After picking up their personal belongings, they walked to the end of the federal property line. She saw Steven and Carry waiting for them. “How did you know we would be here?”
“The Coast Guard kept me posted,” Steven said. “Come here.” He extended his arms to give a big hug. Danny and Lisa joined in.
“What made you contact them?” she asked.
“Your cellphone, it was on your front seat overnight, so I knew something was up. You’re never without it.” Steven picked up her traveling bags.
“You never go off without telling us,” Carry said.
While walking to the car, Steven said to the children, “I bet you’re hungry.”
Danny grinned and nodded enthusiastically.
Lisa grabbed her uncle’s arm. “Can we go to McDonald’s?”
“No way,” Danny yelled. “Any place but there, let’s go to Rubio’s.” The adults expressed amusement at their negotiating skills.
They reached the car. Steven knelt down to Lisa. “I was thinking about the Harbor House, at Seaport Village.” He stood and turned to his sister. “How does that sound?”
“Sounds good to me, isn’t that nice of your uncle?”
When they reached his car, Steven drove them to the parking lot at the yacht club. Once they arrived, they got out and headed for Abigail’s car. After placing the luggage in her truck, the adults discussed who would ride in which car. The children made the choice for them. Lisa asked, “Can we ride in your new car, Uncle Steven?”
“Sure. That’s fine.” After saying goodbye to the women, they returned to his car.
Once alone, Abigail and Carry hugged. “I’m glad we’re together. Boy, do I need a friend.”
“I’ll drive,” Carry said.
“That would be great.”
Once Carry was behind the wheel, she pulled away and started questioning Abigail. “Were you forced to leave?”
“No. Nothing like that.”
“What happened? Why no calls? Do you know how concerned we were?”
“Everything happened too fast, so I forgot my stupid phone, and we couldn’t find one on the yacht.”
“Are you okay?”
“No, Carry, I’m not. I just went though the most horrific ordeal of my life. Someone murdered the Kilgores.”
“I know. We heard. Who did it?”
“We don’t know yet. They’re still investigating.”
“It had to be one of those men.”
“It’s possible, but not likely.”
“Well, it had to be one of them, who else?” Carry’s tone was spiced with sarcasm.
“Frankly, I don’t know. It’s also possible someone came, murdered them and left.”
Carry reached over to touch Abigail’s arm. “You’re right about the FBI agents. They’re trained professionals. Let them figure things out.”
“I’ll tell you one thing. Not knowing was nerve-racking.”
“Steven and I were so worried about you guys.”
“I’m concerned about him, Carry, he looks exhausted. Is he okay?”
“Yes, now that you’re safely home, he’ll be fine.” She looked ahead. “Stan called. He wants you and the kids to come for dinner.”
“That sounds wonderful, perhaps next weekend, when we get back to a routine. Tell him thanks for the invite.”
“Sure.”
Abigail spotted a space not far from the restaurant. After parking, they held hands, while strolling toward the entrance. They said, “What a beautiful day,” in unison and chuckled at the coincidence. Hugging each other, Abigail said, “It looks like we still think alike.”
“Hi Steven, did Danny and Lisa behave themselves?” she said, lightheartedly.
“Those two, they’re a handful,” he said, while winking at his sister.
“Ask for a window seat, will you?”
The hostess greeted them and showed them to a booth by a window.
“This is pleasant, thank you, Steven,” Abigail said, with a warm smile.
Once seated, Lisa and Danny stared out the window at a mime doing his routine.
The waiter approached the table and silently waited until Steven looked up. He then handed each of them two menus, one for specials and one with daily offerings.
“I’m Vince. I’ll be your waiter.”
When he said, “I’m Steven, I’ll be your customer,” Vince wasn’t amused.
“I’ll return to take your orders.”
When he came back, he said, “Is your party ready to order, sir?”
The women ordered wine, the children asked for chocolate malts, and Steven ordered iced tea.
“Give us a few more minutes for our food orders.” The man backed away, circled and headed to leave.
Steven asked the children what looked good to them. They both asked for hamburgers and fries.
Once again, Vince returned. “Ready, sir?”
Steven placed the order for the children and himself, the women requested specialty salads.
