Page 60 of Hidden Raphael
Chapter 17
"Kimberly, I have to go, but tonight, after dinner, let's relax with wine in front of the fireplace. I'll want to talk to you."
He ran every time he kissed her. She rubbed her arms. Despite how she hoped to fix everything right now, she'd give him space. She rubbed her throat as she decided to conceal her intentions. "Okay. If the weather clears, I'm going to go out to the courtyard to visit Eileen and Ali again."
His eyes widened, but he said nothing. He then nodded and walked out of the room. He walked so fast, she hugged her waist. Raphael was haunted by his past. She wished she knew his problem so that she could fix it.
She then shook her head. She'd not spend a second worrying about what he thought or did. If she thought about any guy that much, she sent her mind into a whirlwind. How she survived the plane crash seemed like something more tangible.
In the main hall, she studied the front door. She turned around and stared down the dark corridor that brought her to the center of the castle, and bit her lip. Eileen and Ali were someplace safe. They didn't need her. She lifted her chin and returned to the front door. She ought to go and find Harry's body.
There had been no sign of him. Roger must have killed the servant, but no signs after days of searching seemed odd. Within half a day, she had stumbled into Roger's camp, and the island wasn't that big. It was time to find out what happened to the man who had saved her life on the plane. She rushed to the closet stuffed with extra coats and winter garb.
Kimberly chose a pink hat and a thick scarf, wrapping it around her neck. Whoever these clothes had belonged to seemed preteen or even girlish.
Kimberly decided she’d start at Roger’s camp, and then go in a different direction, away from the beach and the crash. She unlocked the door, and the second it opened the cold wind hit her face hard, like pellets. She clutched her jacket and scarf and headed outside. Once she found out what happened to Harry, she’d be able to rest.
Her eyes misted and the tears froze on her face from the bitter weather. Her hands grew numb from the cold, but she refused to stop. The island wasn't that big.
The dead trees broke the wind, but she'd not like to be here after dark. Perhaps in the spring, but the whistles in the frigid air sounded like a crying child.
She rubbed her hands together, grateful for the gloves, and kept going. Some clue about Harry had to exist, and she'd find it.
Halfway through the forest, a dark shadow in the figure of a man came over her, and she sped up her walk. She glanced all around but no one was there. All the silly ghost stories had her scared for no reason, but at least she wasn't so cold now. Somehow the rocky coast of the shoreline calmed her, and the crashing waves meant she was out of the small patch of forest.
The shadow dissipated, and she breathed easier.
From the side of the mountain, she saw the plane. How had she lived through that crash? She swallowed. The airplane had sunk lower into the ocean. Would it be gone entirely before she left this island?
Dark clouds grew closer. She didn't have much time. It always rained in this place. She turned toward a part of the island she had never toured and walked.
Memories of the crash flew through her mind. Harry had stood next to her in the aisle, then, as the doors flew open, he'd thrown her out without a parachute. Had he known how close to impact the plane was? Had he sacrificed himself? She rubbed her throat and retied the scarf.
Roger killed her friends and would have murdered her. All her panic confused her.
Her mind flashed to the moment she wiped blood off her forehead. The dark shadow of a man in the distance came over her. Had she seen Raphael the moment before he rescued her from certain death?
Kimberly winced, then shook off the memory.
Raphael deserved a medal. He could have her over and over again, and she'd say yes. He was her hero.
Her head whispered that so was Harry. He had thrown her off the plane, and he also deserved to be memorialized. He probably was dead. Why hadn't the older gentleman appeared if he wasn't?
She shivered. There were no signs of human life in the dark forest that led to the cold Atlantic. The air tasted like mist and the plane crash reminded her of the danger she’d been in. She rubbed her arms together and continued to explore.
Light brightened the sky. Another rainstorm would start soon, and she refused to go back without finding a clue of some sort. Had Roger taunted her with another murder? Was there no body? She rolled her shoulders as she searched through the dead grass at the base of the trees. No paths were cleared here and the branches picked at her skin.
She tried to keep her thoughts on her task as the thicket around her seemed to multiply like it might swallow her. The remains of Harry should be in the ground with Ali and Eileen, until spring.
Kimberly slowly took a few steps forward. The brush released its hold on her, and she had more wiggle room. She sped up, unsure she could return in the same way she came.
The sound of the ocean waves breaking on the rocks sounded in the distance. She was close to the beach. Kimberly closed her eyes and said a small prayer. Eileen had been a good person. Ali must have been too. Thunder boomed above her and she glanced toward the heavens that grew darker and more ominous. The reality was she'd get caught in the storm, but she hoped against hope to escape the coming shower in the shelter of the trees.
The bleakness of the forest almost stole her nerve. Her shoulders slumped, but then something metallic caught her eye. She held her jacket and scarf and ran toward whatever she saw.
Lightning stirred overhead, but she marched ahead. Worst-case scenario, the storm would dump rain, like every other day here.
The buried object could be a clue. Her body was numb, and the first drops of rain hit her forehead.
