Both Billy and Terri stared at him.
“Come on, Terri.” Mr. Weber’s voice was teasing. “Are you going to tell me that something is happening at this lake that you don’t know about? There’s a whole lot of commotion over by the old dock and—”
“There was an accident?” she asked. “Is Dr. Jamie there? He looks like Nate.”
“I may be old, but I’m not senile. It’s Nate and the sheriff with some big equipment. And there are men and women wearing FBI jackets. I’m going over there to see what’s going on. I’m—” He didn’t finish because Terri had already run to her boat, Billy right behind her.
As Terri rounded the corner, she saw the people gathered where the old dock used to be. There were about half a dozen men and women in blue jackets with FBI in huge letters on the back. A truck with a crane on it towered over them.
Standing together in a quiet, solemn group were her father, Uncle Frank, Nate, and she was pretty sure that was Rowan Montgomery. She hadn’t seen him in years. They were listening to what a man in diving gear was saying. Terri would have yelled at them for not telling her what was going on, but the looks on their faces were so serious that she said nothing.
She stopped her boat several feet away and told Billy to anchor it. The solemnity of the people seemed to make the air feel heavy and Terri had a sense of foreboding. Her father was looking at something and as she got closer, she could see that it was an iPad.
It was Nate who saw her first. There was a darkness in his eyes that she’d not seen before. He hurried forward and, forgetting their agreement, put his arm around her and started to lead her back to her boat.
“The divers found a car on the bottom of the lake and photographed it. Your dad says it’s your mom’s car.” Nate looked up to see Billy standing in front of them. “You’re Thorndyke?”
“I am.”
“Take her home. We don’t know what’s inside and—”
Terri twisted out of Nate’s grip. “I’m going to be with my dad. Whatever is in there, he’ll need me.” She looked at Billy. “Take my boat and go get Elaine.”
“You’re sure?” Nate asked.
“Completely.”
Nate nodded to Billy and he left, then Nate took Terri’s hand.
“You and I shouldn’t be seen together,” she said. “We—” The look he gave her made her take a breath. She knew that whatever was going on took precedence over a broken engagement and town gossip. She wanted to ask him questions of how and why and what had made him do this, but now was not the time.
When her father looked up and saw her, he had tears in his eyes. Terri went to him, hugged him, then stepped back and linked her arm tightly with his.
They watched, clinging to each other. Frank came to stand beside them as the divers went down, holding on to the chain hooks needed to attach to the car.
It was slow going and Terri looked up when she heard the motor of the boat. Billy was coming toward them, driving at full speed. As bad as he was at mechanics, he did indeed love to go fast.
Elaine was holding on to the sides, her carefully coiffed hair blown flat back. She leaped into the water before Billy fully stopped and ran to Brody and fell into his arms.
When Terri stepped back, Nate was there. He led her to the side, pulled her into his arms and held her. She clutched him tightly.
“Sorry,” he said, “but I couldn’t stay away.”
She had her head pressed hard against his chest. “Stacy hates us.”
“It’s deserved,” Nate said. “Are you back with...with...?”
“Billy? Naw. He can’t even remember what a half hitch knot is.” Her tone made him sound useless.
Nate’s arms tightened so much that Terri thought her ribs might crack, but she only smiled. They’d heal.
For a long moment they held on to each other in silence. Behind them was the noise of the truck and people talking. A crowd was beginning to gather and boat motors were idling.
“On that day when you cleaned up around here, you saw something, didn’t you?” she said.
“Yeah,” Nate said. “I was so busy showing off to you that it didn’t register until later. The posts from the dock had been cut, not broken, and I saw something on the bottom. It was a while before I realized that I might have seen part of a car.”
“Uncle Frank always said my mother didn’t leave us.” She pulled away to look at him. “But maybe she ran her car off the dock and left with...him.”