“Then shouldn’t it be tied up at his dock?”
“Remember his plan? He wanted everyone kept on the island until the bidding for the artifact was over.”
“Oh.” I did remember. That made sense. I had no more questions to ask.
“I didn’t expect anyone to go exploring this far,” Kurt said. “How did you find this cove?”
“I went into the woods and got lost.”
“Do you remember your way back?”
I shook my head, then realized what he had just said. “You’re going to let me go?”
“If I do, you know that you’ve got to keep quiet about this boat being here.”
I just stared at him for a moment, and he added, “I’m not asking. I’m ordering. Look, Andrea, you can figure out that if I hold you here on the boat, the others will come searching for you and probably stumble on it the way you did. On the other hand, I can’t have you ruin my investigation.”
His voice became a patronizing pat on the head. “You’re a smart girl. Maybe you can even help me with the investigation.”
I was smart enough to know I’d better cooperate with him. Even though he’d told me his real occupation, I didn’t trust him any more than I did the others, but I nodded. “What do you want me to do?”
“Pay attention to what is said and done. Listen carefully. Between the two of us we ought to be able to pick up on anything that doesn’t seem right.”
I guess I looked a little dubious, because he added, “And do what you can to find the artifact. Somebody’s hidden it. I’d give anything to know who took it. Or where it is.” He scowled at his own thoughts. “If you find it, bring it to me right away—to me and nobody else.”
“Okay,” I said quickly. I stood up.
Kurt stood, too, blocking my way. I realized again what a big guy he was. “You’ve got to promise you won’t tell the others about the boat.”
“I promise,” I answered quickly. I could keep that promise, because “the others” didn’t include Pete.
“Then go back to the house,” he said. “Don’t mention that you saw me. I’ll be along in a while. There are a couple of things I have to do here first.”
“What are you going to tell them?”
He shrugged. “That I went exploring on the island, hoping to find some way of going for help. Only there wasn’t anything to find. No luck.” He looked pleased with himself. “That should keep anyone else from feeling desperate enough to try to explore the island.”
Kurt stepped aside, and I walked to the back of the boat, swinging my legs over the side, and jumped, landing hip deep in the water.
“Remember the promise,” he said. “Because if you don’t keep it …”
He didn’t finish the sentence. I could recognize a threat when I heard it. I just nodded and waded as fast as I could to the shore, calling, “How do I get back to the house?”
“Through the woods,” he said. “Cut across to the north beach. The island’s not that big. You’ll find it.”
He grinned as I stumbled into the woods. My sandals squished, my shorts dripped water that ran down my legs, and I had so much to think about this time that I wasn’t frightened of the silent woods themselves. I tried to head north, and in a short time found myself staring through the rim of trees at the beach. The house was close by on the left. I couldn’t be sure that Kurt hadn’t followed me, so I ran to the house and up the stairs and changed my clothes.
I didn’t know what to think about Kurt. He’d been honest about being a private investigator. I supposed he felt compelled to protect us too. I did wonder about his interest in the artifact, though. Maybe the missing artifact was his real reason for hanging around.
It didn’t matter. What mattered was that he was in possession of a powerboat, and I was sure that Pete would know how to handle that boat, just given the chance.
I came downstairs as silently as I could, which wasn’t very, since the wooden stairs creaked and popped with each step. I could hear voices, so I tiptoed in my cold, wet sandals through the living room to the dining room. The three of them were in the kitchen questioning Ellison, and from the occasional banging of pots and rattle of dishes, I could tell they had expanded their search for the artifact. Good. That should keep them busy for a while. I hoped they wouldn’t miss me.
I had intended to jog in the wet sand along the north beach until I came to the place where I should cut across to the other side of the island and Pete’s cove. The tide was out, and the sand was soaked and shiny, little air bubbles emerging from the tiny holes made by submerged sea creatures, the bubbles blurping and popping like damp fireworks. But I had gone only a short distance when I could feel someone’s presence. Someone was watching me.
