“That’s why I’m sending you out in pairs,” Nikau said. “One of you stays with her, while the other one heads back until you either get a signal or you meet up with someone else who has a signal. At that point, pass on the message, then go back to your partner. I don’t want anyone out there alone for a long period. Is that understood?”

Everyone nodded; Nikau might have a bit of a reputation in town, but no one would argue against his deep knowledge of the land in and around Golden Cove.

“Let’s go,” he said into the silence. “You get tired, you come back. No matter what, we all meet back here at dawn. If you need to leave earlier, tell Matilda so we don’t waste time looking for you.”

Matilda spoke up. “I’m going to do a roll call. If your name’s not on this list, give it to me before you leave.”

The teams began to disperse three minutes later.

Nikau had assigned himself and his partner one of the toughest and most treacherous trails. He hadn’t assigned Will a search -area—-as they’d agreed on when Will first talked to him about how to handle such situations. Will needed to be open and available to respond to any possible sighting.

Nikau handed over a copy of the search assignments. “You going to see Ana?”

Will nodded. “If Miriama ran along the coastal route or went down to the beach, it’s possible she might’ve spotted her.”

Hands on his hips, Nikau nodded. “Look,” he said, “sorry about this morning. Not your fault you didn’t know.” With that, he jogged off to join his partner in the truck they’d drive to the entrance of their particular track.

Obviously, Nikau was assuming that Will must’ve done some research, figured out what it was that had set off Anahera and Nikau that morning.

He was right.

Getting into his SUV, Will turned in the direction of Anahera’s cabin just as Matilda came to stand at the entrance to the fire station, a strong woman who’d made some bad choices, but who knew how to love. Spotlit by the lights of the fire station behind her, she grew increasingly small in his rearview mirror as he drove away into the dark.

11

Flashlight beams cut through the pitch black on either side of the road, voices rising into the air as the searchers called out for Miriama. Will spotted several volunteers on the roadside itself, their task to check the ditches for evidence that Miriama might’ve been clipped by a car.

After that point, the world glowed red, lit by the taillights of the people who’d been assigned to the coastal area. All those Nikau had told to work the clifftop and the beach were either fishermen, ex--Navy, or people who lived along the coast. They respected the ocean while not being intimidated by it.

Will turned off to the left when he came to the graveled drive that led to Anahera’s home. The others continued on straight, but he knew they’d be stopping within thirty seconds. That was as far as you could go in a vehicle; after that, the volunteers would have to search on foot, careful not to get too close to the cliff edge unless they wanted to use one of the narrow paths to scramble down to the beach.

That, too, would be a dangerous trip, but all these people had done it several times at least, probably in the last month. Dark and untamed and merciless though it was, this was their home.

His headlights spotlighted Anahera halfway up the drive. She was carrying an unlit flashlight, her body clad in jeans, boots, and a heavy outdoor jacket. Stopping his vehicle, he got out. She was the one who spoke first. “What’s happened? I figured something must have when I heard all the activity on the road. And don’t say you told me so about the phone. I’ve already put in a request for a transfer.”

Will didn’t waste either of their time. “Miriama’s missing. Last seen going for a run, and probably heading in this direction. Did you see any sign of her?”

Skin going tight over the fine bones of her face, Anahera shook her head. “I spent most of the afternoon inside, cleaning out the place. What time would she have passed by?” When he told her the estimated period, she shook her head. “I went for a walk to clear my head around then. I must’ve just missed her.”

“Is it possible she might’ve run along the front of your property, along the cliffs?” It was technically private land, but no one in Golden Cove much bothered about things like -that—-the only people who seemed to were Daniel and Keira May with their mansion on the hill. Vincent Baker owned an equally large chunk of land, but he usually had no problem with hikers utilizing the walking trails that ran through his property.

“I noticed a strip of slow grass growth along the edge where I think people run,” Anahera said. “Let’s go have a look.”

She jumped into his vehicle for the short drive back to her cabin. Getting out afterward, flashlights in hand and the lights of his running vehicle illuminating the darkness, they began to examine the area around the cabin. While he could see the path Anahera had mentioned, there was too little grass to tell if it had been recently crushed. He and Anahera checked regardless, all the way along, until they got to the point where a steep climb snaked down to the beach.

Farther on was a more dangerous stretch of clifftop they simply could not search in the darkness. The risk was too high. He and Anahera ran their flashlight beams over the area as well as they could regardless, but the grass was taller and hardier there and the lights not enough to penetrate the blackness. “We have to wait for dawn.”