“A whole crowd—” Amber began.
Beth pinched her shoulder.
“Ow!” Amber gasped.
“Lots of my brother’s friends are coming in. Sailors…boat people…you know, big guys, the kind who can twist off beer caps with their teeth,” Beth said, trying to sound light.
Amber and Kim were both staring at her as if she’d lost her mind.
“Oh, yeah, all my dad’s friends are, like, big, tough-guy nature freaks,” Amber said, staring at Beth. “Yeah right, the kind that open beer bottles with their teeth.”
“They are?” Kim asked, sounding very confused.
“At any rate, there will be a bunch of us. A couple of cops, even,” Beth said, realizing immediately how ridiculous that sounded.
Time to move on!
Tugging at the girls’ shoulders, she added, “Well, it’s a pleasure to meet you. We’d better get back to my brother before he misses us. We’re supposed to be helping with the setup.”
“We’ll see you, if you’re hanging around,” Kim told him cheerfully.
“Yes, nice to meet you,” Amber said.
“Bye, then,” Keith Henson said.
A plastic smile in place, Beth continued to force the girls away from the man and toward the beach where they’d come ashore in the dinghy. And where they would find her brother, she prayed. Surely he hadn’t gone wandering off.
“Aunt Beth,” Amber whispered, “what on earth is the matter with you? You were so weird to that man.”
Kimberly cleared her throat, “Um, actually, you were pretty rude,” she said hesitantly.
“He was alone, he appeared out of nowhere—and we had just found a skull,” Beth said, after glancing back to assure herself that they were out of earshot.
“You said you weren’t sure if it was a skull or not,” Kim said.
“I wasn’t sure—I’m not sure.”
“But it looked like he just got here, too,” Amber said. “And the skull—it is a skull, isn’t it?—had been there a while.”
“Criminals often return to the scene of the crime,” Beth said, quoting some program or other, and anxiously moving forward.
Amber burst out laughing. “Aunt Beth! Okay, so you got the heebie-jeebies. But puh-lease. Did you see a gun on him?”
“Or anywhere he could have stuffed one?” Kim asked, giggling.
They weren’t such bad questions, really.
“No,” Beth admitted.
“So why were you so rude?” Amber persisted.
Beth groaned. “I don’t know. I guess when you think you might have found a skull, you become very careful about your own health and well-being, okay?”
“Okay,” Amber said after a moment. “He looked like a decent guy.”
“He probably is.”
Kim giggled suddenly. “He was hot.”
“He’s way too old for you guys,” Beth replied a little too sharply.
“So is Brad Pitt, but that doesn’t mean he’s not hot,” Amber said, shaking her head as if it was a sadly difficult thing to deal with adults.
“Right,” Beth murmured.
A thud sounded from behind. Beth jumped, ready to cover the girls with her own body against any threatened danger.
“Aunt Beth,” Amber said, “it was a palm frond.”
Beth exhaled. “Right,” she murmured.
The girls were looking at one another again. As if they had to be very careful with her.
As if she were losing her mind.
“Come on, let’s find your dad,” Beth said to Amber.
THE WOMAN HAD TO BE ONE OF the strangest he’d ever come across, Keith decided, watching as the threesome walked away.
She’d acted as if she’d been hiding something.
As if she was guilty of…something.
He shook his head. No, not with those two teens at her side. They were far too innocent and friendly for anything to have been going on. Not that teens couldn’t be guilty of a lot. But he had learned to be a pretty good judge of character, and those two were simply young and friendly, like a pair of puppies, fresh and eager to explore the world, expecting only good things from it.
But as for the woman…
Beth Anderson. She and the tall girl were obviously related. Both had the same very sleek dark hair. Not dead straight, but lush and wavy. And Beth had the kind of eyes that picked up the elements, that could be dark or light, that held a bit of the exotic, the mysterious. Very nicely built, which was more than evident, since all three were in two-piece suits. She appeared to be in her mid to late twenties, naturally sensual and sexy, though not in an overt way. Athletic. With shapely legs that went forever…
She was compellingly attractive.
