Destroyed and Detained

by Danelle Helget

  I grabbed his hand. “Come on, let’s go check this out!” I led him across the boat. There wasn’t much to see up on the deck except the cannon, which was much bigger than mine. We went down the ladder to the lower deck. Down there we found a bathroom smaller than those on an airplane and a tiny kitchen. It had a sink, a hot plate and a pizza oven. “So there must be electricity?” I questioned.

  Derek found a socket and plugged in the hot plate but nothing happened. I swung the light around and noticed a switch on the wall. I flipped it up and nothing happened with that either. “I’ve never noticed lights on it at night before,” I stated.

  “This might explain why,” Derek said and picked up a book off the card table to our left. Electrical Work for Dummies. There were four folding chairs around the table and some empty take-out food containers. We both giggled. I heard a trickling of water.

  “Let’s go see how big the leak is,” I told Derek and walked out the doorway.

  “The leak?”

  “Yeah, this ship has a bit of damage.”

  “Damage from what?”

  “Um, I’m not sure how bad the damage is.”

  “That’s not what I asked, Sara,” he said, in a fatherly tone.

  Outside of the kitchen and the tiny little bathroom the rest of the area was open. We saw a bed on metal legs that looked like it would fold up like a lawn chair. It had a blow-up mattress on it and foam on top of that. “That’s a nice bed, better than I thought we’d find,” I told him.

  Along the outside walls of the boat was a built-in bench. I raised the light to see farther. The sound of trickling was getting closer. “There we go.”

  We found the place that had been hit. It was a small area. It looked like they had used spray foam to fill the cracks in the wood.

  On the ground were six cans of spray foam, some plastic on a roll, duct tape and some scraps of wood. The wood looked untouched. It was still neatly piled. There were a few pieces of duct tape on the ship wall, too. That’s where the water was trickling in. There was a large puddle on the floor in front of us so we couldn’t get any closer. “This ship is sinking.” Derek said, pointing out the obvious.

  “How long do you think that’ll take?” I asked.

  “I have no idea. A while I suppose, a day, maybe more.”

  “Well, that gives us plenty of time,” I said. I leaned forward and kissed him again. He kissed me back and then grabbed the wine from my hand and took another drink. He passed it back to me, and I took a sip. We stared into each other eyes for a moment then he took the lantern from my hand and walked halfway across the ship and set it on the bench. I took another sip while I waited for him to come back. The placement of the lantern gave us a dim glow.

  He took the bottle from my hand and set in on the bench close to us. Then he came back to me, took my face in his hands, and kissed me passionately. It lasted a couple minutes. He pulled back and slowly unzipped my winter coat and laid it on the floor. He removed his too and laid it below mine. Then he knelt and pulled me down gently to my knees and kissed me again. Our bodies’ activities kept us warm inside the ship, even though it was cold outside. I was certain that, if the ship had had glass windows, we would have fogged them up.

  26

  Thirty minutes later we were chilled to the bone and on the pontoon heading back to my place. At the dock Derek tied up, and I put the light back under the seat. He grabbed my hand and walked with me to the house. “That’s was … a fun adventure,” he said.

  “Sure was. That’s one to check off the bucket list,” I said with a wink.

  Pepper met us at the door and needed to go out. Derek waited for him while I crawled back into my pajamas and under the covers. I was freezing. A few minutes later Derek joined me. He cuddled nice and close and whispered, “So did the invasion tonight make you nervous? Is that why you couldn’t sleep?”

  “No, I wasn’t scared. I think I was just amped up on caffeine.” Or happy pills.

  I closed my eyes and fell right to sleep.

  * * *

  I woke to Pepper licking my hand. Derek was gone, and the room smelled like bacon. Dang, I wished I had his morning energy. I glanced at the clock—8:00. I needed to be a Morning Glory at nine to meet the girls. I rolled out of bed, took a fast shower, threw on some clothes and padded into the kitchen. Derek was just setting plates out. “Morning, sweetness,” he said.

  “Morning,” I mumbled and went straight for the coffee.

  “What are you plans for the day?”

