“Stop teasing your sister,” Abigail demanded.
Danny’s chin lowered. “Okay.” The boy turned his attention to the wheel and watched. “Can I help drive the boat?”
“Sure,” Larry said. “Come here.” For twenty minutes, Larry stood behind the boy patiently teaching him how to handle the wheel.
“What’s Sandra up to?” Larry asked.
“I don’t know,” Danny said.
“I’ll go check on her.” He faced Abigail. “I need to speak to Sandra about something important. Are you okay at the helm?”
After giving him a reassuring smile, she nodded.
“Will you two promise to stay with your aunt? I don’t want her alone.”
“I can help her drive the boat,” Lisa said. Larry smiled and kissed her forehead.
As he walked away, he stopped and spoke to Danny. “Come get me if she needs me, okay?”
The boy nodded.
While she stood behind Danny at the wheel, Lisa checked out the ship-to-shore equipment and noticed the radio. She turned it on and found a station. After ten minutes, the girl was bored. “It’s my turn!” she yelled at her brother.
After Danny vigorously objected, Abigail said, “Let him be. You can have your turn later.”
Within five minutes, Lisa let out a loud breath. “Can I drive the boat now?”
“Let your sister have her turn.” This time, Danny didn’t object. While stepping away from the wheel, his face lit up. “Let’s look for whales.”
“No! It’s my turn.” Lisa grabbed the wheel. Abigail placed her hands on Lisa’s.
“Are you looking forward to going to school?”
“No. I don’t like my new teacher. She’s mean.”
“How is she mean?”
“She just looks mean. She never smiles. No one likes her.”
“Perhaps something bad happened, and she is sad. Maybe your smile can make her feel better.”
“I don’t want to drive anymore,” she said. She blissfully skipped toward her brother. Together, they searched for creatures living in the sea.
Abigail enjoyed the sun on her skin, but knew she needed more lotion. She wondered how they went from having a late breakfast to being on a fantastic yacht at sea—and all within hours.
Everyone knows I’m a control freak, so how did I suddenly give in to two small children? It must be love.
Danny and Lisa stepped into the wheelhouse to visit their aunt.
“Hi, kids. Having fun?” The girl smiled, causing her teeth to show and her eyes to squint. The boy nodded.
“Hey, young man,” Abigail said, “is it true you were in a fight a few months ago?” He nodded.
“Did your dad find out?” “Yes. I said that the boy hit me first. Daddy said, ‘Kick him in the butt if he tries it again.’”
“That would be your dad,” Abigail said, while holding back a laugh.
Lisa yelled, “I see something. It’s a whale.”
He stared at where she was pointing. “No, it isn’t. It’s only a school of fish—that’s all.”
The children sat down. “What do you think Mommy and Daddy are doing?” Danny asked.
“Snorkeling?” Abigail guessed.
“No, they’re sightseeing,” Lisa said.
“You don’t know that!” Danny sneered.
The boy stood and marched up to his aunt. “I’m hungry. Where’s Mr. Kilgore? He didn’t come back.”
“Yes, I know, Danny. Maybe he is still talking with Sandra.”
“But, I’m hungry.”
“After eating all those pancakes?” Lisa said loudly.
“It’s been forever since then!”
“You’re right, Danny. Larry’s been gone for hours. I’m starting to get hungry, too.”
“Can we go now?” he asked.
She nodded and shut down the engine. As they moved toward the ladder leading to the main deck, they decided their priority was the head.
The first to return was Danny. He entered the galley and started opening cupboards to check out the food supplies. Within minutes Lisa and her aunt joined him. Quickly, he grabbed the bread and peanut butter and searched for jam. After the sandwiches were made, they went into the main salon and relaxed while eating sandwiches.
“Where are Sandra and Larry?” Lisa asked.
“Well, they must be on the lower level. Either the master suite or the engine room, I would guess.” Because she felt exhausted, she wanted to kick up her feet for a while. But, for some reason, she felt uneasy about the Kilgores. She hoped everything was okay.
While Abigail and the children searched for the Kilgores, they reached the engine room. Quickly, Danny opened the hatch and stepped in. “Not in here.”
“Maybe they’re in their bedroom,” Lisa said.
“It’s a sleeping cabin,” Danny responded.