Stopping short, I turned in a half circle, first to look down the beach behind me where the house was completely hidden by a curved peninsula of trees, scrub, and sand, then to the woods. Someone from the house could have tracked me. Or it could be Kurt, or—
A voice hissed at me from the trees. “Is it safe to come out?”
Or Pete.
“How long have you been following me?” I demanded as Pete cautiously climbed over a small shrub and jumped to the sand.
“I thought you were following me.” He smiled wickedly, but when I didn’t smile in return he said, “Andy, I told you I was going to keep an eye on you.”
“You’re supposed to be taking care of your boat.”
“There’s nothing much I can do to the boat.”
“How long have you been watching me?”
“Not long. First I watched the house. Then I saw you come out.”
“Why didn’t you say something?”
“I wanted to make sure that no one was going to come after you.” He smiled again. “You didn’t happen to bring anything else to eat, did you?”
“No,” I said, “I came to tell you something important, so be serious.”
“Okay,” he said, and dropped to a cross-legged position on the sand. “Tell me. I’m listening.”
I told him about Kurt and the boat.
Pete jumped up and hit one fist into the palm of his other hand. “I warned you about that guy, didn’t I?”
“I don’t know what to think about him, Pete. He did tell me the truth about being a private eye.”
“Did you believe that stuff about his having to investigate?”
“That’s what investigators are supposed to do—investigate, isn’t it?”
“Well, yeah, I suppose so,” he said grudgingly, “but I still don’t trust him.”
“I don’t think I do either,” I said. “But we have to give him the benefit of the doubt.”
“Why?”
“Because what if Kurt really is working honestly to protect us and uncover the murderer? We wouldn’t want to accidentally do anything to ruin his plans for him. Besides, I promised not to tell anyone at the house about the powerboat.”
“You don’t have to keep a promise like that.”
“Yes, I do,” I said, “unless I find a very good reason not to.”
“You’re unreal!” Pete muttered. He looked at me carefully. “Let me get things straight. Why did you tell me about the boat?”
“So you could steal it.”
“What?” He gave such a start that he staggered to one side, nearly falling over an exposed tree root. I hung on, helping him keep his balance. Once recovered, he shook his head slowly. “You won’t break a promise, but you’d steal a boat.”
“It’s not like that,” I said. “What I mean is, we have to give Kurt a chance to prove that he’s telling the truth. But if he isn’t, then we might need the boat to go for help. Do you understand the difference?”
“Unfortunately, I do,” he said.
“Do you know how to run a powerboat?”
“Sure.”
“So if I decide that—”
“You’re making the rules?” he asked.
“I have to, Pete. I have to be fair.”
/> “Okay,” he said, and headed into the woods.
“Where are you going?” I asked.
“You mean, where are we going? We’re going to find this cove so that you can show me the boat. Come on!”
He held out a hand, so I staggered through the sand to grab it and followed him into the shadows under the trees.
His hand was warm and strong, and I held it tightly. He tried to follow a clearing or two before he was satisfied that we were heading in the right direction.
“How can you tell?” I asked.
“If you sail a lot, you get pretty good at judging directions.”
“You missed the first couple of tries.”
“You weren’t supposed to notice.”
I tugged on his hand, pulling him to a stop. “Pete,” I said, “we’ll have to be careful that Kurt doesn’t see us or hear us. I’m a little bit afraid of him.”
“Then you’re braver than I am,” he said. “I’m a whole lot afraid of him. Remember that, being a PI, he probably carries a gun.”
“So far you haven’t been involved in any of our troubles, because no one but me knows you’re on the island. I guess I shouldn’t have involved you now.”
