“Alex, come on!” Harper ran around to the side of the house to flag him, then hurried over to her Sable parked in the driveway and got in. As soon as Alex hopped in the car, she asked, “You’re sure she went to the bay?”

“No,” he admitted. “She wouldn’t tell me where she was going. But knowing Gemma, where else would she go?”

Harper put the car in reverse and floored it, making it squeal out of the driveway. Alex didn’t say anything, but he put on his seat belt.

“What did she say to you? Are you sure she’s running away? Maybe she just went for a swim.”

“No, I tried to go with her because the killer’s on the loose.” He pressed his arm against the window glass, steadying himself as Harper flew around a corner. “But she wouldn’t let me go with her.”

“Dammit.” Harper hit the steering wheel. “I knew she was acting weird today. I knew it, and I didn’t…” She shook her head, remembering all the things Gemma had told her. “She was saying good-bye.”

“But why?” Alex asked, pulling her from her thoughts. “Why is she doing this?”

“I don’t know. It’s not like Gemma. She never runs from a fight. Whatever she’s running from has to be pretty terrible.”

Harper got to the bay in record time. She didn’t stop soon enough and actually skidded out onto the dock, making the wooden planks quake under the car. As soon as the car came to a complete halt, she leaped out and started yelling for Daniel.

“Who’s Daniel?” Alex asked, chasing after Harper.

“He has a boat,” she explained quickly.

The docks were dimly lit, and when she couldn’t see his boat, she had this horrible moment of panic, realizing he might be gone. It was a boat. He could leave at any time.

Then the lights flicked on inside the cabin of The Dirty Gull, and she ran toward it. He still wasn’t on the deck when she reached it, so she slapped her hands against the side of the hull, trying to hurry him.

“Daniel!” Harper yelled.

“First your car wakes me up, now you’re hitting my boat.” Daniel finally emerged from the cabin, rubbing his eyes. He’d managed to put his jeans on, but they were still unbuttoned. “What’s the emergency?”

“Gemma’s gone.” She leaned over the dock as far as she could, hanging on to the railing of the boat to keep from falling in the water. “She ran away, we think she’s out in the bay. I need your help.”

“She ran away?” Daniel ran a hand through his hair and shook his head, trying to shake off the sleep. “Why?”

“We don’t know, but something’s really wrong.” She looked up at Daniel, her eyes pleading with him. “Please, Daniel. I need you.”

Without missing a beat, he asked, “How can I help?”

“The bay is the only place she really loves. She couldn’t have gotten far yet, and with your boat, we could find her.”

“The Gull isn’t as fast as it used to be, but I’ll do what I can.” He reached over the side of the boat and grabbed Harper to pull her up. “Who’s that?”

“What?” Harper asked when Daniel put her down. She glanced back to see Daniel pointing to Alex. “Oh, that’s Alex. He’s Gemma’s boyfriend.”

“Oh.” Daniel extended his hand to Alex. “Nice to meet you.”

“Uh, likewise.” He took Daniel’s hand uncertainly, and Daniel helped pull him up on the boat. He didn’t quite embrace him the way he’d lifted Harper, but he got Alex onto the deck.

“Can you help me unhook the boat?” Daniel asked Alex, gesturing to the ropes that tied it to the dock.

“Yeah, sure.” Alex hurried to help Daniel.

Harper went around to the front of the boat. A cold wind whipped over the water, and she wrapped her arms around herself, trying to stay warm against it. She stared out at the bay, hoping against hope that her sister was safe.

“Do you want me to take a pass around the bay?” Daniel asked, coming over to where Harper stood. He’d done up his pants and put on a shirt since untying the boat.

“Maybe.” She glanced back at him, then stared out at the water.

“What about the cove?” Alex suggested and pointed to it. “She’s running away, which means she needs a place to camp out. The cove would give her shelter but still keep her near the bay.”

Daniel looked to Harper for confirmation, and she nodded. Daniel went around to the back of the boat to drive it while Alex went to the very edge, hanging on to the railing, staring out at the night sea. Harper thought about staying with him, but she felt more in control staying with Daniel, telling him where to go.

When Daniel turned the key, the boat chugged but didn’t immediately start. Harper cast him a look, and he gave her an apologetic smile.

“I haven’t taken her out in a while.”

“What’s the point of having a boat if you don’t take it out?” Harper asked, sounding more hostile than she’d meant to.

“The point is that I get to have a roof over my head. Gas is expensive, and I don’t really have anywhere I wanna go.” He turned the key, and the motor finally purred into life. “There she goes!”

When they pulled away from the dock, moving toward the cove, Harper relaxed a little bit. Not completely, but she felt better knowing that they were doing something, that they were moving toward something.