Phantom Scars (30 page)

Chapter 57 - Running Silent

We were going to be out of range in the next twenty-four hours. I was going a little crazy. I called Warren and insisted he take over my watching shift. He said he would. If he wasn't watching her in person, he would be keeping an eye on her using the cameras. I was surprised he agreed, but I guessed this Victor guy was really giving him the creeps, too.

I talked to my girl on the phone one last time and told her I missed her and loved her. She said she was doing okay, that my momma was looking after her well. She also told me she would be counting down to seeing me in June. I wouldn't be able to talk to her until the middle of May, when we finally would be back in range. I couldn't believe I was going to go a month without my girl. I think I was going to go mad.

I talked with Warren one more time before things went dead, and we were stuck with just our radio.

"The marriage certificate ruse went off without a hitch," he explained. "Jessup walked in as they were all having coffee and asked if I could give it to Emma, knowing she was in the back with Abby. I asked him what it was, and he said it was the marriage license. I asked him if they’d gotten the name right on it this time. He was flawless, saying he just delivered the mail, not read it. I opened it and showed him the mistakes they’d made."

"How did he change it?" I asked.

"I'm getting there. I explained to them that the Americans in the immigration office had had the audacity to Americanize Emma's name. Ermengarde Deutschen was not American enough for them, I said hitting a nerve. They did a lot of name changing on Ellis Island. I told them you had to send it back and complain. I wondered if the transcriber was drunk or something, because they’d completely butchered it," he said.

"I flopped it down on the table in front of them, and of course, Marie went off on a tangent in Italian. ‘She's the wrong girl, you idiots, now you leave her alone. She's not who you were looking for and is not who Dante was looking for, either. The stupid old fool got himself killed over a dead girl!' she said smugly. It was wonderful. Joseph seemed resigned in leaving. He didn't want to mess with Emma as it was. He told Victor it was time to drop it. 'The Declan’s are gone,' he insisted. Apparently, they have a beef with Clark. We're going to have to hide him until they're out of town," Warren sighed.

"I wish they were gone already. I’d feel a whole lot better if they were gone before we go out of range."

"Don't worry, Devin, I called for reinforcements. Tyson and his partner, Bode, will be poking around. They'll just 'be in the neighborhood' and remember your momma's awesome cooking and just have to stop in. They know not to draw any attention to Emma or us. He'll be sure to clarify that he picked up his love for Abby's cooking during the serial killer's case. He and his partner will be poking around the restaurant and where Victor is staying. Their presence is enough to warrant FBI interest, so it shouldn't be anything unusual to them. I just hope it gets them to move along faster."

"I do, too. When will Tyson be there?"

"Tomorrow morning. He'll be stopping in for morning coffee and one of Abby's handmade éclairs around the same time the brothers will be having theirs."

"Good, I hate that they're anywhere near my girl," I growled.

"I know what you mean, but you have nothing to worry about, Devin. Abby and I are both packing, and if anything went down, I think they’d be surprised how quick and easy it’d be for one of us to drop them before they touched your girl."

I let out a frustrated sigh.

"She's family, Devin. We'll look after her and protect her as such. No one will lay a hand on her. I promise," he reassured me, but I wasn't going to feel better until the Italians were gone.

I was so upset that I couldn't get an update or watch my girl, I couldn't sleep. I was dragging the next day and snapped at one of the men. Captain Towers pulled me aside, and I explained everything to him. He said I was nuts for leaving, but I told him I had already given him my word that I would ship out with him, and I couldn't leave him hanging like that.

He hugged me. I totally didn't expect that. "You're a good boy, Devin."

"I'm hoping by June, the mess with the Italians will be over," I said, settling into his office chair.

"Well, if it's not, you let me know, and you stay there. This is crazy for you to be here. You're only useful to me if you're well rested and focused, and you're neither at this point."

"I'm sorry, Sir, I promise I'll do better."

He let out a chuckle. "I don't expect you to do better, Son. You're in a messed-up situation. If those 'Italians' as you call them are still around in June, you give me a call. I'll pull your weight the second half of the trip. For now, though, I think we'll kick up the engines a few knots to see if we can't get back in range a little faster."

"Really?" I asked my face lighting up like a kid on Christmas morning.

"Of course, Son, she's family, and I want to be sure she's alright."

"Thank you, Sir. I mean it. I'll definitely do better. I'll be the best first officer you ever had."

"Devin, you already are the best first officer I've ever had. You just have to focus a little more. Try and picture it as not sailing away from your girl, but to her, and we’ll work on getting in range and getting our route done, so you can get back to her faster."

"I will, Sir, thank you, Sir," I said as he dismissed me.

