by Melissa Good
The housekeeper’s eyes widened.
“We can give you the probable identity of the person you’re looking for,” Kerry said. “We’ve been pestered by some people since our arrival in the islands.” She added, “I’d like a chance to discuss that with the police as well.”
The manager nodded. “Certainly. Constantina, please.” He grasped the woman’s arm and steered her outside. “The bellman will be up to move you in just a moment.”
“It’s okay. It’s just this.” Dar held up the bag. “All the damage was done to your hotel, not our property.”
A facial tic started on the manager’s face. He left and took his two employees with him.
For a moment, the room was silent. Dar and Kerry looked at each other, then at the same time, lifted their hands in a shrug and let them drop. “This is nuts,” Dar sighed. “This is just nuts.”
Kerry’s eyes narrowed. “You got that guy Wharton’s phone number?”
Dar regarded her warily. “His office, yeah.”
“Gimme.”
Dar removed a slip of paper from the backpack and took out her own cell phone. “I’ll handle it.” She took a breath and composed herself.
“Dar—”
“I know,” Dar cut her off. “I know you can do this, but I really, really want to.”
Kerry subsided.
Terrors of the High Seas 237
Dar opened the cell and dialed, then put the phone to her ear.
A low, growling voice answered.
Dar started off with being civil. “I need to speak with Mr.
Patrick Wharton.”
“Where the hell did you get this number?”
Okay, so much for that. “Does it matter? You Wharton?”
“Who the hell is this?”
Dar listened to the voice. It was middle-aged, had a slight rasp, and a distinct New England accent. “Someone who’s been just east of St. Johns,” she replied. “Now, are you Wharton, or not?”
There was silence before the voice grudgingly said, “Yeah.”
“Good,” Dar answered. “Then maybe you can explain why I’ve got your hired hands crawling all over my last nerve.”
“Look, lady, I don’t know who the hell you are—”
“You…” Dar barked at top volume, “don’t have to know who I am, mister!” She drew in a breath. “All you need to know is that the two-bit amateur you’re paying top dollar for couldn’t find his way out of a paper bag with instructions printed on the inside of it in twenty-four-point black letters.”
“What?”
“I…” Dar dropped her voice to a low purr, “have what you’re looking for.”
“Who the devil are you!”
“You wouldn’t know who I was if I told you my name,” Dar told him quietly. “And I’d have been a much happier person if I’d never heard your name or the name of the jackass you hired, trust me.”
“Now you listen here—”
“No, you listen to me.” Dar overrode him. “You get your little paid pirate the hell out of here or I’ll go to the cops and blow your little scheme wide open.”
There was silence, and then a click.
Dar eyed the phone. “Hung up on me,” she commented.
Kerry scratched her nose. “Well, honey, I think you got across the message you were going for.”
“Did I?” Dar mused, as Kerry walked over and slid an arm around her waist.
“Yep,” Kerry assured her. “I wouldn’t want to be a fly on DeSalliers’ boat walls, unless I could swim really well.”
“Ma’am?” The security guard was back with a smaller man.
“Jasar will take you to your new room, okay?”
Kerry picked up their overnight bag. “Lead on.”
Grumbling, Dar put the phone away and followed, shouldering the backpack. Her conversation with Wharton hadn’t been very satisfactory, and she ran over the brief exchange in her head as she walked down the hallway. Should she have started out more 238 Melissa Good professionally, explained who she was? Full of self-doubt, Dar felt her brow furrowing. Maybe she should have let Kerry handle it after all. Dar felt very off balance, and she wasn’t even sure why she felt that way. She didn’t like it.
They stopped in front of a door, and the desk clerk opened it for them. “Here you go, ladies.” He stood back to let them enter, then followed them in and shut the door.
This room was on the corner of the cliff, and roughly three times the size of the other. It had a wraparound balcony and a general sense of plushness the other room, though comfortable, had lacked. “The manager said he would be up shortly, with the police,”
the desk clerk said softly. “Is there anything else we can get you?”
