Terrors of the High Seas

Chapter

Twenty-one

KERRY STRETCHED OUT her legs, and then propped them up on the railing of the porch outside their room. The day had dawned bright and sunny, and she had decided to spend the time waiting for breakfast by attempting a little poetry. Dar was off picking up something at the hotel’s sundry shop, and she had a few minutes to simply look out over the harbor and revel in the gorgeous view.

And it was truly gorgeous. High up on the slope as they were, the harbor stretched out below her and curved to either side, cupping a crystal aqua circle of water with just the lightest visible chop on it. Around her, she could hear the rustle of trees, the cry of gulls, sounds from the harbor, but very little traffic or bustle. The air mostly bore the scent of foliage and salt air, and Kerry felt a sense of peaceful well-being as she relaxed in the warm sunlight.

With a smile, she returned her attention to the book balanced on her lap and the heavy, injected-ink writing pen Dar had given her. The pen was hardwood, and warm from her hand, and it balanced well in her grip as she flexed her fingers around it.

Thoughtfully, she regarded the page and then added two more lines to the several already there. A knock on the door, however, interrupted her.

With a resigned sigh, Kerry put down her book and went inside, going to the door and peeking through the eyehole. “Oh, crap.” Seeing the female half of DeSalliers’ gumshoe team outside, she considered not answering it. Then she figured she was likely to get more info from the woman than the woman was going to get from her, so she opened the door. “Yes?” Her tone made no pretense of being friendly, and the woman took a half step back.

“Oh, hello, Kerry,” the woman recovered. “I was hoping to talk to you.”

“Why?” Kerry asked bluntly.

“Just because I think we can help each other.”

Kerry had to wonder briefly if stupidity was contagious.

Perhaps Christen had spent a little too much time with Bob. “Help each other do what?” she inquired. “So far, all you people have Terrors of the High Seas 223

done is help me get a migraine.”

Christen sighed. “Look, can I just come in and talk?”

“No,” Kerry replied. “I’m not sure what it’s going to take to get across the fact that we don’t want anything to do with you, your boss, your stupid mission, or the people you represent. I’m out of options. Should I hire a flying banner plane?”

“The fact is, honey, you are involved.” Christen’s attitude changed, became harder. “So either you let me in and give me what I want, or—”

“Or what?” Kerry found it almost funny. “Are you going to pull a gun on me?”

“No.”

“Are you going to make like Jackie Chan and start yowling Japanese haiku while striking kung fu poses?”

Christen didn’t answer.

“Are you going to try to hit me?” Kerry’s nose crinkled up in amusement. “Threaten me with a lawsuit? What?”

“You think this is a game, don’t you?”

“Hey, you’re the one making the threats.” Kerry laughed, and then got serious herself, jabbing the air in Christen’s direction.

“You listen to me, you half-baked excuse for a high-priced, snoopy lackey. You’d better just back off and go back where you came from. Stop messing with us.”

“Or?” Christen threw the comment back at her.

“Or I’ll call the president of your agency and file a complaint of harassment without cause,” Kerry replied.

Christen laughed. “You think he’ll care?”

“When he gets a call from the executive VP of the company where he gets all his data? Yeah.” Kerry smiled. “He’ll care,” she assured the now not-smiling Christen. “And if he doesn’t listen to me, he’ll listen to Dar.” She watched Christen’s face. “Tch… didn’t do your homework, did you?”

“Your inquiry came back totally negative.”

“Not surprising.” Kerry smiled. “Try it with a last name of Stuart.” She started to close the door. “You, on the other hand, provided us with a lot of information. You and your little partner really should work a little harder, you know? That last job of yours was a real disaster.”

Christen had turned brick red.

“So don’t you mess with me, lady,” Kerry warned her seriously. “You’re an amateur. It offends me that you actually get paid to be an amateur. My Labrador Retriever would do better as a detective, and as far as I’m concerned, you’re just a flashy poser.

Scoot.”

She slammed the door with a sense of guilty satisfaction.

