Sometimes Dead Men DO Tell Tales!

by David W. Smith

  Why, why, why have I never been drawn to you? “And leave all this?” she lightly laughed out loud.

  “Yeah, all of it. I can give you anything you want.”

  She didn’t even realize her eyes barely shifted towards Adam. “Oh, I don’t think you could.”

  He hadn’t missed her glance. Now wide-awake, he flashed Beth his infectious grin and quickly kissed her before she could move out of the way. “You wound me deeply,” he claimed, dramatically clutching his heart.

  She fondly smiled at his familiar face and wondered—again—what was wrong with her. “Oh, you’ll get over it. And probably a lot sooner than you should.” Beth had to shake her head as Lance continued with his theatrics.

  He flung his hand across his eyes. “Heartbreaker.”

  “Drama Queen.”

  “Spinster.”

  “Spoiled Brat.” She could hardly keep from laughing.

  “Vulture.”

  “Trophy Boy.”

  “Hag.” Lance managed to get in the last one before Adam threw a dog-shaped pillow at them and told them to knock it off.

  “So, what about Tobago?” It sounded like Adam was grinding his teeth.

  Lance sat up and brushed the hair back from his forehead. “When do we leave?”

  This surprised Beth. “Just like that? You just hop on a plane and take off?”

  “Well, there is some planning involved, but, basically, yes.” Adam gave her an unconcerned shrug.

  Beth suddenly looked embarrassed. “It’s, uhm, not a good time for me to leave.” She really didn’t want to explain her money troubles. “There’s work and the condo. And, uhm, taxes are coming due and all.”

  Adam looked confused at her stammering. “I thought you said he....”

  “That ended two years ago.”

  Not knowing any of the backstory, Lance looked at her for an explanation.

  “I’ll tell you later,” was all she said as she went to her desk.

  “Is two days from now good for you both?” Lance held up a hand to stop Beth’s protest. “No argument. You’re coming with us. We’re all partners now. You can pay me back later.” And, considering the messages from Father, she’ll probably have to.

  Getting down to business, Adam pulled out his pocket organizer. He didn’t want to leave so soon, but he could shuffle some bids around. Scott could handle Mrs. Anderson one more time. “I need to call my foreman, but Monday is good for me. Are you going to arrange the tickets, Lance? Do you even know where we’re going?”

  “Sure. Toboggan.”

  Adam groaned. “Maybe if you hadn’t fallen asleep.…”

  Deciding to go with the flow, and still not believing she was actually going back to the Caribbean—in two days—Beth started to pull up information on her computer. “Tobago is an island off the coast of Trinidad, Lance.” She switched over to a travel website. “We can fly from LAX to Miami. From Miami it looks like we have to fly into Port of Spain, Trinidad. Then we take a ferry over to Tobago. Looks like there’s regular service every day. Gosh! The ferry alone is $70 each round trip to the island! Lance!”

  Reading over her shoulder, he patted her head. “Don’t worry about it, Captain. Really. I’ll take care of it. Just write down what I need to know.”

  “How much paper do you have?” Adam mumbled, automatically reaching for the ringing phone on her desk. “Hello? Yes, this is Beth’s residence. Who is this? Hey, Anne, this is Adam…. Yes, that Adam.” He turned red and handed the phone to the glaring Beth. “What? I was right there when it rang…. Never mind. Just take it.”

  She grabbed the phone from his outstretched hand. “Hey, Anne, I was just going to call you. How come you didn’t show up at the car show? Yeah, Lance is here too. Don’t ask. Say, I need a couple of days off.… Monday…. Yes, this Monday.… Can I call you back later when the guys are gone? They’re leaving now,” she said pointedly to Adam who was listening intently to her side of the conversation. “I’ll call you back.”

  “You work for Anne?” Adam asked as soon as she hung up. “I thought she worked in a dress shop.”

  Beth hesitated for a moment. Lance came over and pulled her out of the computer chair and took her place. “Tell Adam all about it while I check flight availability.” Beth didn’t argue and began filling in some of the missing years. “She did work in the boutique. Now she owns it. As a favor, she let me work there after I…left…Disneyland. Then, after my divorce she let me come back. I’ve been there ever since.”

