"More to the point, do they realize they're about to trespass?"
They watched the boat approach the dock and pull alongside, one of the figures jumping out to tie a rope to one of the stanchions.
"C'mon." Dar released the raft and started toward them, using a stealthy breast stroke to move herself through the water.
"Wh..." Kerry looked around, then shook her head and followed trying to make as little noise as possible. She wasn't as efficient a swimmer as Dar was, but all the practice she'd gotten since moving to Florida stood her in good stead as she kept up in the mild surf.
A mask and snorkel would have made her life easier. Errant little waves tended to end up splashing her in the mouth, and she kept spitting out sea water, but after a few minutes they were approaching the dock. The other two people had gotten out, and all three were now creeping up the wooden gangway toward the cabin.
Bastards. Kerry felt a flush of anger sweep through her, taking the chill away and replacing it with a fierce heat. The outlines of the three didn't, though, look familiar to her, though she could see two were men, and one was a woman. "Think it's the reporters?" She caught up to Dar as they reached the outer edge of the dock and grabbed on.
"Dunno." Dar pulled herself along the dock until she was just across from the boat, craning her head to see where they intruders were. "Not sure I care."
The tone in her partner's voice alerted Kerry at once. "What are we going to do? Confront them?"
For an answer, Dar swam over to the boat and reached up to grasp the railing, pulling herself up and over the side in a brief moment of starlit muscularity.
"Uh oh." Kerry grabbed hold of the wooden ladder fastened to the side of the dock and got up on the bottom rung, peering over the edge of the boat to see what her partner was doing. "Dar!" She whispered urgently.
For a moment nothing happened, then a dark head appeared over the side, and Kerry saw the boat start to drift away from the dock. "Oh ho." She chuckled low in her throat. "Bad girl."
The craft bobbed closer to her, as the outgoing tide took it gently from its berth. As it passed, Dar stepped onto the side and then onto the ladder, holding something in her hand. She released the wood and dropped into the water next to Kerry, jerking her arm down as she fell.
The boat's engine suddenly roared to life and it veered crazily off, heading southeast at a rapid clip.
They heard a yell from the shore, and Dar swung to the inside of the ladder, grabbing Kerry and tugging her under the dock, a grin visible even in the dim light.
"You are so bad." Kerry snickered, watching the boat disappear into the surf. "God, Dar...what's going to happen to that thing? Someone could get hurt!"
"Nah." Dar nestled her jaw up next to Kerry's ear. "They were about to switch to the other tank. Not much gas left." They both looked up as footsteps pounded on the top of the pier, accompanied by curses. "Now." She uttered softly. "Do we rise up out of the sea and kick their asses, or what?"
Kerry listened to the voices over her head. "It's the reporter, isn't it?" She uttered back.
"I think so, yeah."
Strategy. It was tough to work that out while you were stuck under a dock in the presence of curious night fish nibbling your heels. If they remained quiet, then the culprits had no one to blame but themselves, and nothing to say about Dar or Kerry.
If they confronted the trio, then their complicity in the boat's startling disappearance would be clear, and they would have to deal with the publicity, not to mention calling the police.
It was late on a Saturday night, and Kerry didn't want to spend the rest of the night calling the Marathon County police and explaining the whole shebang.
On the other hand, she really wanted to kick that reporter in the shins. "I think we should go kick their asses." She finally said, hearing the nascent panic in the voices over her head.
Dar merely began swimming to the other side of the pier, tugging Kerry along with her to the ladder on the opposite side. She went first, climbing up to the top of the wooden platform and waiting for Kerry to join her as they stood behind the three intruders.
"Son of a bitch, that ain't stopping," one said. "We better go call the Coast Guard or something...what kinda idiot were you to leave the engine on, Virgil!"
"I didn't!" The other man replied in an exasperated tone. "I told you that ten times already!" He half turned. "Look, Ms. Cruicshank, why don't you just go over there and sit down while we figure out where we're going to go to get a phone and--"
"You could use ours." Dar interrupted this engaging drama, pitching her voice low and projecting it across the dock.