Dar dropped her backpack on the couch then sat down next to it. “Yeah,” she said. “A pot of strong coffee and a big chocolate milkshake.”
“Make that two,” Kerry added. “Thanks.”
“Right away.” The desk clerk left.
Kerry took her time exploring the new room. She opened the door next to the bathroom, exposing a hot tub neatly sunken into a wooden deck. “This is nice,” she concluded, peeking out the window. “I guess this is the ‘please don’t sue us’ suite.” She turned, leaning against the windowsill and regarding Dar. “Okay, so where are we?”
Dar let her head rest on the back of the couch. “I wish I knew,”
she admitted. “Well, one thing—that idiot woman wasted her time.
Did she really think we’d be stupid enough to leave something…anything…valuable in that hotel room?”
Kerry exhaled. “Good question.” She got off the sill and crossed over to sit down on the couch next to Dar. “Maybe she didn’t. Maybe she was just trying to prove a point. I got…ah…kinda nasty with her earlier.”
Dar’s brow rose. Kerry didn’t usually go the nasty route. “You did?”
“Yeah.” The blonde woman looked a touch sheepish. “I was just so pissed off at her, at them, at…” She let out a disgusted sigh.
Dar turned and leaned forward, gazing at Kerry. “Is this whole thing driving you nuts?”
Kerry nodded.
“So it’s not just me?”
Kerry shook her head. “No,” she said. “I’m just so upset.”
Dar edged closer and took her hands. “About what, sweetheart?” She was more than glad to focus her attention on Kerry rather than their perplexing problem.
“Well it’s… I feel really stupid saying this, but I’m just really ticked off that they’re messing with our vacation,” Kerry confessed.
“I feel like they’re robbing me, robbing us, and it’s making me very Terrors of the High Seas 239
mad.” Inexplicably, she felt tears welling up. “It’s not fair, Dar. I know we didn’t get into this on purpose, and we’ve just been reacting to all this stuff, but…”
Reacting. Dar felt a puzzle piece slip into place. “I know,” she murmured. “I think that’s part of the problem: we’re not in control of any of this; it just keeps rolling over us.”
Kerry sighed. “It’s not that I don’t want to solve this stupid thing.”
Dar decided Kerry needed a hug. Accordingly, she slid an arm around her and pulled her closer, then enfolded her in both arms.
She felt Kerry’s exhalation warm against her skin. “All right,” she murmured. “Let’s hold on a minute and see if we can get a handle on this.”
“Buh.” Kerry buried her face into Dar’s shoulder. “I want my milkshake.”
Dar chuckled faintly. “Listen.”
“I’m listening.”
“We fixed Bud and Charlie’s problem.”
Kerry nodded. “Right.”
“We ticked off Wharton, and maybe now he’ll call DeSalliers on the carpet.”
“Right.”
“Here’s what we’re gonna do. The cops are on their way here to talk to us. We’re gonna tell them the whole seven-layer Mexican bean dip these last couple days have been. The pirates
, DeSalliers, the works.”
“Okay.”
“Then we’re gonna go out, and dive a gorgeous blue hole and see that cave I was telling you about before we left Miami.”
“Ooh. This is getting more interesting.”
“Then we’re gonna have dinner on the boat under the stars.”
Dar rubbed Kerry’s ear gently. “And when we get back here, we’re going to enjoy that hot tub with a bottle of cold wine and a big bowl of strawberries.”
“Mm.” Kerry relaxed against Dar’s body. “That sounds awesome,” she said. “But you know what?”
“What?”
“I’d be just as happy to spend the entire time just like this instead,” Kerry said. “I like the idea of telling the police everything, Dar. Even if they are in on whatever is going on with the pirates, it would make me feel better just to say it.”
Dar nodded. “So here’s how I think we should play it.” She felt a little more stable. “Let’s not mention that we know who the pirate is, or that we know it’s not the first time. We’ll do the outraged-American-executives-on-interrupted-holiday routine.”
