Page 84 of The Summer Inn on Plum Island
Ben was whisked away in the ambulance.
“Let’s go to the jetty,” Wade began, his voice thick and heavy with strain as he led the way.
Liam, Scott, and Tracy followed him, their brows furrowed in concern and curiosity. They were stopped in the foyer by Donna, who was holding an excited but confused Hicks. Wade grabbed his leash when Donna extended it to him.
“Hello, Liam,” Donna greeted him, extending her hand to Liam’s guests. “You must be Mr. and Mrs. Vanderbilt?”
“Yes,” Tracy said with a nod as she and Scott shook Donna’s hand.
“Nice to meet you, although I wish it was under less tense circumstances,” Donna said. “I have your suite ready, but I’m sure you’d like to deal with this first.”
“Thank you, Donna,” Liam said.
Donna nodded and turned to Wade. “If you need anything, you know where to find me.”
“Thanks,” Wade acknowledged, and Donna walked off before he turned to the three people who’d been trailing behind him. “Follow me.”
Wade walked them through the sitting area and out to the jetty. He didn’t say another word until they got to where Alex’s superyacht was docked.
“Where’s the other boat?” Liam’s eyes narrowed as a tingling started to zing up his spine. His voice cracked as he noticed Wade clutching Dawn’s leather-bound journal. “Where’s Dawn?” Urgency spiked through him, his stomach churning with a mixture of fear and dread.
“These were found here, next to Ben,” Wade said, holding up Dawn’s book and her phone. “I had someone check her room,but she’s not there. So we have to presume she’s on the boat—again!”
“What happened to Ben?” Scott asked, looking around the area, his eyes filling with panic. “Couldn’t he tell you where Dawn is? She was obviously with him when this happened to him.”
“Ben was lying here,” Wade told them, pointing to the spot where he’d found Ben being attended to by one of the hotel staff members. “Donna was in a state of shock when I answered the door and asked me to follow her. She said something had happened to Ben.” He ran a hand through his hair. Liam could see Wade was distraught. “I came here to find a staff member trying to help Ben. He couldn’t speak. My first thought was that Ben had a stroke. But he had a small dart in his hand.”
“Luminotoxin!” Tumbled from Scott’s lips.
“That was my first thought,” Wade said with a curt nod. “I called Doctor Westmorland, and he thinks so, too. He’s on his way to meet Ben at Newbury Port Hospital. They still have the antidote from when they thought Carl had been poisoned from it.” He looked at the items in his hands. “Donna said Ben managed to say:Dawn, boat,andsteam.”
“Donna tried to ask him what he meant, and Ben managed to sayphone,“ Wade told them. “When Ben was found, he was holding Dawn’s phone while the emergency services were trying to talk to him.”
“At least he managed to dial them before he collapsed.” Liam felt an inkling of relief for Ben. “How did one of my staff come across Ben? Did the emergency services call the hotel?”
“No, it was Hicks,” Wade added. “Hicks was the one that found the man who was helping Ben. Hicks stole the man’s phone from his hand and took off. The man ran after him to get his phone back and realized Hicks was trying to get his attention when Hicks brought him to Ben.”
“Clever boy,” Liam said, rubbing Hicks’s ears as he turned his attention to Dawn’s phone. “Was there anything indicating where Dawn is on her phone?” His voice was filled with urgency.
“The screen is locked and Dawn’s changed her passcode.” Wade’s voice was a mix of frustration and despair.
“Dawn picks now to become more security-conscious,” Scott hissed, scraping both hands through his hair.
“I may know it,” Liam said. “I was with her when she changed it.” Wade nodded and handed Liam the phone.
“Let’s try to get some perspective here…” Scott scanned the area. “Ben and Dawn must’ve been here on the docs with Hicks. Ben gets darted…” Scott spun around, trying to piece the puzzle together. “Dawn is either taken to, or gets onto, the boat and the boat takes off.”
“You think Dawn took the boat?” Liam looked at Scott in disbelief. “I didn’t think Dawn knew how to sail; she couldn’t even stand on a docked boat for too long without getting seasick.”
“No, she doesn’t know how to sail,” Scott replied. “That’s why I think it’s more likely she was put onto the boat.” He scratched the back of his neck. “What did Ben mean, Dawn, boat, steam?”
Liam managed to get into Dawn’s phone and scanned her messages. His heart stilled, the world around him seemed to fade out for a few seconds, and his breath caught in his throat as a river of ice-cold water flooded his veins.
“I don’t think Ben said steam,” Liam’s words were low and stilted. “He said, teens.”
Liam passed the phone to Scott while Tracy and Wade leaned over him to read the message. Liam pulled out his phone to call his Aunt.
She answered after the third ring. “Liam?” Betty said, her voice frantic. “Are Lila and Harper with you?”
