"Yes. He said my mother told him I was coming back to work. His nephew was the idiot I was supposed to marry to keep the whole family business intact."
"How long have you been gone now? Three years?"
"Just about; I haven't been counting. Not long enough, anyway."
"You haven't mentioned hearing from your mother the whole time I've known you."
"I haven't."
"No, I know, that's — "
"No, Liz. I mean I haven't heard from her. She had a snit when I didn't call on her birthday back when I was in that coma a few years ago."
"You mean, when the human traffickers had you?"
"Right. She couldn't seem to get past that, so I just cut myself off from her bullshit."
"So why now?"
"Why now, what?"
"Why do you think she's doing this? Because of your brother?"
Dani was quiet for a minute, her face in her hands. She looked up at Liz and shook her head. "That doesn't explain it. He's been in and out of rehab for years. It's a regular pattern; he gets straight enough to convince everybody he's over it, and signs himself out."
Liz nodded. "So this isn't anything new."
"No. There's something else going on. She said one of my old clients wanted me back on his account. That was her pretense for the email."
"Should I make us a pot of coffee?" Liz asked.
Dani shook her head, a rueful grin on her face. "No, thanks. Not for me — I don't need the caffeine right now. Where'd you put the phone?"
"It's in the locker behind me. Why?"
"I'm going to call her and put a stop to this."
"You sure you shouldn't give it a little more time? I thought you were going to have a stroke or something."
"I'll be okay. That shithead just ambushed me. I'm initiating this encounter. That makes all the difference. I want this over with before we get settled in with our guests."
"Okay," Liz said, doubt written on her features. She reached back and opened the little locker behind her and handed Dani the satellite phone.
"The autopilot's holding our course well. I'm going below and make us some herbal tea while you call her — give you a little privacy and run interference in case Carlotta wakes up. Can I get you anything else?"
"No, Liz. Thanks, though."
Chapter 4
Liz felt Vengeance shift. She braced herself in a corner of the galley, her Kindle in hand, reading. She glanced at the telltale compass mounted in the bulkhead over the galley sink and saw that Dani had changed their course. Realizing that Dani must have finished her phone call, she put the Kindle in a drawer under the chart table. She filled two mugs with steaming tea and set them on a tray with some cookies.
"I didn't hear any screaming," she said, putting the tray on the cockpit seat where Dani could reach it. Liz came up into the cockpit and settled herself with the tray between them.
Dani smiled as she picked up the tea. She held it under her nose, inhaling the fragrance. After a moment, she took a sip and looked over at Liz. "It went as well as could be expected, I guess. I got her to tell me what was going on, anyway."
"So, are you going back?"
Dani laughed. "No, of course not. I'm pretty sure she didn't get that, but I didn't force the issue. It wouldn't have done any good, anyway. Once I got her talking about something besides the return of the prodigal daughter, I couldn't shut her up."
"Well, at least she knows you listened. That must count for something."
"Yes, I suppose," Dani said, taking another sip of tea. "Something, but I'm not sure what. At least I found out what started all this. Rollie was siphoning money from one of their key client's accounts to support his coke habit, and the client caught him in an audit."
"Uh-oh," Liz said. "Is somebody going to jail?"
"Well, not yet, but that's where the urgency is coming from. The client was one that I brought in and managed for a couple of years, and they're willing to let Rollie's thievery slide on the condition that I come back and take over the account. The bank's already made good on their loss."
"I see," Liz said, breaking off part of a cookie and nibbling at the crumbs.
"It gets even worse. Will and Jason knew what Rollie was doing and helped hide it, until the audit exposed the problem. Of course, the client doesn't know that."
"I wondered what you meant when you told Will that you hoped the SEC put them all behind bars," Liz said.
"I was just being a bitch, then. I had no idea they might be in that kind of trouble. I'm not surprised, though."
"No?"
"No. Jason — Will's nephew — my ex-fiancé — he and Rollie shared a fondness for snorting coke. I'm sure they were in this together."
"And she wants you to marry this guy, still?"
