by Brenda Hiatt
“Do you . . . do you think they’ll let me change rooms tonight?” I asked. “I know it sounds silly, but—” But no way would I be able to sleep a wink here, I was positive.
“I’m sure that won’t be a problem,” Marco assured me. “Let me call the front desk.”
While he was on the phone, the maintenance man arrived to examine the room safe and the electronic lock of my door. He took his time, but finally verified what the security guys had already concluded—I had indeed had an intruder, and one who was apparently no novice at this sort of break-in.
“If you want to pack up your stuff, Ms. Seally, you can move to room 1436 at the end of the hall,” Marco told me when the maintenance man finished his explanation. “It’s a mini-suite, but there’ll be no extra charge.”
The hotel clearly hoped that would pacify me enough that I wouldn’t make any trouble about the break-in. Not that I’d planned to.
“Thanks. That’ll be great. I can be packed in five minutes.” I was already hauling my suitcase out of the closet as I spoke.
Much to my relief, Marco and the maintenance man remained in the room, fussing over the door lock, while I packed. I knew it was irrational, but I absolutely didn’t want to be alone in this room.
I didn’t bother folding or rolling things, but just tossed them into the suitcase any which way—very unlike me, but I guess stress will do that. I was about to empty my underwear drawer when I paused, revolted by an unwelcome image of some unknown person pawing through it. On sudden decision I dumped all of my undies into the trash, instead. I could buy new tomorrow.
After cramming my toiletries into the little case on the bathroom counter and draping my still-damp swimsuit over my arm, I announced that I was ready.
“Here, I’ll take that,” said Marco, picking up my suitcase. “Room 1436 is this way.”
I was oddly comforted by his take-charge attitude. I knew I should fight that feeling, that I shouldn’t need some man to make me feel safe, but I was too tired by then to summon more than a vague sense of guilt. And I still felt comforted.
“Here you are, Ms. Seally,” he said, opening the door with what I assumed was the kind of universal key the housekeepers had. “I hope you’ll be comfortable here. Someone should be up with a new room key in just a few minutes.”
“Thank you, Marco—for everything.” I almost added an apology for being so much trouble, but I bit it back. None of this was my fault.
“It’s what I’m here for, ma’am.” He returned my smile with an added warmth that startled me. While he wasn’t nearly as attractive as Ronan or Jason, the hint of admiration in his eyes went a long way to restore my confidence.
Still, when he left a moment later, I was relieved to be in a safe room, one that only a small handful of people could know I was in. Not that there was any reason to think I’d been personally targeted, of course. It had to have been a random break-in.
Didn’t it?
I turned away from the door and looked around. If I’d thought the other room was opulent, it was nothing to this one. There was a separate living area in addition to the king-sized bedroom, and each had its own balcony. The bathroom was twice the size of the other one, as well.
Exhaustion hit me like a wave, and I decided to save further observations for the morning.
Morning! I was supposed to be at the dive shop by eight-thirty to gear up for our final open water dives, and it was already well past one.
Leaving my unpacking for tomorrow, I draped my swimsuit over the tub and pulled my toothbrush out of the toiletry case. Fifteen minutes later, I was asleep.
I WAS PULLING my shorts on over my swimsuit the next morning, groggy from too much drink and too little sleep the night before, when I felt the ring I’d found yesterday still in the pocket. I dug it out and stared at it, a thought very belatedly occurring to me.
Could this, just possibly, be what someone was after when they broke into my room last night?
Surely not. No one even knew about the ring, except the others in my dive class. And the clerk at the Cartier store. Okay, and whoever the clerk might have contacted, though it seemed unlikely that would be someone here on the island.
As for my dive buddies, I just couldn’t believe any of them could have done this. Besides, I hadn’t told any of them which room I was in.
Still, even the slight possibility that I’d been specifically targeted instead of the victim of some random break-in gave me the willies.
