Lethal Tide

by Beth Prentice

  As he moved, Lori slid her hand across his backside, giving it a small squeeze.

  "You're welcome to join me," he added with a sleazy smile.

  "Okay, Lori," said Martin, throwing a shredded napkin onto the bar top and then downing the last of his G&T.

  To be honest, I'd completely forgotten he was still there.

  "It's time to go home," he finished, slamming his glass onto the bar. Walking behind Alani and me, he took Lori firmly by the arm. Martin looked about the same age as Lori. His scalp was shiny where the hair had departed company with it. His face seemed to have dropped to his chin area, causing the corners of his mouth to droop, and his green eyes were hidden by the thick black frame of his glasses. Other than the fact that his belly seemed to have plummeted over the top of his pants, his body still looked to be in okay shape.

  A large-bicepped, unhappy-looking male tourist slipped into Martin's vacant seat.

  Lori's lined lips turned into a pout. "But it's still early," she whined.

  "It's past ten, and you need your beauty sleep." Martin's lips were tense, and his tone suggested this was not the time to argue.

  "I'm still having fun. You go ahead. I won't be too far behind you," she said matter-of-factly.

  His face turned red as he held her firmly.

  "Staying is not an option," he spat, his eyes flashing anger at her. "You're embarrassing me," he hissed through gritted teeth.

  She held his stare for a beat, almost looking like she was weighing up her options. She then relented, and I heard her sigh as she gave Ryan one last eyelash flutter and placed her empty glass on a nearby table. "Fine. But only because I love you," she said, allowing Martin to lead her away, leaving a flustered-looking Jenny on her own. "And I do not need my beauty sleep," Lori snapped as she was pulled along by the arm. As they made their way through the crowd, I heard her call, "Bye Casey! Thanks for the mojitos."

  I figured Casey should have cut off her mojitos three drinks ago, but I turned my attention back to Ryan. He looked uncomfortable, pushing his hand into his pocket and fidgeting. His smile tightened, and he emptied his glass.

  "Well," he said to us all. "It's my bedtime also. I'll bid you all good night." He pulled a couple of dollar bills from his pocket, throwing them on the bar as a tip, and fiddled with his glass before placing it on the nearby table next to Lori's. It was as he pushed his way through the crowd that I noticed something inside his glass.

  I stood, picked the glass up, and retrieved a black USB flash drive. Turning it over in my hand, I wondered if Ryan realized he had dropped it.

  * * *

  The following morning broke sunny and warm. That was pretty much the norm in Aloha Lagoon, and I loved it. Hardly ever a cold day. It was also good because it was my day off work, and I was spending the morning with Alani.

  "Have we decided what we're doing?" I asked cradling the phone between my shoulder and my ear while I searched my wardrobe for something to wear.

  "Well, I was thinking about what you said in The Lava Pot last night about Ryan searching the area near the petrified tree," replied Alani as her dog Roxy barked in the background. "I wouldn't mind going for a hike and checking that everything is just the way it should be. On the way there's a lagoon. I figured we could have a swim. What do you think?"

  I thought it sounded fun. "Did you ask Luke? I'm pretty sure he has this morning off work."

  "Yep I did. He's coming. It's a shame that Casey has to work though," Alani added.

  "Yeah, he tried to get Owen to do the shift, but Casey needed to be there for a delivery, and Owen isn't up to speed with everything just yet."

  "Well, we'll just have to go back to the lagoon a second time and take Casey with us." "Cool." This was going to be a great adventure.

  After ending my call with Alani, I dialed Casey, all while I considered my options of clothing for the day.

  Casey answered on the third ring.

  "Hey you."

  I felt the shiver all the way to my toes as his deep, sexy voice reverberated in my ear.

  "Hey," I replied. "How's your morning going?"

  "Not bad. The delivery guy was late, but other than that, it's pretty much a standard morning at work. I'm just waiting for the guy to come and fix our ice machine. What did you and Alani decide to do today?"

  I quickly brought him up to date with our plans. "I'm really excited. I've only ever been in an Australian rain forest, so I wonder if they'll be similar." While talking, I opted for cut-off denim shorts and a yellow tank top. The yellow tank top was so that if I got lost, I would be, hopefully, visible to anyone looking for me.