"They have a whole different perspective on things. Everybody in their circle — at least the young ones — does coke. It's part of that whole New York financial scene. One more reason I couldn't stay."
Dani was quiet for a long time, dipping a cookie in her tea and eating it in small bites. She looked at Liz and shook her head.
"So how did you leave it with her?" Liz asked.
"She thinks I'm catching a flight tomorrow morning. I didn't see any point in arguing with her. She'll figure it out when I don't show up."
"Won't she go ballistic?" Liz asked.
"She's ballistic all the time, Liz."
"But she'll — "
"I'll block her emails, and we'll just use caller i.d. to screen the calls. She'll get the idea after a while."
****
"SHIT!" The curse came immediately after a resounding crash from below deck. "Fucking rag-baggers!"
Dani looked at Liz, a question on her face. Liz got up and scurried below to see what was wrong. Dani could hear Carlotta's heated reply to Liz's question, but she couldn't make out what either woman said. She concentrated on steering for the seas, which had become rambunctious. They no longer enjoyed the partial protection afforded by the island of St. John.
Carlotta climbed into the cockpit, a scowl on her face as she rubbed her hip. Liz followed a moment later.
"Are you okay?" she asked Carlotta.
"Yes, damn it! No thanks to this piece-of-shit boat. Are the stabilizers on?"
"We don't have stabilizers," Dani said, taking in the look of caution that Liz directed her way.
"Why not? This is supposed to be a 'luxury charter yacht,' according to your website." Carlotta's face was red under her flawless olive skin.
"Powerboats have stabilizers," Dani said. "Otherwise, they roll like pigs in a sea like this. The sails serve to stabilize us."
"This piece of crap is like a wild horse. I can't believe you get away with such a poorly equipped boat."
"This patch of rough water will pass soon," Liz said. "In another mile or two, we'll be out of the shallow water around the islands. Once we hit the drop-off, things will calm down. Sorry you got hurt; we should have warned you. I didn't know you were awake down there."
"Awake? I got rolled out of the damned bed! This sucks."
"I'm sorry," Liz said, watching the storm clouds building on Dani's face. "I should have rigged a lee-cloth for you."
"A what-cloth?"
"Lee-cloth. It's a piece of canvas, stretched from the outer edge of the berth to the cabin overhead. It keeps you from rolling out of the berth when the motion's erratic."
"Erratic! That's an understatement. It's like inside a washing machine."
Dani stood up behind the helm and disengaged the autopilot. "Hey, Liz, stand by to come about."
Liz took in the slack in the lazy jib sheets and moved to the winches that held the working sheets, a puzzled look on her face. "What's wrong?" she asked, turning to look at Dani.
"Nothing. I just don't want to listen to this all the way to Antigua."
"What are you doing now?" Carlotta asked.
"Taking you back to Redhook."
"You can't do that. You got a month's depos
it and a three-week guarantee."
Dani reached into the locker beside her and extracted the satellite phone. As she waited for it to power up, Liz asked, "Who are you calling?"
"Elaine. I'm going to find out where to wire the refund. Then I'll call the bank. I agree with Carlotta about one thing."
"What's that?" Carlotta asked.
"This sucks," Dani replied.
"But it's smoothing out already," Carlotta said.
"Not the sea," Dani said. "I was talking about the company."
"Wait!" Carlotta sobbed. "I'm just upset, I'm ... " She buried her face in her hands and her shoulders heaved as she collapsed onto the cockpit seat, weeping.
Liz sat down beside her and put an arm around her shoulders, comforting her as she would a child. She caught Dani's eye and glared at her, shaking her head as she patted Carlotta on the back. After a moment, Carlotta said, "Could you help me below?"
"Sure," Liz said, getting to her feet and helping Carlotta up.
"And do that cloth thing? Whatever it was you said?" Carlotta asked. "I want to take a sleeping pill."
****
Carlotta rummaged through her duffle bag looking for her pills while Liz rigged the lee-cloth.
"I'm not sure I need that, now. The sea's flattened out, just like you said it would," Carlotta said. "I'm sorry I upset Dani so."
