Deceived

by Patricia H. Rushford

  “Where were you guys, anyway? I thought Lisa was going to send you out to see the ray.”

  “I found a couple on this side of the dock,” Matt said. “I looked for you near the rocks but did not find you.” “Probably because I’d gone so far out. I’m sorry.”

  Jennie glanced from one to the other. “Did you see any sharks?”

  “Not in close,” Matt answered. “A few minutes ago, though, I spotted a ruckus out near the ship. That’s why I came in. Must have been twenty fins slashing the water out there. I warned the other swimmers.”

  “I, too, saw the sharks,” Dominic said. “Your ray may have saved your life, Jennie. He headed out to sea instead of inland.”

  “Thank God for that. If those sharks had come in close, someone might have been killed.” Jennie shivered and wrapped the towel tighter. “I don’t understand how people can be so cruel.”

  Lisa frowned and chewed on her lower lip. “I hate to say this, but what if the person with the speargun wasn’t after the ray? What if he was after you?”

  “Me?”

  “I know it sounds crazy, but after the sauna thing, I can’t help but wonder.”

  Jennie shook her head. She hadn’t even considered the possibility that the two incidents could be related­ until now.

  “But that is impossible,” Dominic countered angrily, taking hold of Jennie’s hand. “Is it not? Who would want to hurt you, querida?”

  Jennie glanced back at her wound and pressed the towel against it to stop the bleeding. “I can’t think of anyone.” Actually, that wasn’t quite true. She’d made a number of enemies lately—she just couldn’t imagine any of them coming after her with a speargun.

  A shuttle approached the shore, signaling its arrival with a long piercing horn.

  “Hey, guys.” Matt nodded toward the boat. “I think they’re trying to tell us something.”

  Lisa glanced at her watch. “It’s three-thirty. That’s the last boat back to the ship. We’d better hurry.”

  Jennie yanked off her fins and ran with the others back to their beach spot to retrieve their gear, dismissing the possibility that the spear had been meant for her. Ridiculous. Or was it? Again, the balding man in dark glasses and colorful shirt invaded her thoughts. No way. You’re way off base. He works for the government—at least he said he did. Come to think of it, the only enemies you’ve made lately have been with the federal government. You didn’t exactly endear yourself to them by doing that television show.

  Could the government want her out of the way? Don’t be ridiculous. The government doesn’t go around killing kids—even if we do stupid things to jeopardize their investigations. Do they?

  Jennie dismissed the absurd direction her imagination had taken and thought instead about what Roberts had said. A message from Dad. He’d asked to meet her at midnight. If he had wanted her dead, he could have killed her that morning near the lighthouse.

  She pushed her head through the neckhole of an oversized fuchsia T-shirt and nudged Lisa. “Where are Gram and J.B.?”

  “They took the boat before this one.” Lisa stuffed her towel in her bag and donned a white cotton cover-up.

  For some odd reason the news hit Jennie like a punch in the stomach. Unwanted tears sprang into her eyes and she wiped them away, hoping no one would notice. Gram’s absence shouldn’t have bothered her so much, but it did. Gram should have been there for her—to reassure her that it was all a coincidence—to put a comforting arm around her shoulder, clean up her wound—and tell her that she wouldn’t let anyone hurt her.

  Gram has her own life now, Jennie reminded herself. Anyway, you don’t need her help. You’re practically an adult. You can take care of yourself.

  The boat deposited them on the Caribbean Dreamer, and after getting her wound sutured and bandaged by the ship’s doctor, Jennie opted for a nap. Lisa woke her up at six, and they spent the next two hours showering, fixing their hair, putting on makeup, and getting into their dresses for the first formal dinner on board. Lisa’s off­the-shoulder green satin gown came to a “V” in the front. At the “V” she wore a rhinestone and simulated-emerald pin. The freckles on her face and thick head of copper curls reminded Jennie of the pictures she’d seen of a model for shampoo. Only Lisa was prettier.