“Gee, that’s a stretch.” Kerry chuckled.
240 Melissa Good
“You know what I mean.”
“Like we did with the hotel manager.” Kerry nodded. “I get it.”
She considered. “Because if we tell him all we know, the first question they’re going to ask is why didn’t we come forward before?”
“Mm.”
“And, why we didn’t just leave the island and get out of the situation.”
Dar sighed.
“Wish we had?”
“Yeah.” Dar nodded. “But you know what? Once they’d gotten it into their damn stupid heads that we had something from that wreck, I’m not sure we could have.”
No. Kerry thought back over the last few days. Their big mistakes were diving the wreck, and saving Bob. She straightened a little inside the circle of Dar’s arms, not sure she would have avoided either event, despite what they were going through now.
She thought about Dar’s observation. “You know, I think you’re right.”
Dar grinned. “However, if you want to go on feeling crummy about it, I’ll be glad to sit here and comfort you all day long.”
Kerry started laughing. “God, you know, this whole thing is just so ridiculous,” she said. “The only thing that could top it, is if it started snowing.”
Dar glanced at the window in pure reflex. “Right.” She unclipped her phone and dialed a number. “Better tell Bud what room we’re in.” She listened, but after two rings the phone switched to voice mail. “Hm.” Dar waited for the beep, then spoke.
“Bud, it’s Dar. Give me a buzz when you get this, and I’ll tell you where we are.” She closed the phone.
Kerry eyed her. “You don’t think he’s going to run off, do you?
He seemed really spooked about those men who were following us up the hill.
“I don’t know.” Dar cocked her head as she heard footsteps approaching. “Ah. That’s either room service or the cops.” She reluctantly released Kerry and went to answer the knock. “Or both.”
Outside the door were the manager, a tall, thin man in a khaki uniform, a room service waiter, and most importantly, two chocolate shakes and a pot of coffee. Dar opened the door and waved them all in, neatly stealing one of the shakes as the waiter passed by.
The manager waited until the waiter put down the tray and Dar signed the check. After the man left, the manager cleared his throat.
“Ms. Roberts and Ms. Stuart—this is Captain Alalau, who is in charge of the police. I have asked him to come and investigate this Terrors of the High Seas 241
destruction of our property and of your peace of mind.”
Kerry almost applauded at the speech. The police captain seemed reserved, but politely friendly. “Captain, why don’t you sit down? This might take a few minutes to explain,”she said. “And you too, Mr. Brack.”
“Thank you, Ms. Stuart,” the policeman answered in a gracious tone. He and the manager sat down. “You are most kind. I understand how upset you and Ms. Roberts must have been to come and find your room in such disarray.”
“After the week we’ve had?” Dar came around the couch and handed Kerry her shake, then sat down next to her on the couch facing the two men. “You could say that, yes.”
The officer leaned forward. “Mr. Brack tells me you knew this woman? Is this true?”
“We think so,” Kerry said. “Based on the description from the housekeeper, she’s one of two people who have been bothering us while we were here on the island.”
“Ahh.” Captain Alalau nodded. He had a handsome, finely sculpted face, and almost nonexistent hair. “That would be Mr.
DeSalliers’ two employees, would it not?”
Dar’s eyebrow twitched. “You know him?”
The captain produced an almost imperceptible sigh. “Ms.
Roberts, there are few here who do not,” he said. “He is a very well-known, well-connected man here, and is used to getting his way.
His agent came to speak with me today, in fact, to lodge a complaint.”
Dar’s other brow lowered. “Against us?” she hazarded a dour guess.
The officer pressed his lips into a faint smile. “No. Against another man they claim is encroaching on a wreck they are attempting to recover.”
“Ah,” Kerry said. “Bob.”
Now it was the officer’s turn to look surprised. “You know this man? We have been searching for him. There are charges being pressed.” He looked from Kerry to Dar and back. “I have a warrant for his arrest.”
“Ah.”