“No guilt feelings,” he said. “Look at it from my point of view. There I sat with a rudder out of commission. I don’t have a radio to call for help. I could have been marooned for weeks, eating Twinkies until I figured out a way to repair that wire. I admit that I’m not too crazy about getting mixed up with a possible murderer, but on the other hand I met you, and you found a boat for me. Us,” he amended quickly, adding after only a short pause, “which we will use only on your orders and in case of dire emergency.”
His face crinkled in a grin, and he looked like a mischievous ten-year-old as he said, “The best part of the whole deal is you, of course. Men have dreamed of landing on a tropical beach and finding a beautiful girl.” I couldn’t help smiling at him. I had to admit to myself that he wasn’t the only one who was glad that we’d met.
“Let’s move as quietly as possible,” he said, “and no more talking. If you want to whisper something, just tug on my hand.”
I thought he was still being funny, so I was amazed to find, after just a few more steps, that the clearing we’d been following began to look familiar. It spread out to the top of a rise that was rimmed with palms and some low bushes.
Pete made a downward motion with his hand, so I followed his lead and dropped, crawling toward the row of palms. He lay on his stomach, barely parting the bushes, and I lay beside him.
“There she is,” he whispered. “And isn’t she super-looking?”
“Who?” I stared through a part in the leaves, but all I could see was the boat rocking gently in the water.
“Boats are always referred to as ‘she,’ ” he whispered.
We watched for a few minutes. “Kurt doesn’t seem to be around,” Pete said. “Maybe we could go down for a closer look.”
I put a hand on his arm to hold him back. “No! I did that, and Kurt appeared out of nowhere. We can’t take the chance.”
“He said he’d be going back to the house soon.”
“But we don’t know if he has yet,” I argued. “We’d have to keep watch on the boat and see him actually leave.”
“I suppose you’re right,” he murmured.
We watched a few minutes longer, and I asked, “Do you know how to use a boat like that?”
“Sure,” he said. “It’s not hard. You turn on the engine with a key and steer it the way you would a car. It’s got a throttle, and you can set the speed.”
“With a key,” I repeated.
He nodded. “I thought about that.”
“Would the key be kept on the boat?”
“We wouldn’t know that unless we went down to look. He might keep it on the boat, and he might keep it on his person.” I guess my fingers tightened on his arm, because he patted my hand and said, “You’re right about not just blundering in. We’re too smart to take unnecessary chances.”
“How are we going to find out?”
“I’ll check out the boat this afternoon. If I’m sure that Kurt isn’t around, I’ll search for the key.”
“Promise me you’ll be careful,” I whispered.
“Promises, promises,” he said. “You bet I’ll promise.”
“We’d better leave now,” I said.
He sidled backward, so that when he stood he couldn’t be seen from the cove. “Come on. I’ll walk you home.”
I joined him, and he easily led me back the way we had come. I would have become lost again, but traveling through these woods seemed so easy for Pete.
“Well, well,” Pete said as we caught sight of the house. “There’s old bigfoot now, and it looks like he’s really getting it.” Kurt was on the lawn with Benita, standing up fairly well to what was obviously a tirade on her part.
Pete gave me a quick good-bye. I didn’t turn to watch him leave. I knew he’d be going back to search the boat, and even though Kurt was here and wouldn’t discover him, the whole idea frightened me. I didn’t want anything to happen to Pete. I ran toward the house, ignoring the others, and sat on the veranda steps, watching the sun melt into gold and burn the western sky with violent, deep red scars.
Dinner was awful. Ellison wouldn’t go near the freezer so we ate whatever was left over in the refrigerator and pantry. His cooking had definitely gone from bad to worse. The atmosphere in the dining room was horrible too. Everyone was more angry that Kurt hadn’t made the swim for help than they were relieved that he hadn’t taken such a desperate chance. Suspicion was thicker than Ellison’s gravy, and everyone shared the same, miserable mood.
“Nobody found the artifact?” My words came out more like a statement than a question.
Aunt Madelyn glowered at me. “You could have stayed to help search for it.”
