Right.
Molly headed for the ladder that would take her to the deck, her bag of goodies in her arms. She hummed softly as she emerged topside.
For a moment she just stared, confused. She even started to smile.
Then the tune she had been humming abruptly halted, broken on the air.
Her mouth began to work.
No sound came.
* * *
Ted heard, or thought he heard, a slight sound from topside.
Molly?
No answer.
Molly? he called, a little louder this time.
He felt a little thud against his heart. Maybe she had fallen, taking the dinghy, getting on or off the main boat. Hurt herself. Worse. They were neither of them young. What if shed suffered some kind of attack? Fallenmaybe unconsciousinto the water?
He leaped up, some instinct suddenly warning him of danger.
He ran up the steps to the deck.
And froze.
Two thoughts occurred to him.
What an ass he had been!
And then...
Molly, oh, Molly, Molly...
Time to talk, Ted, snapped an angry voice.
I cant tell you what you want to know, he protested, tears in his eyes.
I think you can.
I cant! I swear, before God, I would if I could.
Start thinking, Ted. Because trust me, you will tell me what youve found.
1
It was a skull.
That much Beth Anderson knew after two seconds of dusting off bits of dirt and grass and fallen palm debris.
Well? Amber demanded.
What is it? Kimberly asked, standing right behind Amber, anxiously trying to look over her shoulder.
Beth glanced up briefly at her fourteen-year-old niece and her nieces best friend. Until just seconds ago, the two had been talking a mile a minute, as they always did, agreeing that their friend Tammy was a bitch, being far too cruel to her best friend, Aubrey, who in turn came to Amber and Kimberly for friendship every time she was being dissed by Tammy. They werent dissing anyone themselves, they had assured Beth, because they werent saying anything they wouldnt say straight to Tammys face.
Beth loved the girls, loved being with them, and was touched to be the next best thing to a mother for Amber, who had lost her own as an infant. She was accustomed to listening to endless discussions on the hottest music, the hottest new shows and the hottest new moviesand who did and didnt deserve to be in them, since the girls were both students at a magnet school for drama.
The main topic on their hot list had recently become boys. On that subject, they could truly talk endlessly.
But now their continual chatter had come to a dead stop.
Kimberly had been the one to stub her toe on the unknown object.
Amber had been the one to stoop down to look, then demand that her aunt come over.
Well? Kim prodded. Dig it up, Beth.
Um... I dont think I should, Beth said, biting her lower lip.
It wasnt just a skull. She couldnt see it clearly, there was so much dirt and debris, but despite the fact that it was half hidden by tangled grasses and the sandy ground, she could see more than bone.
There was still hair, Beth thought, her stomach churning.
And even tissue.
She didnt want the girls seeing what they had discovered any more closely.
Beth felt as if the blood in her veins had suddenly turned to ice. She didnt touch the skull; she carefully laid a palm frond over it, so she would recognize the spot when she returned to it. She wasnt about to dig anything up with the girls here.
She dusted her hands and stood quickly, determined that they had to get back to her brother; who was busy setting up their campsite. They were going to have to radio the police, since cell phones didnt seem to work out here.
A feeling of deep unease was beginning to ooze along her spine as vague recollections of a haunting news story flashed into her mind: Molly and Ted Monoco, expert sailors, had seemed to vanish into thin air.
The last place theyd actually been seen was Calliope Key, right where they were now.
Lets go get Ben, she suggested, trying not to sound as upset as she felt.
Its a skull, isnt it? Amber demanded.
She was a beautiful girl, tall and slender, with huge hazel eyes and long dark hair. The way she looked in a bathing suita two-piece, but hardly a risqué bikiniwas enough to draw the attention of boys who were much too old for her, at least in Beths opinion. Kimberly was the opposite of Amber, a petite blonde with bright blue eyes, pretty as a picture.
Sometimes the fact that she was in charge of two such attractive and impressionable girls seemed daunting. She knew she tended to be a worrywart, but the idea of any harm coming to the girls was...
Okay! She was the adult here. In charge. And it was time to do something about that.
But they were practically alone on an island with no phones, no cars...not a single luxury. A popular destination for the local boat crowd, but distant and desolate.
It was two to three hours back to Miami with the engine running, though Fort Lauderdale was closer, and it was hardly an hour to a few of the Bahamian islands.
She inhaled and exhaled. Slowly.
The human mind was amazing. Moments ago she had been delighted by the very remoteness of the island, pleased that there werent any refreshment stands, automobiles or modern appliances of any kind.
But now...
Might be a skull, Beth admitted, and she forced a grin, lifting her hands. And might not be, she lied. Your dad isnt going to be happy about this, Amber, when hes been planning this vacation for so long, but
She broke off. She hadnt heard the sound of footsteps or even the rustle of foliage, but as she spoke, a man appeared.
He had emerged from an overgrown trail through one of the thick hummocks of pines and palms that grew so profusely on the island.
It was that elemental landscape that brought real boat people here, the lack of all the things that came with the real world.
So why did his arrival feel so threatening?
Trying to be rational with herself, she decided that he looked just right for the type of person who should be here. He had sandy hair and was deeply tanned. No, not just tanned but bronzed, with the kind of dyed-in-deep coloring that true boat people frequently seemed to acquire. He was in good shape, but not heavily muscled. He was in well-worn denim cutoffs, and his feet were clad in deck shoes, no socks. His feet were as bronze as his body, so he must have spent plenty of time barefoot.
