“At least we’ve ruled out those areas. Gabe’s probably right. She isn’t in the swamp.” What person in their right mind would be? Kyra scanned the growing darkness and quaked.

  “We’re almost back to Ken’s.” Michael steered the airboat around a sharp bend.

  Houses came into view, and Kyra began to relax some. But the coldness still clung to her. She’d come back to Flamingo Cay to lie on the beach, soak up some sun and relax. Not go into a place that created nightmares in her mind.

  Gabe strode across the yard toward the pier as Michael pulled up to it and tossed the rope to Kyra to tie the boat to the mooring. When she finished, she rotated toward the police chief covering the short length of wooden planks to the end.

  “What’s up?” she asked, realizing by the steely glint in Gabe’s eyes and the rigid set of his shoulders that this wasn’t a social call.

  Michael hopped off the boat. “We didn’t find anything. How about you?”

  Gabe blew out a long breath. “Wilson just got a location on Amy’s cell, and you ain’t gonna like it. Smack-dab in the middle of Alligator Island.”

  FIVE

  Two large, battery-powered spotlights Gabe carried in his patrol car illuminated the path to Alligator Island, revealing the coffee-colored water of the narrow canal off the main one. The sound of the airboat announced their approach and Kyra hoped alerted all the alligators in the area to flee. An occasional sight in the dark of red eyes lurking above the water reminded her of her casual comment to Michael earlier about not being afraid of alligators. She wasn’t. She had no reason to be, but that didn’t mean she didn’t have a healthy respect for them and a desire to keep her distance.

  “We’re here,” Gabe announced from the front of the boat as Michael guided the craft up onto solid ground. “I don’t know why I let you talk me into coming, Michael. I don’t think we can do a thorough search in the dark.”

  Michael cut the engine and lifted up a powerful flashlight. “This will help. I would have come with or without you. If there’s a chance I can find Amy tonight, I’m taking it. A lot can happen before morning comes.”

  “I just want you to know the chances are slim we’ll find anything.” Gabe swept his arm wide. “There are a lot of places to hide in the trees. Too dense for us to penetrate tonight.” Grimacing, the police chief held up his flashlight. “Even with these.”

  After grabbing hers, Kyra followed Michael and Gabe onto the island. Her only other pair of tennis shoes sank into the muddy ground near the canal. “Should we spread out? Go in different directions?”

  “Normally I would say yes but it’s not wise in the dark. Let’s keep a visual sight on each other so if anything happens there’s help. Kyra, you’ve got your gun so you take one side. Michael, you’ll be in the middle, and I’ll be on the other side.”

  The farther apart Kyra went from Michael, the more goose bumps rose on her skin even though the temperature was near ninety degrees and the humidity was one hundred percent. At least it felt as if it was. Her damp shirt clung to her, and sweat and dust caked her face. Her heart raced, and her lungs burned from lack of enough oxygen.

  Sweeping her flashlight in a wide arc, she searched for anything that would indicate Amy was on the island. If she could find Amy, then she could leave.

  Odors assaulted her nostrils, smells of cinnamon from the mangrove trees mingling with the aroma of the pines, the decaying vegetation inches thick in places, the earthiness of the muddy ground and the saltiness from where the Gulf mixed with the fresh water of the swamp. She’d grown up with these odors but had forgotten how powerful they were. They brought back memories of her childhood when she did venture out into the marsh before she’d allowed fear to keep her away. Since that encounter with the water moccasin, she had faced so many dangerous situations and had walked away fine. So why was she letting a childhood fear cause her heart to beat faster and her hands to shake?

  “Amy, Amy,” Michael called out.

  A bellow echoed through the Glades in answer. Taken by surprise, Kyra gasped, her heartbeat kicking up another notch. Until she realized it was a male alligator. Thankfully, he sounded far away. At least she thought so. She paused, fingering her gun in her holster.

  “That’s probably ole Jaws,” Gabe shouted with a hint of amusement in his voice.

