Ladyfish

by Andrea Bramhall

  Qadri sat back down, and his shoulders sagged as the tension left him. “Thank you.”

  “Don’t thank me yet, Mr. Qadri. I have a lot of conditions that go along with this.”

  “I would expect nothing else, Mr. Pritchard.”

  “Now tell me what you know.”

  “Masood is planning a war. A war unlike any other. He is buying a weapon from William Sterling that will destroy us all.”

  “You mentioned Balor. What is it?”

  “Balor is a biological weapon that Sterling has had created. But I will not say anything more until I speak to my family in your safe house.”

  “Qadri, you have to tell us now.”

  He folded his arms across his chest and stared at Pritchard. “Not until I know my family is safe.”

  Chapter Twelve

  “And where have you been? I was starting to think you’d run off and joined the circus or something.” Pete clambered to his feet as Finn opened the door.

  “I’ve been shopping.”

  Pete looked her up and down, spun her around, and shook his head. “I’m not buying. You have no bags with you, and I know you only go shopping when I drag you.”

  “I went shopping with Oz. I needed to organize some new furniture for the house I’m moving into next week.”

  “Next week! Wow. If I didn’t know you better I’d think you wanted to get rid of me. Why did you go shopping with Oz? I would have gone with you.” His mouth formed a perfect pout as he folded his arms over his chest and plopped onto her bed.

  “I know, but she knows all the shops in the area, and she took me to see the house. It just made sense to go with her tonight. That way the furniture will be delivered later this week and ready so I can move in. It’s only a few doors down from where she lives. So I guess we’re going to be neighbors too.” She sat on the edge of the bed and looked at him, her eyes firm but understanding. She called it her “humor the child” look.

  “You went out to dinner with her last night.”

  “Yes.”

  “You’re going to be working with her at the dive center all the time.”

  “No flies on you, hey, Sherlock?”

  “And I’m going to be back home in a couple of weeks.”

  “Are you feeling a bit jealous?”

  “Don’t be stupid. I’m not jealous. You know she’s gay, right?”

  “What do you think I am? Six? Of course I know she’s gay. And in case you missed it when I came out to you, so am I.”

  “I’m sorry, honey. I’m just worried about you. This whole trip seems really out of character for you. I know I’ve been trying to get you to be more spontaneous for years, but this just seems like everything all at once. Moving to the States. Changing jobs. Hell, you’re even dressing differently. Looking fabulous by the way. It’s just scaring me a little. That’s all. I’m worried that you’re taking everything too fast.”

  “And you think Oz is what part of that how, exactly?” She watched as he shrugged sheepishly.

  “I don’t know. I just don’t want you to get hurt.”

  “Why on earth would you think Oz would hurt me? For God’s sake, what makes you think she’d even be interested in someone like me? Pete, I’m twenty-eight years old and I have never had a girlfriend. I’ve never had sex. Do you really think I’m going to fall into bed just because tall, blond, and beautiful pays a little attention to me? Because she tries to be my friend?” Pete was hanging his head in shame. “Give me a little more credit than that.”

  “Finn, I’m really sorry. I shouldn’t have said anything.”

  “I know you’re worried about me. But you have to trust me, that I know what’s right for me. What I want and what I don’t want.” She flopped onto the bed and lay next to him. “I think I can actually be friends with her. I don’t exactly have an abundance of those. There’s you and, let me think, oh yeah, you.” She leaned her head against his shoulder and rubbed her hand across his stomach. “Be my friend, Pete.” She looked him in the eyes, resting her chin on her hand. “Be happy that I have somewhere to live. Be happy that I’ve made a new friend.” She felt the tears well in her eyes as she stared at him. “We don’t exactly have long left before you’ll have to go back and then, who knows when we’ll get to see each other again.”

  He wrapped his arms around her, almost crushing her to his chest. “I’m going to miss you so much.” He held her so long in silence she almost thought he had fallen asleep. “Maybe I am jealous of her. She’s going to get to see you every day for the next, however long. And I get to say good-bye. Is there any way around this?”