“Jerk.” She turned and started to walk away, then stopped as a 224 Melissa Good knock came at the door again. With a growl, she whirled and yanked open the door, a further stream of invective ready and waiting. Which she swallowed when she found herself facing a doe-eyed, uniformed, room service waitress. “Oh.” She stepped back.

“Hi. C’mon in.”

Christen was nowhere to be seen. Kerry allowed herself a moment of regret for her outburst, wondering belatedly if she shouldn’t have just let the woman in to have her say. Maybe she could have learned something from her.

Ah well. Kerry watched the waitress set the tray down. Too late now. She walked over and took the check, reviewing it and then signing. “Everything looks great. Thanks. ”

The woman smiled shyly. “You are welcome. You are good customers,” she said. “So many bring sandwiches with them, just make a mess.”

Kerry grinned, her good humor restored. “Well, we’ve got sandwiches on the boat, but one of the nice things about visiting other places is getting to sample their culture and foods. You can’t do that with peanut butter.”

The woman nodded agreement, then slipped to the door, backing in surprise when it opened inward to admit Dar. “Oh.”

Dar regarded the woman with a raised eyebrow, then moved aside to let her out. She closed the door after her then walked over to Kerry, setting a colorful, print bag on the chair. “Hi.” Her blue eyes went to the table. “Looks like I’m just in time.”

“Yes, you are,” Kerry agreed, lifting the covers and revealing some intriguing dishes involving eggs, fruit, native spices, and seafood. “You just missed our friend Christen.”

“No, I didn’t.” Dar sniffed appreciatively. “She crashed into me on her way storming out of the building.” She sampled a bit of papaya. “Mm.”

“I think I pissed her off.”

“Good. I made it worse. She fell on her ass,” Dar replied.

“What’d she want?”

Kerry sat down “Unfortunately, I have no idea. I was too busy insulting her to find out.” She gave Dar a mildly regretful look. “In hindsight, maybe that wasn’t such a good idea. She wanted to talk to me, said she could help me out.”

“Out of what?” Dar asked, setting her napkin aside and pouring Kerry some passion fruit juice.

“Well, that’s what I don’t know,” Kerry said. “I told her she was a fraud and sent her packing, actually. I told her if she didn’t leave us alone, we’d call her boss.”

“Ah.” Dar investigated her fluffy shrimp and pepper egg cup.

“Well, I don’t really blame you,” she admitted. “I’m just waiting for it to be nine a.m. over in the States before I put in a call to Wharton.

Terrors of the High Seas 225

Maybe after that, they’ll just disappear.” She opened a crusty brown roll and put some butter on it. “Damn, these people are a pain in my ass.”

Kerry slowly chewed a piece of star fruit. “What do you think he’ll do?” she asked. “Wharton, I mean? From the background information we pulled on him, he seems pretty rough. Is there a chance this is going to backfire on us, Dar?”

“Eh.” Dar put a bit of her eggs on her roll. “I was thinking about that. Maybe I should keep it anonymous instead of telling him who I am.”

“Hm,” Kerry murmured. “Just tell him you’re out here, and you found something? Will that be enough for him to call off DeSalliers and the wonder twins?”

In the light of day, Dar had been wondering the same thing.

Her plan last night had seemed simple and straightforward, but now she was starting to have doubts. “I don’t know,” she answered honestly. “Maybe I’d feel better if I actually had something under my belt before I call him.”

“You want to visit the government offices first?” Kerry asked.

“Maybe we can dig up some stuff there, and you can just fax it or something. Maybe that’ll be enough.”

And then what? “Okay, that sounds good,” Dar agreed. “You know, Ker, I was thinking—what if the old man was nuts?”

“The thought had crossed my mind,” Kerry admitted. “But leaving your fortune to charity doesn’t sound very nutty to me, Dar. If he’d left it to Greenpeace after spending a life trolling a net, maybe, but…I checked out the charities. Fisherman’s Home, local firefighters in Boston…a lot of community stuff,” she said. “So I don’t know—maybe he had reason to cut the kids out.”

Dar selected a strawberry, took a bite, and then offered the rest to Kerry. “Money sometimes ruins a family,” she observed. “It changes everything, doesn’t it?”

Kerry didn’t answer immediately. “I guess it does,” she said.