All three intruders jumped, and turned to find Dar?s tall form standing menacingly behind them with Kerry a shorter, more visibly irritated counterpoint to her right. The two swim suited figures were outlined in starlight and threw oddly large shadows across the dock to spill over them.
"Oh...uh...hi." The reporter summoned a weak smile from somewhere.
"You might as well use it before I call the cops." Dar went on. "And then you can explain to them why you're trespassing on private property."
Pat Cruicshank stepped forward. "Okay, okay, just hang on. I can explain this."
Kerry actually just laughed. "So can I," she said, folding her arms across her chest. "And you know, maybe we should call the local paper, too. I'd love to see this on the front page."
Dar glanced at her in some surprise.
"Now, hold on," Pat said. "Tell you what. Let's go up there and we can talk while these bozos figure out how to get their boat back."
"I'm going to call the police." Dar turned and headed for the cabin. "And trust me... I'll press charges." She called back over her shoulder.
"Shit." Virgil sounded panicky. "Man, I told you we shouldn't have done this."
The reporter turned to Kerry. "This isn't what it looks like."
Kerry looked at her, looked at the darkness around them, peered off at the rapidly disappearing boat then looked back at the reporter. Both her eyebrows hiked up. "Okay," she said. "I'm game. Explain to me how three people sneaking up in a boat to a private dock, then creeping toward our house is something other than what it looks like?" She spread her hands out in a questioning manner. "I'm waiting."
Cruicshank hesitated, looking at the two guys with her.
"Okay, never mind. I'm over it." Kerry went to the end of the dock and reached under a bit of rock, removing a small key and opening a locked, watertight box. She lifted the radio receiver inside and keyed it. "Coast Guard, Coast Guard, this is Dixieland Yankee portside, over."
"Wait." The reporter came over to her and lowered her voice. "Listen, I know you've got a right to be pissed off. But would you please just let me explain? This isn't against you. I'm just trying to get some information that will let me work in your favor."
Kerry merely eyed her. "Coast Guard, Coast Guard, come in." She repeated into the mic.
"Please?"
"Dixieland Yankee portside, go head." A man's voice erupted from the radio. "This is Cutter Avalon."
"Avalon, we have a pleasure craft underway without anyone aboard just southeast of us." Kerry unkeyed the radio. "You've got whatever time it takes for the cops to get here. Don't waste it," she said.
"Yankee, we copy, we see it. " The guard officer sounded exasperated. "Good gravy."
"We have the boat operators here." Kerry informed him. "Over."
"Thanks, Yankee. We'll get back with you." The radio fell silent. Kerry put the mic inside and locked the box then turned and headed for the cabin, without another word.
After an awkward moment of indecision, the reporter ran after her.
DAR ENTERED THE cabin shaking her head and muttering under her breath, slamming the door behind her as she evaded Chino's curious snuffling and headed for the phone. Then she hesitated and stopped, putting her hands on her hips. "Chino, if I call the cops, what do you bet it'll be two hours before they get here."
"Gruff." Chino see
med in total agreement.
After a moment's indecision, Dar headed for the bedroom instead, figuring putting on some kind of clothes was probably a good strategic idea before confronting their unwelcome guests. She pulled a shirt and shorts from the dresser and stripped out of her swimsuit on her way into the bathroom, grabbing a towel and drying herself off before she changed.
She glanced cursorily into the mirror. "Ugh." One hand reached up to remove a string of purple seaweed from her neck, and dropped it into the waste basket. "Can't believe I didn't feel that." Pulling on her clothes, she ran her fingers through her wet hair and turned, hearing footsteps on the porch outside.
A single set, and to Dar's ears, a distinctive pattern. She was not surprised when the back door opened and Kerry walked in, her face twitching a little and a stormy look in her eyes. Her hands were half balled into fists, but despite all that, she looked amazingly sexy and Dar couldn't help grinning at her.
"What?" Kerry caught the grin. "Did you call the cops already? I got the Coast Guard."