And a little crazy.
No. Frightened.
Of him?
This was his first trip to Calliope Key. But he surely looked the part. So why had he appeared so menacing to her?
She wouldn’t ever have come to the island with the girls if she had been afraid of something from the get-go. So…?
They must have found something.
He looked quickly around the clearing. There was nothing immediately evident that would have disturbed anyone, whatever they’d found had to be right around where they had been standing.
For a moment everything in him seemed to tighten and burn; his jaw locked. The heat of anger filled him, the raging sense of fury that the world was never just, and no effort on his part could change that.
And that was part of the reason he was here, he reminded himself, though he kept that fact private. Keep your eye on the prize—that was the standing order. There was one objective. Find what they were seeking, and do it discreetly. Then the rest would fall into place. He hoped. He wasn’t certain anyone else really believed that, and he would be damned if he even knew what he believed himself.
He heard his name called. It was Lee.
He forced a deep breath, aware that he had to tamp down his emotions over his current situation.
He shouted back, “I’m over here.”
A minute later, Lee Gomez and Matt Albright appeared in the clearing. “What’s going on?” Lee asked him. Half-Ecuadorian and half-American mutt, Lee had brilliant blue eyes and pitch-dark hair, and skin that never seemed to mind the sun.
“Not much. Met a woman and two girls—they’re with the woman’s brother, maybe some other people, camping on the island tonight,” Keith said.
Matt shook his head, swearing. He was the redhead in their group, quick to anger, quicker to apologize, but at all times easily irritated. “There’s more. Two more good-size boats, both anchored not far from us. I saw a dinghy coming in with several people.”
“Well, what are you going to do,” Keith asked with a shrug. “Boaters have been coming out here since…well, hell, probably since forever.”
“Yeah, but dammit, they shouldn’t be here now,” Matt muttered.
“Hey, we knew we’d be in public view, working around whatever happened and whoever appeared. People are here, so let’s make the best of it,” Keith said. “And think about it. It’s not much of a shock. It’s a weekend, the perfect time for boaters to take a little break.”
“You don’t think we could dress up as pygmies and scare them all off the island, do you?” Lee murmured dryly.
“Pygmies?” Matt said.
“Some kind of tribal islanders, maybe cannibals?” Lee teased.
Keith laughed. “Oh, yeah, that would make us really inconspicuous. Besides, while they’re on the island, they’re not out on their boats, checking out the reefs. It’s a weekend. Let’s do like the others. Play tourist. Get to know the folks. Check out what they know—and what they’re thinking.” And what they’re afraid of, he thought, but he kept the possibility that anyone on the island might suspect them of something to himself.
Lee shrugged. “All right.”
“So we roll out the cooler and the tent and make like party people,” Matt said. He laughed suddenly.
“Not so bad. One of the people on the boat was a woman, and man, she sure as hell looked like a hottie. From a distance, anyway.”
One of the people on the boat? Keith thought. You should have seen the woman in this very clearing, just minutes ago. And I wasn’t any distance from her. None at all.
“Doesn’t matter if she’s hot as blue blazes, no getting too close to the locals, not tonight,” Lee warned sternly.
“Hey, I’m just going to be a party boy. A friendly guy, just looking for fun, a good ole boating fool,” Matt assured him.
“Well, you can be a good ole boy later. I’m not hauling stuff off that boat by myself,” Lee said. “If we’re turning into Boy Scouts and doing the camping thing, you guys can do some of the lugging, too.”
“Actually, camping isn’t such a bad idea,” Keith said.
“No, and getting to know folks from the area isn’t a bad idea, either,” Lee said. He grinned. “I think I’ll own the boat.”
“Hey!” Matt protested.
“Someone has to own the boat, right?” Lee asked.
“You can own the boat,” Keith said.
“I get to own it next time,” Matt said.
