Heather Graham Bundle: The Island / Ghost Walk / Killing Kelly / The Vision

15

ON THURSDAY, BETH FOUND THAT she was well ahead on her work. Eduardo Shea, Maria and Mauricio were practicing, and the final rehearsal planned for the next afternoon, after the floor was in place.

She sat at her desk after lunch, going through all the last-minute arrangements. Then she found herself writing down a chronology starting with the day she had seen the skull on the island. She included a paragraph noting that the ghost story Keith had told had been based on a real event. She made a side note with the information about the couple in Virginia who’d had their boat stolen, along with the fact that—no matter what the rumor mill said—the Monocos hadn’t been heard from since they’d last called in from Calliope Key.

A diver had turned up dead, which might or might not mean foul play.

Someone had messed with her computer.

Someone had put a skull on her desk.

She had been threatened at gun-and knifepoint, and law enforcement everywhere was looking for Brad and Sandy, who were apparently pirates. They hadn’t been at the club—at least, she was almost certain they hadn’t been at the club when the skull had appeared on her desk. And she didn’t see how they could have gotten there in time to place it there, anyway. She tried hard to remember if the skull had been real or a prop. Ridiculous question. She should have known. But the minute she had seen it, she had panicked, then run to get the police. Smart call, one would think. And since Ben’s toy skull had turned out to be missing, it probably had been a fake, anyway.

Both Manny Ortega and Maria Lopez claimed to feel a real affection for the Monocos. Neither had been on the island. Eduardo Shea seemed like an up-and-up businessman with a love of dance.

She pressed her hands against her temples. Did any of it make any sense?

And why, in the middle of all this, could she not stop thinking about Keith Henson? She was so angry with him….

And so suspicious and edgy. Had he just been attempting to get close to find out what she might know? What she might have set in motion.

Yes, she was sick with jealousy, too proud to ask certain questions—or too afraid of the answers? Had he slept with Amanda, as well, eager to know more about her, too?

Why did she wish she hadn’t been quite so furious? Why hadn’t she allowed a conversation? Why did she feel as if she had…cut away a part of her being? She prayed for a little more dignity. Praying didn’t help.

She simply wanted to be with him.

“Hi.”

She looked up, so startled that she nearly screamed. Her brother was standing in the doorway. She glanced at her watch. One o’clock. Way too early for Ben to be off work.

“What are you doing here?”

“Early-dismissal day,” Ben said.

“Again? They just had one.”

“Hey, do I control the Miami-Dade Board of Education?” he asked ruefully.

“You should have said something. I could have picked Amber up from school.”

“I know. And I appreciate it. But I decided to get her myself. And now I’m getting you.”

She arched a brow. “Getting me to…?”

“We’re going diving.”

“Diving? I’m working.”

“I’ve got permission for you to leave. Commodore Berry is thrilled to death with your plan for tomorrow night. He said you can take the afternoon off and come with us.”

“Who’s ‘us’?”

“Amber, me, the Masons, Manny and a few others. Actually, Manny was the one who came up with the idea of a nice social afternoon.”

“I should go down and watch the rehearsal,” Beth said.

“You’re too late. They’ve already finished. In fact, Maria is coming out with us.”

“She is?”

“Um. With Manny.”

“Ben, I’m not so sure—”

“Ashley and Jake are coming.”

“Oh?”

“Beth, I’m not an idiot. My daughter’s life has been threatened. I think Brad and Sandy are violent but cowardly, and we’ve taken precautions, but even so, we’re going out with a pair of cops, okay? We’re going in a big group. Amber wants to go out on the Masons’boat. That’s cool—big group. Got it? I’m not an idiot.”

She leaned back, smiling. “I’m sorry. No, you’re not an idiot. Where are we going?”

“I told you. Diving,” he informed her firmly. She glared at him, but when he told her that she was welcome to go aboard Manny’s boat or one of the other three vessels making the run, she refused.

Amber was going to be aboard Hank Mason’s boat, and that meant she was, too. Along with Jake and Ashley, who weren’t just cops but excellent divers.

