Look the Other Way

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Look the Other Way Page 19

by Kristina Stanley


  “I don’t give a shit.” Darren stepped toward Nicole.

  Jake blocked Darren’s way and chest bumped him backward. “I’m only going to warn you once. If you go near anyone on A Dog’s Cat or Nicole again, I will beat the crap out of you. You won’t be able to walk, talk, or eat. Got that?”

  * * *

  On the way back to the vet, Jake spotted Charlie’s dinghy tied to the stern of A Dog’s Cat. He better let him know what was going on.

  He found Charlie asleep in the aft bunk. The guy hadn’t even thanked Shannon for giving up her bed. Charlie smiled at the wrong times as if his timing was off. He seemed distracted. Whatever was going on in his head must be more interesting than the people around him. Jake picked up an underlying vibe in the guy, and it wasn’t positive. Shannon did her best to keep their relationship civil, if not friendly, but Charlie kept to himself.

  “Hey.” Jake nudged Charlie’s foot.

  Charlie rolled over and put a pillow over his head.

  Jake nudged him again. “Wake up. We need to talk.”

  Charlie lifted the pillow an inch. “Dude, I’m hungover. Leave me alone.”

  “This is serious. Get up.”

  Charlie groaned. “Fine. Just give me a minute.”

  Jake hopped up the three steps to the salon and waited at the table.

  Charlie took his time. He entered the head. Jake heard him pump the toilet, run water, and brush his teeth. Jake chuckled at his childish passive aggressive behavior.

  “What’s the big emergency?” Charlie stepped up into the main salon, ran his hand through his blond hair, and winced.

  Good. The guy had a headache. “Where were you last night?”

  Charlie slumped onto the settee, placed his arms on the table, and rested his forehead on his forearms.

  “Who are you trying to be, my dad?”

  “It’s not nice to worry your aunt.”

  “You woke me up to lecture me like I’m a teenager? I was with a girl. What else would I be doing?”

  Jake took a deep breath. His adrenaline still pumped through his veins from his encounter with Darren, and Charlie was behaving like a sulky teenager.

  “Peanut is sick.”

  Charlie raised his eyes to Jake. “And you want me to do what?”

  “Nothing. Debi and Shannon are with her at the vet. Peanut might die. Debi’s under enough stress and shouldn’t have to worry about why you didn’t come home.” Jake couldn’t call Peanut Piddles until he knew she’d be okay. He only used the nickname to tease Shannon, and now wasn’t the time to be funny.

  Charlie massaged his forehead and rolled his neck. “What’s wrong with the dog?”

  “She was poisoned.”

  “Wow, you’re being dramatic.”

  “Don’t think so. The vet said she ate rat poison.”

  “There’s a big difference between being poisoned and eating poison. She’s a dog. She’ll eat anything.” Charlie hoisted himself from the settee and took two steps to the galley.

  Jake should warn Charlie about Darren, but the guy was just too obnoxious. He didn’t deserve the courtesy. Charlie could take care of himself. Instead of sticking to his plan of giving Charlie a heads-up, he said, “You might want to visit Debi and Shannon at the vet’s. You know, for moral support.”

  “It’s not like I can do anything. I’ll see them later. I’m hungover and going back to bed.” Charlie filled a glass with water, gulped the liquid in one go, and slunk back to his cabin.

  With nothing else to do, Jake decided to go back to the vet. He didn’t know how long the dog would be kept there, and he didn’t want to make the ladies wait. He got back in the dinghy and headed toward George Town. Before he was out of sight, he happened to glance back at A Dog’s Cat in time to see Nicole getting on board. Maybe she was the woman Charlie had spent the night with.

  * * *

  Jake arrived at the vet’s and found Debi and Shannon sitting beside Peanut. “How is she?”

  “The first hour was a bit scary, but after that, she started to breathe a little easier,” Shannon said. “She seems to be getting better.”

  Relief spread across Jake’s chest as if a tight band had eased. “You want me to get something for lunch and bring it here?”

  “Sure. What happened with Darren?”

  Jake related the story but skipped the part about talking to Charlie. They didn’t need to be hurt by his selfish behavior.