Vince backed up and turned to leave. Steven whispered, “He walks as if he has a stick up his ass.”
When Danny laughed, Lisa elbowed her brother. Steven said, “I wonder if he’s trained to be like that or if it comes naturally?”
“What do you mean?” Danny asked.
“That waiter, he’s so formal. This is a nice restaurant, but that guy needs to relax a little.”
“Guess what, Uncle Steve? I found an egg; it was worth lots of money.”
“Where?”
“In the library, on the yacht.”
“So, it belongs to the Kilgores, right?” Steven’s cellphone rang. When he answered, it was FBI Special Agent Parker wanting to speak with Abigail. “I tried your sister’s cellphone, but no one answered.”
“She’s with me, we’re having lunch. I’ll put her on.”
After speaking to the agent, she handed the phone back to Steven. “I need to check with them before leaving town. They might have questions.”
“Haven’t you been through enough?”
“But, Steven, you don’t understand. I want to help. I need to know who did it.”
The waiter reached over Abigail’s shoulder to place food in front of Lisa and Danny. He left and then returned with salads for the women. “I’ll be back with your meal, sir.”
Abigail picked at her salad. She was thinking about Larry and Sandra’s dead bodies lying on their bed. And, about Matt and how he did when he was interrogated.
During the meal, the conversation was light. When they finished eating, Steven paid the bill, and they walked out to Abigail’s car. “I’ll take the kids,” he said. “I’ll follow you home.”
“Can we go on the merry-go-round?” Lisa asked.
“No, not today, Honey, I need to take you back to your aunt’s.” The child didn’t argue or pout. After the women were in their car and drove off, he walked the children to his car.
During the drive home, Abigail and Carry kept the conversation light. “The first thing I want when I get home is…”
Carry grinned. “I know, you want a nice long bath, with lit candles all around, and a glass of wine.”
Abigail laughed. “You know me too well.” She turned down the volume on the radio. “I can’t express how exhausted I feel.”
“You three have been through a lot.”
“Yep, but they’re more resilient.”
“They’re children. They depend on you. But, you have all the responsibility, so, of course, it was mentally and emotionally harder on you.”
“Remember the last time we spoke?” Abigail asked.
“Yes.”
“I often wished we had made dinner plans for that night. I would have said no to their invitation, and they would still be alive.”
“My dear friend, there’s nothing you can do to turn back the clock. And, I know you. You’re blaming yourself, aren’t you?”
“I hate you,” Abigail said, while giving her friend a push and a smile.
The minute they reached the house, they went inside and opened the windows. The breeze was warm, but the fresh air was pleasant as it flowed through the house. Abigail opened a bottle of wine, poured a glass and told Carry to help herself. Then she excused herself and went to draw a bath.
She filled the tub, lit candles and stepped into the water. It felt heavenly. She pushed the jet button and leaned back while sipping on wine. As she tried to relax, the past few days flooded her thoughts, and she worried about Matt.
A knock at the door surprised her, Lisa asked, “Can I use your tub?”
“In a few minutes, when I’m finished, then you can.” She smiled, while thinking about how Lisa, at such a young age, cherished bathing. It must be a girl thing.
After her bath, Abigail got out, emptied the tub and draped herself in a robe. With the door open, she yelled, “Lisa, are you ready?” Within seconds she came in, and they filled the tub. After she was in the water, Abigail asked, “Want jets?” “Yes. Can I have bubbles, too?”
“Sure.”
When she returned, she poured the bath oil, turned off the water and activated the jets. “I’ll be able to hear, so yell if you need me, okay?”
Once she was dressed and returned to the living room, she saw Danny talking to Steven about being at the wheel while on the yacht.
“Want a shower, Danny? You can use the other bathroom.”
As he shook his head, he stood and marched into the spare room. Within minutes, he came out with a ball and headed outside.
This was the first opportunity the adults had to talk, so Abigail gave the details of her ordeal. “At times, I actually feared for our lives, especially after seeing Larry and Sandra’s dead bodies with bullet holes. To make matters worse, four men took over the yacht and were searching for some mysterious treasure. Then, next to us was a touring ship. I tried to signal but failed. Later, I realized it had some connection to the men on the yacht. The whole thing was nerve-racking. While all this was going on, I had no idea you two were looking for us.”
