“You are the most skilled person I’ve ever met at changing the conversation. Maybe I’ll invite Nicole to the beach later for a glass of wine. I might be able to get more out of her.”
“You do that.” Shannon left Jake standing in the cockpit. She stomped below, telling herself it didn’t matter if Jake spent time with Nicole. How he spent his time was not her business.
* * *
The glow over Allens Cay to the east told Shannon the sun was heading up over the horizon. She stood on the bow of A Dog’s Cat with a cup of coffee in her hand. Hidden in the lee of the island, the boat rested flat on the sea.
The anchor chain swayed in the current, leaving grains of sand floating through the water. Peanut lay on the trampoline, keeping a close watch on Shannon.
“You ready?” Jake asked.
“Yup,” she said without turning to look at him.
The port engine revved, followed by the starboard. Shannon walked to the stern of the starboard side and checked that water spewed from the through-hull, cooling the engine.
“All good.”
“Same on this side,” Jake said.
Shannon opened the chart book flat on the cockpit table. “I’m thinking Staniel might be a bit far for one day. We could stop at Cambridge Cay.”
Jake placed his finger on the chart and traced the route. She could almost hear him mentally adding up the miles. “Good plan.”
So this was going to be a day of few words. Somehow the closeness they’d gained at Nassau had disappeared. Her fault. She’d pushed him away by being petty about Nicole. And why did she care?
They sailed to Cambridge Cay without much talking. Shannon took the helm when they turned east and headed for the mooring field entrance. Cambridge was the southern most island in the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park. A national park that frowned on anchoring. North and south of the park, the restrictions were few in the Bahamian cays. Within the park, the goal to protect the eco-system for the small segment of the Bahamas meant there were a few rules to follow.
One mooring ball at the north end of the field floated empty. Shannon drove A Dog’s Cat toward the ball, turned into the wind, and slowly approached.
Jake grabbed the boat hook, leaned over the bow and picked up the mooring line. He tied it to the cleat on the port side bow. Then did the same with the second mooring line on the starboard side.
You’d think they’d done this before. Shannon was proud of her driving and the ease of which she landed on the ball. They were at slack tide, so that made the maneuver less tricky, but still her first mooring ball ever.
The couple on the trawler tied to the mooring ball next to them waved them over. “Come for drinks. We’re just starting happy hour.”
The park warden drove to the stern and collected fees. There were four people on the go-fast boat and two had guns. If Park Warden wasn’t written on the side of the hull, Shannon would have been frightened.
“How come they have guns?” Shannon asked after the boat roared away from A Dog’s Cat. “I thought there wasn’t a lot of drug trafficking in the Bahamas.”
“There’s not. They patrol the park for illegal fishing.”
“You’re kidding?”
“Nope. There’s a lot of money at stake.”
Shannon lifted a bottle of wine from underneath the settee in the main salon, picked up two plastic wine glasses, and headed for the trawler.
“You coming?”
They received a friendly welcome on the trawler and followed the couple to the sitting area on the top of the boat. They introduced themselves as Sheila and Winston. All cruisers carried on the same conversation. How did you end up cruising? Where were you going? What was the current problem with the boat?
Shannon thought the chatter had gone on long enough that she could bring up her uncle. “Did you ever come across a boat named Waterfall last winter?”
“Sure. Bobby Hall. Sad about what happened to him. We really liked him,” Sheila said.
“Did you hang out with him often?” Shannon’s stomach gurgled, and she reached for a few almonds.
“Kind of. He attracted people we weren’t too fond of. But when he was on his own we enjoyed his company.”
“Anyone in particular you didn’t like?” Jake asked.
“Yeah. A guy named Darren. He sails a boat called Orion. I guess Bobby hung out with him because they were both single-handers,” Winston said.
“You mean when he wasn’t sailing with Nicole,” Sheila said.
Shannon sipped her wine. “You didn’t like her either?”
