Telltale (Shelby Hope Book Two) (Shelby Hope Novels 2)

by Stephanie Parrish

  "I know, I know," Alex said soothingly. "Come on, you’re not doing yourself any good by being in this state." He stroked my hair. When I felt calmer, I sat up.

  "She won’t really post anything, will she?" I demanded.

  Alex lifted up his palms. "I hate to say this, but yeah, she probably will. I guess we better just hope they arrest these guys by tomorrow."

  Chapter 20

  The rest of the day passed quietly. I washed out a few clothes and hung them on the lifelines to dry. Alex puttered around with the dinghy engine, trying to make up for his lack of knowledge on how it worked, his face intent as he consulted the manual, took things apart, and then put them back together again.

  He tinkered for a few more minutes, then cranked up the engine.

  "Sounds like it works," I said.

  "Yeah, luckily. I would feel pretty silly if I’d broken something." He grinned and began packing his tools into his tool bag. Then he offered to fix supper.

  Never one to argue with someone who wanted to feed me, I said, "Well, thanks. What are we having?"

  "Hm. Haven’t gotten that far yet. I guess I better go figure it out." He went below and began delving through the cupboards.

  A few moments later, he called up, "How does pasta salad sound?"

  "Works for me."

  Briefly, I considered asking Alex if he wanted help, but I was afraid he might say yes, so I just sat, looking out over the water and at the town. It was a peaceful evening. We were the only boat anchored out. The waves lapped softly against the hull. Alex hummed as he worked on dinner, and the water pump came on occasionally. I grinned. When we’d first been aboard, and I’d explained the concept of water conservation to them, including how to shower—turn the water on, get wet fast, turn the water off, lather up, turn the water on, rinse fast—Nathan had looked at me in incredulity, and even Alex had furrowed up his brow a little. Even though Nathan had sailed before with his uncle, I think they'd mostly day-sailed, so he'd never had to worry about mundane things like water. He still had a hard time remembering sometimes. It seemed that Alex at least had grown accustomed to the idea that the boat was a self-contained unit and that any water used had to be replaced by water brought aboard. That reminded me. Tomorrow before we left, we should stop by one of the marinas for fuel, water, trash drop off, and pump out.

  That was the last coherent thought I had for a while. I dozed off, not surprising since I’d been up most of the night before. When I awoke, I found Alex standing over me, holding out a glass of wine. Gratefully, I took a sip.

  Shortly after that, he brought dinner up to us. "Here you are, my dear. Pasta salad on a bed of lettuce, with pears on the side."

  "Mm. This is good, Alex, really nice after a hot day," I said, savoring the sweet juicy flavor of the pears.

  "So what’s the plan for tomorrow?" he asked.

  "We should stop by one of the marinas here before we leave, take on fuel and water, and see if we can dump our trash and get a pump out. Then, we’ll head out. I’ll look at the charts in a little while to find us an anchorage for tomorrow night. Next day, we’ll head to Beaufort. By the way, I talked to Matt earlier, and he said he’ll meet us in Beaufort."

  "That’s great," Alex said. "His grandfather’s doing better?"

  "Yes, much better."

  "That’s good to hear. Did you tell Matt about your little adventures of the last few days?"

  "I did."

  "Was he upset?"

  "Not with me. I think he’s worried about me though."

  "Of course he is. Did you tell him I’m your bodyguard from now on?" Alex said.

  "Yes. I think that made him feel better."

  "And did you tell him about the impeller, Shel?" Alex asked.

  "Yeah. I did. I confessed my shame to him."

  "And?"

  "Well, he didn’t say anything, but I’m pretty sure I heard him sigh."

  Alex laughed, then said, "I know you said you’d look at the charts to find an anchorage for tomorrow night, but why don’t you let me do that, and then you can check my work?"

  "All right. I’ll go wash the supper dishes while you’re doing that." I gathered my laundry and headed below.

  ✽✽✽

  NEXT MORNING, I woke up early. Climbing out of my bunk, I made a mental list of the things we needed to do before getting underway. I’d slept well and felt rested and ready to go.