Steven grabbed her arm. “Did they hurt you?”
“No, not at all, but I worried about who might be the killer and feared he might kill again.”
Carry stood and said, “One of the men must have done it.”
“If you’re right,” Abigail said, “I hope we’ll find out soon.”
After a period of silence, Steven scooted closer to his sister and took her hand. “You need to know why we searched for you. Something terrible happened, and we needed to tell you and the children.”
Instantly, Abigail’s eyes became alert. “What? Did something happen to Mom or Dad? You’re scaring me. What is it?”
“David and Alisa -- they were in a car accident. It happened in Hawaii.”
“Are they okay?”
“No. I’m so sorry, Sis, but David didn’t make it -- he died.”
“Oh my God.” She said, with her hands covering her mouth. “Is Alisa all right?”
“No. She’s in a coma.”
“I can’t believe this.” She shook her head with her hands covering her face, then leaned forward with her elbows on her legs, crying. Soon, she glanced at her brother. “Will she come out of it?”
“The doctors think she might. There are no external injuries. She was smart enough to wear a seatbelt. Unfortunately, David didn’t.”
“This is more awful than what we went through. It affects all of us. Lisa and Danny, what will they do? When did it happen?”
“Two days ago. It doesn’t seem possible. David and she just reunited, now this, those poor kids.”
“Where’s Alisa now? Does Mom know?” Abigail stood and paced. “My God, this can’t be real.”
“She’s still in Hawaii, but Mom and Dad are there. You need to sit.”
“No! I’m sorry. I’m having a hard time processing this.”
“I know. It’s hard for all of us.”
Soon Abigail slowly came to a stop and sat next to her brother. “This feels like some bad dream. How on earth are we going to tell the children?”
“I don’t know. That’ll be tough. Want me to?”
“I’m not sure what to think or do right now.” Silence filled the room. Quickly, Steven got up. “I’ll go get Danny and bring him in.”
Abigail grabbed his hand. “Let’s wait. When Lisa finishes bathing, we can tell them together.”
“Will you be okay to do that?” he asked.
“No. But, I’ll find a way to pull myself together. The children need to know.”
When Carry suggested they pray, they agreed and asked her to lead.
“Dear God, we give this situation to You. It’s too much for us to handle alone. We need You to direct us on what to say. Please be with the children when they find out about what happened to their parents. We love You. Amen.”
Just as they finished, Lisa yelled, “I need a towel!”
Abigail tried to get up.
“Are you sure you’re up to this?” Carry asked, placing her hand on her shoulder. “I’m so very sorry that you have to go through this.”
“How am I going to tell them? Those poor children, what will become of them? I just can’t believe David’s dead. Now, they’re fatherless. What if Alisa doesn’t make it? What then?”
“I have the same concerns.”
Lisa yelled again, “Aunt Abigail, did you hear me? I need a towel.”
While going to her niece, she wished it was all a bad dream that would end soon, but she knew it was the truth, because it felt all too real. While walking to the bathroom, she told herself,
I have to be strong. Lisa needs me.
As she choked back tears, she prayed,
Dear Heavenly Father, please help me, give me strength. Help the children understand.
Somberly, she walked toward the bathroom and glanced back at her friend with a heavy heart.
After Matt and his men spent hours being questioned by the FBI, they were finally free to leave. Special Agent Parker scheduled for Matt and Jack to return the following day. The men were relieved that the worst was over.
After dropping his friends at their cars, Matt was fatigued beyond belief. While being interrogated, he told the truth about everything, but didn’t offer anything. Tomorrow’s interrogation he could do without, but had no choice in the matter.
Once home, he took a quick shower and headed for the pool.
After ten laps, he relaxed by floating on his back as he visualized her pale blue eyes and dazzling hair.
I never met a woman with such incredible inner strength,
he mused.
Although it was only hours since he saw her, he longed for her and hoped he found a place in her thoughts. It surprised him that he missed the children, Danny with his adventurous spirit and Lisa with her big brown eyes. It was useless to stop obsessing about her -- the more he tried to dismiss her from his thoughts, the more she occupied them.