“In my family, it was kind of taken for granted.” She sounded a little surprised. “No one really thought about the money part of it.

It was the power that attracted the attention.” A faint chuckle emerged from her throat. “You know something? They’re executing my father’s will this week, and I never even thought twice about being cut out of it.”

“What would you do if you weren’t?” Dar asked curiously. “I mean, if you found out you were getting something?”

“Donate it to charity,” Kerry answered instantly. “I don’t…want anything from him, from them.” She studied her fork.

“I have everything I’ve ever wanted or needed in you.”

Dar reached over and clasped Kerry’s hand. “Ker, you know I feel the same way. But don’t be shocked if you end up with 226 Melissa Good something in that will after all.” She spoke softly. “But it might not be money.”

Kerry was briefly silent, then she lifted her eyes and met Dar’s.

“Do you know something, or are you just guessing?” she asked quietly.

Dar shook her head. “Just guessing.”

“Or is it because you have the father you do, that you cut mine some slack?” Kerry rested her chin on her hand. “People are bastards, Dar. Fatherhood doesn’t grant them nobility if they didn’t already have it in them.”

“True,” Dar said. “But most people aren’t either totally good or totally bad. You never know.” She eased off the subject, seeing Kerry’s discomfort with it. “At any rate, I think a visit to town is probably a good idea. I’ll hold off contacting Wharton until we’ve got more data available to us.”

Kerry wasn’t quite ready to abandon the conversation, though.

“Do you really think my father had redeeming qualities?” she asked Dar seriously.

“I think he was your father, and that’s enough of a redeeming quality for me,” Dar replied.

Kerry sighed. “I used to think that,” she said. “Maybe part of me still wants to believe it. But…if I believe that, then it makes it all the more difficult for me to accept what I did.”

“Mm.” Dar chafed Kerry’s fingers with her own.

“So it’s easier for me to believe otherwise,” Kerry went on. “I’d rather hate him than hate myself.” She sighed heavily. “So, frankly, I hope I get a sack of coal if I get anything, Dar.”

Ah. “I gotcha.” Dar squeezed her hand.

“Maybe after some time’s passed, I’ll feel differently. But right now, I can’t deal with it.”

“Okay.”

Kerry looked at her. “That’s pretty chickenshit, isn’t it?”

“No.”

“Yes, it is,” Kerry said with a wry chuckle. “But you know, that’s the first time I’ve been able to talk about that since he died, so maybe it’s okay to be a chickenshit for a while.” And it was, she realized. It was as though she’d taken a step back and gained at least a tiny measure of perspective. Was it part of some healing process? Maybe. Kerry felt obscurely better all of a sudden, and she picked up her fork and went after the remainder of her breakfast.

“I’ve got to go to the bank and get that cash out,” Dar suddenly remembered. “Damn, I forgot about that.” She took a mouthful of eggs and chewed them. “Get that done before we go hunting for information.”

“I can’t believe you got Bud and Charlie to agree to let you do that.” Kerry smiled. “I’m glad you did, though.”

Terrors of the High Seas 227

“Well, it’s going to be a loan. They won’t let me get away with giving it to them as a gift,” Dar said. “But the terms’ll be a hell of a lot better than they had.” She shook her head. “Want to come with me?”

“You bet your butt I do.” Kerry finished her fruit juice and stood up. “Be right back.”

Dar watched her duck into the bathroom, then concentrated on clearing her plate as the sound of running water filtered through to her. The decision to do some data mining before confronting their putative adversary was, she thought, a good one. They might find some facts. Dar liked facts. She put them in her pocket and used them like darts, flipping them out and nailing people with them when they least expected it. Facts were good.

Dar drained her coffee cup. She didn’t mind bluffing, but bluffing was always easier when you had something to fall back on.

She stood and wiped her lips, then dropped her napkin on the table.

Her backpack stood mutely in the corner. She went over and lifted it, then slipped it over her shoulders. Kerry came out and joined her at the door and they left the room, heading off to find some facts.

Or some trouble. Or maybe both.