"Not yet." Dar bumped her toward the bedroom. "Go change. I assume our reporter friend is right behind you? I'll take care of her."
Kerry exhaled, but headed toward the inner door. She paused and turned as she reached it. "Was I doing something funny when I came in? You were grinning."
The door opened abruptly, preventing an answer. So Dar merely looked her partner up and down, and waggled her eyebrows, before she turned to face Pat Cruicshank.
Kerry sniffed. "Ah...hah." She entered the bedroom and shut the door behind her, ears straining as she heard Dar's low rumble start up. "Stupid idiotic son of..." she paused at her reflection in the mirror. Then she sighed. "Dar, you could have told me this damn thing was semi transparent when wet."
At least it had been comfortingly dark outside. Kerry quickly removed the unexpectedly risqué suit and replaced it with a pair of worn denim short overalls, tucking a sedate white t-shirt into them before she buckled one strap over her shoulder.
Impatiently, she flicked her fingers through her hair, and then she turned and marched back into the living room.
"LOOK, I KNOW you're pissed off and maybe you have a right to be." Pat was saying.
"Maybe?" Dar paused in mid motion. She was in the kitchen pouring a glass of milk.
"This isn't what it looks like." The reporter came over and faced her over the counter. "Look, Ms. Roberts, I thought we had an understanding."
Dar gave herself a moment's thought while she drank down her milk. She finally put her glass down just as her partner emerged and braced her arms on the counter. "My understanding is that I am a public officer of a public company, and I perform my public duties during working hours."
"Well, sure..."
"This is not a working hour." Dar cut her off. "I'm not sure why you don't understand that. I am off the clock, out of the office, on vacation, not answering my email. What other--" She slammed her hands down on the counter, with a smack, "way do I have to phrase that so it makes sense to you?"
"But this is not just a working hour's story!" The reporter shot back. "This is about people. It's about people who are in this situation, trying to make something happen. You think everyone else is just taking the weekend off?"
"I don't care." Dar replied evenly. "It's not my problem what anyone else does." She pointed at the reporter. "Why is it a problem to anyone else what I do?"
"Okay, look." The reporter eyed Kerry warily as the shorter woman strode past her into the kitchen, taking the milk jug from Dar's side and drinking directly from the opening. "It's my job to tell the story in this special. Now, I don't mind telling stories, and I don't mind making them up when they're not interesting enough for me." Her attitude was more direct now. "But I also don't like being fed a tale, and you know, I think I'm being fed a tale."
"Okay." Kerry put the milk jug down. "But that doesn't explain why you're here."
Pat looked at her. "Honey, it's you two who are feeding me the tale."
Dar looked at Kerry, Kerry looked back at Dar. They both looked across the counter at the reporter. "What?" Dar's brow creased. "I haven't told you anything." She glanced at Kerry. "Have you?"
"Um...no, I've only cursed at her so far." Kerry shook her head. "What are you talking about?" She asked the black woman.
"Oh, don't play that game with me." Cruicshank said. "You are two smart cookies, and it's way too late to pretend you don't know what's going on." She put her hands on her hips. "So let's drop the act, okay?"
Dar picked up her glass, poured more milk into it, and then wandered out of the kitchen shaking her head. She walked right past the reporter and went over to the couch, dropping into it and extending her legs out across its surface. "What do you think, Ker?"
"What do I think?" Kerry put the milk back into the refrigerator. "I think she got stung by a bunch of jelly fish. Want me to call 911? Hallucinations will be next." She leaned on the counter. "Lady, you're nuts.?"
"I'm nuts?" The reporter's eyes widened.
"We have no idea what the hell you're talking about." Kerry told her in a confidential tone.
Cruicshank looked from one to the other. She pointed at Dar. "You told me from your perspective this whole bid was just business. Right?"
"Right." Dar acknowledged.
"So, then tell me, Ms. Roberts, how professional it is that your father's been working at Telegenic's ship, causing trouble?"