  Debi stroked Peanut’s belly while he spoke, listening without interrupting.

  “You sure he hit her?” Debi asked.

  “Yeah.”

  “Do you think she’s in danger?”

  “No. She’s too street smart. She might have hit him back if I hadn’t shown up. I think she’d win in a fight with him.”

  “Thanks,” Shannon said.

  “For what?”

  “For sticking up for us. He’ll stay away from us now. Do you think we should tell the police what he did?”

  Jake shook his head. “We have no proof, and I don’t think they’d spend much time worrying about a dog. Bahamians don’t think of dogs like we do.”

  When his stomach grumbled about not eating since breakfast, Jake took a taxi to town, picked up fish sandwiches, and brought them back to the vet’s. The trio spent the afternoon watching over Peanut and playing cards. By four o’clock, Peanut’s prognosis looked promising.

  “What do you think?” Debi asked the vet.

  The vet smiled. “I think she’ll get better.”

  “Can I take her home?”

  “You can but understand her fever is still high, and there’s blood in her lungs, which should reabsorb over time. Don’t exercise her, and try to keep her calm.” He injected Peanut with a dose of antibiotics. “She’s still at risk of an infection because her circulatory system is compromised. I’ll give you twenty-one days’ worth of antibiotics. After that, come back, and I’ll check her. If you’re worried about her, bring her in anytime.”

  Jake picked up Piddles. No more Peanut for her. Jake wasn’t a superstitious guy, but calling her by her nickname meant she had to be okay. “I’ll carry her.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

  Shannon

  Stocking Island, Bahamas

  Two days had gone by since they’d brought Peanut home from the vet’s. Each day, she’d gotten better, and Shannon believed she was past the worst. Shannon and Debi sat at a picnic table on Volleyball Beach. Peanut curled into a ball at Debi’s feet and rested in the shade. A Dog’s Cat was anchored at Sand Dollar beach, only a five-minute dinghy ride around the south-west point of Stocking Island, but far enough to be out of range of the noise on the beach.

  A group of men played volleyball on one sand court. Several people sat in beach chairs reading. The beach bar had opened for the day but wasn’t serving yet. The rustic—a term too positive for the place—bar served hamburgers, fish burgers, fries, and drinks. Having a monopoly was good for business.

  Jake sauntered up, wearing wet bathing trunks, and grabbed a towel.

  “Where’ve you been all morning?” Shannon asked.

  “I went for a trail walk and then a swim. Why? Did you miss me?”

  “Ha ha.”

  “I’m going to see if I can join a volleyball game. Call me when you want me to order lunch.”

  Shannon watched Jake walk to the game and take a seat on one of the wooden benches that lined the court. He’d been playing every day and getting into the rhythm of the game.

  “I’m not feeling all that well,” she said to Debi. “I think I’ll go back to the boat and have a nap. I told Charlie I’d meet him at the boat in case he wanted to come for lunch. It’ll take him forever to putter this far in his little dinghy. If he’s not there, I’ll be back by noon.”

  The tide was dropping, and the dinghy was stuck on the bottom. Shannon dragged it off the sand, and the effort made her head pound. She motored back to A Dog’s Cat and was happy Charlie’s dinghy was not tied off the ste
rn. Not that she didn’t want to see him, but she really needed a nap. He said he wouldn’t be back at the boat until just before noon, so that gave her over an hour to sleep.

  As she neared the boat she noticed Darren driving his dinghy at high speed away from the stern and hoped he hadn’t been onboard. They’d locked up Peanut’s dog food, so she didn’t have to worry about her.

  The salon sliding door was open and the white curtain billowed in the breeze. Charlie must have cleaned up because the table was clear and the dishes were done. Maybe he was going to make an effort to pitch in. Other than that, nothing looked out of place.

  Shannon retrieved a bottle of ibuprofen from the bathroom cabinet and opened it. Two pills left. She returned to the main salon for a glass. She opened the garbage and tossed the pill bottle. By mistake, she threw the pills in with the bottle. They were the last two, so she carefully moved garbage out of the way. She shifted a yogurt container and picked out the tablets. She swallowed the pills and stood at the sink for a moment and stared out at the ocean. Her phone buzzed at her from the navigation station.

