Dark Storm

by Karen Harper

  Nick told him, “Besides giving everyone a defense and highlighting the need to protect our environment, the only reason I’d take Larry Ralston’s case is to highlight how important, valuable—and smart—dolphins are. A far cry from little, delicate butterflies.”

  “Man, I’m still thinking about that year in prison and twenty-thousand-dollar fine for harming one of them.”

  “At least butterfly theft from a farm, display facility or protected park is only a misdemeanor, so I wonder what the Fly Safe people would say about that discrepancy. But let’s go see how that smart doll is going with Lexi. We have smart phones, smart everything lately—except the smarts to find where Darcy is.”

  * * *

  “I feel so much better about leaving Lexi again, now that she seems entranced by the new doll,” Claire told Nick after lunch. Heck had stayed and the three of them still sat around the patio table in the shade. Steve and Jilly were not back yet, though Lexi was going crazy waiting to show talkative Cindy to her cousin. Nick had told her he had put Princess “to sleep” in their closet this time, not Lexi’s. Claire doubted Lexi would even care now that she had the new doll in her arms as she wandered over to sit with them. And the rule, gently given by Claire more than once, was that since the new doll had her own voice, she would not talk for Lexi.

  Claire put her arm around Lexi as Nick said, “Hey, Heck, before you leave, almost forgot to ask you to look up an address for Lincoln Yost, that biology teacher at Naples High School I mentioned to you.”

  “Oh, yeah, and board member of the Fly Safe organization,” Heck said, reaching down on the floor to dig his iPad out of his backpack. “I couldn’t find the names of their board members, but Yost is well-known in town. Local basketball star about fifteen years ago, lots of old newspaper articles. Okay, I’ll grab his home address.”

  “Good. Even if school was in session, I’d try his house,” Nick said. “Security at the high schools is pretty strict these days, and I could not just go walking in to see him.”

  They all jumped when the doll piped up. “I love to go to school. Summer vacation will end soon. I will work hard to get good grades. I wish my friend Jilly was here.”

  “It must pick up on keywords and have rote things to say,” Heck said. “The tech term is interactive.”

  “I believe the correct term is invaluable,” Claire put in, stroking the doll’s silky hair. “So where does this guy Yost live?”

  Nick glanced at the screen Heck held up toward him.

  “Okay, 661 Turtle Bay Drive. Impressive,” Nick said, “especially on a teacher’s salary. A house on the edge of Pelican Bay, no less. He’s got to have a sideline or be making way over what Tara must have earned, or maybe he has a rich wife.”

  “Maybe he inherited it like Tara did her house,” Heck said.

  “That’s the least of what I want to find out from him,” Nick said. “Claire, if you’re going, too, let’s head out. I think your presence—and observation—will really help.”

  “I like to help people,” Cindy said as Lexi put her up on the table, and everyone watched as she took a few stiff-legged steps, as if on her own. “Tell me how I can help you, Lexi.”

  Claire noticed again that the doll had learned Lexi’s name. So amazing, the things even a toy could do in this modern world. Why hadn’t she even seen this doll advertised for sale? It must be so expensive. She would research it online later.

  Lexi told the doll, “You can help me, Cindy, by helping us find Aunt Darcy, who got took from the butterfly farm.”

  “I think butterflies are pretty, and you are, too,” said the doll.

  On that obviously prerecorded thought, Claire got up, hugged Lexi again and ran to get her purse. In a way, she felt guilty they didn’t wait for Steve, but the fact that he wasn’t here was a good excuse not to involve him further until they found out more from the high school biology teacher.

  After Heck left, he waved to Lexi and Nita, who were standing in the front door. When Nick backed them out of the driveway, Claire told him, “Wait a second. I see a bouquet of flowers in a vase off to the side on the porch.”

  Leaving the car door open, she got out. Evidently curious why, Nita came out as Claire bent to lift the heavy glass vase loaded with roses, lilies and foliage. A note was stuck in one of those little forked plastic holders. She handed the flowers to Nita, but opened the note and read aloud.

