Asylum Harbor

by Traci Hohenstein

  Whether these people wanted money or some kind of political connection, Amber knew now that she hadn’t been “rescued.” She wondered if Josh had been in on the scheme. He was insistent that she was in danger and needed to leave the ship with him. What she couldn’t figure out was who’d tried to kill them on the cruise ship and how Josh fit into all this.

  Nothing made sense to her anymore. She didn’t know why she was here or what these people wanted. Nothing good can come of this. What she needed was a plan to escape.

  She thought she was being held on an island—maybe she was still in the Bahamas. She could still taste the salt air, feel the ocean breezes, and hear the sounds of the tropics when the nurse occasionally left a window open for a bit of fresh air. Too bad there were security bars on the windows. That was her first clue this wasn’t some kind of private clinic.

  Amber knew she needed to get stronger, so she exercised. When the nurse left, she got up and stretched, did stomach crunches, push-ups, and jumping jacks. Her ribs and ankle still ached, but she pushed the pain out of her mind. She also did the visual imaging that her father had taught her. When she wanted something, she pictured the events in her mind exactly how she wanted them to happen.

  And after her exercise routine every day, she planned her escape from Hell Island.

  CHAPTER 39

  Quinn asked them to stay on deck while he checked out the activity on the dock. After speaking to another officer for a few minutes, he made his way back to the boat.

  “An accident. A deckhand got injured on the docks,” Quinn explained. “You guys are good to go.”

  Drake thanked him for his time and said they would be in touch.

  “Well, that was a disappointment,” Rachel said.

  “What did you expect? To find Amber hiding in one of the cabanas?” Drake asked.

  “Of course not. It wouldn’t be that easy. I just hoped we would see some of the weird goings-on that Matt suggested. It was basically a deserted, creepy island, just like he described.”

  “It’s probably a different vibe when the passengers are there,” Drake commented, walking back to the car.

  Rachel agreed. “Probably. But I still can’t shake that feeling. That feeling that something was off.”

  “We’ve got no proof that Amber was smuggled to that island. Everything looked on the up and up. I think we need to focus on where she was seen last. In Freeport, by the beach.”

  “That’s a dead end. We’ve got no other witnesses other than Shondra, and she wasn’t that much help.”

  “At least we know Amber’s alive. Or she was at that point, anyway,” Drake said.

  “Still doesn’t shake my bad feelings.”

  They got back to hotel and headed straight for the conference room. It had been cleaned of all the trash and clutter. The whiteboard still held Amber’s last location and the timeline of her disappearance. Manila file folders had been stacked neatly in the center of the table.

  Drake shook his head. “Cyndy and her OCD. She can’t stand clutter. Her desk at headquarters is meticulous.”

  Cyndy walked back into the room. She was carrying a takeout bag from the Blue Palm restaurant. “Did I hear someone say my name?”

  “Yeah. I was just telling Rachel about your OCD problems.”

  “Hey, I was raised to clean up after my messes.” Cyndy plopped down on one of the leather conference room chairs. “What did you guys find out? Anything good?”

  She pulled out her sandwich and wolfed it down in four bites. Then she rolled the aluminum wrap into a ball and tossed it across the room, where it landed in the trash.

  “Nope. Nothing at all.” Drake sat down across from Rachel. “That’s the problem.”

  “We didn’t see anything out of the ordinary,” Rachel agreed.

  “So let’s take a look at what we do have.” Cyndy wiped her mouth with a napkin and walked to the whiteboard. “Governor Knowles will want a report from us tonight. We need to give him something.”

  The whiteboard looked pretty bleak. Witness names were on the left side. Amber’s friends, Nichole and Rowan, were at the top of the list because they’d been among the last to see Amber, and they knew the most about her movements that night. Consuela, the SeaStar staff person who’d seen Josh and Amber walking down the hall on the way to her suite, was on the list. Shondra, the witness who’d seen Amber and Shawn get into a SUV, was the only other person on the list. A timeline ran through the middle of the board.

