Page 422 of Hidden Depths

Mom twisted in the passenger seat to look at him.

“What happened that night?”

“James received a call from Elias Ross.”

“August’s father?”

“Yes. Elias wanted out. He had records—payments, cargo manifests, names of officials who had helped them.”

“What were they moving?” Ward asked.

“Anything that made money. Stolen cargo. Weapons. People.”

My stomach turned.

Nathan continued.

“Elias asked James to meet him at Blackwater Cove. James took Thomas because he didn’t trust Ross.”

“But August followed his father,” Mom said.

“He followed him with three men. Elias tried to give the records to James. August shot him before he could.”

I stared toward the road disappearing behind us.

“And Grandpa saw it.”

“James and Thomas saw everything.”

“Why didn’t they go to the police?”

“They did.”

Nathan’s voice became bitter.

“The officer who met them at the station was one of the names in Elias’s records.”

Ward cursed quietly.

“What did the officer do?”

“He called August.”

Mom covered her mouth.

“Dad and Thomas barely escaped the station. When they returned to Blackwater, Elias’s body was still there.”

“So they hid him,” I said.

“They hid Elias and the records before August could recover either one.”

“Why not take the evidence somewhere else?”

“Every road out of the cove was being watched. James had minutes to decide.”

“Where did he put the records?”

Nathan looked toward the lighthouse rising in the distance.