  Alex got up a few minutes after I did, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes as he headed to the galley to start the coffee. I offered to help with breakfast, but he shook his head and motioned me aside. I got cleaned up and dressed, and by the time I’d brushed my teeth, the food was ready.

  We had breakfast in the cockpit, watching the sun grow stronger in the sky. It was going to be a beautiful day. After breakfast, I asked Alex to hail the marina and find out if we could come over for services. The dockmaster gave him directions to the fuel dock, telling us to come by whenever we were ready.

  After we did the breakfast dishes, Alex turned on the engine to let it warm up, then motioned me to the bow to haul up the anchor. I walked along the deck, unhooking the lifelines on the side we’d dock and getting our lines ready. A few moments later, we got underway and headed over to the marina.

  The dockhand helped tie off our lines, then handed Alex the fuel hose. While Alex filled the diesel tank, the dockhand nodded to me. "Go ahead and help yourself to the water there," he said, pointing to a nearby hose. "I’ll do your pump out after you get done with that."

  I filled up the water tanks, then gathered up the trash and headed toward a nearby dumpster. I heard the pump-out motor crank up as the dockhand switched on the pump.

  "You’re the one that the police have been talking to, right?" asked the dockhand when I got back. "The one who saw that guy get shot?"

  Feeling uncomfortable under his bright, interested gaze, I nodded but didn’t say anything else.

  "That kind of stuff doesn’t really happen here too often. Sorry to hear about that."

  "How did you hear about that?" I asked.

  "My wife’s brother is a deputy here. Don’t worry, he told us not to tell anyone else. I was just curious. He said there’s been a detective in from Elizabeth City talking to you and some guys from ATF looking for those guys. Lots of excitement. A fugitive and all. Next thing you know, it will be the U.S. Marshals." His eyes brightened more until they took on a glow. I hunched up my shoulder, uncomfortable with the conversation. He damped down his enthusiasm with an effort. "I mean, it’s awful, what they put you through. But it sounds like they’ll catch these guys real soon. That guy you found, the one they arrested yesterday, I guess he’s been real cooperative, talking about all kinds of stuff, not just what’s happened the last few days. I think that’s why ATF is getting more and more interested. You shouldn’t worry, ma’am. With all those officers out there looking for these guys, they’ll have them pretty soon."

  He looked prepared to go on talking, so I excused myself and headed toward the small sundries store near the dockmaster’s office. The store seemed dim after the sunshine. When my eyes had adjusted, I spent a few minutes walking up and down the aisles, collecting snacks. As I made my way to the cash register, Alex came in to pay for the fuel. "Here," he said. "I’ll pay for those too. While we’re here, do you want a few minutes to call Matt before we leave? Just to make sure you don’t lose your signal once we get underway?"

  "That’s a good idea. Thanks, Alex," I said. I walked through a door opposite to the one I’d entered and found a couple of rocking chairs on the dock outside. I sat down in one, pulling my phone out of my pocket and idly setting the rocker in motion while I called Trish’s number.

  "Hey, Shelby."

  "Trish, hi. How’s it going?"

  "Good. Definitely good. Looks like granddad will get discharged today sometime. Andi almost gave him a stroke though. She told him she was going to stay with him ‘indefinitely’ until he got back on his feet again. His eye started to
twitch and everything. Luckily, the doctor intervened and told her that everything had already been arranged. I guess mom and dad have hired a short-term caregiver to keep an eye on him for now. Then Andi’s eye started twitching as she demanded to know why our parents were paying good money for something she would do for free. Granddad said it wasn’t free if she gave him another heart attack. Things went downhill from there."

  I grinned. "I can imagine. Where are you now?"

  "Well, Matt told me you might call, so I’m looking for him. He and Franklin have been skulking around somewhere, trying to avoid Andi. I wouldn’t give him my phone today though, because then they’d both disappear completely. Ah, here he is. Well, Shelby, it was nice talking to you."

  I didn’t get a chance to say goodbye to her before I heard Matt’s voice. "Hey. Things okay?"

  "Yeah," I said. "Everything’s fine. We’re at a marina here in Belhaven, getting ready to head out."