I hurried down to the engine room and double checked everything, before ordering the men to raise our speed. It was barely noticeable, but when I did the math, it would get us into range a whole week sooner. I then decided to look over the shipping route to make sure we were going the fastest way possible and double checked our pickup and drop-off route. Captain Towers had been using the same route for about fifteen years. When I had come on, I’d never questioned it, because he was the captain, but now I wanted to see if we could cut some more time off our trip.

After double checking and re-plotting, I brought my proposal before the captain. He looked down at the new route and smiled. "I see you've been busy."

"I was just thinking…we still stop in a couple of ports for no reason anymore. Those companies have gone out of business, and so there's no pick-up or drop-off needed there."

"No, the only reason we were stopping there was to keep up the morale of the men. Most see some regular whores there, but I see no reason why we can't cut them out this trip and get things ahead of schedule. I'd just left them in, because I wasn't sure if someone would request a shipment there up until the last minute."

"Has anyone contacted you?" I asked.

"No, we're in the clear. The way you have us turning the ship and cutting up this back route will actually cut quite a bit of time off. I'm surprised I didn't see this before."

"I was hoping to help you with the maintenance and restocking. I know it's a difficult job and a major part of my job description."

He smiled at me. "Devin, you're a good man."

"With what I have plotted out here, you’d only have to ship out without me on the final stretch home. It’d be early enough with cutting this time off the route that you shouldn't encounter any storms, but I'm not going to make any promises. If the weather turns bad, you can hit these islands here for a safe harbor, and I'll fly in and help you get home the last stretch," I pointed, looking up at him. There was no way I would leave my men to die at sea.

He patted my shoulder. "It looks like you've thought of everything. I still can't believe with your intelligence that you never went to college. I don't doubt you could do anything you wanted. You know, you’d be a good captain one day, Devin. I wonder if your girl has sea legs."

I shrugged. "She seemed to be fine, but she isn't one for travel. She's more about putting down roots and taking care of family."

"I'm glad to hear you found yourself a good woman," he said standing up. "Now, let's go give the order to cut this trip short. I'm sure we'll get shit from some of the men for it, but they can just kiss our asses. They can find new whores elsewhere."

That was fine by me. I just hoped the men didn't try and toss me overboard for cockblocking them this trip. Knowing the dispositions of some of them, that was a distinct possibility.

Chapter 58 - Planning Under Pressure

To say the men were unruly was an understatement. I was just as stern in return, commanding the attention and work required to get me back to my girl. I would not let them slack. The captain was impressed, and he was thankful. Since our trip had been shortened greatly, we would be using fewer supplies, saving money and earning the boys all a nice little bonus. When he announced it, he told them they could all buy new whores with their bonus money and to get used to it. The run was going to stay shortened from here on out, unless another shipment involving one of the bypassed ports was requested next summer.

Next summer, I didn't know what the heck I was going to do then. We could ship out as late as the beginning of March, and be back by the end of June with our new route, barring no complications. It was still four months of no Emma, and I didn't think I would be able to handle it any better then, either. The Italians had better be gone, or I would be taking them out myself when I got home.

I realized I would be home in time for Emma's birthday now. I was a bit excited, and I planned on surprising her. I would have to come home a little later in June, but I would be able to stay unless a storm arose. I hoped I would be there in time for the funeral. I knew I had to make it for that. I hoped she wouldn't be too upset, when I called and told her I would miss her brother's birth.

We finally came back into range a full two weeks sooner than originally planned. I immediately called my girl. My momma answered the phone and nearly exploded in excitement, when she heard it was me. I asked for my wife, but I didn't get the words all the way out, before the phone was in her hand, and I could hear her soft crying.

"Emma, honey, are you alright? Is everything okay?" I asked.

"No, yes."

"Which is it?" I asked a little panicked, wondering what had happened.

"I just miss you. You're not here, but yes, I'm fine," she sniffled, and I wished I was there to hold her in my arms until she felt better.

"I'll be there as soon as possible. Unfortunately, something has come up, and I'm going to be a few days later in June."

"How much later?" was her immediate reply.

"Just a few days, I'm hoping to be there only three days later than was scheduled before. I should still make it for the funeral, if all goes as planned."

"I'll call the doctor and see if he can't reschedule delivering the baby then. I want you here. Will you still have a week with me?" she asked nervously, sure her time would be cut short.

"Yes, if all goes as planned, I should be able to be there for you," I said vaguely. "When is the doctor's office open so you can call?" I asked, suddenly realizing I hadn't even considered what time it was there. I had just called as soon as the phone was working again.

"They should be open right now."