“HERE SHE IS—Wynne, the party animal,” Bebe announced as I approached the group already assembled by the door of the dive shop. “I’ve got to admit, you look perkier than I feel today. I should have left when you did.”
I forced a laugh, wondering what she’d been telling the others. It’s not like I’d done anything really embarrassing—had I? No, no, I could remember the whole evening.
“I’m pretty out of practice at that kind of thing,” I said then. “I was afraid if I stayed out much later, I wouldn’t get up at all this morning.”
I took a quick inventory of the group: Bebe, Rick, Dobry, Jason—everyone was there except Greg and Linda, who were the very least likely “suspects” anyway.
“You’ll never guess what happened when I got back to my room last night,” I said, trying to keep an eye on everyone’s expressions at once. “I found out someone had broken into my room!”
“Omigosh!” Bebe squealed, and the guys made outraged noises. The surprise on every face looked genuine, much to my relief. After all, I liked these people, even the occasionally obnoxious Rick.
“What did you do?” Bebe asked. “I thought Aruba was supposed to be so safe.”
“I called security, and they checked things out. Nothing seemed to be missing, which was kind of weird.” I decided not to mention the change of rooms, just in case.
“That is weird,” Jason agreed. “You’re at the Royal Aruban, right?” I nodded. “I’ve never even heard of a break-in there, and I’ve been here three years. You think maybe one of the staff was looking for something?”
It occurred to me that Jason was the only one who would have had access to my room number, since I’d put it on the form I’d filled out for the class. He seemed sincerely concerned, however, and he was such a wholesome, good-natured guy, I couldn’t bring myself to suspect him of anything.
“The security guys didn’t think so. They thought whoever it was escaped off the balcony, a dozen floors up. Not something one of the maids was likely to do.”
I glanced at Rick as I spoke and saw him staring at me. “And you weren’t scared?” he asked. “That’s kind of cool.” There was real admiration in his tone which made me acquit him on the spot. Ah, vanity.
Rather than lie, I changed the subject. “I figure whoever it was probably broke into the wrong room, looking for something specific. Oh, here are Greg and Linda.”
“Okay, then let’s all head to the boat,” Jason said, motioning them to hurry. “Your gear is already aboard.”
Ronan was already aboard, too, along with another man Jason introduced as Bertie, our missing captain from the day before. He still looked a little bleary, I thought.
“Did you hear what happened to Wynne?” Bebe said to Linda as we took turns stepping from the dock to the boat.
Of course, Linda hadn’t, so I told my story again. As I’d expected, there was no sign whatsoever that either Linda or Greg knew anything about my break-in. Ronan seemed mildly interested, though it was hard to tell since he was busy with the ropes.
“Anyway, I had the impression they were going to do more investigating today—maybe check for fingerprints and stuff,” I improvised. “They seemed pretty upset that something like that had happened in their hotel.”
“They should be upset,” Ronan said, setting down the coiled rope. “Just think if you’d surprised the guy and he’d
hurt you.” He sounded indignant and maybe a little bit worried—which gave me a warm feeling.
Before I could analyze that feeling, or just how foolish it was for me to feel it, Jason launched into the day’s pre-dive lesson.
“Today we’re going to start with the Arashi Reef. It has a couple of sunken airplanes, which add some extra interest. We’ll be diving to about forty feet, somewhere between the depths of yesterday’s two dives.” He went on to explain the skills we’d be practicing, as well as giving more details about the dive site itself.
Already I was feeling a tingle of anticipation in my belly as I zipped myself into my wetsuit. That process wasn’t any easier today than yesterday, though I managed not to pinch myself in the zipper this time. I decided I had to lose at least a little bit of weight before my next dive vacation.
My next dive vacation?
I paused, that thought reverberating in my head—then decided I was okay with it. Though I wasn’t even certified yet, I felt sure I’d be diving again in the future. Interesting, even weird, but . . . definitely okay.
“Since Ronan is going to dive with us today, I’ll be somebody’s buddy, as well as instructing,” Jason was saying.
