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“If there was a skull,” he said softly.
“Not you, too!”
“Beth, I knew you were hiding something. I searched the area.”
“And you knew what you were looking for?” she demanded.
“No, but I would have noticed a skull.”
Beth stared at him hard, arching a brow.
He sighed. “All right, Beth, I didn’t have a lot of time, I was interrupted almost immediately. But I had known you where you were—I should have found something.” Again, that implication. If it had been there. Then he shook his head, as if aggravated with himself for that admission, rather than her. “Beth, that night, there were people out and about when they should have been sleeping. I had even expected—been awaiting—that. Something was going on there. But…”
She stared at him. “I’ll call my friend Ashley,” she said. “She’s a cop, and she knows I’m not insane, and that I’m not someone who tends to panic easily.”
She hesitated, staring at him, then poured another shot of brandy. No, she didn’t panic easily. But at the moment, she needed more fortification.
She drank down the shot, amazed to realize that she relished the burn when it went down her throat.
She still felt uncertain, with no idea what to do. She believed with her whole heart it was wrong to give in to criminals in any way, but…
They had threatened Amber.
She poured another brandy. Keith walked up behind her, taking the glass from her. She spun on him, eyes filled with fury.
“That isn’t going to help the situation,” he told her.
“Really? And what is?”
“Calling the police.”
She backed away from him. “Let me deal with this.”
“Beth, listen to me—”
“No. And don’t you have something to do, somewhere to go?” she demanded.
She wanted to beg him to stay with her, protect her. But she had a life to live—and obviously so did he. She couldn’t ask him to be her personal bodyguard. That wouldn’t help Amber. She felt furious, trapped and very afraid.
“I can’t stay,” he said in soft frustration, as if to himself.
His words reminded her that he seemed to be playing a million different games. “Excuse me, but I don’t recall asking you to,” she said.
He stared at her hard, then picked up the phone himself. She grabbed it, but his grip was firm. “Stop it. I’m not calling 911.”
“Who are you calling, then?”
He took a deep breath. “Jake Dilessio.”
She dropped his arm and took a step back from him, folding her arms across her chest. “So you do know Jake and Ashley.”
“Yes,” he said flatly.
He dialed. “Jake, it’s Keith. Sorry for the short notice, but can you meet me at Beth’s house?”
Beth narrowed her eyes, watching, listening. Obviously, he knew Jake well. Her sense of betrayal grew.
When he hung up, she stared at him. He stared back. “Want to explain?” she asked.
“You know I’m a diver,” he told her with a shrug. “I’ve been called in to work this area before.”
“With the police?”
“Yes,” he said impatiently.
She shook her head slowly. “That’s all you’re going to say?”
“I’m afraid so.”
“Were you on Calliope Key…looking for a body?” she asked.
“No.”
“Then…?”
“I have to leave when Jake gets here, but I’ll be back.”
She turned and walked away from him. “Don’t bother. I’ve known Jake a while myself. He’s married to one of my best friends. I think I’ll rely on him for whatever help I need.” And leaving him standing there, she headed upstairs.
IF BETH HAD BEEN AFRAID of being obvious by having a cop arrive at her door, she needn’t have worried, Keith thought.
Ashley dropped off Jake, with both kids in the car, in their car seats.
Keith explained the situation briefly. “And you didn’t make her call in a report?” Jake demanded.
“Apparently Miss Anderson is your good friend. You talk her into it. I’d love to see you succeed.”
“I’ll talk to her,” Jake said firmly.
Keith mentally breathed a sigh of relief. He could safely leave—Jake Dilessio was there. Maybe the man could talk some sense into her.
“I’ll be back as soon as I can,” Keith told him.
When the door closed and locked behind him, he surveyed the area. He cursed, wondering how the hell the two attackers had disappeared so quickly and completely after assaulting Beth. He was fast, but in the seconds it had taken him to make sure she was all right, they’d disappeared. They’d headed down the block, turned the corner and been gone.
He knew he needed to get going to keep his appointment with Manny, but the speed with which the attackers had vanished disturbed him. He strode to the corner and looked down the street. There were more row houses. There was an old single-family residence, set back deeply in a large yard. Across the street, there were more houses. They could have taken off through any of the yards, and done so easily in the time it had taken him to bend over and see about Beth.
He headed for the yard of the house that was set back so deeply and crossed over the grass, his penlight on the ground before him. He traversed the area several times, but it seemed undisturbed. He turned his attention to the houses across the street and made a number of mental notes.