  “You mean he’s still alive?” Kyra remembered the stories about him from when she lived here. At that time, he was at least ten feet long, and people estimated he was old then, a product of the alligator farm that had been on the island for a short time in the early eighties. He’d managed to escape right before the place went under, and he’d ruled the area.

  “Yup. People sight him from time to time. Probably sixteen feet by now. Scared some tourists a few months back. They hightailed it out of here so fast they were a blur. But don’t worry. From what I’ve heard and seen he stays away from here. Bad memories of his childhood possibly.”

  The chuckle in Gabe’s voice made her frown. She started to answer him but decided ignoring him would be the best. But the words tumbled out of her mouth before she could stop them. “Anyone in their right mind would not want to encounter a sixteen-foot alligator, including you, unless you’re off your rocker.”

  Gabe laughed. “Touché. If it will make you feel better, when I heard him, I jumped.”

  Listening to her mentor teasing her caused the tension to slip away. It was time she faced her fear and overcame it. But if she had to, she preferred doing that in the light of day.

  Michael stopped walking and turned in a circle, shouting, “Amy, if you’re out here, show yourself. I’m here to help.” He waited a half minute, then added, “Please, Amy, come out.”

  Only silence greeted his plea. Kyra wanted to comfort him. His pain, reflected in his voice, cloaked his face. “We’ll find her,” she said, hoping that was the truth.

  He looked at her for a long moment, then swung around and began his hike forward again.

  But she’d seen the doubt in his eyes. The longer it took them to find Amy, the less the possibility of finding her alive.

  When they were halfway across the small island, Michael’s flashlight stopped on a spot a little in front of him. Then suddenly he started running toward the area. “I think I found the cell.”

  As Michael bent down to pick up the phone, Kyra sloshed through the mud toward him. A few yards away from him, she sank to above her ankles in the boggy ground. Another step and she was in up to the middle of her calves. With each movement forward it became more difficult, zapping her strength. Shining her light around her, she noticed the muddy earth went on for a couple more feet but where Michael was the ground was higher.

  Gabe joined Michael and took the cell. “Is this Amy’s?”

  “Yes.” Michael yelled his sister’s name above the racket the insects made. “What if she is unconscious or something? What if the killer found her cell and put it here? Or what if she lost it here?”

  “Remember, Amy said the killer had her cell. How did she know he did?” Kyra asked as she labored to cover the distance to the men. “We really don’t know what happened. Amy might not, either. She was scared and getting ready to run when she left that email.”

  “I’m familiar with this island, and there isn’t any kind of cabin left on it. The last hurricane took down the remaining structure from the alligator farm. So I don’t think this is where Amy lost her phone.” Gabe took off his ball cap and scratched his head. “Which might mean the killer had it and left it here so we would find it. Why?”

  “I don’t know. I have a hard time thinking like a murderer.” Michael swung his flashlight toward Kyra. “Are you all right?” He started toward her.

  “I’m okay. Stay there. There’s no reason for both of us to be stuck in the mud. Good thing there’s no quicksand in the Everglades or I’d be worried right now.”

  “You mean you didn’t believe those tales I told you about the quicksand?”

  Kyra chuckled. “Gabe, Dad informed me after you left that evening that you embellished on the truth. It might make for a good scene in a movie, but in real life people don’t go under in quicksand.”

  “Who, me? Embellish?”

  “I’m not even going to reply to that. I know how much you liked to tease me when I was growing up. Still do.” Kyra trudged a few more paces, sweat pouring off her face. Finally she reached more stable ground, and Michael clasped her hand, drawing her toward him. “We definitely need to avoid that area.” She glanced down at the murk that covered her from the knees down. “I’m going to have to buy a new pair of tennis shoes. Ruined two in one day. A record for me.”

  “Nah. Those will wash right up. They’ll be maybe a little worn from this but wearable.” Gabe turned toward the way they came. “We found what we came for. I’ll come back tomorrow morning to look around. I don’t want to disturb any more of this ground than we already have. I might be able to discover a trail.”