DAR HELD OPEN the door to the Chase Bank, waiting for Kerry to enter and then following her inside. The bank was on the way to the police station and courthouse, so they’d decided to stop there first. Dar pulled off her sunglasses and looked around, then walked across to a small desk with a receptionist behind it.

“Good morning.” The receptionist greeted them with a professional smile. “What can I do for you ladies today?”

“I have a wire transfer I need to pick up,” Dar explained. “It was generated last night.”

“Sure.” The woman glanced behind her to a single desk with a young man at it. “Mr. Steel? Are you free?”

The man looked up. “Yes, I am.”

Dar and Kerry walked over and sat down at the man’s desk.

Dar removed her driver’s license from her wallet and handed it to him. “I requested a wire transfer last night,” she repeated. “From Florida.”

Mr. Steel took the license and put it in the desk, then typed Dar’s name into his computer. He waited, then nodded. “Yes, Ms.

Roberts, we have it.” He leaned closer to the screen. “For… ten thousand American?”

“Yep.”

“Would you like that as a draft, ma’am?”

A draft. Dar considered her memory of Cheapside Guido and sighed inwardly. “Cash,” she replied. “Gimme it in hundreds.”

228 Melissa Good The bank officer frowned. “Ma’am, it’s not a good idea to carry that much currency on your person,” he objected. “Really.”

“I know,” Dar agreed. “But I won’t be carrying it long, hopefully.”

The man still didn’t like it, but he tapped in a request and hit enter. “Okay, let me just get that for you.” He stood and walked to a locked door, keying in a code and disappearing.

Kerry looked around at the empty bank with its one remaining teller. “Quiet.”

“Mm.” Dar leaned back. The bank’s outer door opened and two men came in, bypassing the receptionist and heading for the teller.

They were tall, and there was something vaguely familiar about one of them that set Dar’s mind to itching.

The man was dressed in typical island fashion—surfer-type shorts and a loose print shirt. He was wearing deck sandals and a red baseball cap, and carrying a worn bank deposit bag.

Dar frowned. A lot of people on the island looked just like this guy. So what was it? The walk? The attitude…

“Dar.” Kerry’s voice broke into her concentration.

“Yeah?”

Kerry lowered her voice to a whisper. “I think that’s one of the pirates that attacked us yesterday.”

Oh. Duh. “Guess that’s why he seemed familiar,” Dar whispered back.

They watched the man push several things across to the teller, seemingly relaxed and at ease. The teller took them and processed them, smiling at the man, apparently familiar with him.

“What are we going to do?” Kerry murmured. “If we recognized him, he’ll probably recognize us.”

Dar gauged the distance between them. “He didn’t on the way in,” she said. “Let’s just turn around and see what happens.”

Kerry shifted in her chair and looked at Dar. “Okay, but what are we going to do after that?”

“Maybe we can find out what his name is.”

“And report him to the police?” Kerry glanced quickly behind her, then back. “Dar, he’s obviously a known quantity here.”

“Uh huh.” Dar didn’t seem surprised.

The inner door opened and the bank officer reappeared. He was carrying a small box, and he looked around as he crossed back to his desk. His eyes fell on the two men. “Ah. Morning, Mr.

Chasiki.”

The man turned at his name and smiled, then his eyes slipped past the banker and focused on Dar’s face.

Uh oh. Dar thought fast, meeting his eyes briefly, then moving on, hoping she was projecting an air of profound disinterest. She’d seen the recognition as he looked at her.

Terrors of the High Seas 229

“Yeah, yeah,” the man answered the bank manager. “Great holiday, yeah?” His voice was tense.

“Very good, thanks.” The officer sat down and put the box in the center of his desk. He pulled over some paperwork and filled out a few forms. “All right, Ms. Roberts, let me just fill this out and you’ll be all set.”

“Thanks.” Dar rested her elbows on the desk and resisted the urge to turn and look at the pirate. Next to her, Kerry was leaning back with her arms folded, her back mostly toward the teller. The blonde woman looked tense, a furrow creasing her brow.

“Here you go. Please sign here” Mr. Steel indicated a space on the form. “I’ve made a copy of your driver’s license, and here’s that back.” He handed her the card.

