"So, Faith, how are things going with Carson?" Elizabeth asked, sipping her coffee and looking at her friend expectantly.
Faith blushed prettily. "It's going well," she said, smiling. "He's such a wonderful man! Did you know he comes in every day just to say hi and support my business?" She sighed happily. "How did I get so lucky?"
"I'm happy for both of you," Elizabeth said. "Carson has been an amazing boss, but he never really dated. Then he met you, and all of a sudden he's smitten." She chuckled. "I'm so glad you hit it off. Two of my favorite people." Shaking her head, she grinned. "I'm surprised I didn't think of it myself! Rosemary struck gold with you two."
Faith took a sip of her coffee. "At first I thought the age gap would be a problem, but surprisingly it hasn't been. I used to think five years was too high of a gap. Now I'm dating someone more than a decade older than me, and I'm happier than I've ever been." She laughed. "I really should just stop trying to tell God my own plan for my life. His is so much better."
"That is always true," Elizabeth agreed. She raised her brows. "So, where is Carson taking you this evening?"
"I don't know, actually," Faith admitted. "He says it's a surprise."
"Oh really?" Elizabeth said, mulling that over. "My by-the-book boss is planning a surprise? I can't wait to hear how this goes!"
Faith grinned. "I can't wait to see what he has planned! Carson has never surprised me before, so this should be interesting." She smoothed her napkin, then looked up at Elizabeth, a serious expression on her face. "How is Nathan doing? You said he was taking this new case hard."
Elizabeth sighed. "Yes, he is. He opened an official investigation to look for his brother-in-law. It's been a week, and they still don't have any leads. It's like Steve vanished into thin air. Nathan is worried, I can tell. He wants to find Steve, but he's afraid of what he'll find. He's afraid of how it's going to affect Colleen and Allie." Her brow furrowed. "He's looked so tired and stressed lately. I haven't seen much of him this week."
"Oh, Elizabeth," Faith said, her eyes tearing up sympathetically. "I'm so sorry for Nathan!" She eyed her friend. "How are you holding up?"
"I'm fine," Elizabeth said. "My concern is all for Nathan. I don't quite know how to support him in this. I should probably just ask what would be best."
"That's a good idea," Faith said, nodding. She smiled slightly. "And it can never hurt to bake him some goodies to help him through. Sometimes a cookie is all you need."
Elizabeth smiled. "That's brilliant, Faith. I'll talk to Nathan about how I can support him, and I'll bake him some cookies. Obviously they won't fix anything, but they will let him know I care."
Faith put a hand on Elizabeth's arm. "I think that's what he needs most of all, Elizabeth. Just to know that you care and that you support him. That will go a long way."
Nathan stared at the ground in front of him, his eyes sweeping back and forth, looking for any sign of tire tracks. He and his team were covering the wooded areas that lined the route from the bank to Steve's house. Nathan fervently hoped that they would find something, anything that would give them a hint as to where Steve might have gone off the road, or been forced off the road. How he could disappear, how his car could disappear, with absolutely no trace baffled Nathan. There had to be a trail of crumbs somewhere. There always was. They just hadn't found it yet.
Lee came up beside him, face grim. "Nathan, we've been at this for days. I don't think we're going to find anything here."
Shaking his head, Nathan continued to methodically survey the landscape. "I can't accept that, Lee. We have to find something. Steve cannot have just disappeared into thin air."
Lee let out a breath, looking around. "Maybe we need to consider looking further out, then. We've looked at everything within a ten mile radius of this spot, Nathan. There's been no traces of an accident, no hint of a car. If Steve ran off the road, there would be evidence."
Weary, Nathan passed a hand over his eyes. Lee was right. They'd been looking for days, and had found nothing. Their team had covered a lot of ground but still their search came up empty. But he wasn't willing to admit defeat. Not while Colleen sat at home still wondering what had happened to her husband. She needed answers. He was going to find them. No matter how long it took.