Like a guy who belonged on a boat, cruising the out islands. One who knew what he was doing. One who would camp where there were no amenities.
He also wore shades.
Anyone would, she told herself. She had on sunglasses, as did the girls. So why did his seem suspicious, dark and secretive.
She needed to be reasonable, she told herself. She was only feeling this sudden wariness because she had just found a skull, and instinctive panic was setting in. It was odd how the psyche worked. Any other time, if she had run into someone else on the island, she would have been friendly.
But she had just found a skull, and he reminded her of the unknown fate of Ted and Molly Monoco, who had been here, and then...
Sailed into the sunset?
An old friend had reported them missing when they hadnt radioed in, as they usually did.
And she had just found a skull at their last known location.
So she froze, just staring at the man.
Amber, at fourteen, hadnt yet begun to think of personal danger in the current situation. Her father was a boat person, so she was accustomed to other boat people, and she was friendly when she met them. She wasnt stupid or naive, and she had been taught street smartsshe went to school in downtown Miami, for one thing. She could be careful when she knew she should.
Apparently that didnt seem to be now.
Amber smiled at the stranger and said, Hi.
Hi, he returned.
Hi, Kim said.
Amber nudged Beth. Umhi.
Keith Henson, the man said, and though she couldnt see his eyes, his shades were directed toward her. His face had good solid lines. Strong chin, high-set cheekbones. The voice was rich and deep.
He should have been doing voice-overs for commercials or modeling.
Hey, she mocked herself. Maybe that was what he did do.
Im Amber Anderson, her niece volunteered. This is Kim Smith, and thats my aunt Beth. She was obviously intrigued and went on to say, Were camping here.
Maybe, Beth said quickly.
Amber frowned. Oh, come on! Just because
How do you do, Mr. Henson, Beth said, cutting off her nieces words. She stepped forward quickly, away from their find. Nice to meet you. Down here on vacation? Where are you from?
Oh, good, that was casual. A complete third degree in ten seconds or less.
Recent transplant, actually a bit of a roamer, he told her, smiling, offering her his hand. It was a fine hand. Long fingered, as bronzed as the rest of him, nails clipped and clean. Palm callused. He used his hands for work. He was a real sailor, definitely, or did some other kind of manual labor.
She had the most bizarre thought that when she accepted his handshake, he would wrench her forward, and then his fingers would wind around her neck. The fear became so palpable that she almost screamed aloud to the girls to run.
He took her hand briefly in a firm but not too powerful grip, then released it. Amber, Kim, he said, and shook their hands as he spoke.
So are you folks are from the area? he asked, and looked at the girls, smiling. Apparently hed already written Beth off as a total flake.
She slipped between the two girls, feeling her bulldog attitude coming on and setting an arm around each girls shoulders.
Yep! Amber said.
Well, kind of, Kim said.
I mean, were not from the island were standing on, but nearby, Amber said.
Hensons smile deepened.
Beth tried to breathe normally and told herself that she was watching far too many forensics shows on television. There was no reason to believe she had to protect the girls from this man.
But no reason to trust him on sight, either.
Are you planning on camping on the island? Beth asked.
He waved a hand toward the sea. Im not sure yet. Im with some friends...were doing some diving, some fishing. We havent decided whether were in a camping mood or not.
Where are your friends? Beth asked. A little sharply? she wondered. So much for being casual, able to easily escape a bad situation, if it should prove to be one.
At the moment Im on my own.
I didnt see your dinghy, Beth said. In fact, I didnt even notice another boat in the area.
Its there, he said, the Sea Serpent. He cocked his head wryly. My friend, Lee, who owns her, likes to think of himself as the brave, adventurous type. Did you sail out here on your own?
It might have been an innocent question, but not to Beth. Not at this moment.
She had been swearing for years that she was going to take kung fu classes or karate, but as yet, she hadnt quite done so.
She always carried pepper spray in her purse. But, of course, she had been wandering inland with the girls, just walking, and she wasnt carrying her purse. She wasnt carrying anything. She had on sandals and a bathing suit. Like the girls.
Are you alone? Keith Henson repeated politely.
Politely? Or menacingly?
Oh, no. Were with my brother. And a whole crowd.
A whole crowd Amber began.
Beth pinched her shoulder.
Ow! Amber gasped.
Lots of my brothers 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 shed lost her mind.
Oh, yeah, all my dads 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, its a pleasure to meet you. Wed better get back to my brother before he misses us. Were supposed to be helping with the setup.
Well see you, if youre 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 theyd come ashore in the dinghy. And where they would find her brother, she prayed. Surely he hadnt 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 nowhereand we had just found a skull, Beth said, after glancing back to assure herself that they were out of earshot.
You said you werent sure if it was a skull or not, Kim said.
I wasnt sureIm not sure.
But it looked like he just got here, too, Amber said. And the skullit is a skull, isnt 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 werent such bad questions, really.
No, Beth admitted.
So why were you so rude? Amber persisted.
Beth groaned. I dont 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.
Hes way too old for you guys, Beth replied a little too sharply.
So is Brad Pitt, but that doesnt mean hes not hot, Amber said, shaking her head as if it was a sadly difficult thing to deal with adults.
Right, Beth murmured.