The trip started off well. The sun was out; there was a perfect breeze. Amanda was actually being a charming hostess, and Beth thought she might actually be sincere when she asked with concern if anyone had discovered who the prankster was who had left the skull on her desk.

“I bet he would have admitted what he did if the police hadn’t come in, making the whole thing such a big deal,” she suggested, which made Beth wonder if the skull on her desk had actually been a prank, totally unconnected to the very real attack on her. Maybe someone had heard about the incident on the island and thought they were being funny.

“Well, we’ll find out soon enough if it was a prank or not,” Jake Dilessio said with a shrug.

“Really?” Amanda said. “I thought you were homicide. What are you doing investigating such a silly thing?”

“Hadn’t you heard?” he asked her. “There’s an APB out on the couple you all know as Brad and Sandy. They’re suspects in the piracy that’s been going on along the coast for over a year now, and they were recently spotted in Miami.”

Judging by the shocked looks that greeted that statement, neither Amanda nor her family had heard a thing about it.

“Really?” Hank said. “We were sleeping right down the beach from them!”

“Let’s hope to God they’re apprehended soon,” Roger said fervently.

“They will be,” Jake said with deadly assurance.

There was silence for a minute. Then Amanda determinedly changed the subject. “You know, I’ve never dived this site before. Have any of you?”

The conversation turned to diving, and Beth half listened to the stories exchanged. Mostly she found herself watching Amber and being worried.

Hank decided to stay aboard while the others paired up and went into the water. Amanda immediately pounced on Ben, determined to be his buddy.

“Hey, Amber, can I be your buddy?” Jake asked, glancing reassuringly at Beth. “Ashley and Beth can go together.”

Beth smiled at him. She could relax if Amber was with Jake.

Hank’s boat was fitted out perfectly for diving, with stands and benches for easy access to enough tanks for ten. In fact, she was actually better equipped than many professional dive boats, with medical equipment on board, as well. She was surprised that he had decided to take on the role of dive master above board, since he loved to dive so much himself. Then again, he could head out whenever he chose, so perhaps he had decided that supervising the entire scene would be fun for a change.

It was hardly as if they had the area to themselves. Dive boats from the Keys, Miami and as far north as Palm Beach congregated here, along with private boaters like themselves. The wreck was a well-known and popular site.

It was fun being down with Ashley, and an easy afternoon, with so many divers present that it was almost impossible to be worried. In addition to the wreck, the area teemed with fish, anemones and all kinds of undersea life.

They had barely begun the dive when Ashley glanced at her compass, then beckoned to her. She led Beth away from the wreck, into an area of reefs.

They came to a huge outcrop of coral. Next to the coral, there was a bed of sand and seagrass. There was a diver there, exercising perfect buoyancy, simply sitting on the sand.

Waiting.

It took Beth a minute to register who it was—people in tanks and masks were hard to recognize at first glance. But then she knew.

Keith.

She stared at Ashley, furious at both of them—especially Keith. This had obviously been arranged, even though she had told him in no uncertain terms that she didn’t want to talk to him until he was willing to do some explaining.

Ashley was her dive partner, but their group wasn’t far away. She could have turned and propelled herself right back to join them, and she was sorely tempted to do so. She didn’t understand what his appearance here—twenty feet down—meant. He could hardly do much explaining where they were.

He gave them the divers’ sign to rise, and Ashley nodded, then looked at Beth. Beth lifted her hands. Fine. They would rise.

They surfaced by a boat. Beth was startled to realize that it was Manny’s. He and Maria were both there, as if they were awaiting their arrival.

She lifted her mask, held on to the ladder and pulled off her fins.

Keith pulled himself out of the water easily, then reached down to help her and Ashley. Manny stood by, ready to assist, as well. “Welcome, gorgeous,” he said, with a smile. “Let me help you with your tank.”

“Wait…I need this tank to get back to the boat I’m supposed to be on,” she protested, staring at them all one by one, confused and angry. Her last reproving glance was for Ashley. How the hell had this happened?

