Lethal Tide

by Beth Prentice

  * * *

  An hour later the only plan we'd decided on was to go back to the forest and look for Ryan's backpack. If we found it, we would give it to Detective Ray—right after we searched it first. Personally, I was hoping Ryan had many photos of the journal on the iPad I'd seen. Wouldn't that make life easier?

  "We need to look deeper into the treasure," I said, my stomach grumbling as I spoke.

  "Sam, I really don't believe it's true," said Alani patiently.

  "But Ryan had the journal."

  "So?"

  "Well…do you believe it stated where the treasure was?" I pressed.

  Alani shrugged. "I guess so. The thing that bothers me is that it was so long ago. That treasure could have been found years ago."

  "Doesn't your family own that land?" asked Luke.

  "Yes."

  "Then wouldn't someone in your family know?"

  Alani looked thoughtful. "Maybe I need to talk to my uncle Talal. If anyone knows, he will."

  I was happy with that.

  "I'm hungry," I complained, my stomach grumbling. "Is it okay if I make a sandwich?"

  Casey pushed his chair back and stood. "It's 7 p.m. already," he said, rubbing his flat stomach. "I'll see what I've got, and we'll make some dinner."

  He moved to the refrigerator, opening the door and leaning on it, peering inside. "I've got eggs," he announced. "I can whip up some omelets?"

  Sounded good to me. "I'll give you hand," I said standing.

  Luke gave a bark of laughter. "You? Sam, you burn water," Luke teased. "Casey, do not let her near your pan, mate. She'll kill it."

  "I will not! I'm a very good cook!" I yelled indignantly. Okay, I may not be in Luke's league, but I'd kept myself alive for years before moving home.

  "Explain what happened to my frypan," he challenged.

  I blinked, remembering exactly how I'd had to cough up several hundred of my hard-earned dollars to replace the pan I killed. But really, who has pans that expensive?

  I chose not to respond and moved to help Casey. "What can I do?" I asked him.

  He looked at Luke and then turned to me, smiling.

  "You can stand there and talk to me," he said.

  Humph. He knew exactly how I'd burnt the pan so badly it needed throwing away. I hated my brother being best friends with my boyfriend.

  The upside to banishment from the vicinity of a pan was I got to watch Casey work.

  He looked relaxed as he mixed the eggs in a bowl with some milk, adding many ingredients I wouldn't have thought to use. Maybe Luke was right. Maybe I wasn't a very good cook.

  As he put it all on the heat, the omelet smelled delicious. I leaned against the counter, placing my hands behind me and accidentally knocking over a pile of papers.

  Bending to pick it all up, I saw a black USB flash drive, looking just like the one I'd found at The Lava Pot.

  "Where did you find that?" asked Casey. Luke and Alani were almost nose-to-nose, having a deep and meaningful conversation we couldn't hear.

  "It was just amongst this paperwork. Sorry, I didn't mean to knock it over."

  "I should be thanking you. I was supposed to have a look at it and see if I need to send it back to Australia, but couldn't remember where I'd put it." He shrugged.

  "So have you looked on it?" I asked.

  "No."

  "Can I have a look now?" I had nothing else to do. Casey knew his way around a kitchen very well. Good to know.

  "Sure. My laptop's on the table in front of the couch."

  I took the flash drive and went looking for the laptop.

  It was exactly where Casey had said it was, but it was buried under a pile of surfing magazines. Casey's idea of filing was obviously to stack everything up. I flicked through one of the magazines before putting it on the floor, thinking I would ask if I could borrow it. There were some awesome stories in it, and apart from that, world-renowned surfer Kelly Slater was just good to look at.

  Retrieving the laptop, I flipped it open, waiting for the welcome screen to appear.

  "Casey, I need your password," I said, standing, ready to go to him so he could enter it.

  "It's Samantha," he called back.

  I stopped dead in my tracks. First, because he trusted me with his password. Secondly, his password was me. Me!

  I gulped and looked at him, unable to find the words.

  He smiled. "I always use the names of things I love."

  He loved me? He'd never said that to me before. The palpitation I got took my breath away.