Then he walked back to his car, got in, and shifted into gear to keep his appointment with Manny Ortega.
“YOU KNOW WHY WE’RE NOT finding anything?” Lee murmured, sitting at the computer console in the main cabin, his eyes darting from the screen to a book of charts.
“The damn thing isn’t really there?” Matt asked wearily. He was on the sofa, his head on one of the throw pillows. A feeling of guilt and unease still plagued him. Lee had returned from his evening out with a full report—nothing. He’d gotten to see the clubs of Miami Beach. End of story.
That had been the time for him to speak up. Tell the truth. I was taken for the ride of my life. Sorry, guys. I can’t believe she used me as if I were a horny high-school kid.
Lee turned and stared at him, shaking his head. “It’s there. I know it’s there. It’s just broken up so badly that we’re not getting anything. The coral’s probably grown over a lot of the ribs and the hull.”
“So why aren’t we picking up the cannons?” Matt asked.
“That I don’t know.”
Matt felt a greater guilt. Still, he kept silent.
“Shit,” Lee swore suddenly.
“What?”
The television mounted over the doorway to the aft area had been on, the sound muted. Lee reached for the remote and turned up the volume. The news was on. The tragic death of a local charter-boat owner and dive master was being reported.
“Another one,” Lee said.
“They didn’t say anything about him being anywhere near Calliope Key,” Matt pointed out.
“It’s time we get our own asses back out there,” Lee said. He shook his head. “Keith is crazy, thinking he can find out something at that yacht club. We need to be out there. Watching. Shit. Where the damn hell is he, anyway?”
WHEN KEITH RETURNED, Beth’s house was dark.
He wasn’t accustomed to even feeling uneasy, so it disturbed him to realize he was feeling something akin to growing panic. He dialed her number, but there was no answer. Where the hell was she—and, worse, where the hell was Jake? When the answering machine came on, he felt like an utter fool, but he started speaking. “Jake, dammit, answer. Beth, pick up. You don’t have to see me or let me in, but pick up. I see your car. I know you’re there, and I’m worried. If you don’t answer, I’m going to get the police out here.”
She picked up. “Yes?”
“You are there.”
“Yes.” The terms “icy” and “distant” wouldn’t begin to describe the tone of her voice.
“Are you all right?”
“Yes. Is there a reason I shouldn’t be? Jake is here, remember.” If anything, her tone grew harder still.
“You guys didn’t answer the phone,” he said irritably.
“Jake is in the bathroom, and I’m fine. We don’t need to talk right now. It’s late.”
“Beth, look, I’m sorry. I told you, I had some things I needed to do, and I knew you’d be all right with Jake there. But…we do need to talk.”
“I’m not calling the police. And as for you…don’t be sorry. You were around to run them off and now…now I’m with a friend. So don’t be sorry. We all have an agenda, don’t we? I just don’t care to see you or talk about it any more right now.”
“Beth…” He hesitated. There was nothing he was at liberty to say to her.
“Beth,” he said, “it was a strange day.”
“I just want to be alone, all right? Jake is here. I’m fine.”
She hung up.
He sat there, his phone in his hand, for several seconds, just registering the fact that she had cut him off so coldly.
Well, what the hell had he expected?
It didn’t matter. He was loath to leave. Nothing had been solved. Jake had a job and a family. He couldn’t just turn his life over to keeping tabs on Beth.
His phone rang. He expected it to be Jake, and he answered quickly.
“Where the hell are you?”
It was Lee, and he was aggravated.
“Busy. What’s up?”
“The noose is tightening. We really need to move.” Lee was quiet. “They found another diver. The news just came out. We need to get back on the boat.”
“I know we need to get back out there. I just need a little more time.”
Lee was silent. “I told you before, we need to focus. There’s the project, and that’s it.”
“I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
“Listen to me, Keith. We’ve got to get back out on the reef.”
“I’ll be there. I have something to solve first.”
“Look,” Lee said, sounding seriously pissed, “we need to talk. We have a job to do. You can’t go taking care of the rest of the world. We have to be back on that reef by tomorrow morning.”
“Where are you now?”
“Right where we’ve been. Waiting.”
“I’ll be there soon.”
“Really soon,” Lee said.
Keith hung up, contemplating the situation. He hesitated, then dialed Beth’s number again. She had been attacked. And then there was the skull on her desk. That had to mean something, as well.
Why the hell couldn’t he just find the connection?
He closed his eyes for a moment. There was money in this, big money. Maybe Mike was right. Money often meant corruption.
