Lethal Affair (35 page)

He acted like they were a family out
on holiday, his tone conversational as he headed down the
treacherous slope at an angle, carting Max as though he were merely
a backpack. The fact that Max hadn't even stirred confirmed her
suspicion that he'd been heavily sedated.

Kylie discovered that going down a
wet, mossy slope with hands tied behind one's back was a true
challenge. Slipping and sliding on mud, she landed on the pebbled
beach where Drew hustled her into the row boat. Soaking wet and
shivering, she sat with Max's small body crumpled at her feet, his
face all innocence in the blue tinged moonlight.

Drew rowed them out to the cabin
cruiser. Pulling a small pocket knife from his cargo pants, he cut
Kylie's plastic cuff, then climbed aboard and indicated that she
help him bolster Max's dead weight up the ladder. For one blitzing
moment an image of herself making off with Max in the row boat
sliced through her mind. But with Max passed out, escape would be
near impossible. When she had him upright, Drew reached down and
pulled Max up by his armpits. Kylie scrambled after him.

Aboard, Drew carelessly dumped Max
onto a bunk below. The boat had been cared for, polished wood and
chrome gleaming. Kylie sat next to Max and stroked the hair from
his face.

“
Aw, isn't that nice,”
taunted Drew. “You're practicing to be a mom. Too bad he needs to
die.”

Sudden and fierce, Kylie's heart
raced. “You said I could replace him! You said...”

He stepped close, menacingly towering
over her, his immediate spitting anger cutting her off. “I said I
would marry you! I said I'd buy you a house and take care of our
baby! You tossed me aside like I wasn't worthy. Tell me Kylie, did
Will Delaney make you a better offer?”

His chest heaved, eyes boring into
hers, the muscle in his jaw working overtime. Her fear sliced
deeper, became acute. Drew had formulated his own conclusions. It
didn't seem likely he'd listen to her, but she had to
try.

She kept her tone even and played to
his ego. “Will means nothing to me. Not like you. I've been
thinking a lot about us, Drew. We should be together; you, me, the
baby when it's born. We'll be a family, just like you said. Let's
go away, just you and me. We can leave Max here on the beach.
Please, Drew, it's the right thing to do.”

His laugh was a cackle that stopped as
suddenly as it started. “You make me sick. You think I'd fall for
that bullshit? The kid is a liability. He has to go.”

“
Yes, yes! Let's put him on
the shore...”

The hunting knife came out swiftly
from a deep pocket. Brandishing it, Drew slid the blade mockingly
over a pulsing vein running up the side of Max's throat. Insanity
shone brightly in his eyes as he looked directly into Kylie's,
enjoying himself.

“
It's his destiny,” he said,
then abruptly sheathed the knife and pulled two plastic ties from
his pocket. He tied one of Kylie's wrists to the metal bedpost.
“I'd do him right now but I don't want blood all over my nice new
boat. Besides, I want him awake. Some place where I can take my
time.” He lifted Max's limp wrist and tied it to the opposite
bedpost.

Disappearing up the steps he slammed
shut the hatch, locking them in and leaving Kylie to drown in the
terror of his ominous statement.

A moment later she heard the inboard
motor engage and they were off, headed toward their
destiny.

*

“
Julia and Tom are coming
over on the first ferry,” Will told Lyle, Jolene and Kim. He'd sent
everyone else home. “Someone has to be here to meet them.” He
hadn't slept a wink, having spent the night making deals with God,
and now with daybreak an hour away, he filled a thermos with coffee
and tugged on his rainproof jacket.

Outside the rain came down in a steady
drone but the forecast said the skies would clear just after dawn.
It wasn't soon enough, but he'd take any little break the elements
offered.

Lyle rubbed his eyes. He'd managed a
few hours sleep but he knew Jolene had remained awake. She and Will
looked like walking zombies.

“
Buster can meet Julia and
Tom,” provided Jolene, getting out her cell. “I'm sending him a
message now.”