  "Okay. I had Trish help me get an airline ticket. I’m flying into Savannah tomorrow, and I’ll rent a car and drive up to meet you in Beaufort. Are you going to stay at the city marina?"

  "That’s what I was thinking. I haven’t called them yet. I’ll do it before we leave here though, just to make sure they have a space for us."

  "All right. Can you send Trish a message once you confirm? Then I’ll just plan to see you there."

  "I will. Safe travels."

  "You too, Shelby. Don’t go anywhere without Alex. Promise me."

  "I promise. I’ll see you tomorrow."

  We hung up, and I looked up the number for the city marina in Beaufort then dialed. A woman’s voice answered. I asked if we could reserve a slip for a few days, coming in sometime tomorrow. She said it would be no problem and took down our boat name, asking us to radio when we got there. I thanked her and said goodbye, then texted Trish's phone so she could tell Matt.

  Instead of walking through the store, I walked around the edge of the dock to find Alex waiting for me. I stepped aboard and cast off our lines. Alex nudged the boat into gear, and we were underway.

  ✽✽✽

  THE DAY WAS uneventful. There was enough of a breeze to keep the heat from being too intense, and there were only a few other boats out. We took turns at the helm throughout the day and made it to the anchorage at about four o’clock. I felt better than I had since the night at the Dismal Swamp. The tranquility of the day and the water was soothing, and the events of the past few days seemed far away and unreal. Alex seemed to feel it too, as we settled into the evening routine. The two of us sat in the cockpit until well after dark, drinking wine and talking.

  It was only after I burrowed into my bunk that I stopped to wonder why I hadn’t heard from Detective Fairholm, with news that Rumbar had been arrested.

  Chapter 21

  I woke the next morning after a restless sleep to find my sheet tangled around me. It felt confining. It reminded me of a dream that I’d been having just before waking up. In my dream, Rumbar was aboard the boat again, only this time without Duke. He’d wrapped his arms around me, so tightly that I couldn’t breathe or move. His mocking face was close to mine, and I knew that this time, I wouldn’t be able to escape.

  Trying to shake off the bad feeling, I got up, got dressed, and did some minimal personal hygiene. It would be good to get into a marina later today, where I could have a long hot shower.

  Alex was having coffee in the cockpit and called a cheery good morning to me when I went up. I plastered on a smile, not wanting to worry him, although the echoes of last night’s dream stayed with me. He was excited to be heading toward Beaufort and had his guidebook in hand, reading paragraphs and then relaying items of interest to me.

  "Here’s something Nathan will like, if he gets back while we’re in Beaufort," Alex said. "A lot of the houses in Beaufort have been designated as historical sites. We’ll have to take a walking tour."

  "That sounds like fun," I said, leaning over so I could see the pictures in the guidebook. "If we leave in the next half-hour or so, we should get there by mid-afternoon."

  "Let’s get going, then. Time’s a-wastin’." Alex stood up and started herding me below. "Shelby, get some breakfast while I get the boat ready to go."

  "Yes, Your Majesty."

  He grinned. "Seems to me like you might be anxious to get going too, since Matt’s going to be meeting us there." He looked critically at my hair. "Did you, uh, misplace your hairbrush again?"

  "I’ll look for it after breakfast," I said, haughtily.

  "You might look for a few fresh clothes while you’re at it," he went on, unmindful of my attempts to maneuver around him to get into the galley. "Where is one of those little sleeveless sweater-things that you usually wear? That light blue one looks nice."

  I put my hands on my hips and tapped my foot. "Are you saying I don’t look like nice now?"

  "Well, did you mean to put your shirt on backward?" he asked. His tone said, Did you stick the fork in the toaster on purpose? "And, honestly, those old shorts of Nathan’s…well, I’ve been trying to make him get rid of them for a reason, you know. And the clothesline belt…" He shook his head in sorrow.

  Looking down, I had to concede the point. Yesterday, while I was doing my hand laundry, I had borrowed a pair of shorts from Nathan’s drawer while I washed mine. They were too big and also a little ratty. In fact, there was a hole near the hem that I could probably fit my fist into. Both fists. But they were comfy.