Lee touched Nathan's arm. "We need to regroup and look at that map of the island again," he said quietly. "We need to figure out if there was anywhere else Steve might have gone between the gas station and home." He frowned, a thoughtful look crossing his face. "We've checked all the gas stations between the bank and Steve's house, but shouldn't we look at ones outside Mana'olana Awāwa too? What if he fueled up somewhere else?"
Nathan's brow furrowed. "Why would he do that? Go outside of town just to get gas? That doesn't make any sense."
"You said his credit card wasn't used at any gas stations in town."
"Steve used cash for the most part," Nathan said. "The credit card check was simply as a precaution. But one look at his statements showed he never used it to fuel up that day."
Hickam came up to them, arms spread. "We've found nothing, Detective. There are no signs of anything unusual on this strip of road."
Nathan sighed. "Alright, let's regroup at the station and figure out where to go from here."
Hickam went off to tell the others. Nathan's cell phone rang. He pulled it out and pressed the talk button. "Detective Grant."
"Grant, I might have something for you."
Bill's words made Nathan stand up straight. "What's that, Chief?"
"We got a call from the forest patrol a few minutes ago. They were looking for signs of tree decay and found what they think is a car way off the forest road. It might be nothing, and it's a long shot that it's related to Steve, but I thought you should know."
"What are the coordinates?" Nathan asked, motioning to Lee to follow him to his car.
Bill rattled them off. Nathan thanked him and hung up, then punched the coordinates into his GPS.
"Where are we going?" Lee asked as Nathan turned on his lights and siren.
"Bill said the forest patrol found a car while they were doing an aerial check of the trees. It might be nothing, but he said the car was far off the road. Even if it has nothing to do with Steve, something's not right about it."
Lee looked at the coordinates and whistled. "That's twenty minutes away! Seems like Steve would have been closer to home when he went missing."
"Unless foul play was involved," Nathan said grimly. "Who knows what someone could have made him do?" Situations swirled through his mind. "He could have been hijacked at a gas station, and then the perp made him dump the car when they were far enough out of town."
"That's certainly possible," Lee said, nodding. "But there are so many possibilities here, Nathan."
"I know," Nathan replied. "And I'm not shutting the door on any of them. We just need one theory to pan out to find out what happened to my brother-in-law."
With the sirens on, they reached their destination in record time. Nathan parked the car on the side of the road, then got out, looking at the land around them. His breath caught. "Lee, look at this."
Lee came around the car and stopped short. "Oh my." He gave a low whistle. "That must have been quite an accident."
The plants and grass in front of them were squashed and broken. A tree was bent to the side, looking for all the world like it had been hit and then left to wither. Nathan cautiously approached the trail, not wanting to mess up any potential evidence. He saw a trail of tire tracks in the ground and followed alongside it, Lee right behind him.
"Whoever ran off the road here seriously lost control of their vehicle," Lee said, his eyes wide as he looked at the wild tire tracks in the forest. "And it looks like this person hit quite a few trees in the process."
"They sure did," Nathan replied. "That makes me think whoever it was, it wasn't Steve. He was an excellent driver."
"Not to contradict you, but even the best drivers can sometimes lose control of a car," Lee said quietly. "You know that, Nathan."
"You're right, I do," Nathan said, continuing along the trail of tire tracks. "But the closer we get to finding this car, the more I'm hoping it's not Steve. This person is not likely to have survived this accident." He froze, holding up a hand. "Don't move!"
Lee peered over his shoulder. "Oh!"
They stood over a steep drop. The forest suddenly sloped downward at a nearly vertical angle. Nathan looked over the edge, and his heart came to a crashing halt. A muddy pond was at the bottom of the ravine. Sunlight poked through the trees, landing on a navy blue SUV half submerged in the water.
Nathan couldn't tear his eyes from the car.
"Nathan," Lee said, concern in his voice. "What's wrong?"
"Steve drove a navy blue SUV," Nathan said, his voice barely audible. He felt like he had been sucker punched.
Lee put a hand on his arm. "Do you want me to get someone else out here to take a look?" he asked. "You don't have to go down there, Nathan."
"Yes, I do," Nathan said, a cold determination filling him. "I have to know the truth, no matter what it might be."