“Not really. But only because of the way she chased Bobby. We weren’t sure what she wanted from him. Darren on the other hand, well, he’s a bit nasty.”
Peanut stood on the bow of A Dog’s Cat and barked. “She must be hungry,” Shannon said. “Did Darren do something?”
“There was a dog hit by a dinghy at Staniel Cay last year. Rumor had it Darren was the driver. Didn’t even stop. Someone else rescued the dog before it drowned, but if they hadn’t been there, the dog wouldn’t have made it to shore.”
Shannon glanced at Peanut. “Speaking of dogs, we better go take care of her. She’ll need a walk before dark.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Jake
Staniel Cay, Bahamas
“Clearly Debi didn’t get the direct flight.” Shannon checked her phone for a text from Debi and shook her head. “Nothing.” They’d anchored at Big Majors Spot the night before and taken the dinghy that morning to Staniel Cay. The ride along the west side of the island remained calm until they hit the channel. Jake adeptly drove the dinghy between the waves, keeping them dry.
“What do you want to do?” Jake asked.
“It’s only an hour till the next flight from Nassau arrives. She might have made that one. I’ll wait here.”
“I’ve got some generator maintenance to do. Radio me when she arrives, and I’ll come get you.” Jake left Shannon sitting at an outdoor table at the Staniel Cay Yacht Club, nursing a ginger ale. Piddles snuggled into Shannon’s feet in the shade.
He untied the dinghy from the dock and headed for A Dog’s Cat in Big Majors Spot. He stood as he reached the stern of the boat. A skinny, blond guy sat in the cockpit drinking a beer.
“Who the hell are you?” Jake asked.
The guy saluted with his beer. “Lance. And you?”
Jake had a bad feeling. “Make yourself at home, why don’t you?”
“Didn’t Debi tell you I was coming?”
Jake tied the dinghy and vaulted into the cockpit. Lance moved away from him.
“She’s not here.”
“She said she would send Shannon an email.”
“We haven’t had access to email for a couple of days.”
“We?”
“Shannon and me.” Jake knew he gave the impression he and Shannon were a couple, but he didn’t care. This guy had an attitude he could do without.
“Are you a friend of Debi’s?”
“Hardly. I’m Shannon’s fiancé.”
“Huh. She didn’t mention she’s engaged.” A twin-engine buzzed overhead, and Jake let his eyes stray across the horizon, tracking the plane as far as the tree line on Staniel Cay.
“I gotta go.”
“If you’re picking up Shannon, I’ll come with you. I want to surprise her.”
“I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”
“I don’t care what you think. I haven’t seen her in a while, and I don’t intend to wait any longer.”
“Have it your way.” Jake hopped into the dinghy and untied the line. He shoved the dinghy away from A Dog’s Cat, forcing Lance to jump. Jake hit every wave he could, enjoying it each time Lance gasped when the salt water soaked him. Small pleasures. They arrived at the yacht club with Lance wet through to his pasty skin and Jake dry. Jake didn’t apologize for the ride. The runt looked like a wet rat. No way would Shannon be attracted to him.
Shannon sat with her back to them and
didn’t see Lance approach. The sun glinted off her hair, and the heat dampened her skin. She turned her head in their direction, and Jake’s heart lightened when a look of horror crossed her face.
She gripped the arms of her plastic chair. “What are you doing here?”
Lance’s wet footprints followed him across the patio deck. “I miss you. I came to talk.”
The chair scraped behind Shannon when she stood. She crossed her arms in front of her chest. “You shouldn’t have come.”
Lance closed in on her as if to kiss or hug her, and Shannon shoved the chair between them.
Jake moved within striking distance of Lance. “Shannon, are you okay?”
She let out a big sigh. “Yes.”
“Get lost, buddy. I need to talk with Shannon,” Lance said.
“Do you want me to go?” Jake asked Shannon.
She shook her head.
“Sorry, dude. Guess I’ll hang out here while you chat.”