Will was crawling out of his skin.
“Let's move!” he barked.

Kim materialized wearing rain gear,
ready to go.

“
Got the directions?” asked
Lyle before whistling for Dino.

“
Yeah. Let's go.”

Crane hadn't slept either. He'd
informed Will it was likely Hammond had taken them to sea. He and
Stacie Holye had been busy rousing people from their beds, asking
questions, getting answers. They'd found out from the owner of a
small marina in Metchosin that one of the cabin cruisers had been
stolen. Up for sale, the owner had taken his potential client out
for a spin and never returned. The marina owner had assumed they'd
docked elsewhere or broken down somewhere along the coast. An old
timer with partial dementia, he hadn't thought to call the coast
guard.

The CCG, or Canadian Coast Guard had
several stations dotting the coastline that ran along Vancouver
Island's outer rim. Will knew they'd deployed search vessels from
several locations, but he couldn't sit idly by and twiddle his
thumbs. He'd called the emergency number listed for Cal's Air
Adventures and begged the man to take them out at first light in
his seaplane. A fat fee offered, he'd agreed. Fifty something Cal
Sherwood waited for them at the downtown inner harbor. His air
craft stood ready, a six seat Cessna that looked as sturdy as its
pilot.

Introductions made, Will and his posse
climbed in, and as the sun stretched tentative fingers of light
over the horizon and the rain abated, they taxied out of the harbor
and took to the air.

They arrived in record time to East
Sooke, the outlying section of parkland boasting scenic coastal
hiking trails. Beyond that was the Pacific Rim, a long series of
trails with stunning views but unsuitable for novice hikers. That
was bear country, where tawny cougars prowled the northwest forests
for prey. Hawks, ospreys and other sea birds provided close
encounters with nature that made the parkland a sought after
destination for wildlife lovers.

And now, it seemed, for a
killer.

*

She had to pee. Bad.

Hours riding in the dark with Max
snoring lightly beside her, Kylie had fought sleep but finally
succumbed. When she'd woken, she'd found Max's bright eyes staring
at her in the dim light.

Thank God.

He probably had to pee too.

The boat's motor droned on. How far
had they come?

Max whispered, “What happened?” He
seemed to sense the need for quiet. “Where are we?”

His ten year old brain couldn't
possibly fathom the complicity of Drew's damaged mind. For that
matter, neither could hers. How much should she tell him, she
wondered, and longed for her mother's wisdom. It reminded her that
she would be a mother herself soon, and realized that if this were
her own child, she would want him to know of the danger but not be
afraid.

Nonetheless, fear resided in Max's
eyes. He'd been kidnapped at knife point, dragged off by a madman.
What could be more terrifying than to be in the clutches of the
ultimate bogeyman?

She decided to play it straight.
Whispering back, “Yesterday a man who is very mad at me decided to
get my attention by kidnapping you. He called me to come and get
you so I did. Now we're both being kidnapped.
Understand?”

Max nodded and then clutched his head.
“My head hurts.”

“
It's because he gave you
something to make you sleep. That's why you don't remember how you
got here. I'll do my best to protect you. Please try to stay calm,
because if you don't the man might get more mad. We don't want
that, do we?”

He shook his head in agreement, his
eyes solemn.

After a moment, “I have to
pee.”

“
So do I. We're going to
have to hold it a bit longer. Can you do that?”

“
I... I'll try.”

She watched Max squeeze his legs
together and bounce.

Abruptly the motor stopped and the
hatch opened. Light spilled in. Because of the blackout curtains on
the windows, daybreak had occurred without them
noticing.

Drew came down the stairs. Ignoring
them, he set about making a cup of instant coffee. Neither Max nor
Kylie had eaten or drank anything for close to twenty four hours.
Dehydration had further drained Kylie, especially after her harried
bike ride.

