I sit on the edge of the couch in the inn’s living room, my hands clasped in my lap. The camera rests on the coffee table. The low hum of the air conditioner reverberates through the room. Scott sits beside me, his jaw tight, his hazel eyes fixed on the camera like he’s trying to will it not to be cruel. Ms. Connor and the rest of the guests are giving us privacy and have left the inn or are in the kitchen.
“Are you ready?” He caresses the small of my back. I try to ignore the worry in his eyes.
My insides churn with doubt. “I need to know.”
Scott plugs the camera cord into his laptop and clicks on the first file. The screen flickers, then steadies, and there’s Nathan. I catch my breath. There’s his handsome face, as alive and vibrant as the last time we were together.
But the place on the screen isn’t what I expect. Nathan stands in a secluded tropical cove, with waves cresting against the shore in the background and palm trees swaying in the wind. I don’t recognize the place at all. He’s relaxed, his hair tousled,and his face unguarded in a way I’d never seen him. Was he on vacation? Was this Belize?
“I’ll get to that in a second.” Nathan glances off-camera, his tone playful. “Can’t a guy have a moment to think?”
“You always overthink, Nate,” the woman teases. Her voice is light, carefree. My stomach clenches. I recognize the accent. It’s the mystery woman.
Nathan turns toward her voice, his playful expression softening. The light in his eyes is unmistakable. It’s pure, unfiltered love.
“I’m not thinking.” He gazes into the camera wistfully. “I’m dreaming.”
“What about?”
Nathan glances at the camera, his face shifting from soft to serious. “About you.” His gaze lowers. “I’m thinking about both of you. About what comes next for us.”
The words hit me like a wave, my breath catching in my throat. Both of you. What does he mean? Is he talking about…? I think of the little girl again, and I know this time. She’s his. I wish I could remember the details of her face, but I’d only seen her for an instant. Does she look like him?
The screen dissolves into static.
Abruptly, the serene cove is replaced by the muted depths of the ocean. Nathan’s professional voice comes through as he narrates the dive.
“Entering a primary chamber. Walls are made of smooth limestone. I estimate over ten thousand years of erosion. Visibility is excellent. Depth—eighty feet.”
His dive light sweeps across the cavern, the beam catching jagged stalactites and a silty floor glittering in the light. A cluster of bubbles cascade across the camera’s lenses.
“It’s true.” Awe fills his voice with boyhood enthusiasm for just a moment before he moves back to professional archaeologist mode. He continues to narrate his observations.
“Artifact one.” The camera zooms in on a ceramic shard, its surface carved with intricate patterns. They resemble those on the mysterious stone I found.
Nathan moves on, cataloging more. Then he wraps up, saying he’s ending the dive.
The screen flickers again. This time, he’s in another chamber. His movements are frantic. He had turned the camera back on. “This isn’t an accident.” He’s panicked. Pain stabs my heart. I’d never once in my life seen fear on my brother’s face. The camera falls to the ground, and there’s nothing else.
I stare at the blank screen as my ears roar. Tears flow down my face. The air is heavy, charged. He’s dead. As irrational as it was, I’d held hope it was all a mistake, but now I’ve seen his last moments with my own eyes. Scott puts his arms around me and rubs my back.
“I’m sorry, sweetheart.” He lifts my face and wipes away my tears.
“He said it’s not an accident. Does that mean that someone did this to him?”
“Yes. Someone tampered with his equipment. I believe whoever took him out to the Drop that day will know more. We’ll find out who did this, Maddie. I’ll call in a favor. The Coast Guard will tell us who they interviewed after Nathan’s disappearance.”
“Nathan found evidence of the lost civilization he was looking for. It’s down there,” I mumble through sobs.
“I think Jamie and I were close to it. We’ll need to be careful with our gas management, but we’ll be able to make it there on our next dive.”
“Please don’t do it if it’s dangerous.”
He cups my face. “We’ll be careful, and we’ll have backups for our backups.”
Scott holds me with the patience and tenderness I remember. We talk about Nathan. I share my thoughts about the little girl. Nathan has a daughter. Now I have even more questions to answer, and I need to find her and her mom. After a while, we sit in silence, and he just holds me. I rest my head on his chest and drift off.
A muffled cry from the kitchen cuts through the stillness.