  After watching her work the Keel Boats, he couldn’t picture her in a little boutique. But, it wasn’t his business. And, by the look on her face, she didn’t want it to be his business. “I should tell my mom. You know how she loves to shop.”

  Beth did smile at that. “Oh, she knows. We call her when something comes in that she might like.”

  Lance looked up from the computer screen. “I have the flights booked.”

  “What?” Beth still expected to spend a couple of hours discussing plans and making arrangements. She didn’t realize the guys were used to this by now.

  Lance printed their itinerary and handed her a copy. “You had the right route, Beth. We leave LAX at 8:45 a.m., get to Miami five hours later. Two hour layover, then a four hour flight to Trinidad. Since we arrive at 10:45 p.m., I made a hotel reservation for overnight near the airport. Next day, we’ll catch the 10 a.m. T&T Spirit ferry to Scarborough, Tobago. We have a suite at the Blue Haven Hotel. I figured four days should be plenty. Sound good?”

  Adam looked over the itinerary, nodding. Beth, still stunned, didn’t know what to say. “You just did all that?”

  “Obviously, Captain. I’m not completely useless,” he claimed, sounding hurt.

  She felt instant remorse. “I didn’t mean it that way, Lance. Really. This is just so much for me. I mean, poof, you two show up after five years. There’s Walt’s diary. Now I’m going to the Caribbean to search for a clue.”

  Lance got up to give her a hug. “I know. We felt the same way at first. I guess we’re used to it. So, are you okay with this? You know we wouldn’t go without you.”

  Folding her arms over her chest, she looked skeptical. “Oh really?”

  “Well, we could go, but we wouldn’t have nearly as much fun!”

  “Okay, fine. I’m going. Now get out of here so I can take care of a few things.”

  Folding the paper in his hands, Adam found he’d been holding his breath when he thought she might not go. He kept his hopeful face averted on the itinerary. “Then we’ll pick you up Monday morning around 5:30….”

  “5:30! In the morning?? I thought the plane left at 8:45!” Beth was not known to be an early riser.

  Adam smiled at the incredulous look on her face. He remembered the early morning hours when she had trained for the annual cast member canoe races at Disneyland. That month just about killed her. “It takes about one and a half hours to drive to the airport at that time of the morning.” Adam then realized Beth might not have traveled much in the last few years since her divorce. “Since 9/11, the extra security at the airports can take up to two hours. We almost missed our first flight to Missouri because we hadn’t planned on that. Anyway, we can take my truck. The bags will fit in the bed. Pack light.”

  “It’s going to feel weird to fly.”

  Adam just nodded at the somber look on her face. “We’ll see you then. Lance, you coming?” as he opened her front door.

  “I have my own car.” Adam was airily waved off as Lance plopped back down on the sofa. At Beth’s stern look, he got right back up, lightly kissed her cheek, and silently followed Adam out the door.

  The flight from Miami to Trinidad left right on time. First to board, Adam was seated in the middle of the plane before he realized Lance and Beth weren’t behind him. His carry-on stowed beneath the seat, he waited until he finally saw Lance’s head, tall above the other passengers, come onboard. But Lance didn’t come back to the empty seats next to him. He turned to his
right and apparently sat. Standing now, Adam could see Beth follow. They were in First Class. That dirty son of a.... Adam was forced to retake his seat when a couple climbed over him to claim the window seats. From their animated chatter, Adam could tell that the man and woman were on their honeymoon. The seats around him were also filling up, mostly couples he noted dryly. When the seat belt light came on and the flight attendant started his safety drill, Adam stifled his cursing and grabbed the magazine from the pouch in front of him. The couple next to him were kissing and murmuring sweet nothings to each other.

  It was going to be a long flight.

  Beth felt guilty about the surprise Lance had sprung on her right as they boarded. Guilty, that is, until she sat in the wide, plush leather seats and was handed a warm towel and a glass of champagne. She noticed their flight attendant, Heather, was giving Lance more attention than the other First Class passengers and was indifferent to the fact that he was obviously there with Beth.

  Lance turned back to Beth. “Enjoying your surprise?”

  Beth chose a slice of thin sliced Edam cheese off the platter in front of them. “This is wonderful! I never flew First Class before. You think Adam is all right?”

  “Who?”