  She checked the text. From Lance again. When was he going to give up? She hit delete without reading the message. Her trash must be getting full, and she clicked on the trash icon and noticed another message had come in earlier in the day. She must have deleted it by accident. The message was from Nicole Dace.

  Pls meet me @ natural pool around 11:30. I need 2 tell u something about ur family. It’s important. I’ll wait 4 u there.

  Shannon really wanted to curl up in bed for a while. She didn’t owe Nicole anything. She lay on the bunk in the berth she shared with Debi and closed her eyes. Damn. She couldn’t fall asleep. Nicole’s message had gotten her mind racing. What if Nicole wanted to tell her something about Uncle Bobby that she didn’t want Debi to hear? Maybe Debi had seen the text and deleted it, not wanting to hear anything Nicole had to say. Nicole could be waiting on the beach for Shannon to show up.

  She crawled off the bed, left a note telling Charlie she’d be a little late, and headed for the dinghy.

  She landed on Sand Dollar beach, crossed over to the sound side of the island, and walked toward the natural pool. As usual, the beach was empty.

  When Shannon rounded the bend in the beach, she spotted Nicole swimming in the natural pool. The area was protected by a reef, but Shannon had grown up with the rule to always swim with a buddy.

  A gentle surf hit the beach but nothing a surfer would get excited about. Shannon got closer and wondered what Nicole was looking at. She floated face down on the surface of the water as if she were snorkeling. Maybe she was searching for shells.

  A minute passed, and Shannon started to feel uneasy. Something wasn’t right. She picked up her pace and jogged toward Nicole, ignoring her thumping headache.

  She splashed into the water and tapped Nicole’s calf.

  Nothing.

  Nicole didn’t acknowledge her. Anyone swimming in the ocean reacts to a touch. The ever-present danger of sharks kept a swimmer on edge.

  Nicole’s hair floated freely at the sides of her head. No strap from swimming goggles held her hair in place. Her face had been in the water for at least several minutes.

  Shannon grabbed her leg and pulled.

  No reaction.

  She flipped Nicole over and dragged her to the sand. She knelt beside her. Remember the ABCs. Airways. Breathing. Circulation. Nicole wasn’t breathing and didn’t have a pulse. Shannon blew two breaths into Nicole’s mouth, pumped for thirty compressions, and checked again.

  Nothing.

  She blew and pumped.

  “Hey, what are you doing?” Charlie yelled.

  Shannon lifted her head for a second. “Come help me!”

  “What did you do to her?”

  “I didn’t do anything. I found her in the water.” Shannon continued compressions. “You need to get help.”

  “I think she’s beyond help.”

  “Don’t say that.” Shannon leaned forward and blew again into Nicole’s mouth. She checked for a pulse and a breath.

  Still nothing.

  Charlie put his hand on Shannon’s shoulder. “Stop. You can’t help her.” His voice was gentle, but the words stung.

  “Are you sure?”

  “Look at her. She’s dead.”

  Shannon rested her butt on the back of her ankles, her knees and toes pressing into the sand. With a shaking hand, she lifted a stray piece of hair off Nicole’s forehead.

  Charlie sat in the sand beside her and put his arm around her. His fingers trembled on her arm. “Are you okay?”

  “This is awful.” Shannon rested her head on his shoulder. Tears burned her eyes. “What should we do?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “What are you doing here anyway? I thought I was supposed to meet you at the boat,” she said.

  Charlie shrugged his sunburnt shoulders. “I was bored and came for a walk.”

  “I’m glad you’re here.”

  “Do you want to stay with her, and I’ll go get someone?” Charlie took Shannon’s hand and pulled her to her feet.

  Shannon stared at Nicole. She looked younger lying there, almost peaceful. “I guess.”

  “Are you sure you’re okay? You look pale.” He hugged her, and the two stood together for a moment.

  “I’m fine. You go. We can’t leave her alone out here.”

  Charlie jogged to the nearest trail that cut through to the populated side of the island.

