Forever Never

Brick swiped his forearm over his brow as he stared up at the Grand Hotel. She still stood. Just as proud as ever. Maybe a little smoky, and her kitchens a lot worse for the wear. But she still looked out over Lake Huron like a beacon of welcome.

It had taken hours and all hands on deck to get the blaze under control.

Arson. That was clear. An accelerant had been used to start and spread the flames. But the arsonist had forgotten one thing. That Mackinac Island stood up for its own.

There had been a few injuries. Some smoke inhalation. But like the hotel, they’d all survived the night.

No one messed with the lady on the hill. They’d had more volunteers than they’d known what to do with. The hotel guests had been liveried off to other accommodations. Some inns, some private homes. Restaurants and cafes had sent food and beverages up the hill to keep the crews fueled.

Both ferry lines woke up their crews and used their boats to ship firefighters and equipment from the mainland.

And as the promise of dawn began to kiss the horizon, Brick took his first easy breath. It was a good time to check in at home, he decided. Sinking down into a deck chair, one of the many that some thoughtful volunteer had pulled off the hotel’s porch and arranged in the grass for the crews.

He opened his texts when his phone rang. It was his own home number.

“Uncle Brick?”

“Hadley?”

“Uncle Brick, Aunt Remi’s gone. Her friend Camille, too. A man came.”

Brick launched himself out of the chair. “What happened?” he demanded.

“A man. A man dressed in black. I think Mr. White is dead. He was bleeding really bad. And then the man shot William. I’m with him now. He’s breathing, but he’s hurt bad. Can you bring an ambulance?”

Fuck.

Brick was in a dead sprint now.

It had been a ploy to get him away from Remi, from the house. He’d just left them dangling like bait. He’d abandoned them when they needed him most.

“Brick?” Chief Ford called from where she was conferring with the fire chief.

“Remi,” he said, his voice breaking on the name.

But he kept running down the grassy hill that sloped into town. “Hadley, are you safe?”

“I’m safe but scared. Uncle Brick, he has Aunt Remi and Camille. I think he knocked out Camille. He carried her out, and Aunt Remi looked like she was going to kill him.”

“I’m on my way. Is anyone else there? Is anyone else with you?”

“They’re all asleep. I couldn’t sleep. I wanted to see what Aunt Remi was painting. Sometimes I sneak down and I peek.”

His legs sped up as he passed the school on his left. The houses were all still dark.

He kept Hadley on the line until he burst through his own front door. Kimber and Kyle appeared on the stairs as Hadley ran toward him and threw herself in his arms.

“How long ago did they leave?” Brick asked Hadley.

“What happened? What’s wrong?” Kimber asked, running down the stairs to meet them.

“About ten minutes,” Hadley told him, ignoring her mother. “I tried calling you, Uncle Brick, and you didn’t pick up. So I kept calling while I stayed with William,” Hadley reported.

“Ten minutes,” Brick repeated. He handed Hadley to her mother and raced down the hall.

It was worse than he feared, the scene that met him. The air smelled of the metallic tang of blood. White was dead. His shirt was saturated dark brown. Glassy eyes staring up at the ceiling, frozen in surprise. A pool of blood spread out beneath.

“Dad,” Brick yelled, racing down the ramp. His father sat with his back against the wall. There was more blood there. On the drywall. On his shirt. On his pants.

He looked old, pale, fragile.

“I’m okay,” William panted. “Go after your girl.”

Brick searched his father’s torso, tearing his shirt in two. There was a neat little hole in his chest above his heart.

“Can you breathe okay?” he asked.

“Don’t worry about me,” William insisted, his voice weak. “I’m sorry I let you down. He got White in the yard, and White came to the door begging to be let in. The girls let him in, and Vorhees got a shot off at me as he came inside. I went down. Passed out. I think he clipped me in the leg too. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

There was a commotion coming from the main house.

“Dad,” Brick said again. But none of the rest of the words would come.

“I failed you again. You put your trust in me—”

“This was my fault, Dad. I shouldn’t have left. I should have known it was a fucking trap.”

“Brick!” Chief Ford’s voice cut like a razor blade. “This is nobody’s fault but that motherfucking monster. Now both of you get your goddamn heads out of your sorry asses and figure out how to get my daughter back.”

Orders delivered, Darlene whipped out her phone. “Yeah, I’m gonna need that ambulance down here ASAP.”

Brick picked up the bloody towel he saw next to his father and pressed it to his father’s chest.

But his head and heart were already gone. He couldn’t stay here. He needed to tear this island apart. He needed to find Remi.

“Uncle Brick?”

“Hadley, don’t come out here,” Darlene snapped.

“Oh my God,” Kimber gasped, coming up behind her daughter and viewing the carnage. “Is he… Is that…”

Kyle grabbed her before she could step into the room.

“Hadley’s the one who was holding the towel on me,” William said with a note of pride. “Girl’s got one hell of a head on her shoulders. Told her I’d hire her as an investigator. After college of course.”

“Uncle Brick,” Hadley said, stomping her foot. “Aunt Remi knew I was here. She knew I was watching. I think she was giving me a message.”

“What did she say, Hadley?” Darlene asked, her voice calm. But her hands were shaking.

“First she said Uncle Brick was going to kick the man’s ass.”

“That’s true,” Brick promised her.

“He told her if she didn’t come quietly, he’d go through every bedroom upstairs and murder us one by one.”

“We’re all going to need therapy,” Kimber murmured into her husband’s chest.

“I’ll foot the bill,” Darlene volunteered.

“Then she asked him where he was going to take them,” Hadley continued.

“Where did he take them, Had?”

“We’ll tear this island from top to bottom to find them,” Darlene promised.

“They’re not on the island. He said he was going to take them to the mainland.”

“Jesus,” Darlene, looking pale, yanked her phone out of its holster again. “I’ll call St. Ignace and Mackinaw City.”

“Aunt Remi told him she had a friend with a boat she could borrow,” Hadley said.

Brick’s attention zeroed in on the little girl. “What friend, Hadley?” he asked.

“Eleanora Reedbottom,” she recited.

“I know where they’re going,” he said, standing up as he heard the wail of the siren. “I need the Marine Rescue.”

“Take it,” Darlene snapped. “I’ll make the calls. They’ll be ready for you.”

Brick paused and pointed at his father. “Don’t die on me, old man. I want you at the wedding.”

William’s pale face lit up. “Wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

Without another word, Brick sprinted for the door.