  Actually, Jennie realized she didn’t look all that bad herself. She eyed her reflection in the full-length mirror just before heading out the door. Lisa had swept Jennie’s hair up on one side and secured it with a rhinestone and pearl barrette. The short-sleeved, simple-cut black sequined gown glittered as she moved, showing off her slender figure and long legs. Her blue eyes looked larger and darker than usual. For once she decided not to listen to the voice inside that was doing its best to make her feel unattractive, too tall, and awkward.

  “Dominic is going to flip when he sees you.”

  Jennie smiled and reached for her matching black evening bag. “Let’s go knock ’em dead.”

  They met the boys in the lobby in front of the dining room and Jennie wasn’t sure who knocked who dead. The guys looked gorgeous in black tuxedos and white shirts with bow ties.

  “Wow!” Matt’s eyes glistened with appreciation. “I feel like I should bow or something.”

  Dominic did—and then he kissed Jennie’s hand. A bubble of nervous laughter worked its way into her throat. She swallowed it back. He straightened and wrapped her in a warm flow of Spanish words she was certain would have embarrassed her if she’d known what they meant. Maybe someday she’d ask him.

  “Shall we?” Matt offered Lisa his arm and they walked into the dining room.

  They met Gram and J.B. at the table, and had to pose while J.B. took a dozen or so pictures and Gram told them all how wonderful they looked. While they studied their menus, Jennie and Lisa filled them in on the speargun incident.

  “Oh, Jennie, I’m so sorry I wasn’t there.” Gram peered at her over her reading glasses. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

  “I’m fine.” Jennie dismissed Gram’s concern with a wave. “You and J.B. don’t need to worry about me.”

  Off and on during the elegant meal she caught Dominic looking at her—not like he admired her exactly—more like he was trying to sort things out. Sometimes he looked sad, other times annoyed. Jennie wondered if maybe he had a girl friend at home and he, too, might be struggling with the bond developing between them.

  On the other hand, he could have been feeling guilty. Had he been the person with the speargun? Both he and Matt, and of course Roberts, had the opportunity. But why? Jennie caught Dominic’s gaze and felt a twinge of guilt herself for suspecting a friend. A friend who had risked swimming in shark—infested water to help you get to shore.

  After dinner they all headed for the ship’s largest and most elegant lounge to watch the musical ship’s singers and dancers perform songs from popular musicals. At the program’s end they drifted to another lounge to listen to music from the fifties and sixties and watch limbo and dance contests. Jennie couldn’t concentrate on any of it.

  All she could think about was how she was going to break away from them and keep her rendezvous with Roberts.

  She needn’t have worried. At eleven-thirty, Dominic and Matt excused themselves, saying they were too tired to stay up for the midnight buffet. “Maybe you two better turn in as well,” Gram suggested. “A few more minutes and I’m afraid we’re going to have to carry Lisa upstairs.” Lisa shifted her glazed look from the musicians to Gram. “What do you mean?” She blinked and stifled a yawn. “I’m not tired.” For emphasis she slumped over and dropped her head to the table. “Okay, maybe just a little. But I’d still like to stay up and see what the buffet is like.”

  Twenty minutes later, they headed for the lobby area, where the chefs had prepared a long table of the most elegantly prepared foods Jennie had ever seen. Meats, seafood, and every kind of fruit and vegetable ima
ginable. In the center stood a dolphin ice sculpture. The sight brought Lisa fully awake.

  Jennie was too nervous to eat, and at five till midnight, she made her excuses and said goodnight. The buffet would keep them occupied for at least an hour.

  As she climbed the steps from deck five to deck nine, she thought of a dozen reasons why she shouldn’t meet Roberts, but none of them were as compelling as the reason she chose to go. She’d been through all the arguments. What if he were a stalker, a murderer, a rapist? He could have made up the stuff about having a message from Dad. He could be planning to kidnap her—or worse.