  She couldn’t sit beside Nicole any longer. She’d never seen a dead person before. She moved a few feet away and something black caught her eye. Buried halfway in the sand, under a couple of inches of water, the fingers of a black glove waved at her as if saying hello. She reached below the surface and pulled the glove free. A black snorkeling glove with a yellow lightning strike on one side soaked her hand.

  She almost dropped the glove when she remembered when she’d last seen it. She wrung the water out, folded the fingers back to the wrist, and tucked the soggy mess into the front pocket of her shorts.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

  Jake

  Sand Dollar Anchorage, George Town Harbor

  “The local police ruled Nicole’s death an accidental drowning,” Jake said.

  Three days after Nicole’s death, Shannon, Debi, and Charlie stared at him from their places in the cockpit. Jake shook the water out of his hair and towel dried his head. Piddles danced at his feet, begging for attention. He squatted and rubbed behind her ears. This was so much better than a sick pup.

  The wind blew twenty to twenty-five knots, and he’d been soaked during the horrendous dinghy ride back from George Town. Normally he wouldn’t have crossed the harbor in such crap weather, but he’d wanted to talk to the cops. He’d introduced himself as an ex-police officer and told them he’d met Nicole Dace a couple of times. They said every year a tourist drowns somewhere in the Bahamas, that tourists don’t understand the power of the ocean, and the lady shouldn’t have been swimming alone.

  “Of course it was an accident,” Charlie said.

  Jake shrugged.

  “What are your spidey senses telling you?” Shannon asked.

  The reference to his spidey senses made Jake smile. That was the second time she said that to him, and it felt like a secret nickname.

  “There’s nothing to indicate the local police are wrong.”

  Jake and Shannon exchanged glances.

  “What? You two are always looking at each other like you can’t talk in front of me.” Charlie’s voice was louder than it needed to be. Wind rattled the bimini, and the rigging whistled, but the noise wasn’t enough to warrant a raised voice.

  Jake studied the look of anger on Charlie’s face. Why was he so pissed? He was right that Jake didn’t want to talk in front of him, but he couldn’t know that for sure.

  “The poor woman,” Debi said.

  “Why do you care?” Charlie asked. “Wasn’t she Bobby’s girlfriend?”<
br />
  “Charlie!” Shannon glared at him. “Don’t be mean to Debi. Uncle Bobby would never cheat.”

  “You always have to stand up for your precious uncle. You’d think he was your father,” Charlie snapped.

  “Charlie.” The words came out of Debi’s mouth in a whisper. “There’s no reason to be angry at Shannon.”

  “And there it is. The two of you against me, like I’m the outsider. Nothing changes.” Charlie stormed to his dinghy and took off.

  “Sometimes, I don’t understand him,” Debi said.

  “I think he liked Nicole and is angry I didn’t get to her in time.”

  “But how could you know she was in trouble?”

  “I didn’t, but…”

  “But?”

  “She sent me a text asking me to meet her. I didn’t go right away because I didn’t want to hear what she had to say. I thought she might tell me something about Uncle Bobby I didn’t want to know.”

  “Did you tell the police about the text?” Debi asked.

  “Yes. I told them I wished I was there sooner. They were actually nice and said Nicole’s death wasn’t my fault.” Shannon closed her eyes for a moment. “I don’t think Charlie sees it that way. He’s been angry at me since it happened.”

  “Couldn’t you try harder with him?” Debi asked.

  “I don’t know what to do.”

  “You need to do something fun together. Maybe that would help you get close to him again. Charlie mentioned he wanted to learn how to spearfish. You could offer to take him.”

  “He doesn’t swim that well.” Shannon lifted her eyebrows in Jake’s direction. “Would you take us?”

  “Sure. When we have a low tide and flat seas.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

  Shannon

  Dolphin’s Hideaway Restaurant, Stocking Island

  “What do you see in him?” Charlie loomed over Shannon.

  Shannon turned her bar stool, surprised at finding Charlie standing so close to her that his breath raised the hairs on her neck. She’d planned on meeting Debi at the outdoor restaurant for a drink, not Charlie. Debi had gone to play bridge with some other ladies on Volleyball Beach, and Shannon had forced herself to walk the east beach on Stocking Island to get to the restaurant. She hadn’t been back since she’d found Nicole.

 

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