  “Can you stay in the States?”

  He shook his head. “Not unless I get a job here, and that would probably be New York or Washington rather than Miami. Any chance you can go home?”

  “Not unless you’re willing to marry me.”

  “Okay, I’ll do it.”

  “And give me babies.” Finn felt the shudder run through him and chuckled as he spoke.

  “Turkey baster?”

  She stretched and kissed him sweetly on the lips. “I wish we could make it work, but we would both be miserable. I love you too much to do that to you.”

  He squeezed her tight again. “I know. But I’m really going to miss you.”

  Finn relaxed in his arms, enjoying the warmth and solidity he offered. She didn’t want to think about losing it, or him.

  “When do you move in?”

  “The bed is getting delivered to Mrs. Richmond’s on Thursday; she said I could take my stuff over this weekend.”

  “Okay, so this weekend we’re moving you out of the hotel.”

  “Are you going to stay here?”

  “Sure. The room’s booked for another two weeks yet. I think I’ll stick around and work on my tan.”

  “What about the job you were telling me about?”

  “Oh, that. This guy John Pritchard wants me to work for a team he’s leading. They’re a multidisciplinary team tracing bad guys on computers. It should be a really interesting job for me.”

  “Are they some kind of private firm or something?”

  “Yeah, something like that.”

  Finn watched him pick at his nails, a sure sign that he was hiding something, but she couldn’t figure out what, and every time she asked him a question, he just got more and more evasive. She wasn’t in the mood to dig around in his secrets, as her emotions were running far too high. “When are you supposed to start?”

  “Well, he knows I’m on holiday for a few weeks. He told me to call him when I get back and we’ll organize a start date.”

  “I’m going to miss you so much.”

  “I know, sweetie, me too.”

  “You’re the only one who’s ever been there for me.”

  “I still will be. Just at the end of a phone rather than in person.”

  “I know.” She’d tried to remind herself of that very fact every day since they had come up with this plan, and it still wasn’t working. Pete had been the only constant in a world where every person wanted something from her. He’d been her only friend, laughing with her during the good times, and holding her when she cried every year on the anniversary of her mother’s death. He’d stood beside her through her father’s angry, humiliating words, and cheered her up when the days and weeks of being ignored were too much for her to take. The tears began to fall again and sobs racked her body. He hugged her tighter and let her cry herself to sleep.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Oz peeled open the envelope Charlie had given her and poured the contents onto her desk. The portfolio of businesses, properties, deals, and estimates about William Sterling’s wealth brought very little in the way of surprises. She told herself that this was for Finn’s own good and that in order to protect her, to help her, she needed to know what she was dealing with. Oz’s own distaste at snooping was irrelevant.

  She riffled through the paperwork, looking at Sterling’s various enterprises. The bio labs that Fin
n had already told her about. The bank. IT and communications company that operated globally. Expanding quickly into China and Korea. Property development. Stocks. Shares. Sterling Enterprises was worth an estimated billion pounds.

  She leafed through the pages and found a large photograph of a woman holding a young child. She smiled at the image of mother and child. The little girl had her finger on the tip of her mother’s nose and was grinning widely. The second picture showed them both when Finn was a little older, maybe three or four years old. Her mother, Cassandra, sat on a swing with Finn on her lap, one arm clasped tightly about Finn’s middle, the other holding on to the swing as they rode. Finn was giggling and clapping her hands, Cassandra grinning right along with her. The adoration so clear on each face that Oz felt her heart break for the tiny child and all she had lost.

  She flipped through a few more pages and found the police report on the disappearance of Cassandra Finsbury. Her car had been found at the bottom of a cliff, after the tide had gone out. Her body was never found, and all indications were that her body was washed out to sea.

  There were photographs of a car crumpled at the bottom of a cliff.

  Oz whistled when she saw the concertinaed, twisted metal shell, convinced that anyone inside would not have survived the crash.

  There was a photocopy of a suicide note.

  A printed suicide note read, “I can’t do it anymore.”

