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“No, you’ve been more than helpful. Thank you.”
She hung up the phone, and Theresa looked at her curiously. “What are you going to ask them when you call?”
“I’m going to ask for Garrett.”
Theresa’s heart skipped a beat. “Just like that?”
“Just like that,” Dea
When the phone finally picked up, Dea
they received the same answer on the next five calls. Unswayed, Dea
“Are you talking about Garrett Blake?”
Garrett.
Theresa nearly fell from the chair at the sound of his name. Dea
“He’s with Island Diving. Are you sure we can’t help you? We’ve got some classes starting soon.”
Dea
“So, we’re getting close now.”
“I can’t believe it was that easy. . . .”
“It wasn’t that easy, if you think about it, Theresa. Unless a person found more than one letter, it wouldn’t have been possible.”
“Do you think it’s the same Garrett?”
She cocked her head and raised an eyebrow. “Don’t you?”
“I don’t know yet. Maybe.”
Dea
Dea
Dea
Dea
“Okay. Let’s see now . . .” Dea
“Yes, here it is. Garrett Blake. Um . . . you got the name right, at least according to the information we have. It says here that the boat is named Happenstance .”
Dea
“Garrett Blake,” she said with a victorious smile. “Our mysterious writer is named Garrett Blake.”
“I can’t believe you found him.”
Dea
“that you do.”
“Anything else that you want to know more about?”
Theresa thought for a moment. “Can you find out anything about Catherine?”
Dea
Again, Dea
“I think that’s about all we can do from here. The rest is up to you, Theresa. But at least you know where to find him.”
Dea
“Now who’re you calling?”
“My travel agency. You’re going to need a flight and a place to stay.”
“I haven’t even said I was going yet.”
“Oh, you’re going.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“Because I’m not going to have you sitting around the newsroom for the next year wondering what might have been. You don’t work well when you’re distracted.”
“Dea
“Don’t ‘Dea
“But—”
“But nothing.” She paused for a moment, and her words came softer. “Theresa, remember—you’ve got nothing to lose. The worst that could possibly happen is that you fly home in a couple of days. That’s all. You’re not going on a quest to search for a tribe of ca
They were both silent as they stared at each other. Dea
Still, she gave one last halfhearted attempt at denial.
“I don’t even know what I would say if I finally met him. . . .”
“I’m sure you’ll think of something. Now, let me take care of this call. Go get your purse. I’m going to need a credit card number.”
Theresa’s mind was a whirl as she started back to her desk. Garrett Blake. Wilmington. Island Diving. Happenstance. The words kept rolling through her head, as if she were rehearsing for a part in a play.
She unlocked the bottom drawer where she kept her purse and paused for a second before going back. But something else had taken hold of her, and in the end she handed Dea
Dea
But unlike Mr. Shendakin, deep down she was pleased about it, and when the plane touched down in Wilmington the following day, Theresa Osborne checked into a hotel, wondering where all this would lead.