I turned my head sharply and saw that Ronan was, in fact, wearing a wetsuit. Somehow I’d missed him stripping to swim trunks before putting it on, darn it. Still, the navy blue neoprene outlined his chest and thighs impressively. With an effort, I told myself that I barely knew the man, so any lustful thoughts were out of line.
Not that they’d have been in line, no matter what. Sheesh.
“So, Jason, will you be my buddy?” Bebe asked before anyone else could.
He grinned at her, but shook his head. “You and Dobry made a great team yesterday. I thought I’d buddy with Rick, and let Ronan pair up with Wynne.”
Was that a wink he sent Ronan’s way as he spoke? No, my overactive imagination had conjured that, I was sure. Still, I couldn’t deny another unsanctioned thrill at the idea of being Ronan’s underwater buddy. And this one didn’t go away, no matter how I scolded myself.
“—much left of the actual airplanes, but the reef is pretty good,” Jason was saying when I managed to focus again. “Once we’ve done our drills, look around for parrotfish, angelfish, and blue tangs.”
Again, the boat ride was short, no longer than it took us novices to get all of our gear ready and onto our bodies. I forced myself to concentrate as I attached my hoses and tightened the various cinches. I was determined not to do anything stupid in front of Ronan, despite the fact I’d probably never see him again after today.
“In you all go,” Jason said once the boat was tied to the mooring ball. “Wynne, Ronan, you’re both ready, so you go first. Greg, help Linda with her mask—her hair is caught in it. Rick and I will bring up the rear.”
Since I’d already discovered being on the boat in full gear was my least favorite part of diving, I was fine with this plan. I stood and shuffled to the back platform. Ronan put a hand on my elbow to steady me, and I forced myself to ignore my reaction to the contact.
“After you, Wynne,” Ronan said. What was that accent? I’d try to muster the nerve to ask after the dive.
One hand on my weight belt, the other on my mask and regulator, I stepped out into air and plunged into the water. I got my bearings a little quicker than yesterday, popping back up, locating the boat, then kicking away from it to give Ronan room to jump in.
Not surprisingly, he made even less splash than Jason had yesterday, slipping into the ocean like a seal. I wondered how many years he’d been diving. In fact, I was wondering way too much about Ronan.
He grinned at me around his regulator—how did he do that?—and moved to my side, bobbing within arm’s reach as we waited for the others to join us.
Once everyone was in, Jason motioned us to follow him down. I obediently let the air out of my vest and felt the increasingly familiar sensation of the ocean around and above me as I descended. I was really getting good at this.
I glanced over at Ronan to see if he noticed how smoothly I was performing—then felt a sharp pain in both ears at once. Oops. I’d forgotten to equalize. Quickly, I pinched my nose and blew, but the only thing that happened was an intensification of the pain.
Feeling foolish, I kicked upward until the pressure eased, did the nose-pinch thing again until I heard the welcome squeals in my ears, then started back down, more slowly. Okay, maybe I wasn’t so great at this just yet.
Remembering—now—to equalize frequently, I made it down to thirty-five feet without further problems, and then looked around. The visibility wasn’t quite as good as it had been for yesterday’s dives, and I had to squint to see the reef, some 30 feet away. I didn’t see any sign of an airplane.
A dull pinging brought my attention back to Jason, who was motioning us to gather around him for the first lesson of the day. Trying to ignore Ronan, knowing that if I thought about him watching me I’d likely mess up again, I concentrated on following Jason’s nonverbal instructions.
First, he had us flood our masks and then clear them. That was always an extra challenge for me, because my contact lenses meant I had to do it blind. I was glad I’d had lots of chances to practice this in the pool. I watched everything Jason did and waited until he was done before I started, since I wouldn’t be able to peek at him during the process.
Screwing my eyes shut, I took my mask completely off, remembering to breathe only through my mouth as water surrounded my nose and eyes. Then I carefully repositioned my mask by feel, making sure no stray strands of hair were trapped in the seal.