“Shannon, come on. Please give me a chance to explain.” Lance glanced in Jake’s direction. “Without him here.”
“I don’t think so,” Shannon said.
“I had to apply for emergency leave. Even though I got it, it’s going to count against me. You don’t know what I had to go through to get here.”
“As usual, it’s about you. Did you notice I left the country to get away from you? That should have been a big clue we’re finished.”
A waiter came to the outside patio, and Jake ordered a beer. He shook his head when the waiter looked at Lance and Shannon, thinking he should let the conversation continue.
Shannon piped up, “I’ll have a cheeseburger and a Kalik.”
Lance’s cheeks flushed. “You’re eating meat now?”
She glanced at Jake. “Yup. Jake is a great cook.”
Unsure how he did it, Jake kept a straight face.
Lance took several deep breaths as if trying to control his anger. “I’m sorry for what happened. I made a mistake.”
“You think? You slept with my boss, and I got fired.”
Lance opened his palms to her in a gesture of surrender. His pale skin already had a hint of sunburn, and Jake hoped the burn would hurt.
“I was overworked and exhausted. I wasn’t thinking straight. Shannon, I love you.”
Shannon looked in the direction of the airport. “A plane just landed. Maybe there’s a free seat for you.”
“Please, can’t we talk?”
“No.”
Lance stepped toward Shannon. “You can’t be serious. You’re not going to let me stay? I flew all this way.”
Jake remained motionless but ready to intervene.
“I didn’t ask you to fly here.”
“My stuff is on your boat. I need to get it. At least come with me while I do that.”
“Nope. Aunt Debi might be on that plane. I’m going to wait here for her. I’ll mail you your stuff.”
“But—”
“Just go.”
Lance lowered his head and stared between his wet feet.
Jake stifled a grin.
Lance took a few steps away and stopped. When he turned to Shannon, his face was stone. “Charlie came looking for you after you left.”
“Did he say why?”
“He got pretty upset when I told him you’d left and were sailing with Debi. Did he ever get in touch with you?”
“I haven’t been accessing my email much.”
“There’s a letter from him in the outside pocket of my bag. I’ll let your brother know I left it for you. You know how he is about details.” When Shannon said nothing more, Lance nodded once and left.
Jake waited until Lance was out of sight before speaking.
“You okay?”
“Yup. I got over him the moment I found my boss naked in my kitchen.”
“Lance is bi?”
“No, you chauvinist. My boss was a woman.”
The waiter arrived with Shannon’s meal.
“You want me to eat the burger for you?” Jake asked.
Shannon’s eyes twinkled. “Please.”
* * *
“I saw Lance at the airport,” Debi said. “He didn’t acknowledge me.”
Jake handed Debi a glass of white wine. “I’m not surprised.” He glanced toward Shannon. She tucked her feet underneath her legs and leaned against the starboard corner of the cockpit. Her dark hair rounded off one shoulder and hung over her collar bone. Jake gave himself an internal head shake. It was good Debi was back to put some space between them.
Debi placed her wine on the mahogany cockpit table and flopped near Shannon. Piddles cuddled between the two women, looking as if she couldn’t make up her mind which one to sit on.
“He surprised me, and I wasn’t very nice to him,” Shannon said.
“Did you talk to him?” Debi asked.
Jake laughed. “Did she ever. The poor guy left here like a wounded shark. He met someone tougher and had to back off.”
“Don’t be mean.” Shannon kicked him under the table and then filled Debi in on the conversation. “I think he gets we’re finished.”
“I’m sorry you didn’t get my email. I forgot to bring my charger and the phone died, so I couldn’t text you. I wanted to warn you. I told Lance not to come, but you know him. He’s always done whatever he wanted without thinking of anyone else.”
Shannon looked hurt. “You never liked him, did you?”
“I didn’t mean it like that,” Debi said.
Jake sipped his beer and savored the cool liquid sliding down his throat. He decided to save Shannon from further grilling from Debi.