“With any luck, there won’t be a next time,” Keith said. He stared at the other two, and he couldn’t help feeling an edge of suspicion.
Lee stared back at him. His eyes were enigmatic. “Ever the optimist, huh?”
“I just know what I’m doing,” Keith said.
Lee assessed him for what seemed like an eternity. “I hope,” Lee said. “I hope to hell you’re focused on what we’re doing.”
“I’m focused. You can count on it,” Keith said, and he knew his tone was grim.
“C’mon, then, let’s go play tourist,” Lee said.
“Sure. Be right there,” Keith said.
“Hey, we’re all in this together, you know,” Matt reminded him, his eyes narrowed.
“Yup.”
They were in it together, true. But the other two didn’t know that he’d been warned specifically to keep an eye on them.
“Damn, Keith, you’re acting bizarre,” Lee said, staring at him. “Think of what’s happened. Focus is the most important thing here.”
More important than human life? Keith wondered. “I’ll be right with you.”
“He’s working on that instinct thing he’s got going for him,” Matt said, shrugging. “Come on, Lee, let’s get started. Wonderboy will be along.”
Keith waited until they walked back toward the northern shore.
And then he began to search the clearing.
Oh, yeah. He was focused.
There were certain images a man could never quite get out of his mind. Dead men. Dead friends. Friends who’d had everything in the world to live for. Young. The best of the best.
He stiffened, listening. People were coming. The island was becoming more crowded by the minute. He swore softly.
“Hey there,” came a throaty, masculine voice.
A man of about sixty, followed by a petite young woman and two men about his own age, was entering the clearing.
“Hey,” Keith replied, stepping forward, a smile on his face.
Ah, yes, the masses had arrived. He didn’t know why he was suddenly so certain that he and his associates weren’t the only ones traveling incognito.
BETH AND THE GIRLS EMERGED from the lush greenery in the center of the island to reach the beach. It was beautiful. Once upon a time there had been a very small naval base on Calliope Key, a research center. It had been abandoned, but back toward the interior the ruins of the old buildings remained, allowing a safe haven of sorts if the weather turned really foul. Today, though, the sun was streaming down, a soft breeze was blowing, and the sea appeared incredibly serene.
Ben was on the beach, barefoot, in cutoffs and shades, dressed remarkably like the man who had just scared Beth. He glanced up when he saw them coming. “Back so soon? I thought you were exploring, seeing if there was anyone else around.”
At thirty-four, Beth thought, her brother was in his prime. He had, however, taken the task of raising his daughter to heart. Despite the fact that he had lost his wife years ago, he was still far more prone to spend his nights at home rather than out at the boat clubs—though he did belong to Rock Reef, where she worked as a social director—seeking companionship. Beth actually wished he would be more of a sinner at times. She knew how much Amber meant to him, but she was afraid that he wasn’t allowing much room in his life for the future. He had been madly in love with Amber’s mom, his high-school sweetheart, and nothing had ever changed his desire to see that Amber had everything he could provide, including his company—whether she wanted it or not, since Amber had reached that age where she wanted to spend her nights prowling the malls with her friends, rather than bonding with her dad. She adored him. She was simply being a teenager.
“We were exploring,” Beth said.
“We met a guy,” Amber said.
“Wicked cute,” Kimberly added.
Beth groaned.
“Wicked cute young, or wicked cute old?” Ben asked, a sparkle in his eyes.
“Wicked cute your age, or Aunt Beth’s age…well, I don’t know,” Amber said. “He’s not a kid, anyway.”
“Ah.” Ben winked at Beth. “They trying to play matchmaker?”
“I hope not,” she said too sharply.
“So, he wasn’t wicked cute?”
“Oh, no, he was good-looking.”
“But…?” Ben teased.
“Not my type,” she said quickly.
Amber sighed dramatically. “The two of you are hopeless.”
“He’s a total stranger, and you don’t go around trusting total strangers,” Beth snapped.