  I swallowed the emotion threatening to clog my throat, willing my heartbeat back to normal. "Oh…sure. Okay," I said, returning his smile. To be honest, I was going to have a hard time wiping the smile off my face from now on.

  I sat back down with my back to everyone and typed in my name, feeling a buzz starting in my belly. Casey loved me. Well, he loved me enough to make me his password. Waiting for the home screen to spring to life, I put the laptop on the table and rushed to him, pulling him in for a big kiss and squeezing him.

  "I love you too," I whispered. I said it quietly. So quiet I wasn't sure if he'd heard me. But I said it. That was huge for me. I'd never said it to anyone other than my mum and Luke, and the love I felt for Casey was different from that. It was like nothing I had ever experienced.

  I then turned and moved back to the laptop so he couldn't see the tears of joy that threatened to spill over my lashes.

  "Hey, Sam," called Luke as I pushed the flash drive into the port and waited for the icon to appear on the screen.

  "Yeah?" I called. Emotion caused my voice to shake, so I coughed to clear it.

  "I wanted to talk to you about leaving doors open. If we believe there's a killer running around Aloha Lagoon, it's not safe to leave doors open anymore."

  "What are you talking about?" I asked him, thinking it was a random comment for him to make.

  "Doors. Don't leave them open anymore. It may not be safe."

  I turned to look at him over the back of the couch, my face blank. "I don't leave doors open," I stated.

  "Yes, you do! This afternoon when I got back to the house," he explained, slightly exasperated.

  I nodded, encouraging him to please fill me in.

  "The back door was open. You can't leave doors open anymore. Even if you're in the kitchen, lock the door, okay? You too, Alani," he said, taking her hand.

  She nodded.

  I stared, my blood starting to run cold.

  "What…what do you mean, the door was open?"

  "The door! The back door. The one to the house. It was wide open. Don't do that anymore."

  Luke really thought I was an idiot.

  "I didn't do it then! You did. You opened it." At least I thought he had.

  "No I didn't," he said. "When I walked up the back deck, the door was open. You were in the kitchen, and the vase was on the floor." He frowned at me as I shook my head.

  "No. Well, yes…the last bit is right. But I didn't open the door."

  Just then an icon popped up on the screen of the laptop announcing that the computer had sensed the flash drive. I flicked my eyes to it, my mind reeling. A file written in bold letters shone bright, and the word Casey flashed.

  "Ummm…Casey…" I pointed to the laptop, my mind spinning. I'd been expecting a file filled with holiday snaps.

  "Are you okay?" he asked, moving towards me, concern creasing his forehead.

  I wasn't sure, as Luke's words were still reeling, so I just continued to point.

  Luke and Alani got up and joined Casey, moving to see what I was pointing at.

  When they reached the laptop, they all stood silently.

  "Whoa," said Casey. "I wasn't expecting that."

  "What is it?" asked Alani.

  "It's the flash drive I found in Ryan's glass at The Lava Pot."

  Casey's jaw tensed as he stared at the screen.

  "Should I open it?" I asked, unsure of what to do, all thoughts of the open
back door long forgotten.

  Casey shook his head. "Leave it. I'll look at it later." He cleared his throat. "The omelet's ready. Come and eat before it gets cold." His mouth set into a firm line, and his shoulders tensed.

  "But don't you want to know what's on it?" I asked.

  "Sure," he replied, flipping the omelet onto a plate. "Just not right now."

  He moved to the cooktop, placing the pan into it, turning his back to me. That meant I couldn't see his expression. Instead I noticed Alani as she shrugged, obviously as perplexed by his reluctance as I was.

  "We can eat while we check it out," I suggested.

  "I said I'd look at it later."

  "But what if there's something on there that pertains to the murder?" I continued, unperturbed by his attitude.

  "Yeah," added Luke. "If Ryan left this for you, it means that he knew you were there prior to entering The Lava Pot," added Luke.

  Casey looked between the three of us. "Maybe it has nothing to do with the murder," he commented quietly. "Maybe it's personal."

  His eyes flicked to me as he spoke, and my belly flipped once again.

