Apex

29 | endangered

AUGUST 5

MAUD

When the doorbell rang, I was the only one home to answer it. Groaning, I hopped off my bed and threw a UBC sweatshirt over my tank top before hurrying downstairs. When I looked through the peephole, I grimaced and wished Grandfather was here to do the talking.

I conjured a polite smile as I opened the door. "Sheriff Wakeman. Hi."

If there was a socially acceptable way for an innocent person to tell the sheriff to leave them alone, I'd love to know.

"Maud." Sheriff Wakeman gave me a brief once over. "I hope that you're recovering well."

Curiosity spiked inside me. Even on a small island, sheriffs didn't perform routine wellness checks on residents.

"Thank you, I'm trying to," I said, maintaining my smile. "Is there something that I can do for you?"

"There is," Wakeman confirmed. "Do you mind if I come in for a few minutes?"

She phrased it as a question, but it wasn't one. That much was obvious.

"Um," I faltered, my hands itching for my phone that I'd left upstairs. "My grandfather isn't home right now, but I'll tell him that you stopped by."

"I'm here to speak to you."

I was too startled to issue a coherent response and stepped aside to allow Wakeman to cross over the threshold.

"Can I get you anything?" I asked as I escorted Wakeman over to the sitting room. "Water? There's also probably some coffee left too."

Wakeman lifted a hand, shaking her head as she lowered herself into one of the two high back chairs. "No, but thank you."

I exhaled a shaky breath as I sat down across from Wakeman. "With all due respect, Sheriff Wakeman, I already provided your department with my statement for what happened on July 10th." I paused, twisting my hands together in my lap. "I promise that I still don't know why Albert killed the orca or how someone persuaded him to do it. None of it makes sense to me."

Wakeman offered me an unconcerned nod, dismissing my comment. "I'm sure that you are aware of the similarities between the ongoing case and the screenplay of Apex."

"Sort of," I said, sitting up a little straighter. I wasn't lying, but I wasn't being completely honest. "Nothing specific, though. There are a lot of rumors going around, so it's difficult to know what to believe."

"That's the nature of rumors," Wakeman pointed out with a wry smile. "Has your history with Dakota Black given you any insight as to what Albert was hoping to accomplish through killing the orca?"

"I don't think I understand what you're asking of me."

Now that was a total lie.

I understood perfectly what Wakeman was asking, and the scar on my hand began to burn a little. I tried not to think about Harry Potter.

If Wakeman had asked me about Dakota's merits last month, my answer would've been different. When it came to Apex, I hadn't trusted Dakota, and sometimes I still thought that I couldn't. However, now I knew in my heart of hearts that he hadn't done anything wrong. It was unfortunate that it took me almost drowning to figure that out.

"How can you be sure of that?" Wakeman asked.

"Because you're right," I stated, salvaging some of my composure. "I do understand his moral character better than you, so believe me when I say that he's not capable of hurting people."