"Well, call them and then call me back, or I'll call you. Which do you prefer?"

"I guess I should call you. I don't know how long I'll be on hold."

"Alright, beautiful, call me as soon as you know the answer. I love you," I said.

"I love you, too," she whispered before we disconnected.

I hated that she was hanging up, but she needed to. I hoped she was able to change the date of the C-section. It was still pretty far out. We had originally scheduled it around my free week. Hopefully, the doctor would still be accommodating. He knew I was coming in from overseas to take care of my girl. This OB/GYN was much more compassionate than the jerk in Arizona. I was glad we were rid of him.

I had been pacing, waiting for the phone call, when Captain Towers poked his head in and smiled.

"Waiting for the line to open?" he asked.

"It did open. I just talked to my wife, and she's going to see if she can reschedule the birth of the baby and call me back."

He nodded. "I hope it works out for you, Devin. I know how much it’d mean to you to be there for her."

I smiled and nodded. "I really appreciate you letting me change things around, Captain, so I could get back to her sooner."

"Not at all, Son, your changes made us some nice cash. It was all for the better. I'm glad you took a knife to the schedule. We'll all be home sooner," he said and then paused. "So, any thoughts on coming onboard next summer?" he asked.

I rubbed my face and shrugged. "I don't know. I'll just have to wing it again. I need to be there for my wife if she needs me, but the baby may take her complete attention. I'm not sure, honestly."

He let out a laugh. "Wing it, it is. I'll come find you when it's time. Just keep me apprised of what's going on like you did before, Devin. You're a good first officer and worth moving things around for. Thank you."

"Thank you for keeping me and being patient," I said sincerely.

He let out a chuckle, as I jumped when the phone rang. I nearly leaped on it, causing him to laugh harder. "I hope it all works out for you," he said and left, giving me privacy to speak with my wife.

"Hello, Emma?" I asked hopeful. I suddenly realized it could have been a wrong number or something.

"Devin?"

"Yes, sweetheart, I'm here. What did the doctor say?" I asked, eager to know.

"He said it would be fine, but he has to do it five days later instead of three."

"It's okay. I'll be there, and that way we can get CJ's room set up for him."

She let out a sniffle.

"What's wrong, baby?"

"It's hard to schedule my mom's death, you know?"

"Oh, baby, I'm so sorry to make you have to do this alone."

"No, Devin, it's fine. It's just hard. Warren hooked me up with an attorney, Mr. Preston. I guess I needed to get power of attorney over my mom's estate, since my parents aren't married, and my dad is still a mess himself. There’s also the possibility of some loose ends in Florida from when we’d lived there. Mr. Preston is researching them, so we can get everything settled cleanly. He’s checking her and Wayne’s financials and paperwork. It's just a lot to handle. I wish you were here to help me," she spoke softly and let out a sad sigh.

"I wish I was there, too. I'm doing everything in my power to get back to you as fast as possible."

"I know, it's just..."

"What?" I asked when she paused.

"Mr. Preston found out that there was a life insurance policy taken out by Wayne on my mom. It was big enough to raise suspicion, especially because of when he’d bought it."

"What do you mean?"

"You remember how you overheard him telling that guy to take my mom?"

"Yeah?"

"Wayne bought the policy on my mom the next day, and the money is still in a legal tangle. Mr. Preston is working on getting it for me, so I'm hoping something good can come from all this mess."

"It already has. You came to me, Emma. You're the best thing to ever happen to me, honey."

"I love you, Devin," she said softly.

"I love you, too. How are you doing otherwise? Are you handling the drive from the house to the restaurant alright?" I asked.

"Yeah, it's a bit hard, though. I'm on a new medicine that's a little stronger. I'm taking it just until you come home. I hope I won't need it anymore when you're here, because it's making me sick. I'm lucky if I keep the dang pill down at all."

"I'm sorry, sweetheart."

"It's alright. Warren said my body will eventually adjust to it, so it won't make me feel so nauseous."

"I miss you," I whispered, hating that I was so far away while she was suffering. I wanted to be there to comfort her, to help her, so she wouldn't need that stupid medication that made her sick. She had been doing so well, and now it sounded like she was getting set back again. I hated that I was messing her up by having to be so far away from her. I was really regretting my skipping college and going straight to the shipyard now. I made good money, but I didn't think it was worth it anymore. If I could find a way to pay for Clark, Paige and baby CJ's care while I stayed at home, I would do it, and I would go to school myself and get into a career that wouldn't take me away from home for months at a time. I so wished I could do that.

"I miss you, too, baby," she whimpered.

The sound of her crying broke my heart all over again, and I was determined that she wouldn't be missing me for long.