  "Only one way to find out," said Luke.

  Casey's eyes conveyed every emotion he felt, and right now there was an internal debate going on. A debate that I really wished I knew about.

  "I guess so," he said, quietly. His jaw tensed as he accepted the laptop from me, sat at the table, and clicked on the file.

  I watched over his shoulder as he clicked a few keys.

  "Do you know his password?" I asked.

  "No," Casey replied. "I'm guessing." Tapping a few more keys, he sighed loudly every time the message incorrect password flashed in front of us.

  Casey looked thoughtful.

  "What have you been trying?" asked Alani, sitting opposite him.

  "I've tried names of his family members and his date of birth."

  "Well it would have to be something that Ryan was sure you knew. Something very important to both of you," said Luke, sitting alongside her.

  Casey stared at Luke for a beat and then gulped. Turning his attention back to the keyboard, he once again started to type.

  V e r o n i c a.

  The file flashed opened, revealing a bunch of documents. Casey started to scroll through them.

  "Who's Veronica?" I asked.

  "Just someone I used to know."

  My belly clenched as the muscle in his jaw twitched. She was someone important.

  "Do you think Ryan came here because of you?" Luke asked Casey.

  "No. I think he came here for the treasure. That's something he would do."

  Casey's face closed off emotion. I'd never seen this side of him. The man I knew was happy and full of life.

  I bit my lip. "What are the files?"

  Casey had clicked on a couple and was quickly scrolling through them.

  "They seem to be names and contact details. Except this one," he said, slowing the cursor down and looking closer at the screen. After a minute of studying its contents, he said, "This one's a ledger showing debts and repayments. Ryan's name is in here. Looks like he was in debt for a lot of money to the owner of the ledger, a man named Stephen. It also shows us who else owed Stephen a lot of money."

  I did a quick scan of the document. "Who are these people?"

  "No idea. What interests me is why Ryan left me this."

  "Do you think he left it with you in case something happened to him?" asked Alani.

  If that was the case, then Ryan was a smart man. Something very bad did happen to him.

  "Maybe. I just don't know what I'm supposed to do with it."

  "I'd start by handing it to Detective Ray. One of those names could be the killer," she continued.

  "Look at this," said Casey, stopping on a file. "It's an email conversation between Ryan and Stephen. It looks like Stephen was his boss."

  "Where did he work?"

  "It doesn't say."

  "What does it say?"

  "Basically, that he knows Ryan took the journal. If Ryan finds the treasure and does the right thing by giving Stephen all proceeds and credit, then Ryan's family and friends stay safe, and Stephen will wipe the debt Ryan had with him. If not—look out."

  I shuddered. "You're not considered family or friend, are you?"

  "No," replied Casey. "Not anymore."

  "Was the email sent before he came to Aloha Lagoon or after?" asked Luke.

  Casey shrugged. "It was dated a week before he walked into The Lava Pot."

  "How do you think Ryan got involved with someone like this Stephen?" I asked.

  "Ryan was always into things he shouldn't have been," Casey explained. "He was always looking for a quick dollar, a moneymaking scheme. That was the attraction with finding lost treasures. He thought he could make it rich that way. He wasn't known for his hard work."

  "Stephen must have hired him for a reason."

  "Yeah, well Ryan had a gift with words. He could sell ice to the Eskimo's, as the saying goes."

  I thought over what Casey was saying. "But even if he'd found the treasure, surely it would have taken a very long time to recover it. I mean, it was buried, and don't they unbury those kinds of things very carefully?"

  "Yes, but if the treasure was real and Ryan honored his agreement, then Stephen would become very rich," said Luke.

  Casey stood and started to pace the room, thinking.

  "Does the file say who Stephen is?" I asked, hopeful.

  "No, unfortunately not. But I'll need to spend some more time going over every document in it."

  "Why did Ryan give you this file and not leave it with someone in Sydney?"

  Casey stopped pacing and turned to me. "I'm guessing, but when we lived together in Sydney, we always had each other's backs. Ryan knew that no matter what, he could trust me to help him. Maybe he thought that if he got into trouble here, I'd help him."