  "I don't really like that idea," Casey said, concerned.

  "What? That an Australian rain forest will be similar to a Hawaiian one?" I asked, pulling my shorts on and doing the button up.

  Casey laughed. "No, funny girl. I don't like the idea that you're going to check up on Ryan."

  "Oh. Why's that?"

  "Well, what if Alani finds him? What's going to happen then?"

  "She'll ask him to leave, I guess. Anyway, what's the chances of him being there?" I asked.

  "I don't know." I heard his sigh. "I just don't like it."

  "If we do find him, is he like…dangerous?" I asked, suddenly alarmed.

  "I've never known him to be, but just make sure that Luke stays with you, okay? In fact, can you wait until later this afternoon? I'll try to get off as early as I can and come with you."

  "Alani has to work this afternoon. Casey, what's the story with you and Ryan?" I asked.

  Casey sighed again. "Long story, and one for another day. Look Sam, I have to go. The guy has just arrived to fix our ice machine."

  It was my turn to sigh.

  "Okay. Chat soon."

  After I hung up, I finished getting dressed and thought about what Casey had said. I was sure there was absolutely no danger of us running into Ryan, and Alani only wanted to go to settle any anxieties she had that he may have found his way there. From her description last night, without a local guide to show him, Ryan had no chance whatsoever, so that meant there was no danger to us, right?

  As I mulled this over, I pulled my hair into a ponytail, threw a sweater in a backpack, and made my way out to the kitchen.

  I was presently living at home with Mum and Luke. Both Luke and I were twenty-eight. My excuse was I'd only lived in Aloha Lagoon for a few short months. I figured Luke just knew where he was better off.

  Luke was a cook at The Lava Pot and more often than not brought home leftovers. I opened the refrigerator hoping to find some. Bingo! It was my lucky day.

  Pulling out a plastic container, I lifted the lid on what looked and smelled like the insides of a fish taco. I nearly gagged. I hated fish, no matter how it was served.

  Quickly replacing the lid, I tried with the next container. This one looked like a leftover burger patty. That was more like it.

  I zapped it in the microwave and was pouring myself a very large cup of coffee as Mum walked into the kitchen, her suitcase dragging behind her.

  "Morning, Samantha," she said, smiling, her soft brown eyes twinkling as she absently fiddled with the hem of her T-shirt, her fingers always itching to be busy. Mum and I looked very much alike, only her figure was better than mine, her hair was longer than mine, and her skin was smoother than mine. More than once I'd been asked if she was my sister. I took it as a compliment. Mum looked amazing.

  "Morning. You look like you're all packed and ready," I replied.

  Mum was taking a well-deserved week away. Not long ago she'd been caught up in some bad juju at the nursing home where she worked. None of it was her fault. In fact, it was quite the opposite. I supposed not all of it was bad. She'd been the recipient of a large inheritance that was now stuck in probate, but we did find our long-lost father, her ex-husband. I still didn't think she was over the shock of it all, hence the trip she was about to take with her best friend, Rebecca.

  "Yes. I'm ready. Now I've left a not
e for you with the name and phone number of the hotel we're staying at. If you need me for anything, please call immediately. If I'm not there, I'll call you back as soon as I get the message." Mum didn't own a cell phone. She believed the radiation would kill her.

  "Mum, relax. Luke and I are big kids now. We'll be fine. And it's not like I'm going to starve," I said, retrieving the contents of the microwave.

  Luke walked in, rubbing his eyes. "Looks like I might though," he grumbled. "That was supposed to be my breakfast."

  "Too bad, too sad," I replied, smiling and digging a fork into the patty and cutting off a large chunk of meat.

  I heard his sigh.

  "Luke, you really need a haircut," said Mum.

  Luke's hair was the same length as mine—just past his shoulders. And this morning it was doing a very good impression of bad bed hair.

  "It's fine. I like it this way," he said, stifling a yawn.

  I guffawed. He glared at me.