“So, tell us about the boat.”
“I spent a lot of time sitting in the cockpit, trying to imagine what happened to Bobby.”
Shannon reached across Piddles and caressed Debi’s leg. “You don’t have to talk about the trip if you don’t want to.”
The cop in Jake thought, yes you do. Clouds filled the horizon to the north. A cold front was on the way, and they could either wait at Staniel Cay or make a run for George Town before the worst of the weather hit.
“What’s the condition of the hull?”
Shannon glared at him, her expression matching the oncoming storm.
Debi took her time replying. “The hull was banged up from where she landed on the beach, but there were no holes in it if that’s what you mean.”
“What about the rigging?”
“It was undamaged.”
“Can I see the photos?”
“Can you ease up a bit, Mr. Policeman?” Shannon asked.
“It’s fine, Shannon. He’s only trying to help. You’re welcome to look through them. They’re on my tablet.” Debi rose and entered the salon.
When she returned with the tablet, Jake said, “I met Nicole Dace.” He examined Debi’s face and noticed her cheeks flush. “She claims to have sailed with Bobby from Nassau to George Town.”
“What did she say about him?” Debi bit the inside of one cheek.
“Not much really. She said Bobby kicked her off the boat in George Town but didn’t say why.”
“There wasn’t any evidence of her on Waterfall. Bobby didn’t keep any mementos or anything. I think we can stop looking into her. Since she didn’t see Bobby after George Town, she can’t help us find out what happened to him.”
Jake understood her need to avoid Nicole, but he wasn’t sure Nicole didn’t see Bobby after George Town. Just because she left the boat, didn’t mean she didn’t see him again. He also thought Debi was protesting a little too much. Why mention there was no sign of Nicole on Waterfall? He’d seen Debi bring an extra suitcase on board. Before getting settled, she’d gone below and stored the case underneath her bed. Maybe she was hiding something.
Jake clicked through the photos. Debi had been thorough. He examined the pictures of the stern first. The gates in the lifelines on both sides of the boat were closed. The dinghy davits empty. The inside of the boat ship-shape. It didn
’t look as if it had been looted. The cabinet doors were all closed. The settee aft of the navigation station was stuffed with gear. It was the only part of the boat that looked disorganized. Almost as if the things had been placed there to make room somewhere else.
“How soon can we get to George Town?” Debi asked.
Jake watched the sky for a moment. “It’s probably better to wait a couple of days until the cold front passes through. We can ride a north wind south.” He continued to click through the photos. The bed in the aft cabin was made. Two pillows rested against the headboard and a comforter was bunched on top of wrinkled sheets. The head was clean. Two towels hung from hooks.
“Any chance we could go tomorrow?” Debi asked.
Flicking through more photos, Jake found one of the main berth. The unmade bed, books shoved into the side shelf, and pillows askew indicated the cabin was a place to relax.
“Maybe. The sail could be rough, though. Why the urgency?”
Debi turned to Shannon. “Charlie’s on his way. He wants to visit with us for a while.”
“Really. I just texted him, and he said he couldn’t come. Besides, he doesn’t like to sail.”
“You told Lance you hadn’t heard from him,” Jake said.
“No, I didn’t. I said I hadn’t had access to email. It’s none of his business what goes on between me and my brother.”
“He probably hasn’t left yet. I could tell him not to come,” Debi said.
“Do you have any idea why he wants to join us?” Shannon asked.
“He didn’t say, but if you’re okay with it, you can bunk with me.”
Or with me, Jake thought.
“I don’t mind bunking together, and I’d like to see Charlie.”
“I told him we’d stay in George Town for a while. A month or two maybe. He seems to need time away from home.”
“What about following Bobby’s trail?” Shannon asked.
“That can wait now that we know where the boat ended up. I’d like to spend some time with Charlie, and I don’t have the heart to make him sail.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Shannon
George Town, Bahamas
Look the Other Way Page 15