  “Darcy’s church family will be praying for her safe return at both services tomorrow morning. Please do not hesitate to call Pastor Hayes if we can do anything to help. A bouquet just like these flowers will be on the altar tomorrow morning. Love to Darcy’s extended family and, of course, to Steve, Drew and Jillian.

  “How lovely,” Claire said. “Nita, please give these to Steve and Jilly when they get back from the beach. We need all the help we can get and strength from above...” Her voice caught, and she blinked back tears. “We will move heaven and earth to find Darcy and soon.”

  11

  Nick rang the doorbell to Lincoln Yost’s home. He lived in a large house on a beautiful street in one of the most desirable sections in Naples. Just before Nick rang again, a pretty woman opened the door.

  “Sorry, but it says No Soliciting,” she said, pointing to a sign he hadn’t noted in the window because they’d been surveying the landscaping. Claire had promised to let him do the talking, so he’d just see how long that lasted.

  “We’re not soliciting. I met Mr. Yost briefly at the Fly Safe office the other day and wanted to follow up with him. I’m a lawyer, Nick Markwood. Sorry to bother you at home, but—”

  “Oh, okay, but he’s not here right now.”

  Nick heard at least two kids arguing loudly inside but the woman didn’t so much as blink. “I just had some follow-up questions about the butterfly breeds we were discussing.”

  “If it was the orangetips, they’re quite special and precious,” she said with a nod and a slight smile. “He’s at Doctors Pass on the gulf right now with a couple of his best students who are gonna be seniors. Loves to tutor bright, promisin’ kids about butterflies, dolphins, whatever, even durin’ summer vacation.”

  A screech sounded from somewhere behind her, then a young voice. “Mom, he hit me!”

  “Wish he’d see to his own kids,” she said with a shake of her curly head. She had long hair and a soft Southern accent. Big gold bangle earrings swung from her earlobes, and she had a chunky bracelet that looked like real gold, too. Yeah, the Yosts were living large.

  “Anyway,” she went on, “he’d be easy to find there. They’re set up with a telescope to record movements of dolphins and manatees when they swim in or out past the breakwater rocks. You want to leave a card or somethin’?”

  “No thanks. We’ll just see if we can catch him there. He sounds like a very dedicated teacher.”

  “Oh, he is. Always learnin’, always teachin’.”

  Nick caught a glimpse of their front room before she closed the door. White carpet with young kids? White leather furniture and a huge abstract painting on one wall. Money talked here, so he hoped the owner of this place wouldn’t mind talking more, too.

  * * *

  The minute he landed in Naples, Jace phoned Brit at the zoo, knowing she was working this weekend. He told her he’d see her soon but he was heading to see Lexi and find out how the search for Darcy was going. Through connections he’d left his car here in the Naples Municipal Airport pilot’s parking lot. Mitch had, too, and he waved to his buddy as he peeled out to head for Kris’s condo.

  “So glad you’re back for a while,” Brit said. Her voice sounded so good over the phone, though he heard animal cries in the background. “Claire mentioned wishing you could fly over the land out behind where Darcy was taken, even though the police chopper searched briefly from the air. Maybe you could help with that.”

  “Yeah, anything I can do, but task number one is comforting Lexi, maybe supporting Steve and Jilly, too, if they’re still at the hous
e.”

  “I think they are. Jace, Claire says Lexi’s kind of off the deep end again, flashing back to her own abduction, I think.”

  “I was afraid of that. They need to let her do something to actually help look for her aunt Darcy. She’s been through a lot, but then, haven’t we all?”

  “Did you know Darcy well when you were married to Claire?”

  “Oh, yeah. A tight sister act for sure. Their dad deserted them and their mother was a little screwy, so they really leaned on each other. Darcy—lively, stubborn, strong, too, like Claire without the drawback of Claire’s disease. But they’re both tough. I hope—” his voice broke “—it helps them both get through this. But hey, love you. Talk to you later, maybe bring Lexi with me so we can both support her. I can at least stay a day or two unless another bad hurricane starts to form, and there are a couple lined up out in the Atlantic. I’m definitely on call. Mitch is here to see Kris and probably nod his head a lot over wedding plans.”