  Oz looked back at the pictures of Cassandra and Finn.

  That doesn’t fit. Where’s the note to Finn?

  Pages of the coroner’s report were blank, his conclusion: suicide. She checked the date of the finding. Less than a month from the date of her disappearance. She flipped to the next page. It was the financial statement for the coroner, showing a large deposit shortly before the date the cause of death was set. Even so, the suicide ruling effectively stopped the investigation.

  The witness statements from the staff at the house, however, told a story of a turbulent marriage and other women. Doctors’ reports showed no previous evidence of mental illness. No treatment for depression. There was nothing to indicate a predilection toward suicide.

  A cheating husband, combined with the payoff, looked ominous.

  She looked through the rest of the pages. How do you prove a murder with no body? The money used to set up Sterling Enterprises had come from Cassandra. Her father was a leading defense attorney who had made himself a very wealthy man defending high profile people in very big cases, and had insisted on a prenuptial agreement when Cassandra had married Sterling. If she’d divorced him because of the adultery, she would have owned the company.

  Oz tidied the papers into a neat pile and slid them back into the envelope. She rubbed her eyes, and knowing sleep wouldn’t come easily, she decided a run might clear her head. The rhythmic pounding as her feet hit the asphalt helped to ease some of the anger welling inside her. She tried hard to banish the thoughts of William Sterling, but she couldn’t shift the picture of Finn cradled in her mother’s lap from her mind’s eye. She pictured them on the swing, Finn’s little legs trying to push them higher, her hands clapping with glee. She looked so happy and free, exactly how a little girl should. She tried to hold on to the fact that Finn had known happiness, and push away the thoughts of her growing up with the man who may have taken that from her. Her fingers twitched with the ache to pummel him. Her arms ached to wrap around Finn and wipe away the tears she must have cried, that she probably still cried when she was alone. The need to protect Finn grew stronger every day, and the more she saw of her, the more she learned about her, the more Oz wanted—needed—to know. She wondered how much Finn knew, or even suspected, and her heart ached all the more for the friend she was coming to care about far too much for her to ignore. In this way, Finn was far more dangerous to her than William Sterling ever would be.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Six nervous faces watched her as Oz demonstrated breathing through the regulator while they stood by the pool. She motioned for them to try themselves. Finn was pleased she was the first one to get the tank strapped to her back and the breathing piece in her mouth. The new wet suit and gear fit perfectly, and her scores in the classroom earlier had been perfect too. Oz had already seen her showing her buddy how to perform a proper buddy check on the side of the pool, and she was looking forward to showing Oz what she could do in the water as well. The rest of the group, four men and one other woman, were something of a mixed bag. One guy in particular, did very well in the classroom, but seemed to be all fingers and thumbs getting his gear together.

  “Okay, everyone, put your masks on, then one by one you’ll make a giant stride entry into the water. Everyone put two small puffs of air into your BCDs and get ready.” She watched as each person did as she asked. “Nigel, you need to let some air out of your BCD. It’s two small puffs. If your jacket is all puffed up like the Pillsbury Doughboy, you’ve got too much air in there and you’re never going to be able to get under the water. Raise your second stage and let some of the air out.” He stared at her blankly even as she held up the relevant pipe of her own. Finn tapped him on the shoulder and lifted up his second stage, wrapped his fingers around the button, and pressed. When he was completely empty, she pumped two small puffs into the jacket with his own fingers in place.

  “Thanks, Finn. Okay, is everybody ready?”

  Finn nodded and caught the rest of the class doing the same out of the corner of her eye.

  “Remember, everyone, if you want to tell me you’re good to go, that you are fine, or that everything is cool, I want the okay sign. So we’ll try that one again. Is everybody ready?”

  Finn signaled she was okay, and wished the butterflies in her stomach would settle down so she could enjoy the new experience.

