Wrath of the Sea Queen

by Cynthia Woods

  CHAPTER 30

  Caeli woke up before the sun. She felt a bit sick to her stomach, but now that she was certain of the cause, the discomfort was worth bearing. Quietly, she crawled out of bed, without disturbing Vin, and made her way to the bathroom. Once her stomach settled, Caeli showered, brushed her teeth, and slipped into some khaki capri pants and a baby blue, summery blouse with swatches of jade green running through it.

  She decided to go for a short walk on the beach as the sun began to color the horizon with hues of pale pink and orange. She did not want to go far, but wanted to stretch her legs and take in the fresh morning air. Caeli had already lost two days of this vacation and did not intend to waste another minute. Besides, she could feel the storm brewing out of sight in the darkness. It would likely hit the island later that evening. She wanted to enjoy a few peaceful moments before that happened.

  As she walked off the porch and away from the building, a small shadow detached itself from the darkness and followed at her right side. As she walked, it fell into step beside her.

  "Good morning, Max. What are you doing up so early?"

  "I wanted to walk with you. I have to help Mr. Vin keep an eye on you."

  "Really? Did Vin ask you to do that? Well, I will see if I can get you released from that duty when I get back. You don't need to give up your free time to hang out with me. In fact, you should probably still be sleeping."

  "But I want to help. I'm a good helper," Max protested.

  "All right, but how did you know I was going for a walk? Vin isn't even up yet." Caeli asked, surprised to find Max awake this early.

  "My Mama always went for walks with my sister. She said that being near the water made her feel better."

  Caeli couldn't quite figure the boy out. Max was incredibly perceptive. She didn't think that Max realized the correlations he instinctively made between her and his late mother. She didn't mind. Max obviously loved his mother very much. It was just a bit unsettling to know that he was capable of such observations.

  "Come along then. I wouldn't mind the company."

  They walked down to the water, and Caeli kicked her shoes off so that she could feel the water on her feet. It was still quite cool. Max ran a few steps ahead of her, collecting shells and bringing them back for her to hold.

  About ten minutes later, as the sun began to brighten the distant horizon, Caeli noticed a strange, tingling sensation in the water at her feet. She looked down, but did not see anything that might have caused it. It reminded her of the tingling she experienced right before Rika joined her in the cave.

  In the next moment, Caeli saw a man on the beach, not too far in the distance. He might have been dressed in a black suit or it could have been a heavy shadow playing tricks with the early morning light. He was walking in her direction. She could not tell who the man might be or what he looked like because the sun was not yet high enough to reveal his features. For some reason, Caeli did not feel comfortable meeting him alone on the beach. She called for Max, and they turned back toward the hotel.

  "Pretty Caeli, do you know that man?" Max asked as he reached up and took her hand.

  "I doubt it. I cannot say for certain at this distance; but I think we should not bother him. He is out for a walk by himself, and I think we are done with our walk. Let's go back to the hotel and see what we can find for breakfast. Do you like pancakes, Max?"

  Caeli urged Max to walk quickly up the beach with her. They made it to the lounge and stepped inside as the man reached the spot where their footprints turned toward the hotel. The man stopped. Caeli moved further inside so that neither she nor Max could be seen from the shore below. Something about the man in black sent chills down her spine. He stood there looking up toward the hotel for several minutes before continuing on his way. Caeli sent Max to his room to wait until time for breakfast. He ran by Salma as she entered the lounge. Salma was pleased to see Caeli up and feeling well, but was feeling a little guilty. Salma had been beset by a shocking realization during the night.

  "Caeli, I'm glad you're up. Feeling better?"

  "Yes, much better. Thanks, Aunt Salma." Caeli beamed.

  "Good. Can I talk to you for a minute?" Salma whispered. She did not want anyone to overhear their voices in the lounge.

  "Sure. I want to talk to you, too. I have a great idea for breakfast," Caeli said with a smile that almost let Salma believe her niece had fully recovered. Of course, Salma knew better. Until most recently, Caeli had always been good at putting on a pleasant face no matter how she felt.