  “Ah, shades of our past. But, Jace, really, is there any chance you and Mitch could borrow a plane from one of your buddies at the Marco Airport to do a flyover of that area? Claire and the police need all the help they can get. You know where it is, right?”

  “Yeah, just west of that citrus grove out by Sabal Palm. I’ll make a quick phone call on that but gotta see Lexi before I fly. If I do, maybe I should take her along, make her feel like she’s helping.”

  “You’re good at that, picking up the pieces like you did with me. Miss you. Love you. Bye for now.”

  He started his car, but then decided to call the Marco Island Airport first, so he sat there with the engine idling and the AC spewing out cold air. A friend at the airport who had a small Piper Cub there owed him a favor. But he had to see and hug Lexi first.

  * * *

  “Nick, I feel guilty we’re here without Steve, but we can always say it was best he spend time with Jilly if he gets upset. That is, gets more upset. I know I’d be ready to explode if something like this happened to you. I’m devastated over Darcy, too—terrified.”

  “I know, sweetheart, but we’re doing all we can,” Nick assured her, and took her hand as they left their car at Lowdermilk Park and began to quickly walk the beach north toward Doctors Pass.

  The man-made entry to the gulf was lined with black boulders and, on a weekend like this, it was busy with everything from Jet Skis to yachts. Condos and houses lined the shore, and the foam of warm waves washed in nearly to their feet. The screeching seagulls seemed to want to warn them away, but once on the rocks, the warm sun and fishermen made the scene seem almost normal. Nick tried to ignore the scudding storm clouds on the western horizon. Never good to be caught out on big water if there was lightning, but it seemed far away right now.

  “Careful along here,” Nick said, and gave her a hand up to the top of the boulders. They both skimmed the area. He’d assumed teacher and students would be on this southern side, and he hoped they didn’t have to drive around. Yeah, there they were, Yost and three students, all boys, out a lot farther.

  “That’s him. Watch where you step,” he told her. “When the tide’s up or there’s wind and spray, the rocks can get slippery. And don’t step where there’s green algae growth.”

  He went slowly, picking his footholds carefully as she followed him. With the water sloshing on both sides, even in the no-wake zone for boats, footing was iffy. Despite distant storm clouds, it was bright out here with the sun off the water, even with sunglasses and a visor.

  “Linc!” Nick called when they were out nearly to the four of them, and raised his hand in greeting. “Nick Markwood and Claire, my wife,” he added as Linc came closer. He spoke up so the wind wouldn’t grab his words away. “Sorry to bother you when you’re with your students, but your wife told us where you were.”

  Several fishermen casting off the rocks turned to glare at them as if talking loudly way out here with the crash and suck of waves would keep the fish from biting.

  Linc came closer and called to them, “Hey, I read what happened to the missing woman in your family after Tara Gerald phoned me to ask if it was okay if she gave you my name. I think I surprised her when I said I’d already met you. So sorry,” he added in a quieter voice, now standing close to them and turning toward Claire. “I mean, that your sister disappeared from where I board my butterflies—and some of them disappeared, too. Sorry for your loss.”

  “She isn’t lost, only missing!” Claire blurted. She hoped she had not come on too strong, but his condolences were what someone said when someone died. “We’re trying hard to track her, and if you could just answer a few questions...”

  “I wouldn’t know anything about that. I was at Fly Safe that day, not the Flutterby Farm.”

  “I didn’t mean that, but—”

  “Something about my butterflies, then?” he asked. “Mr. Markwood, you should have told me you were hoping to learn about more than Fly Safe that first day.”

  “At the time I wasn’t. Listen, it would help us if you could share the names of others on the Fly Safe board of directors.”

  “Like Tara correctly did to ask first, I’d have to check. Some of them are investors, some advisers, et cetera, but I’d need to ask permission to disclose their names, especially to an attorney at a large, local law firm.”

  That annoyed Nick and set off alarm bells, but he’d seen that sort of privacy paranoia with groups that could be contentious, including a case he—Claire, too—had worked not long ago with big-name people protecting local historic buildings at any cost.