  “But what if Amy is here?” Michael stood still.

  “She isn’t, and there is no cabin on this island. It might rain tonight. Amy’s a smart girl and would want to find some kind of shelter if possible.” Gabe plopped his ball cap back on his head and continued toward the boat.

  “Amy might have little choice in where to hide. I’m finishing what we came to do. Check this place out. I’ll skirt this area, but I’m continuing on.” Michael backtracked a few yards and then circumvented where the cell had been discovered.

  Kyra trailed after him. No way would she let him go alone.

  Gabe huffed behind them and came after them. “If you see footprints, avoid them.”

  They returned to the airboat thirty minutes later. Kyra walked out into the canal a few feet to rinse off the worst of the mud from her legs. The mosquitoes had feasted on what skin was exposed to them. Rubbing a bite on her arm, she clamored into the craft.

  On the way back to the airboat, Michael had remained silent while Gabe did a running commentary on the demise of the alligator farm. He’d been a young man at the time and had frequently visited the place before it went under due to lack of visitors. Off the beaten track, Flamingo Cay wasn’t a tourist attraction.

  “I’m sorry we didn’t find Amy, Michael. It was a long shot,” Gabe said when he came on board.

  “But at least we ruled out her being on Alligator Island.” Michael switched on the engine and headed back toward his partner’s dock on the main canal.

  Wet from her mini bath in the water, Kyra hugged her arms to herself and shivered from the wind created by the fast speed the craft was going. She thought of her safe, dry house in Dallas and knew she would appreciate it even more when she got home. When she saw the lights of the pier come into view, she sagged back in her seat in relief. At least the breeze had dried off most of the water by the time she hopped onto the dock.

  “I’ll check the island again tomorrow. Like I said, I want to see if I can pick up a trail. I’ll see if Harvey and Boomer can join me.” Gabe took the lights he supplied for the journey and made his way across the back of Ken’s property.

  “I want to be in on it.” Michael stopped at the frog near the patio and put the keys back since the house was dark.

  “No, the fewer people who go, the faster I can cover the island and the less any evidence will be disturbed. The only reason we went tonight was in case Amy was there with her phone. She wasn’t. Now you let me handle it from here.”

  “I’d like to check out Kava Net in Naples tomorrow morning, if that’s okay with you, Gabe.” Kyra placed her hand on the door handle of Michael’s Saturn.

  “That would be great. The sheriff is helping me to organize a search of the swamp and land around Flamingo Cay. We should be ready to start that by ten.”

  “You’ll be back from Alligator Island by then?” Michael punched his key button to open the doors.

  “Yes, I’m going out when the sun comes up. I’ll call you if we find anything. Otherwise meet me at the public pier tomorrow at ten. We’ll start our search from then.” Gabe climbed into his patrol car as they got into the Saturn.

  Michael waited until Gabe pulled out before he turned on his vehicle, then slanted toward Kyra. “I need to help find Amy. Can you talk Gabe into letting us or at least me go tomorrow?”

  “Let Gabe do his job. He’s a great tracker. I’m not. Are you?”

  “No.”

  “I think we need to check out this skullandcrossbones lead at the Kava Net. If we can take as many pictures of Amy’s friends as possible, it might help us rule some of them out as the mysterious email friend.”

  “She loves to take pictures and has a nice digital camera I gave her for Christmas. I know she has taken photos with it when she goes into the swamp. I didn’t think about that. There may be something on the camera to help tomorrow in the search.”

  “Maybe, and if we can get snapshots of her friends that should help, too.”

  He backed out of the driveway and drove toward Pelican Lane. “It should be somewhere in her room.”

  “We can look together and come up with what we need. Most coffee places open early. I can call and find out when, and we can be there when they open the doors in the morning.”

  He threw her a lopsided grin. “Sounds like a plan. At least I’ll feel like I’m doing something.”