  "Before we talk about food, I need to apologize to you."

  "Why would you need to apologize?" Caeli was truly baffled.

  "Come over and sit with me for a minute, and I will explain. You see, I received some letters a while back. Without getting into all the details, I will just say they were unpleasant and threatening."

  "I know about the letters," Caeli told her.

  "Who told you? Was it Ben or Molly?" Salma was not surprised that Caeli found out about them.

  "You told me. Don't you remember? You said the government should keep its nose out of your research."

  "Oh, those were a different set of letters. The letters I'm referring to were sent by a young lady who was upset because I wasn't able to help a particular patient. The letters began arriving right after the patient died."

  "I'm sure you did everything you could. Did the lady blame you out of grief?" Caeli asked.

  "It's complicated, but I did not actually treat the man. I wasn't even permitted to respond to the letter his son sent requesting my help. However, that's not the point. In these letters, the lady threatened to hurt me by forcing me to watch those I care about suffer and die."

  "Surely she was just upset. She couldn't really have meant it."

  "Let me finish, Caeli. Ben also read the letters and agreed that the author intended to follow through on the threat. He was unable to track the lady down. It has been hanging over my head for months. It occurred to me last night that you might have been the first intended target."

  "Me?"

  "Yes. Ben does not believe that the energy bars were poisoned by accident. I disagreed with him at first. Then we talked about it some more last night, and I can see his point. You know that he is almost never wrong about these things. I'm afraid it is my fault you were drawn into this. It's my fault that you had to suffer. This lady must have found out that you and I are related and devised this way to strike at me by hurting you. I am really sorry," Salma explained.

  "Salma, that can't be true!"

  "I'm sorry, Dear, but I know it is. Ben confirmed it."

  "How?" Caeli insisted.

  "He did some research online last night and discovered that there was never any recall issued on the bars because the company doesn't exist. It never did. It's fake. Whatever website you ordered from was probably set up by the same person who wrote me the letters."

  Caeli refused to believe it. She could not believe it because Lara gave her the bars. Salma and Vin thought she ordered them online because she never told them about Lara's surplus delivery. It didn't seem as important at the time as it did now.

  "But Salma, you don't understand. I did not order the bars from the website that I showed you. My friend Lara gave me some of her extras. They came straight from her. So the poison could not have been meant specifically for me. If Lara had eaten any out of that shipment, she would have been sick, too. I tried to call her last night, but I was not able to reach her. You see, it has to be a mistake."

  She could not believe that her friend would be involved in anything like this. Yet, in the back of her mind, Caeli understood that Lara would be well aware of the origin of the bars. She must have known that something about the company she ordered from was not right, especially if it was that easy for Salma to see through the false website. Therefore, as hard as it was to accept, Lara's involvement was not only possible, it was also very likely.

  "I'm truly sorry, but your friend is tangled
up in this to some extent. Maybe she didn't have any choice. Perhaps she was forced to give them to you. Perhaps she is sick, like you said. If that's true, your friend's life could be in danger, too."

  Caeli did not know what to think. It was too early to digest such complicated matters. She would talk to Vin when he woke. He would help her sort it out. He always helped her see things clearly, especially when she was too emotionally involved.

  "No matter how it turns out, it is not your fault, Salma. You are not responsible for making me sick. Whoever poisoned those bars will have to answer for that. Thankfully, I'm fine. No lasting damage. So, let's worry about the specifics later. Right now, I need your help with breakfast." Caeli shared a portion of her meal plan with Salma before slipping quietly into her room through the porch entrance.

  Vin woke around seven o'clock to the smell of freshly brewed coffee and the muffled sounds of someone moving around. He instinctively reached for Caeli, but she was not in bed. He turned to look across the room and found her busy in the little kitchenette. She turned to smile at him when he stirred.

  "Good morning, handsome."

  "Not before I've had a cup of coffee it isn't. Do I happen to smell some brewing over there? I'll make it worth your while if you will pour me a cup."

