Page 14 of Secrets of the Dragon's Heart

“The hike was fine, but she was there again,” he said. “I swear, no matter where I go on this island, she’s there.”

“And she would be the woman you were with last night, the one who wasn’t going to come near you again?” Max asked, then sighed when he nodded. “Well then, we’d better go to my office. It really has started again.”

“This has nothing to do with the island, so don’t even go there,” he said, following Max down the hallway. “I just don’tunderstand how Kennedy can turn up everywhere I am. It’s like she knows ahead of time where I’ll be.”

“Cameron, this isn’t a very big island, you’re bound to run into her,” Max said, opening the door and gesturing to the chair across from his desk. “It’s not like she’s stalking you or something.”

When he didn’t answer right away, Max sighed, “Cameron, that’s a little…well, crazy,” he said. “Why would she be following you around? What possible reason could she have?”

“I know how I sound, but I’ve been thinking about it. She was on the boat that brought me to the island, and she showed up at the beach that first afternoon when I was there,” he said, ticking each incident off on his fingers. “The next day, she was at my sailing lesson, and then the crab boil. This morning, she showed up to the hike. That’s more than coincidence, Max; that’s a pattern.”

Max was quiet for a second. “Maybe, but everyone was at the crab boil, and I know for a fact that most people end up on the beach the first day that they’re here, so I don’t think you can count either of those,” he said. “What exactly do you think this woman is up to?”

“I don’t know, but she was asking a lot of questions about the island and all the rumors today. That’s what made me feel weird,” he said, scowling his face. “She sounded more like a newspaper reporter than a…well, I don’t know…”

“You don’t know…” Max said. “You mean you don’t know what she does for a living.”

“I never thought to ask, it didn’t seem important,” he said, then looked over at Max. “You don’t think…no, that’s ridiculous…what would she want with me?”

“It looks like we have more questions than answers,” Max said, sliding open a drawer next to his desk. “But I might be able to help a little.”

He pulled out a folder, opened it, and scanned the pages for a second before looking over at Cameron. “Are you sure you want to do this?” Max asked. “This is private information. It’s a bit of a violation of Kennedy’s privacy.”

“I don’t care, the woman is driving me crazy,” he said. “There can’t be anything in there I couldn’t find on the internet.”

“Good point,” Max said. “Okay, it looks like she’s from a small town just outside of Milwaukee. She’s twenty-four years old, never been married, but she didn’t list her occupation.”

“Of course not,” he said. “That didn’t really help much, but it is the same story she told me.”

“Normally, I would have had more information, but she won the trip on a gameshow,” Max said. “I don’t remember exactly which one. The producers contacted me at the last minute. Another sponsor dropped out and they needed something quick.”

“Well, then we could contact them. They have to keep all kinds of information on the contestants. Maybe they can tell us where she works,” he said. “I may just be looking for an excuse not to like her. This might all be my imagination, but I’ll feel better once we know for sure.”

“I’ll see what I can do,” Max said, picking up the phone. “Why don’t you go eat your lunch? I’ll come find you when I find something.”

He picked at his food while answering emails, but his mind wasn’t on the lab, and he found himself watching the clock most of the time, hoping Max didn’t take too long. When his friend came out of his office with an unhappy look on his face, his stomach twisted into knots as a feeling of disappointment washed over him, and he stood up, unable to stay seated to hear the bad news.

“Well, there was no game show, at least I don’t thinkthere was. The number they gave me was a dead end,” Max said. “I searched the internet for any mention of it, but there was nothing. I can’t tell you any more about Kennedy than I already have, but you can bet I’m going to start digging. Your gut feeling might have been right, she’s up to something.”

“Great, I finally find a woman who…well, never mind,” he said, letting out a long sigh, knowing it was for the best anyway. “I’m going to stay away from her now for sure.”

Just then, Stella walked into the clubhouse. “Oh, good, you’re both here,” she said. “I thought I was going to have to go look for you.”

“What’s wrong?” Max asked. “Did someone get hurt?”

“No, it’s nothing like that,” Stella said, then hesitated. “There’s just something that’s been bothering me, and well…I figured it was better to just ask. It’s probably nothing, just normal life stuff…”

“Stella, just spit it out,” Max said. “You’re starting to make me worry.”

“Okay, sorry, I just don’t want you to be mad at me,” she said. “I met a young woman at the crab boil last night. She looked really upset, so I took her aside and gave her some water. She told me that a man she was working with kissed her, that he suddenly seemed like a different person, and she liked it. She kept saying it was going to mess up her career, maybe even her life, so I…well, I told her it was probably the island and it would pass. I know I shouldn’t have talked about it, but well…she seemed so upset, I thought it would help.”

Max looked over at him, but he was staring at Stella, a weird feeling in his stomach, and didn’t notice. Something about her story was too familiar. “Stella, I’m not mad at you,” Max finally said. “But I didn’t hear a question in all of that.”

“I’m just wondering if this is the first time the islandaffected someone who wasn’t connected to you, Max,” she finally said. “I mean, it’s never happened before, has it?”

“Not that I know of, but I guess it’s possible,” Max said with a shrug of his shoulders. “Honestly, nothing surprises me anymore.”

“She said it was going to mess up her career?” Cameron asked, the feeling still there. “That’s what Kennedy told me earlier today, that I messed everything up, but she wouldn’t explain.”

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