His eyes focused on her. “I know this is hard on you, but no one’s going to harm you. Not as long as I’m around.”
Everything within her wanted to yell, “Then, let us go home!” but she thought better of it and bit her tongue.
Don’t be fooled by his charm,
she told herself, not wanting to become like other women who bond with their captors.
Don’t let your guard down for a minute,
she told herself.
They may not have intended to harm us, but in order to protect their own necks, that might change.
Lisa’s eyes looked down. She said to Danny, “What do you think Mommy is doing right now?”
Danny glanced at his sister. He cheerfully said, “Sightseeing.”
Abigail lifted the girl’s chin. “You miss your mom, don’t you, Sweetie?”
Lisa nodded and a few tears fell down her cheeks.
“We’ll be home soon, and, in a few days, your parents will be home, too.”
Abigail tried to relax, but knew the minute Larry and Sandra went missing, her ability to relax ended.
She watched the touring vessel maintain their same course.
The men on that ship must have some connection with Matt and his cohorts. Thank God, I failed to get their attention.
I must notify the Coast Guard, she decided. If I toss a few life preservers overboard, it might catch someone’s attention. The Great Discoverer was on them, so it was likely it would be reported, if found, she hoped. No, that won’t work. The touring vessel might see them first. It came to her. She beamed with excitement. I need to find the EPIRB. There must be one on board. All large vessels are mandated to carry the three-inch-by-eleven-inch orange mechanism that calls for help. It should be easy to spot. All I have to do is find it, turn it upside down, and it automatically notifies the Coast Guard. Its warning signal is unique, much like a fingerprint. But, what if the thieves hid it from me? No. They would never think a woman would know about an EPIRB.
Her finger touched her chin, and she lowered her head. She glanced at the storage bin behind the wheel. Matt hummed some tune and faced forward. She backed up until her legs touched the storage bin. Matt turned and beamed. “What a great day to be out here.” They both turned their attention to the stairs and saw Forelli walking in their direction with his chilly personality intact. After rotating away from the wheel, Matt’s arm touched hers.
That energy,
she thought and quickly moved away. Her heart wanted to be his ally, but her intellect told her it was childish thinking.
An eerie cold breeze kicked up as Forelli grabbed the wheel. Lisa held her arms around herself. “I’m cold.”
“Me, too,” Danny said.
They headed back to the library. The next time we’re at the helm, I’ll have the children distract Matt so I can find the device and alert the Coast Guard. She sighed. I lost my opportunity.
When they returned to the library, Abigail asked Lisa to stay with her. She and the girl sat near each other on the floor, away from Matt.
“The next time we take a break, will you sit with Matt? I need to talk to Danny, okay? Can you do that for me?”
Lisa’s eyes widened. “Like your secret agent?”
“Yes, Sweetie.” She gave the girl a hug.
After a few hours in the library, Lisa asked for something to drink. Danny wanted to go with her.
Matt stood abruptly. “No. We’ll go together.”
Once they arrived, they walked into the galley. Matt strolled over to the refrigerator and opened the door. The children peeked around him for drinks. Lisa chose apple juice. She reached around him and grabbed one. Danny saw a Coke and grabbed it.
When the children returned to the main salon, the boy sat near the porthole while his sister sat on a chair at the table. Matt followed and walked to the large table. “Can I join you, young lady?”
The child gave him a smile and nodded. “Do you have a yacht?” Lisa asked. “You know a lot about boats.”
He fixed his gaze on her. “I have a sailboat. Her name is Firefly.”
“That’s funny.” She blinked. “Why that name?”
“At night, when I’m at sea, I look at the stars. They flicker like fireflies.”
“Oh. I never saw a firefly,” the child said.
Abigail walked toward the padded seats near the portholes, far from Matt. “Come sit by me,” she said, while motioning for Danny to come. He sulked as he walked toward her and sat. “It’s hot over here.”
“I know. But, I want to talk to you so Matt doesn’t hear. Danny, I need your full attention. This is very important. Do you understand?”
His eyes became alert as he nodded.
“Right now, while we’re talking, act as if we’re saying something funny, okay? But, please listen carefully.”
Danny’s eyes widened, “Sure, Aunt Abigail.”