  “Here’s what we know.” Cyndy ran through the timeline again for what felt like the millionth time. “Amber disappeared from the SeaStar sometime between twelve thirty a.m. and two thirty a.m. Consuela was the last to see them when she delivered room service to the cabin next door. There’s no video footage of them getting off the ship, nor did Josh/Shawn use his key card. A full search of the ship was conducted around four a.m., after which the captain informed the Coast Guard of a possible person overboard.”

  She grabbed an erasable marker from the whiteboard’s tray. On a smaller board under Notes, she wrote, What we don’t know is HOW they got off the ship. She then added, Lifeboat found.

  “I talked to the cruise ship authorities about the lifeboat that was discovered along the Freeport shoreline. They said it came from a storage area in the engineering compartment of the ship. This lifeboat was part of a small inventory of damaged boats. So it looks like Josh/Shawn had an exit strategy in case something happened.” Cyndy looked at Drake for approval.

  “That’s feasible. Mike told us that Shawn was well trained to get out of a sticky situation if it was warranted,” Drake agreed.

  “We’re assuming that Shawn’s undercover investigation was compromised and somehow Amber got in the way. Shawn and Amber escaped in the lifeboat. That wouldn’t have been easy, so Shawn may have had help.” Cyndy put the marker down and stood against the wall. “Maybe another crew member on the ship?”

  “That’s a distinct possibility,” Drake added. “Given that his security card wasn’t used and he wasn’t caught on videotape. Amber, either.”

  “Shondra confirms that she saw Amber and Shawn get into a dark SUV. Possibly at gunpoint or under dire circumstances,” Rachel added.

  “Someone on the ship, someone who knew Josh was undercover, was notified that he was missing and set up a search for him.” Cyndy picked up the marker and wrote, Who?

  “Captain Martin or—who’s the head of security on the SeaStar again?” Drake asked.

  “Edward Schultz,” Phipps said.

  “Right, Edward Schultz,” Drake said, and Cyndy scribbled the names down on the whiteboard.

  “If Captain Martin or Edward Schultz set up a manhunt for Shawn and Amber and they were captured, where would they have taken them?” Rachel asked.

  “Where’s Mike Mancini when we need him? He’d be a big help now,” Drake said, sounding frustrated. “What we suspect based on our initial investigation into Stacy’s interviews with former employees is that the SeaStar is connected somehow to drug smuggling—and maybe more, if those reports about employees giving female passengers roofies are true. Unfortunately, we have no proof. Yet.”

  “And our little jaunt to Cabana Cay didn’t come up with anything,” Rachel confirmed.

  “We should check out any company real estate holdings in Freeport and surrounding areas that the SeaStar or SeaScape Cruise Lines may own,” Drake suggested.

  “Already being done. I should have a report coming through sometime today,” Cyndy answered.

  “I’d love to get another crack at Cabana Cay. We didn’t begin to cover the island.” Rachel reached into her messenger bag and pulled out her maps. She smoothed out a large map of the island. “Asylum Harbor covers over half of the whole island. Cabana Cay is just a small portion of the south end. We didn’t even go all the way around the island.” Rachel tapped her pen on the map.

  “What do you suggest? I don’t think we’ll be able to go back without a warrant or the support of the Royal
Police, or both,” Drake said.

  “What if I go back as a passenger, like Stacy did?” Rachel asked. “Another cruise leaves in two days. Three nights with one day at Cabana Cay.”

  “We may not have two days,” Cyndy said as, whiteboard duties finished, she sat back down in her chair.

  “An unofficial night excursion, then? We can go by private boat and take a look around without Joe looking over our shoulder.”

  “We have to cooperate with local police. And they clearly don’t want us poking around Asylum Harbor alone,” Drake said.

  “Well, you have to cooperate with them. We, Florida Omni Search, were requested by the family.” Rachel couldn’t resist a little dig. “I don’t have to maintain any kind of diplomatic relations. A teenager is missing and at risk, and I’ll do whatever it takes to find her.”