  “Okay—” he tried another tack instead of arguing “—so it would also help us to know more about your orangetips that Darcy was tending for Tara Gerald.”

  “Sure. So,” he said, turning back a moment to look at the three boys who were taking turns watching the entrance to the pass with the telescope, “we’re tracking and counting dolphins and even manatees out here, but, of course, anything I can do to help with the butterflies, I will.”

  Figuring that Claire would call that trying to change the subject, Nick said, “That’s much appreciated, because, since you know what we have at stake here, you’ll understand our desperation for fast answers. We are not accusing you of anything, but we’re hoping as an expert on the orangetips you may have an idea who might have wanted your butterflies—and took Claire’s sister along because she could identify them or was in their way somehow.”

  Nick could tell Linc was frowning, even in the shade of his baseball cap. The guy also tightened his lips, so what would Claire say about that face language? He’d heard her sniff hard more than once to keep from crying—or maybe from screaming.

  “I can’t tell you much, really,” he said, shrugging and shifting position again despite standing on the rocks. “Orangetips are rare in these parts. But they could be unrelated to her disappearance. I was assuming they escaped from the open netted door someone left open.”

  “But we understand that breed has an unusual talent,” Claire said. “Isn’t it true they can suspend themselves and then wake up—not the expected metamorphosis, but something way beyond that? No wonder you’re using them for your thesis.”

  Nick saw Linc’s eyes widen. He nodded jerkily. “It is...quite unusual and interesting,” he said. “But then the same can be said for the dolphins—not SA—but an intentional turning off half their brain for a while, so they never really have to completely sleep. But all this is under wraps right now. So, did Tara give you my name and tell you my thesis topic? I only gave her permission to give you my name this morning.”

  “No,” Nick said, “she protected your privacy until you gave her permission, but in her brief description of you, I thought I saw similarities and made a guess it was the man I had recently met.” No way was he going to admit he’d had his tech guru checking up on him.

  Yost suddenly seemed even more antsy, but then he probably wanted to get back to his students. He glanced again at them on the outer rocks, or maybe he was
assessing the distance of the storm. But Nick could understand his concern. And he got the other message: Linc Yost did not want to talk about the strange talent of the orangetips, at least not now.

  They said thanks and goodbye and waved to the boys before heading back down the slippery pile of black boulders toward the shore.

  “We made him nervous and upset,” Claire said from behind. “And not just because we might have guessed his thesis topic. Dolphins aside, he’s obviously looking at the orangetips’ secret gift and its import. Otherwise, would a biology teacher be so at ease with the topic of suspended animation that he would refer to it as SA without defining that for us amateurs? Nick, he sounds like an expert on that subject and you know Will said it was a lucrative and cutthroat field. He implied some people would do anything to have that priceless, powerful secret in their control. So maybe someone thought Darcy knew more about that than she obviously did—does.”

  “Man, I could use you in court or strategy sessions,” he said, and stopped to hug her before they went on. She was tense, her muscles tightly coiled, and shaking.

  As they hurried down the beach toward their car, still hashing things over, Nick’s phone sounded, and he fished it out of his shorts. “Text from Heck,” he told her, squinting at the screen in the sun. “A long one. Oh, Jace showed up and spent time with Lexi, so that should help. Gina’s there with Heck.”

  “That’s right, she’s home for the weekend. I hope they can work everything out, but that’s the least of my worries. I’m glad Jace is there, too.”

  “Apparently Gina thinks the doll is amazing, and Jilly loves it, too.”

  “So if Jilly’s there, that means Steve’s back. We’d better get home and fill him in on things.”

  “No—wait. Heck says Steve left Jilly with Nita and headed out somewhere, but decided not to go with Mitch and Jace after Heck filled him in some. Our flyboys got ahold of a small plane and are going to do a flyover of the Flutterby Farm area. And Lexi begged to go with them, had a fit when he tried to leave so soon. Claire, they took Lexi with them. Nita was afraid to let him, but he is her father.”