Yachats, Oregon:
The rest of the day seemed to crawl by. Ruth walked the beach, clutching the red shell in her hand. At one point she sat on the rocks and watched an old fishing trawler sail by. She thought she recognized the fisherman at the wheel as Ross Galloway, but the trawler was too far out for her to be sure.
It was getting late by the time she rose and walked down the beach to Mike’s house. She was climbing the path through the sand dunes when she saw the headlights of an SUV flash as it turned into Mike’s driveway. She stopped at the top.
Through the windshield, Ruth could see Agent Asahi Tanaka behind the wheel. She knew from the area code of his cell number that he had probably not come from nearby. The man must have a private plane at his disposal to get here so quickly.
H