Tilting the mask up at what I hoped was the right angle, I blew air from my regulator up into it to displace the water. When I felt air instead of water around my nose, I pushed the mask against my face and cautiously opened my eyes.
It had worked, except for a little bit of seawater tickling my upper lip. How did I—? Then I remembered. Barely cracking the seal at the bottom of my mask, I blew out through my nose until I’d forced the rest of the water out. Jason gave me an approving nod, then went back to helping Linda, whose hair was caught in her mask again, making it leak.
Against my better judgment—not that I thought about it enough to use judgment—I glanced at Ronan to see if he’d noticed how well I’d done. He was nodding at Dobry and Bebe, who’d just finished their drills, but turned almost as though he felt my eyes on him.
Again, he grinned around his regulator and winked. Definitely winked. I was glad there was no way my confusion could show with my mask and regulator obscuring most of my face. I tried to grin back, but saltwater flooded my mouth so I quickly stopped. How did he do that?
Jason pinged for our attention again, and I was just as glad to turn away from Ronan to complete our other drills of maintaining neutral buoyancy and regulator recovery. I noticed that Rick remembered to clear his regulator this time without prompting from Jason.
After that, we were waved off to explore the site. The ledge of the reef was covered with sea fans waving gently in the current, as well as multicolored sponges. And again, me without a camera. Why hadn’t I bought one in Oranjestad yesterday? I wished for one even more when two enormous parrotfish swam within five feet of me.
Ronan stayed close, which was flattering—until I remembered that he’d been appointed my buddy, which meant he was obliged to do just that. I was doing my best to ignore his proximity until he tapped me on the shoulder.
I turned to see him pointing at a spotted ray that had to be almost four feet across, hovering just above the ocean floor. Ronan did have a camera, of course, a complicated, expensive-looking thing, and he brought it up and smoothly snapped a shot or two of the ray before moving on.
All too soon, the dive was over, Jason collecting us for our ascent to the surface. I made it back onto the boat without incident, trying not to think what
my shrink-wrapped bottom must look like to Ronan, who was behind me. Once everyone was aboard, Jason debriefed us, then told us to change out our tanks as Bertie started up the engine to take us to the next site.
Ronan made quick work of his own tank, then sauntered over to where I was still struggling to tighten the strap around my second cylinder. I was sure I’d never be able to saunter on a moving boat no matter how much practice I got.
“Here,” he said, giving the strap a yank and flipping the cinch closed. “Don’t forget to turn your air on.”
“I haven’t yet,” I replied, miffed that he’d think I might. Just because I’d had a little trouble equalizing last dive didn’t mean I was stupid.
“Sorry.” He must have heard the snip in my voice. “I didn’t mean it that way. You’re doing great.”
I finished attaching my first stage to the tank and twisted the knob to turn on the air flow before grudgingly saying, “Thanks.” I remembered now why I’d decided I never wanted a man in my life again.
“So, did you try to track down the owner of that ring, like you said you might?” he asked then.
I glanced at him, surprised by the change of subject. Wow, his eyes were blue. “Um, actually, I did. I stopped by the Cartier store in Oranjestad last night, and the lady there said she’d look into it.”
“So you left the ring there?”
“No, she just took down my contact info.” Which included my room number, I realized. If my intruder had been after the ring, it was probably someone connected with the store.
“You didn’t leave it in your room after someone broke in last night, did you?”
I must have looked as startled as I felt, because he quickly grinned and shrugged. “Just wondering. None of my business, of course.”
“That’s okay.” Another possibility occurred to me—one I didn’t like at all. “Anyway, no, I—”
“Okay, everybody, we’re coming up on the wreck of the Antilla,” Jason announced, and I broke off.
As he described our final dive site, I realized it was probably a good thing he’d interrupted me. I’d been just about to tell Ronan that the ring was still in my shorts pocket, here on the boat, and if there was any chance at all that my momentary suspicion was right, that would have been about the dumbest thing I could have done.