  He'd opened his mouth to respond to me, when the sound of a car horn beeping out the front blasted through the morning air.

  "That'll be Rebecca," said Mum, all of a sudden in a flap, patting her pockets and wildly looking around her.

  I moved to give her a kiss on the cheek. "Have fun, and don't worry about us. We'll be fine."

  "I know that you'll be fine," she replied, once she was satisfied she had everything. "But you'll always be my babies, and I'll never stop worrying about you."

  I knew that, and it was one of the things that I was dreading about one day being a mother. It seemed that you never stopped worrying about your kids.

  "Check in with us once in a while and let us know that you're safe too, please," I said, putting it back on her.

  "I will. I love you guys," she said as Luke gave her a kiss. "See you next week."

  We followed her to the door and waved to Rebecca, who was waiting patiently in the car while Mum loaded her luggage. Mum may worry, but I noticed the gleeful look in her eyes as she waved us goodbye. I blew her an over exaggerated kiss as the car pulled away from the curb, figuring she was really going to enjoy this week away.

  * * *

  The rain forest of Kauai did not disappoint. It was stunning.

  The trees were tall, the air was humid, and the birds were loud. There was a different feel inside a rain forest. It was almost therapeutic. The farther into it you got, the farther away the real world felt.

  For a while we followed a well-worn path that was open to the public, the gravel quickly giving way to dirt. Alani told us that at times this path was popular with tourists from the resort, as it was mentioned in a brochure of most popular hikes. Apparently if you stayed on it for about ten minutes, you would reach a small waterfall visitors loved to photograph. Today though, the path seemed quiet.

  "Is that where we're going?" I asked.

  "No. We'll leave the path and make our way to an area only known by locals," she explained.

  Her dog Roxy ran ahead as Alani led the way, followed by Luke and then me. About ten minutes in, I could hear the sounds of running water as Alani veered off the path, and the terrain quickly became more difficult to navigate, the noise of the insects getting louder—we were deep in their territory now. Occasionally Roxy would disappear into the tall grass, the swaying of the long reeds as she moved the only indication of where she was. Alani would whistle for her, and she would soon come running back, her tongue hanging and her eyes shining.

  Since I'd become a surf instructor, my fitness had improved, but I was still slightly out of breath as I climbed over the rocky path not meant for tourists. None of us were talking. Alani concentrated on the path, leading us to our destination.

  We silently crossed a stream, the tourist path long forgotten, moving deeper into the forest, the muddy soil often slippery under my feet. As we walked, the trees got denser, and our path disappeared. I really hoped Alani knew her way out of here, because I didn't stand a chance. A flutter of panic settled in my belly with that thought. What if I lost sight of her? Would she know how to track me? Did cell phones get reception this far into the forest? I pulled mine from the pocket of my shorts and checked. Nope, no signal. I sighed and looked at Alani, her confidence settling my anxiety slightly. I just had to make sure I didn't lose her and I'd be fine.

  "Coconut Cove is only ten minutes' walk that way," she explained, breaking our silence. She pointed to a small stream just visible through the undergrowth. "This inlet is salt water, but it's mixed with the fresh water that comes off the volcano. When it rains, the water makes its way into a lagoon and then works its way down here."

  "Isn't Kauai known to be one of the wettest places on the planet?" I asked, wiping the sweat from the back of my neck.

  "Yes. But not around here, not this low it's not. The waterfall will be flowing though."

  It wasn't much longer before the undergrowth started to lessen and the path became wider and rockier. Alani checked her surroundings. Roxy checked Alani. Other than that, they both generally seemed to know where they were going.

  "My uncle Talal lives at Coconut Cove, and we swam at this lagoon a lot as kids," she explained. "It's so beautiful. You're going to love it."

  Her grin was infectious, and I almost forgot about the burning sensation as my legs strained to keep up the pace.

  "I'm not surprised that no one really comes here," commented Luke as he negotiated his way over a fallen tree.

  "I told you it was difficult to get to," she replied.

  "When was the last time you were here?" I asked.

  "A good ten years ago."

  As we climbed over another large fallen tree, the sound of the birds and insects was drowned out by the sound of running water.