Dar picked up the pen and studied the form, her ears cocked as she heard footsteps approaching them. They stopped just behind her, and she watched the officer’s eyes from the corner of her own, seeing them go up and over her shoulder curiously. She signed her name on the form.

“Something you need, sir?” the officer asked.

“Nah. Just thinking.” The pirate spoke from just behind them.

“Later.” The footsteps receded and the door opened, letting in the sound of wind and the street.

Dar pushed the paper back over to the officer. “There you go.”

She leaned back, feeling the tension relax from her shoulders.

“Always quiet like this here?”

Mr. Steel took the paper. “Oh, mostly,” he said. “Fridays, payday, it gets a little hectic.” He smiled, then looked curiously at Dar. “Beg your pardon, Ms. Roberts, but did you know Mr. Chasiki, the gentleman who was just here?”

Dar glanced Kerry’s way. Kerry’s eyes widened slightly and her pale brows lifted. “He seemed a little familiar,” she temporized.

“Why?”

“Oh, he was staring at you, and I was just wondering,” the officer said easily.

Dar turned and gazed at the closed door, then looked back at Mr. Steel. She shrugged. “Who is he?”

The banker shrugged back. “He’s known to be a ladies’ man,”

he said. “Bit of a rogue, but a generous one.” He handed over the box. “Here you go, Ms. Roberts. I hope you do take care and put this somewhere soon. It’s really not a good idea to be carrying it.”

Dar stood and lifted her backpack, then opened the box and transferred the bound stacks of bills to the pack. “Thanks for the warning.” She finished stashing the cash and zipped up the pack, handing him back the box. “Nice doing business with you.” She shouldered the knapsack, adjusting it around her shoulders and pulling the straps tight. “Ker?”

230 Melissa Good Kerry gave the officer a brief smile, rising and joining Dar as they headed for the door. She put a hand on her partner’s arm as they exited the bank, both of them looking left and right as the sunlight hit them. “Dar, that was creepy.”

“That was very creepy,” Dar acknowledged. “C’mon. I want to get hold of Bud and get rid of this cash before we do anything else.”

Her senses were jangling. “Last thing we need is for that Chasiki to follow us and hold us up.”

Kerry looked around nervously. “You really think he would?”

“I’d rather not find out.” Dar took out her cell phone and opened it. She dialed Bud’s number. After two rings, he picked up.

“Bud, it’s Dar.” Dar spoke into the receiver crisply. “Did you get hold of your friend?” She waited for the answer. “Good. We’re heading back to the hotel now.” She closed the phone and clipped it to her belt. “We’ll take care of that, then …”

“Seeing the pirate kinda throws a wrench into things, huh?”

Kerry asked. “At least we have his name now.”

“And he has mine,” Dar reminded her. “Kerry, I don’t know if going to the police here is a good idea.” She started walking back toward the hotel. “I just don’t know who we can trust. If we go to the cops and tell them, and they’re in on it, then what? They’re gonna want to protect him.”

Kerry sighed. “Yikes.”

Dar shook her head as they crossed the street and headed for the long climb up. They’d walked for just a few minutes when Dar heard footsteps behind them. She used an appreciative look around to glance behind her, and sure enough, two men were meandering up the slope after them. “Son of a bitch.”

Kerry looked. “Cripes,” she muttered. “Maybe they’re not following us, Dar. We could just be a little paranoid.”

True. Dar swerved, and the smell of coffee and hot dough hit her. She pulled Kerry into a shop they were passing and went over to the counter. “Two johnnycakes and two coffees, please.”

The man behind the counter handed both over readily, accepting Dar’s cash and giving her change. Dar picked up one of the cakes and handed Kerry the other, then took her coffee. She strolled casually to the entrance and leaned against it, waiting.

Kerry eased up behind her.

At first there was only silence. Then abruptly, the two men passed the shop, talking casually to each other and not giving Dar so much as a second glance.

Kerry released her held breath and took a bite of her cake.

“Mm,” she murmured.

“Good call,” Dar complimented quietly. “C’mon.”

They eased out of the shop and continued up the stepped street. “This would be a great morning workout,” Kerry Terrors of the High Seas 231

commented, almost dizzy with relief.

