The policeman's wife sets Evie to work cutting bread and making coffee and lemonade—which helps her to take her mind off of her fears.
A few hours later, the policeman comes back and tells Evie that her parents have been found. They're alive—phew. They found a hurricane hole to hide out in… But when she asks about Peter, he shakes his head.
Apparently Peter was trying to fix the engine after it died, and he fell overboard and couldn't be rescued. Evie is devastated and keeps telling the policeman that Peter was a good swimmer and that he wouldn't have drowned to death.
The policeman's wife takes pity on her and makes her some sandwiches to take to the hotel in West Palm where she'll meet with her parents.