  "The lagoon's not far," explained Alani.

  A few minutes later we made our way through a narrow opening of dark moss-covered rock and were confronted with the extraordinary sight of the lagoon.

  "Whoa!" I whispered.

  Luke whistled.

  Roxy ran ahead and immediately jumped into the water.

  Alani smiled, taking in a deep breath and releasing it slowly.

  We moved to stand side by side, admiring the deep emerald-colored water. The waterfall, approximately 40 feet high, cascaded over rocks, creating a curtain of water. The trees surrounding it were lush, tall, and surreal.

  "I don't know about you, but I'm keen on a swim," yelled Alani over the noise of the water. She slipped out of her shorts, showing us her bikini bottoms. She then laughed and waded into the water after Roxy. Luke followed her.

  As I joined them, I gave a contented sigh, the cool water refreshing after the long, hot hike. I flipped onto my back as Roxy doggy-paddled circles around me, a stick clenched firmly in her teeth. I wrestled it from her and threw it across the water for her to chase.

  "She'll have you doing that all day," Alani said, laughing at Roxy's joyous grin.

  For the next hour or so, we swam and laughed and listened as Alani recounted the stories of the adventures she and her brothers had in and around the lagoon. By the time that she declared we should go and visit the petrified tree, the sun had moved high above the trees.

  "Where's Roxy disappeared to?" asked Alani, her smile turning into a frown. Roxy had left the water about fifteen minutes earlier and had disappeared into the shrub.

  "She's probably found something that smells good enough to eat," commented Luke. "Which reminds me, I brought some snacks with me if anyone's hungry."

  That was a stupid question. I was always hungry.

  Stepping out of the water and using my hands to dry myself, I looked around for Luke's backpack.

  "Where did you leave it?" I asked as he and Alani too made their way out of the water.

  "Ummm, somewhere near those rocks over there," he commented, pointing. He stepped in front of Alani and pulled her close for a kiss.

  I left them to it and went in search for his bag. Surely he hadn't left it too far away. But then as I looked around, I real
ized that we'd drifted while in the water. Spotting my bright yellow top lying on a rock a good ten meters or so from where I was standing, I tiptoed my way towards it.

  On my way I found Luke's bag. Even though it looked different somehow. I lifted it in the air. "Luke, is this yours?" I called.

  He turned towards me. "Well who else's would be here," he replied, scoffing at me.

  I shrugged, thinking that I really needed to pay more attention, and unzipped it.

  Pulling out an iPad, a notebook, and a bottle of water, and leaving it all on the rock next to me, I searched for the snacks that Luke said he'd brought. Only when the bag was empty did I give up and call him.

  "Okay. I can't find it," I called.

  He was busy smooching with Alani and seemed to not care whether I found food or not.

  "You're going to have to give me a clue."

  Turning to me and shaking his head, his look said a thousand words. He thought I was an annoyance.

  Thankfully though, he moved towards me. Only when he stopped, he frowned and announced, "That's not mine."

  Okay, so I wasn't completely stupid.

  Alani stepped up behind him. "Well whose is it?" she asked, looking at everything I had pulled out of it.

  Luke took the bag from me and searched the pockets, pulling out a wallet. Opening it and finding a driver's license, his jaw tensed and irritation flashed through his eyes. He turned the license to show us, and the face of Ryan Hobson looked back at me from the photo.

  I gasped as the sound of Roxy barking echoed over the lagoon.

  "Roxy!" called Alani, spinning to face the direction the sound had come from. "Roxy?" she called again. Alani put her fingers to her lips and gave an ear-piercing whistle. Her eyebrows knitted together as we waited for Roxy to come running. She didn't come.

  Woof, woof! Her bark was sharp and fast.

  "Something's wrong," said Alani quietly.

  "Maybe she found a rat," I said, shivering at the thought.

  "Maybe she found Ryan," stated Luke, sighing and pushing the driver's license back into the wallet and dropping everything into the backpack.

  "How would he have found his way out here?" asked Alani, her irritation showing as her frown deepened. "Roxy! Roxy!" she called, straining to hear the direction the sound came from.