Page 19 of Landon

Pamela turned her red and swollen eyes to Noel. Her brow furrowed as she shook her head. “What do you mean?”

“You essentially kidnapped your children from their father's home in Montana and brought them to Jamaica.”

“I didn’t kidnap my own children. It was my weekend to have them, and I asked Stan if we could spend a week on vacation, and he refused, saying they needed to attend school. I’m sick andtired of having to ask my ex-husband for permission to be with my kids.”

Noel slowly shook her head. “That’s not all you did. You didn’t just bring Tad and Penny on a vacation. You sent a message to your husband, telling him that if he wanted the kids to come back, he needed to pay.”

Pamela scrunched her mouth to the side, but she remained quiet.

“And Stan said the only way you’d get the money was to sign your visitation rights away. You agreed. That sounds like you decided to sell your kids.”

Pamela rocked with her arms tightly wrapped around her waist. “I love my kids. And they’re old enough to tell their father they want to spend time with me. I never felt like I was signing my rights away. I agreed that I wouldn’t take them without his permission anymore.”

“Bullshit!”

Pamela and Noel jumped simultaneously at the sound of Mike’s harsh outburst.

“They told me exactly what you said. And you knew we came with the paperwork. You were signing away your visitation with them—no more weekends or weeks. So don’t pretend how much you love and care about your kids,” he bit out.

“I do love them!” Pamela argued. “I just didn’t like having to go through Stan for everything. I’m sick and tired of dealing with his shit.”

“Should have thought of that before you banged one too many pool boys?—”

“Stop it!” Noel ordered. She wasn’t sure Mike would listen or be used to taking orders from a woman. But he closed his mouth and turned to walk to the windows overlooking the beach. Looking back toward Pamela, she said, “You can look at this situation however you want to put yourself in the bestlight. I can tell you that there was nothing maternal about your actions. You took your kids out of the country even if you say it was for vacation. You took them without permission from their dad, who has physical custody. And then you negotiated a deal with him for them to return to the States. And that deal was that you would receive a large amount of money. I’m telling you right now, Pamela, no judge in the country will believe your story. I guess Mike had it right. I’m calling bullshit, too.”

“Okay! Okay!” Pamela cried. “But I never harmed my children. We came here for a vacation, and yes, I wanted money. After being in that family for almost thirteen years, I’m tired of putting up with their bullshit, too. I was pushed around in the divorce and forced to?—”

“You were not pushed out of marriage, but you had multiple affairs that were well-documented,” Noel pressed.

“Don’t kid yourself,” Pamela sneered. “Stan was far from a perfect husband.”

Noel’s patience snapped, her voice sharp and cutting through the tense air. “You’re not getting this! This is not about your marriage. This is not about you and Stan. This is not about whether or not you’ve spent your alimony and want more. This is about you acting in a way that was not in the children’s best interest. And you will be the first person the police look at when trying to figure out what happened to Tad and Penny.”

Pamela’s lips parted as if to protest, but the weight of Noel’s words seemed to finally sink in. The fight drained from her, and a ragged breath escaped her lips. Her eyes shimmered with tears, her shoulders sagging. “I promise,” she whispered, her voice trembling. “I had nothing to do with this. I swear, I don’t know what happened to them. I just want my kids back.”

Noel softened slightly but kept her tone firm. “Then no more excuses, no more lies. If you want to help your children, you need to be honest with me.”

Pamela nodded, a tear slipping down her cheek. “Okay... what do you want to know?”

“I want to know why Roger is here. Is he your significant other? Is he your boyfriend? Is he just someone you hang out with? Did he know ahead of time what your plans were? Is this something you planned with him? Did he know you would ask for more money on this trip? Did he know that you planned to shake Stan down for more money and use your kids?”

Pamela’s voice hitched. “Roger is my… lover. But also a friend. He gets me… understands what it’s like to always want what we deserve. We’re not exclusive, but… he’s fun.” She shrugged. “We like each other.”

“Whose idea was it to come to Jamaica?”

Before Pamela could answer, the door creaked open, and Landon stepped back into the room. His presence filled the space, his eyes immediately seeking out Noel’s. She stood, turning to face him, her question hanging in the air as she waited for the results of his investigation. His expression was unreadable, but a tension in his posture made her heart pound.

“What did you find?” she asked softly, her gaze locked on his, searching for answers in the depths of his eyes.

He shook his head. “There are prints in the sand that follow what Horticia said. Three larger booted tracks coming from the east. Then all of those except Horticia’s footprints go back toward the jungle. I can tell there was a struggle?—”

Pamela whimpered, and Noel plopped back onto the sofa next to her.

Landon continued, “The police arrived and are on the beach searching. I talked to the chief. He only had two men he could spare. He agreed that I should work the case and report our findings to them.”

Noel glanced outside, hearing the wind pick up. The water in the distance was now choppy whitecaps, and the clouds were adarker gray than when they’d flown in. The rain had not started, but she instinctively knew they wouldn’t make their flight back to the States before the storm hit.The kids are out in this. Oh God, keep them safe.

“Noel?”

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