Uh oh. Dar outwardly refused to react, not even to let her eyes flicker over to where Kerry was standing. "My father?" She mused. "My father's a retired naval officer who takes odd jobs on the waterfront to keep busy,? she said. "I find it hard to believe he was causing trouble."
Kerry had to strain not to smile, despite the shock of the words.
"And he just so happened to take one there?" The reporter asked sarcastically. "Just like your..." She turned and looked at Kerry, "assistant just happened to attack your competition at a restaurant?" A snort. "Give me a break," she said. "This is all about personal issues, and you've got as many as anyone else does."
"Actually." Kerry chose her words carefully. "Your friends at Telegenics were trying to get me to come out with them so they could attack my partner here." She circled the counter. "I got called out of town on business." Her smile was icy. "And my assistant was being courteous in letting them know I wasn't going to make it."
"With a chili bowl? I think an email would have been enough." Cruicshank shot back.
Kerry half shrugged. "Your friends were...very professional, sitting in a hamburger shack dissing us at the top of their voices. My assistant took exception to that. I don't blame her."
"Honey, that ain't how I heard it."
"My assistant is eighteen years old, and she was with her mother." Kerry sat down on one of the counter stools. "I believe what they told me." She shrugged slightly. "But for that matter, if Dar and I did react in any way, it was because they were pushing us to the wall."
The reporter looked around the cabin. "I just don't believe that. You know what I think? I think they're right. All those people are up there working their butts off to make this happen, and you two are here in your...love shack."
She turned and walked to the door. "Call the cops. See if I care." Her voice was now cutting. "But let me tell you, ladies, I know exactly how I'm going to play this story, and for you...it's not going to be pretty."
Cruicshank turned and left, slamming the door behind her.
There was a brief silence in the cabin, as the two partners regarded each other. Finally, Dar shifted her position, rolling onto her side and propping her head up on her hand. "Love shack." She mused. "I like it."
Kerry rubbed her eyes. "Dar, this is not funny."
"No." Dar agreed. "But what in the hell are you going to do, Ker? Dad was doing exactly what she claimed, and we're here." One shoulder shrugged. "And the battling burritos did what they did. It's all in the spin, and she's got the turntable."
"Nice." The blond w
oman trudged over and sat down on the couch next to Dar. She let her hands fall slackly between her knees and extended her bare feet across the carpet. "So, now what?"
Now what. Good question. Dar really had no idea now what. "I just don't get what the big deal is about us being up here. It's not like you and I are running the cables." She temporized. 'What's that all about?"
Kerry pondered. "They're control freaks, so they think everyone else should be too?" She thought a moment more. "And, well, you know hon...I can remember projects where you were a little like that too."
She peeked at Dar to gauge a reaction, but got a mildly bemused expression in return.
"I know." Her partner nodded agreeably. "But I got over it. You helped me, matter of fact. I sniffed around one of yours one time too many, and you told me what I was going to die of."
Kerry's head dropped forward a little. "I did no such thing."
Dar's lips quirked. "Well, not in those words, no." She admitted. "But you did."
"I did?" Kerry thought back, trying to recall the momentous occasion. Had she really told Dar to back off? Then the memory surfaced, and she exhaled, picturing a scene in Dar's office with her pushing a set of colored project folders across her boss's desk. One of us really needs to own these, Dar.
Dar had cocked her head to one side, she remembered, and then casually pushed them back across the desk with a smile.
No, not quite in those words. "Okay, you got me." Kerry admitted. "But I don't get why it matters to them. After all, if we're slacking off, isn't that better for their side?"
"Mm."
"And, she told me she had information that would be to our advantage." Kerry suddenly remembered. "Was that just to get inside this place and have her say? I don't get it, Dar. This isn't adding up."
"No." Dar curled her body around Kerry's and wrapped an arm around her for good measure. "I thought that woman had a more balanced viewpoint. Something happened," she said. "Either she bought into Michelle and Shari's pitch, or something else happened that made her turn around. I know she was probably playing me at lunch, but I really..."
Stormy Waters: Book 10 in The Dar & Kerry Series Page 27
