Chapter 120

As Sam left the restaurant, he bumped into Hansel, who was just arriving for breakfast. Hansel frowned, discreetly scanning the area, but Miranda was nowhere in sight. Ingrid noticed him searching and played it cool. "Dear," she said, "are you looking for something?"

Hansel turned to her. "You shouldn't have insisted on coming with that leg injury."

"I could have had breakfast in my room," she replied, playfully sticking out her tongue, "but I've been cooped up too long. I need to stretch my legs and get some air, or I'll start to mildew!"

Hansel hummed softly. "What would you like to eat?"

"A sandwich and some milk. Thanks, dear."

By noon, Hansel had checked all four restaurants on the island but still hadn't found Miranda. He took an afternoon stroll along the beach, but she was nowhere to be seen. After dark, he spotted Winter at a restaurant serving Bartovian food, but Miranda was still missing. Even more baffling, he hadn't seen Sam since their brief encounter that morning.

Could Miranda have gone out with Sam?

The thought worried Hansel. He paused, then grabbed the shawl Ingrid had left on her chair. It was a popular style on the island, one that many people, including Miranda, owned.

He approached Winter. "Miranda left her shawl with me at lunch. Could you give it to her?"

Winter, on a date with a handsome man, didn't quite hear him. "Lunch? That can't be right! She headed off—" She stopped abruptly, realizing she'd almost revealed too much. "Hansel, are you trying to trick me?"

Hansel's gaze sharpened. "Where did she go? Back to the country?"

Winter rolled her eyes. "Why do you care?"

Hansel nodded. "So she really did go back to the country."

His suspicions confirmed, Hansel turned and left. There was no more need for guessing. Miranda had left, and likely, Sam had followed her.

Winter was shocked. She silently berated herself for the slip.

As Hansel walked away, he called Joe. "Book me the next flight home."

"Right away, Mr. Johnson. Will Ms. York be coming back with you?" Joe asked, carefully verifying his information.

Hansel stopped.

Ingrid approached, linking her arm with his. "Dear, I just heard from the restaurant that a cruise is leaving the day after tomorrow, with a captain's dinner that evening. How about we sign up? We might as well enjoy a few more days here, since I'm not able to travel back yet. What do you think?"

Hansel hesitated.

[The following section seems to be a separate, unrelated snippet and is highly fragmented. It needs significant contextual information to be incorporated meaningfully.]

Hole off on the stoking for now,
th, we you on the phone? m didn’t realize. I hope I didn’t
gt die inged asked I’m word i

Hansel waved it off. "No, not at all."

Ingne’s face instantly it up. That’s a pellet The doctor said my wound was healing moey No sign of infection so far.”

Her mention of the wound tugged at Hansel's heart.

"Let's go on that cruise, shall we? I've never been to a captain's dinner before," she said, clinging to his arm and using a playful, almost sugary tone.

Without hesitation, Hansel nodded. "Alright, whatever you want." Ingrid kissed him. "Thank you, dear."

The plane landed punctually at 9:00 p.m. at Elgerson City Airport. A blast of icy wind, laced with sleet, hit Miranda's face as she stepped out of the terminal. She shivered and sneezed immediately from the cold.