“Oh yeah,” Dar agreed. She finished her cake and dusted off her fingers, then took a sip of the coffee. “Ugh. Gross.” She stopped dead and looked for a garbage can.

“I was wondering when you’d realize you took it from there without any cream or sugar.” Kerry smiled. “I figured we were going to toss the stuff in those guys’ faces. I never dreamed you’d try to drink it.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Dar disposed of the offending beverage and resumed her climb. She was still uneasy, and the inn at the top of the hill seemed a very long way off. Three-quarters of the way up, she heard footsteps again. She glanced at Kerry, and they both looked around. Six men were coming up after them. They looked at each other. “Race ya,” Kerry murmured, increasing her pace to a jog.

Dar followed suit and they powered up the steps. They heard the men behind them speed up as well. Twenty more steps to go and they’d be at the inn level. Ten, and they heard the men catching up. Five, and Dar could hear the heavy breathing. Then they topped the steps and were in front of the inn. Dar spotted Bud waiting in front of the door for them and she headed in his direction, Kerry sticking to her like a flea on a dog.

The steps behind them stopped. Dar slowed her pace and risked a glance behind her, only to see the men clustered at the top, apparently in an argument. Bud watched the two women curiously as they approached, cocking his head as they pulled up next to him.

Bud looked past them to the men. “What’s up?”

“Tell you later,” Dar said. “Let’s go inside.”

Bud was staring over her shoulder, his eyes narrowed. Dar turned to look, but the six men were melting back down the stairs and were out of sight a moment later. She glanced back at Bud.

“You know those guys?”

Bud looked at her.

“Let’s go inside,” Dar repeated.

CHEAPSIDE GUIDO WAS waiting as they entered the lobby.

He spotted Bud and nudged the big gorilla he had with him, then his eyes fell on Dar. A disagreeable smile crossed his face as Dar, Kerry, and Bud reached them. “Bring your girlfriends? You switched sides, there, Buddy?”

“You want your money? Then shut up,” Bud replied gruffly. He indicated a small side room with a couple chairs in it.

“Oh, so now you’re telling me to shut up?” Guido snorted.

“You little horse’s ass.”

Dar was already very much on edge. Her temper was at the 232 Melissa Good breaking point, and for a moment she felt all better sense leave her as she stalked toward the nasty, greasy man. She’d only taken two steps when she felt a hand gripping her shirt from the back, and then an even firmer grip on the back of her shorts.

“He’s not worth it.” Kerry spoke in an almost normal tone.

“You’ll just get your hands dirty, and it’ll take a week to wash off the stench.”

Guido spun and looked at her, then tilted his head up and found Dar’s set, angry face confronting him. He looked like he very much wanted to laugh, but a second look convinced him to just walk into the room behind Bud. “Figures you have girls protecting your pansy ass.”

Bud went stone-faced. “You got the papers?”

“You got the money?” Guido tossed back at him. Bud looked at Dar. Guido turned. “Oh, right. Well, chickie, I don’t take no friggin’

Platinum cards.”

Dar studied him, then she unhitched the pack from her back and set it on the small table in the room. “You’re right,” she said to Kerry. “Definitely not worth it.” She pulled out several stacks of hundreds and tossed them at Guido. They hit him in the chest, and he grabbed at them. She pulled out three or four more stacks and chucked them as well.

“Hey!” Guido lost one and it bounced off the floor. “Cut that out, freak!”

Dar whipped the final two stacks at him. They hit him in the face. She turned her back on him and zipped up her bag, trying to let her raw nerves settle before she had to turn back around and continue the conversation. She heard the rustle as he captured the bound bills.

“Where’s the papers?” Bud asked in a toneless voice.

“Hold on to your pecker. You should be usta that,” Guido muttered. “I gotta count this.”

Dar turned and sat down in the nearest chair, her knees finally giving out as the adrenaline stopped pumping. Kerry settled on the arm of the chair and Dar curled a hand around Kerry’s knee, the touch soothing her nerves. Guido had given his muscle man most of the stacks, and he was laboriously counting one. The thug was watching Dar with a dour glare.