"Lee-cloths are a good idea anytime we're offshore," Liz said. "And you didn't upset Dani; she was already wound up. I apologize for her outburst. She's preoccupied with family problems right now; she's not usually this prickly. She just had a big argument with her mother on the phone while you were napping."
"Oh. Now I really feel bad; family problems are tough. I should know. What's wrong? Is someone in poor health or something?"
"Well, not exactly," Liz temporized. "Her mother's trying to manipulate her into marrying someone she doesn't like. She wants Dani to give up Vengeance and come back to the family business."
"That's too bad," Carlotta said. "I can relate; I have a family problem myself."
"You do?" Liz asked.
"Yes. Sounds like the same kind of thing. My father's got someone picked out for me to marry. Do your parents meddle in your life, Liz?"
"No. Most of the time, I envy people whose parents are still around. Mine are both dead."
"Oh. I'm sorry. You just seemed about my age, so I assumed ... "
"No need to apologize. My mother died when I was little. I don't even remember her. My father brought me up, but he died a few years ago. I miss him, but I'm okay."
"Too bad about Dani's family, anyhow," Carlotta said.
"Well, it's just her mother. Her parents got divorced when she was little. Her father's a wonderful guy; he and his wife treat me like a daughter. They're warm, loving people, so Dani's not without some support. She shouldn't have lashed out at you the way she did."
"It's understandable. I was being a spoiled little bitch. I should apologize to her."
"Not now; let her cool down. Besides, you need to get settled before your medicine kicks in."
"You're right. At least, tell her I'm sorry I was such a shit, and I'll try to sort it out with her later. I'm starting to feel drowsy already," Carlotta said, crawling around the lee-cloth and stretching out on the berth. "G'night, Liz, and thanks."
Chapter 5
Vengeance was well out into the Anegada Passage when Carlotta poked her head through the companionway. The sea state had moderated once the islands no longer disrupted the smooth, long-period swells. Out in the open water, the swells were coming from the northeast. They were about 12 seconds apart, almost on Vengeance's beam. The motion of the boat was a gentle lift as the water crested, followed by an easy slide sideways into the next trough. The sky was clear with some fluffy, trade wind cumulus clouds on the horizon. The mile-deep water was a translucent, dark, sapphire-blue color that seemed almost artificial.
"Oh!" Carlotta exclaimed. "I'm so glad I woke up. This is beautiful; I wouldn't have wanted to miss it."
"Come on up," Dani said. "This is what you paid the money for, all right. Feeling better?"
"Yes. Thanks. Is it always like this out here?"
"More often than not," Liz said.
Carlotta stood on the bridge deck, bracing herself against the rhythmic motion as she took in the sweeping vista of sea and sky. "We're out of sight of land," she remarked.
"Barely, but yes," Dani agreed. "If you look behind us, that smudge on the horizon is the Virgin Islands, maybe 35 miles away."
"How long was I out of it?"
"About three hours," Liz said. "Guess you needed it. You said you didn't get much sleep last night."
"I didn't, that's true. I had a tense night. I owe you both an apology for my behavior earlier."
"Forget it," Dani said. "I was way out of line. Liz said she told you a little about my problems, but that's no excuse. I was unprofessional; I hope you'll forgive me."
"Of course; I understand. In fact, I should just tell you both what's up with me and get everything out in the open."
"You don't owe us any explanations," Liz said. "We're here to make sure you have a good time; don't worry about us."
"That's kind, Liz, and I appreciate it, but it would be nice to tell somebody my troubles, just the same. Especially before John joins us, because he doesn't know. And I'm not sure I want him to ... "
"Well," Liz said, "we'll be glad to listen, if that's what you want. Can I get you anything, first? Coffee?"
"No, I'm fine, thanks. I'll start with the reason for my strange arrival. I know you have to be wondering about that."
"It wasn't exactly typical, for sure," Dani said.
"I'm your basic poor little rich girl. My father's overprotective and manipulative, and my mother's a non-entity. She's like putty in his hands. They have a villa in St. Thomas, and that's where I'm supposed to be. I set up this charter so that I could slip away from them and spend a little private time with John."