The manager glanced between them, obviously at sea. “If they are after this other man, why then did they come into your hotel room?”
Dar leaned back. “All right.” She lifted one hand. “Let’s just start from the beginning, shall we?”
The officer took a pad and a pencil from his pocket. He scribbled a few notes. “That is an excellent idea,” he said. “I am sure we can clear up this unfortunate situation once we have all the facts.”
242 Melissa Good Kerry sucked on her shake and tried not to smile, hoping the facts didn’t, in fact, send the man off screaming. She liked this policeman. Besides, she really wanted to hear what he’d been told about Bob.
Chapter
Twenty-two
“YOU KNOW SOMETHING, Dar?” Kerry was sprawled on her back on the big, comfortable bed. “I didn’t realize just how wild the last couple of days had been until we told someone about them and watched their brain dribble out their ears.”
“Errff.” Dar made a small sound of bemused agreement. “I thought he was going to fall over when we told him about shooting at the pirates. Did you see that?”
Kerry nodded. “He knows something.” She looked at Dar. “You were right. He was really relieved when you told him no one appeared to have gotten hurt.”
“And did you see how fast he changed the subject?” Dar cracked her knuckles. “All right. So now they know everything.”
“And boy, I bet they wish they didn’t.”
Dar smiled. “The captain said he was going to haul in our detective friends if he could find them, and he’s contacting DeSalliers to make sure he leaves us alone.”
“I think we put in a few points for Bob,” Kerry mused. “But we’d better warn him to lay low.” She drew up her knees and stretched, arching her back. “But I’m really glad we got the police involved. I feel a lot better now.”
Dar’s ears twitched approvingly at that. “Yeah, even if he did look at us like we’d dropped a ticking bomb onto his desk,” she agreed. “So, you up for a dive now that we’ve put things to bed?”
Kerry folded her hands across her stomach and considered.
“Yeah,” she said after a moment. “I don’t feel sick at all today. A dive would be nice.” She turned her head. “What did you mean about a blue hole?”
/> Dar grinned and held out a hand. “Come with me, Yankee. I’ll show ya.”
Unable to resist that kind of invitation, Kerry rolled up off the bed and joined Dar, taking her hand as Dar shouldered the backpack and they headed for the door. “Make sure you lock it.”
She had their overnight bag in her hand, just in case.
Dar snorted. “I’m willing to bet anyone who opens this door for 244 Melissa Good someone gets their fingers cut off.” She opened her cell phone and dialed Bud’s number again. “C’mon, Bud, you damn big chicken.
Answer the phone.”
But still, it went to voice mail. Dar shook her head. “Bud, we’re heading out for some water time. Let us know how Charlie’s doing, okay?” She considered a moment. “We just got finished telling the cops everything. I think we’re clear now. Gimme a call.” With a frown, she closed the phone and restored it to her belt. “Damn stubborn old mackerel.”
“Give him the benefit of the doubt, Dar,” Kerry chuckled.
“Maybe he’s getting Charlie out of the hospital. If it were me, I wouldn’t be answering my phone either.”
“Mmph.” Dar rocked her head from side to side. “He doesn’t call back in a little while, I’ll call the hospital and find out what’s going on.”
They walked together to the lobby and out the front door. The sun was out, and everything seemed peaceful and quiet, back to the sleepy friendliness of normality again. They made it down to the dock without incident.
The docks were fairly busy; boats were pulling in and out. Dar noticed there was no sign of DeSalliers’ monster. They reached their slip and she paused to check the boat over before they boarded, but the vessel seemed untouched, floating in its assigned space. “Looks okay.”
Kerry hopped over and jumped to the stern deck, going to the door and peering inside.
Dar unlocked the door and pushed it open, and they entered to find it reassuringly just as they’d left it. Even the apple Kerry had left on the countertop was still in place, beckoning invitingly to her as she crossed the floor and took possession of it.
Dar continued on and poked her head into the rooms in the bow, then returned looking satisfied. “Well, if they did search the place, they didn’t leave any marks.”