She winked at him when she said the last sentence.
Joseph knew that no matter what he'd read his daughter and son a bedtime story no matter what deal she made. The dinner that she wanted was just icing on the cake, but just to lay with her, well he'd walk across hot coals to be able to be with her that was what love was between them. He looked like he was thinking about her counter proposal for about a whole minute before he said,
"I think your terms are agreeable. So, we will do whatever your little heart desires and then we will have a great family dinner and after your son and daughter finally get settled in for bed, I will read the both of them a bedtime story.
"Joseph if you do that for me you make me the happiest woman on the face of the Earth!"
"Consider it done love."
His family was everything to him and he would do whatever he needs to do to keep them happy.
Xx
"Come on Fetu get the lead out."
"Hold your horses! I'm loading the supplies and I'm almost done."
Even though that man was his brother sometimes he just wanted to kill him. In a good way, of course, he would never want harm to come to his brother.
"Alright, Joseph I'm finished let's go."
There weren't too many people that Fetu would get up out of a warm bed for at 3:30 in the morning to be here by 4:15. But his brother always had a special place in his heart in more ways than one. His daughter was born with neonatal sepsis. It was touch and go for a while but in the end, she was okay and made a full recovery. It was his brother who was there every step of the way no matter what was going on in his life he was there for him and his family and he for one would never forget it. He was in awe of his brother.
"Okay, Joseph let's head out." Fetu said after he threw off the mooring lines back onto the dock.
By the time two hours and forty-five minutes had passed, they were passing Nikumaroro Island on their way to Orona Island. They figured that a Northeast trajectory would be where he would go. It would also be an easier track due to the chain of islands gravitating in that direction and it was the closest island to Nikumaroro. Orona was another two hours away and by the time they got there it would be close to ten a.m. by the time ten fifteen rolls around there were idling close to Orona. Fetu dropped the Kodiak in the water and they both went to the island. After about three hours of searching everything, they found absolutely nothing.
"So northeast?" Joseph asked.
"That sounds like a plan. Manra next?" Fetu asked.
"I agree. This way there will only be Rawaki, Birnie, Enderbury and then Kanton. Then on the way back, we can visit McKean."
"When we get to Manra we'll search it and then when we're done we'll sleep about a half mile from the island."
After searching Manra nothing was to be found in the form of Richard Castle. Deciding to call it a night they motored out about a mile and a half from the island, shut the engines down, weighed anchor, ate and turned in for the night. Maybe tomorrow would be better.
Xx
Alexis needed them to find her father. She sits in the loft's living room waiting for her grandmother to come home from her class for the day. She has proof that he was on Nikumaroro there would be no one else stranded there that was on a Gulfstream 650ER. She only hopes that her grandmother will believe her after all the trips that she had okayed but failed to produce any evidence of his survival.
Her phone pings with an alert of a new email. She opens it and notices that there is an attachment along with it. While the attachment downloads, she reads the email.
"Miss Castle, this should be enough proof for you. I will call if we find anything new. We have searched Manra and found nothing. Tomorrow we will head towards Rawaki Island. This island is to the Northeast of where we are now and we should be there by your lunchtime tomorrow. I hope these pictures help you. Joseph."
As Alexis sits on the couch she opens the attachments. The first picture is of the rubber flap from his raft. It's from his plane. The second and third pictures are of his firepit and the remains of fish heads and tails on the beach. The last picture is of his footprints in the sand. She touches the screen of her phone to trace the footprint with her finger hoping that she will have some connection to him. The loft door swings open and she looks up to see her Grams walking in. She has to tell her what she found out….
Xx
As Martha entered the loft and noticed her granddaughter sitting there waiting for her she knew two things and she didn't want to hear either of them.
"Alexis be a dear and get me a glass of wine please." Martha requested.
After hanging up her coat she turned to see Alexis still sitting on the couch not moving a muscle.
"Alexis…?"
"Gram they found him." She said in a small voice.
Martha stopped in her tracks not believing what she just heard.
"Alexis, I think that you said that they found your father. I must have a hearing problem."
"No, you don't that's what I said."
Martha not wanting to get her hopes up looked at where Alexis is sitting holding her phone.
"Do you have any proof?"
"Come and sit down with me and I'll show you what they found." She said as she motioned her to sit with her.
Alexis knew that this would be the moment that would be the hardest to prove with the pictures she had. But maybe…
"Look at what Mr. Bilack sent me."
Martha takes out her glasses and puts them on. She has needed them for the last year and hates to wear them. She takes the phone from her granddaughter and thumbs through the pictures. After she finishes she said,
"Alexis, this could be anyone and not necessarily your father."
She could only look at her with a stunned expression on her face.