“No, it’s all right. I’ll radio over that you and Ashley decided to come up here and visit with Maria,” Manny said. “Let me take that. We should go below.”

She stared at the sea around them. There were a number of boats around. Dive flags littered the area.

Hank’s boat was a good distance from them, no activity evident on board. Everyone must still be down at the wreck, she thought, and allowed Manny to help her with her tank.

“Come on down. I’ve got coffee and tea ready,” Maria said, offering them towels. “Not that it’s anything but a lovely day. Still, you’re wet, and the air-conditioning is on in the cabin.”

Beth followed the others down to the cabin. It was nice, not huge. Manny’s boat could sleep two. There was a head, a small galley and a dining/living area, with a table against the port side. Beth stared at Keith, damning both him and herself. She’d hated herself for wishing he would reappear at any moment.

Now that he had, she just wanted to run over to him. But she couldn’t let herself. She had to remind herself that the man had an agenda. An agenda that included disappearing whenever he needed to do so and it included spending all kinds of time with Amanda.

He stared back at her with no apology.

“Sit, please?” he said.

“I didn’t know the three of you were so well acquainted,” Beth said, speaking at last and looking from Manny to Maria and then to Keith once again.

“We’ve just recently become friends,” Keith said.

“Interesting,” she murmured.

“I didn’t tell Manny anything,” Keith said evenly. “He knew who I was.”

“Clue me in, why don’t you?” Beth said, her tone heated and her heart wondering if he’d reveal his secrets to her.

“I’m with a company called Rescue, and most of our contracts are military,” Keith explained. “No one was supposed to know who we were or what we were doing,” Keith explained.

“I see,” she said, looking around at the group. It amazed her that even Maria was in on it, while she had been in the dark.

“Beth, you must understand. I already knew who he was,” Manny explained.

“And Maria knew, too. But you couldn’t tell me,” Beth said icily.

“You didn’t want to call the police when you were accosted at both gun-and knifepoint. If you had, they might have caught Brad and Sandy,” Keith said. “There’s plenty of blame to go around here.”

Beth glared at him angrily. “Not fair. Amber’s life was threatened.” She stared at Ashley. “And excuse me, but how the hell did this all come about?” she asked, gesturing at the group and their surroundings.

Manny cleared his throat. “I arranged for all this to happen today. You needed to see Keith.”

She hoped she hadn’t given away the fact that she’d begun to feel desperate to see the man. It felt as if her cheeks were burning.

“Why?” she demanded.

She didn’t get the answer she had hoped for or expected.

“I need to be at your Summer Sizzler tomorrow night,” he told her.

She almost laughed aloud—at herself. She managed not to, and instead stared at Keith, shaking her head. “You’ve gotten into the club on your own several times. Membership doesn’t seem to mean a lot where you’re concerned. You’re best friends with Manny and Maria. And Amanda would be happy to invite you to the party. You sure as hell don’t need me to get in.”

“You need to tell her everything you’ve discovered,” Manny said.

“Sit down, Beth. Have some tea. Please,” Maria said. She flashed Beth an apologetic smile. “It’s partially my fault that you’re here.”

“Oh?”

“Please, sit, Beth. I’ll explain,” Keith said.

She sat. He sat opposite her.

His eyes were on her, dead steady. “Beth, Manny knows me the same way Jake and Ashley do, through a previous situation here in Miami-Dade, that’s all.”

“And I know about him because Manny told me when I went to him for help,” Maria explained.

“Wonderful,” Beth murmured, still lost. She looked at Keith. “So you were never on the island looking for the Monocos from the start?”

“No.”

She stared straight at him. “Then you were looking for the ship.”

“What ship?” Maria murmured.

“La Doña,” Beth said flatly, staring at Keith.

He stared back at her. She realized that no one had known what he was really doing—they had just known who he was. And he didn’t appreciate the fact that she had spoken.

“It doesn’t matter,” Beth said, offering Maria a quick glance, then turning back to Keith. “Go on.”