"So they don't know about him?" Liz asked.
"They know I dated him when we were in college. He was my cousin's roommate, so they know a good bit about him. And they — actually, I should say my father — my mother keeps her opinion to herself, if she even has one. My father doesn't approve of John."
"Are they at the villa?" Liz asked.
"No, but there's a staff there. I'm sure a couple of my father's, um, well, let's call them security men, for lack of a better term — they'll be there. He would have sent them to make sure I behaved myself. They were supposed to meet my plane, and they don't let me out of their sight, normally. I changed my flight and spent the night in a hotel to give them the slip, so they've been looking for me for 18 hours, give or take."
"Won't your father be able to track down your itinerary?" Dani asked.
"Well, first, I'm pretty sure his guys won't tell him I didn't show until they have to. He'd blame them for being sloppy, see, and he's a pretty scary person. They'll be hoping to find me before he learns about this."
Dani nodded. "And second?"
"I got my cousin — the one who's friends with John — to set all this up, so there's no trail that leads to me."
"Clever," Liz said.
"Thanks. I thought so, but it all got more complicated yesterday afternoon, right before I left. My father told me I was going to get married when I got back."
"He told you what?" Dani asked. "That sounds medieval. Do you know the guy?"
"He's a monster," Carlotta said. "I mean, I've never even gone out with him. He's, like, kind of a business associate of my father's."
"So he's older?" Liz asked.
"Yeah, but not that much. It's not that; he's an animal."
"No polish, huh?" Liz asked.
"Oh, he's smooth, all right. He's an Ivy League type, but under the surface, he's a psychopath. Absolutely vile, and terrifying, too. I'm scared to even be around him. Anyway, that's my story. Bet now you wish you had turned around earlier and taken me back to Redhook
."
"Nah," Dani said. "We'll cope. I hate to ask, but what happens when the charter's over?"
"I have no idea. I had been planning to just show up at the villa and face the music; I've done that before. Like I said, I'm a spoiled brat, and I know how to play that role. This whole marriage thing, though — I'm still in shock."
"Been there," Dani said. "Well, not quite, but close."
"How'd you get out of it?"
"I ran away to sea and found Vengeance."
****
After Carlotta's explanation, Liz had excused herself to prepare a light lunch. Dani and their guest chatted about boats and the Caribbean while they were waiting. Liz was relieved that the two of them had managed to put aside their earlier spat. She still sensed that Dani was holding something back, though. She had seen the subtle signs that only an intimate acquaintance would notice. Liz knew that Dani was still measuring Carlotta. She was wondering what was beneath their guest's seemingly open demeanor. But that was Dani's nature. She rarely let her guard down. The only time Liz had seen her lose control was this recent encounter with her mother.
She shrugged off her unease and tossed the salad. Dressing it as she added the steamed seafood mixture, she arranged the bowls on a serving tray. She put a chilled bottle of Sancerre on the tray and loosened the cork. Adding three glasses, she picked up the tray and took it into the cockpit, putting it on the table in front of Carlotta.
As Liz took a seat, Dani made one last check of the GPS and the autopilot and joined them.
"Wow!" Carlotta remarked. "That's a real work of art, Liz."
"Thanks. I hope you enjoy it," Liz said, as she poured the wine.
"To a good cruise," Dani said, hoisting her glass. "Yes," the others responded, clicking the crystal goblets together and sipping the wine.
Lunch passed in silence as they addressed themselves to Liz's culinary masterpiece. After everyone finished eating, Carlotta excused herself. "I think I'll slip on a bathing suit and get a little sun," she said.
"Good idea," Dani agreed. "I'll roll out a pad on the foredeck for you while Liz clears away lunch."
Ten minutes later, Dani and Liz sat in the cockpit, debating whether their guest had dropped off to sleep. The wind soon brought the sound of a soft snore aft, answering that question for them.
Bluewater Rendezvous: The Eighth Novel in the Caribbean Mystery and Adventure Series (Bluewater Thrillers Book 8) Page 3