“Yes,” Benita complained. “It was hard work. Why did you think you were excused?”
“Oh,” I said, and found I didn’t have an answer. “I didn’t think you really needed me to help.”
“We did. Kurt could have helped too.” Benita sighed. “We have searched the entire house, and I, for one, don’t know where else to look.”
Kurt put down his water glass. “I’m afraid we’re down to a personal search,” he said.
“That’s unthinkable,” Madelyn snapped.
“Is it? There are only two places the artifact could be—hidden in the house or on someone’s person.”
“But that’s an invasion of privacy,” Madelyn said.
“Maybe so, but it comes down to this—do you want the artifact or don’t you?”
Aldo stood up. “I think we should make it possible for Ellison to clear the table by moving this conversation to the living room.”
We followed him without question, each of us thinking over what Kurt had said.
I knew how Madelyn coveted that artifact, so I wasn’t too surprised when she said, “Very well, Kurt. I’ll accept your suggestion. Benita, Andrea, and I will conduct a search in my bedroom. I trust the two of you to conduct your own personal search with the same honesty.”
“Of course,” Kurt said, looking puzzled that there could be any doubt.
We went upstairs, and through a few miserable moments of embarrassment, although the search was cursory. With the hot summer weather, neither Benita, Madelyn, nor I had enough on to hide the topaz.
So we filed downstairs and reported to Kurt and Aldo, who, naturally, hadn’t found the topaz either.
“I am completely befuddled,” Benita announced, which shouldn’t have been news to anyone.
Kurt’s forehead kept wrinkling and smoothing, wrinkling and smoothing, as a signal that he was trying to think things out. Finally he asked, “Any ideas?”
“Yes,” Madelyn said. “Let’s forget all about the artifact for now and play cards.” I could see that she was making an attempt to keep strong and steady, but there were deep lines and shadows around
her eyes, and her fingers trembled.
Fortunately, a deck was found in the drawer of one of the end tables. I wondered if I should inform her that my knowledge of bridge was scanty. I didn’t have to worry about it. After one hand she knew, so I sat out and Aldo sat in. It was also obvious that if my bridge game was bad, Aldo’s was worse. We tried a couple of other games, even my wild suggestion of crazy eights, but gave up in exasperation.
Madelyn slammed the deck down on the table. “This is ridiculous!” she stated. “I should have let my instincts guide me and refused to come on this dreadful trip.”
I kept quiet, not wanting to add to her problems by reminding her that it was my instincts, not hers, that she had ignored.
“In the first place,” she went on, “Justin was being just too, too secretive, and I don’t appreciate being made to play his games. Why he wanted to include Norton I don’t know, unless it was just plain greed. It’s common knowledge that Franklin Granakee has had some dealings with people on the other side of the law. He certainly wasn’t particular where his fortune came from.”
“Come now,” Benita said. She drummed her fingertips on the table, and her voice was tight. “I just can’t believe that.”
“I’ve heard it from more than one source.”
“Gossip just doesn’t become you, Madelyn.”
Madelyn looked surprised. “It’s not gossip. We need to share any knowledge we have.”
Benita put her hands to her head. “I don’t want to talk about Norton. I keep remembering—”
But Madelyn wouldn’t give up. “Do you suppose that Justin knew Norton’s real identity? Remember his saying something about one of us sailing under false colors?”
I immediately thought about Kurt. Maybe he was the one the judge was referring to, thinking of Kurt’s double identity as a huge joke.
Then Madelyn surprised me by saying, “It’s also possible, Benita, that Justin could have been referring to you. Who were you representing on the side? That dealer in Los Angeles perhaps?”
Benita tried to look surprised and wounded, but it didn’t work. She leaned back in her chair and sighed. “No, it wasn’t Ableman’s, if that’s who you’re referring to. I’m not at liberty to divulge my client’s name. You can respect that, can’t you?”
The Island of Dangerous Dreams Page 10