  “You, Florida Omni Search, have no authority at all,” Phipps said, sounding annoyed. “You have no legal standing. No law enforcement credentials. You’re here only because the FBI and the Bahamas Police allow it. You do something dumb and the cops here arrest you, you’re just one more U.S. civilian who needs to get bailed out.”

  Rachel stared at him in shock. “Then I guess while you’re off making nice with the local cops, I’ll be careful not to get arrested when I cruise Asylum Harbor looking for our victim,” she said.

  “You don’t believe she’s here in Freeport?” Drake asked, already knowing her answer but trying to smooth over the roughened tempers.

  “No.” She looked at their skeptical faces. “I just have a feeling.”

  “Well, while you’re wasting valuable time searching around Asylum Harbor, we’ll see what we can find out around Freeport.” Phipps got up and walked out of the room in a huff.

  “What’s his problem?” Rachel asked Drake.

  He shrugged. “He got an ass-chewing from the boss. There’s a lot of heat coming down right now. Director McIntosh wants us to find Amber Knowles yesterday.”

  “Well, that’s understandable. Governor Knowles is pressuring everyone. He wants his daughter back.” Rachel sighed. “I know the feeling.”

  CHAPTER 40

  Amber was ready. Tonight was the night she’d escape. She had Nurse Judy’s schedule down cold. The plan was elementary at best, but she’d tried it before, and it had pretty much worked—although that had been back when she was in high school and she’d wanted to sneak out of her house. As a plan, it wasn’t much, but it was all she had.

  She put the pillows under the sheets and propped them up so it looked like she was sleeping. Then she hid behind the door and waited for the nurse to check on her. Amber’s plan was to attack her from behind, then make a run for it. The scary part was, she didn’t know what was waiting for her on the other side. But she had to take the chance.

  She hunched down behind the door and waited. Amber visually prepared herself for the attack. Weird, but she felt guilty because the nurse had been so nice to her. But the nurse must know that Amber was being held against her will. Nothing personal, Nurse Judy, but I have to get out of here and find my way home, Amber thought.

  After what felt like an hour, Amber thought something was wrong. The nurse should have checked on her by now. As Amber started to worry, she heard faint footsteps coming down the hall toward her room. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Here goes nothing.

  CHAPTER 41

  Red Cooper had secured a boat from his friend Vance Pearson. They were waiting for Rachel and Stacy at the Freeport docks. Stacy had pleaded with Rachel to let her tag along, and Rachel agreed after realizing that Stacy knew the island pretty well and could be an asset to their search. Stacy had taken two cruises on the SeaStar and had provided Florida Omni Search and the FBI with valuable information, so Rachel gave her the thumbs-up. This would be a small, informal search. Rachel didn’t want the rest of her crew tagging along. She figured they’d have less of chance being spotted with only the four of them.

  “Hi ya, Red.” Rachel gave him a quick hug.

  Red Cooper was an original member of Rachel’s team. Stocky, short, and bald, Red had gotten his nickname when he was younger and had a full head of red hair. Rachel had met Red while he was investigating Mallory’s disappearance. At the time, he’d been a detective with the Miami PD. Rachel was impressed that he’d put his heart and soul into looking for her daughter. She’d felt that he was the only one who’d truly believed her story and that he’d done everything he could, within his limits, to help her.

  Afterward, when Rachel set up Florida Omni Search, she approached Red about signing on. He hadn’t needed much convincing. Red had been ready to retire from the Miami PD, but he hadn’t been ready to pick up the golf clubs on a permanent basis yet, either. Now he was one of her most trusted and loyal team members.

  After studying the maps of Asylum Harbor, they had decided to come around the north end of the island. Rachel wasn’t sure how good security was on the remote part of the island, but she was prepared to find out.

  “You girls ready to go?” Red asked.

  “Ready as we can be,” Stacy answered for them.

  Rachel followed Red aboard, and he introduced them to his friend, the owner of the boat, Vance Pearson.