“The point is, I want to be at the Sizzler from the start. I need to watch. And I don’t want anyone to know I’m there. I want access to your office, and I want to get behind the scenes, so I can watch what’s going on. Matt and Lee will be there. We’ve all been invited already.”

“The Masons?” Beth asked.

He nodded. “Amanda called and invited us,” he told her.

She tried not to stiffen. “I don’t understand what you want. You could have arranged this without me.”

“Actually, no.”

“Why?” she demanded. “What’s so important about you being there with my blessing?”

“I told you, I need free access. Everyone who was on the island will be there,” Keith said.

She shook her head, a wry smile in place. “Not exactly. Brad and Sandy aren’t invited.”

“I have a feeling they’ll be there anyway.”

“They wouldn’t dare be so obvious,” she protested.

“I think they’re confident enough in their ability to disguise themselves to risk it.”

“Then the police should be there.”

“The police will be there,” Keith said, glancing at Ashley.

“Then they can arrest them the moment they see them,” Beth said.

“They’ll have to know who they are—but it goes beyond just identifying them. Beth, here’s the thing. We don’t think they’re working alone. Or that they just want to get to you. They’re looking to get paid.”

“Paid!” she exclaimed.

“They disappeared really quickly after attacking you. I looked into the property surrounding your house, specifically at the block around the corner. Do you know who owns most of the houses in the area?”

“Who?” she demanded.

“Eduardo Shea.”

Beth stared at him in surprise. “You think Eduardo is in on the piracy? I don’t understand.”

“Among Mr. Shea’s investments are a number of boatyards on the South American coast,” Keith told her. “We know that whoever is stealing luxury vessels has to be making them over somewhere. The police have investigated all the local facilities, and everyone comes up clean. It would also make more sense to get the boats far away from this country, where all of them have been registered.”

“Now I’m really confused,” Beth murmured. “I don’t understand why Sandy and Brad would risk being at the club.”

“I think that Eduardo was talking to them on the phone the other day,” Maria put in.

Beth stared at Maria.

“Eduardo was distressed. He was threatening someone. Then, he said that he’d see them at the club. I told Manny,” she explained. “Manny was very upset. He contacted Keith and said we must tell him.”

“But…that’s so…I mean, they must know that they’d be in danger of exposure at the club.”

Keith shook his head, offering her a rueful smile. “How? They don’t know the police will be there. They don’t know that Eduardo Shea’s finances have been investigated.”

“Still, it would be a ridiculous risk!”

“Hide in plain sight,” Ashley murmured, joining into the conversation at last.

“I’m sorry. I still don’t get this,” Beth said, eyes hard as she stared at Keith again. “What is your involvement? Because, according to what you’ve told me, you were never out at Calliope looking for the pirates.”

He sat back. “My involvement is personal. I happen to believe that, if they’re apprehended, Sandy and Brad can answer a lot of questions,” he said flatly.

“I still don’t understand why you need me—why you need to be out of sight,” Beth murmured.

He lowered his head for a moment, then looked up. “There are a few other dynamics I need to keep an eye on. I’m asking you—no, begging you—to trust me. And not to demand answers that I can’t give you yet. I had Manny set up the dive—and no, your brother doesn’t know that Manny arranged all this on purpose—because I hoped that if you met with Ashley and Manny and me, you would be able to have faith in me.”

“I wouldn’t go so far as to say that I have faith in you,” Beth told him. “But sure, be my guest. I still don’t understand. You can have access to all areas of the club and hide out in my office or wherever.” She stared at Ashley. “The more cops the merrier.” She felt as if her head was reeling, and she didn’t understand anything. “Commodore Berry knows the police will be at the club? And the board of directors are aware of what’s going on, as well?”

Keith nodded to her.

“Then you really didn’t need my permission for anything,” Beth said.

He stared at her. “Yes, I did.”

The tension seemed heavy. Manny and Maria remained silent. She didn’t know on exactly what level he meant his words, or if being with her had been part of his undercover work or also something personal.