  "And I suppose I have to deliver the coffee to find out what it's worth?" Caeli teased as she poured coffee into an oversized mug and carried it to Vin. He took a few sips then sat it on the table beside the bed.

  "Umm, that's good. Where did you find Irish mocha? You know it's my favorite. Actually, when did you have time to find it? How long have you been up?" Vin leaned forward and gave her a kiss, the promised payment.

  "I confess. I brought it with me. I was going to fix it for you on Friday, but today seemed like a much better day for it." Caeli hopped up and returned to the breakfast nook, smiling and humming. She was busy fixing something that smelled delicious.

  Vin grabbed some clean clothes as he got up and walked into the bathroom. He quickly showered, went through his morning routine while he chatted with Caeli, and began to get dressed. Unfortunately, when he looked for his shirt, it was conspicuously missing.

  "Caeli, have you seen my shirt? It was here a minute ago."

  "I have it." She replied with a casual hint of mischief in her voice.

  Without any further explanation forthcoming, Vin walked out of the bathroom to retrieve it. He found Caeli still busy in the breakfast nook with his dark blue t-shirt draped over her shoulder. He had not seen her slip in and remove it from his pile of clothes on the bathroom sink while he was in the shower.

  Caeli continued to hum happily as she fixed breakfast. But this was more than any ordinary meal. She was cooking pancakes; a dish Vin remembered fondly as the first meal she had ever cooked for him. There wasn't anything Vin liked more than Caeli's homemade pancakes. She knew exactly the right combination of cinnamon and brown sugar that made his mouth water. And there were, he noticed for the first time, three whole stacks of them under a steam filled, glass dome on a large serving tray; more than he could eat in a month.

  "Ok, what's going on?" Vin walked up behind her and removed the spatula from her hand, setting it beside the serving tray. As he turned her around to face him, Caeli playfully ran her hands up his bare chest and answered him.

  "I thought that you might enjoy starting off at least one day of this vacation pleasantly. I made your favorite coffee and your favorite breakfast. I snatched your shirt because I knew that if you put it on, you would head out of the room. I wasn't ready for you to leave yet. I thought that after we had a private breakfast, you might enjoy another of your favorites as well…" Caeli flashed him an inviting smile and turned back to flip the pancakes, removing the last of them from the pan and leaving Vin to consider her offer. He reached over and tugged his shirt off her shoulder. Naturally, she couldn't refrain from teasing him further.

  "Of course, if you insist on taking the shirt, I will have to take that last item off the menu. Now, go sit down and eat your breakfast before it gets cold. I'll be right back. I promised Max and everyone else they could share in your breakfast bounty."

  Caeli picked up the large serving tray and headed for the door. Vin propped it open for her and offered to carry the tray. Caeli thanked him, but insisted that he return to the table and eat. She was well enough to manage the tray on her own and would rejoin him in a few minutes. Before she walked away, Vin tossed his shirt on the floor in front of her. As Vin watched her walk toward the door, he muttered loud enough for her to hear.

  "Breakfast would have been my second choice."

  Vin went to sit in one of the two chairs at the small table. There was a plate stacked with pancakes in the center. Two place settings were laid out, including delicately folded napkins, silverware, and all of the breakfast trimmings. Caeli's glass of orange juice was on one side, so Vin grabbed his coffee and sat at the other. He could barely wait to dig in as he heard Caeli laugh. He was thrilled to see her returning to her normal self again; but he knew that her enticing offer had only been in jest. It was way too soon for such activity, though the exciting thoughts it invoked were unavoidable.

  When she reached the threshold, Caeli stopped and turned back. Vin was already eating. It truly was his favorite breakfast, and he thoroughly enjoyed each bite. Caeli continued to laugh in delight as she walked out the door.

  "Do wipe your chin. The syrup is starting to drip."

  Caeli walked into the lounge, humming, carrying the tray loaded with pancakes. Salma already had the table set with everything else needed. This is what she and Caeli had arranged earlier. Caeli informed her that she would make breakfast, and she was not accepting any refusals. She insisted that everyone eat together this morning and wasn't saying anything more. Salma detected the same mischief in the air that Vin noticed, but then again, that was typically Caeli's fun-loving personality.