Lee was quiet for a few moments. "Alright," he said finally. "You wait here. I'm going to grab some gear and the evidence kits from the cruiser."
Nathan couldn't breathe. His mind went through a million scenarios in which the car in the pond in the ravine was not Steve's, but deep down he knew. They had found the car.
What would they find inside it?
Lee returned with the supplies. Nathan took some rope from a bag and tied it to a tree. Testing it to see if it would hold his weight, he slung a backpack with the evidence kits in it and slowly walked backwards down the ravine, holding tightly to the rope. He got to the bottom and paused, waiting for Lee to join him. As they both stood there for a moment, Nathan took a deep breath, bracing himself for whatever it was they were about to find.
The SUV had gone into the pond backwards, so the front seats were above water. Nathan glanced at the license plate, his heart dropping to his feet. He looked at Lee. "This is Steve's car."
Lee put a hand on his shoulder. "Stay here. I'm going to look inside first."
Nathan nodded woodenly. He looked up the ravine, then back at the SUV. There was no way anyone could survive that fall. He already dreaded what Lee might find inside.
"Come look at this, Nathan," Lee called. He sounded baffled.
Nathan quickly came over. Lee shook his head. "I don't know what to make of this."
Looking in the car, Nathan saw what Lee meant. He frowned, pulling some gloves from his pack. He opened the door.
A wallet and cell phone lay on the passenger seat. The driver's seat was empty. Nathan frowned, looking at the windshield. It was cracked and there was blood splatter everywhere, including the dashboard, but there was no sign of a body.
Nathan let out a breath, suddenly feeling drained. Lee looked at him, the concerned look back. "What is it?"
Shaking his head, Nathan sighed. "If we had found his body, we would have a definitive answer. Maybe it was just an accident. But now this has confirmed my fear that foul play is involved. Why would his wallet and cell phone be still in the car without him? He wouldn't leave without them."
Lee eyed the pond. "There is another possibility, Nathan."
Nathan looked at the murky water too. He shuddered. "You're right, there is. Just because his body isn't in the car doesn't mean it's not under that water."
Lee nodded, a supportive hand resting on Nathan's shoulder again. "I'll make the call. We'll have a team out here within half an hour."
Nathan nodded, walking to a rock and sitting on it heavily. They had finally found something, and it appeared to confirm his worst fears.
Now they had to figure out what had happened.
No matter how dark that answer might be.
Elizabeth and Allie stood in her kitchen, mixing chocolate chip cookie dough. "This is the best!" Allie exclaimed, rolling a small ball of dough and popping it in her mouth.
Elizabeth followed suit. "Mmm, yes it is! Nothing quite beats a classic chocolate chip cookie." They placed the dough on two cookie sheets, then Allie sprinkled flaky sea salt on top and put them in the oven. "Uncle Nathan is going to love these!" she enthused. "He's been sad lately." She tilted her head. "Do you know why he's sad? Mom won't tell me why. She just says he's going through a rough time."
Elizabeth's heart momentarily dropped as she contemplated what to tell Allie. Colleen and Nathan had agreed not to tell Allie that he was looking for her father in earnest. He had been looking under the radar with Lee and Hickam's help for the past few months, but nothing official. They didn't want to let Allie know a full-blown investigation was underway.
She cleared her throat. "Your mom is right, Uncle Nathan is just going through a few things right now. He will be fine, though. Don't worry about him too much, Allie. Sometimes grown ups have hard times too. This is just one of those times."
"Okay," Allie said, though the worry didn't completely leave her face. Suddenly it lit up. "Hey! Maybe we should go fishing soon! Uncle Nathan loves fishing. He's been taking me since I was a little girl."
"I think he would love that, Allie," Elizabeth said with a warm smile. "Especially since it would mean spending time with his favorite niece."
Allie snorted. "I'm his only niece!"
Laughing, Elizabeth ruffled her hair. "Details, my dear girl."
Allie grinned. "Can we finish the movie now?"
"Of course!"