She just wanted to get away.

“I think we should join the others now,” she said sharply. “The rest of the divers must be up.”

Keith stood. “I’m going. I’ll see you tomorrow, then.”

“Right,” she said stiffly.

He went topside with Manny. Ashley took his place at the table. “You’ve got to understand my position. Please, Beth,” she said. “Trust me.”

“I trust you,” Beth said, the implication that she didn’t care not to be trusted herself quite evident.

Ashley flushed.

“You really need some tea,” Maria said.

“I really need a drink,” Beth replied.

BETH WAS FINDING IT impossible to sleep. Usually, the night after a dive, she crashed immediately.

Not tonight. She was at Ashley and Jake’s place, the kids were sleeping. Ashley and Jake were sleeping. And she was tempted to join the crowd hanging out late at the restaurant.

There were sure to be cops among their number.

Then again, Brad and Sandy had apparently patronized Nick’s, as well. Still, when she went to the window and opened the drapes, she could see the docks. As late as it was, she could see several people sitting on one of the ice chests on the walk, talking, beers in hand. She craned her neck to look to her right, toward the restaurant. People were still filling the patio seats.

Restless, she dressed and stepped out, locking the door, pocketing the key Ashley had given her. She walked toward the patio and took a seat, then ordered a beer. That might help her sleep. God knew, she needed to sleep.

People at Nick’s were friendly. Several said hello. She was asked if she wanted to join in a game of darts but declined.

At last the crowd began to thin out. She rose, heading back to her friends’ house.

As she walked, she heard the sound of a chair scraping. She spun back, cursing at herself for being such a goose.

But the feeling remained with her that she was being followed. She quickened her steps, turned back and saw a form.

All she had to do was scream. People would come running. But as she looked at the shadow of the man who had just left the light of the patio area, he was joined by a young woman. She caught his hand, and, laughing, they headed down toward the dock together. She let out a sigh of relief and turned.

She froze. And saw another shadow. It wasn’t coming from the patio but from the parking lot. It shouldn’t have been there. She stared, trying to figure out whether she was imagining it, maybe seeing the shadow of a large hibiscus. Her breath caught as the shadow grew. She stayed calm. All she had to do was turn around and head back for the patio.

She did so, walking quickly, to her dismay discovering that everyone had left. The serving staff couldn’t all be gone, she told herself. Nick himself was in there somewhere.

She started to hurry after one of the waitresses, who was disappearing inside. The door closed as she reached it. She grabbed the handle and found it locked.

Panic was rising inside her. She lifted a hand to pound on the door.

Then she heard her name.

She turned.

Keith.

She gasped softly.

“What on earth are you doing, wandering around out here?” he demanded.

She couldn’t breathe for a moment. “I was having a beer,” she said finally. “What are you doing, wandering around out here?”

“I was going to have a beer—I guess they’ve closed,” he said. She stared at him. She still felt so distrustful.

And so hungry, even though she loathed herself for it.

“Beth,” he said.

She took a step backward. “I really don’t know you,” she said.

“Actually, you really do. And I know you.”

He lowered his head for a minute. The light caught the sun-bleached blond of his hair. He seemed very tall, a striking presence. She suddenly ached to be held, to feel as if she hadn’t somehow made a disaster of her world.

To feel as if something was real and solid…

He looked at her again. “Let me just walk you back to the door.”

She shrugged. “Tell me, Keith, what do you think you know about me?”

He looked at her, frowning. “I know I care,” he said simply. “And I know you are who I want to care about.”

He took her arms, turning her toward him. He appeared perplexed. “Please try to understand.”

“There are things I can understand, and things I can’t,” she said.

“And exactly what does that mean?”

She shook her head, turned and walked to the door, then unlocked it. The damn hibiscus still made her uneasy. Or was that really it? “There’s beer in the house,” she heard herself say.

“Are you inviting me in?”

“Apparently you have as much right to be here as I do,” she said, leaving the door open as she entered.