  “I’m meeting the girls at nine. We have to … do some stuff.” Like figure out what to do with the treasure in my washer and dryer.

  “So tell me, Sara, do you have their treasure?” he asked me as he set the pancakes and eggs on the table.

  “Umm, are we on the record?” I said slyly.

  “This isn’t my jurisdiction,” he said with a shoulder shrug.

  “I know, but I’m not sure I want to share the … the details of my LARP’s activities with … an outsider.” He set the bacon down and sat at the table across from me. And gave me a look. “Ya see, there are certain rules we’re expected to follow. I’d hate to get in trouble with the group for divulging too much information to someone not in the group.”

  He looked at me with a serious look.

  “I take the fifth.” I reached for the bacon. “Breakfast looks great. Thanks for making it,” I said, trying to change the subject.

  “You know how I feel about this. I’ll leave it at that. You’re going to get in over your head. The guys who broke in here had guns. The people they’re involved with took Jodi. They aren’t messing around. This isn’t a game, and you know that.”

  “Does it bother you that they took Jodi?”

  Derek frowned at me. “Yes, Sara, it does. Of course, it does. I hope it bothers you, too.”

  I continued chewing, but my appetite was ruined. I supposed I should feel bad, but part of me didn’t. “Here’s how I see it,” I said and set down my fork. “She came here for a reason. That reason was to cause problems between us. She drove for hours to stalk me, take pictures like a peeping tom and send them to you, to get us to break up so she can have you back. She was warned not once, but twice, to stay away and she came back again! So, ya know what, Derek, it kind of doesn’t bother me. She got herself into this mess.” I excused myself and went to get ready.

  I was in the middle of blow-drying my hair when Derek knocked on the door. I opened it, and he stepped in. “Hey, sorry. I didn’t mean to ruin breakfast. Your plate is still there if you’re hungry. I’m going to run a few errands. I catch up with you later,” he said and gave me a kiss on the cheek. “Last night was a fun adventure. Thank you,” he whispered in my ear. Then he closed the door behind himself and left.

  After I was ready, I went the kitchen, microwaved my plate and finished. Derek had cleaned up the kitchen already. He was so nice and so efficient that he kind of hurt my self-esteem. I grabbed a to-go mug and filled it up with coffee for the road.

  I took a little detour over to Jodi’s car still parked on the side of County Road 12, not far from my driveway. I pulled up behind it and got out to take a look. Yup, there was a perfect hole in the roof the size of a cannonball, which was sitting on the passenger seat.

  The doors were all locked, so I grabbed a large rock from the ground with my sleeve-covered hand and broke the passenger-side window. I reached in, unlocked the door with my sleeved fingers and grabbed my cannonball. After I put it in my trunk, I got back in my Jeep and drove away. She doesn’t get to keep my ball.

  I arrived at Morning Glory at five minutes to nine. Tannya was taking an order from someone in a booth across the room. Another booth had four older men in it in the far corner. Other than that the place was empty. I bellied up to the bar and set my purse on the floor.

  “Hey, girl!” Tannya said as she walked by me. “You’re the first one here.”

  “Morning.”

  “Boy, you look tired. Did you ha
ve trouble sleeping last night?”

  “Yeah, I only got a few hours of good sleep,” I told her.

  “Heeey, Sara!” Marv yelled from the window. He was sporting a big grin.

  “Hi, Marv.”

  “Marv, get to work! I just put an order up for you,” Tannya scolded.

  “I just put something up too,” he said with a wink.

  I put my head down in my hands.

  “Marv!” Tannya yelled. He disappeared from view. Tannya shook her head. “I think he’s got a bit of a crush.”

  “Great.”

  The door opened and everyone in the room looked at who was arriving—my aunt Val and Miss Kitty.

  “Morning,” I said as they walked in. Miss Kitty had her large dog purse with her.

  Aunt Val wrapped an arm around me. “How are you doing? You look tired.” she said.

  “Thanks, I keep hearing that. I am tired. I only got a few hours last night.”

  “It’s the pills. They keep you up. You can’t take them that late at night. I tried to tell you that,” Miss Kitty said with an “I told you so” tone.