Bud sat down in one of the other chairs, mostly focusing his gaze on the floor.

Kerry put a hand on Dar’s neck, her fingers working gently at the rigid muscles. She could almost feel the vibrating tension in her partner, and though she completely understood Dar’s silent rage, she’d been called worse by far better than that little greasy punk.

“If you’re going to have to take your shoes off for that, let me know so I can get the window open,” she remarked casually.

Terrors of the High Seas 233

Guido looked up at her. “Shut up.”

“Why?” Kerry asked. “I’ve talked to animals since I was a kid.

Most of them were better looking than you, though.”

“You looking to get hurt, chickie?”

Kerry smiled charmingly at him. “The both of you together aren’t a quarter of the man it would take to do that.”

Dar chuckled and rubbed the bridge of her nose.

“You got a big mouth,” the thug told Kerry.

“That’s all right. You’ve got a pea brain,” Kerry responded.

“And I can always shut up.”

“Huh?”

“All right.” Guido finished counting one stack. He took another and pressed it down with his thumb and forefinger, matching it against the one in his hand. They were exactly even. He repeated the process with the rest of the stacks, then handed the money back to the thug. “Sucker girlie. What’d he promise you for this? Don’t tell me a good time.” Guido pulled a wad of papers out of his back pocket and threw them at Bud. “You got real lucky, fag. One more week and we’d have torched that shithole.”

“Guess I did,” Bud answered softly.

“Not nearly as lucky as you did,” Dar remarked flatly, giving Guido a level, cold stare.

Guido snorted. “Lousy doing business with you. Don’t call again.” He stuffed the cash into a plastic bag the lackey had in his pocket and motioned him to leave. They walked out without looking back, heading for the front door to the hotel.

Dar slowly let a breath out. “That sucked,” she enunciated with precision.

“Mm. Glad it’s over,” Kerry agreed, moving her hands around to give Dar’s shoulders some serious attention. “Makes me wish we’d had them embed dye packets in the bills.”

Bud glanced at her. “You’re pretty damn funny.”

Kerry grinned back. “I’m really, really glad we could do this for you,” she told Bud honestly. “No one should have to deal with assholes like that.” She felt Dar’s muscles unlock under her hands.

Bud looked down at the papers again, slowly shaking his head at them. “It was a hard choice to have to make,” he admitted. “I hate taking help from anyone.”

“Yeah.” Dar spoke up at last. “I know the feeling.” She stretched out her legs and slumped in the chair. “I can’t do it either,” she said. “Ask for help, I mean.”

Bud glanced at her, then looked at Kerry, who was still industriously kneading. “Right.”

Dar caught the look. “She doesn’t count,” she said. “Besides, she doesn’t wait to be asked.”

Kerry leaned over and gave Dar a kiss on the top of her head.

234 Melissa Good

“Okay,” she said. “Now that’s over.”

Bud shifted, giving her a wary look.

“Talk to me about pirates,” Dar said. “At the bank, I spotted the guy running the pirate boat that tried to board us. He was making a deposit.”

Bud chewed his lower lip. “Can we talk upstairs?” he finally said. “Charlie’s supposed to call any time.”

Upstairs sounded good. Dar felt exhausted. A pot of strong coffee and a nice milkshake were really what she wanted, and she figured room service could probably take care of that for her.

“Sure.” She got up, glancing at Kerry when Kerry took the backpack. “Hey.”

“It’s okay, honey.” Kerry gave her a kiss on the shoulder. “I can handle it, really.”

Kerry was, Dar realized, handling the entire thing a lot better than she was. She thought about that as they walked up the short flight of stairs to their room. Was she letting the stress get the better of her? Was she too much out of her element? Better get your damn head on straight and stop reacting to everything. What the hell is wrong with you, Dar?

“Hey, Dar?” Kerry glanced back. “Are you going to try calling Wharton?”

Dar studied a point in the middle of Kerry’s shoulder blades.

“Let’s wait ’til we get to the room, and let me sit down and think,”

she said. “I don’t want to complicate this whole damn thing even more than it already is.”

