The man said nothing. LeFleur squatted down next to him.
“How long have you been on this island? Really?”
“A little while.”
“And that raft had been here long before you came to the station.”
“That’s right.”
“You always knew I’d find that notebook, didn’t you? You’d already read it.”
“Yes.”
“And you left me those last pages in that envelope.”
“I did.”
LeFleur pursed his lips. “Why?”
“I thought they might help you.” Rom turned. “Did they?”
“Yeah,” LeFleur sighed. “Actually, they did.” He paused, studying Rom’s face. “But how did you know I needed help?”
“When we first met. The photo of your family. Your wife. Your little girl. I saw the pain in your eyes. I knew you must have lost someone in that picture.”
LeFleur grunted. Rom raked his hands through the sand.
“Did you believe the story you read, Inspector?”
“Some of it.”
“Which part?”
“Well. I believe Benji was in the raft.”
“Just him?”
LeFleur thought. “No. Not just him.”
Rom wiggled his fingers and produced a tiny crab. He held it up. “Did you know a crab will escape its shell thirty times before it dies?” He looked out to sea. “This world can be a trying place, Inspector. Sometimes you have to shed who you were to live who you are.”
“Is that why you changed your name?” LeFleur asked. “Rum Rosh? ‘God lifted your head’？”
The man smiled but never looked his way. LeFleur felt the hot sun on the back of his neck. He stared at the empty blue horizon. The distance from Cape Verde to this beach was thousands of miles.
“How did you do it, Benji? How did you survive all that way alone?”
“I was never alone,” the man said.
Over time, Montserrat quieted considerably. The journalists departed. The raft was shipped to a Boston laboratory. Leonard Sprague, the police commissioner, was disappointed that the media attention, while sparking curiosity, did not increase tourist travel to the island.
The TV reporter Tyler Brewer won an award for his extensive Galaxy coverage, then went on to other stories. The company that insured the yacht was forced to pay a large settlement after analysts concluded that the sinking was caused not by neglect but rather by a mammal attack that broke holes in the fragile hull and caused a catastrophic explosion in the engine room.
The families of those lost at sea felt a certain closure, knowing the final resting place of their loved ones. And in the weeks that followed, a few of those families received unusual correspondence. Alexander Campbell, the youngest son of Nevin Campbell, got an unsigned letter that stated his father’s regrets at not spending more time with him. Dev Bhatt, the husband of Mrs. Latha Laghari, received an envelope with two earrings inside it.
Six months later, Jarty LeFleur and his wife Patrice went to a doctor and learned that Patrice was pregnant. “Are you serious?” she said, then broke into tears and grabbed her husband, whose mouth dropped open in happy astonishment.
And not long after that, a rent-a-car drove to the lookout above Marguerita Bay, and a man in black jeans and boots walked down to the beach, holding a tattered notebook. When he spotted a thin man heading his way, they both started running, yelling each other’s names, until they embraced in a long-awaited reunion.
In the end, there is the sea and the land and the news that happens between them. To spread that news, we tell each other stories. Sometimes the stories are about survival. And sometimes those stories, like the presence of the Lord, are hard to believe. Unless believing is what makes them true.
Acknowledgements
First, I’d like to thank you, beloved readers, for making time for my stories. May the stranger in your lifeboat always guide you, inspire you, and shine upon you.
Next, although this is a work of fiction, I did rely upon some real-life help to make the ocean scenes as legitimate as possible. To that end, I would like to thank Jo-Ann Barnas for her excellent research, and through her efforts, appreciation to Mark Pillsbury, Editor, Cruising World; and A. J. Barnas, a marine operations manager.
Special thanks to （the real） Ali Nesser for his keen reading and shipwreck salvation expertise. In addition, although not directly involved with this book, I’d like to acknowledge the many inspirational people of faith who influenced my thinking on the subject, including Albert Lewis, Henry Covington, David Wolpe, Steve Linderman, and Yonel Ismael.