  “Vance, nice to meet you. And thanks for helping us out.” Rachel shook his hand. “Are you familiar with Asylum Harbor or Cabana Cay?”

  He nodded. “As Red probably told you, I run a fishing charter. I retired down here from Miami a few years ago. I pretty much know my way around the islands. I’ve seen Asylum Harbor from afar, but I don’t get too close.” Vance looked over at Red. “They have patrols around the island.”

  “Patrols? What kind?” Rachel asked.

  “A couple of times I’ve seen small speedboats cruising just offshore. I’ve heard talk around the docks about tight security there. You know, because of piracy, I guess.”

  “I don’t think they’re worried about piracy,” Stacy said, rolling her eyes.

  “We’re going to find out real soon.” Rachel grabbed the maps out of her messenger bag. “Let’s sit down and go over the plan before we leave.”

  For a fishing charter boat, the accommodations were nice. Vance must live on the boat full time, Rachel thought. The cabin below had a small living area, with a kitchen, sleeping alcove, and bathroom.

  She spread the map out on the table. It was a chart of all the islands surrounding Freeport.

  “Nice. Where did you get that?” Vance asked.

  “One of our techie guys at the office got it for me,” Rachel said proudly.

  “That’s more updated than mine.”

  “We went to the island earlier today,” Rachel explained. She told Vance and Red about their visit and what they saw. And more importantly, what they didn’t see. “I know something is going on there and I want to get a closer look at the Asylum Harbor side.”

  Vance looked at Red.

  “When she gets one of her hunches, she’s usually right,” Red said, shrugging his shoulders.

  “I tend to agree with Rachel. Based on what my informant told us about possible drug smuggling on the island, I think we need to take a closer look,” Stacy said.

  “Let’s get going, then. Sun is setting, perfect time for a little cruise,” Vance said as he started to get up from his chair.

  A loud noise startled the group. Rachel turned around in her seat. “What was that?”

  “Stay here. I’ll check it out.” Red started for the deck as a figure appeared in the doorway.

  Everyone sat in stunned silence. Rachel finally found her voice. “What are you doing here?”

  CHAPTER 42

  Amber tried to steady her breathing as she watched from behind the door. Nurse Judy walked over to her bedside and leaned over Amber’s bed. Any second now she would realize that Amber wasn’t in it. Here goes nothing. Amber sprang into action and ran full force into her. Nurse Judy’s made of steel, Amber thought, almost staggering under the impact. She’d underestimated the nurse. A
mber felt like she’d hit a brick wall. Where Amber had expected the nurse to feel soft and frail, Judy was built more like a truck. They tumbled over the bed and landed on the other side.

  Amber then realized her mistake. This was not Nurse Judy. She froze in terror. If this wasn’t the nurse, then who was in her room?

  “What the hell…” a man’s voice flowed up to her ear.

  Amber started punching his face. She thought that Judy must have somehow known of her plan and sent someone else to her room instead. Amber’s adrenaline kicked into overdrive. She had to escape.

  “Amber. Stop,” the voice said. “It’s me, Josh. I’m here to help you.”

  She rolled off of him and made a run for the door. She didn’t trust him. Didn’t know who she could trust.

  Josh jumped up and went after her, grabbing her arm. “Amber, wait. It’s not safe to go by yourself.”

  Amber turned around and faced him in the darkness. “How do I know I can trust you? Where have you been?”

  “I don’t have time to explain. But believe me, we have to leave now while we can. We only have a small window of opportunity.”

  “You said that last time, and we were caught.” Amber stood defiantly.

  “Look, I was working on the ship as an undercover DEA agent. My cover’s been blown, and now we’re both in danger. These are very nasty people we’re dealing with, and we have to get out of here. Follow close behind me. We have to move quickly.”

  Seeing no other options, she followed quietly behind Josh. Once they got into the hallway, Amber could see that she was being held in a house, not a hospital or clinic like she’d been told. In the small living area, a TV blared the news. Judy sat slumped over in a recliner.