  Max walked into the lounge from the other hall about the same time that Caeli came in carrying the tray of food. His eyes became almost as big around as the pancakes when he saw the fluffy stacks.

  "Wow! Did you make all those, pretty Caeli?"

  "I sure did. I hope you're hungry."

  "You bet I am. I don't get to have pancakes very often. Papa always burns them."

  Caeli laughed as she looked over at Apela, who hung his head in mock shame.

  "Well, I'm with you, Max. I think I could eat a whole stack by myself. Come sit by me and let's see if they taste as good as they look." Salma maneuvered Max out from under Caeli's feet.

  Everyone except Ben was seated at the table and began eating. Caeli walked over to Ben as he stood looking out a screened window several feet away from the table.

  "Have you told him yet? I'm on eggshells over here, Lass. I can't even look at Salma. She already knows that you are up to something. She will know I've aided your mischief before too long," Ben whispered.

  "Oh, don't worry, Uncle Ben. Try to enjoy breakfast. I put a lot of work into it. It will all be out in the open in another minute or two. I do so love to surprise Vin, and this is a rare opportunity. After all the bad things the last few days have brought, I wanted to make the good news memorable," Caeli chuckled.

  Ben thought she was nearly floating in her happiness, a complete reversal since Sunday. He was glad to see the change.

  "Caeli! Caeli!" Vin's excited voice could be heard coming from their room.

  She skipped like a schoolgirl in that direction, winking at Ben as she left.

  Vin continued to eat after she left, knowing he hadn't really spilled the syrup. Caeli was teasing him, one of her favorite pastimes. She was in such a good mood and seemed to be feeling so much better that Vin decided, then and there, that he would go to the conference with Ben. But until then, he wanted to spend some quality time with Caeli, perhaps even take her up on that last offer. Maybe she was well enough after all. Although this was the first time it actually felt like it in days, this was their vacation. Of course, he woul
d have to tear himself away from this delicious breakfast first.

  Vin reached for his napkin as he pushed his empty plate away. Picking up the cloth and shaking it open, Vin noticed a thin, white tube inside a Ziploc bag and a piece of paper as they fell out of the napkin. The baggie containing the tube landed on the floor and the paper in his lap. Vin unfolded the paper as he reached to pick up the baggie. The page looked like it might be part of the lab work Salma performed the day before. He set it aside, not reading it or giving it much thought. It had probably been left on the table at some point.

  He held up the plastic bag and inspected the tube within. It took a moment for him to register exactly what he was seeing. The two crossed lines in the little window clearly indicated a positive result. When Vin finally made the connection, he grabbed up the paper again and read it carefully. He could not believe what he was seeing. He had suspected it for weeks. Vin realized that he had known all along, but the distraction of her recent illness kept him from pursuing the truth. Now he understood why Caeli was being so playful and had fixed all of his favorites this morning. This truly was going to be a good day; one he would remember vividly. He was going to be a dad! Caeli was pregnant!

  Salma looked up from her plate, aiming a questioning look at Ben as she heard Vin calling and saw Caeli leaving the lounge.

  "What's that all about?" She asked Ben, but it was Max who answered as Vin came running in, still shirtless, with a huge grin on his face. He nearly ran into Caeli as he turned the corner in a rush, still holding the paper in his hand.

  "Is it true? Is it really true?"

  Caeli nodded and laughed. Vin kissed her and picked her up by the waist, enjoying the tingling sensation, which he now understood. For some reason, the baby responded to Vin's touch. He spun Caeli around, smiling and laughing with her.

  "Pretty Caeli is going to be a Mama, and Mr. Vin is going to be a Papa," Max announced.

  "Ben, Salma, we're going to have a baby! I'm going to be a dad!" Vin could not contain his excitement. He wanted to share the good news with everyone. Caeli stood a step behind him smiling and basking in Vin's happiness.