  "Okay, okay, let me have breakfast, then I’ll make myself presentable."

  Quickly, I wolfed down a bowl of cereal, then carried my coffee around with me while I searched for my brush and found some nicer clothes. Fifteen minutes later, I climbed up into the cockpit.

  "Better?"

  "Yes, I must say, that outfit is more becoming than Nathan’s old shorts."

  "You’re just saying that because he’ll want his shorts back, and he’ll blame you if I have them." He grinned at me.

  "Before we go, I want to call the detective and see if he has any news."

  Alex said, "While you’re doing that, I’ll check in with Nate."

  I pulled my phone out of my pocket, sat down, and dialed the number. He picked up on the first ring, sounding distracted.

  "Fairholm."

  "Hi. It’s Shelby Hope."

  "Shelby. Hey. You’re on my list to call. Sorry, I just haven’t gotten to it yet. Is everything all right?"

  "Yeah. I just wanted to check in with you to see if you’d found Rumbar yet."

  His voice muffled for a minute, like he was holding his hand over the phone while he talked to someone at his office. Then he said, "Hold on for a sec, Shelby." More muted voices.

  Finally, he came back on the line. "Sorry about that, Shelby. I was just getting an update. We found Duke Spearson’s boat, late last night. It had been abandoned. Also, we tracked down the trawler that Rumbar was supposed to meet. It arrived at a marina in Beaufort day before yesterday, but no one’s aboard it. The dockmaster didn’t call us until this morning. We’d contacted all the marinas, asking them to keep an eye out for this boat. The dockmaster had been out of town for a couple days. She’d left a message for all the dockhands, but apparently there was some other commotion, a fuel spill or something, and so no one followed up on the boat that came in until this morning. When the captain had radioed in for a spot, he’d given them a fictitious boat name, went to the office and paid in cash, then disappeared. No one noticed that it was the wrong boat name until this morning, when the dockmaster got back and went out to do a dock walk, comparing boat names to the register."

  "What does all that mean, then?" I asked.

  "My guess is that Rumbar got in touch with the captain somehow and told him that we’d arrested his cousin, and that they were going to have to change plans."

  "What about the container ship, the one they were supposed to meet?"

  "We checked with the shipping company. That boat is long gone. They’re not going to be meetin
g it. And I think there’s going to be a change in personnel on the ship soon. The owner of the shipping company wasn’t happy to hear what they were planning. I’m sorry, Shelby, that I don’t have any more information for you. There haven’t been any sightings of Rumbar, and the local police as well as ATF are watching, believe me. Best guess is that he found another boat and headed out a different way."

  "How long are the police and ATF going to be around?" I asked, not liking how small my voice sounded.

  "They’re all out interviewing the marina personnel, trying to see if they can get any more information. And they’re getting a search warrant for the trawler. Depending on what they find, they might be around a while longer."

  What about me? I wanted to say. But I didn’t. I didn’t want to sound like a whiny teenager.

  "Will you let me know when you find him?"

  "Yes, of course. Where are you now?"

  "We’re heading toward Beaufort. We’ll be there later today."

  "All right. Look, Shelby, I know this is uncomfortable for you, but chances are good that he’s gone. If he’s still around, we’ll nab him. Don’t worry."

  "Okay."

  "I’m liaising with the police in Beaufort. They have all your information, and I’ll pass along to them that you’re coming that way. Call them or me if you need anything."

  "I will."

  "All right. Be safe." He hung up.

  "I heard part of that, but tell me the full story," Alex said, as he cranked up the engine. While the engine idled to warm up, I repeated what the detective had said.

  After I finished, he looked thoughtful. "Seems like they’d find Rumbar, if he’s there, Shelby. There’s a lot of law enforcement looking for him. So maybe the detective is right. Maybe Rumbar’s left another way."

  "Maybe." I resisted the urge to point out that we’d hoped Rumbar was gone before, only to have him show up on Thief of Time.

  "At any rate, I’ll keep you safe. And Matt will be back today. Between the two of us, we won’t let anyone hurt you."