  She lightly punched his arm. “Think he’s mad?”

  “Undoubtedly.” Lance motioned for Heather with his empty champagne flute. He tucked her phone number into his shirt pocket after she walked off. “This is a lot better service than yesterday.”

  Beth was confused. “Yesterday? What happened yesterday?”

  “Oh.” Darn. Lance had to think quickly. “I had to fly to Boston.”

  From the tone of his voice, she could tell it hadn’t been a pleasure trip. “Kinda sudden, wasn’t it? Is your family all right?”

  Beth knew Lance came from ‘old money’ in Boston—‘Boston Proper’ as they referred to it. He didn’t talk about his past. And he rarely went to visit. His parents weren’t too pleased he preferred his California lifestyle to his ‘rightful place’ in Boston Society. He gave an uncharacteristic angry sigh. He hadn’t meant to mention it. “Just more of the same.” Try as he might, the bitterness came through his mumbled words.

  Trying to change the subject, Beth gave him a good-natured dig in the ribs. “So, tell me, how many girls do you have now?”

  Glad she wasn’t pursuing the topic of his trip to Boston, he perked right up. “Oh, I don’t know. Can I count you?” At the negative shake of her head, he gave a grunt. “Let’s see…. Only eight. Oh, wait. Nine.”

  She could see whatever cloud covered him since he mentioned his family had retreated some. “Nine? That’s awful!”

  “Why?”

  “Why?” she echoed. “What if someone gets hurt?”

  Inexplicably, his eyes hardened. “I’m not your ex-husband, Beth. There isn’t going to be any Mrs. Rebound in my future.”

  She looked down, hurt. “That wasn’t nice. These women have feelings too, you know.”

  “As do I. Sometimes women can be just as shallow as you seem to think I am.” With that, Lance angrily pushed up from his seat and stormed back to Coach.

  Beth, stunned by the sudden turn of events, just sat there, her mouth open. Heather, who had watched the whole thing, glared at Beth as she grabbed their empty champagne flutes and took away the unfinished gourmet snack plate.

  Within moments Adam slid into the seat beside her. “What did you say to Lance!?... Wow, this is nice up here.” Adam became distracted as he ran his hands over the leather arm rests.

  On the verge of tears, Beth shrugged. “I guess I hurt his feelings. I didn’t mean to. I thought we were just talking. Then he said something nasty…. Hey, did you refer to me as Mrs. Rebound?” she demanded with an accusing stare.

  Stammering, Adam swallowed. “I might have mentioned what you told me about your marriage. Where are you going?”

  Beth sprang from her chair. “I need to fix it with Lance.”

  He grabbed her hand before she could get too far away. “He’ll be okay. Really. Just let me enjoy these seats a little while longer. We still have at least two hours in the air. Come on. Please. I can’t take those googly-eyed newlyweds any longer!”

  Beth allowed him to tug her back into her seat knowing Lance never held a grudge. And, it had been a dirty trick on Adam to seat him alone back in Coach. “Okay,” she sighed, relenting. “I’ll fix it later.” She rang the call button for a glass of champagne for Adam. Heather ignored her.

  Taking advantage of the time alone with Beth, Adam settled into the plush leather and told her about the construction company he had taken over when his dad wanted an early retirement. Their specialty was tear-downs and remodels. Beth let him talk. She knew all this from her lunches with Margaret, but it felt good just to talk with him like they used to. Having been alone for almost three years, it was nice having anyone talk to her. While it had been overwhelming to suddenly have both men back in her life, she felt at ease with them, knowing them so well. And, now she realized how much she had missed them. She didn’t know she had been staring into Adam’s blue eyes while he talked. She always loved the way his eyes crinkled at the corners when he smiled.

  Adam saw her expression change from distress over Lance to interest in what he was telling her to a relaxation of her whole being—something she hadn’t done around him up to this point. She had welcomed Lance back literally with open arms and had immediately fallen into that easy, joking camaraderie they had always shared. But, it wasn’t Lance who had hurt her. He had. Big time. Maybe now was the time to fix that. It was worth a shot. It was not like she could walk out on him. They were 40,000 feet over the ocean. He had to try.

  “You know, you’re going to have to forgive me sometime.” Adam decided to dive in head first.