They walked back to Elizabeth's living room where they were nearly done with High Society. Elizabeth got up to take the cookies from the oven when they were done and placed them on a cooling rack, then put more cookies in the oven. She walked back to rejoin Allie. They both sighed in delight as the movie ended happily.
Allie turned off the TV, then turned hopeful eyes on Elizabeth. "I'm meeting Opal and Emily at the beach for a barbeque. Can I take some of the cookies to share with them?"
"Of course you can, Allie!" Elizabeth exclaimed. She helped her pack up a box of cookies, then watched as Allie put them in her beach bag.
"Thanks, Auntie Elizabeth!" she said, wrapping her arms around Elizabeth for a hug.
"You're welcome, sweetheart," Elizabeth said. "Have fun at the beach with your friends!"
"I will!" Allie said, grinning. "See you later." She headed out the door. Elizabeth watched as she vanished down the trail that would take her to the beach. Before she could head back inside, Nathan's car pulled up.
Elizabeth's heart flipped. She hadn't been expecting him. He got out of the car and walked up to her door. Elizabeth's mouth fell open. He looked awful.
"Nathan, what's wrong?" she asked, pulling him inside and shutting the door.
He didn't answer right away. His blue eyes were red rimmed and swimming in moisture. His face looked tired and haggard.
Elizabeth had never seen him look this way before. She could tell he wasn't ready to talk, so she stepped close and wrapped her arms around him. He returned her embrace, holding her tightly. She could feel his tears seeping into her hair. When he pulled back, she reached up and tenderly wiped his tears away.
He smiled at her, smoothing her hair. "Thank you, Elizabeth. For not rushing me to talk."
She took his hand and led him to the sofa. "You will talk when you feel ready," she said gently as they sat. "Is there anything I can do for you?"
He put an arm around her shoulder, pulling her close again. "You're doing it, sweetheart. Just being here next to me is enough." He was quiet for several minutes. Elizabeth rested her head on his shoulder, letting her presence comfort him.
After a while, Nathan started talking. "We found Steve's car today," he said quietly. "In a deep ravine in a forest. The forest patrol saw the car from their aircraft and alerted Bill, who alerted me." He sighed. "Lee and I went into the ravine. I was so afraid, Elizabeth. I thought for sure I was about to see my brother-in-law dead. But he wasn't there." He took a shuddering breath. "His wallet and cell phone were there, and he had clearly been badly injured, but we couldn't find any trace of him. A team searched the pond his car was in, but he wasn't in there either." He absently traced circles on Elizabeth's wrist with his thumb. "There was a trail of blood for a short time leading toward the wall of the ravine, but then it disappeared too." He shook his head. "Again, it's like he vanished without a trace."
"What do you suspect?" Elizabeth asked softly.
Nathan looked at her, sadness in his eyes. "I fear foul play, Elizabeth. But for the life of me I can't figure out why. Steve never did anything to anyone that would warrant someone taking his life." He frowned. "At least not that I know of." He shook his head again. "And what was he doing on that road?" he muttered as if to himself.
"What road?" Elizabeth asked.
"A country road," Nathan said. "But that makes no sense. He would have no reason to be on that road, especially since he had called Colleen not too long before to let her know he would be home after fueling up. But he was twenty minutes outside of town on a road that leads to a town even smaller than ours. I don't understand."
Elizabeth reached up and tenderly pushed back the lock of hair that always stubbornly fell over his forehead. "You've had a trying day, Nathan. You don't have to figure everything out at once."
"I know that in my head," Nathan said, blowing out his breath. "But my heart wants to know what happened for Colleen's sake. And Allie's."
Elizabeth turned to face him, looking him straight in the eyes. "You'll get there, Nathan. You will figure this out, and you will find the answers."
He smiled at her, some of the weariness easing from his face. "You're wonderful, you know that?" he said, running a knuckle gently down her cheek.
She chuckled. "If you say so." She looked at the clock. "It's about dinner time. Why don't we order in some saimin and watch a movie? I have chocolate chip cookies too."
He groaned with relief. "You have no idea how good that sounds right now." His eyes sparkled slightly. "Did you say cookies?"