  I thought of the man with the bulging biceps.

  "Do you think Stephen would have sent someone here to watch Ryan?"

  "Quite possibly. I don't know a lot about the sort of business Stephen is into, but it would make sense he would send someone to make sure Ryan was doing the right thing by him."

  "So maybe Ryan saw someone in the bar that night, and he recognized him as one of Stephen's crew. Do you think that's why he left the flash drive where he did?"

  "It makes sense. He couldn't give it to me in front of anyone, as he would have been seen."

  "He did say to me he had something he needed to talk to you about. But why would he drag you into this now?" I asked.

  "Ryan always thought of himself first. He never thought of the consequences for anyone else. If he needed help, he would have expected me to have helped."

  "Would you have helped him?"

  Casey looked thoughtful, his eyes clouding with emotion. I wasn't sure if he even knew the answer to my question.

  "We need to get this to Detective Ray," said Alani. "He can track down who Stephen is, and then he'll leave you alone."

  "I will give it to him. But it doesn't prove anything. I think we need to do some digging into Stephen and find out why Travis is in Aloha Lagoon. His name's not in the file, but he's here for a reason."

  "And we still need to find Ryan's backpack," said Luke. "It might still hold some vital information."

  "You will take that file to Detective Ray in the morning, won't you?" I asked.

  Casey nodded and grinned. "Right after I copy it, I will."

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  "Sam! I'm so glad I caught you," called Juls Kekoa, running down the sand towards me. She was wearing her resort uniform of polo shirt and shorts, and her dark hair was pulled back in a very efficient pony tail and shining in the afternoon sun. Juls was a health nut. She would never eat anything unhealthy, which was why her hair shone so much and her skin looked radiant all the time.

  I put my board down to talk to her, rethinking my eating plan.

  "Hi, Juls."


  "I wanted to run a roster change past you," she said quickly. "Now, I've had a request for a private lesson with you," she continued, hardly stopping for a breath.

  "Sure. I just hope this one's better than the last private lesson I did." I shivered at the memory. "Brad sure was happy to send that one my way."

  "Well, Brad's not too happy about this one."

  I frowned, flipping my sunglasses to the top of my head. "Really? Brad hates teaching kids."

  "This one's not a kid."

  "What do you mean? I'm the kids' surfing instructor." I'd never taught an adult before, and I wasn't sure I wanted to start now.

  "Yes, but this man asked for you specifically. I tried to talk him into going with Brad, but he insisted. Said he'd been watching you and thought you'd have the patience needed to teach him to surf. If it wasn't you, it was no one."

  Oh geez. That didn't sound good.

  "When's he booked in?"

  She looked at her watch. "At three. He's replacing your lesson with Sebastian."

  "What? What happened to Sebastian?" I asked. I was actually growing quite fond of Sebastian. What he lacked in skill he made up for in enthusiasm.

  "His mom booked last minute on one of Gabby's tours, so he's rescheduled for tomorrow morning."

  "Juls, tomorrow is my day off," I said.

  "Yeah. I wanted to talk to you about that."

  I sighed. This was not the start to the weekend I wanted. It was rare for me to get the weekend off, and I had plans to revisit the rain forest with the others. I had a backpack and a treasure to find. We'd wanted to go yesterday, but work commitments prevented it. Looked like we'd have to delay our departure to later in the day.

  "You can still have the afternoon off. I just need you to do this in the morning for me. Sebastian and his mom are really good clients of the resort. I can't let them down."

  Juls could be feisty at times. I didn't want to get on her wrong side.

  "Sure," I said, huffing.

  "Great. Thanks. Are we still on for tonight?"

  I nodded. "Gabby said to meet at the Loco Moco around six."

  "Fantastic." She turned to jog back up the sand. Seriously, the woman never walked anywhere. "Oh, Sam," she said, jogging in place. "Thanks. I really mean it."

  After she'd gone, I looked at my watch. I had an hour and a half to kill before that lesson. I should have asked her the guy's name, but I'd forgotten. Oh well, I guessed he'd find me okay, and I could ask him then.