  “I am? And when did you become such an expert on human nature?” Smiling, Beth hid her surprise at this turn in the conversation.

  “About two minutes after I let you walk out of my life.”

  Beth frowned at the hurtful memory. “If I remember correctly, I was half dragged, half carried out of your life.”

  “Can I tell you a secret?”

  “Will I like this secret?”

  “Probably not.”

  “Then by all means, tell me,” she smiled.

  Adam took a deep breath. “It was my fault.”

  Beth was confused. “What was your fault?”

  “You ending up in the River.”

  Beth thought back to the day she was fired from Disneyland. “I don’t understand. You were nowhere near me when I first fell in.”

  “When you were shoving the nose of the Keel Boat and leaning past the point of no return, I told Randy to turn the rudder the opposite way and goose the throttle a little.”

  “That would have pulled the nose of the Bertha Mae away from the dock too fast.” Thinking back, she pictured herself leaning out with the shove pole over the green water. “No wonder I couldn’t figure it out.”

  Adam nodded. “You were already off-balance when he pulled away. You had no chance to push yourself upright. You had to fall in.”

  Her eyes suddenly turned hurt and angry. “But why? Why would you do that to me?”

  He wanted to take her hand but didn’t. “I can’t tell you that part yet. But I wanted you to know. Will you trust me to make it all right later?”

  Her warm and fuzzy feeling evaporated. “What are you going to do? Get me my job back? Reopen the Keel Boats? Buy back the Bertha Mae?”

  That was news to him. “They sold the Bertha Mae?”

  “You’re changing the subject, but, yes. It was sold in an online auction.” She couldn’t help it as one side of her mouth turned up in a grin. “I even bid on it.”

  “Where would you put a Keel Boat?”

  “I wasn’t planning on winning the bid. I stopped at $200.”

  “What did it go for? Do you know?”

  Beth sighed. “Of course I know. It was my boat. It went for $15,000.”


  Adam gave a low appreciative whistle. “Do you know who won it?”

  She shook her head, sad again. “No, that wasn’t disclosed. I just hope they’re taking good care of her.” She had really loved her job. The remaining Keel Boat, the Gullywhumper, was now being used as a prop around Tom Sawyer’s Island. It made her sad every time she saw it from the Mark Twain Steamboat.

  Adam broke into her thoughts. “So, will you ever forgive me?”

  Those blue eyes of his looked sincere. Will you ever say you’re sorry, Adam? “Probably. But not right now,” she replied with a sad tone in her voice. She thought for a moment that this might be Adam’s way of saying he was sorry…but, she didn’t want it glossed over. She wanted a sincere, heartfelt “sorry.”

  He would wait. He’d waited five years so far. “Fair enough. Why don’t you go talk to Lance? I noticed a couple of empty seats back by the lavatory. Maybe you could talk there.”

  When Beth walked back to Coach, Adam rang the call button. Heather didn’t even look his way.

  The T&T Spirit flew over the blue-green water of the Atlantic. The black and white 900-passenger ferry boat made the trip in two and a half hours. Her slower cousin, the Panorama, took over four hours. After trying to stand at the rail to watch the flying spray, Beth laughingly gave up fighting the wind and occasional mist that blew around her. Seated in the more comfortable observation deck, the three friends watched as they neared Tobago.

  A long, narrow island measuring only 26 miles long and 6 miles wide, it was mostly hills of volcanic origin. The southwest side was flat coralline limestone while the hilly spine of the island, called the Main Ridge, holds claim to the oldest protected forests in the Western world. The Tobago Forest Reserve is relatively small, but has government-appointed guides for the birds, mammals, snakes, and butterflies who inhabit the area. The ferry was fast approaching the capital city of Scarborough. Situated in Rockly Bay on the Atlantic Ocean side of the island, the capital was home to about a third of the population of Tobago. The history of the island dated back to 1498 when Christopher Columbus arrived and claimed the lush property for Spain. Because Tobago has naturally calm and deep harbors, it became an important way-station for the exploration and conquest of both South America and the rest of the Caribbean. Because of that importance, the island had a very bloody, violent history. The 17th century saw Tobago as a haven for marauders and pirates. Henry Morgan, Captain Finn and even Black Beard used the island as a hideaway and supply station.