The first thing she was aware of was a man's voice, but only one, and he wasn't talking to her. She slowly opened her eyes, but still couldn't see anything. The musty odor was overwhelming. It was then that she realized she was in a dark room. As her eyes adjusted, she could see light coming from underneath the only door in the room. Her joints felt stiff when she stood up and her head ached. The voice was Cutty's. He was talking to someone on the radio. She put her ear up to the door trying to hear what he was saying.
"Yeah, she said her name was Liz."
There was a lot of static, but apparently Cutty understood what the other voice said.
"I'll try to, can't guarantee anything. Get here as soon as you can."
She heard footsteps and they sounded like they were coming towards the door. She needed to buy some time until she could sort out what to do next. She lay down and pretended to be asleep. She heard the door creak open and then shut again.
He had called somebody and they were coming for her. As the footsteps receded, she got up to look around. She saw an old canteen hanging on the wall next to a crude sink. Working quickly she filled it with water. She saw the knapsack hanging next to it and stuffed it with a few canned goods and a can opener. In the far corner next to a window she saw a table. She opened the shutters just enough to be able to see that there was a map of the island and a compass lying on it. She finished filling the knapsack. She opened the door just a crack and saw Cutty busy working on the boat. She slipped out the door and quickly ran around the corner behind the shack and out of sight.
Her goal was to reach the underbrush and then make her way north. After a lot of cuts and scrapes she stumbled on a dirt road. Checking the compass she realized it ran east/west. "This place is almost desolate," she thought. The quiet was interrupted by the sound of a vehicle. She positioned herself out of sight, but she wanted to be able to see the road. The jeep went by slowly enough so that she could make out the face of the driver. She could see his face very clearly.
The sick feeling in her stomach wasn't from hunger. She knew that face. He looked a lot like Jim Crowson, and he was heading back towards Cutty's shack. It was clear to her now that this all had to be connected to the case she had just finished working on, an elaborate hoax. Liz knew that Jim's family had money, and a lot of it. They had hired the best lawyers and expert witnesses to put doubt in the jury's mind. The police never found the body but Liz's boss felt there was enough evidence at the crime scene to make it obvious that Erica Pollock had been murdered, and he was confident they could get a conviction. Jim's lawyers were good though; he was acquitted. But, what possible motive could he have for kidnapping her and then setting her loose on a desolate island? Even if she turned up new evidence in the murder case she couldn't try him again.
I'd better get moving she thought. It won't take him long to discover I'm gone. When she reached the other side of the island she began walking west to see if she could find a small rowboat to take her back to the mainland.
Even though he seemed honest enough, she couldn't trust that Cutty was telling her the truth. Bogue Banks was the original name of Emerald Isle but he could have lied to her about where she was. She could be anywhere. The fact that she saw Jim heading towards Cutty's shack confirmed her suspicions. But that newspaper, it looked brand new, and the woman in the cottage....
She finally saw a small dock across from a cottage. There was no boat, but she needed more water. She thought of breaking in but didn't have to because the door was open. As she was rummaging through the cupboard she looked out the window and noticed the jeep approaching. She ran through a door to the back of the cottage and found herself in a bedroom. She heard the door of the cottage open so she decided to hide under the bed. I'm a sitting duck under here but it's better than being out in the open.
She heard his footsteps in the kitchen and a door opening but not her bedroom door.
"You hear anybody come in here?" he asked.
"No. Nobody ever comes here but you." It was a woman's voice. She had been in here the whole time. Why hadn't she said anything to Liz? After a few minutes the man she thought was Jim left. When she heard the sound of the jeep pulling away, she crawled out from underneath the bed. She considered the situation. This woman had protected her from him. She must have heard her rummaging through the cupboards. Liz decided to see for herself who she was. She approached the other bedroom door. She hesitated a moment, wondering if she was making the right decision to show herself.
"Come in," she heard.
She opened the door and found herself looking at Erica Pollock.