Ben arched a brow. She tended to be the one who nagged him to lighten up on Amber.
“Girls, go grab the barbecue equipment, will you?” Beth asked.
“She’s going to tell you about the skull,” Amber said.
“Skull?” Ben had been fiddling with one of the tent poles. He went still, staring at Beth with a wary question in his eyes.
“Kim stubbed her toe on something, and…I think it’s actually a skull,” Beth said.
“Did you…pick it up?” Ben asked.
“No, I thought you and I should go take a look. And then, if it’s what I think, radio the authorities. I didn’t want to dig it up with the girls there,” Beth said. She bit her lip. “Except…I’m not so sure we should leave them alone on the beach.”
Ben shook his head. “Beth, this island has been a boaters’ paradise forever.”
“I know that.”
“The naval base has been closed for decades—people who come here have boats and are…well, boat people.”
“I know that, too.”
“So…?” he said softly.
She cleared her throat, glancing at the girls, who clearly weren’t about to leave.
“Ben, damn it! Remember that couple…Ted and Molly Monoco?”
“What about them?” Ben asked, frowning.
“They were last seen here, on this island.”
He sighed, shaking his head. “So what? They had a state-of-the-art yacht and intended to sail around the world, Beth.”
“They disappeared. I heard it on the news several months ago,” she responded stubbornly.
Ben let out a deep sigh. “Beth, a friend called in, worried about them, that’s all. They might be anywhere. The news loves to turn anything into a tragedy.” He caught Amber’s eyes and grimaced. “Maybe your aunt does need to meet a tall dark hunk, huh?”
“Ben!”
“He was blondish!” Amber said, laughing.
“Okay, girls, you stay here and set stuff up, and Aunt Beth and I will go check out that skull.”
“I don’t think we should leave them alone,” Beth said.
“She’s afraid of the guy we met,” Amber explained.
“I’m not afraid of him,” Beth protested.
“It�
�s all right,” Ben said. “I just saw Hank and Amanda Mason, and her dad and a cousin, I think. They’re just down the beach. Girls, scream like hell if anyone comes near you, all right?”
Amanda Mason. Great. Normally, the concept of Amanda—who could be totally obnoxious—being around on the weekend would have bugged Beth to no end. At the moment, though, she was glad that the Masons were there on the beach.
Within screaming distance.
“You bet,” Kimberly said.
“Unless it’s a really hot guy with a beer,” Amber said.
That brought her father spinning around.
“Just kidding!” Amber said. “Dad, I’m joking. Aunt Beth? Tell him.”
“She’s just teasing you, Ben. Give it a break,” Beth told him.
He rolled his eyes, starting off ahead of her. “Why does she do that to me?” he demanded.
“Because you tend to be completely paranoid, and you’re on her tail like a bloodhound most of the time,” Beth told him, following him through the brush, pushing palm fronds out of her way.
“Right, and you’re not being just a little bit paranoid?”
“Ben, I honestly think we found a skull. I’m worried with reason. If you make Amber crazy enough, then you’ll have reason to worry, too.”
“You wait ’til you have kids,” he warned her, stopping and turning back to her. “She’s everything I’ve got,” he said softly.
Beth nodded. “So let go a little bit.”
“She’s only fourteen.”
“Just a little bit. Then she’ll come back to you and tell you all the wild stuff going on with her friends. You’ve got to let her live a little.”
He nodded, serious then.
They reached the clearing. It was empty.
“Okay, I don’t see any guy.”
“I hardly thought he would just stand around waiting,” Beth said.
“All right, then. Where’s the skull?”
“Right here…I pushed a palm frond over it.”
She walked over to where they had been. Tentatively, she moved away the fallen debris.
There was nothing there. Nothing at all. It didn’t even look as if the earth had been disturbed. “I…” She looked at her brother. He was staring at her with skepticism. “Damn it, Ben, the girls saw it, too!”
The Island Page 2