“It might be a sleeping cabin, but it has a bed, too. So, it’s a bedroom.”
“Don’t argue, you two,” Abigail said, while smiling at the girl’s logic. “Let’s see if Lisa’s right.”
They continued and saw a hatch with a gold plate that said,
Master Suite
. Abigail promptly knocked. No response. Again, she knocked, still nothing. So, she called out, “Sandra, Larry.” No reply. After slightly opening the hatch, she called out their names again, but still no response.
“Well, that’s strange. What’s going on?” Suddenly, her stomach was uneasy and her arm tightened.
“Let’s check the other cabins,” she said. The three of them continued until they reached the last cabin.
After opening the hatch, they entered. Soon, they heard alarmingly loud voices. At first she was excited, she thought it was Larry greeting the new captain. That was until she heard a stranger shout, “I’ll search the lower deck.”
Another yelled, “I’ll start in the main salon.”
Neither voice was Larry’s.
Instantly, she knew something was terribly wrong. She heard footsteps coming closer, so she quickly grabbed some blankets for hiding and whispered, “Cover up. Lie still. Don’t say a word.” Hiding under the blankets was not a great idea, but it was her only option.
While she listened to the sound of her heart pounding in her ears, time seemed to stand still. Slowly, she rubbed her arm hairs and thought they felt like porcupine pointers. She thought she was alert enough to hear a needle drop three cabins away. She desperately hoped they would not be discovered.
After waiting for what seemed like an eternity, the sound of footsteps stopped. She held her breath as the latch turned. She cringed when the hatch connected with the bulkhead. The footsteps came closer and abruptly stopped. She heard what sounded like a blanket being pulled away. A man said, “What are you, a stowaway?”
Quickly, she removed her own blanket and stood next to the boy. Danny’s eyes were wide, and his mouth was open, gawking at the stranger. Abigail immediately recognized him from the dock. “Why did you follow us?” she demanded.
After looking into her eyes, his face softened. “You’re the woman from the pier, aren’t you?”
When she didn’t respond, he moved his attention toward the closet. “Is someone hiding in there? Who’s in there?” he said, louder.
He moved swiftly to the cabinet and threw open the door. “Nothing.” He swiveled and briskly moved to the bench seats. After pulling the blanket off Lisa, he said, “Can you stand up and step away?” He lifted the bench, but after his examination, he found only supplies.
“Who else is here?” he questioned. “If someone else is hiding, I want to know now! Do you understand?” They were silent, so he moved toward the hatch, and walked out of sight.
Lisa pulled on Abigail’s arm. “Why is he here? Why is he so mean?”
“I’m not sure,” she said, while being mortified that earlier she enjoyed his attention.
Danny looked to his aunt. “How did he get here?”
“I don’t know, Honey.” She thought,
Well, isn’t this great! We can’t very well hide or run. So, what else can we do?
While she squirmed and tapped her fingernails on the bulkhead, she felt distressed and knew lines were forming on her brow.
If this keeps up, I’ll need Botox before I’m forty, but I guess that’s the least of my problems.
The Kilgores were missing, and strangers had taken over. As she rubbed her temples, she heard a loud bang, as if someone slammed another hatch against the bulkhead. The man returned -- his face drained white.
“What’s wrong?” Danny asked.
The man stood in silence for a moment with his chin low and arms hanging at his sides. He grabbed Abigail’s arm and pulled her into the passageway.
While trying to resist, she said, “Who are you? What are you doing here?”
“Look, miss, you need to come with me, right now! Understand?” He pivoted and advanced down the passageway, half dragging her.
When Abigail heard Lisa crying, she yelled back at the children. “Everything will be okay. Please stay in the cabin with Danny.”
The man pulled her to the master suite, stopped at the hatch and waited.
“What’s going on?” she asked, while glaring.
Although he was silent, his eyes showed horror. “Who are they?” he demanded. He placed his hand on her back to guide her into the master suite.
She tried to resist his push, but lost. She faced the bed as she entered. There was no way she could have been mentally prepared enough. On the bed were the dead bodies of her hosts. After covering her mouth to hold back a scream, she leaned into the man. She stared at the bullet hole on Larry’s forehead. Blood dripped from his mouth. Sandra laid half on the bed, with her blonde hair hanging off to the right and blood covering the carpet.
