Page 40 of Is Anyone Listening?
"That is a positive," she said with a weary, pained smile.
"I don't want you to talk if it hurts. We can debrief later."
"I'm okay. They gave me some medication. It hasn’t completely worn off yet."
I didn't want to press her, but I needed more information. "Can you tell me anything about where you went yesterday?"
"Finn took me to lunch at his favorite place in Cork Harbor. It's about forty-five minutes north of Stonecross. I didn't know we were going so far away, but it was a pretty drive, and he was fun to talk to. He told me about his military days, his family, and growing up in Stonecross."
As her voice trailed off, I tried to gently bring her back on track. "Did you ask him about Natalie or Jessica, the women who disappeared after staying at the inn?"
"Yes, I did," she said with a somewhat triumphant gleam in her eyes as she recaptured that fact. "Finn said he was bothered by those events, too. He didn't like the way the sheriff shut down the investigations so quickly. But he also understood why; the bad press could hurt the tourism, and the town needs tourists to survive."
"I get that, but two women have vanished in the past year. Those women had lives, families. Don't they deserve justice?"
"I think I said something like that, too. Finn said he didn't know what he could do about it. The sheriff and Ellen are tight. He doesn't really like Ellen, but she's Sophie's employer, and his sister is determined to work at the inn until she makes enough money to leave Stonecross. He said he even offered to loan her some money so she could leave now, but she wants to pay her own way, and he respects that."
"So, you didn't really get much information."
"I was trying. Oh, wait a second." A light came into her eyes. "That's why I went on the boat. When we were talking about Jessica, we ran into Finn's friend, Nathan, who was the one who found Jessica's abandoned boat. Nathan offered to take us out on the water and show us where he'd found the boat."
I frowned. "Weren't you at all concerned about going out on a boat with two men you didn't know?"
"Finn was nice. I didn't have a bad feeling about him. And Nathan seemed cool, too."
"It was a bad idea. And I don't understand how you got so drunk. What happened on the boat trip?"
"Nothing. It was beautiful out on the water." She paused. "That’s where things get fuzzy." She paused, an unhappy expression on her face. "I don't really remember what happened or what we talked about. I guess it's the concussion. I'm sorry, Cassidy."
"It's okay. You'll probably remember more once you're feeling better."
"I hope so. What's going on at the inn?"
"Not much. Ellen smelled the alcohol on your breath last night. I'm sure she's preparing a defense in case you want to sue her for falling down the stairs."
"I don't really remember that, either."
"Maybe that's just as well," I said with a sympathetic smile. "You don't need to stress out about any of this."
"I can't help it. How am I going to help you from this hospital bed?"
"Maybe we just stop."
"We can't do that. Morgan texted me earlier and said last night's podcast quadrupled our audience, and it's still getting listens today."
"I probably should have canceled it, but I rushed down here with you, and I forgot all about it, until it was too late."
"I'm glad it's out. And I know it's a lot to ask, but I think you should keep going—if you're willing, of course."
I didn't know if I was willing or not.
"I think Nathan might have said more about Jessica, but I can't remember. I just feel like there was something he said that I wanted to tell you…" She sighed. "Dammit. I hate this foggy feeling."
"Don’t fight it. You've been through a lot."
"You should talk to Finn. He was there. He'd remember what Nathan said."
"I don't know if we can trust Finn."