  Or he could be for real. Her intuition told her she could trust him. And that’s what Jennie clung to. “God,” she whispered as she made her way down the corridor and up the stairs to the pool deck. “You’ve always taken care of me before. Please do it now. I know I’m taking a chance, but he said he had a message from Dad. I have to go.”

  At two minutes before midnight Jennie reached the fitness center, where she’d been trapped in the sauna. That eerie reminder didn’t help the gnawing ache in her stomach. Strong winds caused by the ship’s speed whipped through her cotton shorts and blouse, impeding her progress as she neared the bow. She passed under the last light and pressed on into the darkness, stopping only when she reached the area directly behind the driving range.

  Roberts had chosen the windiest, darkest, and most deserted part of the ship. Why?

  Perfect place for spies, she reasoned. And the perfect place for a murder. If you wanted to waste someone, all you had to do was toss them over the side of the ship. No one would ever know. Jennie groaned. Where had that macabre thought come from? You can still leave, McGrady, her rational self suggested. Maybe you should. “I can’t,” she whispered, setting any objection aside.

  Hearing footsteps, she tightened her grip on the railing, took a deep breath, and waited.

  13

  “I wasn’t sure you’d come.” Roberts stood only inches from her and rested his arms on the railing. Jennie turned to look at him, barely able to make out his features. He smelled nice and had changed from his tropical touristy look to dinner clothes—a suit—maybe a tux. In the darkness she couldn’t be sure. She wondered if he still had his gun. “You shouldn’t have, you know. Not alone.”

  Jennie couldn’t decide if he was teasing or patronizing her.

  “You told me to come alone.”

  “And you always do what strangers tell you?”

  “Only when they’re government agents with a message from my dad.”

  Roberts gazed into the darkness for what seemed like forever before he spoke again. “I caught the show you did on television,” he said, his voice barely audible in the wind. “Very impressive. You’ve turned into quite a young lady. Your father would be proud.”

  “You knew my father?”

  “Jason McGrady is an old friend.”

  Present tense. The butterflies in Jennie’s stomach soared. Don’t get your hopes up, she told herself. But Jennie had to ask. She had to know. “You said is an old friend. Are you saying that my father is still alive?”

  He didn’t answer. Jennie forgot to breathe and steeled herself against what she suspected would be a negative response.

  Roberts ran a hand down his face. “That’s a difficult question to answer.”

  “Why? He’s either dead or alive. I need to know. For once and for all, I need to know.” Her voice cracked. She gripped the railing even tighter. You are not going to cry, McGrady. You’re not. “Mr. Roberts, these last few years have been like a roller-coaster ride for me. Maybe it’s just been wishful thinking, but part of me has never been able to accept Dad’s death. His disappearance was like a chapter in a book without an ending. I can’t close it until I have the last chapter. After I did the television interview, J.B. and Gram told me Dad had died. The government even had a witness. It wasn’t what I wanted, but at least it was an ending.”

  “Jennie…”

  “No, let me finish.” She took a deep breath to steady herself. “I would have let it end there, but someone locked me in the sauna last night and then ransacked my room. The only thing missing was Dad’s picture. I couldn’t help but wonder why someone would want it. Part of me wants to believe Dad’s still alive, but if that’s true, then Gram and J.B. and the government have all lied to me. And if my father is alive, that means he has deceived me too.” Jennie bit her lip, unable to talk around the lump forming in her throat. Tears slid down her cheeks and dripped onto her evening gown.

  Roberts handed her a handkerchief. “Either way you lose.”

  Jennie nodded and blew her nose. “Can you tell me the truth?”

  “That’s why I’m here, Jennie.” Roberts moved from the railing and suggested they find a place to sit. He then led her to the dimly lighted and deserted pool deck below, where they found a couple of chairs near a patio restaurant closed for the night.

  “The truth,” he said in a voice that made Jennie wonder if he even knew what it was. “There’s a passage in the Bible that says, ‘You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.’ I hope that’s true for all of us, Jennie.”