She started hitting his chest with her fists. She yelled, “Why did you do this? Why did you kill them?”
He grabbed her arms and pushed her away. Glaring at her, he said, “I’m not a murderer. I didn’t do this!” He quickly led her into the passageway.
She suddenly became weak, doubled over and used her hands to cover her face. When she fell to her knees, she yelled, “No! This can’t be happening. It just can’t be real. Oh my God, how can this be?”
The man closed the hatch when he saw Danny and Lisa running to their aunt. “What’s wrong?” the boy called out to his aunt.
I have to pull myself together,
she told herself. She tried to take in air while she grimaced at the thought of what she just witnessed. She was desperate to get the images out of her mind that were tearing at her heart. She slowly moved herself up the bulkhead, looked at the children and leaned forward with her arms open wide. After their embrace, Danny pulled away, but stood with his body still touching Abigail.
“Don’t worry, you two,” Abigail comforted. “Everything will be okay.” She knew that Danny wasn’t buying it.
“Who were those people?” the stranger demanded.
While looking up at him, she choked back her tears. “Our friends, Larry and Sandra Kilgore. They were our hosts.”
Finally, she was able to stand up. Once she was standing, she yelled, “Who are you, and why are you here?”
She noticed that his face was still pale, and his shoulders were slumped. He said, “My name is Matt, miss.”
“Why are you here?”
“We’re looking for something.”
“Who invited you?”
“Look, lady. I have my own questions, so why are you here?”
While staring at him with contempt, she yelled, “We’re invited guests, unlike you -- I’m sure!”
“Did you hear the gunshots?” he whispered.
“No,” she said, and then she wondered why. She glanced at him. “Maybe they used a silencer. We didn’t hear anything at the wheelhouse.”
I hope I’m wrong about him, Abigail thought. He did seem genuinely surprised. Perhaps, he didn’t kill them, but does it really matter? The killer is still on the vessel, just waiting to kill again.
While Matt spoke, she was unable to hear his words because her mind was consumed with how to get the children to safety. After feeling powerless, her fear became pure panic. Her only comfort was to see that Matt was as distressed about the murders as she.
“I’m sorry about your friends. Please know we had nothing to do with it. We are only here to find something the Kilgores took. We thought our friend, Captain Forelli, was on board, but he isn’t here yet.”
At that moment, her heart sank, knowing that even the new captain was someone she’d have to contend with.
“We thought Forelli would be alone on the vessel. They were to stay ashore. Forelli faxed us the course and didn’t mention they would be here.” He stared at her. “Why did they change plans?”
Suddenly, his words cut like a knife. Her stomach felt ill as she hung her head. My God, if we didn’t run into them, they would be home—alive. Now, they’re both lying dead. Guilt engulfed her. Why did I say yes? I should have said no to their invitation. Everything happened so fast. I had no time to think. My God! They would still be alive. Suddenly, she was unable to hide her emotions and her tears fell. While covering her face with her hands, she bent down and sat on her heels and wept.
Instantly, Danny fixed his eyes on his aunt and said, “What’s the matter? Why are you crying?”
While wanting to respond, she couldn’t. After a time, she barely spoke out, “It’s nothing. So, don’t you worry, okay? Everything will be fine.” “But, you don’t look fine. Your face is all sad. You’re crying.”
Lisa sat next to her aunt, hugging her. Suddenly, her tears flowed. “I want to go home. Can we go home now?”
Although desperately wanting to reassure the girl, she fought back tears. She finally managed to say, “I’m just concerned, that’s all, everything will be fine. God will take care of us, don’t you worry.” She lifted Lisa’s chin, kissed her forehead and pulled her closer to comfort the girl and herself.
The boy stood, glaring at Matt. “So, you’re the man from the pier. I liked you, but not now. Why did you make my aunt cry?”
As Matt stood looking at the boy, he said, “Young man, I have no intention of hurting you or your family. I came here to find something, that’s all. Once it’s found, we can all go home safely.”
Sure, Abigail thought, as if I could believe you for a minute.
The boy stood snug against his aunt. “What’re you looking for?”
“I’m not sure. All we know is it’s valuable and hiding on the yacht, but no one knows what it is exactly.”
The girl glared at Matt while holding onto her aunt, “But, how can you find something if you don’t even know what you’re looking for? That’s silly.”