  “It’s fine. I’ll just take a nap later,” I said with a half-grin.

  “Did you two sleep well?” I asked them.

  They both said yes. I looked down at Miss Kitty’s purse. Smoochy Poo was peeking out at me. I stuck my finger in the vent, and she licked it. She was starting to like me. Tannya came over and stuck her finger in too, but Smoochy backed up and growled.

  “Smoochy! You know me! Stop growling like you ain’t never seen me before. Ya know, if you were a nice dog I might sneak you a treat from the kitchen. But you ain’t getting no treat now.”

  “Did someone say treats from the kitchen?” Marv asked from the window.

  “Marv!” Tannya scolded. “Quit harassing the patrons.”

  “Does anyone need anything?” Tannya asked.

  Val and Miss Kitty hadn’t eaten yet so they ordered a meal and some coffee.

  I ordered a juice and a caramel roll. I figured the stress from yesterday should’ve pre-burned those calories. Tannya got the food out to the guests in the back booth, and then came over and stood by us. “Does anyone have any thoughts on what we should do now?”

  “I think we should find a buyer and get the cash for the treasure and split it,” Miss Kitty said.

  “I agree!” Tannya said with way too much enthusiasm.

  “We can’t,” Val reasoned. “They’re stolen goods. We’d get thrown in jail for that. Trust me, I know.”

  “So, what then? We control this right now. Only the bad guys know we have the treasure and they want it back. And it’s no good to us,” I said.

  “Maybe we should use it as a bargaining chip to get Jodi released,” Val offered.

  We all rolled our eyes in unison.

  “Come on, you guys. I know you all hate her, but I also know you are good people. I’m willing to bet that all of you said a prayer for her last night,” she said with raised eyebrows and tight lips.

  We all exchanged glances. Miss Kitty and Tannya looked down like they were guilty. Then they all looked at me.

  “What? I didn’t sleep much last night. I was busy thinking about other stuff. She was the last thing on my mind,” I said.

  “Liar,” Val said. She was half right. I could care less about Jodi, but I didn’t want my life or property to have anything to do with her getting hurt.

  I stuck my tongue out at her.

  “So, what now, we just wait for them to show again?” Miss Kitty asked.

  “Yeah. How do we know where they are?” Val asked. “Was there any action on the ship last night?”

  Yes, yes there was. “No, I didn’t see anything and the house was dark this morning too. I think the ship’s slowly sinking, though. I swear it looks like it’s tipping slightly to one side.”

  “It probably is,” Val said. “They tried to fix it, but I knew it wouldn’t hold.”

  “Well, Tannya talked to them from her phone earlier. Don’t you have their number still?” Miss Kitty asked.

  “Only Captain Morgan’s, but he’s still in jail. I’m sure Rex took his phone when he booked him.”

  The bells on the door rang as Rex came in—in uniform and with business on his face. “Good morning, ladies. I’m glad you’re all here.”

  We all smiled and returned the greeting. We spun around on our bar stools to face him when he came in.

  “Have any of you heard from the guys involved?” he asked.

  We shook our heads.

  “No visits, no calls … nothing?”

  “No,” I said. “They said we had twelve hours yesterday and that was eleven hours ago. They just said they’d contact us.”

  “We were just discussing our options,” Tannya said.

  “Options? So you do have the missing treasure?” Rex asked with a very serious look.

  “I … ah … umm. What?”

  “When I questioned Rick and John, they said you stole treasure from them. Did you?”

  Tannya looked at us, not knowing what she should answer.

  Val finally spoke up. “Yes, we did. That’s how you win the game. This is Live Action Role-Playing, and the theme for this one is pirates. Tannya here was going to join their team and contributed treasure to their collection. Then they decided not to let her join and continued on without her, so, as the third acting LARP group in this play, we stole that back, and some of Wayde’s, too. We were trying to win the game. I think they’re just mad we won.”

  Rex squinted at her and then at the rest of us. “I hope you realize this is no longer a game. They’re holding a young woman captive, against her will. Game or not, that’s illegal. Jodi Vagerna is not a part of any game.”