"I did. Shall we start with those?"
"Yes, please!"
Elizabeth laughed and got the cookies, placing them on the coffee table in front of the sofa. "Help yourself. I'll order the saimin."
After she'd made the call, she came back to the living room with two large glasses of lemonade. She placed them on the table, then looked at Nathan. "What movie do you want to watch?"
"I don't suppose you have The Philadelphia Story?" Nathan asked, taking a large bite out of a cookie.
"Of course I do!" Elizabeth said, remembering that he had said it was his favorite. "Allie and I watched the remake of that earlier today."
Nathan blinked. "Remake? There's a remake?"
Elizabeth smiled. "Yes. High Society. With Crosby and Sinatra."
His eyes widened. "That's a remake?" He thought for a moment, eyes narrowing. "Of course! How did I not see that before?" He smacked his forehead in mock frustration.
Elizabeth laughed, sliding the movie into her DVD player. As the opening credits started playing, she curled up on the couch next to Nathan, snuggling into his side. He pulled her closer, pressing a kiss to the side of her head. "This is something I'll never get tired of," he said softly.
A thrill passed through Elizabeth at his words. They sat together with a running commentary on the movie until their food was delivered. Nathan insisted on paying, and they sat back on the sofa with their bowls of saimin.
"This is pure comfort food," Nathan said with a little sigh as he took his first bite of the savory noodle soup.
Elizabeth nodded, twirling the long noodles with a fork against a spoon. "This has been one of my favorites ever since I discovered it," she said. "It's so good."
They resumed the movie. "Cary Grant and Jimmy Stewart. It just doesn't get any better than that," Nathan commented as they watched the final scene.
"Caught in a love triangle with Katharine Hepburn. Cary Grant is literally the one man Jimmy Stewart could lose to and people would be okay with it." Elizabeth grinned. "Well, Jimmy belonged with the other woman anyways, so it all turned out fine in the end."
"True," Nathan said as Elizabeth pointed the remote at the TV, turning it off. "I'm just glad you and I don't have to worry about love triangles. Can you imagine?"
Elizabeth wrinkled her nose. "No. That would be frustrating."
They stood at the same time. It was now dark outside. Nathan rolled his head from side to side in a gesture Elizabeth had come to recognize as him releasing tension from his neck. "Thank you for tonight, Elizabeth," he said, taking her in his arms once again. "This was exactly what I needed." He kissed her lightly. "I'll see you tomorrow."
"Let me pack those cookies for you," Elizabeth said. She quickly wrapped them in the kitchen and then handed them to Nathan. "Cookies can cure all."
He grinned. "Cookies cure all?"
She shrugged. "It's a well known fact."
Nathan laughed, the first full laugh she'd heard from him that night. "I only believe that about these cookies, because they came from you," he said, still chuckling. His eyes focused on hers, the laughter fading from them and a deep look replacing it. He leaned forward, wrapping her in his arms again, and pressed his lips to hers. She could feel his need for comfort, and she slid her arms around him, holding him close. His kiss deepened, strong and passionate. Elizabeth clung to him as her knees weakened, Nathan's passion washing over her like a flood. When he pulled away, her eyes remained closed, taking in what had just happened. She opened them to find Nathan watching her with his endearing crooked smile.
"I'd better get going," he said softly, his eyes caressing her face.
"Okay," Elizabeth said, finding it a little hard to get those two syllables out.
He chuckled lightly, letting her go. Elizabeth was amazed she was able to stand.
"Goodnight, Elizabeth. Sweet dreams."
"Goodnight, Nathan." She watched as he walked out the door, quietly shutting the door behind him. She leaned against the door, her heart pounding.
Nathan made her feel cherished and loved. No words of love had been spoken between them yet, but she sensed it was coming soon.
A smile tugged at her lips. She had thought she would never love again. Now she knew that wasn't true. She had fallen for her strong, silent detective who had a heart of gold. She knew it wouldn't always be smooth sailing - tonight showed that tragedy could still find them - but she knew they could handle anything if they were together.
And that was what mattered.