“The next time we go to the wheelhouse, I want Lisa to act sick. I need for you to ask Matt to help her. It’ll give me a chance to signal for help. Do you understand?”
“We’re going to escape?”
“I need to alert the Coast Guard, so they can come for us. But, first I need for you to distract Matt.”
“Okay.” Danny nodded and grinned, as if on another adventure.
As Abigail watched and listened to Lisa talk to Matt, she was surprised at his kindheartedness while listening to Lisa say, “I was a flower girl at my mom’s wedding. She married my dad again. They’re in Hawaii on a second honeymoon, but they’ll be home soon.”
It saddened Abigail to think that she placed her niece and nephew in such danger. She wondered how she would explain everything to Alisa and David. They would be horrified to learn that thieves had held their children hostage.
Brent and Robert weren’t having much luck finding the treasure on the lower level. “Why are the Top Dogs following us?” Brent asked.
“I guess they want to be the first to get their hands on the treasure when it is found.” Robert looked at him. “Do you think Forelli is the murderer?”
Robert sat on a stool. “Wouldn’t surprise me, but he wasn’t here until after we arrived.”
Brent reached down and picked up a box, opened it and examined the contents. “What’s the deal between the Kilgores and Top Dogs?”
“What do you mean?”
“There’s something going on, some business deal.”
“You mean you haven’t figured that out yet?” Robert said.
“The Kilgores smuggle for them.”
“So what we’re searching for was smuggled?” Brent stopped. “Then why don’t the Top Dogs know exactly what we’re looking for?”
“Because Larry Kilgore only told Luke that the treasure fit in his carry on and was worth a fortune.”
Robert stood. He peeked into a storage compartment. “It must be priceless if the Top Dogs are offering us ten million dollars. What’s in that box?”
“Nothing of interest.” Brent tossed the box to one side and kicked at the wall. “Why would Forelli kill them?”
“Luke likely arranged for him to do it.”
“But, why would Luke want them dead?”
“The Kilgores ripped him off on their last deal.”
“How?” Brent asked.
“Luke found out that Larry withheld an extra hundred thousand dollars from what was to be a fifty-fifty split.”
“That must have ticked him off. How did Luke find out?”
“Someone he knew from an underground auction house. He said the Kilgores took seventy percent, and forged the receipt.”
Brent’s eyes stared just ahead of him. “How stupid of Larry. No one gets away with ripping off Luke.”
“You’re right. I heard Luke say Larry would live to regret it, that’s why I think he arranged for the couple to be murdered.”
Robert said, “If Luke arranged for the hit, he would ask Forelli to do his dirty work. That might be the reason he sent Forelli as captain.”
Brent folded his arms. “Why kill them? Wouldn’t taking a priceless treasure be punishment enough?”
“Perhaps they hadn’t planned on it, but when Forelli reported they were on board, Luke gave the order.” Robert let out a long breath. “I bet having the Kilgores on board would stand in the way of us confiscating the treasure.” Robert walked to the hatch and looked around before facing Brent. “Luke is in some financial trouble and needs the money from the artifact to bail him out.”
“I wouldn’t put it past Luke or any of the Top Dogs to arrange the hit. Each man is pretty cold-hearted. Last month, they made some deal with a widow and ripped her off for a half million. They did it just because they could. The poor woman was too despondent to think straight.”
Both men silently continued their search, discarding each item they ruled out.
Robert stopped and stretched. “Have you ever been on the touring vessel while it was used to gamble?”
“No. Have you?”
“Once. You wouldn’t believe their setup. The legs of the tables lifted so the tops could be turned for gambling. If the Coast Guard ever made a surprise visit, they could turn it back to its original position.”
“How would they hide the chips and cards?” Brent asked.
“They had foam and plastic that clipped over the gambling top. It was ingenious. No one knew about it except the Top Dogs and crew. I don’t think their spouses even knew.”
“How come you never told me?”
“Sworn to secrecy.” Robert cocked his head. “All crew members agree to keep their secret.”
“How did you hear?”
“I dated a food server, and one day, she needed a replacement -- I showed up.”
Luke Percy leaned against the bulkhead to steady himself from the sway of the touring vessel. He saw his reflection in a porthole. He didn’t look as bad as he felt. Although short in stature, he could easily pass for a male model. He had blue eyes, black hair and a refined style of dress.