“Okay.” Kerry nodded. “Good, because I was just getting a really bad feeling about you calling him. He’s just…it’s too unknown a quantity. This whole thing is just getting weird.”

Dar felt slightly relieved. “Oh, so it’s not just me,” she muttered, as they stopped in front of their room and she unlocked the door with the large iron key.

Kerry pushed the door open and walked in, then stopped short.

“Son of a bitch.”

Bud peeked past Dar’s shoulder as Dar edged into the room in back of Kerry.

The room was in total shambles. Everything had been ripped apart as though a tornado had blown through the place.

“Damn,” Bud uttered. “They mess up your stuff?”

Kerry let out a disgusted breath. “We didn’t have any here.”

She lifted her hands in utter exasperation and let them fall. “One bag, with two pairs of jammies and some toothpaste.”

Dar moved through the room, shaking her head. She walked over to the phone and picked it up, waiting for the operator to answer. “I need to speak with the manager.” There was a pause.

“Your name? Mr. Brack. Well, Mr. Brack, we have a problem. Our Terrors of the High Seas 235

room has been ransacked.” After another pause, she said, “The door wasn’t broken into. So whoever on your staff was paid off to let someone in here…”

Kerry could hear a loud voice protesting all the way across the room.

“Would you like to come up here and explain how else they got in?” Dar asked. “Good. See you shortly.” She dropped the phone into its cradle. “If those bastards have gone anywhere near the boat, they’re toast.”

“I’ll go check.” Kerry started out the door, only to be hauled to an abrupt halt. ‘Whoa!” She turned to find Dar hanging on to the back of her shirt.

“Not by yourself,” Dar told her quietly. “And before you say it, yes, I know you’re a big girl and you can take care of yourself, and I’m being an overprotective ninny.”

Kerry shut her jaw and her face scrunched into a wry grin.

“I’ll go,” Bud interrupted, going to the door and exiting before Dar could reply.

“B…” Dar looked at the closed door. “Damn.”

“Bet he wanted to get out of talking about pirates.” Kerry sighed. “Dar, would you look at this place? What a bunch of jerks.”

She walked over to their one bag and examined it. The contents had been pulled out, then carelessly shoved back in, and she felt her blood begin to boil.

A soft knock came at the door and Dar went to it, pulling it open to find the hotel manager and a man in a security guard’s uniform standing there. She stepped back and gestured to them to enter. “C’mon in.”

Both men entered and looked around. The manager’s eyes widened at the state of the room. “This is…” the manager started, then stopped. “I’ve never had…”

The security guard seemed just as bewildered. “Sir…” He cleared his throat. “Ma’am, when did you find this?”

“Sixty seconds before I called you,” Dar stated. “I want an explanation.” She folded her arms over her chest and gave the manager a cold stare.

Mr. Brack collected himself. “No one but security and the housekeeper have the keys,” he said. “We have checked the security logs, and no one was allowed into this room. I have called the chief housekeeper. Perhaps she can shed some light on what has happened.”

“Oh!”

They all turned to see a small, wizened woman in the doorway, dressed in a neat, gray uniform. Dar guessed this was the housekeeper. The woman entered slowly and looked around, wide-eyed.

236 Melissa Good

“What has happened here? Why was this done?” She looked at Dar. “What have you done this for to the nice lady’s room?”

The manager drew breath. “Constantina, this room is registered to these two ladies here. What do you mean?”

The woman drew back in dismay. “These ladies? Oh…but…”

She twisted her fingers together. “Oh, sir, I am so sorry. A very nice woman came to me when I was cleaning, and she said she left her key inside the room. You know so many guests to do that, so…” Her eyes moved over the room. “She said this was her room.”

The manager frowned. “And you didn’t check?”

“She was a nice woman, sir,” the housekeeper protested. “Nice clothes, with rings, and why should I think she was not telling me the truth?”

The manager looked like he’d swallowed a live cockroach and it was crawling around inside his stomach. “Constantina, go to my office and wait there for me,” he said with quiet restraint. “Jan, please bring your camera up here and take photographs of everything.” He turned to Dar and Kerry. “I will have you moved to a new room immediately while we start our investigation. I will also be calling in the police.”

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.