The Rachel Scott Adventures, Volume 1 by Traci Hohenstein Page B

held tiny seashells and colorful sea glass. A sliding glass door led to a patio that overlooked the pinkish-colored sandy beach and emerald-green waters.
    “Thanks again for coming. As you can imagine, this has been a very difficult time.” He patted Sarah’s hand. “Have you gotten any leads from the hotline?”
    Rachel shook her head no and reiterated what Drake had already related to the governor. “But our witness saw Amber and Josh get into an SUV. We know somehow she got off the ship.”
    “But she must not be in a safe place, or she would have called us.” Sarah twisted and rubbed her hands together nervously.
    Nadia came in and set down a tray of lemonade and small sandwiches. A second maid, carrying a pot of coffee and cups, followed.
    “Thanks,” Rachel said as she accepted a glass of the cool, tangy drink.
    “We’re working closely with the DEA and the local police. Rachel has every available volunteer combing the area where the lifeboat was found,” Drake said as soon as the maids had left the room.
    “What about this Josh guy? Or whatever his name is. You said he’s undercover DEA? What else do we know about him? How is he involved in this?” Governor Knowles stood and started pacing behind the small loveseat.
    “Josh McCain is an alias. His name is Shawn Gibson. Mike Mancini, his boss at the DEA, says he’s a respected agent and a stand-up guy. He’s young, but has been with the DEA for some time now. Something happened on that ship that involved Amber. We think Shawn tried to get her to safety.”
    “The DEA is investigating the SeaStar for drug smuggling?” Governor Knowles asked.
    Drake nodded. “We think Shawn’s cover was compromised. Once they got off the ship, we’re not sure what happened. We’re working on it.”
    “So where are they now?” he asked.
    Drake went over what he’d already told the governor over the phone. “The witness who saw them forced into a dark SUV unfortunately did not get the tag information.”
    “Is this a reliable witness? You said she was a teenager?”
    “She identified Amber from our flyers. She wasn’t one hundred percent positive identifying Shawn,” Drake answered.
    Sarah gasped. “Who the hell has my daughter?”
    Drake and Rachel exchanged glances. “We don’t know. That’s a theory we’re working on,” Drake said. “We’d like to talk to the girls again to see if they can remember anything else about the night Amber disappeared. Something about Josh, maybe.”
    Sarah got up. “They’re upstairs getting dressed. I’ll get them.”
    They only had to wait a couple minutes until Nicole and Rowan joined them. Rachel thought they didn’t look much better than the last time she’d seen them. They both looked tired and upset. She couldn’t blame them. Their best friend was missing. And they were just about the last people to have seen Amber before she disappeared.
    “I wanted to see if you remembered anything else about the last night you saw Amber,” Drake started once the girls got settled.
    “No. We’ve both thought about that night constantly,” Nicole said while Rowan nodded in agreement. “All we can think about is what happened to her.”
    “Tell me again about Josh. The first time you saw him,” Drake said.
    “I don’t remember seeing him until we went to the club that night, but Amber mentioned him the first day of the cruise,” Rowan said.
    “When was this?” Rachel asked.
    “When we were walking up to the club, Amber said, ‘There’s the cute guy from the pool,’ and pointed at Josh. But she never talked to him until we got to the club,” Rowan said.
    “Okay. So Amber saw him at the pool the first day on the ship, but never had a conversation with him until the night she disappeared?” Rachel clarified.
    “Right,” Nicole and Rowan said in agreement.
    “We walked up to the Aqua entrance. Josh introduced himself and walked us to a VIP room. I remember that he said he was from California and this was