I feel queasy,
he thought.
Luke knew women were attracted to him, so he spent time with many beautiful, wealthy women; one became his wife. Linda was a petite, natural blond with expressive gray-blue eyes. He liked the fact that she seldom dressed in high heels.
He missed not having her on his arm. She complemented him, but last year things changed between them. He needed to get his hands on money quickly, so he arranged for her diamond and ruby heirloom necklace to be stolen for insurance money. She suspected him. Its disappearance coincided with his payoff to his pregnant girlfriend.
Early in their marriage, she caught him seducing a family friend. Linda agonized over divorcing, but decided against it. He crossed the line when he took her family heirloom given to her by her father on her wedding day. She screamed, “You have one week to return my necklace! If you fail to deliver, I’ll tell Dad. You’ll be ruined! You’ll never get away with stealing from me. I’m filing for divorce.”
Luke depended on her for his social standing. If they divorced, he would have little to show from the marriage. She forced him to sign a prenuptial agreement -- he would get nothing.
There was no way of retrieving the stolen necklace because it was sold in a silent auction without a paper trail.
Linda could easily destroy Luke, socially and financially. Once crossed, she became more ruthless than he. Luke had no choice. He had to do something quickly. He called Forelli. The man owed him. No one would hire Forelli because he had a federal criminal record. Luke offered him a job. It was payback time.
The deed was done within a few days -- Luke became a widower and inherited her estate worth millions. Linda didn’t have an opportunity to tell her father, and Luke remained in good social standing with his father-in-law. Forelli made it look like a car accident, so no investigation took place.
After Alisa pulled back the drapes, she watched the ocean waves crash on the rocks. “What a beautiful view. The kids would love it.” She spun around to face David.
He patted the bed. “Come here. We need to talk.”
While walking toward him, she searched his eyes hoping to see the cause of his seriousness.
After sitting beside him, David took her hand and kissed it. “I meant what I said. You never have to work again. We’ll find a way, financially. We always do. The children need you. Look how great they’re turning out.” David gazed into her tear-filled eyes. “I’m glad you stuck by your convictions. It was stupid of me to ever leave you.” He gently took his thumb and wiped away the tears from her cheeks. “Please forgive me for being such a fool.”
“You’re not a fool. Oh, David, I forgave you long ago.” They hugged, kissed and came together as never before -- they gave of themselves completely.
While returning from a trip to a volcano, David and Alisa held hands in the back seat of their taxi. She glanced up toward the mountain they just visited.
David squeezed her hand. “We made the right decision to get back together.”
“We sure did,” she said, while turning to kiss his cheek.
“We’ll bring the children on our next visit, they’ll love it here.”
“Yes, David, but now it is our time.”
He beamed. “I bet Danny would have been halfway down the volcano before we could stop him.”
Her eyes twinkled, “He’s a lot like you.”
She looked out the car window. “It looks like we’re going to have a downpour.”
David watched the dark clouds coming closer. “It sure does.” Then he turned his attention to the driver. “It appears you got us out of there just in time.”
The driver nodded. “It seems the weather turns bad daily at this time. I try to take my passengers before or after our wet weather.”
The nameplate on the dashboard read Jessie Rodriguez.
“How long have you lived on the island?” David asked.
“I don’t. I have a place near UCLA. I’m with my parents to save money for next semester.”
“What’s your major?”
“Law,” Jessie said, while turning on the windshield wipers. “Wow. It’s really coming down.”
When the road became slippery, David tightened Alisa’s seatbelt. He told the driver, “You need to pull over.”
The young man tried to comply, but he hit his brakes too hard and caused the car to spin. The driver lost control of the car, and, within a second, the car rolled down the thirty-foot embankment and landed on the rear driver’s side.
Officer Jim Robinson drove as fast as he could to respond to a reported car accident, but it still took twenty minutes before his rescue team could reach the scene. Several cars were parked near the place the taxi disappeared off the ledge. His partner, Randy Drake, jumped out of the van and stood at the edge, staring below. “This won’t be easy, Jim. You better get the gear.” For a 200-pound man, Randy moved quickly. His eyes carefully watched for loose rocks and safe places for his feet. Soon, he reached the taxi and peered through the window. He turned his head and yelled, “I see a woman.”