  “Okay, Steve, you’re up first. Nice big stride and give me the okay when you’re in and set.” The group watched the man edge to the very lip of the pool before stretching his left leg out in front and almost hopping off the right into the water. “Not bad, Steve. But you don’t need to jump into it. Literally just step off the side of the pool. Okay, next.” One after the other, they entered the water until only Nigel and Finn were left. “Okay, Nigel, you’re up. Nice big giant stride.” He shuffled to the edge of the pool and stood looking into the water, swinging his arms like he was trying to take off.

  “Nigel, are you okay there?” Oz sounded concerned and was clearly getting ready to get out of the water. Finn gently touched his shoulder and smiled at him.

  “Nigel, would you feel better if we did it together?”

  He spat out his regulator. “Yes, please.”

  “You know you don’t have to do this if you don’t want to, right?”

  “I want to do this. It was one of the things my wife always wanted us to do together.”

  “So does she already dive?”

  “She died of cancer this summer. She made me promise to try and do this for her.”

  “Then this is really brave of you. I’m sure she’s really proud of you. What I’m going to do is stand right next to you and hold your hand, okay?” When he didn’t object, she took hold of his hand and smiled at him. “I need you to put your regulator back in, then use the other hand to hold your mask on just like Oz showed us before.”

  “Okay,” he said as he put the mouthpiece back in.

  “Once I’ve got my mouthpiece in, I’ll swing our hands for the count. On three, we step in together. Let go of my hand as soon as we get in the water and let Oz know that you’re doing fine. How does that sound to you, Nigel?” He gave her the okay sign straight away and placed his free hand over his mask. She quickly replaced her mouthpiece and her hand over her own mask. She looked him in the eye and nodded her head with the first swing of her hand; on the third swing, they both stepped perfectly into the water. He let go of her hand and gave the okay signal immediately. Finn did the same and tried to ignore the feeling of pride it gave her when Oz gave her a thumbs-up. Learning to dive was important,
but lately, it felt even more important that Oz was happy with what she was doing.

  Finn closed her eyes as they all began to descend at the deep end of the pool, fighting her natural urge to hold her breath and taking her first breath underwater. The taste of metal and rubber tainted each mouthful, but the sense of wonder as she opened her eyes and really processed where she was and what she was doing finally hit her. She wanted to laugh, but the regulator made it too awkward. She wanted to tell Oz what she was feeling, how amazing it felt. She located Oz and found her watching her, and Finn was sure she could see the smile in Oz’s eyes too.

  Finn concentrated as Oz started taking them through their drills. Clearing their masks. Removing the masks. Fin pivots. Maintaining the genie position. Getting used to the depth gauges and air gauges attached to the regulator and getting them all used to relaying information without words. Oz brought them all to the surface as she explained the emergency drill, signaling out of air, and accepting your buddy’s octopus while making a controlled ascent to the surface they were going to go through at the deep end of the pool. Finn signaled Nigel to buddy with her, and they were the only pair to complete the drill perfectly the first time. So Oz made them do it again, just to check. Perfect the second time too. Finn swelled with pride. She could do this. And Oz could see she could do it.

  By the end of the session, Finn was confident and competent in all the drills that Oz had shown her and asked her to do. Without warning, Oz swam to Finn and signaled low on air and asked for Finn’s BCD and tank to swap and for Finn to return to the surface. Finn was startled but gave the okay signal. She mirrored Oz’s movements, loosening and undoing her buckles and straps. Once she was holding the tank and BCD in her arms she moved closer to Oz and signaled for her regulator. They performed the swap quickly and seamlessly.

  Her head broke the surface to a round of applause and Oz surfacing just behind her, grinning.

  “Some of the guys still can’t pull that off so smoothly. Well done.” She turned around to face the rest of the students. “Well done, guys. You’ve all done really well. Tomorrow, we’ll have another lesson in the classroom in the morning, then we’ll be heading out into the ocean for our first open water dive. So if you all start heading out of the pool, Carlos and the other guys will give you a hand getting your kit off and show you how to clean it down for storage before you all go and get changed. Finn, Nigel, can I have a word with you both before you leave?” They both agreed before swimming to the steps and climbing out of the pool.