Dark Corners by Megan Goldin

Author:Megan Goldin
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: St. Martin's Publishing Group

Chapter 38

Rachel watched the zigzags of her shoe tread press into the sand as she walked along the beach, listening to Maddison Logan’s voicemail message.

“My friend. She was murdered. A long time ago. I know who killed her. He knows that I know. I think he’s going to come for me.…”

Rachel couldn’t understand why Maddison hadn’t contacted the cops. Instead, in the hours before she’d disappeared, Maddison had turned to Rachel for help. Why Rachel, and not the police? Rachel was determined to find out.

The high-pitched screams of a toddler broke into Rachel’s train of thought. Rachel looked up to see a child running into a broken wave, screeching in delight.

In the distance, people were gathering hurriedly on the beach near the rickety pier. Something was wrong. The commotion was palpable even from where Rachel stood, hundreds of yards up the beach. Siren lights of emergency response vehicles flashed as they pulled up on the boardwalk.

Rachel moved into a jog. By the time she reached the area, a knot of onlookers was watching first responders work in a huddle under the pillars of the jetty. Police set up an accordion-style screen to block prying eyes while other officers ordered the crowd to move away. An ashen man sat on the sand, staring into space.

Rachel mounted the stairs to the boardwalk, where she paused at the higher vantage point to get a better view of the chaotic scene below.

“So you decided to stay after all.” The voice came from behind Rachel. “Why am I not surprised?”

Rachel swung around to face Joe Martinez.

“I thought you flew home last night,” he said. He looked troubled to see her but inexplicably pleased at the same time.

“I’m a sucker for sunshine and the ocean. I couldn’t bring myself to leave,” said Rachel, trying not to sound defensive. “What happened over there?” She gestured toward the first responders crowded around the underbelly of the pier.

“I was on my way to get breakfast when I saw the siren lights. I gather there was some sort of an accident. Looks like the paramedics and the cops have everything under control.” He glanced at his watch. “Would you like to join me for a quick breakfast?”

They walked down to another café not far from the one where Rachel had eaten burgers with Terence Bailey’s former attorney the previous day. Martinez ordered coffee and two eggs over easy. Rachel, who’d already eaten breakfast, ordered an iced coffee.

Martinez kept things light, deliberately avoiding any discussion of Terence Bailey as he cut up his food and ate with methodical thoroughness.

In between mouthfuls, he asked Rachel how she’d become involved in the podcasting business. She explained that she’d gone through a career crisis after she was laid off from the newspaper where she’d worked as a crime reporter due to editorial cutbacks. It was around that time that Pete contacted her out of the blue to ask her to work with him on a podcast series.

Pete had seen an award-winning article Rachel had

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