Page 88 of Is Anyone Listening?
"And we'll have to figure out how to get your roommate another car. I don't know if insurance will pay for anything. I guess I need to call someone."
"I already told my roommate what happened, and she will call her insurance company and find out what to do. I told her that there should be a police report because they responded to the scene."
"There should be, but whether there is or not, I can't say."
"So, is there anything new?"
"Actually, yes. Nathan Carmichael overdosed. He's in the hospital fighting for his life. The story so far is that it was a suicide attempt."
I could hear Tessa's exhale of surprise. "Wow, that's a shocker. When did this happen?"
"This afternoon sometime."
"How did you hear?"
"Finn called Nathan to ask him more questions about Jessica. When he didn't answer his phone, he tried his office, and they told us what happened."
"Why would Nathan want to kill himself?"
"With the timing, I can't help but think it has something to do with Jessica."
"Like what? He said he just found her boat and her ring. He didn't know her."
"Maybe he was lying. Maybe he was involved in something bigger, like her disappearance, maybe her…death."
"I guess that's possible. You mentioned you were with Finn…what were you doing?"
"He took me to his parents' house, and they told me about my father. They both went to school with my dad. It was interesting to talk to people who knew him when he was a kid. But they didn't know why he left. They did say my father didn't get along with the sheriff. That they were fighting over a girl named Lily."
"That name sounds familiar," Tessa said.
"Yes. It's the girl who allegedly killed herself, drowning off the beach, right below the inn."
"That's a crazy coincidence. Was your father still in Stonecross when that happened?"
"Yes. It was a couple of weeks after my grandfather died. And he left right after that."
"Maybe that's why."
"No idea. Anyway, that's what I was doing with Finn. And then we started talking about the missing women, and he said he believed we were on to something and that too many in the town, including him, had turned a blind eye to what was happening. He wants to help us now. He wants to shake things up, too. And since he's on the inside, he could be valuable."
"I'm glad he's been helpful. I thought he could be, if we could gain his trust."
"Your instincts were on the money."
"What about Tyler? Has he been helping, too?"
"He's definitely on the Jessica track." I paused. "Is it weird that Tyler went to Cork Harbor today to look for security camera footage on the road where Jessica appeared, which is the same town where Nathan overdosed?"
"That's a pointed question," Tessa replied. "You think Tyler had something to do with it? How? Why?"
"I don't know. Finn suggested it, but I can't imagine…" I rubbed my temples as the endless questions created a pounding in my head. "Finn doesn't trust Tyler, and Tyler doesn't trust Finn."
"And you?"
"I trust you and Morgan. Everyone else has a question mark."
"I'm glad you're not letting anyone get too close," she said. "Are you going to film another podcast tonight?"