  “I’ll run home and take a quick shower and change, then be back at your house to help you. It wouldn’t hurt to go completely through Amy’s room and see if we find anything that might help.”

  “I’ll come in. I haven’t had a chance to see how your aunt is doing. She must be upset by what happened today next door.”

  “I know she would love to see you, but I was informed earlier that she could take care of herself. Did you know she beat Gabe at a shooting contest?”

  “I heard rumors of that.”

  “And she has a gun she’s been carrying around all day.”

  “Like her niece.”

  As a police officer for so many years, wearing a weapon had become so second nature to her that she rarely even thought about it now.

  When they entered Kyra’s childhood home, Aunt Ellen came out into the hallway from the kitchen. Her smile grew when she laid eyes on Michael.

  Petite, only coming to Michael’s shoulders, her aunt approached him and wrapped her arms around him, hugging him. “I’m so sorry to hear about Amy. I’m glad you’re here. I baked you some cookies and was thinking about coming down to your house with them. Now you’ve saved me a trip, young man. Come on into the kitchen while I put them in a container for you.” She retraced her steps.

  Kyra placed her hand on Michael’s arm as he started after Aunt Ellen. “A word of caution. She’s a dear but not a very good cook. One time she made me some cookies and sent them to me. I think she put salt in instead of sugar. Another time they weren’t cooked completely. So you might wait to try one in the privacy of your house.”

  He grinned. “I’ve already received her gifts before. She’ll never know.”

  Kyra passed the doorway into the kitchen as Michael went inside and heard Aunt Ellen saying, “I wish I’d known y’all were coming. I could have waited dinner. Do you want me to whip together something for you and Kyra?”

  “That’s all right,” Michael answered immediately. “It’s been taken care of. Kyra is changing and then we’re going to my house to try and figure out where Amy is.”

  Smooth. Kyra chuckled and hurried to her bedroom.

  Michael sat on Amy’s rumpled covers on her bed. “We still haven’t found her digital camera.”

  Kyra stood in the middle of the room, making a slow circle. “Where does she usually keep it?”

  He shrugged. “Amy made it clear from the beginning her bedroom was her domain. Most of the time her door is closed. The couple of times it’s been open I only saw her camera on her dresser once. Usually I see it when she’s leaving to go take pictures. I know it’s important to her because she has expressed an interest in pursuing photography. Do you think the person who took her laptop took her camera, too?”

  Again Kyra scanned the area, trying to figure out where Amy would have put it. They had already gone through her drawers and closet. There wasn’t any obvious place left and their exploration had come up empty of anything else that might help them. “Do you think she had her camera with her yesterday in the swamp?”

  “I was at work. I don’t know. And that seems to be the problem. I don’t know what’s really going on with Amy. So I can’t help her.” Michael curled his fingers into fists on the bedding beside him.

  “Is there somewhere else in the house she might have set the camera down?”

  Tilting his head to the side, he stared at the doorway into the hall. When his eyes brightened, he swiveled his attention toward her. “Maybe. A couple of times I’ve seen it in the den. Once in the kitchen. Usually that’s right after she comes back into the house. She’d grab something to eat and put it down.”

  “Then we should search the whole place to make sure.” Kyra made her way into the hallway. “The other thing we need to consider is that she lost her camera along with her cell.”

  “But she didn’t mention that in her email.”

  “Because she was letting skullandcrossbones know that she doesn’t have her cell with her if that person wanted to call. If we don’t find out anything at Kava Net tomorrow morning, maybe if we find the camera, the pictures on it will help me.”

  “If it’s here.” Michael went into the kitchen.

  When they came up empty in that room, they moved to the den. Kyra checked around the couch and bookcase while Michael examined the rest of the area.

  “It’s not here.” Disappointment tugged his mouth into a frown.

  “Where else did she hang out when home?”

  “Her bathroom. She rarely went into my bedroom or formal living and dining room. The same with the spare bedroom.”