“We didn’t bury him on land. The boss made us tie rocks to his legs and drop him in the deep water. Said that way no 1 would ever find him.”
Aaron placed a supportive hand on Elena’s shoulder as she struggled to process the devastating information.
“Do you remember where exactly?”
The boy shook his head.
“It was at night, somewhere off 1 of the outer cays. I couldn’t tell you which 1 now.”
Officer Wilson stepped in.
“Miguel, we need to know where they’re keeping the woman. Kona’s life is at stake here.”
Miguel looked genuinely frightened.
“I don’t know exactly. They move around, but…”
He hesitated.
“There’s something about Thursdays.”
“That’s when they do the big transfers.”
Elena’s head snapped up.
“The red light only blinks on Thursdays,” she quoted from Kona’s message.
“Yeah,” Miguel nodded. “They use red signal lights for the boats coming in with product. It’s like a code. They only do it on Thursdays when the Coast Guard patrols are on the other side of the islands.”
Aaron exchanged a significant look with Officer Wilson.
“Today is Thursday.”
“We need to move,” Officer Wilson agreed, already reaching for his radio to update his team.
As the Bahamian police took Miguel away for formal processing, Aaron turned to Elena, concerned about her emotional state after the devastating news about Daniel.
“Elena, maybe you should return to Nassau with the next transport. This operation could become dangerous, and you’ve just received traumatic news.”
Elena wiped away her tears, a new determination hardening her features.
“I’ve been searching for 10 years, Aaron. I’m not stopping now. Not when we’re so close. Kona is still out there. She needs me.”
The red light and horseshoe bay, Elena continued, focusing on the clues rather than her grief. “The main airport here on Norman’s Cay, its bay is horseshoe-shaped. Could that be what Kona meant?”
Aaron considered this.
“It’s possible. Let’s check it out before dark.”
As they prepared to leave the shack, Elena took 1 last look at the place where she had finally learned the fate of her husband. She would mourn him properly later. Right then her daughter needed her, and this time Elena would not fail.
The golden light of late afternoon bathed Norman’s Cay as Elena, Aaron, and the joint task force made their way toward the main airport. The small airstrip served private planes and the occasional charter, nestled alongside a naturally curved bay that, from above, did indeed resemble a horseshoe.
“There it is,” Aaron confirmed as they approached. “That’s definitely a horseshoe-shaped bay.”
The area was relatively quiet. A few tourists were browsing a small gift shop near the airstrip. A couple of maintenance workers were tending to a private plane, but otherwise there was little activity.
Officer Wilson organized his team, positioning officers at discrete observation points around the perimeter.
“We’ll maintain surveillance from these locations,” he explained, pointing to spots on a hastily drawn map. “If there’s any unusual activity, or if we spot a red signal light after dark, we can converge quickly.”
Elena stared out at the bay, trying to make sense of the clues in Kona’s message.
“The horseshoe bay matches, but what about the red rocks she mentioned?”
Aaron shook his head.
“I don’t see anything like that here.”
1 of the Bahamian officers, who had overheard their conversation, joined them.
“Not necessarily,” he said. “The composition of our limestone can create a more pronounced effect in certain locations. The calcite in the stone reflects the red wavelengths particularly well.”
As the sun dipped lower, casting its reddish light across the landscape, Elena suddenly sat up straighter.
“Aaron, look at the rocks along the shoreline.”
The detective followed her gaze. In the sunset light, the otherwise ordinary limestone rocks glowed with a distinctly reddish hue.
“Red rocks?” Elena whispered. “What if Kona didn’t mean rocks that are naturally red? What if she meant rocks that appear red during sunset?”
Aaron considered this, his expression thoughtful.
“It’s possible, but that would happen at any beach during sunset.”
The officer shook his head.
“Not every beach. And there’s another possibility about the red light mentioned in the message. It might not be from planes at all.”