Her voice came out a croak. “Drew,
please. Can you give Max some water and let him take a
leak?”

Drew whirled around and executed his
hundred megawatt smile. “How noble of you. You ask for the brat but
you don't ask for yourself. Could it be that you're not as much of
a selfish bitch as I think you are?”

“
I'm pregnant, Drew. You do
know about morning sickness, right? I need to eat something. Some
crackers to absorb the bile.”

The wattage dimmed. “You have a
graphic way of putting things that takes the shine off. Fine.” He
looked around and found a bucket, tossed it at Max who barely
caught it in time before it hit him square in the face. “Go for it,
kid.” Pulling water from the sink faucet into a plastic cup, he
placed it on the floor. “There you go, in one end and out the
other.”

Laughing at his own humor, Drew cocked
his head at Kylie. “You can use the bucket too. If you give him a
show, maybe Max here will share his water with you.”

He was toying with them. Getting his
jollies.

“
Why not the bathroom? There
must be a marine toilet.”

“
More fun like
this.”

“
How about undoing our
wrists first?” she asked.

“
You'd like that, wouldn't
you?” He got out his pocket knife and cut Max's cuff. “Only his.
Max here can help you. You've got five minutes. We've reached our
destination. It's party time.”

He went back up the steps but did not
close the hatch. Party time. She didn't want to think about what
that might mean.

“
Max,” she urged, “quick,
take a pee sweetie. I'm not going to watch, okay?” She closed her
eyes and turned her head to give him privacy and heard his zipper
go down, then a tinkling noise. Zipped back up, Max drained the
water cup, then refilled it from the tap and held it out for
her.

She drank it down. It felt like cool
silk going down her parched throat. Her body felt weak, dead tired
and on the verge of nausea.

Max helped her to her feet. He opened
the snaps on the bib of her work coveralls and then turned his
back, waiting while she too alleviated herself.

Drew tromped back down the stairs as
promised. He tossed a loaf of bread onto the bed. “Knock yourself
out. Can't have you puking on our little morning trek now, can we?”
It was a self-serving gesture as obviously he didn't want to be
inconvenienced by his two guests not keeping pace due to basic
human needs.

When Drew went back on deck, Kylie
told Max to eat a few slices while wolfing one down herself. It
amazed her how quickly her body responded to being watered and fed.
Kylie felt a small surge of energy and her jumpy stomach
settled.

Stuffing more bread down her throat,
she looked around the cabin. Other than the jar of instant coffee
it had been cleared out. Silently she indicated to Max to open a
cabinet under the sink. Nothing. No chemicals, no
cleaners.

Drew was coming back. She found
herself sitting on the remainder of the bread, crushing it. A
thought zipped through her brain. Bread crumbs. Quickly she
snatched up as many slices as she could and pushed them into her
back pockets just as Drew came down the stairs.

He was uncannily tuned in to her.
“Forget about finding something here to help your cause, Kylie
dear.” He reached around and cut through her plastic cuff with his
pocket knife. “Get up. You too, brat. We're heading
out.”

On deck Kylie looked around. The crisp
morning air pricked her nostrils and scratched at her lungs. They
were in another cove with high rockery on either side. The beach
here was sandy and the pungent odor of seaweed tackled her senses.
The forest was dense with no visible pathways leading
inland.

The row boat had been towed behind. It
was put into service to take them to shore. Kylie's head spun from
lack of sleep, food, and water. She could only imagine what this
was doing to the fetus in her womb.

Max clung to Kylie, his body
trembling. She pulled him close and tried not to let her mind go to
what might happen next.

The drone of an aircraft sounded in
the distance. Spinning around, they all observed the tiny dot of a
seaplane as it headed out to sea.

“
Fucking tourists,” mumbled
Drew.

He grasped Max by the arm and stalked
off, dragging him along. Kylie scurried after them. At the corner
of the beach Drew and Max disappeared through an opening that led
into the dark forest beyond.