  Roberts pushed his glasses against his nose. “Before I tell you about your father, I need your word that you will keep everything I say to you confidential.”

  “But…”

  “No one. Not even your mother or grandmother. I believe you have a right to know what happened to your father. Actually, since you were so determined to find him, we decided it would be better for you to know than to run the risk of your pulling another stunt like you did the other day. But there are conditions. I think you’ll understand when you hear what I have to say.”

  Jennie reluctantly agreed.

  “You were right all along. Your father is alive.”

  Jennie stared at him, wishing she could see his face more dearly. She wanted to hug him and hit him at the same time. “Where is he?” she finally asked. “Can I talk to him?”

  “I’m afraid I’m as close as you’re going to get.” Roberts leaned back in his chair and glanced around the deck as if he expected some clandestine figure to pop out of the shadows.

  “Why?” Jennie asked. “It’s not fair.”

  “Life isn’t fair.” He leaned forward again. “Five years ago, your father risked his life on a mission to bring down a well-known corporation posing as a front for a major drug operation in the Orient. His cover was blown during a drug run from Canada into the US. He’d infiltrated this bogus company and was hired on as a pilot. Unfortunately, someone in the company had run into him before. Didn’t know his name, but recognized him as an agent. The company put out a contract on him. We intercepted, but there was no way he could continue working that case—and he couldn’t go home. He either had to disappear or risk putting himself, the other agents, and his family in danger.” Roberts paused and gave his head a quick shake as if to dispel an unwanted image. “Have you ever heard of the Witness Protection Program?”

  Jennie nodded. “Like where people drop out of sight and are given a new identity? Is that what’s happened to Dad?”

  “In a way. As a DEA agent he wasn’t eligible for that kind of program, but he did opt to change his identity.”

  “So what happened? How did he get away?”

  “We faked his death. Since he was operating under a phony name, we figured they couldn’t connect him to his real family as long as he didn’t go home. It worked. As far as the drug cartel was concerned, agent Kelly O’Donnell, the name he’d been using at the time, was shot accidently by his own people in a drug raid.”

  “But they told us Dad was missing. That his plane went down.”

  “That was because we needed two different scenarios. And it left the door open in case things settled down. Jason hoped that someday he might be able to go home.”

  “That was five years ago.
Why hasn’t he?”

  “He changed his identity, Jennie, but not his vocation. He’s still an agent.” Roberts frowned. “Unfortunately, he’s made a few more enemies along the way.”

  “So Dad’s still in danger.”

  “He’s changed his identity several times since then, but yes. There’s always the possibility someone will recognize him. And now you’re in danger as well.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “You know that picture you got from Debbie Cole?” Jennie nodded.

  “That’s what he looked like several years ago. Talk about a fiasco. That picture was supposed to have been destroyed. She must have gotten an extra copy. Anyway, that doesn’t matter now. When you showed the picture on television, you blew the cork off the bottle. If the wrong people saw it…” Roberts left the sentence dangling, but Jennie felt its impact as surely as if he’d said the words aloud.

  Jennie gasped. The realization of what she’d done sank in and hardened in her chest like a clump of cement. “The picture—the television program. I let the whole country know who he was, that he was still alive and that he was my father.” She hugged herself to keep from breaking in two. What have you done? Oh, McGrady, what have you done? You not only endangered Dad’s life, but the entire family. “Mom and Nick…”

  “They’re okay—at least for now. We’ve got agents watching the house just in case. Since the program doesn’t give out addresses, we’re hoping no one will be able to locate them, but we have to be ready just in case. Which is one of the reasons you needed to know. Since you appeared on television as his daughter, you may be in danger as well. You’ll need to be extra careful. Don’t go anywhere alone.”

  “This isn’t all my fault, you know. Maybe if you’d told me the truth earlier it wouldn’t have happened. Why couldn’t we have heard what really happened five years ago?”