  “Do you know anything on Jodi’s whereabouts yet?” I asked.

  “No. And Rick and John are not being helpful either. They claim to have no idea where Butch took Jodi, or what he plans to do with her.”

  “Butch? So that must be Flying Dutchman’s real name,” Miss Kitty mused.

  “Yes. I’d imagine he wants to make a trade, the treasure for Jodi.”

  We all nodded. “When he contacts you, and it sounds like he will shortly, I want to know about it. I will be there when anything further happens.” He started to turn to leave, then looked at us again. “That’s an order,” he said and then walked out.

  “Boy, he was in a mood,” I said.

  “Yeah, he’s really upset by this,” Val said. “I feel bad.”

  “Me too,” Miss Kitty said.

  “ORDER UP!” Marv yelled from the kitchen. Tannya got our food and set it in front of us, then went to the other two tables and refilled coffee mugs. When she was done she sat next to us.

  “I can’t believe Wayde’s been sitting on four million dollars. Why wouldn’t he leave the country?” Val said between bites.

  “I don’t know. Maybe he was waiting for his mom to pass, and then got too wrapped up in the ship to leave. He’s a nice guy,” Val said, looking a bit heartbroken.

  “He killed Mike. He’s a murderer,” I reminded her.

  “I know. I hate knowing that. The guy I knew would have never done that to anyone.”

  “You didn’t truly know him. He did it. He said he did. Whatever you’re feeling for him right now you need to ignore, because it was all based on a lie,” I told her.

  She put her fork down and was having a hard time finishing the bite in her mouth. “I know,” she said in tears. “I just miss him. I miss the guy I thought he was. I feel like I lost a good friend.”

  I leaned over and put an arm around her. “It’s okay, Aunt Val. We’re going to get through this mess together. We’ll find you a man who’s good and honest.”

  “Yeah, and not one who kills people,” Tannya said and reached out and rubbed her arm.

  We all looked at her funny. “I mean … well … I’m not good at mushy talk. But I feel bad. You deserve better than that. He’s a jerk.”

  Just then th
e bells on the door jingled and in walked Wayde and Scooter.

  27

  Wayde and Scooter both wore jeans, sweatshirts, and baseball hats. “Morning, ladies,” Wayde said. “I thought I might find you here.” We all turned on our stools again to face them. “Did you ladies bring my stuff with you?”

  No one answered. I wasn’t ready for this. I’d thought we’d meet somewhere and make an exchange for Jodi. But these two weren’t even with Butch. They were against him. That just caused more issues. “Well? Where are my things? Just hand them over, and we’ll be on our way,” he demanded.

  “We don’t have it with us,” Val said.

  “Where is it?” Scooter asked.

  “Where’s Jodi?” I asked.

  “Who?” Wayde asked.

  “Jodi, the girl from the raft,” Scooter told him.

  “Oh, I don’t know!” Wayde said with a shrug.

  “Well, Butch took her last night and she hasn’t been seen since, and he wants the treasure too,” Miss Kitty announced.

  “Sorry, boys. Until you find Butch and Jodi, there’ll be no treasure,” I said. “We need to ensure her safety and release before we give anything back to you.”

  “Well, we don’t know where they are. What are we supposed to do about it?” Wayde said with palms up.

  “I don’t know. But we’re waiting here until we get further instructions from Butch and we know Jodi’s alive and unharmed.”

  “Cut the shit,” Wayde said.

  “No, Wayde, you cut the shit. Your entire life has been a lie,” Val snapped. Then she turned away from him on her stool. He looked surprised by her words. I was pretty sure I could see a hint of empathy in his eyes.

  “Look, we can’t give you the treasure right now. We have it in a secure spot until you’re able to talk to Butch and Jodi. When you talk to him, give us a call, and we’ll meet you for an exchange. And if we hear from him first, we’ll do the same for you. You and Val have each other’s numbers, so we’ll wait until one of us hears from him,” I said and spun around on my stool.

  I looked straight ahead and could see Marv’s head in the window. He gave me an approving nod and wink. I hid my smile. It felt good being the boss.